Divine Journey

Just like those few you journeyed with that night
We may want to claim our hearts rekindled, burning bright
More often, though, we stumble on with failing sight
And so we gather here collectively to seek your light

We look for solace in this sacred sip of wine
Thinking it’s here we hope to host communion with the divine
Looking to a special holy place or hallowed time
to bring to you the earthly mess of our human pantomime

Because many times we trudge with only valley’s view
When lofty heights of mountain tops seem precious few
And in our desperate drive to drink of heavenly dew
Forgetting all your plans that point to making all things new
We miss the familiar footsteps falling, as all along we’ve walked right next to you

EV Salvation

Listen to Tony’s Message or my reply underneath won’t make any sense.

MG4 or MG5
It matters not what car I drive,
As long as fuel comes down a wire,
I’ll avoid eternal fire,
Diesel, Petrol seek forgiveness,
Only DC power doth our God bless,
Released at last from fossil haze,
I’m finally free from satan’s gaze,
Cos Jesus loves me, this I know,
Tony Vino told me so;
Informing me, my EV choice,
Is why I hear the Master’s voice.

Words cannot express

Words cannot express the depth of the pain and sorrow you feel
And how, despite the hurt you’re stumbling through, some still expect that core of steel
To show in your upright walk, head held high when all you want to do is kneel
With your head on the floor, curled in a ball, like sleep’s the only action with any appeal. 

Words cannot express how elements formed millennia ago in the depths of stars
Bound together, flourished as human, weaving together life’s intricate spars
And the deep bruises existence writes endure, but still, nothing mars
The heavenly beauty embossed in the form, its light from within, revealed by the scars. 

Words cannot express how deeply you are loved and embraced
By the Father, familiar with grief, the rawness of loss, the journeys and battles you’ve faced
On those paths, as his love, on your heart, with his  fingers he’s traced
He carries, enfolds you, supports you, his innermost thoughts you have graced. 

When you’re reeling, not seeing where it’s coming from next
And sometimes you long for a hug and sometimes you just need a text
Not everyone understands, not all can read the context
And when sharing, well meaning, not always well landing words, disregard their effects. 

Words cannot express how you’re worn out with carrying on and you’re too tired to fight 
When the dark closes in and the sorrow robs your heart of all light
In the endless black void of the sleepless and long empty night. 
You long for that someone you lost, that you need there, to hold you so tight. 

Words cannot express when waves of agony leave you so empty, unable to cry
When the floodgates have opened but the lake behind them run dry
And your will to act, like a featherless chick, has no means to fly
Words cannot express but when there’s nothing else, they’ll have a good try. 

Baptism Eucharist

Baptism joins us to God’s heart
Which holds our lives in all their parts
And though our outsides may be gleaming
We really need our insides cleaning

As we think of Jesus’ life from birth-
Heaven crashing into earth
And right now, mindful of his death
We thirst to feel your spirit’s breath;
As resurrection draws us in
Calls us to put our faith in Him
Our Lord who stood where we would fall
To win this victory for us all

A certainty, and not a fable
Your invitation’s for the able
And those, like me, a lot less stable
To take our places at your table

Lord we think we’re good at living
It’s fortunate you’re all forgiving
As; though we think we’re quite well fed
We really, really need this bread

We’re grateful Lord, you see our need
To rely on grace and not on deeds
‘Cause even though we think we’re fine
We really, really need this wine

We sometimes think it’s no big deal
But in this sharing God reveals
The stage is set for us to heal
We really really need this meal

At Church and Broken

Lord I’m not here because I’m perfect,
I’m not even here because I’m good,
Lord I’m not here because I’ve got things right,
Or even that I think I ever could.

Lord I’m not here because I’m holy,
I’m not here because I’m whole,
I’m not here because I’m rich or famous,
I’m not! And you know it’s not my goal.

Lord I’m here because I’m broken,
I’m here because I know I won’t succeed,
Without you living, walking here beside me,
Reminding me your love is all I need.

Lord I’m here because I’m human,
It’s the only way that I can cope,
Rubbing shoulders here with my community,
Living with these people grows my hope.

Lord I’m here because I’m flawed,
Easily distracted from what’s right,
But I can hear you whispering to all of us,
That we’re your children, your joy, your delight.

This Wine

Great God of Love and Life
Lord Jesus the Sovereign Saviour

Who etched this earth with your unfading fingerprints and
Invented us in your indelible image

We give thanks for this regular reminder;
That this wine whispers what your Spirit speaks:
That peace is possible
That resurrection is real
That every hint of hope holds us here, wrapped in your arms,
Enclosed in your eternal embrace,
Closely carried by You, our creator.

We give thanks

christmas unwrapped

 

“When Humanity Dies” – by Mohammed Yousuf | National Geographic | used without permission!

Traces of bloody after-birth sit drying on the hair of the newest neonate – red and wrinkled lying there

In a mangy manger in a simple, straw-filled stable,

in a paupers palace, perfect for a prince.

A fuss of farmyard animals filters through the air

And roaming through the room, the whiff of waste is everywhere

Flimsy fabric chosen for the rapid wrapping of the royalty

in that threadbare throne a modest monarch lies.

Seemingly sub-standard in its hostile hospitality

A venue for a vagrant not a castle for a king

The message of the moment is not bounty for the bourgeoisie

But dispatch for the down-trodden, deadbeat and despised

In the onslaught of outsiders, a surprising flock of shepherds

And the migrant mystic magi bringing frankincense and myrrh

Gold completes the token tribute taken for the toddler

Strange but select salute for the son

Once the final paper parcel’s pretty wrapping is ripped open

And donations left discarded on the busy bedroom floor

Take a moment in the magic to mull the meaning over

Humble hardship bringing hope in our surprising saviour’s call

This un-beautiful beginning, disruptive, discord, dissonant

Clashing with conceptions of the normal or routine

Radical, revolutionary, rooted in reality

In its frugal frailty, the message of messiah is that Christmas is for all.

This Bread

This bread is grace
This bread is grace
Grace shared, grace squared
It’s by that grace that we’re ensnared
Because in grace you dared
To show you cared.
Your love laid bare,
For all that stared
At a cross
A cross of shame but a cross of victory
That calls to me through years of history
Your love for me
And all of We
That looked to see
You on that tree
We don’t have to be
The ones that we
Were…
Once scared
Now loved and cared for
By your grace
Bread of life. Bread of love.
This bread is grace

EU Referendum; What now?

Many people are asking “why?”

Some are asking “how?”

There seems to be a lot of anger, a lot of despair and most of all a huge amount of uncertainty.

It is quite probable that us – the general public can’t change the “#Leave” result of the referendum. That will come as a hammer-blow to some and will delight others in equal measure. Despite the news reports of a number of people wishing they could change their vote to remain because it was only a ‘protest vote’ or they ‘didn’t really know what they were doing’ or indeed they voted and then frantically googled what the EU actually was; the likeliest outcome is that over the next few years, Britain will have to negotiate its way ‘out’ of the EU.

So let’s deal with the best question of all… “What now?”

The answer to this sits very differently with different groups of people , so I’m going to make suggestions based on various categories.

For the #Brexit voters

Now is not the time to gloat. Lets face it, there are a lot of angry #Remainers, so rubbing their noses in it is not graceful or helpful and will just accelerate division and unpleasantness. The only way the UK can get through this is together, so please, try to be nice and look for what you can do to make sure the current economic plummet is short-lived and the short-term pain is just that – short-term.
Take some time to talk to those #Remainers and find ways to rebuild any fractured relationships, reassure them of just how you personally and we as a country can move on to better things.

For the #Remain voters

Don’t despair. That won’t help either. In fact, so far, it isn’t even necessarily going to happen, there’s a lot of negotiating to be done and you never know, Westminster might not act on the advisory result of the referendum, it isn’t legally binding!
However, if #Brexit does happen, despairing won’t help that either. You can’t change the result, what’s needed is vision, innovation, hard-work and positivity.
Engage with the #Leavers, you will find out that some voted pragmatically with really well thought-out reasoning, they aren’t all xenophobic, anti-immigration, wide-eyed fascists!

For the Jesus followers

It’s our job to bring God’s love and the grace and peace of Jesus Christ to the table and prove that Love Wins.
Whatever you were doing before that was advancing the Kingdom of God in this present world, keep on doing it. If you believe that God is in control of this earth, if you believe that he has any kind of plan at all, trust that He knows what He is doing.
Look for ways to discover the things that God is doing right now around you where you live and work and pray for guidance to see which of those God wants you involved with.
You are here to make the world a better place. Go and do it.
Maybe even join a group that will benefit your local community like common change.

For the prophesy junkies

Yes, it is possible you might be right.
Yes it is possible that certain ancient writings have predicted this.
Yes, you are likely to annoy and upset people and put them off having a relationship with God if you keep banging on about it at every opportunity.
Yes, have an answer if asked, but be gracious, be thoughtful, don’t use “the bible says” as a conversation starter. If you have to say it, bring it in gently, wait for an invitation rather than ramming your views like you’re making religious foie-gras.
Seriously, people won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. So start by being practically helpful and walk in the footsteps of Christ, not as a proselytising manic street preacher.

For the atheists

Starting the conversation with “as an atheist” will immediately cause most people of faith to switch off their brains or fuse the part of their cerebrum that prevents them from exploding in rage, so maybe that isn’t a great way to begin, even if you end with “but you’re totally entitled to your view and I respect that”, because that won’t come across as sincere.
People of faith are just that because it gives them hope, no matter how ridiculous, reckless, deluded or fantastical you might find that. Plenty of faith people and faith communities can still have rational conversations and many of them are actively involved in things that are improving this world with really good motivation. Telling them their faith is stupid will not make you any more right, it will probably just make it harder to be their friend.
Having said that you are entitled to say “as an atheist” if a religious nut is trying to convert you, because that’s not how they should behave.
And lets face it you need to find a way to give people hope too, because in the wake of the decision to exit from the EU, there’s a lot of uncertainty and a lot of very scared people who feel hopeless.

For those that chose not to vote

You chose not to vote.
You have no right to complain if you don’t like it.
You can claim no credit for it if you do like it.
Zip it!
Lock it!
Put it in your pocket!

For everyone

Cometh the hour, cometh the man / woman / child / hero / heroine…
Don’t just sit there, do something!
This country, indeed, this world, isn’t going to get any better through inactivity.
#Brexit or not, everybody needs to be a person of action, everybody needs to be actively looking to find ways to make things better.

Let our mantra be “how can I make things better.”

Do it today, don’t wait for tomorrow.

Grace & Peace everyone.

Water into wine.

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:1-11

I realise there are many layers in this story, there are many nuanced potential meanings and things we can learn. I just want to focus on two elements of the story and their possible interpretations.

Firstly a look at the verse that contains the following:

“Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.”

Jesus uses the contents of something that was used for ceremonial cleansing to produce wine. An unusual approach, a possible paradox.
Water from these jars was used to clean people – symbolically, if not actually, to take away the grime and uncleanliness of our humanity.

Jesus therefore takes this thing linked to uncleanness and uses it to provide something fit to drink. Something clean, something pure.

Symbolically, I feel like this is akin to his transformation of us from sinful to forgiven, from unclean to washed clean.

Secondly the master of the banquet, later on says:

“Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

While I was listening to the audio bible of that passage the following struck me.

I think, amongst other things, this is Jesus reminding us that whatever good things we have tasted or experienced in this life should be celebrated, it is good to experience good things but these are just the appetiser, there is something even better to come.

Jesus proclaims in this miracle, this ‘sign’, that God is saving the very best until last: His Kingdom.

The experience of the fullness of the Kingdom of God will be will be the best, it will be better than anything anyone has ever tasted or experienced.

Linking these two ideas, in my mind, creates a powerful couplet – we – the most wretched and unclean beings are cleansed, made fit for purpose, made fit for a purpose; not just for the sake of being cleaned. We are being cleansed to bring forward flavours, colours, visions, tasters of the best of what God has in store for the world until it eventually fills the whole earth with God’s goodness again.

With that in mind, our job in the world is to ask “how can we help to make things better? How can we give God more glory?”

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21