Tag: grief

Jeremiah | Planting with the prophet Jeremiah

In the face of climate catastrophe, seek the welfare of your place. One from the archives, dusted off and revisited in a new context. (Listen here.)

Driving to church this morning, I nearly hit a kangaroo. It was a juvenile male moving frantically through the many acres of roadworks at the freeway exit in Bulleen. I slammed on my brakes as he hopped past my bonnet, then across two more lanes of traffic and over the freeway bridge into suburbia. I had wondered about whether the following would preach here in Templestowe. But the wave of grief I felt for this young kangaroo, whose home has recently been torn up around him so we can build yet another major road which will very soon fill up with traffic, told me that the following is exactly what we need to hear.

Continue reading “Jeremiah | Planting with the prophet Jeremiah” →

Parable | The kingdom is like …

Last week, a couple told me this story about their day. I loved it so much that, with their permission, I shaped it into a parable to share with you.

What is the kingdom of God like? With what shall I compare it? Perhaps … the kingdom is like an email about church finances. Buried in the text a woman discovers a pearl: ‘We trust in a God of infinite goodness and creativity, who can always find another way. It might not be the way we wanted or planned, but if God has anything to do with it, there will be new life, new friends, and plenty of justice and joy.’ Again and again she reads these sentences aloud, to herself and to her husband. Continue reading “Parable | The kingdom is like …” →

Prayer | When a pet dies

This St Francis Day, we named, celebrated and blessed our animal companions using other people’s prayers. But to remember the animals we love who have died this year, we used our own:

Creator God, when you made the mammals,
the birds, the fish, and even the creepy-crawlies,
you saw that they were good.
Loving God, we pray for the animals
who are no longer with us.
Thank you for their lives.
Thank you for their goodness.
Thank you for the times that we shared,
the gifts we received,
the things we learned,
the affection we knew,
the events and habits which made us laugh,
and even for all the messes.
God, we commit our creaturely kin
back to the earth from which they came
and into the fullness of your loving presence,
and we ask for your comfort in our sadness.
In the name of the one who taught us to pay attention
even to birds: Jesus Christ, our Lord: Amen.
Continue reading “Prayer | When a pet dies” →

Isaiah | The heavenly banquet

ELLIOTT WRITES: Dear Alison, Mum says that God said in heaven there won’t be any sadness or crying. But I know lots of people don’t believe in heaven and don’t want to go there. Some of my friends and their families don’t want to believe in God or heaven. I think I will miss them in heaven so I will be sad – I don’t think God will make clones of them. Can you explain this to me? I would like it in an email. From Elliott. Continue reading “Isaiah | The heavenly banquet” →

Saints | Small ghosts, and how we remember them

Small ghosts trail behind so many families, invisible to the naked eye or the quick hello.

Rena bustles around her son’s birthday party, passing food and welcoming guests. During a lull, we chat. ‘Did you ever think of having another child?’ I ask. ‘Oh, we did,’ she says, voice suddenly rough, ‘but he died. He was eight weeks old. He got an infection, it entered his heart, and he died.’ I place my hand on her shoulder; there are no words. Continue reading “Saints | Small ghosts, and how we remember them” →

Job | Responsibility, awe and wonder

In response to human suffering, God offers presence and a broader perspective. (Listen.)

God, why was Elephant killed? What about J and K and all our other friends this year? Why is there a plague galloping across the earth, and so many people suffering or dead? How long must we live in fear? When can we see friends and family again? We’re good people, Lord, faithful and committed and true. We try to live ethically; we pray: why is this all happening? Continue reading “Job | Responsibility, awe and wonder” →

Psalms | Slow reading | In the vale of death’s shadow

Yesterday there were two funerals as two beloved young people, both killed in the same car crash, were farewelled in this region. I could pile on words of comfort and assurance. I could remind you that those who grieve are blessed. I could assure you that nothing can separate us from God’s love. I could recall the peace which surpasses all understanding, and which so many of us experience precisely at these moments of extreme need. But this week, I don’t think we need more words, just the balm of an old favourite. So let us rest in Psalm 23, and let the good shepherd minister to us all. Continue reading “Psalms | Slow reading | In the vale of death’s shadow” →

Psalms | My soul refuses to be comforted

We love the idea of a powerful God who reaches out to organise events to our satisfaction: and right now, we could really use a God like this. A God who ends world hunger, ensures justice for every situation, waves a hand to make climate change and the pandemic simply disappear, and all without us doing a thing. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of this God in Scripture. Continue reading “Psalms | My soul refuses to be comforted” →

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑