Author: alison

Mark | Blind faith

Rejected by the worshipping community, blind Bartimaeus is commended for his faith. A reflection given to the delightful Rosanna Baptist Church on 17 March 2024. You can listen to a (very tinny) recording of it here.

He was slumped outside the city gate, because he wasn’t allowed to enter. Once, he had been on the inside, but not any more. Maybe he asked too many questions. Maybe he struggled to make nice. Maybe people felt uncomfortable around his disability, or his kid’s. Or maybe people’s reactions to his sexuality or gender had pushed him out.

Continue reading “Mark | Blind faith” →

What is the whale?

It’s the fish god of Assyria and Babylon and empire; no one escapes its appetite.

It’s dark and acidic and stinking and grinding; it’s the abyss; it’s vulnerability.

It’s the site of desperate prayers and promises, and a life given over to God.

It’s the thing you have crossed the oceans to find, when you realise it’s been cradling you all along.

It’s the tomb, it’s the womb, it’s the site of rebirth, it’s the convulsion which spews you to shore.

Matthew | The billionaire, the stockbroker and the storyteller

Maybe God isn’t an angry absentee landlord, and maybe the wicked, lazy, worthless bloke isn’t the slave at all. A provocative retelling of the parable of the talents. (Listen.)

Who profits? Who pays? For many years, these words were daubed in bright yellow paint on a wall near my old house; I read them every time I walked past. Gradually they sunk in, until they became the fundamental questions I bring to everything. The news. A sermon. A theological position. A decision. And, of course, any reading of the Bible. Continue reading “Matthew | The billionaire, the stockbroker and the storyteller” →

Psalms | Writing a psalm of thanksgiving

God’s steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1b)

When a church closes, there is much to grieve yet also much to celebrate. It is usual for some of this to be done in a formal way at the final service, through two or three people chosen to tell that community’s story. Typically, they would be minister and deacons, but of course this preferences a particular type of person and power. However, I think it would be more appropriate to make space for many different voices. Continue reading “Psalms | Writing a psalm of thanksgiving” →

Matthew | Five foolish bridesmaids, embraced

We will find Christ among foolish bridesmaids and other outcasts. (Listen.)

Come on, girls, you’ve been working since dawn and it’s only midnight—how dare you sleep? Wake up! Be alert, bright as a button; anticipate your master’s every need. You have more oil? Don’t you dare share, you know it’s a limited good. And stop fretting about your foolish sisters turned away from the banquet. Continue reading “Matthew | Five foolish bridesmaids, embraced” →

Matthew | Authority in the church

In communities of faith, integrity, service and love are the hallmarks of legitimate authority. (Listen.)

‘The greatest among you will be your servant,’ says Jesus. He’s just identified the greatest commandments, that is, to love God and neighbour. Now, he’s identifying the greatest person: and it’s the one who loves. That is, they set aside their own interests, roll up their sleeves, and serve. Continue reading “Matthew | Authority in the church” →

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