Seeker

  Due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, many of us have been forced to step outside our usual way of living and working. Some have found it's been a time to reassess what's important, which relationships matter most, what's urgent to do and what needs to be let go. It's also been a way to discover how much we need the help of others, just to get by. About 2000 years ago John the Baptist deliberately chose to step outside the way most people lived. He entered a desert experience, like going on an extreme retreat, in order to experience God. Dressed in camel hair and eating wild locusts, we would have found his appearance strange. Through choosing that lonely 'camel hair road', living simply, he could be alone with God. As a result, he saw what was important and urgent. John the Baptist became a voice for God calling people to prepare for God's coming by reshaping their lives according to God's way of justice and mercy. You can read about John and his urgen...

Why post an image of battered leather sandals to illustrate today's Advent Word 'worthy'? These sandals may be well made but they are not worth much. I've chosen this image because I see a link with the gospel reading used in many churches on this Sunday, Matthew 3: 1 - 12 . It's about John the Baptist who prepared the way for the start of Jesus' ministry and may have worn sandals like these. In the New Revised Standard Version of  Matthew 3: 1 - 12 the word 'worthy' occurs twice in the message John the Baptist gave to the religious leaders who came to him for baptism. He tells them to "bear fruit worthy of repentance". In other words, it's no use saying you want to turn over a new leaf, to turn away from sin and return to God. Genuine repentance produces the good fruit of a changed life. Then he announces that someone more powerful is coming after him. John the Baptist said, "I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will ...

It's the 19th day of Advent and today's word in the #AdventWord2018 online calendar is #ablaze. So, why do I choose an image of a dove against a background of fire? It's because much Advent focus relates to John the Baptist. John preached with fiery passion to prepare the way for the coming Christ. John declared that one was coming after him who will "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3: 11).  In Matthew's gospel that prophecy is followed by John's baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. As Jesus came up from the water "he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him." (Matthew 3: 16). Dove and fire are contrasting metaphors for the work of the Holy Spirit who both brings peace and sets hearts ablaze with love for God and neighbour. The reflection on AdventWord today asks 4 questions: What sets your heart on fire? How are you ablaze with the good news of Jesus? How are you spreading love i...

On the 8th day of Advent the #AdventWord2018 is #wild. Today also happens to be the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Bursting on the scene, through the gospel reading on this day,is a man who emerges from the wilderness and preaches around the Jordan river. His name is John the Baptist. He is a cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist dresses in camel hair and leather and eats locusts and wild honey. There was nothing unusual about either his dress or his diet for people living in that wild desert region. What I see as most 'wild' about him was his fearless, passionate preaching.   John the Baptist was wild in the risks he took in his prophetic preaching.  Crowds come out to be baptised by him and he calls those coming, 'you brood of vipers'. This was because he saw that some of those who asked for his baptism of repentance, were not repentant, not willing to change the way that lived and so show the genuine fruits of repentance. John the Baptist was 'wild' in that he was...

The Advent Word for today is 'voice'. The phrase 'voice in the wilderness' is one of many English idioms that originates in the King James Version of the Bible. We use it about a person expressing an unpopular opinion or an idea likely to be ignored by the majority. John the Baptist was one such person. Although many came to hear his message, his preaching the need for repentance was so unpopular among powerful people he was imprisoned and in the end beheaded. When questioned by religious authorities about his identity, John the Baptist quoted the prophet Isaiah and described himself as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness". This is a description of John the Baptist you can find in all 4 gospels: Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4 and John 1:23. I am wondering, in the wilderness of this world: whose are the voices we need to hear? who are the people who dare not voice what they desperately need to say? who is suffering because t...

What was it like 2000 years ago trying to build smooth roads and straight paths through rough wilderness ground? Hard enough to maintain local paths, but if you were a Roman Emperor needing good roads to keep an empire under control, then every obstacle in the way had to be dealt with. The Palestine province of the Roman empire had some rocky hilly places where roads were needed for armies on the march and for traders to travel. A lot of shovels and a lot of hard work by thousands was required to maintain the ancient routes and build new ones. How many slaves or forced labourers died in the process I wonder? When roads are built now, there's a lot of work, but bulldozers and huge earth moving machinery can make a big impression in short time. On the 2nd Sunday of Advent the church prepares for the coming of Christ by remembering the message of John the Baptist. I think he was a bit of a human bulldozer. By that I mean that he made an unforgettable impression in a short time, ...

Reflection for 2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B based on Mark 1: 1 - 8 I heard a voice crying out in the wilderness. I heard a voice echoing from long ago. I heard a voice arriving and calling now. I heard a voice 'prepare the way of the Lord'. I heard a voice: urgent beginning  of good news. I heard a voice shouting of one more powerful to come. I heard a voice: crying  good news  at the edge. I heard a voice: shouting  truth i n lost desert fringes. I heard a voice: changing hearts  towards God and neighbour. I heard a voice proclaiming through muddy Jordan water. I heard a voice pronouncing,  'you are forgiven'. I heard a voice announcing the One to come. I heard a voice like a finger pointing to One who is good news. I heard a voice and began to look for Christ  in the wilderness. I heard a voice and replied, 'ready or not, come, Lord Jesus'. Image Credit: Commons Wikimedia, CC License

One of the reasons the Bible rings true is that all human life is there: the good, the bad, the ugly and the really horrible. It provides a mirror to humanity at its best, worst and even plain ordinary. It does much more, but that's for other posts. Today is the 'lesser festival' of 'The Beheading of John the Baptist'. It commemorates a truly horrible and sordid story. Caravaggio's painting shown here is one of the less gory depictions of the scene. I wrote about this story from the angle of the women involved over on the Bible Bible Project in 'Women Behaving Badly' and on this blog here . Today I'm thinking about the courage it took for John to fulfill God's call with passion for truth and justice. He was no crowd pleaser among those who held power. John the Baptist's beheading is recorded in the gospels in Matthew 14: 1 - 12 and Mark 6: 1 - 29 . what had John, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah done to deserve such a death and to hav...

I'm trying to imagine what it was like in the 1st century A.D. to build roads suitable for keeping an empire under control. The Palestine province of the Roman empire had some rocky hilly places where roads were needed for armies on the march and for traders to travel. A lot of shovels and a lot of hard work by thousands was required.  When roads are built now, there's a lot of work, but bulldozers and huge earth moving machinery can make a big impression in short time. On the 2nd Sunday of Advent the church remembers the message of John the Baptist. I think he was a bit of a human bulldozer. He certainly made an unforgotten impression in a short time, not in a city but in the wilderness, not because he was anybody important, but because God used him to deliver a powerful message about the need to repent and turn back to God. Here is some of what will be read from Luke's gospel today: The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:   'Prepare the way of the ...

There are some really horrible stories in the Bible. This is about one of them.  Today's name in the Anglican calendar is 'The Beheading of John the Baptist'. You get the picture? This is not going to be a fun post. Digitalnun has posted a reflection on this here that is well worth reading. Mine takes a different angle, a focus on the women involved.  What follows is what I wrote over on The Big Bible Project. It was published there  on 14 August 2012 under the title: Women Behaving Badly Will the inspiration of strong young women who achieve their goals be an enduring Olympic legacy? I hope so, but sadly, women who achieve what they want aren’t always positive examples.  Most women in the gospels provide positive inspiration. Their stories are good news, as are those of so many female athletes. But this is the post I’d rather not write in my ‘Women of the Gospels’ series – but here goes. Who gets the prize for ‘bad’ female role model in the gospels? ...

Do you notice signs? This one made me stop to giggle because of its ambiguity. Why is this roof alarmed? It's very high and very big so what could possibly have alarmed it? Low-flying aircraft? Migrating geese? Woodworm in the rafters? Bats in the belfry? Most likely the latter. The roof in question is a rural medieval church roof. On the other hand the notice probably means the roof has been fitted with an alarm system to deter lead and copper thieves - a major problem round our way. The image is just part of the notice on the board outside the church. The other part tells which security company to phone if you need to climb on the roof. Lead and copper thieves need not apply. Gutter clearers and roof restorers welcome. Signs that warn of alarmed rooves or badgers on the road are useful. So are signs that point the way you might want to go. But who would want to go here? "TO THE EDGE" Some signposts are just confusing, giving no clear direction at all, lik...