Gospel

Who are you, that you love us so much?

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Francesco Londonio ~1750, photo by Dall’Orto, via Wikimedia Commons
 
How meek you are, Jesus, yet how mighty!
Your judgment is mighty, but your love is sweet.
Who can stand against you?
 
If we seek who you really are, your true nature is hidden in heaven,
    in the essence of the mighty Triune God.
But if a person were to seek your face,
    they could have found you in the lap of Mary.
 
Who can realize your depth, 
    you who are a great sea that made itself so small?
We come to see you as God, and see?
    You are a man!
Or if we came to see you as a man,
    the light of your Godhead shone brightly.
 
Who would believe that you are the heir of David’s throne?
From all his beds, you inherited an animal’s feeding trough.
From his palaces you received a cave.
And instead of his chariots, a young donkey.
 
How fearless you are, 
    allowing everyone to carry you in their arms.
You met all with a smile, 
    making no distinctions between family and stranger,
    between your mother and others.
 
Was it your love – you, who love all?
What moved you to let everyone have you,
    the rich and the poor alike?
How could you not return anger for anger, 
    fear for threat?
You are above returning injury for injury.
 
Who are you, Jesus, that you love us so much?
Amen.
 
Ephrem the Syrian, c.306-373, Syrian hymn writer and theologian
_____________________________
 
 
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 
She gave birth to her firstborn son. 
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, 
    because there was no lodging available for them.

Continue reading →

Allow us to live in today’s Advent

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
 
O Lord, today we know once more, and in quite practical terms,
    what it means to clear away rubble and make paths smooth again.
We will have to know it and do it for years to come.
Let the crying voices ring out, pointing out the wilderness 
    and overcoming the devastation from within.
May the Advent figure of John,
    the relentless envoy and prophet in God’s name,
    be no stranger in our wilderness of ruins.
For how shall we hear unless someone cries out
    above the tumult and destruction and delusion?
 
Your Advent message comes out of an encounter of man
    with the absolute, the final, the gospel.
It is thus the message that shakes – 
    so that in the end the world shall be shaken.
The fact that the Son of Man shall come 
    is more than a historic prophecy;
  it is also a decree, 
    that Your coming and the shaking of humanity 
        are somehow connected.
If we are inwardly unshaken, 
    inwardly incapable of being genuinely shaken,
if we become obstinate and hard and superficial and cheap,
    then You will yourself intervene in world events
    and teach us what it means to be placed in this agitation 
    and stirred inwardly.
 
Allow us to live in today’s Advent, for it is the time of promise.
To eyes that do not see, it still seems that the final dice 
    are being cast down in these valleys, on those battlefields,
    in those camps and prisons and bomb shelters.
But just beyond the horizon the eternal realities
    stand silent in their age-old longing.
There shines on us the first mild light 
    of the radiant fulfillment to come.
From afar sound the first notes as of pipes and singing,
    not yet discernable as a song or melody.
It is all far off still, and only just announced and foretold.
But it is happening. This is today.
And tomorrow the angels will tell what has happened 
    with loud rejoicing voices,
  and we shall know it and be glad,
    if we have believed and trusted in Advent.
 
Alfred Delp, 1907-1945, German Jesuit, executed for resistance to Nazism
Watch for the Light freely adapted
 
_______________________
 
 
In those days John the Baptist came, 
   preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, 
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Continue reading →

expel the devil from this man

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image by Lawrence OP via Flickr
 
O Lord, holy Father,
almighty and eternal God,
expel the devil
and the paganism from this man,
    from his head, from his hair,
    from his brain, from his back,
    from his front, from his eyes,
    from his ears, from his nostrils,
    from his lips, from his mouth,
    from his tongue, from under his tongue,
    from his jaws, from his throat,
    from his neck, from his heart,
    from his whole body, from all of his members,
    from inside and the outside of him,
    from his bones, from his veins,
    from his nerves, from his blood,
    from his senses, from his thoughts,
    from his words, from all his works,
    from his strength,
    from all manner of conversation,
    for this, and in the life to come,.
But may the power of Christ, our mediator,
work in you, that we may attain life eternal,
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, Amen.
 
Antiphonary of Bangor, Prayer over a Person who has a Devil, #96
 
___________________________
 
 
And he called to him his twelve disciples 
    and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, 
    and to heal every disease and every affliction.

Continue reading →

transfigure your people and your creation

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
“Transfiguration” by Cornelis Monsma
 
 
O Lord Jesus Christ, glorified by the Father,
transfigured in holy light on Mount Tabor,
you have opened the gate of glory to the kingdom of the Father.
With Peter, James and John, we offer our adoration.
 
In this day also, O Lord Christ,
were the gates of hell opened
in the skies of Hiroshima
and the unholy light of death unleashed.
 
O Saviour of the world,
forgive us our blasphemy.
Inflame us by the vision of your divinity
and inspire us by the Holy Spirit
to seek the peace of your kingdom on earth.
By your saving cross and life-giving resurrection,
transfigure your people and your creation,
changing all from glory to glory.
 
For to you, O Christ, belongs all honour and praise,
with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and ever,
unto ages of ages. Amen.
 
United Kingdom
 
_____________________________
 
 
 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, 
    and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 
And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, 
    intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 
And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 
And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. 
    Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 
For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 
And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 
    “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”

Continue reading →

I never meant you to roll back the stone

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
The Resurrection Morning, by JH Hartley
 
 
I never meant you to roll back the stone
before I was ready to ask.
I had not even fingered
the roundness and edge of it,
tested my shoulder against its painful weight,
stood contemplating its massive shadow,
or wept in the half dark for a miracle
I would not have accepted.
 
How can I want what I wanted
but never believed in?
Despair was at least articulate, unstrange:
I knew what the repeated question was,
endlessly safe from an answer.
Not this open grave,
this violation of my certainty, this
chill ecstasy I can no longer refuse,
this fear I flee from without hope
it will leave me behind;
this large, gratuitous terror
I cannot not seek refuge from
without complete betrayal.
 
You, beloved,
for whom I stretched my heart with grief,
rudely announce its irrelevance;
arising to my unreadiness
not with a comfortable word,
but to a world appalled.
 
Janet Morely, British poet and theologian
 
_______________________
 
 
Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.

When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.

Continue reading →

the wonder of his Ascension

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Ascension of Christ, Pietro della Vecchia, Wikimedia Commons
 
 
Almighty God,
We come today reminded of your greatness and glory,
your sovereign power and eternal purpose
all expressed so wonderfully in Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Risen and Ascended.

We thank you for the wonder of Ascension,
that marvelous yet mysterious moment
in the life of the Apostles
which left them gazing heavenwards in confusion
yet departing in joy.

We thank you for the way that it brought the earthly ministry of Jesus
to a fitting conclusion;
signifying his oneness with you,
and demonstrating your final seal of approval
on all that he had done.

We thank you that through his Ascension
Jesus is now set free to be Lord of all:
no longer bound to a particular place or time,
but with us always—able to reach even to the ends of the earth.

We thank you that through his departing
Jesus prepared for his coming again:
through his Spirit,
his Church,
and his coming again in glory.

Gracious God,
Forgive us for so often failing
to grasp the wonder of Ascension,
for living each day as though it had never been.

Forgive the smallness of our vision,
the narrowness of our outlook,
the weakness of our love,
the nervousness of our witness,
our repeated failure to recognize
the fullness of your revelation in Christ.

Give us a deeper sense of wonder,
a stronger faith,
and a greater understanding of all you have done.

Father God,
Like the Apostles,
we too will never fully understand all Ascension means.
We accept, but we do not fully understand.
We believe, yet we have many questions.
Help us, despite our uncertainty, to hold firm to the great truth
that the wonder of Christ Jesus
goes far beyond anything we can ever imagine,
and in that faith may we live each day
to his glory and honour. Amen.
 
Bryce Calder, Church of Scotland Minister
 
_________________
 
 
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” 
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).  
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; 
but go to my brothers and say to them, 
    ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Continue reading →

Equip us to fight the enemy

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
 
Do not let us avoid the reading of the diving Scriptures, Lord.
For that would be Satan’s devising – not wanting us to see the treasure,
    otherwise we would gain the riches.
So he would say that hearing the divine laws means nothing.
Otherwise, if we did, we might become doers of the word,
    as well as hearers.
Knowing then his evil plan, Lord, 
    let us fortify ourselves against him on every side.
Fenced with this kind of armor,
    we can live unconquered lives,
    as well as strike a heavy blow to his head.
Then, crowned with glorious wreaths of victory, 
    we can attain the good things to come,
    by the grace and love towards others of our Lord Jesus Christ,
    to whom be glory and might for ever and ever, Amen.
 
John Chrysostom, c. 347- 407
 
____________________________
 
 
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness 
    to be tempted by the devil. 
And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 
And the tempter came and said to him, 
“If you are the Son of God, 
    command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 
But he answered, “It is written,
    “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
        but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Continue reading →

Reveal yourself to us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Fresco from the great Cloister of Santa Maria Novella in Florence / Lawrence OP
 
 
O Christ, the brightness of God’s glory 
    and express image of his person,
    whom death could not conquer,
    nor the tomb imprison;
  as you have shared our mortal frailty in the flesh,
    help us to share your immortal triumph in the spirit.
Let no shadow of the grave affright us 
    and no fear of darkness turn our hearts from you.
Reveal yourself to us as the first and the last,
    the Living One, our immortal Savior and Lord.
Amen,
 
Henry Van Dyke, 1852 – 1933, American diplomat and Presbyterian clergyman
 
_____________________
 
 
As they were talking about these things, 
Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 
    “Peace to you!” 
But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 
And he said to them, 
    “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
     See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. 
     Touch me, and see. 
     For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
 

Continue reading →

Why have You forsaken me?

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Study for Crucifixion (1947) by Graham Sutherland, CC BY-NC 2.0
 
 
Lord, 
you were not only tempted for forty days down by the Jordan 
but constantly all through your ministry.
 
Not to obvious blatant sins
but to the subtler deflections from the Father’s will;
to cunning compromise which would defeat the Father’s purpose.
 
As when the presence of the seeking Greeks
suggested the possibility of a wider mission
in which you might have been listened to and welcomed,
without the necessity of the cross.
 
As when in the Garden of Olives across the valley,
you wrestled with the doubt that death could be the Father’s will.
 
Or when, in the presence of Pilate
you might have pleaded your case with your accusers;
or in those fiercest moments of pain,
acquiesced to the mocking cry of the crowd to
    ‘Come down from the cross and we will believe,’
 
Until one temptation remained –
the final test, the last claim of love,
the fiercest attack of evil –
more subtle and shattering than the rest,
when, cloaked in a blanket of darkness
came the whispering doubt:
    What if God too has forsaken you?
 
And at last, the battle done, the last temptation met,
faith complete, the task finished, evil defeated,
love triumphant, you said:
    ‘Father into your hands I commend my spirit –
    the rest lies with you, Father, dear Father.’
 
And then it was that by the cross with its limp body
there must surely have sounded the voice from heaven 
    once more:
    ‘This is my beloved Son.’
    Son in call,
    Son in obedience,
    Son in love
    Son in death and in triumphant life.
 
George Appleton, 1902 – 1993, Anglican Bishop in England and Jerusalem
 
_____________________
 
 
It was now about noon, 
    and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,
    for the sun stopped shining. 
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 
Jesus called out with a loud voice, 
    “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
 

Continue reading →

Help me to live your Gospel

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees, James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum
 
 
Lord, it is too late for you to be quiet,
    you have spoken too much;
    you have fought too much;
You were not sensible, you know, 
    you exaggerated, it was bound to happen.
You called the better people a breed of vipers;
You told them that their hearts were black sepulchers
    with fine exteriors;
You kissed the decaying lepers;
You spoke fearlessly with unacceptable strangers;
You ate with notorious sinners,
    and you said that the street-walkers would be the first in Paradise;
You got on well with the poor, the tramps, the crippled;
You belittled the religious regulations;
Your interpretations of the Law reduced it to one little commandment: 
    to love.
Now they are avenging themselves.
They have taken steps against you;
    they have approached the authorities and action wlll follow.
 
Lord, I know that if I try to live a little like you,
     I shall be condemned.
I am afraid.
They are already singling me out.
Some smile at me, others laugh, some are shocked, 
    and several of my friends are about to drop me.
I am afraid to stop,
I am afraid to listen to men’s wisdom.
It whispers: you must go forward little by little,
    everything can’t be taken literally,
    it’s better to come to terms with the adversary . . .
And yet, Lord, I know that you are right.
Help me to fight,
Help me to speak,
Help me to live your Gospel,
To the end,
To the folly of the Cross.
 
Michel Quoist,1918 – 1997, French Catholic priest and writer
Prayers of Life

_________________________
 
 
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, 
    it remains only a single seed. 
    But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, 
    while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. 
My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
 

Continue reading →