It’s not written in the book and may just be my own vision / but perhaps every week or ten days until the end / his mother came and washed his tunic, / mended the small tears, / made Jesus wear an old, very soft, shift of his late father’s / while his tunic dried
I grew up with images of the mother of Jesus as an idealistic, serene lady quietly sitting in the background. Maybe you did too. Mary was “meek and mild,” a docile observer, patiently “pondering” all the lovely things around her. Recently, I heard a preacher critique this sanitized portrayal. He explained that Mary was actually…
“Good grief!” exclaims Charlie Brown, often when Lucy removes the football from his attempted kick, landing him flat on his back. His exasperation seems oxymoronic. How can grief be good? We all experience grief. Grief is a reaction to any loss, big or small. It can be at the death of a loved one or…
Last year, my Bible study group made a special study of Luke chapters 1 and 2. We started with the angel announcing the birth of John the Baptist and went all the way to the story of 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple; it took us several months. One rather special feature of these chapters is…
Mary spins and the thread twists / at just the right moment. / The tension tight, she winds it / on the shaft and then smoothly presses another bit of wool, / pinches the thread, sees it wind into true.
It’s that most wonderful time of year! The time to tune your car radio to Christmas songs and get a headstart on the holiday cheer. Maybe you’re groaning, but I love the final six weeks of the year, when we get to deck the halls and be merry! I also deeply appreciate Advent, including the…
When we were children, our father used to make fun of the Roman Catholic folks’ veneration of Mary. I guess it was considered acceptable to make snarky comments because Dad considered veneration of Mary to be idolatry. I think quite differently about Mary now. If we can be encouraged to emulate the “sweet singer of…
Several months before I moved to Hamilton, Ontario, I wrote a metrical version of Mary’s Magnificat, which I sang in church shortly thereafter. The Book of Common Prayer prescribes that the Magnificat be sung at evening prayer, which suggests that it need not be limited to the Advent season but should be sung often throughout…
Clear skies greeted the Antigua, a sailing vessel carrying artists into the Arctic Circle. “We were in the right spot for all of these belugas that kept coming around the corner of this little coastline,” Phil Irish describes. Two artists hooked up their underwater sound equipment to speakers. “Belugas are like songbirds,” says Irish. “They’re…
Mary’s Song is ideal for Advent liturgies. I have promoted its use in worship committees for years, from Edmonton to Ottawa. It focuses on themes of the great reversal, or the upside-down kingdom. These themes are rich in Biblical stories and symbolism, but they create some discomfort in the pews. Mary’s talk about taking down…
I spent time with a crying woman at the bank the other day. She is what I imagine Mary, the mother of Jesus, was like. As we got out of our respective cars, she recognized me. She wanted to talk “church.” We weren’t in the conversation for more than 60 seconds when tears filled her…
(Melody: ‘O God, our help in ages past’) Lyrics: Anne van Arragon 1941-Music: William Croft 1678-1727
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