Luke | All things new

Resurrection life is elusive and disruptive—and changes everything. (Listen here.)

Christ is risen! Alleluia! And have a chocolate egg. For weeks, we’ve being seeing displays of cute little bunnies, colourful eggs and images of a European spring. After a long hard winter, when all has been dark and dormant, it’s time to celebrate the resurrection. For the goddess Eostre has returned to the earth once more, bringing with her the dawn, the light, and the new life. And she is why the days are lengthening, the bunnies are hopping, the eggs are hatching and we’re all gathered here today. Alleluia! It’s Easter! Praise Eostre!

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Luke | Get your sh*t together!

In the face of oppression, Jesus tightens our focus and grounds us. (Listen here.)

Did you hear about Pilate, how he had some Galilean pilgrims murdered along with their sacrifices? Their blood – I can barely say it – their blood was mingled with the blood of their animals on the temple floor. It’s so awful, I can’t really find words. And yet, let’s be honest, are any of us really surprised?

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Luke | No ifs about it!

A reflection on Jesus’ time of testing for the beginning of Lent, shared with Westgate Baptist Community. (Listen here.)

If. It’s a very small word with a very big weight. If only I were a better person … If I just prayed more … If I tried a bit harder … If I really trusted God … Again and again I hear some version of this, sometimes from other people, sometimes from the voices in my head.

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John | The relational god

Life in the gospel according to John: what is it? Here’s my take for a second-gen Vietnamese-Australian congregation living in a secular age. (Watch on YouTube here.)

You’ve all seen them. Maybe there’s one in a house you know, or maybe at a place you like to eat pho. Maybe it’s on a shop counter, or in the corner of an office. Wherever it is, it’s a little shrine. What’s on it can vary. Sometimes it’s oranges, but at Tet, or the lunar New Year, it’s the five fruits. Usually there’s incense, often jasmine tea. There may be flowers, even an oil lamp. Perhaps a Buddha or a crucifix. And, of course, there’s the photographs of ancestors who are being remembered and honoured at these altars.

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Someone like me

So I got to write about all my favourite things — the Word, words, my old mate Jonah, faith, the church and more — in an awesome anthology, Someone Like Me. In this collection of essays by autistic writers, you’ll meet two dozen fantastic contributors including Clem Bastow, Jo Case, Fiona Wright and Jess Ho. Through our combined voices we explode white male stereotypes about autism, disrupt clinical and deficit models, and share personal stories. Maybe you’ll recognise someone you love in these pages, maybe you’ll recognise yourself, or maybe you’ll grow in empathy and understanding for the people around you. Whatever, get yourself a copy!

In bookshops from 4 March, or preorder from your favourite local bookstore now.

Genesis | Bunjil & the order of Melchizedek

Christ is a priest in the order of an Indigenous creator-ancestor. Truth-telling and implications, as shared with Rosanna Baptist Church on 26 January.

On 26 January 1788, the First Fleet landed in Sydney Cove. There, Captain Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack and claimed half the continent for his king. It marked the beginning of the disruption, dispossession and colonisation of over 300 nations, and a devastating loss of life.

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John | Like a wedding

In Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs, at a long table littered with empty wine bottles and glasses just waiting to be filled, we contemplated the wedding at Cana. It was a conversation-style service, but for those who couldn’t be there, here’s a brief reflection.

Jesus is at a wedding, the wine runs out, he turns water into wine, blah blah blah. The story and its interpretation are so familiar that it can be tempting to tune out.

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Luke | In the midst of life

A reflection on baptism, shared with Coburg Uniting Church. (Listen to a really terrible recording here.)

I am a Baptist, which means I have a hearty appreciation for believers baptism. So hearty, that I was 25 before I felt remotely ready to take the plunge. Given many of you were christened as infants and confirmed as tweens, I’d feel slightly embarrassed telling you how old I was, except that Jesus was thought to be about 30 when he turned up on the banks of the Jordan.

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Matthew | This Epiphany, let us be wise

A reflection for Epiphany, or the visit of the wise.

Like many who grew up in the church, I learned to be wary of different knowledges. We never read our horoscopes, for they were considered to be devilish astrology. We avoided some Asian restaurants, because their shrines of incense and oranges looked like sacrifices to idols. We didn’t learn Indigenous stories, because we suspected they might open us up to demonic forces. We knew that the people of God have an abhorrence for pagans, idols and foreign gods: and we were faithful. And yet every year we set up our nativity scene with wise men from the East. Continue reading “Matthew | This Epiphany, let us be wise” →

Luke | Heaven’s bread

A Christmas encouragement for the Flemington Ark People’s Pantry and any food share project!

Sometimes, heaven’s banquet is set out on wonky old trestle tables. And always, the food is a gift. You know how it goes. There’s the collection of food which would otherwise go into landfill: for nothing is wasted in God’s economy. There’s the sorting, the setting out, the packing, the delivery. There’s the volunteers hungry for food, for work, for meaning, for a people and a place to belong to. And there’s the blessed reality that, through waste redemption and food sharing, all these people are fed. Continue reading “Luke | Heaven’s bread” →

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