Here I am for you called me.
Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling Samson, the boy.
We wonder , has he called me.
Are we turning our back on joy.

In our dreams is he calling.
Is it our imagination.
Are we listening.
Or is it just an illusion.

But if he keeps calling.
Perhaps it’s not just the metaphorical Eli.
Maybe it is the Lord calling.
Perhaps it’s the truth and no lie.

For sure, we’ll. never know.
But it’s best to say Yes rather than No.

……

Is he calling us
Is it really the Lord here
We have to believe

….

See 1 Samuel 3

Be silent and come out of him.
And the unclean spirit.
Convulsing him.
And crying out with a loud voice left his spirit.

We all have our demons.
We know what they are.
We do not reject them , we have our reasons.
They are within us , we don’t need to look far.

If Jesus is our centre.
We can persevere.
Into heaven we can enter.
We need no longer fear.

But for what do we have to thirst.
Just to put Christ first.

……

We all have demons
But can we force them away
With Christ’s help we can

….

See Mark 1 : 21-28

Jesus said to them.
Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
Are we, we ask such men.

He is calling.
Are we listening.
Are we following.
Are we giving.

We hear.
We pause.
We slowly steer.
Without real cause.

There is too much to do.
And too little faith to do.

….

Jesus says to us
Lay down your nets, follow me
But do we do so

…..

See Mark 1 :15

Behold my servant whom I behold.
My chosen in whom my soul delights.
A bruised reed he will gently hold.
A faintly burning wick will give new lights.

Dreaming I realised we too are a trinity.
Three persons in one.
Our individual self , our common humanity.
And our soul searching for the one.

We are not just a drop in a river.
In an instant dissolving.
We are an eternal individual, yet humanity’s sliver.
Changing , growing and ultimately surviving.

We are not, in this life, whole.
Unless united with our soul.

……

Who are we we ask
We are more than our own self
We’re humanity

……

See Isaiah 42: 1-4, 6-7

If anyone says I love God but hate my brother
He is a liar before God.
For he who does not love his brother.
Cannot love God.

Half asleep I prayed to my parents.
It is strangely soothing and uplifting.
And just so is praying to grandparents.
They seemed in their other world to be listening.

Do the dead hear us.
Are they listening.
I seemed to sense they still know us.
And want our praying.

None of this is certain.
But neither is it uncertain.

…….

We pray to parents
We remember grandparents
And hope they’re listening

…….

See 1 John 4

There is no fear in love.
Perfect love casts out fear.
Whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
In love there is no punishment to fear.

Jesus said , do not be afraid.
And got into the boat with them.
The clue is that he ensured their fears were  laid.
And did not just walk on the water by them.

We do not need to be afraid.
Love conquers all.
And faith succours all who are afraid.
We may not walk on water yet we walk tall.

So we fear not.
But not if we love not.

…..

There’s no fear in love
Perfect love casts out all fear
So we need not fear

.. ….

See 1 John 4 : 11-18 and Mark 6 : 45-52

Send them away to go into the countryside.
And buy themselves something to eat.
The disciples were quick to decide.
Send them away, they said, to eat.

But Jesus was more loving.
He broke the loaves.
And divided them amongst the people assembling.
Five thousand in droves.

He looked up to heaven.
And gave a blessing.
A foretaste of communion’s leaven.
Changing , sanctifying.

The first communion.
Amongst all the people in union.

….

He gave the blessing
And he broke the bread and fish
A first communion

….

See Mark 6 : 34-44

The star went before them.
Until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
They did not know the path before them.
And who, what was the child.

Have we enough faith.
To follow our star.
How resilient is our faith.
And what is our star.

We have to make that leap.
For nothing is certain.
But hope we can  keep.
As we look beyond the physical curtain.

Our star somewhere is there.
So have no fear.

…….

The star went before them
Came to rest over child
Their faith followed it

…..

See Matthew 2: 1-12

In the beginning was the word.
And the word was with God.
And the word was God.
And now we read the word.

The word is the logos in Greek.
What is logical and what is the divine order.
It is what  ultimately we seek.
The rational structure of a universe in order.

In the beginning was God.
All things were made by him.
And here now and for ever is God.
All things were made through him.

John bore witness about the light.
But he was not the light, Jesus is the light.

….

The beginning word
The logos of universe
And the word is God

…..

See John 1: 1-18

 

 

 

 

 

The reason why the World does not know us.
Is that it did not know him.
Perhaps we have missed the divine bus.
But he knows our every vacillating whim.

We have to let go.
Know this doesn’t matter.
Whether we are high or low.
Our ashes are just going to scatter.

We can concentrate on him.
Or we can be obsessed with us.
He really knows our every whim.
We can join the waiting spiritual bus.

We can fall it his arms.
And take up our spiritual arms.

….

We have to let go
And just fall into his arms
For he is waiting

….

See 1 John 2

No one who denies the son has the father.
Whoever confesses the son has the father also.
We find the son through the father.
We know the father through the son also.

Fears and worries during the night.
But in the church the mind clears.
It was as if I was invaded by light.
The mists of doubt recede with fears.

The long dark night of winter.
The hours slowly slipping by.
The mind a dreary printer.
But in the church the tears dry.

In praying, calming solitude.
The mind empties and lifts the mood.

……

In calm solitude
Praying in the empty church
The mind empties, peace

….

See 1 John 2 : 22-28

And the Shepherds returned.
Glorifying and praising.
Have we from this life turned.
Are we here, for the end, merely waiting.

I was pondering, thinking.
Who are we really, what is our essence.
We are so tied up in our ego , just existing.
But what will come into the divine presence.

It is not this body, our life’s role.
Nor any possession.
Only the undefinable soul.
Will survive and is the essential lesson.

So we chase our essence.
Yet it eludes us, it is only a sense.

……

What is our essence
Is it body or our soul
What’s essential

……

See Luke 2: 16-21

The light shines in the darkness.
And the darkness has not overcome it.
It shines and dispels all emptiness.
An eternal lamp is lit.

I stood by the running chalk stream.
Its notes quietly ringing.
An infinite consciousness stream.
The sound tingling, burbling.

In the city you do not see this light.
Running yet still, mindful.
Reflecting the pale winter twilight.
Calming , soulful.

The stream endlessly carries on.
We, we hope, endlessly carry on.

…..

The stream carries on
And we, we hope carryon
To light from twilight

……

See John 1: 1-18

The child grew and became strong.
Filled with wisdom and the favour of God.
It is for him that we long.
We search for him as God.

During the night I was filled with doubts.
How could a man be God.
Where were my spiritual lights.
Who , what is God.

I woke and I knew.
God is love.
For the many and not just the fervent few.
Love never dies , he is alive.

All through the long night I kept repeating.
God is love, God is love repeating.

…..

How do we know God
God is love, he is just love
Keep repeating it

….

See Luke 2: 36-40

Let the greatest among you become the youngest.
And the leader the one who serves.
Thus we value the least.
With the lowest reserves.

I woke in the night feeling a failure.
But our religion congratulates success.
But values failure.
And does not  worry about success.

Four centuries apart, two royal Henrys.
Two Thomas’.
Two over powerful Henry’s.
Two honest to themselves Thomas’.

Who were the greater.
We know who were the lesser.

……

Thomas and Henry
One powerful one humble
We know the greater

…..

See Colossians 1: 24-29

Whoever honours his father.
Atones for his sins.
God the son and Father.
Together take away our sins.

I have always wondered how Jesus could be God.
But in my dream I saw him not as God on earth but in Heaven.
He really is man and God.
Man on earth , God in heaven.

In my dream my doubts lifted.
I believed without question.
It was if I had never doubted.
There was only faith without question.

Like Joseph in dreams, we see the truth.
Because during the day, activities bury the truth.

…..

In dreams Joseph was warned
We must listen to our dreams
Is an angel there.

……

See Sirach 3

Beloved that which was from the beginning.
Which we have heard.
Which we have seen from the beginning.
Which we have touched with our hands and not just heard.

The life was made manifest.
And we have seen it.
And proclaim to you the eternal life made manifest.
And we testify to it.

We proclaim to you the eternal life.
Which was with the Father.
Now we ourselves hope for eternal life.
And we seek it with son and Father.

We follow St John.
And we know our inspiration is St John.

……

From the beginning
The word was made manifest
Our inspiration

….

See 1 John 1: 1-4

Be a rock of refuge for me.
For you are my rock.
A mighty stronghold to save me.
An everlasting rock.

Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven.
And saw the glory of God.
We search heaven.
Our only wish to see God.

Behold he said , I see the heavens opened.
And the son of man standing at the right side of God.
Will we ever see for us heaven opened.
Will we come face to face with God.

That is our only hope.
And what a hope .

….

He saw heaven  lit
Will we have the same vision
That’s our only hope

….

See Acts 6

How beautiful upon the mountains.
Are the feet of him who brings good news.
We tread wearily our own spiritual mountains.
Spreading in a small way our own good news.

Christmas is not just one day.
A day of  family celebration.
It is a day for every day.
A perpetual annunciation.

We can be joyous.
It will never end.
The light remains perpetually luminous.
To the universe’s end.

The saviour is born.
We will be reborn.

….

We can be joyous
For this  day will never end
It’s perpetual

….

See Isaiah 52: 7-10

And you child shall be called the prophet of the most high.
For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.
This truth is certain, it is no lie.
We bask in his son’s rays.

This glorious hymn of Zachariah.
Fills us with confidence.
Now we can play our part in this drama
With hope inspiring ebullience.

We have our part to play.
We are an actor in this story
We too can prepare the way.
Step by step, story by story.

We are here.
We need have no fear.

….

This child the prophet
A light to the nations
We have a part too

….

See Luke 1: 67- 79

The time came for Elizabeth to give birth.
And she bore a son.
Today’s we celebrate John’s birth.
Tomorrow evening God’s son.

They would not accept Zachariah’s choice for name.
Just as they what not accept all his son’s preaching.
But he has won immortal fame.
By his foretelling.

I could not hear all of the sermon.
But no matter.
I got the sense of preparing the way, Amen.
And does much else matter.

John cried out in the wilderness.
And we will emerge from whatever is our own wilderness.

…….

Elizabeth birthed
And she bore a son called John
Precursor saviour

….

See Luke 1 : 57-66

O King of nations.
And Cornerstone of the church.
We are from all nations.
In his one church.

Come and save humanity.
From whom you formed the clay.
Let us then cherish all humanity.
That’s all we really need to say.

I was in a packed country church.
At their annual Carol service.
Perhaps cultural Christianity, but all part of our search
A moving beautiful service.

Every service has value.
And this we can value.

….

O king of nations
And cornerstone of the church
Dave humanity

……

See Today’s Gospel acclamation. Rex Gentium

When Joseph woke from his sleep he did as the angel commanded.
He took his wife.
We too are commanded.
To seek new life.

I woke from my dream.
And realised I just needed to pray.
I do so as I dream.
But during the day I hardly ever pray.

I just sat back.
And thought of God.
Inspiration, I did not lack.
There is a whole universe in God.

He need not be nowhere.
In our prayers he can be everywhere.

….

We just have to pray
All day and at any time
We just have to pray

….

See Matthew 1: 18-25