Seeker

Here is a prayer I love. I should pray it more often. It is appropriate to pray at any stage of life, in any circumstances. The first 2 lines seem particularly appropriate just now with all the fear and anxiety around due to the current rapid spread in the UK of Covid-19. I do not know the author. If you do, please tell me. Free me   from all fear of the future,  from all anxiety about tomorrow,  from all bitterness towards anyone,  from all cowardice in the face of danger,  from all laziness in the face of work,  from all weakness when your power is at hand.  Fill me   with love that knows no barrier,  with sympathy that reaches to all,  with courage that cannot be shaken,  with faith strong enough for the darkness,  with strength sufficient for my tasks,  with loyalty to your kingdom's goals,  with wisdom to meet life's complexities,  with power to lift my eyes up to You! Image Credit: John Hain on Pixabay, Pub...

5th November seemed such an exciting day when I was a primary school age child. In the few days before 'Bonfire Night' there would be the making of the 'Guy' and the building of the bonfire on which to burn this effigy of Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators of the 'Gunpowder Plot'. At school we usually painted Bonfire Night pictures. At home there would be a box of fireworks bought by my father in readiness for dangerous fun in the garden after dark, when rockets were precariously balanced in milk bottles ready for launching into the night sky. Usually the weather was cold and often wet but it all seemed worth it and surprisingly, but thankfully none of the family suffered burns. Like most pet dogs, the dog hated it. For more of this see 'Please to Remember the 5th of November'.  The remainder of this post is adapted from what I posted last year. In childhood I learned the simplified and Protestant-biased version of the 'Gunpowder Plot' ...

What is it about visiting the dentist that is so hard? I can think of a few reasons - but you probably can provide those yourself. Fear of dentists is common. It would be an exaggeration to say I have full-blown dentophobia. I do see the dentist regularly and for the last few years have been blessed with a dentist in whom I have confidence. I would even go so far as to say I like him. Sadly he is leaving the practice so my recent appointment was the last time he will look in my mouth. I will remember that last appointment for the comment he made while trying to explore a hard to reach area. He told me (kindly) that my bottom lip has an exceptionally strong defence reflex. Apparently everyone's lips have a defence reflex, but most are not as strong as mine. Mmmm.. add that to the collection, which includes the dentist from my childhood who told my mother and me  that I had 'abnormal tongue behaviour' which he considered to be 'incurable beyond the age of 12'. I...

The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is different from the rest of Holy Week. It feels like a day when everything should stop, an in-between time to be still and wait. In practice I've often found this one of the busiest of the year - a day to travel, to shop, to clean, to prepare food for tomorrow's celebrations. There are so many ordinary things to get on with. Churches often feel this tension. There's a contradiction between attempting to enter into the numbness, fear or despair Jesus' friends felt the day after his crucifixion and burial, while also being busy preparing Easter decorations to celebrate resurrection. There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christ's resurrection on any day of the year. But on this day it seems right to pause, imagine what it was like for those first disciples who, in spite of what Jesus had told them, really didn't expect Jesus to rise from the dead. As many feel after a death of someone close, or during...

Exploring my Alexander family tree has produced many surprises, the most recent being the discovery that I'm a blood relative of at least 4 dentists. Why do I find this so disconcerting? Normally I have as little to do with dentists as possible. I have nothing against the people who do the job, it's the job they do that frightens me. 2 days ago I went for a 6-monthly check-up. All was well, no treatment needed apart from a scale and polish. I can relax again until December. One of my earliest blog posts, back in May 2009 was called Dentist Phobia . Nothing has changed since then, apart from several more uneventful and perfectly OK visits to the dentist for check-ups. Here's some of what I wrote then, in answer to 'what is it about a dental appointment that makes me so anxious?': " The problem is in the anticipation, especially in the waiting room. My fear started in childhood with a dentist who told me that my tongue was too big for my mouth and told my...

Andrew's Story It had been a long day, tiring but exciting. All the same it was a relief to set out for home that evening. Capernaum was only a short boat ride away. Our rabbi had taken himself up the mountain. We were used to him going off on his own. He seemed to need it and the crowds had got rather threatening. We left him to it. All was calm when we set sail. As darkness descended and the wind got up, the sea became really rough. So we hauled in the sails and rowed. We knew what we were doing. We're used to storms, but we didn't feel safe that night in such a small boat, thrown about by the great waves. But it wasn't the waves that terrified us. What really scared us out of our wits was what we saw that night. You're not going to believe this, but 3 or 4 miles out from shore we saw Jesus walking on the sea, coming near our boat. It was as if he were riding the waves that threatened to overwhelm us. It sounds silly to say, but it was as if even the ...

What has a middle-eastern lentil dish got to do with liberation? Read on and you'll see. It's hard to know what to say about revolutions in the middle east and north Africa. I've blogged about this only once, in Revolution in Egypt , which drew attention to a good news story. Since then I've watched, listened and read, but feel ill-equipped to comment about the complexities of the situations. But I follow what's happening in the middle east and north Africa with concern, hope and fear. Especially Lybia today. Will I continue to care when the world's media moves on to the next big story? I ponder the UK's involvement in supporting dictators and unjust regimes through our trade in arms and other 'defence' equipment. Since the UK is a democracy I have to say this is also my involvement. Should I feel guilty? Today I was moved by this poetic response by Rachel Barenblat to the 2011 protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Gabon, Bahrain, Lybia and elsewhere. ...

What is it about a dental appointment that makes me so anxious? After the event, nothing at all.  I had a check-up today. No treatment needed. Next check-up in 6 months, so I can relax till November. The problem is in the anticipation, especially in the waiting room. My fear started in childhood with a dentist who told me that my tongue was too big for my mouth and told my mother that I had "abnormal tongue behaviour" which in his opinion was incurable beyond the age of 12. I was 12 then. I am now very far beyond the age of 12. I still don't know what he meant, but then he never explained anything. That was part of my problem with him, along with that dreadful noisy drill. My current dentist is kind, efficient, swift and explains what he is planning to do before he does it. So I really don't need to be scared, even though my teeth are far from perfect and don't merit this description: " Your teeth are like a flock of ewes, that have come up from t...