Sunday: Afraid yet filled with joy…
“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” Matt 28:8 Have you been at a wedding where the groom cries, and the bride, and the parents, and granny – and as they do they all tell you how happy they are. Emotions are funny things. We sometimes cry when we are happy. And then there are those funerals where people burst into loud laughter as the idiosyncrasies of the deceased are recapped and tolerantly recalled. At many funerals mirth and tears intermingle seamlessly. Emotions are funny things. We sometimes laugh when...
Read MoreSaturday: Waiting
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” Luke 24:1. See also John 19:38-42. There is nothing worse than waiting. You’re caught in that in between time. For those who loved Jesus it was made far worse by Sabbath rules and regulations. They had rushed his body into a tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea, but really it was far from satisfactory. Joseph and Nicodemus had done their best to bury Jesus according to Jewish customs – but seriously, you don’t want men managing these...
Read MoreFriday: Love so amazing…
This Easter reflection is from my book, Could this be God? It is the first of the three posts for this Easter weekend: Friday; Saturday; Sunday. Don’t know if you have ever been face to face with a little child who insists on asking ‘Why?’ No matter what answer you give, it’s immediately followed by yet another ‘Why?’ I feel a little like that when it comes to Easter. You can’t but scratch your head and ask in amazed bewilderment, ‘So why did Jesus love me so much that he would die for me?’ No matter how good a theologian you are, it’s a question that can’t really be answered. Another ‘Why?’...
Read MoreJudging or Discerning?
In Matthew 7:1 Jesus challengingly instructs: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” It is an oft quoted sentiment from the Sermon on the Mount, and is sometimes used as a get out of jail free card by those who know they have erred badly, “If you listen to Jesus you won’t judge me.” Even if you challenge back, “That sounds pretty manipulative” the retort is going to be, “Manipulative! There you go, judging me again!” Realistically, Jesus didn’t seem to expect us to obey this command. A few verses along he says, “Do not...
Read MoreFrom Statements of Faith to Theological Architecture…
If you are a Christian, tell me what kind of a Christian you are? In a divisive age where faith is expressed in varied and sometimes incompatible ways, this has become a relevant question. While most of us feel a little uncomfortable asking it, it is a little naive to assume we all love Jesus, so everything is OK. Ever since the 1054 Great Schism between the church in the East and West we have lived with the idea of a divided church. This was accelerated by the 1517 Protestant Reformation which went on to birth a plethora of new denominations. 500 years later, there is no sign of this...
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