It is a blessing

to have an affinity 

for beauty in nature.

This began with my wonder

at rocks and fossils,

deepened by

my geological studies.

To see Jungfraujoch

in person

brought all of that together

powerfully.

I was moved to tears

several times

at the grandeur

of the snow and ice

we can see

and the glacial processes

we cannot.

To see and experience 

snow and glaciers

in such glory

from the viewing deck

then the snowfields

was wondrous

despite my body

battling the altitude.

As we rested, drinking coffee

next to the cafeteria window

the scene stretched out before us.

As time passed, we watched snowflakes

float past

as the clouds

lowered completely

providing a fitting closure

to our time on the mountaintop. 

Underpinning the entire experience,

deep gratitude.

Coming to a church

built in the mid 9th century

Required of me a radical shift in perspective.

The highs and lows

of such a span

are glimpsed

in the crypt museum

with its documents of regal inauguration;

later the Reformation handover

as well as the disfigured face of a statue,

victim of ‘iconoclastic fury’.

For all that

‘a place is holy because

of those who’ve prayed there’

seems very apt.

This sense of

grace abounding

is reflected in

the windows by Marc Chagall

that are poetic and mesmerising

casting a numinous light

in this place of worship.

First experienced six years ago

I was again touched

by its simple grandeur

that also honours heritage.

My mother influenced 

my sense of the sacred.

Living in a different city

throughout my adult life

I tried to share 

spiritual experiences such as this with her.

So it was salutary

when my love asked me

If I wanted to but any other gifts

that I replied through tears

and quietly

‘Mum’.

Backwards and forwards

we are connected

in spirit

in time.

This was the final of many 

such blessings on this trip.

The river roils

and swirls

as we head upstream,

then down.

Beaches and banks,

retaining walls,

trees and shrubs,

leaden skies,

brilliant sunshine

roll past our window

as we cruise the Rhine

then the Main

and finally the Danube

from Amsterdam to Budapest.

The river:

foggy,

mesmerising,

the ‘strudel’ as it passes

under a bridge

such as at Regensburg.

Dark and viscous.

A bright expanse

laid out before us.

Water highway

for commerce.

Bringer of dreams

and nightmares.

Ageless

and never the same.

I returned to

a spiritual home 

deeply moved…again

by its memorials

and stained glass.

My joy in this place 

took a new level

upon hearing a concert there.

Not traditional rituals

but if a church exists

to worship God

this was 

a different sacrament.

The beauty and grandeur 

of Vivaldi, Bach and Beethoven 

and their celebration of humanity 

played with passion,

especially the organ

that turned an emotional experience 

into a visceral one.

The whole body vibrating: 

God’s presence 

With us

Now.

My mind cannot fathom

the depravity

of all that occurred in

Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The casual brutality.

The lies.

So I can understand the urge 

to deny it happened.

It is so hard

to accept 

the breadth and depth 

of the chilling glacier of facts.

We can only then agree

with Auschwitz survivor 

Primo Levi: 

‘It happened 

Therefore it can happen again’

What can we learn?

If we are to prevent 

this from happening again 

there is no ‘us and them’,

only us.

We are human together 

and we are all

less

if we do not all

accept and live

this truth.

Thus we are forced into

vigilance 

to call out

the uncomfortable realities 

around us

that can grow

in the dark

if they are not examined 

in the light.

I must quickly let go

of annoyance

and not react to

perceived slights.

Fidelity to living 

these powerful lessons

in humanity 

every day

is insistent.

That I am a person of peace

of acceptance

of love

every moment 

so I can focus

on living

in the light.

The atrocities were

against life.

I can respond by living,

by embracing life

in every facet

and cheering on

those around me

whose love, compassion

and humanity

make the world 

more like what it should be.

On our morning walk

sea and sky combine

in their ineffable manner

to produce

serenity

or power.

Water, still.

Golden glow 

light shimmers off the sea,

A study in blues.

The shine is hint

to the divine,

always present,

sometimes glimpsed.

The shine can also be seen

In the rainbow

with the backdrop

of clouds, heavy and brooding.

The shine, 

clue

to the spiritual food

present.

May the shine never wear off.

John 20: 19-31

‘Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed’. This is us – we have not seen and have believed. Prompted by John’s Gospel we should use Easter time to focus on our ‘believing’ – the ways that we live and act upon our faith. How will we do that? As today’s Gospel tells us, through the gift of the Holy Spirit and the peace that faith can bring. Then we can focus upon what we do: In what ways are our actions ‘Good News’ for others? Are our relationships marked by love? How do we bring peace to those in our lives?

Rather than be judgmental about Thomas’ lack of faith, may we be compassionate, acknowledge our own failings and acknowledge that he got it right in the end – and pray that we can too, living loving and faith-filled lives.

Good News! Heaven knows we need to hear some. Good News that would free us from rampant ego. Good News that would free us from destructive power. Good News that would free us from toxic selfishness.

The good news is that love is the answer. It cannot die. Love pours itself out, again and again.

A selfless love (agape) that liberates us from ego, power and selfishness so that instead we build community. In so doing we more closely reflect the God in whose image we are made – the God as Father, Son and Spirit who is in relationship; the God who is relationship. Love builds relationships, beginning with those most in need, those on the margins, on the outer.

Trite? Simplistic? The answer is there, in front of us the whole time but its simplicity leads to its rejection. There is no glory, no name up in lights. Selfless love is steady. It is quiet. It holds the hand of the person in trouble. It wipes the tears of the bereaved. Selfless love volunteers for the unseen yet necessary job. Selfless love is the stuff of community. So, you see, it is with us already. 

This Easter may we each rise to the challenge of more fully loving and living selflessly. Our everyday world will be better for it. Good News, indeed!

Sun glistens off the water. 

Shimmering.

Symbol

of all that is precious 

in this scene.

Dolphins race the ferry,

so clearly 

having the best time,

seemingly egged on

by the ‘oohs and ahhs’

of the humans

whom they have

spellbound.

This stretched on

for minutes

until we reached the port.

in their thisness

they part the veil

for us to glimpse,

reminding us

to be our true selves

and embrace life’s joy.

The veil lifted briefly

from my eyes and heart

as I saw and felt God

in sun, sea and skies

this morning.

The ‘sound of sheer silence’

was loud

with grandeur, beauty and hope,

as the grace of another morning

was crafted before me.

This wonder and glory  

weaves and shines

around and through

each one of us

and all that is

all the time

but 

we are frequently blind.

Joyful at its recognition,

grateful to have been present,

the grace lingers still.

May it impel me

until my next dose.