My experimental “bush poetry”approach to the lectionary has elicited a mixed reaction. Some love it; others plead with me not to give up my day job (but I’m retired!) Anyhow, here’s a go at the Gospel for this Sunday, which is:

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
   we wailed, and you did not mourn.”
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’ …

… At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

Yeah, in this game there are no winners
We all compete amongst sinners
Each knows what is best, and with lots of zest
Seek to prove that we’re not beginners.

But John held up a mirror
We hid and decried him as queerer
The Human One came; we said much the same
and urged him to come no nearer.

Wisdom evades those deemed “wise,” said he
‘Tis the simple who ‘get’ mystery
‘Twas so ordained, though you all complained
That your efforts leave little to see.

If life proves tough following me
You’re right as right as can be
But come have a rest; indeed, be my guest
and together, we’ll set people free.

(c) 2020 Dennis Ryle

I’m trying something different after decades of writing homilies guided by the Revised Common Lectionary. Two years after release from the weekly necessity to deliver, I still find myself wedded to the rhythm of the three year cycle, particularly where the Gospels are concerned. Although I am occasionally granted the opportunity to deliver a harangue I find myself looking for a different medium to keep exploring the rich depth of the Gospel pathways to Christ-likeness.

Then it hit me – Bush Poetry – Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson knew how to get to the nub of things with this oddly Ocker laconic gifting to the literary world. Their works have sat on my shelves since forever.

So let’s give it a go with this Sunday’s text from Matthew 10:40-42:

“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

I rode the rails the other day; the car was in the shop.
A bit of strife, however – my Smartrider was a flop.
Expired it was, a quandary dire, no cash to buy a pass.
Up stepped a bloke to pay my way, I said “You’ve got some class!”

“No worries, mate! One day ’twill be your turn.
Just pay it on – it’s something we can learn.
Last week I found myself a little in a pickle
No water coming from my taps, not even a bitty trickle.

Bills were paid, the meter made – I searched the reason why
I scratched my head ’til I was red, then Joe came breezing by.
‘It’s roots!’ he said. ‘They’ve choked off your supply.’
A plumber he, he set to work. The hours they flew by.

The water flowed and Joe packed up, his work was done at last.
‘What do I owe?’ and Joe just grinned; he thought it was a blast.
‘On the house! What are good neighbours for?’
With that he winked while I just blinked as he went out the door.

‘Holy Joe’ the street had called him, as he drove round in his van.
Somehow the word had got around, “There’s Joe – a Jesus fan!”
I found it wasn’t in his Bible, it wasn’t in his speech.
It was in his welcome and his deeds, that’s how he spread his reach.”

So all you holy rollers, take heed of Holy Joe
If you would welcome Jesus, ’tis the stranger where he’ll show
“Preach gospel, and if need, use words,” St Francis said it best.
And when you dare to try it out, make sure it meets pub test.

DJR

Well it may improve with practice!

“In the name of the Father, the Son and into the hole he goes!”

Thus a seven year old evoked the blessing of the mystery of the Trinity as he buried his deceased canary.

Over fifty years of church ministry, I have never been able to satisfactorily explain to Western conditioned minds the phenomenon of Trinitarian theology. As Trinity Sunday approaches, I muse on my frustration.

Trinity Sunday on the traditional church calendar is the Sunday after Pentecost. It seems as though we’ve been on this long, and deep spiritual journey – 100 days, in fact, from the time some disciples witnessed an event on top of a mountain that suggested there was more to Jesus than met the eye. From that occasion there was the fraught Lenten journey to Jerusalem, the arrest, trials and crucifixion of Jesus, his resurrection appearances, ascension and descent of the Holy Spirit and her charge to be the presence of Christ throughout the world for all time to come. The teachings and formulas of Trinity Sunday can seem almost as if this process can be tied up in a neat bow and put on a shelf. It can divert us from the wonder of the continuing journey and replace it with confusion and argument.

My conclusion is that you cannot explain Trinity. It is best to see that it is about relationship and live accordingly. We have the mechanical formulae and its attendant dangers of error that can divert us from the reality of the experience – that God catches us up in the lived unity of the ways in which God reveals God-self through creation, incarnation and Spirit. I have sometimes mused that the call for humanity to be caught up in this loving dynamic makes for a “quadricity” but this would only add to philosophical confusion.

Maybe the child burying the canary in sweet innocence has the best grasp of it all!