Hear the phrase “Ten Commandments” and you’re likely to get a reaction! They form today’s text from Exodus 20:1-17 The scared and anxious in our society want to reclaim them as a kind of fortress to which to retreat. Chiselled into our court buildings and taught every day in our schools, this set of edicts willContinue reading “Dissing the Decalogue?”
Category Archives: Personal
Identity crisis?
Sometimes over-familiar bible passages throw out a surprise. Today’s text from Mark’s Gospel follows the meme we grew up calling the “Good Confession.” Jesus asks his disciples “Who do you say I am?” and Peter makes the “good confession” – “You are the Messiah [Christ].” The surprise is being asked to consider whether we areContinue reading “Identity crisis?”
We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder…
Jacob’s story is not exemplary. He was a smooth operator who finally met himself in a confronting way – a way that involved disturbing encounters with the Source of his being. One of these encounters (Genesis 28:101-17) became a song sung by oppressed slaves of the southern states of the USA. Its plaintive cry perhapsContinue reading “We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder…”
At the age of 99…
… if one is a denizen of the British Commonwealth, one might begin to expect that one may be soon on the way to receiving a message of congratulations from Buckingham Palace. You’ve hit the ton! Life is complete as you turn the century. Abraham got covenant. And his wife, Sarah, was caught up withContinue reading “At the age of 99…”
Can good arise from a mess?
I have spent a lot of time with people trying to find their way through chaos. Some situations are just so daunting you wonder if anyone can see a way through to the next step, let alone an exit to clearer space where the air is fresh and the whisper of freedom can be heard. Continue reading “Can good arise from a mess?”
Keeping it together through remembering…
When we engage the Lent season introspectively, we can quickly find ourselves confronted with our own inner chaos. The wind howls, the foundations shift and wild things bay at our feet. We wonder how we are going to keep it together for forty days. Psalm 105:1-11 is given to us as today’s text as aContinue reading “Keeping it together through remembering…”
Having nothing; possessing all…
This morning I read an article discussing organisational risk management. It queried whether the focus is on maintaining security and safety for the organisation (or oneself) or responsibly providing channels by which its service might maximise the spirit of risk and adventure for human life to flourish. The Apostle Paul wants life in the Corinthian churchContinue reading “Having nothing; possessing all…”
Caught Out!
Exposure and shame, particularly in high places, draw us like a magnet. The media come out for a prolonged playtime and the population stands on the sidelines, tut-tutting and shaking their heads. The more we find out the more we want to know, so that we may feel justified in pouring more burning coals onContinue reading “Caught Out!”
St Valentine & Ash Wednesday – Synchronous?
Some have lamented the fact that St Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday share the same space this year. Simultaneously receiving chocolates and giving them up for Lent is doing a few folk’s heads in! Can there be anything in common with a feast celebrating romantic love and the commencement of a fast that confronts usContinue reading “St Valentine & Ash Wednesday – Synchronous?”
Mythic realities
When we avoid the popular notion of myth as a fairytale and understand it as a means for accessing deep universal meaning that can only be conveyed in symbol and story, we are getting closer to truth. When confronted with the world’s chaos and violence and ask “What does it all mean?” and we doggedly searchContinue reading “Mythic realities”
Wondering Pilgrim 