Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Day


May the babe born in Bethlehem
gift you with wonder;
the carpenter apprenticed in Nazareth
gift you with purpose;
the miracle-worker of Capernaum
gift you with wholeness;
the sacrifice on Golgotha
gift you with forgiveness;
and the prince of Heaven
gift you with hope eternal.
Amen.

Happy Christmas!


,

Monday, December 24, 2007

Advent 23 | Christmas Eve


This baby
will not stay wrapped in cloth and
lying in a borrowed manger:
for there is a life story
to grow into…

This man
will not stay wrapped in cloth and
lying in a borrowed tomb:
for there is a life story
to grow into…


Sunday, December 23, 2007

Advent 22


When Jesus is born,
the amniotic sac is torn:
the thin veil between
anticipation of this world
and intimate knowing of it.

But, uniquely, this is a virgin birth;
and so, uniquely, the hymen is also torn:
the thin veil between
anticipation of the bridegroom
and intimate knowing of the bride.

When Jesus dies,
the curtain in the temple is torn:
the thin veil between
anticipation of God’s presence
and intimate knowing of his glory.

And when he comes again?
The heavens shall be torn:
the thin veil between
anticipation of God’s reign
and intimate knowing of it.


Saturday, December 22, 2007

Advent 21


When I am with my newly-met college friends, who I am growing to love, I feel the absence of my wife.

And when I am at home with my wife, who, still after all these years, I am growing to love, I feel the absence of my college friends.

It is not that when I am with my friends I wish I were with my wife instead; or that when I am with my wife I wish I was with my friends instead; as if I were perpetually unable to live in the moment.

It is that being in the presence of one you love is a weightless experience [1] [2]. Whereas being in the absence of one you love is a weighty experience.

To bear the
wait
is to choose
to bear the
weight.

Come, Lord Jesus!


[1] we understand this most clearly in relation to romantic love, where we even speak of the sensation of “walking on air”
[2] as opposed to being in the presence of one you fear, which is a heavy burden


Friday, December 21, 2007

Advent 20


The next day [John the baptiser] saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’
John 1:29; 35, 36

What is the nature of John’s testimony?
It is not to describe what he has seen: Jesus is a man, not a sheep.
It is not even to ascribe a theological interpretation to what he has seen – as we might say if a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion were to say, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’
No, John’s testimony is a perceiving of
how something that has yet to happen
impacts upon the here-and-now.

Seeing is nothing.
Perceiving is everything.


Thursday, December 20, 2007

Advent 19


Through incarnation, God’s creative
Word
Was and is reconciled to the created
World,
In order that the created
World
Is and will be reconciled to God’s creative
Word.


Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Advent 18



The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not apprehend||comprehend it.
John 1:5


Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Advent 17


What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
John 1:3b, 4 NRSV

Darkness has no texture.
Night is rich in texture,
precisely because night is not
devoid of light:
moonlight,
starlight,
firelight,
candle-light.
Even the deepest blues
and purples add texture
only because of light.

Existence has no texture.
Life is rich in texture,
precisely because life is not
devoid of light:
the glory
of God’s presence
at home
in human flesh.
Even the deepest blues
and purples add texture
only because of light.

Life is to existence
as night is to darkness.


Monday, December 17, 2007

Advent 16


One of the great Christmas traditions is flicking through the film guide in the TV listings, and anticipating what you intend to watch – chance would be a fine thing! – over the holiday…

There will, undoubtedly, be a gluttonous spread of action/thrillers on the menu. And a recurring plot device in such stories is the principle that:
the best place to hide something
you don’t want to be noticed
is out in the open;
the best place to meet someone
without being observed
is in a busy public space.

The same principle is at play in the Gospels:
Jesus is the secret,
present but hidden in the open;
seen, with unseeing eyes, by everyone;
eluding the grasp of enemies
and would-be allies alike;
passed over.

But the viewer has a privileged position:
we do not lose sight of the hero,
swallowed by the crowd at the station…
not for long, at any rate:
look, there he is!

And what of Jesus?


Sunday, December 16, 2007

Advent 15


Might we catch a glimpse of God coming to us today…
…in the busyness of getting ready for
Christmas?


Saturday, December 15, 2007

Advent 14


Might we catch a glimpse of God coming to us today…
…in the ache-weight of bereavement,
sitting with us, weeping with us,
where another sits no more?


Friday, December 14, 2007

Advent 13


Might we catch a glimpse of God coming to us today…
…in the unguarded face of a friend?


Thursday, December 13, 2007

Advent 12


Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.

Liturgy from Common Worship, Morning Prayer in Advent


Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Advent 11


Watching and waiting:

For though we await the age to come,
the life of the age to come
has already begun
within the present age…


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Advent 10


Are you in, or out?

A bastard: Out.
Born beyond the margin of human society,
where the animals shelter: Out.
Acknowledged by unreliable witnesses –
sheep herders, geriatrics, women, foreigners: Out.
Political refugee: Out.
Didn’t go to the right school: Out.
From the wrong place: Out.
Welcomes sinners: Out.
Touches those whose touch defiles: Out.
Breaks the Rules: Out.
Beyond the wall: Out.
Hung on a cross: Out.
Cursed by God: Out.

Are you in, or out?


Monday, December 10, 2007

Advent 9


Rumours,
hovering on the borderland
between what is un/perceivable
to eye and ear…

“He who is without beginning has begun!”

“He who is immortal is risen to life!”

“He who is without end will bring to completion!”

Rumours,
hovering on the borderland
between what is un/perceivable
to eye and ear…


Sunday, December 09, 2007

Advent 8


Hair matted
body splattered with
congealing blood
screwing up the courage
to draw breath
attended to by women
(the men at safe distance
in the shadows)
King of the Jews

WE SHALL SEE
THIS LAMB AGAIN


Saturday, December 08, 2007

Advent 7


Hair matted
body splattered with
congealing blood
screwing up the courage
to draw breath
attended to by women
(the men at safe distance
in the shadows)
King of the Jews

WE SHALL SEE
THIS LAMB AGAIN


Friday, December 07, 2007

Advent 6


My soul is waiting for you, O Lord:
in your word is my hope.
My soul is waiting for you, O Lord: in your word is my hope.
There is forgiveness with you,
so that you shall be feared.
In your word is my hope.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
My soul is waiting for you, O Lord: in your word is my hope.
from Psalm 130

Liturgy from Common Worship, Evening Prayer in Advent


Thursday, December 06, 2007

Advent 5 | Feast of St Nicholas


Nicholas, early C4th Bishop of Myra:
miracle-worker;
renowned for secret acts of generosity;
adopted by sailors as their patron saint,
and carried by them to Amsterdam;
from there, as Sancte Claus,
carried onwards to New Amsterdam,
which, in turn, became New York;
from where,
dressed now in red with white fur trim,
relocated to the North Pole,
emerges Santa Claus:
for whom the children,
wide-eyed,
wait up watching…


Almighty Father, lover of souls,
who chose your servant Nicholas
to be a bishop in the Church,
that he might give freely out of the treasures of your grace:
make us mindful of the needs of others
and, as we have received, so teach us also to give;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Collect for today, from Common Worship


Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Advent 4


May the Lord, when he comes,
Find us watching and waiting.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Liturgy from Common Worship, Morning and Evening Prayer in Advent


Watching and waiting
Light and darkness
Presence and absence
(Absence and presence)
(Darkness and light)
(Waiting and watching)

Advent is
the recognition of God’s presence,
Immanuel, God with us:

Advent is
the recognition of God’s absence,
Ascended, coming again in glory:

Watch without waiting,
wait without watching,
and you miss the
moment
(the image revealed
when presence and absence
are juxtaposed)



Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Advent 3


Now it is time to awake out of sleep,
for the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed,
for the night is far spent.
Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness
and put on the armour of light,
for the day is at hand.
Put on the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision for the flesh,
for the night is far spent and the day is at hand.

From Romans 13

Liturgy from Common Worship, Morning Prayer in Advent


Sunday, December 02, 2007

Advent 1


Light and dark.
Light and dark.
The gospel accounts are full of light and dark.
Events that happen at night, under the cover of darkness:
Jesus, walking on the water, his disciples terrified;
Jesus, sought out in secret by Nicodemus;
Jesus, arrested, illegally; tried, illegally;
Jesus, crucified, the sky turned dark in the middle of the day…

Blind men, who see…
…men who can see, who are blind.

And Jesus’ words about himself:
revealing and concealing his identity
in the same moment.
Light and dark.

I thought that it was clear:
That for those who believed, this was
revelation;
and for those who did not believe, this was
concealment.

But I was wrong.
The contrast is not between
those who walk in darkness and cannot see,
and those who walk in the light, and can.
The contrast is between
those who walk in darkness and cannot see,
and those who are blinded by the light, and walk by faith not sight…


The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
On those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2