December 17thFive Minutes on Friday #11
A poem based on Isaiah 11.1-9 by the English priest poet, David Grieve.
ADVENT GOOD WISHES
Give you joy, wolf,
when Messiah makes you meek
and turns your roar into a cry that
justice has been done for the poor.
Give you joy, lamb,
when Messiah saves you from jeopardy
and all fear is overwhelmed
by his converting grace.
Give you joy, wolf and lamb together,
as Messiah brings worldwide peace and,
side by side, you shelter
under Jesse’s spreading shoot. [David Grieve]
Linda Richardson says this about her painting:
In this painting there is a figure, maybe an angel or a tree spirit holding a candle, but the light from the candle has a radiance that is other worldly. It gently lights up the sleeping wolf and lambs that rest at the foot of the painting. At first the painting seems very peaceful but it is disturbingly fiery and high above the tree are two military helicopters hovering, it seems, like vultures. I wanted to paint both peace and war, as they are the reality of the times we live in, however the centre of the painting is very still, the figure has its eyes closed and is perhaps praying.
In turbulent times we may wonder how to keep despair at bay, but the radiant, gleaming colours of the painting tell us that God’s love surrounds us on every side and encompasses us. If we trust God, then the gleaming beauty with which God surrounds us can become our vision and fear is kept at bay.
ADVENT WOMEN
The Gospel text for this Sunday is Luke 1.39-45. It is a beautiful story of two pregnant women who meet in astonished amazement and joy. It is also a story of surprise: An older, barren woman newly pregnant and a teen, with child, out of wedlock. Surely they must have feared rejection and scorn. Yet both live faithful lives in response to the call from God.
Where do we think their sons learned how to live radically faithful lives? How to be preachers? How to be healers? They were the sons of two women who had faithfully lived through fear and doubt, yet oriented toward hope in the God who is always surprising us with a new future.
‘My soul gives glory to my God’