Author: alison

Place | Scar tree | Djab Wurrung country

We are always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:10-11)

When my mum was disabled by MS, I lost count of the number of good Christian folk who demanded to know whether we had ‘tried prayer’ to cure her. Now that I have my own health wobbles, I sometimes find it hard not to blame myself. The pernicious thoughts sneak in: ‘Is this the result of unhealthy choices? Too much stress? A lack of prayer?’ Never for anyone else, mind; just for myself. Continue reading “Place | Scar tree | Djab Wurrung country” →

John | Trans/forming

To encounter Jesus is to invite change. (Listen.)

The crowd was in uproar. ‘It’s him,’ some said. ‘Don’t be stupid!’ said others, ‘It’s just someone like him.’ ‘I’m still me,’ she said, ‘and this is what happened.’ But nobody was listening. Instead, the religious leaders weighed in. ‘He changed at church, but it’s totally against the Bible,’ said some. But others wondered; and so they were divided. Continue reading “John | Trans/forming” →

Place | Kelly’s Swamp | Peek Whurrong country

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:15-16)

When I drop my daughter at the stables, I look across the wetlands to the dunes. Between the weathered, flattened dunes are two perky dunes side by side. For all the world, they look like a young woman’s breasts. I prayer-dream a woman lying across the landscape. Her hair streams like kelp into the sea; her breasts rise among the dunes; her womb encompasses the fertility of the wetlands. Continue reading “Place | Kelly’s Swamp | Peek Whurrong country” →

Prayer | Let us pray for one another

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. (James 5:16, MSG)

I’m sure I’m not the only person who finds these words, or at least the way they can be used, difficult at times. In the public sphere we too often see Christians praying for domination over others, for the eradication of queerness, for violent military successes, for personal wealth, even for the overturning of election results. Even in our own circles, the conviction with which some people insist that they know God’s will and that their prayers must and will be answered is unsettling. Continue reading “Prayer | Let us pray for one another” →

Place | Panmure swimming holy | Kirrae Whurrung country

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (Mark 1:9)

I am prayer-reading the story of Jesus’ baptism. Using the tools of lectio divina, I read it slowly once, twice, three times. Using my sacred imagination, I place myself in the crowd, watching; as a priest, coming down against this baptism; as John, holding people close as I plunge them into the river … Continue reading “Place | Panmure swimming holy | Kirrae Whurrung country” →

Matthew | So you’re God’s child. Now what?

Being God’s children is never in question. It’s what we do next that counts. (Listen.)

‘Since you’re the son of God,’ says the devilish examiner in Matthew’s story, ‘turn these stones to bread.’ Use your power for your own ends. Whip up a miracle, and feed yourself. ‘Since you’re the son of God,’ says the examiner, ‘jump off The Pinnacle.’ Create a spectacle, sell tickets, hold a circus. Let everyone see God’s angels save you: it’ll be great advertising for your little movement. And anyway, it’s all in scripture. According to Psalm 91, ‘The angels will catch you and raise you up — you won’t even stub your toe!’ (vv. 11-12). Continue reading “Matthew | So you’re God’s child. Now what?” →

Our spiritual geography

Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:24) – The invitation to Sanctuary to write about the place where they live in 2023.

Once upon a time, our ancestor Jacob went on a journey. He left the place called Beer-sheba and came to the place called Luz. It had been a long day on the road;  it was now twilight. The first stars were becoming visible in the darkling sky. So he took one of the stones of that place, a flat stone, a smooth stone, and brushed off the dirt; then he used it as a pillow. He wrapped himself tightly in his traveling cloak, and drifted into a deep, God-filled sleep. While he was dreaming, he saw a stairway reaching from that place all the way to heaven, and God’s messengers were travelling between heaven and earth. Continue reading “Our spiritual geography” →

Matthew | Kill ’em with kindness

Be like God and kill ‘em with kindness, no matter what the bastards dish up. (Listen.)

‘Love your enemies,’ says Jesus. ‘Pray for those who persecute you. And when somebody slaps you around, let them do it again.’ Really?? Is this what Jesus is actually saying? Are we supposed to be nothing but doormats? You can probably guess my answer, but to understand my firm ‘No!’, let’s go back to the social context of Jesus’ sermon. Continue reading “Matthew | Kill ’em with kindness” →

Matthew | Self-regulation, the law and the prophets

Participation in Jesus’ new community calls for self-awareness, self-regulation and love. (Listen.)

If I said I’d never thought, ‘You nincompoop!’ of someone, or even, once or twice, actually muttered it in anger—well, I’d be a liar. If I claimed my eye had never once wandered, that, too, would be a falsehood. If I denied I am an adulterer because it’s not me but my husband who’s divorced, I’d be playing the sort of legalistic game which Jesus doesn’t seem to think much of. And if I claimed my every ‘yes’ was a wholehearted promise, then let me say now: I’ve been known to prevaricate from time to time. Continue reading “Matthew | Self-regulation, the law and the prophets” →

Genesis | ‘Surely God is in this place!’

God-stories are always anchored to particular places. So what are our God-stories, and how can they charge the landscape? (Listen.)

Once upon a time, our ancestor Jacob went on a journey. He left the place called Beer-sheba and came to the place called Luz. It had been a long day on the road;  it was now twilight. The first stars were becoming visible in the darkling sky. So he took one of the stones of that place, a flat stone, a smooth stone, and brushed off the dirt; then he used it as a pillow. He wrapped himself tightly in his traveling cloak, and drifted into a deep, God-filled sleep. While he was dreaming, he saw a stairway reaching from that place all the way to heaven, and God’s messengers were moving between heaven and earth. Continue reading “Genesis | ‘Surely God is in this place!’” →

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