Tag: prayer

Luke | George & Ruby & the long arc of history

Justice takes prayer and persistence. (Listen here.)

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a war on. Authorities were concerned that power stations might be bombed, and with them, the people who lived nearby. So, along with many other children, a boy named George was evacuated from his home near the power station at Yallourn and sent to live in Bendigo. At his new primary school, he sat next to a girl named Ruby, and they’ve been sitting next to each other ever since. Last week, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

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Psalms | My grandparents’ breakfast table and other stories

Another week, another family story – this time, about lifelong faith. (Listen here.)

My grandparents’ breakfast room opened off the kitchen. It had a brown sideboard, brown scratchy chairs and a brown shag pile carpet. Whenever my sister and I stayed with them, we participated in their morning ritual. First, we held hands and said grace. Then my sister and I would gobble up our breakfasts while our grandparents were still fussing around assembling theirs. Cornflakes. Sultanas. Bran. A bit of sugar. Milk. Yawn. My sister and I would sit swinging our legs, discreetly itching where the chairs scratched and waiting impatiently for our grandparents to finish eating. But even then, we couldn’t get down from the table for, after breakfast was cleared away, it was time for morning devotions.

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1 Kings | Elijah in the age of kings

In a world of authoritarian leaders, Elijah’s story should give us backbone and courage. (Listen here.)

What a story! Old Elijah heads up a mountain and encounters God in silence. Those of us who hang around churches have probably heard it before, and we’ve probably also heard that it’s an invitation to personal prayer. Get away from it all, get quiet time alone, and listen for God’s voice in the stillness. And on a good day, if you’re blessed, you’ll have a spiritual experience.

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Genesis | Abraham and the teacher trees

An invitation to connect with the earth. (Listen here).

Down by the river, on a gentle bend, there is a quiet spot. You can rest there awhile and listen to the water rippling. If you turn your gaze to the sky, you will see branches. They corkscrew around, twisting and turning, bending and bowing in response to each other so that every leaf on every branch has its own space. No tree is crowding another, for they are crown-shy.

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Psalms | Writing a psalm of thanksgiving

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” →

Philippians | In the depths of anguish, joy

Happiness is fleeting and contextual. But even in the depths of anguish, we can know joy. (Listen.)

‘It might seem crazy what I’m ‘bout to say …’: but sometimes when the sun is shining and the birds are singing and the house is cleanish and the garden’s flourishing and everyone’s cheerful and I have a bit of money in my pocket, I dance around the kitchen to Pharrell Williams’s smash hit, Happy. Continue reading “Philippians | In the depths of anguish, joy” →

Psalms | Slow reading | At dawn I plead

Why did God wait hundreds of years to free Israel? And why weren’t my urgent prayers answered? If Jesus was God incarnate why did he cry out in forsakenness? Wasn’t God with him on the cross? In fact, wasn’t it God on the cross What does it mean for us to be made in God’s image and filled with God’s breath? Is this God’s presence within us and among us? In times of suffering, is the divine spark all we ever get?
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Romans | While Rhodes burns

The following is an homage to Targum, that is, a translation of scripture interspersed with additional material and commentary. Just as the Apostle Paul quotes and reinterprets scripture for a new context, this reading of Romans 8 quotes and reinterprets his words for our context, during the hottest month on record. (Listen.)

5Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh

Indeed, they set their minds on fulfilling their own desires, whatever the cost. They treat all people, indeed all creation, as a resource to be extracted, exploited, sucked dry. Continue reading “Romans | While Rhodes burns” →

Canticle of Daniel | Slow reading | Bless the Lord, ice and cold

Bless the Lord, ice and cold … (Canticle of Daniel)

We’ve just marked the winter solstice and, rather fittingly, we’ve had heavy rain, pounding hail, and a bitterly cold wind which cuts to the bone; and also rumours of koontapool (southern right whales) returning to the bay. So this week, you are invited to dwell in a song of praise which calls on rain, wind, frost, cold and even whales to bless the Lord. Continue reading “Canticle of Daniel | Slow reading | Bless the Lord, ice and cold” →

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