Word in the Hand

The Beatitudes Gospel of Matthew And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The Beatitudes are one of the most well known of Jesus...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Acts 2:14 ‘Then Peter stood up’ Reflection The crowd thought we had been drinking - it was an easy mistake to make- in fact it wouldn’t have been totally out of the question. It was festival after all. We had been cooped up in hiding for so long a drink would have been welcome; and we did have a reputation for drinking and enjoying ourselves even when the Lord was with us. And Peter was always in the thick of that. And that’s it really – that’s what gives it away – Peter was thick. Not stupid, just one of those practical men who talks with his hands – wants to do stuff not talk about it - puts his foot in it when he does. Fishermen don’t do too much talking, don’t go to Temple, don’t know scripture - don’t like crowds or people much. And Peter was still like that, never liked the Lord being surrounded by the crowds, couldn’t cope with miracles and had barely forgiven himself for what had hap...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians 2:14 ‘in Christ, God leads us from place to place’ Reflection You have to ask yourself; what would you do if you had just risen from the dead? After all you had gone through and suffered –then to return to those people you thought were friends; who had said that they would stand by you and didn’t. Who had seemed to understand and didn’t. Would you be walking in the dust and dirt of a country road; would you be eating fish; would you be cooking fish? Almost the absurdity of this proves that Jesus is not just human – our pride, our ego would not have allowed us to do this; our feeling of superiority would have got the better of us. At the very least, we would have floated gracefully above the ground, a banquet would have been magicked out of thin air. We would have looked like the god we though we were. But if Jesus had done this; if the Christ that he became ha...

Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. John 20:14 Who are you looking for? Reflection How strange to be the only one here who mourns. Is it so easy to forget? Is our own safety so much more important? Those that said they would die with him – hiding behind shutters in darkened rooms. No matter, the whole world is dark to me now and I sit with just words of hope. The guards have left for their beds; they have had no need of their swords. But see; the stone rolled away. Will they have taken him? Will there be further humiliation to prove that we cannot stand against the Roman Empire? But where, where has he gone? A shadow crosses my eye line; perhaps one of the others, perhaps a gardener. Perhaps not a gentleman – to ask so starkly ‘Who are you looking for?’ But he may be my only hope, so I reply and then - he speaks my name. Master, Rabbi, Lord, friend, my life, my heart – it is him – how could I not have seen, not recognised? But not him – or r...

Gospel John 3:1-8 There was one of the Pharisees called Nicodemus, a leading Jew, who came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God; for no one could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.’ Jesus answered: ‘I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said, ‘How can a grown man be born? Can he go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?’ Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God: what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above. The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’ And here is a Before the Resurrection, Resurrection story. The Lord telling us what happens w...

Gospel Luke 24:35-48 The disciples told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread. They were still talking about all this when he himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes. Then he told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in...

Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Luke 23:46 Father, into Your hands Reflection Why? I remember, Lord, the ‘Come and See’. Remember, I came; following, listening, learning. Full of joy, full of hope – the New Day was going to dawn, the Kingdom of God was near. I did not come to ‘see’ this, Lord; standing ankle deep in the waste of the city, tears streaming silently down my face, my mouth full of blood as I bite down on my tongue to stop myself from crying out. For I do not want these others to know that I know you. I don’t know you. The fear, the demons, the hopelessness is back and you are not here to save me. The crowd shouts out to you ‘Save yourself’ and I truly believe that you could – even now, you could. But it seems you are taking yourself out of this world. Your light is too bright for them and they have closed their eyes against it. What sort of plan was this? You had driven me here with the message of love and forgiveness. But wh...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Matthew 26:40 ‘Could you not watch with Me?’ Reflection Here we are, those that are left, at the foothills; the boundary between the desert and civilisation. Behind us miles of nothingness, scarifying winds and sand rubbing our bodies raw; emptying our minds of colour; the need to survive has taken away the desire for the world’s enticements. We are content that we simply live. Ahead of us, the next part of the journey; what seemed to be the goal but now I am not so sure; the well travelled road to the city gates then on to what lies beyond. What lies beyond? It’s not been that long, only a couple of weeks, but it seems a lifetime since he made the invitation ‘Come and See’. That’s what worries me now. His words always seem so simple, so obvious; ‘Love your neighbour’, ‘forgive’, ‘be as children’. Quiet words, tattooed onto your heart, impossible to ignore, impossible sometimes to obey. Sadn...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Ephesians 2:10‘For we are God’s work of art’ Reflection A wonderful phrase and how often do you hear the cynical or self-depreciating reply – Then I must be a Picasso! Why do we find it so difficult? We are amazed by God’s hand on the rest of creation, the millions of species; the thousands of galaxies; the myriad of wonders that science uncovers every day. We marvel at the idea that of all the snowflakes that have ever fell – ever – no two have been alike. And yet we refuse to acknowledge the wonder in ourselves; the children that God holds in his hand. Perhaps we have the wrong idea about art. We envisage it as something perfect, ideal, without blemish. Maybe if you are looking at an Ikea print for the living room you could apply those standards but not to Art with a capital A. Art is about communication, realisation, the need to create something outside normal definitions, the challenge to...

3rd Sunday of Lent John 2:13-24 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 th...

St Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians 13: 5-9 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourself regular check-ups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it; I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re desperate for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly be otherwise. We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives. Here St Paul gives us some reasoning behind the idea of the Lenten promise. As Christians, we all know somewhere inside that we are on a journey of faith, that we should be practicing and getting better at. But with all the other demands on our lives, all the other distractio...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Luke 2:34 ‘The pain of a sword-thrust through you.’ Reflection I know the image you have of me; young and beautiful, the contentment of motherhood showing on my face. My arms held wide in the openhearted gesture of a mother to all those who have been given to me. In the beginning, only he was given to me; he was the ‘Yes’ of my life, my heart and my soul. The ethereal otherness of him was wrapped in prophecy, his baby eyes were wide with the guileless love that my gaze returned. Our future lives were given into God’s care, to His Will. At the Temple I wore the simple veil of a proud, young mother, knowing that, despite the gossips, my child had every right to this moment, this presentation into his Father’s hands; confident that he would receive His blessing as I had been blessed. That Love was ours. Then Simeon’s words; the veil lifted to reveal an unwelcome truth – A reminder that love i...

Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. John 14:28 You've heard me tell you, 'I'm going away, and I'm coming back.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I'm on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life. Reflection If you loved me… How often have we heard that one? Normally just before an unacceptable or unbelievable request that seeks to undermine our place in a relationship. If you loved me… How could anyone not know that we do love them? What more can we do than we do? If you loved me… Surely if we loved anyone we would want what was best? We would want that person to be happy, safe, protected, ours. But there is a love that is stronger than ours. That sees through our need for possession; our need to measure a person’s happiness in comparison to our own; a love that is both freedom and commitment in equal measure. The love of the disciples asked for reassurance; guidance; availability...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. John8:9 Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ Reflection There was no other outcome. The evidence was unquestionable; the condemnation inevitable; judgement carved from the very rock the crowd held ready. I had all my excuses, I had been taken advantage of; my love was misdirected, I acted out of fear, naivety, foolishness. But it didn’t matter - no-one asked; no-one would have listened; in any case caught in the crowd’s savage gaze the words were stuck to the roof of my mouth. The truth hurt but was undeniable. I was guilty. And, strangely, there was release in that acceptance; surrender to the will of the people that held me standing there before them. It must have seemed a strange sight; a Greek tragedy frozen in tableau. Though what tale would have a Rabbi kneeling at the feet of a naked woman? Yet there he was -waiting for the people to c...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Mark6:3 (The Message) He's just a carpenter—Mary's boy Reflection I didn’t ask for this, you know. Well, maybe I did, in one of my prayers I might have asked God what he wanted me to do; what was the point of my life. Trouble is, so often, when we pray, we don’t really think he’s listening. After all, how many prayers do you think he gets, every day, every minute, every second? But I did ask him, and, it seems, he was listening and now - here I am- speaking to you. Words coming from nowhere; pouring out of a tiny bit of scripture that I had read and heard over and over again without comment, until today. This is what it is like, every day. Words; not my words – his. That’s why you hear them. That’s why they mean something to you too. I’m just the messenger. But for people who don’t want to listen; who am I? No even a member of the clergy; just a person in the pew; Joe Public; unquali...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Matthew 15:25-28 (New International Version) "Lord, help me!" she said. "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Reflection It wouldn’t have been the first time that my mouth had got me into trouble. The other women had been saying that for a long time. That’s why I’m alone. That’s why my only joy, my little girl, is cursed with a demon. Too much attitude; too sure of myself, not knowing my place. And I am, I am sure of my Self. My Self was not created to give in, to accept less than I could be, to bow down in defeat. My Self has responsibilities that I couldn’t deny; the demon was not just my daughter’s. I would remember my daughter in her quiet times watching the sun...

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (New King James Version) But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. Firstly, may I say that I have nothing against celibacy. In fact I am greatly in favour of healthy celibacy that supports a spiritual life. I know there are many reasons for the religious to be celibate, some better than others. Jesus was almost certainly celibate, but not all his his apostles were; there are people who kno...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. Romans 8:16 (The Message) We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. Reflection God’s desire is for us, all of us, to be with Him. The only thing we need to do is believe it too. We don’t have to listen to the man rules – we don’t have to make ourselves bad, guilty, ashamed – that is our judgement; not God’s. God knows we are human – we do human things – He made us – He loves us. With love, what parent has a child so perfect that they never make a mistake? With love, what parent disowns a child for a childish mistake? With love, what child does not learn from his mistakes? With love, what child does not expect to be forgiven? It is not making the mistake that is sinful, but the inability to admit our flaws or to ask for help. Because it is the helplessness, hopelessness of being in the wrong place that allows us to become that lost child who waits for God, our loving Fat...

Opening Prayer Here I am Lord, Listening Speak to me within my heart and soul. I am listening. John 1:36 ‘Come and See.’ Reflection I suppose I could have just answered the question but this is much more interesting. It’s a teaching method I picked up. My Father does it too. You are such curious children, so demanding, so full of questions. But there’s no point in giving you the answers because, lets be honest, most of the time you only want the answer that suits you. And I am not here just to suit you; to give you the higher ground; to make you feel superior. But I am here for you; to be your guide; your companion; your brother on the road. This invitation to come and see - it’s not like a travel programme on the television; filmed through a soft focus lens; a filtered blue sky; full of gorgeous images with a veneer of luxury to entice the eye. It’s not like a holiday brochure, photographed from the perfect angle; colour tinted to perfection. It’s not about image or imagery – pretendi...

Gospel 16 th January 2009 Mark 2:1-12 After a few days, Jesus returned to Capernaum , and word got around that he was back home. A crowd gathered, jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out. He was teaching the Word. They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. When they weren't able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, "Son, I forgive your sins." Some religion scholars sitting there started whispering among themselves, "He can't talk that way! That's blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins." Jesus knew right away what they were thinking, and said, "Why are you so sceptical? Which is simpler: to say to the paraplegic, 'I forgive your sins,' or say, 'Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking'? Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and authorised to do either...