Love … the kind that puts others’ interests as first priority … is often constrained, especially under stress. Disrupted routines, whether well-off families on holidays, refugees seeking asylum, or those managing unforeseen crises, render it difficult to focus on our own needs, let alone the needs of others. Jeremiah 31:7-14 is the fifth day ofContinue reading “On the fifth day of Christmas … unconstrained love”
Category Archives: Personal
On the first day of Christmas… Pax in Terra
That familiar Christmas song! We are all aware of its parodies. Here are eight that claim being best. Like many medieval carols, its origins are obscure. We might like to think of the verses as subversive protests camouflaged as exuberant romantic sentiments about extravagant gifts, but there is no evidence to suggest that this isContinue reading “On the first day of Christmas… Pax in Terra”
A call for a new multilateral refugee policy
Originally posted on Wembley Downs Church of Christ:
Notwithstanding today’s welcome news of a reprieve for 31 Australian born babies and their families destined for Nauru detention, and that they will now remain in Australia for processing of claims to asylum, this church’s leaders issue the following statement: “The Elders and Board of the Church of…
Unmasking Humourless Powers
Originally posted on Mind Journeys:
I salute my colleagues who were detained and strip-searched yesterday. I salute their courage, their grace and humour. Especially their humour. At the end of the day it is not they who stand naked and humiliated. It is the system that allows children to be indefinitely locked up in third…
WE NEED MORE RELIGION, NOT LESS
Originally posted on WE HAVE A DREAM TOO:
The statement sticks in my mind as if attached with glue – something that is quite rare as I approach senility. It was the statement of Greg Barton, the Director of The Global Terrorism Research Centre. He was speaking about the rise of Islamic State (IS) in…
Second Sunday in Advent – Peace
Originally posted on Wembley Downs Church of Christ:
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” Isaiah’s oracle is how Mark’s Gospel begins…
Advent Voices – John the Baptizer
Zechariah’s son certainly made up for his father’s speechlessness before John’s birth! John’s call is to repentance – an intentional reorientation of heart, soul, mind and action. Zechariah’s silence had been the stillness before the storm that sweeps clean. Such was John’s magnetic appeal that crowds went out into the wilderness to hear him. HisContinue reading “Advent Voices – John the Baptizer”
An Apocalyptic Advent to You and Yours
Originally posted on Living the Questions:
“Apocalyptic Awakening” By Bruce Sanguin (from If Darwin Prayed) O Holy One, we are a sleepy lot, slow to stir to the calling of the cosmos, deaf to the cries of the Earth and the forgotten ones, human and other-than-human. We distract ourselves with trivialities that have become idols;…
Out of Zimbabwe
It’s now a few days since completing a three week stint working with Churches of Christ in Zimbabwe as part of a volunteer team from Australia and New Zealand. The dust has started to settle, the Africa in our veins is distilling to something quieter and more reflective. The next few posts will describe someContinue reading “Out of Zimbabwe”
Cranky Christians against asylum seeker cruelty – The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
I’ve been looking for something fresh to say about upping the ante on off-shore detention but Fr Chris Bedding nails it with hilarity. Here it is … Cranky Christians against asylum seeker cruelty – The Drum (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
Wondering Pilgrim 