Seeker

Thomas's Story Part 1 Getting away from Jerusalem after Hannukah felt good. The things Jesus said there had made some people think he was crazy. They nearly stoned him - tried to arrest him. Jesus always slipped away. Bethany wasn't far. That's where Lazarus lived with his sisters Mary and Martha. You could be sure of a warm welcome and good food there. But it was too near Jerusalem. We were glad to retreat with Jesus out of Judea and back across the Jordan river. I hoped we'd stay there. Much safer. Then Jesus got the message that Lazarus was very sick. It was odd that Jesus didn't set off for Bethany immediately. He really loved that family. But he stayed put 2 more days, before he said 'let's go back to Judea'. We tried to talk him out of it. We didn't want to see him killed. But Jesus was determined. He said Lazarus was asleep and he had to go and wake him up. It didn't make sense to us. It made even less sense when Jesus said Laza...

In a recent post Take of Your Shoes I thought about Moses' encounter with God while he was caring for sheep - an experience that led to a call for Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery into freedom. This story is told in the 2nd book of the Bible, Exodus. Consecutive readings from Exodus are set for Common Worship Evening Prayer during this part of Lent and on beyond Easter, so I thought I would revisit this story, but in more lighthearted mode. Supposing Moses was living out his vocation now, in the internet age?  Thanks to Doug Chaplin I came across this Jewish retelling of the story as 'Google Exodus' - clever and fun. Enjoy! This post is the 28th in a series of daily Lenten reflections based on a Bible reading from the Common Worship Lectionary of the Church of England. This one is based on Exodus 4: 27 - 6:1 and the rest of the book!

I  stopped my car fast. Sheep ran towards me, 8 abreast, filling the quiet country lane. Would they collide with the car or get to the dangerous crossroads? No sign of shepherd or sheepdog. Had someone accidentally left a gate open? Had the sheep found their freedom? 'Yippee! We can run wherever we like! The grass might be greener up the hill!' I didn't know where they were going. Were these sheep going astray with no-one to protect them from danger except me? What should I do – and quickly? Large and dirty woolly creatures soon surrounded me, with a few tiny lambs running on tarmac for the first time. I was so relieved when the shepherd chugged round the bend on his quad bike, calling to his border collie, who was running from one ditch to the other, moving the stragglers wanting to graze on the grass verges. I could relax and assume the shepherd knew what he was doing. I think Jesus knew what he was doing when he said, "I am the good shepherd." It ...