LECTIONARY EASTER (SUN)DAY: Easter Day (John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10)

This morning,

Everything is new,

Life takes a different shape,

What was,

Has gone.

Hurts are lost in the immediate distant past.

Memories of defeat,

Are just that - memories,

A new truth calls out

As a witness to all.

What was learned

Must be unlearned

Great divides lose their power,

In the wake of this new morning,

Feet, tired with hurt

Will no longer be fixed - still,

Some will struggle onwards or back,

Some will take wary, careful steps forward,

And still others will spring into a new reality,

Freshly rooted with delight,

Cantering and contorting,

Crisp new modes of existence,

New experiences

Sharp with anticipation

And expectation.

On every street hope will sing

From rejoicing lips

And darkness will be overcome.

Resurrection calls out across

Eternity’s vastness

And the decay of the past

Is lost to dust,

Old,

Forgotten and Broken.

When the sun rises

And the clouds are stripped away,

When the way is made clear

And the paths are repaved

With righteousness,

The new future begins.

‘And when they had crucified him.’ Good Friday meditation for Matthew 27:33-44

Six simple words.

That’s all that Matthew tells us.

About the act of crucifying the saviour.

And Matthew’s scant words tell us something.

These six English word’s, (only three in the Greek), they tell us.

They tell us how typical this was.

‘And when they had crucified him.’

Almost like it was an everyday task.

Like putting the bins out.

Or doing the washing up.

Almost like an everyday task.

Which it was.

To the soldiers who held down his arms.

Who gripped his hands and stretched them out wide.

Who forced the nails home into his wrists.

And through his feet.

Piercing flesh, tearing muscle and scraping bone.

‘And when they had crucified him.’

There is no mystery here.

There is no Hollywood movie glamour.

Only harsh nails.

And harsh actions.

Actions not motivated by hate, or intolerance.

Not actions charged with anger and frustration:

Although there was plenty of that going round.

No, the hands that crucified Jesus were the same hands that guarded palaces.

The same hands that controlled crowds and followed commands.

The same hands that fought with swords and gripped shields tightly.

‘And when they had crucified him.’

Another crucifixion.

That was all it was.

Another crucifixion in a long line of crucifixions.

Three this day.

Countless numbers in the days and weeks and months before.

And countless numbers in the days and weeks and months to follow.

Those strong hands didn’t force nails through this one out of anger.

They did it because that is what they did.

Orders given and orders followed.

‘And when they had crucified him.’

Once the condemned man was hung upon the cross,

The soldiers did what they always did.

Divided the clothes among themselves, of the one soon to die.

He wouldn’t need them after all.

This condemned man was no different to any other.

A thief, a murderer, a bandit, a rebel, a seditionist, a traitor,

The empire crucified them all.

Simply condemned - not to make amends for their transgressions,

But to keep the streets clean, to keep the peace,

To uphold the lore of Caesar,

And to keep the occupied territories in order.

‘And when they had crucified him.’

How could they have known this man was any different,

From the ones who’d died before.

His claims had been more audacious,

And his rebellion fuelled by words and peaceful actions,

Until sword blades swung and sung in the quiet garden at his arrest.

So they’d mocked him, they’d beaten him, they’d spat upon his brow,

They’d treated him with the same contempt as any impostor king,

And now here he hung, another false idol, another failed coup,

Another broken rebellion and another wasted life.....

‘And when they had crucified him.’

To commemorate his folly and to indicate his crime they hung the sign,

Above his bloodied head,

“This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” the homemade sign read.

And that was that.

They hammered more nails into the quivering wrists,

And shaking ankles of two bandits, two rebels,

Who they crucified alongside him.

Then they sat down and watched.

Strong hands resting as the sun rose in the morning sky.

By then, they had crucified him.

LECTIONARY HOLY WEEK: Lay them down (Matthew 21:1-11)

Lectionary Poem: Lay them down. Matthew 21:1-11

The city awakes from latent slumber,

Born afresh on this new day,

Gates flung wide,

Enters the messiah,

Riding on a donkey, a colt,

“Hosanna” is the shout that fills the dusty streets,

“Hosanna” is the praise that echoes to midday heat,

Slumbering the giant,

The city groans,

Crowds muster,

People cheer,

“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord”

Lay them down you city dwellers,

Lay them down you passersby,

Lay them down you stoutly devoted,

Lay them down you sinner’s hearts,

Lay them down you worthy righteous,

Lay them down you untouched outlaws,

Today marks another way sign,

When future and past,

Convene to bless humanity,

The new way is beginning,

And “messiah” is in the midst,

Time ticks by, and days will pass,

At history’s reshaping,

On weary roads and between hovel homes,

Cloaks are laying down,

Walked upon by hooves and crowds,

Living breathing witnesses,

And a new season will soon begin.

Lay them down you city dwellers,

Lay them down you passersby,

Lay them down you stoutly devoted,

Lay them down you sinner’s hearts,

Lay them down you worthy righteous,

Lay them down you untouched outlaws.

Easter Eve

Atlum Schema

I’ve been meaning to write this piece for the last few weeks!

A few weeks ago I received an eagerly anticipated CD through the post. I’d pre-ordered Atlum Schema’s new album, Year 0, a little while before and I’d know that it was due. I’d listened to the song sampler download that was available prior to the full release of the album, and I’d also watched the video for one of the tracks relentlessly.

Needless to say, when the CD arrived I was delighted. It’s a beautiful album, filled with great tunes, fantastic lyrics and lively melodies.

Atlum Schema (Andy Mort) makes music that deserves to be played more widely, known by more people and enjoyed further afield. Andy’s a bit of a cottage industry, writing, playing, recording, off his own back.

Along with Rivers and Robots and Listener, Andy is another example of great artists who have decided to use bandcamp, social media and online opportunities to make a go of making music as more than just a hobby. Andy is constantly exploring creativity and does some amazing things.

Now, in no way am I trying to write an NME / MOJO style review of this album, but I do want to impress upon people the impression it made on me. It’s spiritual stuff, deeply emotive, and it comes from somewhere very deep. Much of the album was apparently written while one of Andy’s close friends was incredibly ill (if I’m not mistaken) and while that can be read in the lyrics and comes across in the mood of the album, it’s an uplifting experience. This is an album to be savoured. It’s not just a CD to listen to when you are feeling depressed, or ill, or lonely, or even contemplative, it’s a sing-along drive album, it’s a great album.

Imagine Sigur Ros meets Waxahatchee, Justin Vernon and the Low Anthem for a drink: this is the music that comes out.

Musically the album is fantastic, but lyrically it is utterly flawless. Devastatingly insightful and incisive.  

Let me give you some examples,

Empire of the Soul:

“We are the accepted face.

We make the rules for the game.

Carry the gun filled with fatal saving grace.

This is an empire,

I’m sure, 'cos the thing that we fear is the thing we fight for.

This is the empire of the soul.”

Wrecking Ball

i’m on their side not your side this time

i’m on their side not your side of the line

you’re perfect, it’s not about you

it must be what the rest of us do

we’re vile and we’re creatures of hate

please don’t give up on us you are great

Pretending To Sleep

sleep talking investment quickly

sell my soul for a chance

priest is quick to grant forgiveness

where I’m going is hell

it’s impossible to wake someone pretending to sleep

it’s impossible to wake somebody like me

Bottom Line

What am I worth to you if I’m alive?

What am I worth to you?

Please sir, did I meet the bottom line or am I dispensable?

Did I meet the bottom line?

Did I toe your party line or was I reprehensible?

Did I toe the party line?

I could go on and on and on. Andy’s gift is finding a lyrical hook, and nailing it. Like a poetic tweet, he writes a phrase that tears through your soul and seems to build around it.

Do yourself a favour, support an independent musician doing amazing things. Go over to bandcamp and buy this CD (or download if that’s your kind of thing!)

http://music.sheepdressedlikewolves.com/album/year-0

Anyway, enough of me, check Andy’s stuff out at www.atlumschema.com @atlumschema

LECTIONARY FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT: A series of haiku's (John 11:1-45)

Please note: these may not actually fit the form requirements of what a haiku is made of. But they're haiku's to me!

John 11:1-45 A series of haiku’s

Verse 11 .... “our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep”

Our friend lay down

Lazarus asleep, not alive

Eyes shut tight, so dark

Verses 14-15 .... “Lazarus is dead”

Death has visited

Lazarus, shrouded in dust

Nothing more to do

Verse 16 .... “Let us also go, that we might die with him.”

“To die is our call

And with him we must now go”

Thomas unafraid

Verses 25-26 .... “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

“The resurrection

Am I, in me put your faith

Now live beyond death”

Verse 33 .... he was deeply moved in spirit and trouble

Such trouble, weighed down

A heart filled with compassion

Honest empathy

Verse 35 .... Jesus wept

Jesus, moved to tears,

Loved ones’ pain, so much to bear

To him, just the start

Verse 40 .... “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

Glory embodied

A miracle to be seen

To only believe

Verses 43-44 .... “Lazarus, come out!”

“Roll this stone away,

This death has been defeated

Lazarus, come out!”