Wales' Tales 4/28/14

Isn’t amazing what a little wind can do!

Blow away some blossoms or move a great choo-choo.

It comes in just a whisper,

Or from a raging storm,

With frigid cold in winter,

Or filled with tropic warm.

And yet we never see it,

It comes and goes unseen,

We feel it move upon our skin,

Or watch the rain careen

Carried by its power,

To crush and push and strain,

And when it comes with mighty force

Its noise is like a train

That comes with sheer destruction.

Not much can stand its might

And when it comes before the dawn

Its terror causes fright.

We cannot stand against it,

‘tis best to hide in holes

For no one can establish

Its purpose or its goal.

And if we think about it

Our God is like the wind,

When God decides to act on high

No power can rescind

Decisions made in heaven,

Nor stop the flow of life,

The pattern that has been so set,

Comes cutting like a knife.

But in our God is mercy,

A source of love and care,

A knowing source of wisdom

That offers justice fair.

And Christ is our example,

The way that we should live,

A path that we can follow

As only God can give.

So listen to the wafting

Of breeze that does not cease,

And feel the gentle nudging

That moves us towards God’s…

                                                Peace,

Wales' Tales 4/14/14

The entry was magnificent!

The crowds so full of cheer.

Disciples screaming everywhere,

The Christ of God is Here!

Hosanna in the Highest!

The good and righteous King!

Who knows what joy and miracle

This Man from God will bring?

But those who held the power,

Afraid of what this meant,

Were creeping in the darkness

Wherever Jesus went.

They watched his every movement.

They waited for their time

To try to turn the tables -

To catch him in a crime.

They hoped that he would stumble,

That he would try and fail.

Perhaps a time of weakness

Would land him in a jail.

Or maybe there was someone,

As close as close could be,

Who just might turn informant,

To see what they could see.

So money crossed a table,

The sum was just enough,

To make a friend a traitor

And turn the smooth to rough.

A kiss in darkened garden,

To take the Man by force,

And soon a ministry of love

Would take another course.

T’would lead to royal palace,

And Roman leadership,

A beating and a lashing,

Humanity to strip

Away the source of mercy

That he had sought to bring,

When he arrived upon this orb,

As angels then did sing.

Now choruses of “Crucify”

Arouse from voices cruel

As wooden cross and iron nail

Became the devil’s tool.

So on a hill, three crosses stood

As this one life did cease,

But in three days,

The power of Love would

Bring the world true…

                                Peace,

iWitnessing Palms and the Passion

Have you ever had a week where something really good happened, along with something really bad? Or laughed in a time of grief? Or cried in the middle of a celebration? That rollercoaster of emotions is what lies ahead for us as we enter Palm Sunday and Holy Week. The high that we feel on the triumphal entry of Jesus is mixed with the knowledge of what lies ahead on the road to the cross.

Read Luke 19:28-44 and Luke 23:1-24.

This Sunday would usually be a Sunday of joy, with our exciting palm parade and celebrating the King that has entered Jerusalem. We might end on a minor note as we being Holy Week, but most of the service would focus on the celebration.

This year, we’re combining the Palm Sunday traditions with the liturgy of the Passion – the last supper, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Worship will look a little different as we use a piece called “The Cry of the Whole Congregation.” The author, Walter Wangerin Jr, has this to say about our worship: “This drama has no audience. All are actors. None objective. All subjective – or else the objects of the driving love of God.” No one will be objective – the congregation will be actively participating in the reading of the Scriptures. All will be actors, as we all have a part to play in condemning Jesus.

We will sing the praises of Jesus with “All Glory, Laud, and Honor.” And in the same service we will shout “Crucify him, crucify him!” We will force Peter into denying Christ, we will mock and ridicule him, we will go with the women to prepare the body for burial. Isn’t that how our daily lives go all too often? We praise Jesus on Sunday morning in worship, and then forget to love our neighbors, forget to tend to the least of these, forget to live the way Christ teaches us. We are caught in the tension of being sinful and redeemed, of knowing the call to live a Christlike life but finding it more difficult than it sounds.

So join us as Sunday, as we are iWitnesses to the palms and the Passion, to the praise and the betrayal, the Last Supper and the last words of Christ. Come and let us remember once more.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate

Wales Tales

Wales’ Tales

Amazing how fast things can go “good to bad!”

From “things are so great” to “I’m feeling so sad.”

It takes just a moment, a twisting in time,

To make us aware of the loss of our rhyme.

We think things are working.

They seem so “all right.”

And suddenly daylight is turned into night.

It may be our health or the plans that we had,

Or a storm in a flash that can make things go bad.

A fall from a ladder, a slip on the ice,

A car crash, a pop quiz, the postman rings twice.

Events that occur in the passage of life,

When smooth seas of travel are turned into strife.

We just never know what the future may hold,

In just a few seconds we’re left in the cold.

But this is the truth of the pattern we live,

We’re not in control, for our bowl is a sieve.

We never maintain, never keep what we gain,

For when life’s at an end, not a thing will remain.

Not treasures, not money, nor possessions we love,

Not home, car or keepsake, nor coat, hat or glove.

Material wealth is a phantom at best,

We hold it and grasp it, yet it goes with the rest.

The things that are solid, that stay to the end,

Are the love of a family, the trust of a friend.

The caring we share when life is so hard,

The whisper, the handshake, the small get well card.

The memories made in a lifetime of joy,

The pictures, the laughter, the simplest toy.

For life gets it meaning when things we release,

and find that God grants us the blessings of …

                                                                                Peace,

                                                                                                Alex

Wales' Tales

The signs of spring are all around,

The birds, the trees, the sun,

The promise of a changing scene,

New life has just begun.

The wind has changed,

The sky more blue

The world begins to wake,

To shed the cloak of winter drear,

Another road to take.

And with the coming of the spring

We find a new resolve,

A chance to grow and try new paths

Around which we revolve.

This is the time to take a breath

And smell the zest of life,

For winter’s gray has gone away,

And with it all our strife,

We need not fight the ice and snow,

Nor fear the northern blast,

The heat of summer is not far,

The cold is in the past.

Yet if you travel this small orb

For many years along,

You realize that this is life,

An old familiar song.

The highs, the lows, the heat , the cold

Is part of God’s great plan,

A rhythm that reflects truth

Of when this world began.

It comes a gift from God’s good grace,

Its pace was set in time.

And when we understand that truth,

We also see God’s rhyme.

We live within the ebb and flow,

A plan that does not cease,

We just enjoy these gracious gifts,

Immersed in God’s sure…

                                                Peace,

                                                Pastor Alex