Reflections from the belly
Go, work in the vineyard! (Matthew 21:28)
On Sunday I spoke about being filled with Christ and giving our lives away. As invariably happens when I speak of self-giving love and service, the immediate response was hedging, qualifications and pushback. Continue reading “Matthew | First thoughts, second thoughts, and action”
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”
Not one stone will be left … (Matthew 24:2)
Holy God,
whose presence is known
in the structures we build
and also in their collapse:
establish in us a desire
not to contain your mystery,
but to be led beyond security
into your sacred space,
through Jesus Christ: Amen. Continue reading “Trusting in the foolishness of death, Sanctuary will close”
Love is not a warm smooshy feeling, but a decision, an action, and an orientation. (Listen.)
Perhaps you’ve seen About a Boy, which is really about two boys, or maybe more. One is twelve-year-old Marcus, growing up in precarious circumstances. The other is the beautifully named Will Freeman. Will is a man-child whose wealth has insulated him from other people, and from life itself. Yet through one of his most selfish decisions, he’s thrown into the path of young Marcus; and Marcus begins to make demands on him. Continue reading “Matthew | The demands of love”
Jesus says, “As for the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was said to you by God, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:31-32)
The night Great-Aunty Pete died, she came to my mother in a dream and said goodbye. After Lindsay died, he appeared in my kitchen while I was cooking dinner. In life, he was intellectually and emotionally limited; when I saw him after death, he was wise and mature and laughing. It was the same old Lindsay, only transformed: and he radiated reassurance into the room. I know some of you have similar stories, where the dead have presented themselves to the living and shared love and encouragement. Continue reading “All Saints | The god of the living”
It was like fire. The hospital had called and told us to get over there quick. My mother had had a relapse, and there was nothing to be done. She wouldn’t last the day. When we got there, we were put into a small ugly room with scuffed grey lino and buzzing fluoros. There wasn’t enough room for a chair each, so we stood around awkwardly or sat on the floor. An oxygen mask hissed and various monitors beeped, and Mum was distressingly awake and gasping for breath. Continue reading “Like fire”
Happiness is fleeting and contextual. But even in the depths of anguish, we can know joy. (Listen.)
‘It might seem crazy what I’m ‘bout to say …’: but sometimes when the sun is shining and the birds are singing and the house is cleanish and the garden’s flourishing and everyone’s cheerful and I have a bit of money in my pocket, I dance around the kitchen to Pharrell Williams’s smash hit, Happy. Continue reading “Philippians | In the depths of anguish, joy”
Because I have googled.
Because it is simply recognition,
and an advisory body on Indigenous issues.
Nothing sinister, no veto powers.
It’s legislatively arranged, thus democratic.
Adaptive. Evolving. Pragmatic. Continue reading “yes I said yes I will Yes.”
In a world racked by climate change, we need the wisdom of custodians. (Listen.)
This week, following the hottest, driest September on record, out-of-control bushfires have been raging in Victoria. Fires are also burning in New South Wales and Tasmania. Regions of New South Wales have been declared an extreme fire danger zone; and some regions of Victoria which were burning this week were flooded the very next day. Continue reading “Matthew | Called to be custodians”
The whole congregation of the Israelites complained, saying, “If only we had died by God’s hand in Egypt, where we sat by the stew pots and ate our fill of bread; but you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill the whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3)
Once upon a time, there was a pastor who was beginning to feel stagnant, and stale, and trapped. She waited and waited for God to open the door of a small inner-city church; but at last, and to her shock, God called her to serve a regional crowd instead. “Who am I to do this?” she asked as she doubted and wrestled and argued with God. Finally, however, she obeyed; and she moved and began working among the people there. But after a year or so of people gathering and growing, and miracles abounding, she began to grumble. Continue reading “Exodus | Hungry people, heaven’s bread”
Alison and the whale 