Adam Raised a Cain: Reflections for Parents in Pain
Back in 2016 I wrote a post, Adam Raised A Cain, reflecting on the sadness of the Genesis 4:1-16 account where we discover that the worlds first parents raised a murderer, and that the worlds opening story of two brothers is of the one killing the other. It’s not a promising start, and reflects the Bible’s deep awareness that family is usually the source of both our greatest joy and our greatest pain. I thought it worth doing a minor edit of the post and thinking about our response when parenting doesn’t go as we imagined it would. That the Bible’s opening snapshot of...
Read MoreAdam raised a Cain: When our children break our heart…
Don’t know if you are familiar with the Bruce Springsteen classic, Adam Raised a Cain, with its haunting closing lines, ‘Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream, Adam raised a Cain.’ For those less familiar with the biblical story behind these lyrics, the song explains it in these words, In the Bible Cain slew Abel And East of Eden he was cast, You’re born into this life paying, for the sins of somebody else’s past. They are tough lines… Sin enters the world through Adam. It impacts his children, and one outcome is that his firstborn son...
Read MoreHannah and Mary: Having the faith to let go… by Audrey Francis
I was shopping at Coles yesterday and noticed that they already have Easter hot cross buns on sale. Christmas has only been over for week, and we are already being rushed away from it. But it is better to ponder Christmas a little longer. Audrey Francis, a student at Vose Seminary who has contributed to this blog before, helps us to do so in this message she preached on Sunday 27 Dec 2015 at Rockingham Uniting Church. It is built around 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 and Luke 2: 41-52, comparing the sacrifice made by Samuel’s mother Hannah, and Jesus’ mother Mary. It asks what they might...
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