Healing ChoicesEpiphany 6; 2 Kings 5:1-14; Mark 1:40-45If a slave girl had not sharedfaith in godly power to heal,if some servants had not cared,spoken out with frank appeal,would his body be restored,soul washed clean of futile pride?Naaman’s servants saved their lord,braved his wrath, set fear aside.Banned from contact, yet he cameclose to Jesus, begged andContinue reading “Healing Choices”
Category Archives: epiphany
Woman Lifted Up
Woman Lifted UpEpiphany 5; Mark 1:29-39He took her by the hand and raised her up,and then the fever left her, and the lossof home and husband and her role and placeno longer kept her weak, confined to bed.She felt empowered to serve them in this housethat was not hers, but where perhaps she might,by servingContinue reading “Woman Lifted Up”
Unsanctioned Authority
Unsanctioned AuthorityEpiphany 4; Mark 1:21-28They said he spoke with authority:a truth more real than the words of scribes,a truth their leaders dare not see.The unclean spirit loudly saidboth Jesus’ name and holy fame.At his command that spirit fled.He dared to heal in the synagogue:the bent stood straight, the withered whole.No wonder crowds were all agog.TheyContinue reading “Unsanctioned Authority”
You Search Me Out
You search me out (Lyrics, suggested tune Irish, God moves in a mysterious way, but can be sung to Crimond or Amazing grace)Epiphany 2; Psalm 139:1-5,12-18; John 1: 43-511.You search me out and know my soul,know when I sit or stand,and if I fall, no longer whole,your love will understand.2.You watch my path and whereContinue reading “You Search Me Out”
The Journey of the Wise
The Journey of the WiseEpiphany; Matthew 2:1-12There was a time when kings and queens were wiseand wisdom writings seen as Sacred Word;then Wisdom Woman, God in female guise,spoke at the crossroads and was widely heard.Young Solomon had prayed for wisdom’s sight;a wisdom school was fostered at his court,and foreign leaders came to share the lightContinue reading “The Journey of the Wise”
The Mountain (lyrics)
The Mountain (lyrics) sung to Aberystwyth by Joseph Parry or Hollingside by John Bacchus Dykes (tunes for Jesus, lover of my soul) Transfiguration; Matthew 17: 1-9 Climb this mountain path with me, lest I slip or lose my way. Show me vistas we can see when we’ve scaled the heights and pray. As I watch,Continue reading “The Mountain (lyrics)”
Passive Resistance
Passive Resistance Epiphany 7; Matthew 5:38-48 On mount or plain he teaches wisdom’s word: “When someone strikes you, turn the other cheek!” So counter-cultural, it seems absurd: how can he dare to claim: “Blessed are the meek?” You can’t defend your land if hands are slack. The law says: “Tooth for tooth and eye forContinue reading “Passive Resistance”
Salt of the Earth, Light of the World
Salt of the earth, light of the world Epiphany 5; Matthew 5:13-20 If we, like salt, bring savour, and conserve the earth, can we retain that quality? Will words that sparkle on the tongue preserve creation’s rights, and battle entropy? If we are light that’s set upon a hill, can we remain connected to aContinue reading “Salt of the Earth, Light of the World”
Blessed are Those, but What about Me?
Blessed are those, but what about me? Epiphany 4; Matthew 5:1-12 Ah! the Beatitudes! Why do I read them with unease? Do I flinch from the suffering, dare not claim the virtues? Can I see them as be-attitudes, sometimes experienced, often not, seldom attained by will and effort, their blessings paradoxical? Consider my poverty ofContinue reading “Blessed are Those, but What about Me?”
The Question of Call
The Question of Call Epiphany 3; Matthew 4:12-25 This inner urge, this outer nudge called “call” is hard to quantify or demonstrate, and having once said “yes”, that’s far from all. At times I do resist or remonstrate, pressed out and cut like pasta on a board, or wound around with tangled skeins of threadContinue reading “The Question of Call”
Barb, poet priest 