In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was a formless void , God’s sprit hovered.
There was no substance only dearth.
Soon all was to be transformed.

The beacon was lit.
We stood outside for the Easter vigil.
And soon the Paschal candle would be lit.
All was hope and expectation for our vigil.

The readings are over.
The Gloria is sung.
Hope is undiminished.
The bells are rung.

A resurrection.
And end to suspension

…….

At the beginning
There was only God and void
And then he acted

…….

See Genesis 1:1-2

He had always loved those who were his.
But now he showed how perfect his love was.
We wonder what the truth is.
What is the first cause.

The mass today seemed fairly ordinary.
Then at the end we went to the altar of repose.
Suddenly I seemed to see a new glory.
Here was poetry , no longer prose.

The chapel was very small.
I was kneeling right next to the priest.
Here in silence at last we can feel the call.
Like  rich and  rising yeast.

We all left the church silently.
Pondering , thinking  reverently.

……

His love was perfect
Showed to all his disciples
And also to us

……..

See John 13 : 1-15

So that I may know how to speak to the wearied.
He provides me with speech.
Sometimes with all this I am wearied.
Inspiration seems out of reach.

This happens so many times.
In so many endeavours.
We lose track of our lines.
They seem endless, the hours.

Then I read these lines from Isaiah’s poetry.
We are all in different ways given a chance to speak.
In different spheres we find to fulfilment some entry.
We just have to commit to seek

We all have a choice.
And a voice.

…….

Speak to the wearied
And let us find our own voice
That’s the only way

…..

See Isaiah 50 : 4-9

He does not break the crushed reed.
Nor quench the wavering flame.
Of faith he is the new seed.
Now and for ever the true same.

I was at a funeral of a friend.
The great cathedral was full.
Magnificent music to rend.
Glorious psalm and anthem full.

But it was his kindness.
His love of his county.
That quenched all unkindness.
And will be his lasting bonus bounty.

His coffin left to nunc dimittis.
This true gentleman we shall indeed miss.

……..

Now let your servant
Depart we all hope in peace
As he left the nave

…….

See Isaiah 42 : 1-7

Here is this man working all the signs.
And what action are we taking.
Our world boxed in by our own rigid lines.
Are we just passing through or really seeking.

I was looking intently at the candle.
A joyful heaviness came down.
Into eternity I seemed to have a handle.
A spiritual seed for a minute was sown.

These moments when time stops pass.
Leaving a memory of what might be.
We are merely cut grass.
In this world we cannot truly hear or see.

But a memory of contentment remains
Like gentle soothing summer rains.

…….

He works all the signs
What action are we taking
We must ask ourself

…….

See John 11 : 45- 56

The Lord is at my side, a mighty hero.
My opponents will stumble , mastered.
For all our faults we never will be zero.
Never entirely deceived or conquered.

We may not agree with all of all religions.
But we should love them all .
Scattered as they are to all regions.
Fearful , persecuted , or walking tall.

They all follow the golden rule.
Do to others as to yourself.
That teaching precious as a jewel.
No longer the centre , oneself.

We all of us have value.
Let’s not others devalue.

……..

Love all religions
They all have the golden rule
Is that not enough

…….

See Jeremiah 20 : 10-13

Now my soul is troubled.
What shall I say: Father save me from this hour.
Nothing is ever settled.
Our life is as transient as the most delicate flower.

Sometimes we think we are separated from ourself.
That our soul is looking at our body.
But what we ask is the true self.
How do we keep ourselves steady and ready.

But not being just our body.
Can give us a profound sense of peace.
Here is nothing transient , disjointed , shoddy.
The body is nothing but the soul will not cease.

If only we could become detached.
Or at least just a little more  semi detached .

……,

My soul is troubled
Connected to the body
It will soon be free

….

See John 13 : 20-23

I have come in the name of my father.
And you refuse to accept me.
Into the unknown, we always want to see further.
Far further than what we will ever be able to see.

We want proof of divinity.
But can we not be content with his good works.
He first demanded sincerity.
But doubt always lurks.

During the night.
I found peace in his good deeds.
In that alone, there was enough light.
And hopeful seeds.

We don’t need to demand much.
Just accept him as such.

……..

He comes from father
Do we accept him as such
Well maybe sometimes

……..

See John 5 : 31-47

He spoke of God as his own father.
And so made himself God’s equal.
And so he took our faith one step further.
Here would be our altogether unheard of sequel.

The son can do nothing by himself.
He can only do what he sees the father doing.
And he did nothing for himself.
Only thinking of countering evil doing.

But it is a great step forward in belief.
To recognise a faith healer as God.
I have always struggled with this belief.
What is , where is , is there a God.

His persecutors were not alone.
But for us and them he came to atone.

……..

Was God his father
He said yes he was father
Do we believe that

……..

See John 5 : 17-30

Do you want to be well again.
Get up , pick up your sleeping bag and walk.
Are we walking along the right lane
Or do we just do the talk.

Like the Bethzatha pool sick man.
Have we not been able to get into the water for thirty eight years.
Is it too narrow, our mental scan.
Are we too wedded to our own lonely tears.

Can we break with the past.
Obey the call to a heartfelt loving walk.
Embrace something that will last..
And now do more than just talk.

Jesus is walking by.
Telling us to walk and forget our own  self inflicted negativity lie.

……

To be well again
We have to pick up our bag
And just walk again

……

See John 5; 1-3, 5-16

Go home, said Jesus, your son will live.
The man believed what Jesus had said.
As well as taking can we too learn to give.
And then our doubts will surely be laid.

The mass was crowded.
I couldn’t see very well.
At the loss of life, I grieved.
Then through a gap I saw and all was well.

There was the icon of Joseph and family.
A saint for new life.
I understood finally.
Hope in the future is ever present, rife.

If we look around.
All yet might be sound.

……..

Go home your son lives
Do we believe what we’re told
Or do we still doubt

…….

See John 4 : 43-54

God loved the world so much.
That he gave his only son.
And even now we feel his touch.
As a distant yet warming never dimmed sun.

So that everyone who believes in him may not be lost.
But may have eternal life.
We forget this at our cost.
Yet doubt is still rife.

For God sent his son into the World.
Not to condemn the World.
But that through him he might save the world.
And we might enter the after world.

No one who believes in him will be condemned.
But whoever refuses to believe, he says  is already condemned.

……..

God  so loved the world
That he gave to us his son
So that we’re not lost

……..

See John 3 : 14-21

I thank you God, says the Pharisee that I am not unkind.
Grasping, unjust like the rest of mankind .
We ask, are we that Pharisee or of his mind .
Not the tax collector and of his mind.

Why can’t we like the tax collector just say.
God be merciful to me a sinner.
That surely is the only way to pray.
Better to be an occasional loser than a winner.

Everyone who exalts himself will  be humbled.
But the man who humbles himself will be exalted.
Better to be sometimes reviled.
Than falsely praised.

We say this , we write it.
But do we really mean it.

……..

If we are humbled
We surely are exalted
Or we so pretend

………

See Luke 18: 9-14

You must love the Lord with all your heart.
With all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.
Again and again we must make a new start.
And go to any length.

In your dreams you see more reality.
I dreamt that we need to love the whole world.
Here dreamlike is verity.
Resentment furled.

And then we return to reality.
Where all is doubt and fear.
We are told this is verity.
And so we shed a tear.

In dreams we find truth.
But what we ask is truth .

……

If we love the Lord
With all our soul and our mind
We might make progress

…….

See Mark 22 : 28-34