Really the Easter message is summed up in the first 3 words:

Your World Delivered

Broken bread and poured wine

Broken bread and poured wine;
A supper that means
Much more than
Food and drink.

Broken bread and poured wine,
Arranged, pre arranged, by Jesus
For those
Who would follow him,
Deny and abandon him
Just as we do.

Feet washed- a routine task
Now infused with grace.
The Master serves,
Showing how
To serve
With sacrifice;
How we are meant to live.

Broken bread and poured wine –
A meal with close friends,
Before his loneliness.
When all fall away
Despite fervent promises.

JM April 5, 2012

fixing our eyes

Hebrews 12:2(NASB) fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

fixing my eyes

Lord, my eyes
Wander where
There is no need to go

Jesus, you have begun
And completed my faith.
You wrote my story long ago,
And you write it with me
Now, step by step,
Day by day.

You endured the cross
And scorned its shame,
Yet I let my focus fade
For mere discomfort,
And look away from you
Ignoring the suffering,
Averting my gaze from you.

I want to pray,
“Lord fix my eyes,”
But it is my heart
That is not right.

Lord, break my heart
That I may fix my eyes –
As I fix my eyes on you,
the author and perfecter
of my faith,
let me gaze on
what you endured,
the cross.

Luke 19:40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

This morning at church, we heard a sermon on the description of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Luke (19:28-40). Jesus was coming as The King, but he turned out to be not the kind of king that many were expecting. He looked like something less than they wanted, but turned out to be way more than they could imagine.

Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

When the pharisees  told him to quiet his disciples. Jesus replied that if they were to be quiet, the stones would basically take up singing his praises.

The more I think of it the less difference there seems to be between Lent and Advent. Two sides of the same coin? I wonder.

A poem that I wrote for Advent a few years ago seems to be just right for Lent right now:

Advent

When we sat in darkness,
You came to us in light.
When we lived in helplessness,
You came to us at night.

Yet you were not what we expected.
We had hoped for something else.

God, you came to us the unexpected saviour.

We waited for a warrior;
You came the prince of peace
We sought a mighty power
Which would set our captives free.

You are not what we’d expected;

Helpless babe in young girl’s arms
Lord, you came to us an unexpected saviour.

We sought an end to poverty
You preached to us good news
We wanted vindication
Forgive me if I seem confused.

You are not what I expected
I had prayed for something else

You came to me an unexpected saviour.
Jesus, yes an unexpected saviour.

I long for ease and comfort
You expose my naked soul
And the life I’ve built so carefully
Tear down to make me whole.

You upset my money tables,
Drive my demons into pigs
You are not what I’d expected in a saviour.

Jesus, Heavenly Father,
Holy Spirit, Lord of Lords,
My dreams and hopes and wishes
Are idols I can ill afford.

Come to me so unexpected
Take my rags, but make me yours.
I welcome you Lord Jesus, unexpected Saviour!

JM November 2009

In the sermon this morning told we heard that even though stones are not known for being smart, they would still be able to recognize Jesus as King of Creation.  Could we do any less?

Contentment

Every time I enter the mall
I have an expectant sense
That there might be
Something here that I need.

Something there,
If I looked carefully
Or searched long enough
Or asked the right question,
Would improve my lot in life.

For all my shopping,
The only thing
I can never find at the mall
Is contentment.

JM
July 11, 2010

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Listen

Listen.
God is speaking,
Speaking in the sounds that you
try to ignore.

He speaks.
He speaks
in the scrape squeak,
clatter and rumble
of human activities.
Humanity,
created in His image,
doing what hands
have found to do.

Listen.
God is speaking,
in the silent spaces,
the pauses
in the music.

Lord, still
the anxious thoughts
the crazy zigzagging
of my to-do list.

Listen.
Be alone with your thoughts,
and let them pass
unengaged,
and then

Listen.

JM,
August, 2007

Morning Stretch

Lord, in these quiet moments,
While robins chirp, and the sun creeps
Higher in the sky,
I reach out to you –
To your infinite self and strong love,
Knowing, too that it is you who are
Reaching out to me.

I am awake at your bidding.
I seek you because you move me.
I respond to the beauty of this moment
That you have put there.

I listen for your voice,
And I hear a crow calling – nature singing,
The clock ticking – time passing,
Aeroplanes, cars and busses – the city coming to life,
And all is held and moved by you.

Breathing in and out,
Heart beating,
Thoughts darting this way and that,
Like small trout in a
Sun-dappled stream.

Alive, and in your care,
I listen and wait and pray,
And try desperately to
Be still and know
That you are God.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

JM
March 24, 2012

Psalm 40:6-10 (NIV)

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
but my ears you have opened —
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.”
I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, LORD,as you know.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.