They shall beat their sword into a ploughshare.
And their spear into a pruning hook.
And we wonder, in Advent, how shall we fare.
Where for salvation should we look.

Perhaps we should try and make our own Bethlehem.
Every day of our own life.
And think not just of us but them.
And ask that we pick up the flower and lay down the knife.

Every day giving birth.
To new hope.
That the world may have a rebirth.
Into peace and universal hope.

That is our true way.
The sun’s glorious ray.

……

Make every day
A day of our Bethlehem
Not just for our sake

……

See Isaiah 2 : 1-5

All you people bless the Lord.
Priests of the Lord bless the Lord.
Servants of the Lord , bless the Lord.
Spirits and souls of the just bless the Lord.

Watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down.
With the cares of this life.
And that day come like a trap for you to  drown.
For it comes upon all who now enjoy life. No

We are so obsessed with this life.
That we forget that coming soon is death.
Why care overmuch about this life.
When it is but a gateway to death.

But death too is just a gateway.
A mere passing into our spiritual way.

…..

We’re obsessed with life
But it’s a gateway to death
But death’s a gateway

……

See Daniel 3 and Luke 21: 34-36

Mountains and hills bless the Lord.
All that grows on the earth bless the Lord.
Seas and rivers bless the Lord.
Springs of water bless the Lord.

As soon as the trees come out in leaf.
You know that the summer is already near.
So also when you see these things taking place even on relief.
You know that the Kingdom of God is near.

There are so many signs just for us.
Yet we ignore them.
But the kingdom is near us.
We should embrace them.

The kingdom is so close. We could touch it.
But first we have to accept it.

……

The kingdom is close
We just to reach out now
And we can touch it

….

See Daniel 3 and Luke 21 : 29-33

Dew and rain bless the Lord.
Frost and cold bless the Lord.
Ice and snow bless the Lord.
Night and days bless the Lord.

I was at Lincoln Cathedral evensong.
It was the New Testament reading.
Jesus was saying he must suffer from great wrong.
But that he would triumph with his rising.

The disciples were perplexed.
But in that moment I believed.
My doubts were relaxed.
I listened and received .

Thus faith comes .
Hope waxes , doubt numbs.

…….

We all bless the Lord
We are like the dew and rain
Our faith pours down now

……

See Daniel 3

You will be delivered up.
And some of you they will put to death.
The death of the body is a fate we must sup.
One day we will draw our last breath.

But not a hair of your head will perish.
By your endurance you will gain your lives.
This hope for the future is something to cherish,
As our immortal soul thrives.

This is all that matters to us.
The body dies , the soul lives on.
Fate will shine kindly on us.
There is no end point, we carry on.

So never despair.
There is no need to shed a tear.

……

See Luke 21: 12-19

Teacher , when will these things be.
And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place.
We pray every day that we might the better see.
As we run our own race.

It was at the end of evening prayer.
We were singing the Salve Regina.
I looked up to her statue in prayer.
A great wave of love shook me for our Regina.

Thus these moments come.
Great love and belief in an instant of prayer.
Why do they come.
Because they are there in prayer.

I left the Cathedral.
But for the rest of the day I pondered that moment in the Cathedral.

…….

What are then the signs
They just come in our prayer
In just an instant

……

See Luke 21: 5-11

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness.
And transferred us to the kingdom of his son.
In whom we have redemption from all darkness.
But only by the mercy of his son.

We are afflicted by anger , laziness.
Pride ,resentment and ambition .
Only Jesus saves us by his kindness.
Only he frees us from temptation.

Empires rise and fall.
But Christ the King remains.
Saving us from humankind’s fall.
He always was and is and reigns.

Everything else is transient.
He, we hope, is permanent.

…….

Christ the King is here
He always was and will be
Or that’s what we hope

…….

See Colossians 12 : 1-20

Those who attain resurrection
Neither marry or are given in marriage.
Are we prepared for the ultimate election.
As towards death we take our last carriage.

St Cecilia made her choice.
Are we prepared to do so also.
As she found her voice.
Even if we feel disregarded , low.

And will we meet our loved ones.
As we look around us in heaven.
Parents spouses , daughters and sons.
We will know they are there with us in heaven.

So when we get there it will be worth waiting.
And meanwhile adoring.

…..

We find resurrection
But then who shall we meet there.
That we do not know

……

See Luke 20 : 27-40

They will not leave one stone on another.
Because they did not know the time of
the visitation.
Do we have faith in the father.
A sure foundation.

The days will come upon you.
When your enemies will set up a barricade around you.
And surround you.
And on every side hem you.

Our own body’s temple will be destroyed.
And we do not know when.
Our fears cannot be allayed.
We just have to accept and say amen.

But it will be rebuilt.
We need fear no guilt.

……

Our body will die
Just like the destroyed temple
It will be rebuilt

…..

See Luke 19 : 41-44

When I awake.
I shall, O lord, be filled with the vision of your presence.
At death’s door we stare into a dark fathomless lake.
We search in vain for future life’s essence.

But we awake, I believe, after death.
We know and are part of God in an eternal instant.
There is life , rich and strong but no breath.
There is no past or future only the present.

We are gripped by an eternal gasp of wonder.
A kind of deep amazed ah.
Our love for God is profound , tender.
We can see all near and far.

Our loved ones we know are with God.
As we now and for always are with God.

….

We wake after death
We stop in time with wonder
We are now with God

……

See Psalm 17

Recover your sight.
Your faith has made you well.
We only intermittently see the light.
We draw though from salvation’s deep well .

We are like the man who was blind.
Calling on God for spiritual sight .
We pray that God is forgiving and kind.
Again and again behind our mind’s clouds we do not see light.

But the sun is always there.
Only hidden.
If only our spiritual eye was clear.
We would know we are bidden.

He is passing.
Are we looking.

……

Recover your sight
For your faith has made you well
Can we say the same

……

See Luke 18: 35-43

The days will come when there will not be left.
One stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
One day for sure we will be bereft.
No longer any ups but perhaps a long down.

So do not wait.
For a bad day to pray .
You might be too late.
To ever see again the sun’s ray.

But yes he will answer.
The merciful.
And free us from life’s tether.
When maybe we were not even prayerful.

So we keep praying.
And hoping and wondering.

……

Not one stone was left
Of this glorious temple
Will it rise again

….

See Luke 21 : 5-19

O sing to him , sing his praise.
Tell all his wonderful works.
Yes he is worthy of praise.
And we still hope for more of his works.

He remembered his holy word.
Spoken to Abraham his servant.
And we too hear his word.
We too are his servant.

He brought out his people with joy.
His chosen ones with shouts of rejoicing.
We too can feel this joy.
We too can join on the rejoicing.

Glory in his holy name .
Let us too rejoice in his name.

…..

Let us sing  to him
Tell of his wonderful works
That’s all we can do

……

See Psalm 105

As they live amongst his works.
They keep searching.
For all our idiosyncratic quirks.
We keep hoping.

His works are there to see.
But we continue to doubt.
We hear , we listen , we ponder but we fail to see.
We cannot put these doubts to rout.

Why can we just not accept.
Be happy to believe.
And not to reject.
And gratefully receive.

He is here .
Have no more fear.

…..

We live with his works
But still we just keep searching
And just must believe

….

See Wisdom 13 : 1-9

The kingdom of God is not coming.
In ways that can be observed.
Our knowledge is fleeting.
And faith is reserved.

Nor will they say , look.
Here it is.
Is it in the holy book.
Is it here , is it this.

For behold the kingdom of God.
Is in the midst of you,
Perhaps here, there, every where is God.
Present if we really look for me and for  you.

Is heaven something distant.
No, here in this Eucharist , it is extant.

…….

Where is God’s kingdom.
Is it in heaven
No, perhaps it’s here

……

See Luke 17 : 20-25

Severe judgment falls.
On those in high places.
Do not fail to hear the calls.
Hold dear all faces.

For the lowliest may be pardoned in mercy.
But they that are mighty will be mightily tested.
Tied up in controversy.
Always worrying , never rested.

The Lord of all will not stand in awe to anyone.
Or show deference to greatness.
He the Lord is the only one.
And the fount of righteousness,

He himself made both small and great.
And he takes thought for all alike , small and great.

….

He made small and great
He takes thought for all alike
And also for us

. ….

See Wisdom 6 : 1-11

In the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died.
And their departure was thought to be an evil thing.
And their going from us to be their destruction as they died.
But they are at peace with everything.

For though in the sight of men they were punished.
Their hope is full of immortality.
Having been disciplined a little as they passed.
They will receive great good in eternity.

Because God tested them.
And found them worthy of himself.
Like gold in the furnace he tried them.
And like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them to himself.

They will shine forth.
They will come forth.

…..

They seemed to have died
Their departure was thought thought evil
But they are at peace

……

See Wisdom 2

Love righteousness.
You rulers of the earth.
Think of the Lord with uprightness.
People of the earth.

Ever wanting, obsessed with our ego.
But what are we , mere fleeting brain currents.
Here this minute, part of nature’s incessant flow.
Fate laughing at our puny attempts.

Are we really an individual.
Or a mere drop on a flowing tide.
Do we leave any thing residual.
Or merely caught in mortality’s ride.

No, we continue to spiritually hope.
And that’s why we do more than just cope.

…..

What is the ego
It’s really not important
It’s our soul that counts

….

See Wisdom 1: 1-7

The waters of a river.
Give joy to God’s city.
We take heart downriver
In our own city.

The holy place.
The abode of the most high.
Held in God’s embrace.
In an eternal sweet tie.

God is a refuge and strength.
An ever present help in distress.
Ready for us to go any length.
Always for more and not for less.

So we shall not fear.
Or shed a tear.

…….

The river’s waters
Will give joy to God’s city
And also to us

……

See Psalm 46

.

One who is faithful in a very little .
Is also faithful in much.
And one who is dishonest in a very little.
Is also dishonest in much.

But we ask ourselves are we faithful.
Do we doubt our way .
Are we full of cares , too careful.
Determined to have our say.

We are given all this spiritual wealth.
True riches beyond compare.
But what is more important our physical or spiritual health.
In the spiritual world how do we fare.

What master to we serve.
And how do we attempt to serve.

…….

Faithful in little
Is to be faithful in much
That’s all we can do

….

See Luke 16 : 9-15

None of us lives to himself.
If we live we live for the Lord.
And none of us dies to himself.
If we die for the Lord.

Whether we live.
Or whether we die.
We are the Lord’s as we die.
But are truly that while we live.

People stress about Christ’s divinity.
But we know he is certainly a true signpost.
Thus we can pass the long night in serenity.
We have an anchor, we are not lost.

Doubts rise they fall.
But we continue to pray and to call.

……

We live for the Lord
Because we die in the Lord
That’s all we can do

…….

Do we then exist
Not a separate entity
But humanity’s

……

See Romans 14: 7-12