I am the true vine.
And my father is the vine dresser.
Thus with his help we seek the divine.
All of us,  the greater and the lesser.

Every branch that does not bear.
He takes away.
But we need not fear.
In him our hopes and fears we can lay.

We only subsist in God.
Otherwise we would just fade.
He is the lightening rod.
Into his glory we can be made.

But we must believe.
If we are to receive.

…….

He is the true vine
We are merely the branches
We rest in him

….

See John 15 : 1-8

Teacher we wish to see a sign.
But no sign will be given.
An evil generation seeks a sign.
But only the sign of Jonah is a given.

The body is like a bright new car.
Once sparkling and cherished it ages and dies.
We do not know our fate, we cannot see very far.
We are obsessed with our lows and highs.

All that matters.
Is the soul.
The rest will end in tatters.
But do we nurture the soul.

Too many of our thoughts concern the body.
But only the soul will survive, not the body.

…..

We all seek a sign
But there is only one sign
The sign of Jonah

……

See Matthew 12: 38-42

Martha was distracted.
With much serving.
We become heated.
At others not working.

Lord , do you not care.
That my sister had left me to serve alone.
We worry not about ourselves but how others fare.
We’re always ready to bemoan.

But what comes before working.
Perhaps praying.
Meditating.
Praising.

Why be anxious.
Troubled and vexatious.

…….

Are we like Martha
Or do we pray like Mary
What’s the better way

……

See Luke 10 : 38-42

He healed them all.
And ordered them not to make him known.
If only we can focus on him we will walk tall.
Hope then sown , doubt forever flown.

Our first duty is not to put the world right.
But to know God.
This is the welcoming light.
To salvation, the lightening rod.

The first commandment.
To love the Lord with all your heart.
No mere casual statement.
But for everything the end and the start.

Next love your neighbour.
That might be more of a labour.

……

What’s our first duty
It’s not to put the world right
But it’s to know God

……

See Matthew 12: 14-21

I demand mercy.
Not sacrifice.
Perhaps less controversy.
And more just being nice.

The church spire rises.
From the sylvan hills.
Thus faith arises.
Through grinding centuries’  mills.

God is proven by design.
All this cannot happen by chance.
All follows a rational line.
An ordered beautiful dance.

If God had not ordered it.
Surely chaos would have ruled it.

…….

He demands mercy
Not animal sacrifice
For redemption

……..

See Matthew 12: 1-8

God said to Moses.
I am who I am.
Thus the eternal truth was given to Moses.
God just is I am who I am.

This is the proof of his existence.
There has to be a first mover.
Everything is contingent on his existence.
Because we know that everything has a mover.

God just is.
He is outside time
He neither was, nor will be , he is.
We, not him, are governed by time.

In this life we will not fathom him.
Only in the next will we know him.

……

God said to Moses
After he asked for his name
I am who I am

…….

See Exodus 3 : 13-20

I have sunk into the mud of the deep.
Where there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep.
Where the flood overwhelms my foothold.

Sometimes depression overwhelms us.
But we know we are not alone.
There is someone be who cares for all of us.
He is always there if we just atone.

So we pray to you O Lord.
In your great mercy , answer us O Lord.
At an acceptable time O Lord.
With your faithful salvation O Lord.

We keep praying.
We just hope he is listening.

……

We just keep praying
We hope God is listening
That’s all that we do

……

See Psalm 69

Whoever does not take up his cross.
Is not worthy of me.
But we ask what is my particular cross.
And then of course what, who really is me.

Whoever finds his life.
Will lose it.
And whoever for my sake loses his life.
Will gain it.

We know all that.
We know it is true.
But we fight all that.
Whether or not it’s true.

We want our comfort.
And that’s earth’s not heaven’s comfort.

…….

We take up his cross
But only when it suits us
And are we happy

…….

See Matthew 10

You shall love the lord with all your heart.
And with all your soul.
A fairly good start.
But just a start in all our toil.

And of course love your neighbour.
As yourself.
But who is my neighbour.
Where can we find this elusive self.

But a Samaritan as he journeyed.
Had compassion.
Would we have tarried.
Is helping others our passion.

We fear we are the people who pass by.
And that all of our so called moral life is just an excuse.

…..

Love the lord with heart
With all you heart and with soul
But do we do it

….

See Luke 10: 25. – 37

So have no fear.
For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed.
Do not shed a tear.
Even your failures are not sealed.

What I tell you on the dark.
Say in the light.
One day you will rise like the lark.
So keep up the fight.

What you hear whispered.
Proclaim on the housetops.
Nothing gained nothing ventured.
No we are not failures , we are all the tops.

We will win through.
Me and you.

…….

So just have no fear
For yes nothing is covered
That is not revealed

……..

See Mathew 10 : 24-33⊆

Make your ear attentive to wisdom.
Incline your heart to understanding.
Then you will find true freedom.
With just some modest seeking.

I am reading about Monsignor Alfred Gilbey.
And his book We Believe.
Truly a priest worthy of some study.
By him we can truly wisdom receive.

If like him you call for insight.
You will come to understanding.
Jesus is in plain sight.
He is still in our day preaching.

You will understand fear of the Lord.
And knowledge of the Lord.

……

Attend to wisdom
Open to understanding
This is the true way

…..

See Proverbs 2 : 1-9 and see Alexander Haydon, The Absolute Uniqueness of Monsignor Alfred Gilbey , Arouca Press

Proclaim as you go saying.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Joyfully Acclaiming.
It is so in every land.

Heal the sick.
Raise the dead.
For we too often are the sick.
We all too soon will be the dead.

You received without paying.
Give without pay.
It’s for us to do this proclaiming.
Who will that gainsay.

As you enter a house greet it.
And if the house is worthy let your peace come upon it.

……

Proclaim as you go
Kingdom of God is at hand
And give without pay

……

See Matthew 10 : 7-15

Then from them , Joseph turned.
And wept.
Like him we often feel spurned.
Alone and bereft.

Joseph abandoned.
By his brothers in their jealousy.
Sold into slavery, cornered.
Well, all rather messy.

But he survived.
And he prospered.
Matured.
Recognised.

And finally showed mercy.
As he had not been given mercy.

….  ..

Joseph turned from them
And before his brothers wept
But did they repent

…….

See Genesis 41

For them he had compassion.
For they were harassed and helpless.
For us too he has compassion.
Because we too are harassed and helpless.

Like sheep.
Without a shepherd.
We are the sheep.
We need a shepherd.

The harvest is plentiful.
But the labourers are few.
Indeed we are plentiful.
And our labourers , our priests are too few.

We have to become the labourers.
Otherwise where are the labourers.

…….

He has compassion
We are harassed and helpless
But sheep with shepherd

…. …

See Matthew 9 : 32-38

He will free you from the snare.
Of the fowler.
We will be able to retreat to our lair.
And still we will be a spiritual mover.

From the destructive plague.
He will conceal you with his pinions.
In this knowledge we cannot be vague.
Whatever our own opinions.

Under his wings you will find refuge.
His faithfulness is buckler and shield.
Save us from the deluge.
We will not yield.

In this psalm ninety one.
We learn to appreciate and thank the one.

…….

Snare of the fowler
And from the destructive plague
We all will be free

…….

See Psalm 91

Why do we and the Pharisees fast.
But your disciples do not fast .
Will our own good intentions last .
Can we mail our intentions to the mast.

Can the wedding guests mourn.
As long as the bridegroom is with them.
Why be forlorn.
We are not like them.

The day will come when the bridegroom is taken away.
And then they will fast.
Then we will see the spiritual ray
And all this good will certainly last.

We will see him.
We will know him.

….

Do we also fast
Like the Pharisees did then
No there’s no need  now

…..

See Matthew 9 : 14-17

You are no longer strangers.
But fellow citizens.
Spiritual rangers:
And holy denizens.

Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails.
And place my hand into his side.
And place my hand in the mark of the nails.
I will not believe and will deride.

Yet Thomas was all for saving Lazarus.
He was not such a faint heart.
A faithful follower of Jesus.
A man set apart.

We too are always doubting
Then wondering and finally believing.

……

We see the nail’s marks
We place our hand into his his side
Just in our mind’s eye

…….

See Ephesians 2 : 19-22 and John 20 : 24-29

Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city.
Will you then sweep away the place.
Of course the Lord will show pity.
As he cares lovingly for every race.

The Lord is compassionate.
And gracious.
We need never be irate.
Just for truth tenacious.

When I read this psalm.
I felt restored, renewed
A sense of pervasive calm.
Peace viewed in infinitude.

He will show mercy just for the sake of one.
Thus redemption for us all is won.

…….

For five righteous
The city will now be spared
The Lord shows mercy

……..

See Genesis 18 : 16-33 and Psalm 103

I am already being poured out as a drink offering.
And the time of my departure has come.
This is just the beginning not the ending.
For us all and not just some.

I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race.
Here is our true directing light.
One day we shall look our Lord in the face.

St Peter the Apostle of faith and unity.
St Paul the Apostle of mission.
Men of true untiring temerity.
To proclaim Jesus, their only ambition.

We try to follow their footsteps.
But do so only in tiny doubting steps

..  …..

He fought the good fight
And he did finish the race
And for all of us

….  …

See 2 Timothy 4