Easter - Taste and see that the Lord is good

The ‘rumour of God’ wafts by in the sight and smell of the hot cross bun fresh out of the oven. Once, baking these spicy sweet buns was restricted to only on Good Friday in England:

Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs,
With one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns. (1733)

Of course now they beat the New Year in – spotted as early as Boxing Day!

“When you smell a fresh batch of these buns, you’re sharing an experience people enjoyed centuries ago. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Poles, Romans, Saxons, medieval monks and 18th-century street sellers all had their versions of spiced, crossed bread. Each group gave the buns its own meaning, from honouring gods to celebrating Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.” (from Pagan loaves, Christian bread, a secular treat: a brief history of hot cross buns). Yet as the author of this article writes, “they [still] remain a symbol of Easter in Australia and around the world".

And so, I wait with anticipation for Sunday, to gather with others to celebrate that in Christ, God has overcome the last enemy – death. In the visible breaking of the bread, in the sight and smell of God’s love for all in that spicy sweet treat, I hope to taste and see indeed that the Lord is good!

Blessings

Rev Ceri

Palm Sunday Is Always With Us

The above is the title of a profound sermon by a leader of the Iona Community. In Kathy Galloway’s words, as Jesus turned his face towards Jerusalem he knew that:

 “Jerusalem was not a peaceful, prosperous city….It was a city full of rumours, threat, discontent, where the poorest suffered most, and cried out for change. It was a city where the pieties of the religious often seemed far removed from the suffering of the people.”

During the last few years, we can name so many other ‘Jerusalem’s’, and so many previously great cities which now lie in rubble – whether from war or the escalating tide of environmental disasters.

When Jesus entered his Jerusalem he did so humbly and with courage, showing a new way of kingship that did not mete our violence for violence. A new way of kingship that cared for all those in need. A new way of kingship that put love above all else. Love of God and love of all. Friend and foe alike.

As we journey with Jesus this Holy Week, we pray for courage to show this same love, and the hope we have in Christ.

Blessings

Rev Ceri

Lent 5: No Matter The Cost

The scene in the gospel reading for this Sunday – Mary wiping the feet of Jesus with her hair and a pound of costly perfume – always stirs my sensory imagination. Particularly the sense of smell – the whole house was filled with the fragrance we’re told. Could it have been almost overpowering?

We walk with Jesus as Holy week approaches. I imagine that Mary, Martha and Lazarus, close friends of Jesus of Nazareth, are filled with fear and grief for their dear friend. They are going to lose him. The depth of their sorrow and love is shown in the pouring out of the precious perfume on the feet of their loved one.

No matter the cost…

For Jesus, sent by God, love for all never wavers - no matter the cost.

May you hold the ones you love dearly to your heart this week, remembering and showing them how precious a gift they are. And may you feel God’s love this week, and remember how precious a gift that you are.

Blessings

Rev Ceri

The Parable of the Human Family

Reflection: The Parable Of The Human Family

“A family is a web so delicately woven that it takes almost nothing to set the whole thing shuddering or even to tear it to pieces. Yet the thread it’s woven of is as strong as anything on earth.” (Frederick Buechner)

Whether a family remains intact over decades or is torn apart in one short moment, the memories never fade. Haunting, wistful, sorrowful and precious, they remain within us, colouring the rest of the days we live in. A young couple walking up the street, shopping in one bag, seen for a second or two out of my car’s side window. And I’m thrown back to when we were so! Precious and wistful. The anniversary of a parent’s death, the passing birthday of an estranged loved one, tug at the strings of sorrow in the heart

We get on with living, sometimes burying deeply the broken threads of our human family. But sometimes we are reminded of the parent, sandals and clothes flapping in the wind, running down the dusty road, tears of joy streaming down the face, arms wide open in a welcome home to the one who was lost, who holds the broken threads in their hands.

Lenten blessings

Rev Ceri

Standing Firm

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.(Philippians. 4:1)

On the tail end of a major weather event in our own backyard, I give thanks to God for the spirit of support and care that so many communities showed and continue to show to those still affected. Apart from some minor panic-inspired denuding of our supermarket shelves!

But even this inspired several conversations over how the reappearance of simple staples such as eggs and bread were a cause for celebration! One man related how he and his young family discovered the joy of crumpets dripping with butter and honey on Sunday evening due to the lack of bread!

As threatening clouds appear to be gathering once again – this time on a global scale – I feel St Paul’s message to ‘stand firm in the Lord’ in the way of caring for those in our own communities so ably demonstrated over the last two weeks is even more urgent!  We keep on quietly doing what we know is the right way to follow the God who longs to gather us and protect us as a mother hen does her chicks. I hope you feel the same way.

Blessings

Rev Ceri

The Sound of Music...

12 For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isaiah speaks of the word of God going out and drawing a burst of song from even the mountains and hills, with clapping from the trees of the field. The hills ARE alive with the sound of music!!!

We may not feel like it much at the moment with everything that seems to be going on, but group singing has many benefits. Physiologically helping people to bond, feel good, help our immune system and even help our tolerance of pain (and possibly bad news)!

I was also intrigued to read that singing Christmas carols was devised as a cure for seasonal depression in cold climates with long winters

We worship together and we sing. Afterwards we go out together, and just possibly, with hope, feel the joy and peace that giving worth to God who sung all into existence might bring.

Just like those hills, mountains and trees!

Rev Ceri

A New Way of Being - "God-transformation"

“And he (Joseph) kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.”

The climax of the story of Joseph occurs when his brothers realise that the powerful and important Egyptian they are facing in their quest to buy desperately needed food is actually their younger brother whom they condemned to death in a fit of jealous rage many years ago.

No wonder they were initially dismayed and unable to speak!

Joseph shares with them his understanding that their evil act of long ago was part of God’s plan so that many in the future would be saved from starvation during the long years of famine – including their own lives.

From a cocky teenager and daddy’s favourite who lorded it over his older brothers, Joseph is transformed by God to someone who holds no grudge or need for revenge for past wrongs. Joseph celebrates that such wrongs have enabled a future for many.

We may grieve over the many cruelties and injustices we see, hear and read about, and it is right to grieve! But the transformation of Joseph is a reminder of our belief that God is acting in these spaces.  The future is open to God, no matter how bad things are now. Our prayers through Christ to God are more than ever needed for God-transformation to occur. Both for ourselves and for each other. That is our hope.

Blessings to you all

Rev Ceri

Valentine's Day in Retrospect - those Kissing Christians

I wrote this reflection on Friday, February 14th 2025. Valentine’s Day – chocolates, red roses, cards, gifts, special meals – a plethora of items and rituals to show our love for that special person/s in our lives. But also a time when loss or loneliness might be exacerbated for others.

So I was surprised and intrigued by research that showed in the early church (first four centuries) it was common for Christians during worship services to kiss each other on the lips – men and women! The holy kiss (chaste with lips closed as specified by Clement) was a regular part of different worship services. And a way to identify as Christian. I tried to imagine this happening today, but suspect that many of us would be uncomfortable with this physical exchange in a Christian worship setting.

However, I have heard more than once the comment that for some in our faith community, the passing of peace may be the only time of real physical connection during the week. And I clearly remember the excitement and joy as I drove to the first communion service after the Covid months of prohibition.

Have we lost something that was quite special and precious about our physicality in worship to God?

Just a thought!

Happy Valentine’s and chaste kiss to you all.

Rev Ceri

Seasoning of a daily walk

Reflection – Seasoning of a daily walk

“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” Mk 9:50

A highlight of a daily morning walk this week was the sight of a very large koala nestled in the crook of a gum, fast asleep. The tree was on the corner of the playing field of the local primary school. Koalas are not infrequent in our suburb, but I hadn’t noticed a koala before in this particular spot. As it is school holidays, I wondered if the animal had taken advantage of the quieter than usual surrounds for rest.  

The pruning of some trees in our local streets this week provoked quite a lot of protest from residents, precisely because the koalas have a ‘corridor’ of treescapes that they use to travel and move around the area. Residents were worried that some of the trees pruned may have been part of that corridor, and thus destroying a section of the path for our local koala population. 

The wonderful sight of the koala on my walk reminded me that some of our unique fellow residents also ‘walk’ around our streets – albeit at a greater height than ground level, and at a different time of the day. And the importance of considering when and how to prune our treescapes so that the koalas are left in peace to ‘walk’ as they need.

The sight also added a depth of meaning and joy to my walks this week – you might even say a ‘seasoning’ of this daily event in my life! 

Peace

Rev Ceri

The Red River Gums...in all that they do, they prosper.

1Happy are those who .. delight in the law of the Lord , and on his law they meditate day and night.3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.  In all that they do, they prosper. IPsalm 1)

In Australia, in 2022, a poll for the most favourite native tree revealed the iconic River Red Gum as the winner. At full maturity, these majestic gnarly giants are around 30 m tall, and thought to have a life span around 500 – 1000 years. It is the dominant tree species along the Murray-Darling basin, and its deep tap root allows it to access deep underground water troughs. Even when the surface river remains dry for very long periods.

An individual tree can also support literally hundreds of thousands of other insects and animals, including birds and other animals who build homes in the many holes of the tree’s trunk. Traditional owners, the Adnvamathanha people, have often used these holes in the trunk as ‘step-ladders’ to reach eggs from nests made in some of the holes. The very large craters in the trunk that form at ground level have also provided shelter and warmth, and the wide canopy shade in the hotter months.

The mighty Red River Gums survive in both drought and fire – ‘in all that they do, they prosper’. And all because of that single tap root that delves deep below the earth’s surface to the ever-flowing stream of life-giving water. And in doing so sustain much of creation that lives above.

May we be always searching, trusting and relying on the Spirit’s deep presence in our lives, like the Red River Gum’s tap root, so that not just we, but all of creation, can prosper.

Rev Ceri

Reflection - the works of faith in God the Creator

“…faith without works is barren? “(James 2:20b)

A vet check and a clean bill of health for my two puppies who will be 12 months old next Monday made me feel very much lighter.

Sure, we have no back yard garden anymore (artificial turf and rusted iron flower sculptures are the order of the day! And we’ve re-turfed the front yard. And installed at great expense latches on doors, several baby gates. And spent a fortune on leashes, car restraints, vet bills, broken furniture, yada yada yada…

But watching them happily consume a marrow bone in their own very different ways, (Lizzie tucks in straight away, Darcy has to bury his for a couple of hours), brought a smile to my heart. Our bird neighbours have also benefited from the puppies; at feeding time the cheeky Indian minor birds hop down from neighbouring trees for scraps and they’re not averse to grabbing some water from the bowls.

The hard work, and expense, of caring for the puppies has reminded me that there is much hard work to be done, and expense, in looking after all Creation. My prayer is that we are not too late, and that in generations to come there will a sense of lightness for others when looking around this precious place we all call home. A prayer from the Seasons of Creation app (day 12):

Great Creator Spirit, we cry out to you in prayer. May the destruction of country be turned into the protection and restoration of Country - your precious creation. May we love all our neighbours- our land neighbour, water neighbour, sky neighbour, tree neighbour, plant neighbour, animal neighbour, bird neighbour, fish neighbour, rock neighbour, mount and neighbour- our earth neighbour. May we see the urgent need for action and as we take action, may you wipe our tears from death, mourning, crying, and pain, and may our tears be turned to tears of life, joy, rest, and release. Amen.

Rev Ceri

Reflection - Birds with Wit and True Resourcefulness

Collect for this Sunday:

O God, who word is life, and whose delight is to answer our cry:

give us faith like that of the woman who refused to remain an outsider,

so that we too may have the wit to argue and demand

that our children be made whole,

through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thinking of a mother’s wit in relation to bringing up healthy offspring, and in partnership with our Season of Creation and its theme To Hope With Creation, I was amused to find an article about the behaviour of female zebra finches (Zebra finch motherhood ).  

These birds are monogamous (in laboratory conditions, ‘divorce rates are very low’).

So if a mated pair begins to produce less than adequate offspring because of a less than adequate male finch, the female adjusts her resources in her egg-laying behaviour. As well as increasing egg volume and yolk carotenoid content, the mother also deposits slightly larger amounts of testosterone into the eggs. The title of the 2009 study is “Females lay larger eggs when paired to sexually unattractive males”. The larger eggs, which contain more nutrients counter the father’s undesirable genes and the subsequent offspring are given a better chance of surviving.

Very clever and witty behaviour indeed!

 And as for true resourcefulness - check out the duck in the picture. After three days of continuous rain, the park at the bottom of my street became a temporary pond. It didn’t take the duck long to find it, and make a home!

Praise the Creator for a world of true resourcefulness, wonder, delight and laughter! 

May you find some of this same wonder, delight and laughter this week!

Blessings

Rev Ceri

Be kind and tender-hearted to our neighbours....

Reflection: Be kind to the glider, the bogong moth and the magpie…

 “…let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. … and be kind to one another, tender-hearted…” (Ephesians 4)

 I can be a bit of a light sleeper at times and when I get out of bed in the very early hours of morning I often notice how many lights are on in neighbours houses and yards. A recent article caught my eye today – how urban lights affect and threaten our non-human neighbours (How urban lights disrupt Australia's unique wildlife and food webs at night - ABC News).

 On one street, a nesting magpie’s sleep patterns are screwed up by new white-blue street lamps. The bogong moth, which should be honing its way to the Australian Alps is caught in a death spiral around an outside light. And the squirrel glider takes its life in its hands by crossing a lit street to some succulent blossom. The glider can’t see well in low light, unlike foxes and cats on the prowl!

 “This means that human residents need to be more considerate that their activities, including sound and light, directly impact the wildlife food webs around them.”

 There are tips supplied on how to be considerate and kind to these neighbours:

·        turn your lights off and draw your curtains

·        install lights that are angled down to the area you need to light

·        use warm-coloured light, which can be less impactful on some species

·        turn your solar LED lights off

·        shield your outdoor lights

·        don't angle lights at trees to leave dark refuges for fauna

·        for bogong moths, plant flowers which can provide energy during their migration and reduce pesticide use

·        contribute to citizen science projects such as Moth Tracker to fill knowledge gaps and aid conservation efforts.

I’ll be doing a bit of a reccy around the house and yard tonight and see what I can do to be kinder to these wonderful and unique neighbours.

Rev Ceri

The Gift Within Us

Reflection – The Gift Within Us

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers….

 Like millions around the world this week I watched in wonder and awe at the sheer beauty, grace and athleticism of the women’s gymnastics! Regardless of what country they were from I was silently urging each and every competitor I watched, hoping that they could all win! But of course, that would destroy the whole point of competition!

 I was intrigued to hear that each medal awarded in the Paris Olympics has a small fragment of the Eiffel Tower embedded in the centre (let’s hope it was not taken from a load-bearing part!). And I came across the following this week in my reading from Maggie Ross (Writing the Icon of the Heart):

“It is only love that can recognise Love. It is only because we bear, each one of us,

each fragment of creation the trace of the divine,

that we dimly recognise that the hunger crying out from every human heart

can be fed by this radiance alone.”

The fragment of the divine embedded in each and every one of us, in all our diversity and uniqueness, is nourished by Christ – Love alone. And as it grows, the beauty and grace and gift of God means that we are all indeed gold-medal winners! Let us go for God!

Blessings

Ceri

They Shall Eat and Have Some Left

Reflection – They Shall Eat And Have Some Left

 ‘…thus says the Lord, “They shall eat and have some left.” ’ He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.’ (2 Kings 4)

 According to the latest figures for each and every Australian, almost 300kg of food is sent to landfill. Meanwhile, an estimated 5% of Australians do not have adequate access to food! (see food waste even on Mars?).

 I was also interested to read that even in a Mars mission simulation, where food is extremely limited, even a food waste researcher found themselves having to throw uneaten food away!

 The members of the United Nations have committed to halve food wastage by 2030. Some tips from the researcher:

 • buy only what you need, and will use

• if you run a food business, divert excess consumable food to food rescue organisations and charities that feed the hungry

• where possible, give food waste to animals, such as backyard chooks

• composting food in your backyard or a community garden

 The most interesting tip was to ‘allow ample time to eat, as more waste is generated during rushed mealtimes…a very salutary reminder for our crazy fast-paced world!!!

 Blessings

Rev Ceri

Don't Hem Me In! (based on 2 Samuel 7:1-14a)

King David has conquered his enemies and is secure in his kingdom. So now it is time to turn to other matters. And one of the first to be attended to is the building of a house for the Lord. After all, David has a fine house of cedar to live in, while the Lord’s house is still a tent! The prophet Nathan appears to think this is a good idea at first. But God has other ideas.

The response of God reminds me on the word from Cole Porter’s song “Don’t hem me in”:

 Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in

God has been with God’s people without needing a house. God has travelled with the Israelites and never once demanded a permanent house to be built! “Don’t try to hem me in!” I can almost imagine God demanding! “Don’t try to corral me, tame me, domesticate me!” A building is not required - God promises to remain with David for the rest of his life.

 God will be God, and nothing can corral, tame of domesticate God.

 I’m reminded of this wildness and fierceness – and faithfulness - as the wind howls outside my room. It’s been blowing hard for almost a week. The Brisbane westerlies usually arrive during August, in time for exhibition (Ekka) time. They are a couple of weeks early – unpredictable – just like God!

 Rev Ceri

NAIDOC WEEK 2024: Keep the Fire Burning: Blak, Loud and Proud"

I remember cycling towards the city by the river one weekend afternoon and the faint smell of a campfire wafted by – that particular smell of gum leaves and bark. For some reason I wondered if this was the dominant smell on the air before colonisation (along with the smell of mangroves)! The theme for this year’s NAIDOC week, ‘keep the fire burning’, celebrates the resilience of indigenous Australians and I thought we could use this lovely blessing on Sunday by Uncle Vince Ross:

May the God of creation warm your heart like the campfires of old

Bring wisdom and peace as shown to the first peoples of this land.

Shake off the dust from the desert plains by the refreshing rains

Followed by the glow and warmth of the sun.

Let the light of God show us the right path and stand tall like the big

River gums drawing life from the every flowing waters.

Reflection for Sunday after The Ascension: Elvis has left the building?????

When Jesus had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven?  (Acts 1:9-10)

Last Thursday, we celebrated Ascension Day, and I’ve often wondered why we celebrate the risen Christ returning to the Father. It’s a bit of a sad scene, imagining the disciples watching their beloved Messiah leaving! I’ve also winced at the depiction in art of Christ’s feet dangling from a cloud!!!! But as I was reminded this week, the Ascension means we have Christ interceding on ALL of humanity’s behalf to God, not just the group who followed him most closely on earth. And in ascending, Christ – both human and divine - has also taken our humanity to the Father. There’s a part of us that is already with the Father and Jesus in heaven! And also the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God dwelling within all of Christ’s followers here on earth. As the light of the world returns to God, and we cease lighting the pascal candle this Sunday, a light remains within us, and asks us to share the joy of this gift with others. Our ‘Elvis’ has not left the building, or us!

Thank you, Jesus, for bringing me this far.

In your light, I see the light of my life.

Your teaching is brief and to the point;

you persuade us to trust in God;

you command us to love one another.

You promise everything to those who obey your teaching;

you ask nothing too hard for a believer,

nothing a lover can refuse,

Your promises to your disciples are true,

nothing but the truth.

Even more, you promise us yourself,

the perfection of all that can be made perfect.

 Nicholas of Cusa

It’s a total eclipse of the heart

Reflection for Third Sunday after Easter 2023 – It’s a total eclipse of the heart

The writer Annie Dillard writes of her experience of a total solar eclipse in 1979:

“From all the hills came screams. A piece of the sky beside the crescent sun was detaching. It was a loosened circle of evening sky, suddenly lighted from the back. It was an abrupt black body out of nowhere; it was a flat disk; it was almost over the sun. That is when there were screams…Abruptly it was dark night…In the black sky was a ring of light…It was an old wedding band in the sky, or a morsel of bone. There were stars. It was all over”1

When people were interviewed on Thursday after experiencing the total eclipse in Western Australia, there were screams recorded and the excitement, fascination and awe was palpable in those gathered to watch.

Annie Dillard writes further of leaving after the eclipse and breakfasting in a local diner where other eclipse-watchers were present and almost shouting and saying “Did you see….? Did you see….? The experience too fantastic to quash the urge to share with others afterwards.

32They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ 33That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem (Luke 24:32-33a)

We hear of the experience of the couple on the road to Emmaus in our gospel reading this Sunday. And I imagine the couple reacting as though they have seen a total eclipse – this time the realisation that they have just spent several hours in the presence of the risen Christ. Chatting on the road, listening to an explanation of the meaning of the scriptures, inviting Christ to share and meal and then, wham! The breaking of the bread and their eyes finally open!

And like the eclipse-watchers, unable to keep the experience to themselves - as they return immediately (at night) to Jerusalem to speak to the other disciples.

A total eclipse of their hearts, indeed (apologies Bonnie Tyler)!

I give thanks for the disciples and their experience – and may we all be blessed by even a sliver of that experience in our own faith journeys!

Blessings

Ceri

Reflection for Second Sunday after Easter - Have you seen Christ?

“Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.…” (1 Peter 1:8-9)

The faithful Christ followers who received the writing from 1 Peter may not have visibly seen the risen Christ, but it appears they showed every evidence of faithful living and loving Christ. So they had experienced the risen Christ!

Thomas Merton, a 20th century mystic and Trappist monk, entered a monastery in his thirties and spent the next two decades writing and studying, achieving much fame for his spiritual writings. He was also quite open about his struggles with a deep sense of both feeling unworthy of love and a diminished capacity to show love.

In his 52nd year he fell deeply in love with a nurse who was caring for him in hospital. Much of the time they corresponded by telephone or letters, with some brief visits, before the relationship ended. 

Even though their parting brought great grief, his love for another human being changed everything. Transformed and healed, this love taught him that his tremendous need for love was not an impediment to faith, but as a key to his salvation. Reflecting on it, Merton felt that his pursuit of a ‘spiritual, detached love’ in his ordained life had actually prevented him from loving fully – and thus prevented him from entering into a deeper connection with the great sweep of God’s saving work.

In his experiencing of a deeply human love, Merton felt more able to rejoice fully in receiving God’s love and responding to God in love.

The faithful Christ followers in Peter’s church may not have visibly seen Christ, but as I said above, they surely must have experienced the love of Christ in order to respond to God’s love.

From Thomas Merton:

“It is for this that we came into the world—this communion and self-transcendence. We do not become fully human until we give ourselves to each other in love ... we will never be fully real until we let ourselves fall in love”.

May we all experience the love of Christ in this Easter season and learn to fall in love again.

Blessings

Ceri