As I pray the Sorrowful Mysteries
I find myself thinking
about the Roman soldiers
who decided to entertain themselves
at the expense of Jesus –
dressing Him royally
in fake robes
with a stick for a sceptre
and with a crown of thorns
cruelly shoved
onto His tender head.

Jolly japes for the Roman soldiers
as they paraded Jesus around.
Pain and utter humiliation for Jesus.

A war news story
comes to mind.

A soldier is captured, tortured
and finally bayonetted five times
by his torturers
who then leave him for dead.
Some time later
the torturers are, themselves,
captured
and brought to an interrogation room.

Imagine their astonishment
and horror
when into room walks the very man
whom they had bayonetted five times
and left for dead.

This man sat before his torturers
and asked one simple question –
“Why?”

I wonder …
is that how the Roman soldiers
will react
at Judgement Day
when they find themselves
face to face again with Jesus
whom they humiliated?

Will I be equally
shocked and dismayed
on that same day
when I see in Jesus
the faces of those
whom I myself hurt
or simply failed to help?

5th February 2023

As we stand at the top
of Divis Mountain
mists swirl all around
and all we can see
in front of us
are a few gorse bushes.

Beyond that …
nothing!
It really looks as if
the world … ends … here.

And yet I know
that when the mists lift
I will see before me
a panorama that spans
from the mighty Mournes
to the sweeping Sperrins
with Lough Neagh in between them
glinting
in the sunlight.

I know this
because I have seen it
many times.
And if someone were to tell me
that the world ends here,
I simply wouldn’t believe them.

In our secular world
we often find ourselves
in the company of people
who cannot see
beyond death
and who view death as
The End.

I cannot subscribe
to this view
Death is not The End.
Rather, it is The Beginning –
the beginning of Eternal Life
either with God
who knew us
before He formed us
in the womb –
or without God.

I know this
because Jesus told us
and I know this
because I have experienced
the deep love
that God has for me.

And so if someone tells me
or a whole clamour of voices tell me
that death is The End
I will know
not to believe them.
Because I have faith in Jesus.

Thanks be to God!

© Claire Murray, 7th June 2022