If my life be long or end tomorrow;
My days filled with joy or marked by sorrow;
If I gain many things or lose them all in a day;
Know all truth or be confounded along the way;
If I know restful peace or spend my nights wrestling;
My body strong and well or beset with suffering;
If I pray for more and it seems I receive less;
Enduring with strength or succumbing to weakness;
If I weep for joy or my tears are pain;
My heart always full or emptied again and again;
With this same heart I will pray —
whether it holds or it breaks —
Lord, to be with you, “whatever it takes”.

For Simon

My soul is lifted up to you,
Raised heavenward
In awe of the mystery,
That from your glorious
Throne you have been
My Rock of Help so far.

You are the One
Who gives and takes away,
Who breathes life and
Returns us to the dust,
Who gave up your life to death
So through death, I might still live.

As I raise my Ebenezer,
You never said life would be
Easier,
Yet upon this rock of help
I will build my life and faith,
For you will forever be
My Rock and my Helper.

When the virus stalks in our midst,
And spreads its woe unseen,
Who wears the crown?

When fear crowds in,
And all must isolate,
Who wears the crown?

When jobs and money are no longer secure,
And provision is scarce,
Who wears the crown?

When those nearest to us are vulnerable,
And safety means distancing ourselves,
Who wears the crown?

When our leaders admit their limits,
And their strategies rely on hope,
Who wears the crown?

When we can only see an unfamiliar future,
And we are shaken into sudden change,
Who wears the crown?

He is near to the lonely and broken-hearted,
And with all His heart consoles the afflicted,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He is our provision and provider,
And by His Word we live, breath and have our being,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He is not caught off guard,
And all things work together for our good,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He knit us together in our mother’s womb,
And every day of our lives are known to Him,
For Jesus wears the crown.

He may not be seen in the ways we expect,
And yet his presence is found in those He loves,
For Jesus wears the crown.

His love drives out all fear,
And death is swallowed up in His death,
For Jesus wears the crown.

A response to corona – the ‘crown’ – virus.

Be formed in me,
Thou genesis word,
Thou Logos which wert
And art, forevermore;
Thou Word spoken
In the beginning,
And now being heard
For such a time as this.
Form me around thee
Living Word made flesh;
Once, then, as Immanuel
And again, now, in thy
Body Temple.
Expand my spirit
Through thine own;
A new wineskin transformed
From the old, lain down.
Then pour thyself forth
Into me that I might overflow
With thee, and with creation
All, proclaim thy glories —
Thy cross and resurrection —
As an emissary shaped, living,
By thy genesis word.

Abba!
Do you see me?
Do you know the depths
Of my suffering?
Do you feel my pain,
Or simply see it from afar?
Am I really yours?
Do I belong to you?
Are you really mine?
Is this suffering a cup
From which you too have drunk?
Show me how to be fully surrendered
To your will, that I may be fully your son.

Mary!
I thought I’d lost you.
Why did I not recognise you,
Even though you said you would be here?
Why can I not cling to you?
As you call me by my name
It is enough, and yet I know the wounds
Are still there, and the fear of the loss
Of you overwhelmed me.
Why do I doubt your love,
Your undivided attention towards me,
When you look me in the eye and say my name
Like no one else can?

Jesus!
Help me find my wounds in your wounds,
That by your wounds I may be healed.
You have taken upon yourself all my iniquities;
All the ways I have acted out of my wounds.
If you forgive me, then I know I am forgiven.
If you forgive me, I know I can forgive those
Who wounded me, and by my wounds
(bound with your wounds)
Release healing, renewal and resurrection power.
Today, in my suffering, you declare I will be with you
In paradise; help me find that place of peace.
And help me to be that place for others.

If it is your will
That I drink this
Cup of suffering
Then let it not pass by.
I trust you Abba knowing
That what you offer me
Is not the suffering itself
But the life of joy it delivers.
Therefore with this joy
Set out before me, may I
Endure in this labour
Knowing that your love
Endures forever.

(A prayer for Allyn, my dear friend and brother)