..read more

..read more

Holy Saturday, March 30, Lent 40 ‘All we are saying is give peace a chance.’ John Lennon Holy Saturday is the day of uncertainty and unknowing. Holy Saturday is the silence between the horror of death and the newness of life and we know what comes next but for those who walked through it first, they had no idea what was coming. The world can seem to be perpetually in the middle of Holy Saturday because we don’t know what is coming tomorrow. I wrote a poem for today. To sit in the darkness of not knowing. A single candle flame holding vigil at the tomb of Love This is the biggest of all uncert ..read more

Good Friday, March 29, Lent 39 As we reach Good Friday. ‘But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.’ The Apostle Paul (Ephesians 2:13-16 ..read more

Thursday, March 28, Lent 38 Jesus’ words of comfort to his friends: ‘I have told you these things so that you will be whole and at peace. In this world, you will be plagued with times of trouble, but you need not fear; I have triumphed over this corrupt world order.’ Jesus (John 16:33) Today is Maundy Thursday, the day we traditionally mark as the day Jesus had the Last Supper with His community. He gave us the blueprint of communion in this meal but beyond what we have written, we can’t really know what they talked about together. I like to think these words might have been part of it, as He ..read more

Wednesday, March 27, Lent 37 ‘Peace and love are always living and working within us, but we are not always in peace and love.’ Julian of Norwich The passage for Wednesday in Holy Week using Wilda Gafney’s Lectionary is Jesus grieving over Jerusalem. ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen, gather her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. I tell you all, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the ..read more

Tuesday, March 26, Lent 36 These words were spoken before the birth of Jesus at the birth of his cousin John in a prophecy spoken by John’s father, Zechariah ‘Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
    God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness,
    those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
    down the path of peace.’ Zechariah (Luke 1:79) In Holy week we sit in the shadow of death as Good Friday looms ever closer. But, in this week Jesus has things to do and say ..read more

Monday, March 25, Lent 35 Some of the last words for Lent should go to Jesus. ‘The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.’ Jesus (John 14:26-27) Today is Monday of Holy Week. There is a lot packed into this last week of Jesus’ life. The story for today is Mary (of Mary, Martha and Lazarus) who ..read more

Saturday, March 23, Lent 34 ‘World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.’ Dalai Lama Peace is the manifestation of human compassion. Human compassion goes beyond feeling sympathy for someone and moves to do something to alleviate their pain. Human compassion looks at the person in front of us and asks how can we help. Let’s pray Give me eyes to see my neighbour, my literal neighbour, and my neighbour in the way Jesus talks about neighbours. And when I see, move me to human compassion - not jus ..read more

Friday, March 22, Lent 33 This is the first half of a longer quote that says: ‘We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.’ William E Gladstone Gladstone was from a family that had grown rich off the slave trade. He started out in politics defending slave owners and worked on the bill to get compensation for his own father when slavery was abolished through the British Empire. He began as a rising hope for the ‘stern and unbending’ conservatives but through his time in various positions in parliament he ch ..read more