Easter Proclamation!

God Awakening

I will celebrate the victory of my God in silence, and in song.

I will gaze upon the likeness 

Of the one-who-was pierced.

I will touch the mystery 

Of the dead-one-living.

I will trace his signature over my heart:

North to South

East to West:

King of Kings

Lord of Lords.

I will open my mouth to sing the serenade of the stars,

The song of the angels before the throne of God.

 I will shout into the sunrise, a canticle for my King:

‘Rejoice!   Rejoice!

The Lord is Risen -

Alleluia!’ 

I will bury myself in his joy, 

And, with laughter,

I will rise again.

The King Sleeps

The King Sleeps

I will mine the agony of my God with a pick and a lamp.

I will hew the stones and teach them to cry ‘Hosanna!’

I will fashion a tomb to bloom in a garden

I will fracture the face of Israel with a blow

That will become an earthquake

To  awaken the dead.

I will set my lamp beneath a splintered tree

I will close my ears against the forsaken cries of the Holy One 

I will seal my mouth against the acrid taste of blood

I will shut my eyes to hide the corpse that hangs above me. 

His eyes, not -closed.  His body, not-clothed.

‘IT IS FINISHED!’

 

It’s over.   God - 

Adored, outpoured -  passes over. 

Numbed, beyond fear, I whisper a lullaby into the dark:

‘Be still.        Be still. 

Night dawns.  

Death dies -

The King sleeps.’ 

Frank And Alfie: For Vaughn and Zara

Frank and Alfie live in the County of Worcestershire in the United Kingdom.

We are here:

Here are my mum and dad (and grandma and grandad)

Here we are on Alfie's third birthday last year.

Alfie is holding cake.

This is our house:

Our neighbours live here:

This is our School:

Daddy and Alfie at the Hidden Gardens on holiday in Cornwall.

Grandma loves the Gardens!

At home with Grandad:

In a Castle with Mummy:

On the beach:

Frank's first day at school

Mummy and Daddy:

A sunny day at the beach:

A cold picnic!

The Second Blow

Alfie goes into Preschool and announces out loud (LOUDLY)  I’M NOT FINE!!A three-year old tells it like it is, and quickly moves on. 

Alfie’s father, Darren,  suffered a massive stroke on 6th December, and the family’s future became instantly and very dramatically, uncertain. 

What is there to say? Friends and family have rallied round with shock and compassion. “We are here.” 

How can we process this? 

The Bhuddists put it very well: “Don’t receive the second blow.” 

I am wounded. This shouldn’t be about me, forgive, me, my life has changed too, my daughter is broken-hearted, my son-in-law is fighting, with a degree of success ( thankfully) with  a life-changing stroke. How should I be, right now?

I am resisting  the “second blow’. Accept the new now, Refuse to be angry at “fate” . Give up the, “What if’s” Hold  on to “what is,” not try to, “fix it”, but  hold it, bear it, and let it go..

“Love bears  all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things!” Paul of Tarsus. So often, with elderly friends, suffering grief and loss during this pandemic, I have preached these words. Now I must proclaim them to myself. 

I’M NOT FINE.

But I’m here, and I’m staying. I am upheld, and I feel a foolish optimism, that is  from Elsewhere. Some of you will know. 

Thank you. Bless you. 

Darren with newborn son Frank: January 2016