Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.   (Romans 8:26)

This Pentecost, O God,
We fear the mighty rushing winds
and the tongues of fire that disrupt our careful order
We fear the exuberance of a crowd
getting out of control
and spilling onto the streets
We hold back on celebrations
when not all are able to participate
in our local church world
and in our global world
Send your Spirit once more
to intercede for us
with sighs too deep for words
With sighs that give thanks for life
and sighs that mourn so much death
With sighs that re-story us
as a people of hope
With sighs that re-member us
as a people of faith
And giving thanks for the very breath of life
May we take your life
and your Spirit
into all the world.

Written by Liz Crumlish for Pentecost 2021

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. ( Luke 24:50–51)

40 days since resurrection
40 days since you encountered Mary in the garden
and told her – Do not hold on to me
40 days since you walked the road to Emmaus
and explained the Scriptures to grieving disciples
40 days since you snuck in to a locked room in the evening
and breathed peace into that space that was filled with regret
40 days in which you hung out with your friends
often at the beach
practising forgiveness
showing love
continuing to teach
restore
and commission
Love one another
Feed my sheep
Go into all the world
I can’t help but wonder
if that 40 days
brought any more comprehension
or made letting go any easier
Or, whether, like a second pandemic lockdown
your followers were traumatised all over again
plunged into bewilderment
and despair
that all the “knowing it’s for the best”
still failed to diminish.
It’s hard to play the long game
when spirits are already worn out
tired of riding the roller coaster
of hope and disappointment
It’s easier to dally on the beach
to stick with what we know
than follow you where you call
trusting that we will be enough
that you will be enough
for whatever comes next.

Liz Crumlish’s blog for 9 May 2021 at https://tinyurl.com/5yttf62x

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:30–35)

This Easter Lord Jesus
you walk with us
not on the road to Emmaus
but through every emotion
and question
and cry of despair
You listen without dismissal
carefully holding
all that we share.
This Easter, Lord Jesus
we recognise you
not in breaking of bread in our sanctuaries
but at every table
where families gather
forced together
or kept apart
and in every means we have
of maintaining relationships
and of staying connected
You continue to surprise us
Risen Lord
Turning up when we least expect you
in places we would never imagine
May the light of resurrection
Pierce the darkness in us
and in our world today.

Thank you to Liz Crumlish for sharing this Easter thought, which comes from Living through Lent, the booklet of reflections that we introduced in this Ash Wednesday post, and which you can still download at this link.