Mary Magdalene

They Have Taken My Lord Away – Janet Morley

It was unfinished.

We stayed there, fixed, until the end,

women waiting for the body that we loved;

and then it was unfinished.

There was no time to cherish, cleanse, anoint;

no time to handle him with love,

no farewell.

Since then, my hands have waited,

aching to touch even his deadness,

smooth oil into bruises that no longer hurt,

offer his silent flesh my finished act of love.

I came early, as the darkness lifted,

to find the grave ripped open and his body gone;

container of my grief smashed, looted,

leaving my hands still empty.

I turned on the man who came:

"They have taken my Lord - where is his corpse?

Where is the body that is mine to greet?

He is not gone

I am not ready yet, I am not finished -

I cannot let him go I am not whole."

And then he spoke, no corpse,

and breathed,

and offered me my name.

My hands rushed to grasp him;

to hold and hug

and grip his body close;

to give myself again, to cling to him,

and lose myself in love.

"Don't touch me now"

I stopped and waited, my rejected passion

hovering between us like some dying thing.

I, Mary, stood and grieved and then departed.

I have a gospel to proclaim. 

Day 11

In my Father's house are many rooms;
if it were not so,
would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you?

(John 14:2)

It seems quite a coincidence that this verse has come up today from Pastor Patty, from the Mystical gospel of John, as it's from a passage so widely used at funerals.
Today we gathered together, a community set apart and bound by grief, to say goodbye to our lovely Revd. Huw's remarkable wife, Nat. I'd only known her since August but found her to be warm, funny, open and just a delight to be around.
We didn't have John 14 today but Philippians 4:
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

By way of a meditation I leave you with the poem which was read at the service:

"God" by Andrew Rudd
God
doesn't have to knock
uses the front door key
doesn't check how clean the house is

knows how to use the kettle
and where the spoons go
washes up

is quite content to sit
and chatter about issues
of no importance

ar just be quiet

Advent word - Commit

After assisting at a large funeral today the word 'commit' just keeps bringing me back to 'committal', which is part of the funeral service. Being involved as a minister in a funeral you're making a commitment to the family and loved ones to walk beside them in their grief. This will be a very different Christmas for that family, and others like them.

In Advent, reflect on a commitment you are considering accepting, or a commitment that needs renewing. In building the house of your life on the rock of God’s committed love, you may discover that you are called to commit; that you cannot claim the Life that God desires for you without it.

-Br. Keith Nelson

Act 9 - Dial Up

Prayer is such an easy generous way of helping someone, and they don't even have to know. There's so many people we meet who really wouldn't appreciate it if we told them we were praying for them, some might even be angry at the mention of it...so don't tell them. Prayer need only be between us and God. A very humbling thing is to pray for complete strangers- those we pass in the street or queue next to, or even park next to in traffic. Pray for someone you're angry with! It's amazing what that does for those feelings of irritation and frustration.
Our prayers tonight were for everyone who had spared a thought or kind word for our beautiful dog, Lucy, who went to sleep today. The generosity of people to stand with us in our grief, share a kind word and send us prayers hasn't eased our sadness but has helped us see the joy that Lucy brought in her three years with us.

This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. (Acts 19:10 NIV)