Word in the Hand

Ephesians 6:10 - 20 Finally, grow strong in the Lord, with the strength of his power. Put God’s armour on so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness in this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens. That is why you must rely on God’s armour, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground. So stand your ground, with truth buckled round your waist, and integrity for a breastplate, wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace and always carrying the shield of faith so that you can use it to put out the burning arrows of the evil one. And then you must accept salvation from God to be your helmet and receive the word of God from the Spirit to use as a sword. Pray all the time, asking for what you need, praying in the Spirit on every possible occ...

Luke 13:22 - 30 Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. ‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men !” ‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. ‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, an...

Feast Day - 28th October - Ss Simon and Jude A short devotional to one of my patron saints - my mother has spent her life praying to St Jude (saint of the last resort) on my behalf - I almost feel we are family. Strangely Jude was also called Thaddaeus, a perfectly good name which would make you wonder why the church would give him his other name which everyone mixes up with Judas Escariot - giving rise to one of the theories as to why 'the last resort' - trouble with names is mud sticks - and you can well imagine that people would not wish to be heard praying to the person who betrayed Jesus, so if you had to pray to Jude it would be a last resort. Another idea comes from the missionary work that he and his friend Simon did. They were out in Mesopotamia and Persia preaching to the pagans and taming tigers. Back in Jerusalem there were early Christians wishing to speak with the original Apostles not the disciples (you know the type who only ever want the priest). As the Apost...

Matthew 22:34 - 40 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’ The whole basis of Christian teaching in possibly the most famous few words of the Gospel. It appears that Jesus has made everything simple for us - don't worry about those 600-odd rules of Judaic living; don't even worry about the Ten Commandments; just do these two things - that's all I ask. The trouble with simple stuff is it doesn't leave you with any room for manoeuvre. We know what Jesus means when he says 'neighbour' - everyone you ever meet, everyone on the pla...

Luke 12:36 - 38 Jesus said:‘Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.’ So often we have God wrong; even when we have convinced ourselves that he is really not the nasty judgemental God from our early days; even when we accept that God is about Love; we still don't know the half of it. The scenario in this Gospel is ridiculous; the servants alert and attentive when the master comes are more likely to find themselves thrown into a frenzy of feeding, bathing and banking up fires. For when a master arrives home in the middle of the night you would not expect to find him at his most sociable. But this is not God. God finding us at our posts, ready and ...

Ephesians 2:1 - 10 You were dead through the crimes and the sins in which you used to live when you were following the way of this world, obeying the ruler who governs the air the spirit who is at work in the rebellious. We all were among them too in the past, living sensual lives, ruled entirely by our own physical desires and our own ideas; so that by nature we were as much under God’s anger as the rest of the world. But God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus. This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim t...

Matthew 22:15 - 21 Then the Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap him in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ Well, it's good to know that Jesus knew a back-handed compliment when he heard one; and a trick question when it's posed. There's quite a bit to be aware of when you are talking money in the Gospel. And fr...

Luke 10:1 - 9 The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.” Jesus has given up trying to do it all himself. As fast as he is healing in one village he...

Luke 11:29.32 The crowds got even bigger and Jesus addressed them, ‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’ Jesus cures a man (they're not impressed) they praise his mother (he's not impressed) but he's providing enough entertainment, causing enough controversy to draw a massive crowd. And now, with them in the palm of his hand, does Jesus reassure them of their place as the chosen people, does he unite them against...

Matthew 22:1 - 14 Jesus began to speak to them in parables once again, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and t...

Luke 11:27 - 28 Now as Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’ Surely a contender for the shortest Gospel in the year. And, as many of the writings that mention Mary, fairly dismissive of Jesus' mother. What must the Marian devotees think? For today, Mary is often celebrated as almost an equal to the Trinity - Queen of Heaven - and here in one of her special months she is somewhat slighted in her role as a mother. Or is she? For Jesus' reply rejoices in those who hear and obey God's word, and surely that is what Mary did? Of course she did, but she was not just a production unit acquired by an angel, her obedience to God did not end with Jesus' growth into manhood. It is clear that she accompanied him in his ministry - for it really wasn't just the Lord and twelve apostles walking the dusty roads of the Ga...

Luke 11:15 - 26 In front of the crowd Jesus casts out a demon from a man who couldn't speak. This isn't his first healing; there must be plenty of people in the crowd who have seen him work, maybe some he has healed and yet even if they don't quite believe he is God can they joyfully accept at least that his gifts comes from God? Can they heck. 'Yes it looks good, but it's a trick', 'Is that it?', If he can get demons to do that, he must work for the devil himself.' Sometimes we just don't know how to say thank-you. It seems that the human condition expects for glasses to be half-empty - 'Well I am healthy but I could be prettier', 'I am well-off but I could be rich', I am loved but I could be lusted after'. There must be a demon called But . We need to get rid of ' But '. One of the favoured teachings of spirituality today (through Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr) is the idea of being present in the present. At this mome...

Luke 11:5-13 Today's Gospel typically supports the idea of petitioning prayer - basically asking God to do stuff for us - and we have made a real speciality out of this sort of prayer; from Novenas to bidding prayers at Mass, we say to God ' Give us what we think we want and we'll be fine and very grateful.' 'Well, gee thanks,' God must think ' if only it was that easy.' It would be different if we had the God's eye view of the world, Time, relationship and consequence but unfortunately only God has that omniscient outlook. Only He can juggle not only life's pathway for one person but the whole cat's cradle of everyone who has, who is and who will ever live. Loving and caring for us not equally but unique-ally - and we tell Him what's best! Yet Jesus does tell us to pray and to be persistent in our prayers. Perhaps though prayer is meant to be more than a shopping list, perhaps instead of nagging God we need to be reassuring Him of our lo...

We all have an image of God; it amazes me how we ever manage to believe in an almighty, all-powerful ever-living God, when that image is usually one of an old man with a white beard. But stranger yet is the image that Jesus give us in today's Gospel. Here we have a thirty-odd year old man, who knows he's the Second Person of the Trinity talking to God the Father, with love and trust, as a toddler would talk to his Daddy (as the word Abba really means) and inviting all of us to do the same. No ritualistic gestures or long words. A simple prayer - Dad, you are wonderful and I hope everything goes your way. Help me to care for others, even those I don't like. And look after me. Thanks And as that's the Father God I want to believe in, here is my prayer Lord, I am nothing, if I am not Yours Yours to love with a father’s pride, Yours to love with a mother’s care. And here I am, an adoring child Reckless in the security of that love. Confident that whenever I fall I can lift ...

It doesn't seem that long since this was my first start, only beginning blogging in February 2008. It was a big step for someone brought up as a Liverpool/Irish cradle Catholic inbred with a fear and reverence for the Roman church, personified by the parish priest, but not much knowledge of God and not particularly expected to have or voice an opinion about their faith. But new beginnings aren't limited to blog sites and over the years I have learnt a bit about priests, more than I would sometimes like about the Church, and lots (but never enough) about God. Today's Gospel story was Luke's account of Martha and Mary which, considering it is only about 120 words long, tends to haunt me on lots of different levels and probably tells you a lot about where I am 'coming from'. On one (not all) of its levels this is a woman's gospel, particularly if you are a Catholic, because this says a lot about the attitude to (and often by) women and their role in the church....