Christus vincit.
Christus regnat, Christus imperat.
Christ conquers, and does acquit.
Christ rules, Christ reigns, stops us falling flat.

But how do we enter his kingdom.
He tells us plain.
It doesn’t take much wisdom.
But it is a narrow lane.

Insofar as you neglected to do to the least of these.
You neglected to do to me.
We fall short, we search for selfless keys.
We are taught again and again but we cannot see.

For truth we have to thirst.
We have to put others first.

…….

If the Christ does reign
If he conquers and does rule
Where does that leave us

……..

See Matthew 25: 31-46

Antiochus fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment.
Because things had not turned out for him as he had planned.
And yes we too sometimes are full of resentment.
Jealousy , anger , misery fanned.

I dreamt last night that I had missed a train.
Oh how I worried and raged.
But it was only a dream and it will come again , this or some other train.
But the merest setback runs us ragged.

The King remained for many days subject to melancholy.
Until he understood that he was dying.
Of course he had destroyed much that was holy.
But in his pride he had thought he was winning.

Why can’t we just see everything in perspective.
And remain happy, confident and active.

…….

All in perspective
That is all that we can do
To remain happy

……

See 1 Maccabees 6 : 1-13

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem.
He shed tears over it.
Here was no strong aluminium.
It would be felled as in a pit.

I awoke in the night feeling really ill.
The flu had got to me .
Getting out of this pit is a question of will
Remember truth, hear and see.

Suffering is universal.

Because we feel we are a separate entity.

This sense of the anxious self is fatal.

And it all leads to futility.

Jerusalem did rise.

And we shall all of arise.

…….

Dear Jerusalem
You’re the eternal city
You are always there

……..

See Luke 19 : 41-44

…

Down from the heavens, leapt your all powerful word.
Into the heart of the doomed land the stern warrior leapt.
Thus was our fear stirred.
And we wept.

Carrying your command like a sharp sword.
He stood and filled the universe with death.
But still  we hoped for our reward.
And new everlasting breath.

He touched the sky.
Yet trod the earth.
Dispelling any lie.
And giving creation new birth.

The Red Sea became an unimpeded way.
And for us too a God given partnership, a new way.

……..

Down from the heavens
Leapt your all powerful word
And it gave us hope

………

See Wisdom 18

People were eating , marrying .
Right up to the day that Noah went into the ark.
Future worrying and planning.
Hoping to make their mark.

And the flood came .
And destroyed them all .
And we will be the same.
We will meet the final unclimbable wall.

We were in the All Souls chapel.
In this month of  November.
Praying for the dead in their purgatorial grapple.
And trying to remember.

And then I looked at the West wall.
And thought I. heard my mother’s call.

…..

This month remember
In this month of November
It’s all we can do

………

See Luke 17: 26-37

Within wisdom is a spirit, intelligent , holy.
Unique , manifold ,subtle,incisive, unsullied. active.
Protecting us from all folly.
Objective and reflective.

I am looking at a seagull flying .
It has more sense than me.
It is totally mindful of its job, fish catching.
Not worrying about tomorrow, only what it can see.

We are so wrapped up in ourself.
Not realising tomorrow may not happen.
Soon we may just be a picture on a shelf.
Indeed perhaps soon now, tomorrow will not happen.

Focused on the present tense.
The seagull has more sense.

………

Focused on present
All the seagulls are mindful
They are unlike us

………

See Wisdom 7: 22

Hear this those who have thousands under their rule.
He himself will probe your acts and scrutinise your intention.
If we think we will not be held to account we are a fool.
We will find soon ourself in a different dimension.

Intelligent life might only occur once in our galaxy
Of we are told, 200 billion stars .
We are probably alone in our complexity.
And therefore we should be wary of leaving environmental scars.

I always have wondered that with so many potential worlds.
A Jesus would come to just ours.
But if if there are so very few such worlds.
Maybe he has really just come to ours.

He has given sense to our existence.
Yet many doubt his divine existence.

……….

If we are alone
In this so vast galaxy
Should we not believe

……..

See Wisdom 6: 1-11

God made man imperishable.
He made him in his own nature.
Everything we worry about here is perishable.
But we believe there is another future.

The souls of the virtuous.
Are in the hands of God.
Well it is all arduous.
But we keep trying and remain awed.

In the eyes of the unwise .
Did they appear to die.
But they will eventually rise.
This is surely no lie.

Their going looked like disaster.
But they are surely in peace , they are with the master.

……..

Going disaster
Or it’s a new beginning
That is what we hope

……

See Wisdom 2

Were your faith the size of a mustard seed.
You could say to this mulberry tree , be uprooted.
We do not know where all of this will lead.
And whether our faith will grow or be muted.

I was only half listening to the service recited.
The usual all too familiar words rolled by.
Then my eye caught the eye of Jesus painted.
Then I truly believed , I no longer had to ask why.

Thus just a picture behind the altar .
Turned everything round.
You don’t need prayer book or psalter.
For belief to be raised and to be sound.

I just had to look at Jesus’ last supper.
And faith cut through doubt like a knife through butter.

……..

Look at the picture
Jesus at the last supper
And start to believe

…….

See Luke 17 : 1-6

This water flowing into the sea.
Makes the waters wholesome.
With its healing touch we begin to see.
We need never be lonesome or glum.

I woke to a a light filled feeling.
That doing what we do in our job is okay.
As long as from self we are fleeing.
It’s as if what we do was surrounded by a sun filled ray.

All suffering or dissatisfaction arises from a mistaken understanding.
That we are a separate and distinct self.
We will be happy if we have a true understanding.
That we are not just this our self.

Then the light passed from my self.
As of course I started worrying about myself.

……….

Misunderstanding
Is thinking we’re separate
Leads to suffering

…….

See Ezekiel 47
And the sayings of the Buddha.

If your gift is prophecy then use as your faith suggests.
If administration, then use it for administration.
Land wherever the sum of your abilities rests.
And do so without any hesitation.

It’s extraordinary how better you sleep.
If you think not of your own but others problems.
Our thoughts can run selfishly shallow or generously deep.
We can dwell on solutions or quarrels.

At about four this morning.
I started worrying about my legs aching.
Then I concentrated on my grandmother now for ever resting.
And soon I was sleeping.

And so if we realise we are not distinct.
We may end up not entirely extinct.

…….

If we think others
Rather than always ourselves
We may sleep better

……

See Romans 12: 5-16

When you have a party.
Invite the poor , the crippled, the lame, the blind.
No need to bring out the turkey.
Or fear being declined.

Rationally I do not know if I believe in the Almighty.
But I believe the scriptures.
It’s buried deep in my Psyche.
To accept the word of these descriptors.

But if you accept the Resurrection.
Then you accept that God  does exist.
There will always be this tension.
We find it so easy a witness to resist.

So we keep searching.
And finding.

…….

We ask does God exist
Start by seeking the Scriptures
We may get answers

….

See Luke 12: 12-14

Everything they do is to attract attention.
Like wanting to take the place of honour.
But to ourselves, we need to pay attention.
We are really no more than anyone else any great person of honour.

Why are we so obsessed with ourselves as a whole.
Either we are just a brain’s electric current .
Or an immortal soul.
Either way death is of little account.

So we can relax.
Everything will be alright.
What you see is mere melting wax.
But beneath is a great perpetual light.

So this is not true lasting reality.
Let’s treat ourselves with proportion and sensitivity.

……..

Where is our great light
It is not in our body
It is in our soul

.. ..

See  Matthew 23: 1-12

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.
And the man who humbles himself will be exalted.
Only at our death will all be revealed.
For then no longer will we be tempted.

I like the idea of a village funeral.
In a small church .
With a simple sermon and no life tale.
It’s good enough to have a life that left no one in the lurch.

No memorial service.
No extravagant wake, no adornment.
A gently intoned new order Latin mass would suffice.
With immediate church yard internment.

For those who exalt themselves will be humbled.
And those who humble themselves will be exalted.

…….

Best humble yourself
You might then be exalted
But exalt yourself ?

……

See Luke 14: 1, 7-11

My sorrow is so great.
My mental anguish so endless.
I always seem, in my dreams, to arrive late.
Falling from one into yet another mess.

Then I pray for my parents.
Imagining their loving care .
After  I pray for my grandparents.
How with their love they could wipe away all fear.

Does it help them at all.
Are they even listening.
I cannot know, but after I walk tall.
And then happy, I start sleeping.

They are, I’m sure , all there.
Wiping away every fear and tear.

…….

I pray to parents
Don’t know if they’re listening
But makes me happy

…….

See Romans 9 : 1-5

Their going looked like a disaster.
They’re leaving us , like annihilation.
They can no longer walk with us, either slower or faster.
They are now part of all past and future creation.

They are in peace.
Their hope was rich with immortality.
They are with us without cease.
They have overcome mortality.

God has put them to the test.
And proved them worthy.
They are blessed.
And prayer to them is trustworthy.

When we pray to them without cease
We somehow seem at peace.

………

So have  the dead gone
Or are they still listening
I believe they are

…….

See Wisdom 3 : 1-9