Seeker

Yesterday's Advent post was about night and its associated darkness.  To state the obvious: when people are in darkness they need light. On this 5th day of Advent the #AdventWord2018 is #light. In the Bible 'light' is often used as a symbol both of God and of the people of God. Light is used to describe God bringing salvation to people who walk in darkness  so they may have the light of life. The opening of John's Gospel describes Jesus is as the true light coming into the world and rejected by some who prefer darkness to light. Later, in that same gospel, are these words of Jesus: "...I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8: 12 (NRSV) You may be reading this blog because you are a follower of Jesus. Or you may wonder what it means to follow Jesus but are unsure how to start. You could start by planning to attend a Christmas service at a church near you . Meanwhile...

Today the church remembers 'Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Companions of our Lord'. I am not sure why Mary's name is placed first for today. Perhaps the order is alphabetical. Mary, Martha and Lazarus were 2 sisters and their brother.   These 3 were friends of Jesus, providing a welcome for him in their home at Bethany near Jerusalem.  John 11: 5 tells us that "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." Much of Jesus' 3 years of ministry was itinerant. With his disciples he walked from place to place, not always knowing where he would sleep. The hospitality of those who would open their homes to him was vital. When the people doing that were true friends then such hospitality would feel very precious. After a hard day, what better than to relax in a welcoming home in the company of the most trusted and loved friends, like Mary, Martha and Lazarus? During a visit to to the Holy Land a few years ago I noticed  a plaque outside the church of St Lazar...

Do you find it easy to 'let go'? Many of us cling to certain things or attitudes, even though in the wider perspective they are unimportant or even wrong. By 'wrong' I mean destructive rather than life-enhancing. I think I often don't realize what those things are for me until they are threatened or taken away.  During a recent retreat in Galilee I spent time alone in a shady place on the Mount of Beatitudes, the hill traditionally associated with Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. As encouraged to do by the retreat leader I slowly read Jesus' sermon on the mount from Matthew 5 - 7 , thinking of it as not so much a set of rules as an invitation, a snapshot of the kingdom of heaven. Later that day our leader The Rt. Revd. John Pritchard invited our retreat group to think of the Beatitudes as "some kind of call to let go". This really resonated with me so before I forget them and because I need to meditate on these further, here is a...

In the Garden of Gethsemane "They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray". He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." And going a little further, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible, remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know w...

As a child I enjoyed trying to fit my little feet into adult footprints in sand, mud or snow. It was never easy. It meant taking huge strides - not a comfortable way to walk, but certainly a stretching one. I'm writing this on Tuesday of Holy Week. Holy Week is not meant to be comfortable. To enter into even a little of where this week leads takes me out of my comfort zone. It reminds me that Jesus never promised that following him was an easy route. What does it mean to follow Jesus? Here's a quote that gives one of the implications of following Jesus: “To follow Jesus implies that we enter into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the one who calls us. To follow Jesus means picking up rhythms and ways of doing things that are often unsaid but always derivative from Jesus, formed by the influence of Jesus. To follow Jesus means that we can't separate what Jesus is saying from what Jesus is doing and the way that he is doing it. To follo...

Five Senses of Love reflection on John 12: 1 - 11 for Monday of Holy Week What does love look like? Love looks shocking. Love breaks rules, as did Mary of Bethany who rubbed perfume on a rabbi's feet and dried them with her hair -  in public. Love shocks when it wastes expensive perfume or destroys a precious body like that of Jesus hung out on a cross to die. What does love feel like? Love feels good to the one who can receive it like a baby relaxing in its parents' care, or like a lover in the arms of the beloved. What does love sound like? Love sounds to Judas like 300 coins, a whole year's wages  spilling to the ground, rolling away and lost - an extravagant waste. Love sounds to Jesus like the sound of friends, of tears, laughter, music and companionable silence.  What does love taste like? Love tastes like the best food and drink, caringly prepared, served and shared. ...

It's Christmas Eve. A recent poll in the UK by ICM for the Bible Society found that children and parents generally know the nativity stories about Jesus. The best known fact was that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2: 4). 98% of those polled knew this. Here's the story of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem, told by 21st century Palestinians of Bethlehem - thought provoking.

Are you 'spiritual but not religious'? This phrase is a  cliché that  describes a significant trend in self-identity. The trouble with the idea of 'being religious' is that it has become associated with all the ways we humans can make religion bad: things like hypocrisy, oppression, abuse, control, misogyny, closed minds, hatred of those of different beliefs, spiritual blindness. Because of such things, to be called 'religious' can feel like a criticism - a bad thing to be. To be called 'spiritual' sounds like a compliment - a good thing to be. It's not surprising that 'spiritual but not religious' (SBNR) has a Facebook page .   I've taken a look. The page invites you to 'like' it if you "believe that spirituality can exist outside of organised religion".  The focus of the page is on "sharing a sense of wonder and the rapture of being alive". Recent posts on the page follow the theme of ...

What does God look like? An impossible question of course. The painter Van Eyck depicted God the Father like this for the altarpiece in Ghent. Superb art. It looks to me like a rather bored bishop or medieval king waiting for the pomp and ceremony to be over before he can go and find something more fun to do. Children often ask what God looks like Parents often reply 'I don't know' or 'what do you think'? A child was once busy drawing. Her mother asked what she was drawing. "I'm drawing a picture of God" the child replied. "But", said her mother, "we can't see God. No-one knows what God looks like". With supreme confidence her daughter responded, "they will know when I've finished my picture".  Moses wanted to see God When Moses asked God to be shown God's glory, the response was that Moses would see God's goodness and hear God's name but  God told him "...you cannot see my face; for...

Jesus' entry to Jerusalem is one of 4 murals painted by Cesare Vagirini in the Franciscan church in the village of Bethphage . This church is near the traditional starting place for the route taken by Jesus from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. It shows Jesus riding a donkey, people spreading cloaks and tree branches on the ground, as for a triumphal procession, and shouting "Hosanna!   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!" You can read the story in one or more of these: Matthew 21: 1-11 Mark 11: 1-11 Luke 19: 28 - 40 John 12: 12 - 19 Soon after I took the photo of the mural I walked in blazing sunshine with a group of pilgrims down the path of the Palm Sunday processional route.  It was an ordinary day in October but crowded. Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, so it will be even more crowded for the Palm Sunday Procession. Last year there were 15,000 processing, singing, praying and waving palm branches. You can see a video o...

morgueFile Free photo Early this morning I saw a spectacular sunrise that transformed the appearance of the frosty fields and hedges that not so long before had been in darkness. In a way this was an ordinary experience. Sunrise happens daily even when we don't notice or can't see it. Today I really noticed it - a glimpse of glory. If only I could be more attentive every day to seeing what's there.  The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote this "Earth's crammed with heaven,    And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes. The rest sit round it, and pick blackberries." The gospel  reading for this Sunday, in the Common Worship Lectionary, is Mark's account of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9: 2-9) . This mysterious event opens a window on another dimension, a deeper reality, revealing Jesus of Nazareth bathed in God-light. His close friends  Peter, James and John were led by Jesus on a night-hike up a...

It was the end of a long day when our coach broke down in the middle of nowhere. The driver couldn’t restart it. Another coach was promised in 3 hours. I was in charge of 33 lively eleven year olds who wanted to know what I was going to do. They were hungry and tired. So was I. With 2 assistants I’d been with the children for 12 hours. After my silent prayer - “help” - these words came to mind: “you give them something to eat" .  When the Lord tells me to do something, then like Jesus' disciples faced with the impossible task of feeding 5000 men (besides women and children), I tend to respond by telling Him why I can't. We had no food left, minimum emergency cash and no credit card. The shops were closed. How could we feed the children and ourselves? A miraculous free delivery of pizza? Someone to take away the children while I slept? Not a hope! (This was before mobile phones.) What happened? I’ll tell you later. When Jesus needed to be alone to grieve after ...

Can evil be rooted out? If so, how? And whose job is it? Can a community purify itself of corrupt practices or 'bad' people? Penelopepiscopal has posted a sermon today on Jesus' parable of the wheat and the weeds, which was today's gospel from Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43. She suggest that in this parable several realities confront us. "First, good and evil, as well as good and bad, and good and not so good, exist side by side. Second, they are hard to tell apart until they are in full fruit. Third, the good often gets damaged when someone tries to root out the bad." She raises difficult questions such as why is there evil in the world and what are we supposed to do about it? Is Jesus telling us in this parable that we must sit and do nothing when bad things happen? She concludes: "And so, Jesus says, don't spend your time trying to root out the people you think are weeds in your community. Good people will get hurt in the effort. And it...

Today, 40 days after Easter Sunday, is Ascension Day. This oil painting (1958) by Salvador Dali imagines the ascension from the disciples' view point as they gazed upwards after a cloud took Jesus out of their sight. The focus is the feet and this has all sorts of resonances. It especially reminds me of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the power of God: "God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all thins for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."   Ephesians 1: 20-22 The feet also remind me of the cross of Christ, upon which he was raised high to die. Anyone standing at the foot of the cross and looking up would have seen the unde...

Experience teaches that death wins. Experience teaches that life is what you make it, so get what you can while you can, because it will be over soon. And the Easter message says, “ Really? How can you be so sure?” Death is real. We humans are not immortal. Jesus certainly died. Roman soldiers were efficient at executions. He was buried, the tomb sealed and a guard set. There were eye-witnesses of this. There were no eye-witnesses of Jesus' resurrection. By that I mean no-one saw him rise from the dead. So why didn't the Christian story end with the crucifxion? Jesus' disciples, who ran away in fear of their lives when Jesus was arrested, gave just one answer. They proclaimed that 3 days after Jesus was crucified, died and buried, God raised him to life. They preached it because they were witnesses, not that they saw it happen, but they saw an empty tomb, grave-clothes, a stone rolled aside. And they met Jesus, in a garden, in a locked room, on the road, ...

Photo by Michelle Griffiths It's late spring in the UK and everywhere we see the miracle of buried seeds shooting green and producing flowers and more seed. The bright yellow dandelions around our way are particularly numerous this year. After a long cold winter they are a wonderful sight, even if I don't want too many in the garden. Yesterday, with many others, I took part in a Good Friday procession, following the cross along a high street. In the place where we assembled on a warm sunny April morning, we found ourselves in a seed cloud. Countless tiny seeds carried on the air were falling on us and around us down to the ground. They appeared to be dandelion seeds - I can't be sure. I remembered what Jesus had said about another seed, "...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but it it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12: 24 NRSV) For Christians, today, Holy Saturday, is a day to confront the reality of...

  Image by T.J. Walsh  "So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them." John 19: 16 - 18 NRSV That's all I want to say today. If you want more then Dave Perry has a superb photograph and reflection in Good Friday Snapshot , inluding these words: "...in this one life, and now in this solitary death, God is revealed as God is. We see the real cost of Grace displayed in its full and utter vulnerabilityas God gives all that God has and is for the sake of all that will ever be..." This post is the 45th in a daily series of Lenten and Holy Week reflections based on a Bible reading from the Common Worship Lectionary of the Church of England. this one is based on John 18: 1 - 19: end .

Bread and Wine, painting by Kjersti Timenes 2003 Supposing you knew you had only hours to live? What would you do with the time  left?  Jesus knew he was about die. What did he do? He shared a meal with friends. Today we  remember what Jesus did and said at that meal, before he was betrayed and arrested. Maundy Thursday is about doing what Jesus said, imitating what Jesus did. “Maundy” is from “mandatum’ or “command”. It refers to the mandates given by Jesus at the Last Supper. What were these? to share bread and wine in remembrance of him to wash one another’s feet to love one another. 1. To share bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus This is how this command is passed on in one of the earliest books of the New Testament: "...the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way ...