Picture looking out to the sea from the edge of the shore with yellow and pink sky. Word: The morning after (a poem for when your faith has been rocked) Faith in Grey Places

Loneliness in the morning after (a poem for when your faith has been rocked)

Bible and other references for this poem: John 21:1–14.
Also: Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50, Mark 16:14–18, Luke 10:1–20, and the poem ‘Footprints’ by an anonymous author.

Today’s poem draws on the time after Jesus’s resurrection when he had breakfast with seven of the disciples (John 21:1–14). The disciples had been fishing all night and caught nothing, but when Jesus tells them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat, they catch a large number (of large fish). 

There are various ways to take this story. You could say the disciples were returning to what was familiar to them, though I’m more inclined to think they were doing it to relax as much as anything else. I also think the large catch was an affirmation of what they were doing. 

Continue reading Loneliness in the morning after (a poem for when your faith has been rocked)
Woman sitting on the edge of a balcony in a city looking up at a large sign that says "JESUS SAVES". Text over the top: A sonnet from a modern Thomas (reflecting on what it takes to share our faith). Faith in Grey Places

A sonnet from a modern Thomas (reflecting on what it takes to share our faith)

Bible references for this poem: John 20:19–31.
Also: Psalm 23:5, Psalm 42:1, Psalm 139:1–2, Matthew 16:8–10.

The lectionary readings this week include the story of Thomas recorded within John 20:19-31. When Jesus appeared to his disciples, he wasn’t there, and then he wouldn’t believe them until he saw Jesus for himself.

He said he would need to see the marks in Jesus’s hands and side before he believed. What I find remarkable is that when Jesus does appear to Thomas, he offers Thomas his hands and side. Almost as if he wants Thomas to believe. 

Continue reading A sonnet from a modern Thomas (reflecting on what it takes to share our faith)