Reflections from the belly
Go now, little birds,
and make your home in God’s unruly culture:
in the schools and prisons, hospitals and offices,
highways and byways and households of this world.
Take the seeds you have ingested here,
and distribute them liberally wherever you go. Continue reading “Prayer | Go now, little birds”
Introduction: Sometimes, we respond to the readings (John 3:5-8 and Romans 8:12-17) with a sermon. Sometimes, we have a conversation. Sometimes, like last week, people testify to God’s action in the world and their lives. And sometimes, we have a guided meditation which invites you to enter deeply into the readings. Tonight it’s a meditation. Listen to Womb, by Toni Childs, then work slowly through the meditation. Be aware that the meditation uses gendered language for God, language which the Biblical writers used. There are times when we analyse and even question this language: but tonight, I invite you to let it be. Instead, just rest in the imagery, and see what emerges in the silence. Continue reading “Birthed by the Spirit: Beloved by God”
The Bible is full of contradictions, so we read with Jesus at our side. (Listen here.)
Like the wider Christian church, our congregation includes people who hold very different ideas about how to live. Some of us acknowledge the possibility of a just war; others believe that peacemaking is the only way. Some of us proclaim salvation through Christ alone; others, that there are many paths to God. Some of us freely affirm faithful homosexual relationships; others reject the idea that any such relationship could be godly. We are all reading the same Bible, yet our conclusions can clash. So what’s happening here? And what’s the way forward? Continue reading “Luke | Open heart, open mind: Reading the Bible with Jesus”
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!”
You can live but be dead inside, or die yet fully live. (Listen here.)
Kathleen Norris tells a story of two women she knew, both of whom were diagnosed with terminal cancer. The first woman said, “If I ever get out of this hospital, I’m going to look out for Number One.” Despite the diagnosis, she survived, and went on to live only for herself—and, as Norris writes, “it made her mean.” The second reflected on the blessings of her life, despite some acute early losses. This woman read the Psalms, and said to Norris, “The one thing that scares me is the pain. I hope I die before I turn into an old bitch.” And that’s exactly what happened. Continue reading “John | Living death or resurrection life: You choose!”
Alison and the whale 