Reflections from the belly
A message for, from and about those who ask me to use my platform to speak on their behalf. I acknowledge the privilege that enables me to speak in churches in this way. (Listen here.)
One of my dear friends grew up in a good Christian family, as we say. Her father was an elder, a pillar of the local church; he still is. And when she was fifteen and he realised she was an incorrigible lesbian, he threw her out of home.
Continue reading “Micah | Shall I sacrifice my child?”
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.
Continue reading “Luke | No ifs about it!”
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.
Continue reading “John | The relational god”
A fascinating pairing of texts from Isaiah and Philippians, and an invitation to speak on love in a troubled world, from West Preston Baptist Church. (Listen here.)
“Today Christians stand at the head of this country … I pledge that I will never tie myself to those who want to destroy Christianity … We want to fill our culture again with the Christian spirit—we want to burn out all the recent immoral development in literature, theatre, the arts and in the press—in short, we want to burn out the poison of immorality which has entered into our whole life and culture as a result of liberal excess …”
Continue reading “Isaiah | The politics of love”
So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. (Romans 12:5)
There are people who are so much a part of ourselves that it is hard to imagine ourselves without them, and it is hard even to think about them without also thinking about ourselves. On 18 October, then, I lost a part of myself, my beloved Jean.
Continue reading “Saints | My beloved Jean”
Some people want church to be a super-comfortable shelter from the world: but without friction, no fragrance! Listen here.
A few weeks ago, I was interviewed on a Christian radio program. When the host asked me about my childhood, I said that it had been church all the way, for which I was (now) incredibly grateful. The host told me he had also grown up in the church and said it was a great blessing ‘having a sheltered upbringing and a peaceful home life and all that sort of thing …’
Continue reading “Corinthians | Without friction, no fragrance”
‘You set a table in the presence of my enemies …’ sings the Psalmist, ‘my cup overflows.’ There are two ways to imagine this, two images of God. Continue reading “Psalms | Slow reading | In the presence of my frenemies”
God’s steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1b)
When a church closes, there is much to grieve yet also much to celebrate. It is usual for some of this to be done in a formal way at the final service, through two or three people chosen to tell that community’s story. Typically, they would be minister and deacons, but of course this preferences a particular type of person and power. However, I think it would be more appropriate to make space for many different voices. Continue reading “Psalms | Writing a psalm of thanksgiving”
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”
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”
Alison and the whale 