Freedom and ChoiceEaster 7; Acts 16:16-40Freedom sometimes comeswhen foundations shakemaking doors spring wide.Earth shrugs off our chains.Free to go or stayPaul and Silas chose.“We are here!” they cried,saved the guard from harm.Then he washed their wounds,asked to be baptizedwith his family:faith born from relief.Though they were released,Paul claimed Roman rights,forced apologies.They were asked to leave.DidContinue reading “Freedom and Choice”
Category Archives: Easter
Farewell Discourse
Farewell Discourse(Lyrics of a song to a Hebridean Folk tune, Eriskay Love Lilt)Easter 6; John 14:23-291.That last night he washed their feetand they shared the wine and bread.Facing death, he taught themlove would live though he’s dead.2.”Those who love me keep the wordthat the Father sent in me.We will love them and come;there at homeContinue reading “Farewell Discourse”
Dreaming a New Creation
Dreaming a New CreationEaster 5; Acts 11:1-18In Peter’s dream, the creatures deemed uncleanin sacred scrolls were called food fit to eat.Three times he heard the Spirit’s voice repeat:“Don’t call profane what God has now made clean!”Then Peter, urged by vision’s metaphor,agreed to travel to a Gentile home,invited by an officer from Rome –a breach ofContinue reading “Dreaming a New Creation”
Tell Us Plainly
Tell us PlainlyEaster 4; John 10:22-30There’s some who want a label, clearly stated,so they can judge and file this case away.The evidence of deeds is under rated,and mystery ignored on every day.If Jesus said, “For sure, I’m God’s Messiah!”they’d call it blasphemy and want him dead,dismiss him as deluded or a liar,and heap their scornContinue reading “Tell Us Plainly”
The Encounter on the Beach
The Encounter on the BeachEaster 3; John 21:1-19When they’d finished the meal,Jesus asked Peter an awkward question.“Simon son of John,” he said,(as though naming Peter’s attemptto revert to a pre-discipled state),“Do you love me more than these?”(Surely this was not a love competitionto choose the forerunnerof centuries of popes?)Maybe what he meant was:“Do you loveContinue reading “The Encounter on the Beach”
Doubt and Commitment
Doubt and CommitmentEaster 2; John 20:19-31When I was ordained deaconI was secretly gladthat the gospel that day spokeof Thomas the doubter,because I had my doubts -of the institutionrather than of God, and had been doubted,by the institutionalizedrather than by God.Before the doubts, Thomas said:“Let us also gothat we may die with him.”He fulfilled that commitmentlaterContinue reading “Doubt and Commitment”
Holiness and a Good Death
Holiness and a Good DeathHoly Week and Easter 2025We call this week holyand the day of his death good.How did he live that holinessknowing trauma and deathwere closing in on him?Though a victim of inhuman cruelty,how did he die revealingthe goodness and love of Godand the potential of humanity?Now in my seventies,I look to himContinue reading “Holiness and a Good Death”
Dilemmas of Love
Dilemmas of LoveEaster 6; John 15:9-17So you said to your friends in farewell:“This is my commandment,that you love one anotheras I have loved you.”No need of ten commandments:this one is challenge enough.No doubt it would change the world,but how do we live up to it?How do we love as you loved,you who are love embodied,weContinue reading “Dilemmas of Love”
God is Love
God is love (Easter 5 John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-21)All people who use languageare second-hand word-mongers:we mangle words or varnishby buying into meaningsto suit rival agendas.We fumble in our juggling,and truth becomes entangledwith hurts to which we’re subject,and what one hears, anotherwould never have imagined.So “God is love” gets twistedfor some who hear “Our Father”.TheyContinue reading “God is Love”
Warning: Sheep Astray
Warning: Sheep AstrayEaster 4; Psalm 23Good shepherd, there is much we seem to lack,though having much has blurred the truth of need.If you could lead us weary creatures back,green pastures and still pools might soothe and feed.Our souls are parched, our bodies over fed;right pathways now have given way to roads.We seek refreshment, yet willContinue reading “Warning: Sheep Astray”
Barb, poet priest 