Reflections from the belly
Listen here.
We have just listened to the Easter Vigil readings (listed below), which give a whistle stop tour of our faith. And there is something which runs through them. Did you hear it, echoing through the readings? Did you see it, lighting up the darkness? Did you recognise it, erupting from the horror? Life! But first … chaos. Continue reading “Life. Be in it!”
Ministry has many forms, and translation matters! (Listen here.)
I wonder what Simon’s mother-in-law prepared for Jesus and his disciples. Pita bread and hommous? Rice wrapped in vine leaves? Dried figs, almonds, and a soft mound of goats’ cheese? When Jesus visits Simon’s house, Simon’s mother-in-law is sick in bed. But although it’s the Sabbath, and although she’s a woman, and although she’s sick, Jesus touches her. She is healed; she gets out of bed; and she begins to serve them: and in the Middle East, that always means food. Continue reading “Mark | Women’s work: Ministry or service?”
What if we already have every spiritual resource that we need? (Listen here.)
A person knocks on a door. A voice calls from within, “Who is it?” The person says, “It’s your servant.” The voice says, “There’s no one here.”
The person goes away, wandering and wondering, working and thinking and talking and praying and sleeping and playing and dreaming, as you do. A year goes by, and they return. They knock at the door. A voice calls from within, “Who is it?” The person says, “It’s your sibling.” The voice says, “There’s no one here.”
The person goes away, wandering and wondering, working and thinking and talking and praying and sleeping and playing and dreaming, as you do. A year goes by, and they return. They knock at the door. A voice calls from within, “Who is it?” The person says, “It’s You.” The door swings open.
What if we have already been given every spiritual resource we need? What if we can be so transformed by Christ that, when he looks into our eyes, he sees himself? What if it is up to each of us to open the door? Continue reading “Matthew | It’s you!”
Jesus dwells among those who love him. (Listen here.)
Way back in January, we heard stories about Jesus meeting his first disciples. In one account, Jesus was out walking, and as he passed John the Baptiser, John pointed to Jesus, and called him the Lamb of God. Jesus stopped, and he asked John’s disciples, “What are you looking for?” And they replied “Teacher, where are you abiding?” “Where are you staying? Where are you making your home?” His answer was: “Come and see!” And so they left John and they followed Jesus through the days and weeks and months described in the Gospel. They ate and drank, together and with others. They went to houses and tombs and weddings and wells. They sailed back and forth across the Sea of Galilee, moving between Jewish and Gentile territories, all under the power of Rome. And as they lived and journeyed together, the disciples watched Jesus healing and teaching and loving and forgiving and breaking bread with people. Finally, he was killed, and the question they began with still hung in the air: Teacher, where are you abiding? Continue reading “John | Christ is Risen! But where is he now?”
Alison and the whale 