Christmas | Filling earth with the culture of heaven

Scene: The minister sits in the wooden throne behind the pulpit, gazing fixedly at her phone, while the congregation waits anxiously for her to begin the sermon … One from the archives. (Listen here.)

Whoops, sorry, is it me? I was just praying with an app. It’s awesome, it helps me be more spiritual. And it’s been recommending other apps: there are so many! There are apps for prayer and meditation. There are apps for reading the Bible in a year, and for memorising scripture, and for reading a single passage very slowly. There are apps to log my spiritual habits; apps with the Ignatian examen; apps with daily liturgies from monasteries; apps to frame silence.

Continue reading “Christmas | Filling earth with the culture of heaven”

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”

Luke | A story of family

In Luke’s account, Jesus is born into an ever-expanding family into which we are all invited. (Listen.)

A baby is born in a little village, it doesn’t matter where. The women attending send out word, and soon a line is forming at the door. One by one, every member of the village, and every visitor to the village, and every traveller passing through, comes inside and greets the newborn. They introduce themselves to the baby, and they welcome the baby into the world. Continue reading “Luke | A story of family”

Gettin’ down and dirty with Jesus

If you want an earthy faith which embraces all our materiality and mess, look to Jesus Christ. For he is Emmanuel, God-with-us: and he points us to the human. (Listen.)

I’ve been browsing the app store lately, and it is simply marvellous how many apps there are to help me with my spirituality. There are apps for meditation and prayer. There are apps for devouring the whole Bible in a year, or for memorising passages, or for reading one verse very slowly. Continue reading “Gettin’ down and dirty with Jesus”

Luke | For Christmas hope and healing, look to the shadows

Listen here.

All around the world, people are preparing. The fridges are filled; the tables are set; the gifts are wrapped and waiting under the tree. The tinsel shimmers and Sinatra sings, as the world prepares for Christmas. It’s a wonderful time, a joyful time; we should all be so excited. So why, for so many of us, does it feel so hard? Continue reading “Luke | For Christmas hope and healing, look to the shadows”

Love, joy and conflict at Christmas

Hidden beneath the pretty-pretty, Christmas is a time of conflict.

St Andrew’s Fairfield had a donkey at its service last Sunday; Hillsong will have camels. The Christmas story is certainly very picturesque: animals, angels, shepherds, wise men, and, in the middle of the crowd, a baby. It’s easy to forget that this baby’s mother was a young girl, whose response to pregnancy out of wedlock was to praise the God who overthrows the powerful and sends the rich away empty. Continue reading “Love, joy and conflict at Christmas”

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