Daily reflections

[Deidre]

Since I've recently returned to the faith, I've recently returned to reading the Bible...with a different outlook, different set of eyes. Spiritual eyes? I found this website to help me get back into Bible reading, and I love the reflections that accompany it. The site is called http://www.christianaid.org.uk/resources/churches/daily-readings/

Thought it would be nice to post these here daily, and if you wish, we can discuss.

Matthew 6, 31-34
Something to read
Therefore do not worry, saying, "What will we eat?" or "What will we drink?" or "What will we wear?" For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 'So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today
New Revised Standard Version

Something to think about
We reach the end of this chapter and find Jesus summing up much that has just gone before. We've been taught the prayer that speaks of God's coming kingdom (verses 9-13). Now we are reminded just how much that kingdom is to be the home we seek and the home we know.

What then is this kingdom? How can we live in it whilst living in the world? For Jesus does not seem here to be calling us away from the world. We'll still face worry and troubles (verse 34). Reality will bite as deeply into our lives as it will into everyone else's. But the reality of the kingdom will be for us the key to unlock what living means.

It becomes, in the words of Jesus, a kingdom that means hoarding less. It is a kingdom within which security comes not by the things we possess and control, but by the depth of our trust in God. Praying the prayer of Jesus, following in the footsteps of Jesus, means allowing God to be God.

And this means trusting that God is good even when bad things happen, trusting that God is active even when God seems absent, trusting that God has overcome evil even when evil is done. None of which is easy. So often life will entice us into believing that God has let us down.

Or, even worse, let others down. Then it is that the depth of our trust, our citizenship of the kingdom, will be most tested.

Something to do
Think about a difficult situation you are caught up in right now. Perhaps you are facing a hardship of some sort. Perhaps there is sickness or sadness around you. Perhaps you see an injustice. Take time to simply hold that situation with God in prayer.

Try not to tell God what it is you demand that God does about it. Instead simply hold it, placing it into God's hands. What strikes you about trusting God in this moment? What is Jesus saying to you even now through these words from Matthew?

Something to pray
Dear God,
infinite in wisdom and love,
your world hurts.
Life is too hard and there are too many ways in which we do harm and get damaged.
Trusting you and your good purposes can be unbearable.
We who are so used to flicking the switch and receiving instant light struggle with mystery and trust in your unpredictable and sovereign grace.
Help us to heed Jesus here.
It matters what we build our lives upon.
It matters how we orientate ourselves upon the world's sea.
We need a compass to give us true course and assured arrival.
That is why you teach us of a kingdom not forged by ruthless force,
but ushered in through the birth of a baby and a death upon a cross.
Help us to trust, and to enter in to life.

 

[Deidre]

Today's reflection from the same site listed above. Happy Sunday to all!!

St Luke 2, 22 – 24
Something to read
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
New Revised Standard Version

Something to think about
Luke is the only Gospel writer to record the event of Jesus’ life in chronological order and experts consider him to be one of the most accurate historians of his day although by trade he was a medical doctor.

Whether intentionally or not, Luke seems to be combining two rites here. One is the purification of the mother following the birth of a child (Leviticus 12:1-8) and the other is the presentation in the temple a consecration and redemption of the firstborn signifying that the child is "holy to the Lord"

Luke makes it clear that Jesus, from the very beginning, is obedient to the Law of Moses. He also confirms the devotion of Joseph and Mary to the law, mentioning the law three times in verses 22-24 and again in verses 27 and 39.

The law then in question is highlighted in Exodus 13:2. This is in commemoration of the Passover, where firstborn Jewish males were spared death. The law also requires a sacrifice of "a year old lamb and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering".

However, there is a provision in the law for a woman who cannot afford a lamb. In that case, she is allowed to sacrifice two turtledoves or two pigeons.

Something to do
In today’s unequal world of the few who have much and the many who have too little, it seems fairness has little to do with affordability. In the time of the writings of Luke people traded commodities but today we trade in financial currency. If you are able help someone in need by donating, making a pledge or volunteering to help others in your community so that your action becomes your witness.

Something to pray
Prince of Peace
you were born into a world
where terror reigned and fear ruled
and live today in a world crucified by war.
Fill us with your passion for justice
that wherever we see evil about
we may live to disturb its path
and strive to build bridges of reconciliation.
In darkness, beckon us with your kindly light
that we never lose sight of your vision of peace
in which the lion lies down with the lamb

 

[Deidre]

The consolation of Israel

Luke 2:25-27
Something to read
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law.
New Revised Standard Version

Something to think about
Simeon has been anticipating this day in the temple for some time, he had been eagerly expecting to see the Messiah. But what is the 'consolation of Israel'? 'Consolation' is the Greek noun paraklesis, 'comfort, consolation'.

It comes from the root word parakaleo, 'call to one's side' then 'help, encourage and comfort'. In our passage Simeon is eagerly looking forward to the time when an occupied and weary Jerusalem receives her comfort and relief from the Lord, which was popularly expected to be brought about by the Messiah.

The Holy Spirit had made Simeon a promise. The message to Simeon is that he won't die until he has seen the Messiah. The phrase 'the Lord's Christ' means 'the Messiah promised, sent and provided by the Lord'.

Something to do
A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. How many promises have you made recently and kept? Today remember a broken or delayed promise and make good on it.

Something to pray
O Lord, O God
creator of all we know.
God is good and
his mercy endures forever.
Your promises are never broken
and your people are not forgotten.
Help us to remember
your promises to a broken world.
Give me the strength
and courage to stand
renewed and refreshed to serve.

 

[Deidre]

Today's reading

St Luke 2, 28 – 32
Something to read
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'

New Revised Standard Version

Something to think about
Today is Candlemas. The day commemorates the ritual purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of her son Jesus. This day also marks the ritual presentation of the baby Jesus to God in the Temple at Jerusalem. Simeon held the baby Jesus and called him a Light to the World.

Here we read the absolute Sovereign has kept his promise to Simeon, who now asks the Lord to let him die in peace. In the prophetic praise that follows, Jesus is equated with 'your salvation'.

It is not accidental that Jesus' name, in Hebrew Yeshua (a form of the name 'Joshua'), means literally, 'salvation'. So Simeon looks on the child named 'Salvation' and says, 'my eyes have seen your salvation...'

It is remarkable that Simeon sees Jesus' salvation as extending to all people - Gentiles and Jews alike. This is the same message the angel spoke to the shepherds on Christmas night: 'I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people' (Luke 2:10).

Something to do
When was the last time you heard good news? Maybe it was a wedding announcement, a birthday or a new job. We all want and wish for good news. The Gospel message tells us Jesus is good news to all people, especially the poor.

Today make your own good news happen - reconnect with a neighbour, work colleague or school friend and let them know you care.

Something to pray
Lord Christ, set me on fire
Burn for me all that dims your light
Kindle an answering flame in lives around;
That darkness may be driven back into this world
Transforming it with love.

 

[Deidre]

St Luke 2, 33 – 35
Something to read
And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul too."
New Revised Standard Version

Something to think about
Simeon's message to Mary outlines a couple of things:

1. How people respond to Jesus and his message will determine their destiny. Many of Jesus' contemporaries receive his message and are saved, but the religious community, by and large, can't bring themselves to believe that Jesus can be God's Messiah.

2. Through the Holy Spirit, Simeon can see the deep anguish that Mary will feel as her son is rejected by the nation's leaders and ultimately crucified.

No doubt both Joseph and Mary are, as any parents would be, in awe of the blessing being spoken over them and of Jesus. This family was definitely united.

Something to do
Today our understanding of a traditional family is changing. The UK Statistics Authority states the total number of families reached 17.9 million in 2011. This number is made up of married couples, lone mothers and cohabiting couples.

Overseas the numbers are millions more. One way you can help poor families is by supporting a fair taxation system that will benefit the people of developing countries. Christian Aid is leading on this through its Trace the Tax campaign. Take an action herewww.christianaid.org.uk

Something to pray
O God, to those who have hunger
give bread,
and to us who have bread
give the hunger for justice.

 

[Deidre]

Something for today

Lamentations 1, 1 – 7
Something to read
How lonely sits the city
that once was full of people!
How like a widow she has become,
she that was great among the nations!
She that was a princess among the provinces
has become a vassal.

She weeps bitterly in the night,
with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers
she has no one to comfort her;
all her friends have dealt treacherously with her,
they have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile with suffering
and hard servitude;
she lives now among the nations,
and finds no resting-place;
her pursuers have all overtaken her
in the midst of her distress.

The roads to Zion mourn,
for no one comes to the festivals;
all her gates are desolate,
her priests groan;
her young girls grieve,
and her lot is bitter.

Her foes have become the masters,
her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has made her suffer
for the multitude of her transgressions;
her children have gone away,
captives before the foe.

From daughter Zion has departed
all her majesty.
Her princes have become like stags
that find no pasture;
they fled without strength
before the pursuer.

Jerusalem remembers,
in the days of her affliction and wandering,
all the precious things
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the foe,
and there was no one to help her,
the foe looked on mocking
over her downfall.

Something to think about
The Book of Lamentations, sitting firmly in the middle of the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible, laments the fall of Jerusalem and the beginning of the Babylonian captivity. The Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem lasted from 589 BC until 587 BC.

It left the city devastated, the palace and Temple in ruins, many dead and many others taken as prisoners to Babylon. The bitter aftermath of war included a terrible famine, the loss or exile of loved ones, the challenges of reconstruction and, most of all, a pervasive sense of spiritual abandonment.

The survivors left in Jerusalem feared that God had turned against them or even forgotten them altogether. The five poems that make up the book of Lamentations are an anguished cry by a stricken people expressing the grief and horror of war.

Each poem contains several elements: a series of complaints, a statement of guilt, a cry for God's help and a petition against enemies. But there are none of the statements of praise conventionally found in psalms of lament (eg, Psalm 22) in any of the poems.

Perhaps the burden of their sorrow was so heavy that they could not find any words of praise. Yet this is not a people who have turned altogether from God - their form of lament, which is a public, liturgical voicing of pain, is in itself a cry to God.

Deepening the sense of despair is the use of a dirge, or death wail, used in funerals, in three of the poems. This is not just the death of individuals, or even a city, being mourned - it is the death of a nation.

It is not hard to hear in the poems of Lamentations the voices of the people of Haiti, who have suffered so greatly over more than two centuries, yet still cry out to God - and to us.

Something to do
Look and listen to Christian Aid’s Haiti pages on this website, especially the prayer reflection, and hold these people in your hearts and prayers.http://www.christianaid.org.uk/haiti

Something to pray
O Christ our true peace,
who felt the desolation of death
and the fear of abandonment
deliver us who also recognise the shape of desolation
and weep.

We pray for the people of Haiti.
Give us insight to see the structures of injustice by which we profit,
and grace to cherish all people in our vulnerability,
knowing that we all live within your love.
Amen

 

[Deidre]

Today's reading and reflections...different insight that what I might have taken from this...food for thought?

Lamentations 1, 12 – 16
Something to read
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
Look and see
if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
which was brought upon me,
which the Lord inflicted
on the day of his fierce anger.

From on high he sent fire;
it went deep into my bones;
he spread a net for my feet;
he turned me back;
he has left me stunned,
faint all day long.

My transgressions were bound into a yoke;
by his hand they were fastened together;
they weigh on my neck,
sapping my strength;
the Lord handed me over
to those whom I cannot withstand.

The Lord has rejected
all my warriors in the midst of me;
he proclaimed a time against me
to crush my young men;
the Lord has trodden as in a wine press
the virgin daughter Judah.

For these things I weep;
my eyes flow with tears;
for a comforter is far from me,
one to revive my courage;
my children are desolate,
for the enemy has prevailed.

Something to think about
Cities and countries are feminine grammatical forms in Hebrew, so it's perhaps understandable how biblical poets came to personify cities as female.

We do the same with our cities; there's a popular modern song called 'Mother Glasgow'. But it's important to be careful with this kind of poetic license.

Theologically, Lamentations explains the disaster that befell the community in terms of the people's sin and infidelity. This, and not God's failure, brought tragedy.

Daughter Zion stands for the whole people, not just the women. Though the story is told through images of female guilt, impurity and humiliation, it would be a travesty of justice to therefore conclude that it was only, or even primarily, women who were sinful and unfaithful.

Casual or careless or self-interested interpretation of such biblical language has led, over generations, to the projection of all kinds of fears and blame onto women, often with disastrous consequences for the women.

As daughter Zion laments her suffering in this passage, she describes herself in language that today calls to mind the circumstances of abused women across the world.

She blames herself for the actions of her tormentor, one whom she trusted. She has no self-worth left. When we speak of real women and not symbolically of cities, this language is painful and illuminating.

Under the Taliban, women and girls in Afghanistan were banned from education, and leaving the house without a male family member. Today they remain marginalised and poor.

An estimated one in three women is subject to emotional, physical or sexual abuse and only 13% of women are able to read and write.

Christian Aid and its partners in Afghanistan work with women to protect and enshrine their rights and their children's rights, not only within the community but also in Afghan law.

Something to do
Spend some time thinking about the people you love and trust and often take for granted. Think especially about women who have been important in your life. Give thanks for them and, if you can, thank them personally.

Something to pray
Reconciling God, we give thanks
for women who have confronted warring powers, challenged violence
and offered the peace of Jesus Christ to all they met.
So we pray for a world that deals justly with its most vulnerable members,
especially those who experience gender violence, abuse and exploitation,
and for all who ask questions, protest injustice
and work for communities in which all may live in peace
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer

 

[Deidre]

Today's reading, enjoy.

Lamentations 3, 22 – 30
Something to read
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
‘therefore I will hope in him.’

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for one to bear
the yoke in youth,
to sit alone in silence
when the Lord has imposed it,
to put one’s mouth to the dust
(there may yet be hope),
to give one’s cheek to the smiter,
and be filled with insults.

Something to think about
People in pastoral ministry learn about the stages of grief; shock, denial, anger, deep sadness.

There is wisdom in these words from Lamentations; they remind us that there are times when it is good to sit alone silently, laying down all the busyness, noise and distraction we use to defend ourselves from the experience and painful emotions of deep grief, regret, guilt, loss.

For by the grace and deliverance of God, if we make space to name and lament what we have lost, to repent hurts we have caused, there comes a time when we are able to let go of clinging to a broken past and move forward into new life.

Climate change is bringing about great natural and human catastrophe and suffering.

In the last 35 years alone, the human species has destroyed one-third of its non-renewable resources. We are losing around 10,000 species of life every year. In the west, perhaps we are somewhere between denial and anger with regard to climate change.

But the sadness will come, as it has for those who have either experienced or studied in depth the scale of what is happening. Such immense sorrow can have a paralysing effect.

The biblical tradition of lamentation – the public voicing of pain - is one important way in which people in huge crisis have responded and sought to find a way through their disempowerment.

The poems of the book of Lamentations are still used today in both Jewish and Christian liturgy. They have allowed people to name their loss, their complicity and their fear, to turn passive despair into active mourning and to release the energy trapped in maintaining denial into energy for action and change.

Lamentation has been an important aspect of all movements for justice, peace and freedom.

Something to do
Spend some time in silence thinking about all humankind has lost in the last 35 years. Let yourself feel the sadness of that. Offer it up.

Something to pray
Lord, by the glories of your creation, which we did not devise,
by the assurance of your freeing us, which we could not accomplish,
By the wind of your Spirit, fanning our faith to flame,
fill us with life anew.
George MacLeod, adapted

 

[Deidre]

Today...

Lamentations 3, 40 – 48

Something to read

Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands
to God in heaven.
We have transgressed and rebelled,
and you have not forgiven.

You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
killing without pity;
you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
so that no prayer can pass through.
You have made us filth and rubbish
among the peoples.

All our enemies
have opened their mouths against us;
panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and destruction.
My eyes flow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of my people.

Something to think about
Sometimes words fail us. Mouths open but minds don’t engage. This happens when we’re experiencing extreme emotions, pain or bewilderment. It’s at these times we often need someone else’s words to give expression to something too difficult for us to talk about.

Lamentations is a series of acrostic poems and a psalm at the end completing the work. An acrostic poem has the first letter of each sentence either spelling out a message or, as in Lamentations, running through the alphabet.

This form of writing was used to help people memorise the text. The author of Lamentations uses this literary device to help the people make full confession and repentance of the sins that they had committed that they believed had brought about the destruction of Jerusalem.

A similar idea is behind church liturgy. When we are taking part in a church service we may also use another’s words when making confession together. This helps us to be clear about the sin we’ve committed and our need for forgiveness, both individually and corporately.

Something to do
In your worship today, join in with the spirit of Lamentations. Make your confession together with those with whom you share worship, as the church seeks to ‘…examine our ways, and return to the Lord.’

Something to pray
Lord God
We have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your love.
Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

 

[Deidre]

Happy Valentine's day

Lamentations 3, 49 – 57
Something to read
My eyes will flow without ceasing,
without respite,
until the Lord from heaven
looks down and sees.
My eyes cause me grief
at the fate of all the young women in my city.

Those who were my enemies without cause
have hunted me like a bird;
they flung me alive into a pit
and hurled stones on me;
water closed over my head;
I said, ‘I am lost.’

I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit;
you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear
to my cry for help, but give me relief!’
You came near when I called on you;
you said, ‘Do not fear!’

Something to think about
Lamentations starts with Jerusalem figuratively described as a sad and lonely widow. In our passage for today the writer grieves over what’s happened to the young women of the city. It’s always those who are the most vulnerable who are hit hardest at times of crisis.

Christian Aid focuses strongly on gender and the role of women in poverty eradication. This is because the majority of the world’s poor are women, with certain groups particularly vulnerable to poverty, such as women farmers, migrants and women with disabilities.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, even though women are major producers of food crops, in most of the world women lag well behind men in ownership of agricultural land and access to income from land.

Christian Aid works in Afghanistan to help women gain access to employment and education, as well as protecting their rights.

Our partner, the Skills Training and Rehabilitation Society (STARS) was established in 1997, and has been a Christian Aid partner since 2007. Their mission is to provide support to vulnerable groups of Afghan society for social and economic development, particularly for women.

Something to do
Read about Christian Aid’s work in Afghanistan, including the work of STARS.



Something to pray
God of boundless love,
Pour your blessing on all who the world reject,
All who are stigmatised
by gender, race, religion, profession, sexuality or health.
Work through us to give them dignity.
And when we are complicit
in systems that demean or stigmatise others,
Heal us and make us whole.

 

[Thief]

with respect.....am I allowed to join you in these moments?

 

[Deidre]

with respect.....am I allowed to join you in these moments?

Of course, please do Thief.

 

[Deidre]

This is today's reading, and reflection...
The climate change comment in the prayer below...not sure I pray quite like that anymore. As though God is waiting for enough prayers to change the climate? I rather pray that God gives us all strength during our times of struggle. Not that there is a right or wrong way 'to' pray, and not that I don't believe in miracles, I do. But, sometimes, I find those types of prayers to be so whimsical...and without real meaning.

Lamentations 5, 31 – 39
Something to read
Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
look, and see our disgrace!
Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to aliens.
We have become orphans, fatherless;
our mothers are like widows.
We must pay for the water we drink;
the wood we get must be bought.
With a yoke on our necks we are hard driven;
we are weary, we are given no rest.
We have made a pact with Egypt and Assyria,
to get enough bread.
Our ancestors sinned; they are no more,
and we bear their iniquities.

Something to think about
The last chapter of Lamentations resembles the Psalms of communal lament, such as Psalms 44 and 80, in which similar corporate language is used to speak to God of the people’s shame and desperate need for deliverance.

In our passage, the writer of Lamentations describes the people of Judah as orphans and widows; figures that throughout scripture stand for those who are the poorest of the poor.

These are those who have been left behind in Judah and have become a dispossessed people forced to work for others to survive. They struggle to eke out an existence and are forced to pay for basics, like water and wood, that before would have been their own.

In Bangladesh, where virtually the entire population is precariously perched just above sea level, predicted rises would leave millions displaced and dispossessed.

There is, quite literally, nowhere for them to go. Already, families have to move every couple of years, as increased melt water from the Himalayan glaciers sweeps their land and fragile livelihoods away.

Without concerted efforts to alleviate these effects, say the experts, we can forget about making poverty history – climate change is set to make it permanent.

Something to do
When you next take a drink today, pause for a moment to remember that there are millions living with the threat of having everything they’ve ever known washed away, and then pray for quick and effective action on climate change.

Something to pray
Compassionate God, make your loving presence felt to refugees, torn from home, family and everything familiar. Warm, especially, the hearts of the young, the old, and the most vulnerable among them.

Help them know that you accompany them as you accompanied Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in their exile to Egypt. Lead refugees to a new home and a new hope, as you led the Holy Family to their new home in Nazareth.

Open our hearts to receive them as our sisters and brothers in whose face we see your son, Jesus. Amen.

 

[Thief]

I look to the heavens and consider how much intent is needed to bring the universe into being....
I look about me and the earth is filled with life of all forms....
and wonder what kind of God would manage such diversity.

I see the scheme of things that life is dealt to the extreme of survival...
and some day....
I will die.

and so....I drink every drink and breathe every breath.

 

[Deidre]

That's beautiful, @Thief

Today's reflection;

John 2, 1-5
Something to read

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
New Revised Standard Version

Something to think about
This is a precious, precious story. We are allowed to eavesdrop on a conversation between Jesus and his mother. And is it too much to suppose that Jesus, surrounded by his disciples, still has something to learn?

Jesus has things organised, at least in his head: his mission lies ahead, his destiny awaits. Mary – because she’s a woman, because she’s a mother – has no time for grand plans. ‘They have no wine.’

Awkwardness and embarrassment are about to descend on their hosts. She doesn’t know what Jesus will do, but knows that the situation demands that he do something.

This is the woman we honour for the way she accepted God without question: the Theotokos, ‘God bearer’. We see that acceptance again here, but there’s nothing passive about it. Mary’s strength leaps out of the page.

If she argued or pleaded with Jesus, it would show doubt and uncertainty. As it is, she ignores him, turning to the servants: ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ What a woman!

Something to do
If you are able to, contact your mother and tell her how much you owe her. If that’s impossible – and there are plenty of good reasons why it might be – try to be more attuned to the sorts of things mothers notice: domestic problems, potential embarrassments, ways in which you can help your neighbours.

Something to pray
If we consider ourselves servants of Christ, here are our orders: ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ If, as we see later this week, we are invited into his family, here is our model, too: we must know him as thoroughly as Mary does.

Lord, increase our faith so that it turns from hope into certainty. You have known us from the time we were formed in our mother’s womb. Allow us to know you, too. Amen

 

[Deidre]

Almost daily...lol


John 19, 23 – 27
Something to read

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says,
‘They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.’ And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
New Revised Standard Version

Something to think about
It was just another job. The rag-and-bone-men soldiers were intent on getting their share of the prisoners’ clothes, even if that meant tearing them up, unless that proved too difficult. Their indifference haunts scenes of torture and execution down the ages.

It is contrasted here with the loving concentration bestowed on the dying Christ by his mother and the handful of friends brave enough to attend the crucifixion.

Just as he did with his disciples when he told them to love one another, Jesus redirects their loving gaze to one another. Even in his agony, his concern is for them.

As Jesus places his grieving mother in the care of one of his disciples, he demonstrates what he was doing when he blurred the dividing line between his followers and his biological family.

Something to do
How different our society would be if, when somebody lost a partner, child, or parent, their friends stepped in and supplied their wants. ‘Here is your son, mother, etc’ Don’t leave bereaved people to flounder.

Please contact anybody you know who is mourning — especially when the first few weeks have passed, and the support and care have dropped away — and offer them your love.

Something to pray
Lord, we pray that we might be spared the horror of untimely bereavement and loss. Make us more active members of your family, the church, so that we can comfort those who mourn. Amen

 

[Thief]

and God said to the angelic.....Man is less than you...therefore
seek after him that he dash not his toe nor his head
One third of the angelic said nay.
that Man is less, He should be made to serve us.

there is nothing wrong with that logic.

we humans do so unto everything less than ourselves.

we saddle and bridle the horse....break his spirit
and he takes us wherever we desire to go.

the dog would hunt in packs...hunt at will
but we take from him his freedom and chain him
and forbid he bite the hand that feeds him
we expect his loyalty.

we cage little birds for their love songs.
there will no nest no offspring.
he will never have the mate he sings for....
he will die in solitude

we do unto the lesser life as we see fit
even unto each other.

a fight broke out....brother angel against brother angel.
swords drawn
and one third of heaven lost their positions for an argument....
for something that looks like us.

I suspect they want us dead.

two thirds of heaven lost their brothers for an argument over something that looks like.....us
they might no longer care.

and that we think we might sit at the Table....
and break bread among the angelic
walk among heaven as if we belong there.....

 

[Deidre]

You like how you process this, Thief...I like your thinking.

 

[Thief]

you're welcome

 

[Thief]

and then I consider...
to whom do we bear resemblance?

is it not the one third who fell?
that we dominate all things less than ourselves....including each other