Seeker

Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday.  Many Christians take part in an Ash Wednesday service. For some, an Ash Wednesday service includes receiving the sign of the cross on the forehead or hand, drawn with ash mixed with oil.  The words that are said to each recipient as the cross is drawn are something like this: "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.    Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ." 'Remember you are dust...' is a stark reminder of our mortality and imperfections. It is an acknowledgement that we are human, not immortal and not perfect. It reminds us we are made of the same basic stuff as planet earth - our home. We receive the ash-drawn cross as a sign of repentance for the evil we humans have done and the good we humans have not done. Repentance is not only feeling sorry about sin. Acknowledging and lamenting sin is the start of a process. The process of repentance involves turning round, changing our attitude towards God and...

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...

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

Why have I posted an image of a surfer for Ash Wednesday? I hear you thinking - isn't today about feeling miserable and gloomy and having a cross traced in ashes on your forehead as a sign that 'you are dust and to dust you shall return'? So why post such a joyful exhilarating image? Read on and you may understand - or not - tell me. During Lent I will attempt a response to each day's reflection in the book  'Barefoot Prayers' by Stephen Cherry . I may write a blog post each day - or not, but will read each day's poem and see what it sparks off.  The poem for Ash Wednesday is called 'Repentance' and has powerful images of walking into the ocean, getting deeper until "...each wave becomes a body blow, a   thud on the belly   a crash on the chest." If the surfer took no risk in facing the sea, there would be no joy in riding the wave on the return. What is Lent for? I think the main point of Lent it is to reconnect with God. That us...

I've just finished trawling through several pages in The Guardian about the News of the World scandal, which The Guardian is making the most of for its own purposes. Along with every other UK national newspaper it includes the full-page 'We are Sorry' advert signed by Rupert Murdoch. Anxious to preserve its own reputation The Guardian makes it clear that the revenue received from News Corporation for this advert is being donated to charity. (They don't say which charity.) There will no doubt be many more revelations to come (or dirt dug up) on this story and invevitably and justifiably British trust in our institutions will be further eroded. Looking at the 'We are Sorry..' ad made me think about the whole issue of owning up to wrong-doing and attempting to put things right. I have grandchildren at an age where parental prompting to 'say sorry' e.g. for thumping a sibling and face the consequences is a necessary part of their education. Sometime...