Word in the Hand

Gospel Mark 14:1-15:47 The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ I have no need for you to be perfect, for you are incomparable. -anon Palm Sunday always seems to invite me to look at the 'everybody else' of the Holy Week story. Trying to follow my feet and not live in expectation of either 'what I know' or 'what I would wish for' leads me to look at the edges - allowing myself to be distracted. Mark is not big on distraction; except when his Jesus is accusing others of it. His characters have their place and discretely fulfil their roles - Mark's focus is Jesus. Another feature of Mark is the pattern of threes; maybe it is simply a storyteller's device maybe it is linked to a triune truth trying to make itself known, But whether crossing the Galilee; evicting demons; feeding the many - all occur in this repeating, rythmic pattern giving seasons to Jesus' actions and deepening the intention, asking us to pay attention. In the Long G...

 Jesus falls the first time As you fall to the ground We see ourselves aquitted Our weakness – your downfall And easier for us to look down And see the shadow of slave  Fourth Station at  Brigid's Mantle wordinthehand2012

Jesus is condemned to death It is not just Pilate who condemns - Hands stretch out from the crowd Fingers point in accusation The cry ‘Crucify him!’ Who wants to take the risk Of setting Jesus free? They want the life more ordinary And so refuse to see Three fingers pointing back And the question ‘Do you know what you do?’ Second Station at  Brigid's Mantle wordinthehand2012

Gospel John 12:20-33  Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, ‘Sir, we should like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied to them: ‘Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life. If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him. Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father, save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’ A voice...

New Blog post - St Enda of Aran

Lindisfarne I haven't had a project for a while; although thoughts have been going through my head - I love the idea of a prayer book, a Book of Days, a dedication to the Celtic saints and spirit that I feel very much a part of and inspired by. Somewhere the blessings and writings that I do and those I have been fed by. For whatever reason, today, St Cuthbert's feast day, seems the day to stop procrastinating and start doing- maybe it's a part of the Lenten transformation - maybe it is just time. To concentrate my mind - there is a new blog  Brigid's Mantle  that I would like to invite you to. No doubt I will be linking from one to the other as they develop. Like Brigid, I hope that the words, images and videos will offer hospitality and blessing to all who pass by. wordinthehand2012

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere. Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But th...

Sunday Gospel John 3:14-21  East Window Rhug Chapel Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. No one who believes in him will be condemned; but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son. On these grounds is sentence pronounced: that though the light has come into the world men have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed; but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be...

Gospel John 2:13-25  Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said thi...

Gospel Mark 9:2-10  Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus: ‘Rabbi,’ he said ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.   As they came down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discu...