Every 6 weeks or so I write a short Saturday Sermon for the Press and Journal, which is the paper that covers news from Aberdeen to Inverness. They are very specific about the word count - 185 words! Here's the one that was published on Saturday.
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I know, it’s summer. Or supposed to be. As I write, the haar has clothed the world outside in a coating of lalique grey. Mizzle, a mixture of mist and drizzle, has distilled into crystal jewels set on newly opened roses in the front garden.
When Jesus said God “sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous” he meant quite simply everyone caught in the rain gets wet. The indiscriminate love of God falls on human heads and hearts in the abundance of rain, every drop of it a touch of grace.
Mizzle is refined rain! Gazillions of droplets coalesce into diamonds of life giving water, falling gently upon God’s creation. Weather words can sometimes sum up our inner climate. Jesus knew that.
Take the word ‘seep’, which describes what haar shrouded mizzle does. The love of God, falling like refined rain, seeps through the cracks of our defences to soak and soften hearts hard-packed by over-busy and undernourished lives. Walking in the rain without an umbrella could become a parable of enacted prayer, lifting our faces to God whose love refreshes. Everyone caught in the rain gets wet!
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