Category: Bible

Vision – based on Ezekiel 37: 1-14

Vision – based on Ezekiel 37: 1-14

And I looked as I led worship 
and saw the dried and brittle bones 
of the scattered few before me 
and there was no life.
Too old, 
too desiccated, 
too worn out, 
or lived out 
ever to be able to stir again.

And I wept as I looked 
and prayed for answers, 
but my heart told me 
it was too late; 
the life had gone. 
There was acceptance 
of an unchanging future; 
the stillness of lethargy 
and emptiness of spirit.

And I looked again 
and saw my prayers 
were not to empty air 
for a breath of God 
moved among the weary; 
new energy began to stir; 
movement was discernible 
and purpose was born again.

And God had shown me, 
in spite of all my doubts, 
that hope is never completely dead 
and there can be new life, 
even in old bones.

© Marjorie Dobson published on Worship Cloud

Used with permission.

When song gives way to solitude – hymn inspired by Psalm 130

This coming Sunday is Passion Sunday. The following words were inspired by one of the Psalms, 130, appointed for this Sunday.

1	When song gives way to solitude,
	and loneliness conspires with fear;
	when walls of anguish tower around,
	and agony is sharp and shear;
	deep in the midst of our concern
	love can, love must, love will draw near.

2	When all is dark and comfortless
	and no one near can hear our sighs,
	when tears are salt with bitterness
	and all we know are jeers and lies;
	here in the midst of our despair
	love shares our pain and with us cries.

3	When all is seared with grief and loss
	and faith seems empty, or absurd,
	when life lacks purpose, shape or form,
	we find no sense, we frame no word;
	here in the furnace of our fear
	love whispers peace and will be heard.

Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2002 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 8 8 8 8 8 8
Tune: ABINGDON

Tangled in prejudice, lost in presumption – hymn inspired by John 9: 1-41


A hymn inspired by John 9: 1 – 41…As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned

Tangled in prejudice, lost in presumption, 
locked in our judgments, so sure of our ground; 
others are sinful, but we are the righteous, 
this is the truth we are sure we have found.
	
This is our blindness and now we must own it, 
owning suspicion of those we deride; 
painting them wrongly, unjustly with hatred, 
side-stepping honesty, trying to hide.
	
For like the Pharisees' we are self-serving,
gaining our wealth from the ones we oppress;
sometimes we bring down the ones who would challenge, 
this we have done and now this we confess.
	
In this confession we seek your forgiveness, 
God who has touched both the broken and frail. 
We were thought strong, but we plead for compassion, 
we, the successful, have found we can fail.
	
Yet you astound us, 'your sins are forgiven', 
words that have echoed down into our time.
How can we warrant such scandalous mercy?
Only through grace can you offer this sign.

Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2011 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 11 10 11 10
Tunes: EPIPHANY HYMH; IN THE BEGINNING GOD PLAYED WITH THE PLANETS

A dramatic reflection on Romans 5: 1 – 11 – Justified by faith?

A scribe is working on the letter to the Romans. The scribe is sitting at a table, muttering while looking over a scroll, pen in hand:

Riddles, riddles, riddles…

‘Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…’

What on earth did he mean, that fall – oops – Paul guy? Freudian!! Sorry!

I mean, what did he mean? That’s the problem with this Greek, no punctuation. I mean you have commas and full stops and what-not. We haven’t.  So what did he mean? You don’t get it?

Well let me read it to you. ‘Therefore since we are justified by faith (exaggerated pause) we have peace with God’. Did he mean that, or did he mean, ‘‘Therefore since we are justified (exaggerated pause) by faith we have peace with God’. See what I mean?

No? Ok, let me spell it out to you. You all seem to think that Paul meant to say that we are justified, made right with God if you like, by faith. No problem with that. Consequence, ‘we have peace with God’.

But I just got to wondering. What if Paul reckoned that we are justified. Accept it! Just trust it is so and that’s the way to peace with God? See what I mean? No? 

Riddles, riddles, riddles…that old scribe playing with words again? I know what you’re thinking. But words are my stock in trade. I do think about them, not just write parrot fashion – if you’ll pardon me mixing  my metaphors?

But perhaps you’re right. I make too much of these details sometimes. I’m a right pedant!

Ok. I’ll get to the point, whatever Paul thinks.

At the end of the day, We have peace with God – don’t we? No beating about the burning bush then?

Wonder what’s next? Think I’ll just make a cuppa (gets up and strolls off).

© Andrew Pratt 14/2/2011

She’s the one Christ should have hated – Jesus and a Samaritan woman – a hymn

Lent 3 The gospel reading  (John 4: 5-42) tells of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman. This hymn reflects on this story. 

1	She's the one Christ should have hated, 
	every law set her apart, 
	woman, foreign, faith betrayer, 
	yet compassion warmed his heart.
	
2	Was he thirsty? Human nature 
	giving us a reason why 
	he would cross these rules, these bound'ries, 
	does this story give the lie?
	
3	Yet whatever choice we fathom 
	Jesus talked and spoke with her;
	sought to find a new direction, 
	new found faith began to stir.

Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2011 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 8 7 8 7
Tune: ALL FOR JESUS