SHAME INTERRUPTED: A fictional retelling of John 2:1–11
Shame Interrupted A fictional retelling of John 2:1–11 By the third day of the wedding in Cana, the courtyard no longer belonged to one family. It belonged to the whole village. Weddings were not quiet affairs in Galilee. They unfolded over days, bringing neighbours and relatives into a shared joy that belonged to the whole […]
THE SEVENTH HOUR: A fictional retelling of John 4:43–54
The Seventh Hour A fictional retelling of John 4:43–54 Written by Rev Amanda Bedzrah By the third night, the house in Capernaum had grown quiet in the way houses do when hope begins to fade. The courtyard fountain had been stilled. Servants walked quietly, closing the doors carefully so hinges would not creak. The smell […]
SHE DANCED FOR A HEAD: A Short Fiction Story Inspired by the Gospel of Matthew 14:1–12
She Danced for a Head A Short Fiction Story Inspired by the Gospel of Matthew 14:1–12 The palace at Machaerus burned with torchlight and excess. Music echoed through stone corridors and spilled into the great hall where nobles reclined on low couches, their laughter rising above the steady pulse of drums. Roman officers drank deeply. […]
THE JONAH STORY 2 – THE PROPHET WHO SAW MERCY
Before Nineveh ever entered my dreams, I stood in the presence of a king. Jeroboam son of Joash ruled Israel then. His throne was polished by success, his borders held by strength, his court crowded with men who knew how to smile while their hearts leaned elsewhere. He was not a fool. He was not […]
THE JONAH STORY 1 – I KNOW YOU ASSOCIATE ME WITH FISH…
I know what you associate me with. A fish. A storm. A prophet who ran. I know how the Rabbi from Nazareth spoke of me when He walked your dust centuries later. He said my sign would be the sign given to the world. Three days. The depths. The return. I have heard your sermons. […]
THE ADVENT SERIES PART 6- THE WORD BECAME FLESH!
The night was cold, sharper than Mary expected. Bethlehem smelled nothing like Nazareth. The air was heavier here, thick with smoke from cooking fires and the sour breath of animals penned too close to human shelter. Donkeys shifted their weight nearby, hooves scraping stone. Sheep bleated softly in the dark. Somewhere behind the inn walls, […]
THE ADVENT SERIES PART 5 – LONG ROAD SOUTH
The decree reached Nazareth at an inconvenient time. It always did. Rome had a way of interrupting life when life was already strained. A census, the messenger said. Everyone must return to the town of their lineage. Names recorded. Property counted. Allegiance measured in numbers. Joseph listened quietly as the announcement was read near the […]
THE ADVENT SERIES PART 4 – THE OBEDIENCE OF A FAITHFUL MAN
Sleep did not come easily to Joseph that night. When it did, it came like a thief, slipping in only after exhaustion loosened his grip on waking thought. His body lay heavy on the mat, but his mind wandered restless corridors, replaying words he could not unhear and images he could not unsee. Mary’s face. […]
THE ADVENT SERIES PART 3 – QUIET, STEADY AND STABLE LOVE
Joseph noticed the weight before he noticed the distance. It was subtle at first. Not the swelling of a belly. Not anything the village would whisper about yet. Just a fullness to Mary’s face. A softness where there had always been sharpness. A heaviness in her steps when she walked beside him along the narrow […]
THE ADVENT SERIES PART 2 – THE WEIGHT OF A YES
Mary had just finished washing her hands when the light changed. Not suddenly. Not violently. It softened first, as though the evening itself leaned closer to listen. The small clay lamp in the corner of the room flickered, its flame stretching upward, then steadying. Shadows along the wall shifted, lengthening and thinning like breath drawn […]