Empire or Reign of GodChristmasThere rose an empire based in Rome;fine ruins still recall its fame.They said their emperors were gods;few people now would praise their name.In conquered lands a child was born;his fate to die by empire’s will.Now though two thousand years have gone,his birth and death are honoured still.The Caesars did not saveContinue reading “Empire or Reign of God”
Category Archives: Christmas
Christmas Giving
Christmas GivingI have no grandchildrento whom to give the giftsexpected at Christmas time.If I did, I would not givewhat the shops lure them to want –not electronic games, but clayanimals my hands have shaped,baked in the sun; not Barbiesbut hand-made dolls, knitted perhapsand stuffed with carded woolstill smelling of sheep.Would the childrens’ disgruntled politenesssmile theirContinue reading “Christmas Giving”
Song for Simeon and Anna
Song for Simeon and Anna (to tune Ebenezer by Thomas John Williams, Together in Song 232 or 373) Christmas 1; Luke 2:22-40 1. Spirit, come to some like Simeon, Anna, old but strong in prayer. We too need this Christ child’s presence! Let us hold good news to share! See, a baby shows God’s likeness,Continue reading “Song for Simeon and Anna”
2 Sonnets
Who is Mary? Advent 4 Luke 1:26-38 Not blue and white, immaculate and fair? The Mary I imagine and admire is dark, with untamed eyes that probe and flare: a woman fit to mate with Spirit fire. The label “Virgin” now precedes her name, as though to guarantee unworldly worth, yet earthy common sense hasContinue reading “2 Sonnets”
Treasuring and Pondering
Treasuring and Pondering The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus; Luke 2:15-21 “But Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” She knew that’s how the Spirit flames from sacred truth. Does the Spirit guide the wary mind assigning scholarly ticks to what might be historical? Isn’t that a form of arrogance, anContinue reading “Treasuring and Pondering”
The Flight to Egypt
The Flight to Egypt Holy Innocents; Matthew 2:13-23 We keep our dreaming shuttered in our sleep, but Joseph was a man who trusted dreams. They fled into the night. Their loss was deep, but not as great as woe from Herod’s schemes. Behind them, parents wept for children dead. In Egypt, they at least stillContinue reading “The Flight to Egypt”
Christmas Sonnet
Christmas Sonnet To Mary bearing down on love, pain comes through saying: “Here am I.” Bring down to earth the God above? Plain sense and comfort question why. Birth pangs are hers, but also his, pushed out into a world like this, where God with us must learn to cry. Yet that first cry weContinue reading “Christmas Sonnet”
Christmas Here and Now
No new poems this week – I’ve taken a couple of weeks off, coping with the delights and stresses of fostering the greyhound we hope to adopt, Misty. So I’m posting some Christmas poems from the past, this one from last year. Christmas Here and Now Precarious – our lives in covid’s wake: decisions joltContinue reading “Christmas Here and Now”
The Word of God and the Wisdom of God
The Word of God and the Wisdom of God Christmas: John 1:1-14, Hebrews 1:1-4 The prophets wrote: “Thus says the Lord.” The price they paid to share God’s word was more than we would dare afford, but they must speak, ignored or heard. What was it like to be God’s Word – a living challengeContinue reading “The Word of God and the Wisdom of God”
Barb, poet priest 