Epiphany 3 – What Jesus had was not just the temporary ‘up’ of having a good day – it was a much bigger, deeper kind of ‘up’. It was the kind of ‘up’ that stays up even when the scaffolding underneath is taken away.
Ignatius of Loyola called this state ‘consolation’. It is the state of knowing that you are walking in step with God and it is not dependent on the circumstances. … More Luke 4:14-21
What? What was that? A story? Can I listen too?
Narr: Of course you can. It’s a story that Jesus told, about two man who went to pray, one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Rod: A Who-isee and a What-alector?
Narr: Oh sorry. A Pharisee was someone who was very religious and was very careful to do everything right. The tax collector was a cheat who took more money than he was supposed to. … More Two Men Praying – Luke 18:9-14
Epiphany 2 – Daring prayer is good. But we do not have to plan God’s solutions for him. However, we also need to make sure we are not just evading specifics with a limp-wristed, wet-lettuce Christianity that can never see answered prayer because it is so vague. … More John 2:1-11
Epiphany 1 – It’s easy to fake repentance, and even great deeds, as Jesus said in Matt 7. “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’” Ouch! Their faith was not real. It looked great from the outside, but had no inside. So how can we tell what’s real beauty and what’s just good make-up? How can we tell real repentance from following the crowd? How can we tell wheat from chaff? … More Baptism of Christ – Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Epiphany – In the days of The Great and Mighty Roman Empire there were the good jobs – emperor, obviously, if you could keep the knives out of your back – and then there were the not-so-good jobs. Such as governor of Judea. Really, it was a bit of a dump. This was the job you got lumbered with when you had upset someone important. Judea was a cultural backwater, a nowhere, full of nobodies. Even the local religion was pathetic – they only had one god, for goodness sake! … More Matthew 2:1-12
Every parent has lost a kid in the supermarket (though not usually for three days). It’s a horrible feeling when it happens but, somehow, it’s quite comforting to know that it happened to Jesus too.
I love Mary’s reaction – it’s exactly what any parent would say today – people don’t change. But Jesus’ reply is the interesting one. “In my Father’s house”. … More Luke 2:41-52
Christmas Day – What do you get when you cross a far eastern electronics factory with Google translate? No, it’s not a weird cracker joke, although it sounds like one. The answer is Chinglish. There is the famous sign in the dry-cleaner’s window that says, ‘Gentlemen must drop their trousers here’, for instance. The words are all correct but somehow the meaning has got mangled. … More John 1:1-14
Advent 4 – “Wait Elizabeth, you mean Uncle Zech can’t talk?”
“No. Like an idiot he questioned what the angel had said; didn’t believe that God was able to do it. So the angel gave him proof! Ha! Serves him right, the daft old goat! Makes meal times a bit more peaceful I can tell you – no more listening to endless fishing stories!” … More Mary and Elizabeth – Luke 1:39-55
Advent 4 – God knew, from before the start of time, that we would mess up. And God planned, from before the start of time, that Jesus would be the solution. He always had in mind to have divine Jesus be born as a human baby, live as a human child, suffer and die and rise again. This was not God panicking over what to do about sin. This always was Plan A. … More Micah 5:2-5a
Advent 3 – In Advent we look forward to the coming of the one who is here now in our rubbish and mess, and who will be in glory. The one who is the symbol of God’s dwelling, the present temple and the future temple in the heavenly city. “its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.” Rev 21:22
Advent – a time of waiting, a time of looking forward to God dwelling with us, God who will come and who is right now and who always has been. Past, present and future. Jesus, the start of God in our midst. Emmanuel. … More Zephaniah 3:14-20
The Reflectionary 