spear ****** avoids mistake
always thorough, the romans
dead no doubt about it, then
hurried burial, borrowed tomb
silence of the grave

blithely oblivious life goes on
festival in the temple celebrated
somehow missing its point
business in the markets as usual
too important to fail

sun persists in shining
planets in their orbits dance
galaxies whirl across the void
cut loose from their moorings
in the silence adrift

the universe holds breath
Word through whom all things
came into being, even life itself
Word made flesh who dwelt among us
heartbeat of the cosmos absent

that silence
when we have killed God


Saturday of Holy Week
19th April 2025
following John 1.1-14 and John 19.38-42

'For you are the God who takes no pleasure in wickedness; 
no evil can dwell with you'.
Psalm 5.4



this is better than that
more truthful, more honest
has more integrity, is more just
more loving, more merciful
has more compassion
gives more hope
trusts more

all day, every day
we make judgements
rarely ever polarities, absolutes
at the ends of the spectrum
I decide between nuances
my chosen subtleties
of distinction

how then to navigate
the spheres of earth and heaven
my fallibility facing the holiness of God
exposed to his unambiguous call for
purity, goodness, self-giving love
to which I can only ever aspire
in my broken inadequacy

yet time and again
stories of hope surface
those expecting condemnation
finding forgiveness and mercy
an encouragement to start over
not where I am that matters
but the course I set


Monday of the Third Week of Lent
24th March 2024

text without context
almost meaningless
used or misused
to justify choices
actions, inaction or
passive disengagement
from circumstances
of what has been
what might be
what is

'into your hands
I commend my spirit'
words from the cross
almost Jesus' last
his ending sounding
like failure, horror amidst
heart-break, disbelief
and yet

and yet
the words quoted
carry greater meaning
of vision incarnate, enacted
'for you have redeemed me
O Lord God of truth'
no ending here but resilience
persistence, fulfilment
and in God's good time
doors breaking open
of future hope as
the Psalmist
writes


Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
29th March 2025
following Psalm 31

nails, spear, tomb
dead, buried and gone
their hope for a renewed
transformed future lost
utterly defeated
death reigns
for one man
for humanity
they were certain
friends, opponents
authorities alike

except that
in defiance of reason
contrary to all expectation
death is far too small a thing
to constrain, to make an end
of love in all its fullness
not the anticipated
full stop

last day
in the garden she
had watched him buried
stone rolled, guard set
it was all over, done
only grief remained
aching absence

first day
she heard a word
penetrating the tears
voice unmistakable
"Mary"

dead
but no longer dead
however improbable
fully, huggably, utterly alive
even if they wouldn't believe it
accept the truth of it from a woman
debate forever what it might mean
yet whatever they may say
I know what I know
I heard, I spoke
I saw, I held
alive


Easter Sunday
20th April 2025
following John 20.1-20

tectonic normality
fractures, crumbles, falls
disconcertingly rearranges itself
the ground beneath my feet undone
all my expectations and certitudes
the very heart of being, my feel for it
solidity ebbs and flows, liquefaction
sure foundations tsunami swept
certainties overwhelmed
ruptured, erased
gone

temptation
to stack up the debris
rebuild as best as may be
from ruins some semblance
of what was, had been before
clinging to that cherished past
dug from memory's museum
while gathering the shards
too hard to contemplate
metamorphic future
outwith engagement
unknown, unsafe, risk too far
not to be trusted, and yet
entirely inevitable

change
adaptation
evolve or die
as always it was
and forever will be
normals old to new
despite protestations
and attempts to ignore
so in the flux, the vortex
where is certainty found
to what can I hold fast
that endures forever
in the maelstrom
the crucible
me


Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
4th April 2025
following Psalm 102.12-13

"what is truth" the politician asked
surrounded by those wanting their truth heard
and only theirs, none other
no inconvenient truths telling different stories

seeking  a grand theory of everything
scientists delve such truths of the universe
as can be measured
but what of those myriad things which can't

religious folk know their truths
certainties tested over centuries, sacrosanct
rejecting other perspectives
yet if God is God no human knows the whole

and I know my truths
my experiences, perceptions rationalised
those ideas which I hold fast
so don't give me your truths, confuse the facts

"know the truth" one man said
"and the truth will set you free" but how
and which truth, whose
knowing, that's the problem, what's the test

I'll just stick with what I know
that's the easy way, keeps everything simple
alone with my certainties
me in my corner, you in yours, beyond reach


Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
27th March 2025
following Luke 8.32 and John 18.38

Easter Monday
he is not living, he's dead
other realities pending
Il Papa, Holy Father, the Pope
this was his home, his basilica
St Peter's, heart of a church
they'd known he was poorly
prayed for him even
and now he's died
a few flags flying at half mast
Carabinieri out on the streets
world's news teams gathering
stories to be told, vox pops recorded
'I was there when the news broke'
yet Rome goes on, normale
as usual tourists everywhere
pilgrims on Via della Conciliazione
school trips snake through crowds
cafes, restaurants ply their trade
buses and trains keep rolling
Roma to play Inter Milan

the Pope is dead
a conclave will gather
black smoke, then the white
and a new one will be elected
for now more important questions
dust off the plans, make new ones
prepare for the influx, the bookings
ready the beds, plan for extra supplies
what's it going to do to the traffic
how will it affect my commute
been here before, will again
life goes on, it has to
long live Il Papa


22nd April 2025
Stephen Cooper
Rome

many the gurus people follow
seeking for some wisdom
touching base with eternity
hoping to, or at least trying
if it's not too disconcerting
a disturbing of the peace

then there are the prophets
bringing a frisson of dis-ease
expecting, demanding change
but which change, what purpose
and how to test their validity
the real deal or some crank

what they're peddling, that's the question
the status quo disguised, reinvented
might's right, ends justifying the means
God on the side of the big battalions
or love God, love the world, love others
sacrificially,  though it cost you your life

not a lot of mileage the world says
for those crazy ways of thinking
when so much more's on offer
who would choose such a path
acting justly, loving mercy
walking humbly with God, who


Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
10th April 2025
following Jeremiah 23.16-18 & Micah 6.8

we'd grown up together
part of the crowd, for sure
but always as brothers
together in all that we did
inseparable in adventures
mischief and trouble
or stretched out in the sun
dancing in the rain
proud of our good looks
our strength and breeding
a class act definitely

and now separated out
chosen, but for what
primped and preened
looking our finest
strutting our stuff
couldn't be faulted
ushered in, space made
facing the crowds
silence falls, expectant
a choice is made
divided, first and last

words said, the high priest
in all his robes and finery
a prayer, and hands are laid
sins recited, not mine, theirs
but now my problem
for I'm cast out, driven
into the desert to live, to die
some kind of scapegoat
I look back to my brother
taken further in, higher up
a dagger falls on him, in me

year by year, century by century
we are chosen, unblemished
always an exquisite pair
the finest in all the herds
only the best for the temple
the desert and the altar
bearing the people's sins
though letting us pair of goats
carry the can is a bit twisted
responsibility avoidance I'd say
but this year its different

not goats but a man
and not just any man
this one's somehow special
the high priest said so
"it's better for you to have
one man die for the people
than the whole nation perish"
so they prepared themselves
lined up false witnesses
recruited a betrayer
and readied the altar


Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
8th April 2025
following  John 11.50

the list is endless
through the pages of history
women known and unknown
though mainly unknown
as men mostly wrote the histories
women who between them did it all
led countries, commanded armies
designed, built, discovered, explored
researched, taught, sang, danced
painted, sculpted and otherwise created
prophets, priests, monastics
doctors, the wise women
wives, mothers, life-bearers
and so, so much more

so on Mothering Sunday
or Mother's Day as some would have it
we remember them, celebrate even
flowers, chocolates, breakfast in bed
all a bit saccharine, a touch twee for
the resilience, the grit, the determination
it takes to be a woman, a mother
in all the complications and
complexity surrounding such words
managing the stuff of daily life
not just in nice comfortable places
with relaxed cosy lifestyles
but in the war zones, disaster areas
floods, droughts, earthquakes
facing economic exploitation
*** trafficking, as migrants
caring, consoling, healing
doing what needs to be done
to make homes, raise children
somehow keep family going
knowing in the end to keep them
you have to let them go
bone of your bone
flesh of your flesh
'a sword will pierce
your own soul too'

such women, such mothering
is deserving of celebration
so, to misquote Ben Sira
'let us now praise famous women,
and our mothers in their generations'


Mothering Sunday
Fourth Sunday of Lent
30th March 2025
following Luke 2.33 & Ecclesiasticus 44.1

the crack began in the garden
between the is and the intended
what could be versus what will
fissure, fault line splintering
seeming such a small thing
that decision, the apple eaten
free-will flowing of love's gift
yet responsibility demanded
opening up paths divergent


void of understanding
incomprehension a chasm
essence drowning in absence
abyss, the unknown and unknowable
yet power, wealth, authority drive
the anthem of 'I did it my way'
shaping the world to our desires
claiming mastery of our fate
the captaincy of our souls


can the gap, that widening maw
find a place, space for resolution
again finger tip to finger tip with God
some spoke of incarnation, personhood
demonstrating his character and purpose
our reality reflected in his presence
human independence disrupted
so the mirror was smashed
disturbance destroyed


"it is finished"
God's dying words
echoing into the silence

sound of the cosmos fractured
utterly, humanity triumphant
while most never noticed
business as usual
life went on



Good Friday
18th April 2025
following John 19
Paul Anka and William Henley

how many times, we ask
how often must I put up with it
that he gets away with stuff, again
she escapes punishment due
he walks all over people
she spreads malicious lies
distortions of the truth
he exploits, abuses his power
how long until justice, how long

but how long before I'm aware
the he and she that's hiding in me
my crimes, my misdemeanours
my short-comings and worse
sheltering behind a smokescreen
those complaints really about me
best quietly ignored, hopefully
the embarrassment avoided
responsibility ducked

I need, you need, we need
someone more reliable
consistent come what may
certain despite the vagaries of life
trustworthy through all its storms
whose steadfast love never ceases
nor mercies ever come to an end
who greets us new every morning
great in his faithfulness

sadly humanity struggles, I do
despite best aspirations
need to look deeper, wider, higher


Fifth Sunday of Lent
6th April 2025
following Lamentations 3.22-23

they saw the cliff edge
getting nearer and nearer
he wouldn't, couldn't
it's all just bluster
it's got to be
then

the edge gives way
solid crumbles
void opens
the expected
the reliable
the certain
all that was sure
those fixed points
on which we relied
everything trustworthy
emptying to nothing
falling into, well who knows
signed away, lost, abandoned
by presidential decree
plunging


22nd March 2025

'a man of sorrows
acquainted with grief'
song of the suffering servant
'wounded for our rebellions
crushed by our guilt'
'led like a lamb to the slaughter'
some say he was afflicted by God
despised, struck down, punished
others suggest blame lies elsewhere
in the evil choices of humanity
its wars, conflicts, exploitations
those darkest, deepest of places
where the devil walks
in the diabolical decisions
of hearts and minds enacted
or the craven failure to act
in history and the present day
yet even in such places
'by his wounds we are healed'
for even as we killed him
of those who did the deed
and of those who stood aside
he found the grace to pray
'Father forgive them
they know not what they do'
and we need it



Good Friday
18th April 2025
following Isaiah 52.13 - 53.12
and Luke 23.34

the journey to that table had been long
each with a different starting point
everyone of us chosen, called
picked by him to be a disciple
strengths, weaknesses, blind spots
came as we were, all somewhat changed
yet still as we'd always been

why he picked me I do not know
the accountant, a money man
someone trusted to keep the books
you might say a wise choice
but he knew me too, the hidden me
the Romans labelled us as terrorists
me and my freedom-fighter friends

and we knew what we wanted of him
after all these centuries of *******
Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans
he was a leader, very much the real deal
the sort folk would follow to hell and back
may have wanted me, but did I want him
with him at our head we could not fail

turns out he had different plans
no matter the nudges, the promptings
he would not budge from his path
power given not taken, self-giving love
care for the poor, the broken, the outsider
challenging our leaders, their hypocrisies
he's served himself up for the inevitable

so here we are, at the tipping point
me with just one hand left to play
carry on as he's doing, stick to his plan
he'll be dead meat before the week's out
force the issue, if I re-focus his thinking
maybe, just maybe he'll take our side
and with him as our leader watch out

so we come to it, the critical moment
all together for that Passover meal
"one of you will betray me", he said
"one who dips his bread with me"
mind you we all did that, dip, betray him
deny, run, thirty silver pieces, all the same
but he knew, I could see it in his eyes

the dice rolled, events are now in play
soon the action begins, Gethsemane
will he be there, of course he will
he'd never do a runner, not him
but will he take the bait, rise to the hook
become the leader we know he could be
or have I condemned him, and me too


Wednesday of Holy Week
16th April 2025
following John 13.21-32

searchlight cutting the skies
lighthouse signifying safety or danger
dim bulb faintly illuminates the darkness
waving phone-lights signalling connection
purposeful light with laser sharp focus
light creeping around locked doors
lantern searching out the path
torch of the night time guide
starlight crossing the eons
in waves and photons
signature of creation
foundation of life
then there is light
that's the source
the light of lights
in whom is our
being


Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
26th March 3025
following John 8.12

scenes glimpsed almost frozen
while life goes on around
passing at speed, never resting
those stop-motion moments

supper
garden
betrayal
arrest
trial
Pilate
sentence
scou­rging
cross
nails
theives
mother
forgiveness
death
spear
burial
s­tone
guards
morning
tomb
empty
body
gone
angels
"he is not dead
he is risen"
meeting
alive

how to comprehend
the incomprehensible
to haul on board
reality beyond understanding
except that it was, it is, it will be
we saw, we touched, we spoke
we witnessed, we know


Monday of Easter Week
21st April 2025
following Mark 16.1-8

it had been a bad week
seemed as if he wanted trouble
saying what he said, doing as he did
he knew how to push all their buttons
challenging their authority, their rules
putting them on the spot, no evasions
never backing off despite their anger
it was no surprise he was arrested
mock trial, ******* up charges
guilty verdict, a cross and death
we'd tagged him as the Messiah
but now he's dead, buried, gone
well there was some crazy story
the Marys said they'd seen him alive
but who'd believe that, as I said, crazy

that's what we told him
when he fell in step along the way
travelling with us to Emmaus
listened to all we'd had to say
then started unpicking our story
for everything we'd mentioned
had an explanation, gave a reason
why it had to happen that way
what was really going on
how it fitted into God's plan
explained it from the scriptures
like he was giving us a lesson
Jesus 1.01, the real story

near Emmaus it started getting dark
he was going on but we'd a room, food
so we invited him in, things may change
but hospitality's still usual, our norm
as a guest, we asked for his blessing
so he blessed and broke the bread
did the same for the wine, shared it
and suddenly we recognised him
as if our grief had made us blind
how could we have missed it
like that last supper once again
it was Jesus, and he is alive
chance meeting, no chance

couldn't leave it there
hot-footed it back to Jerusalem
had to tell the others, the disciples
said our piece in the upper room
but it was all a bit redundant
we'd no sooner told our tale
than he turned up there too
living, breathing, wonderfully alive
yet despite all that he'd said
its hard not to have questions
all kinds of puzzlements
and whose going to answer them


Wednesday of Easter Week
23rd April 2025
following Luke 24.13-35

you couldn't blame us
doors locked, windows barred
they'd arrested Jesus, killed him
how long until they'd come for us
only Peter and John had ventured out
check the women's story, unbelievable
empty tomb, angels, 'he is risen'
yet it was just as they'd said
but what to make of it

then there he is
standing among us
do we touch, can he speak
is he a ghost or is this really him
'how about something to eat'  he says
fish cooked, he eats, no hallucination
you can still see the marks of the nails
flesh and blood he's alive, we know it
it can't be true but it is, we've seen
what does it mean, dead, alive
and then he's gone

resurrection's synagogue talk
end times, God's final judgement
but this is real, this is now, Jesus
what are we to make of it all
who'd believe us anyway
need to think it through
all that he had to say
a lot to take on board
to get a handle on
so where to begin
and is the place to do so
behind locked doors


Tuesday of Easter Week
22nd April 2025
following Luke 24

go fishing, he suggested
night fishing of all things
I hate fishing, always have
could never see its attraction
but it's like a default reset for him
don't know what to do, go fishing
stuck for what to think, go fishing
Peter's 'run home to mama' mode
still we needed to get out of town
time and space to think, to decide
work out what on earth we do next
night fishing was good for that
at least we thought it would be
but the thinking and the talking
went no better than the fishing
round and round in circles
not a single bite, not a fish
no ideas about what next either
just lots of 'what ifs', nothing else
no fish and too much hot air

so there we were, out on the lake
sore, stiff, talked out, frustrated
still no fish and dawn approaching
a flame flared on the beach
someone lighting a fire
we could see him moving around
silhouetted against the flames
then a voice calling over the water
we can't have been far off shore
"try the other side"
should have heard Peter chunter
"who does he think he is
'try the other other side'
been a fisherman all my life
'try the other other side'"
but then something clicked
could almost see cogs turning
suddenly Peter's hauling nets
calling to Andrew for help
throwing them over the other side
the boat takes a lurch
tips over, lines taut, net full, fish
Peter shouting "get them landed"
leaping over the side
splashing fast for the shore
and the clock's spinning back
like some kind of time machine
that other catch, that other beach
we know who he is, the voice
the man calling across the water
calling us to breakfast, and ....


Thursday of Easter Week
24th April 2025
following John 21.1-14