Les noces deCana, Louis Kahan, 1949

http://www.spiritualite2000.com/Art/Australie/cana.jpg

Cana

Gospel writer John springs a miracle

to get things going. It’s a strange one,

a classic conundrum: water into wine.

Fortunately the miracle was never replicated

by Jesus, or any of his followers since.

In every age there have been those

who reached out to grasp

the dubious gift of drunken oblivion,

but they all managed to do so

by more conventional means.

Let’s quietly pack the miracle away,

let it age and gather dust in the cellar;

it proves nothing, never did.

The coming together of two people,

pledging their love and devotion

and becoming one flesh,

is made the occasion for this story

of joyous and abundant celebration.

Jesus, Word made flesh,

is both purpose and provider

for the party.

Buckets of water into buckets of wine;

dance until you drop!

Glorious excess;

there are no limits to joy.

Human existence has been unexpectedly infused

with something far more wondrous

than any mere miracle.

Jesus from the divine parent’s heart;

bearer of grace and truth,

and shining his light into the darkness,

lives among us.

Pour some wine: we have to celebrate!

© Ken Rookes 2013

Hot and windy

Hot and windy.

Really hot; the like of which

recorded history had previously

remained ignorant.

An apprehensive landscape

waiting fearfully for the ominous spark

that would create a devouring monster;

the dragon with many heads

sitting in triumph astride a parched terrain.

Ordinary women and men,

noting its rapid progress with alarm,

took arms of tank, pump and hose

attempting to defy the onslaught;

whilst communities, nestled

amidst once sweet and welcoming bush,

drank bitter draughts of grief

and tearful disbelief.

These things were never meant to be!

Those who ask difficult questions

shall be excused: Where can God be,

when hell has spilled beyond 

its metaphorical gates to turn

rough eucalyptian beauty

into roaring flame and ash?

Where, indeed;

but perhaps

in the dirty faces and

weary, smoke-filled eyes.

© Ken Rookes

I wrote this in response to the 2009 fires. Maybe someone will find it useful again in the current circumstances.

Baptism colouring

http://www.biblekids.eu/new_testament/Baptism_%20of_%20Jesus/Baptism_%20of_%20Jesus_html/baptism_of_jesus_26.html

baptism

Baptism of Jesus

Rosalind Hore, Baptism of Jesus

We think of it as 'heaven insurance'.

"Our baptisms have become so common place that we no longer even realize what we are doing, what we are committing ourselves and our children to when we bring them to God’s waters of life. We think we are naming them, or placing a mark or sign on them to protect them in case of accidental death. We think of it as “heaven insurance” as though we had a God who would bar admission to the life to come if a child did not come with the correct stamp of approval. ....
Our baptism is likely less about our own personal journey’s, our own personal forgiveness (though we certainly are forgiven) and more about God’s healing of the world’s brokenness. When we touch the waters, we join Jesus in the healing, as we join the thousands who have died hoping in that healing before us and the thousands who will come after us. We join in Israel’s old vocation, to be a light to all nations, drawing them to the God of healing, the God of life giving love. We must beware, lest we take this too lightly. Following God’s call this way is dangerous. It is sometimes deadly. In a world where the thirst for power and money creates people who will throw a life away for their own ends, our lives will get caught in the crossfire. But God does not abandon his people to the four winds. We are known and loved and cherished, just as the people of Israel were cherished, though scattered, when Isaiah wrote the beautiful words in Chapter 43:1-7. And though God has chosen to heal this broken world from within, a slow process that will take many generations, this healing vision is already our reality when we are caught up in his love in our baptismal covenant."

http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-9/070107-5-e.html

change

How many evangelists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but the bulb must repent of its darkness and be willing to be changed

When Jesus was baptised

They say that when Jesus was baptized,

the heavens opened,

and the Holy Spirit, however she is conceived,

flew between the realms

hitherto designated as either divine or human.

At this moment the previously exclusive distinction

began to fade and dissolve into an irrelevance,

that, millennia later, continues to disturb and frighten.

Then, by all accounts, celestial dove-like descending flutterances

became enmeshed with the swirling uncertainties

of earth’s dust;

beginning with the man from Nazareth.

Amidst the resigned dreariness of mortal fears and struggles,

he began to live flashes of love and other-worldly light

that caused many to gasp.

Some drew breath deeply with joyous hope and wonder,

released their dreams,

and went searching for the teacher so they might hear more.

Others groaned with fear, and shook.

Seeking only that he should go away, they resolved

to build their walls higher and their vaults stronger.

But the divine affirmation of this beloved son

was already spoken,

and the thing would not be undone.

© Ken Rookes 2013

Fool’s gold

Appearing nothing like the noble kings

that stepped confidently in gold leaf

from countless medieval paintings,

the ones we call wise

looked like a group of merchant traders

who had trod the road many months.

Dusty but unwearied, they chased

their star-obsession west,

all the way to Palestine.

The palace had probably been a mistake,

but they agreed  that the Bethlehem lead

looked promising.

They laughed along with the strangers

with whom they shared their story.

“The rainbow’s golden pot

might prove less elusive,”

a wit had joked, some months into their travels.

True, they might never find the prince

at the silver star-journey’s end.

They were troupe of clowns,

persisting in futility,

knowing and willing,

recklessly complicit

in each other’s foolishness;

having long concurred

that it was better to pursue with hope

a heavenly folly,

than to live with caution and fear.

And should they find the child,

why, then they would laugh and worship,

and the whole journey

would be as the gold

they carried.

© Ken Rookes

For some.

The wealthy and powerful ones;

rulers, kings and major shareholders

do a lively trade in information.

They invest some of their ample resources

in finding out stuff, analysing trends and opinion,

and gathering whatever facts can be assembled

from their multiple sources

in order to gain advantage over everyone else.

Knowledge, they say, is power;

who would argue?

In his terrible nativity story, Matthew

presents us with the despotic Herod,

who, sensing a threat to his kingly power

in the unlikely birth of a child,

demands, of his royal advisors,

insight and opinion. It is his hope

that when the appropriate dots

have been successfully joined,

they will indicate a profitable course of action.

And just when,

he confidingly enquires of the wise strangers,

feigning concern for the success

of their crazy adventure;

did the star first appear?

Having sent the gift-laden travellers to Bethlehem,

in accordance with some long-forgotten oracle,

he awaits their return,

along with the specific details,

(parents, street name and number),

that they will supply.

He must have waited some time;

the successful pilgrims, as the story goes,

were recipients of further information,

and went home by another way.

The ever-pragmatic Herod was unconcerned;

it was a minor inconvenience.

Their answer to his earlier question

had been duly noted by his scribes;

it would be sufficient for his mathematicians

to make the necessary determinations

that would allow his troops to do their job.

The baby’s parents also received advice

that enabled them to choose a path to safety.

Not so blessed were other young children

in Bethlehem. Knowledge, they say, is power;

for some.

©Ken Rookes 2012