Month: March 2021

The morning was wet and blustery at first, and there’s noticeably more water around now.

The water where AFAIR the frogspawn was is now moving. I have seen some cheery little bits of blues sky though. I meant to say ‘blue’ but maybe ‘blues’ is more interesting. What comes from the sky does feature in the blues sometimes…
“It can rain five days, but that won’t give me no blues.
It can rain five days, but that won’t give me no blues.
I’ve got my rain coat and hat, umberella (sic), boots and shoes.”

From Sunday’s Lectionary another little verse taken out of context, from Psalm 107:17 … “Some were sick through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities endured affliction;…” But some are sick through other people’s sinful ways, and because of other people’s iniquities endured affliction. Fortunately many prophets had something to say about social justice. It may be that the entire society can be sick because it’s dominated by some people’s sinful ways. And maybe when we read the next verses we can think of applying 19 and 20 to the whole society…
“107:18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.
107:19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress;
107:20 he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.”
…Suppose we cry to the Lord in our trouble?

Light to moderate rain and a brisk wind this morning, the cloud was down on the hilltops and the rain gave a kind of gentle grey appearance to the more distant parts of the valley. Someone had been thinning out the trees on the Trail, and my walk was enhanced by the brightness of the exposed wood (on stumps, logs and chips) and its several colours, and some fresh new smells from time to time.

Apart from the Lectionary, Sunday is also Mothering Sunday. Mothering is hard sometimes. For some people the lack of opportunity to do mothering is a cause of unfulfilled longing. Mothering can be undermined by alcohol or other drugs or abusive parents. Mothering is part of the-world-as-it-is, and as such isn’t perfect. We need to pray.

Please pray for all people who do mothering.
Please pray for all people who are being helped to grow.
Please pray for all people who need healing.
Please pray for all relationships that need healing.
And remember to give thanks too!

When I was a small child, I went to my mother with a splinter. She tweezed it out and held it up for me to see. “There you are – that’s all it was.” It reminds me of Moses holding up the brass snake.

A visit to Huddersfield today, so Janet could have her jab, then a visit to our bubble-mate, Janet’s father.

Meanwhile in Sunday’s Lectionary, a couple of things about exposure. Jesus talks about being the light by which our lives can be seen – are we living like him? – Also he says about being ‘lifted up’ – a dark reference to dying on a cross and being visible for all to see. This looks back to the Old Testament story of Moses putting a bronze snake on a stick and showing it to everybody so they could see what was tormenting them and be healed.

Being healed in the 21st century needs a prior stage of ‘seeing’ – seeing what the problem is. The COVID vaccines were preceded by a massive scientific effort, which goes way back before the current pandemic. ‘Seeing’ Jesus, we have to confront our own bad stuff and the tendencies in us which have spoilt the world.

The media help us to ‘see’ what is going on in the world and are vital to democracy. But often the effects are not helpful. When your private life is troubling you, the trouble is multiplied by everything being all over the internet and radio and TV and papers. And not everybody in the media is fair – far from it.

And when the government and sections of the press cosy up, watch out! We need to cherish the parts of the media that remain honourable. We need to see!

God help us to see
what is going on in our nation,
in our world,
in our inner being:
help us to know the truth,
and in knowing,
find the way to healing.

A bit of rain this morning, but not so much as to trouble anyone. A good walk, foot improving, and Mondays first thing are so much quieter than Sundays first thing.

Yesterday’s zoom service was about Fairtrade Fortnight. With changed shopping habits, I hadn’t noticed it was happening. Fairtrade must not be just another fad.

The clouds looked as if they were here to stay, but they didn’t. The little bits of frost further up the Trail should’ve been a clue that we weren’t far away from clear sky. Before I invent some sort of message out of this experience, I should point out that it also works the other way round.

I did two walks this morning before the sun came out properly – that’s the way the cookie crumbles. It was nice enough anyway. The second walk was with Janet and she introduced me to a frogspawn location.

The world is a horrible place for millions of people, and dull mornings aren’t really an issue on that scale – although many will pay lots of money to take holidays in the sun. We vote with our money, and people with lots of money decide how the world is. They (often we) get to have everything just right, whereas people in poverty suffer in ways we cannot know.

From Sunday’s Lectionary, Psalm 19 — OK, so be honest, do you really desire God’s way of living more than you desire gold? I sometimes think I do, but every time I fear I might not have enough to ‘live on’ (which is an adjustable concept), I find I do want money. And those who are in need are entitled to be able to live. The words of Psalm 19 would be crass if spoken by a rich person to a poor person (which is how the church often works, sadly).

OTOH our whole world organisation seems to be predicated on desiring gold (which is a major cause of poverty among those who can’t compete). It would be great if we could find some other motivations – like the ways of God or the Spirit of Christ for instance… or just plain kindness or the desire for justice.

God help me to want
your ways, your justice,
more than anything else
in all the world.

The cloud less hazy and more raggedy. A few spots of rain from time to time. It was nice for walking and I went a little further than I have been recently. Spring is coming at the moment in a greyish sort of way.

God help us to see the signs
of your love,
of the ‘new thing’ you will do
in the unpromising conditions
of our lives.

A pale start this morning, with low and mid-level clouds masking the sun most of the time, and the temporary frost making the green fields look washed-out. Not too windy, and nice for walking. This about an hour later…

1 Corinthians 18:25 from Sunday’s Lectionary…“For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” Paul’s referring to the crucifixion of Christ – and you’ve got to say that does seem foolish. But it seems to me there’s a more general thing here too – and I wonder what the concrete examples are. Maybe examples of people setting aside the need for self preservation in order to love others. Maybe examples of people who see the world differently, or people whose attitude to money just doesn’t make sense to the devotees of 21st century capitalism … or churches who risk their future to help others.

God help me to recognise
the wisdom of your holy foolishness.

Religion provides many opportunities. For a mercifully small, but non-zero number it’s an opportunity to engage in sexual exploitation. For some it’s an opportunity to enjoy the adulation of the crowd. For some it’s an opportunity to impose their will on other people. For some it’s an opportunity to make money. None of these is the Jesus way (as we might remember from the temptation story). And so it is that we read in Sunday’s Lectionary about Jesus chucking the money-traders out of the Temple.

God of love,
save us from the temptations of the Christian life,
save us from abusing our power over others.
May we all worship you
and you alone.

Sheep measling the hillside on another fine morning…