Reflections from the belly
Taxes might not be anyone’s favourite subject, but Jesus invites us to think beyond what we owe. (Listen here.)
Nothing in this world is certain except, they say, death and taxes. And, of the two, some of us seem to hate taxes more.
Continue reading “Matthew | Death and taxes”
Happiness is fleeting and contextual. But even in the depths of anguish, we can know joy. (Listen here.)
Someone called me the other day. They were a bit bothered, they said, because I don’t always look happy. Indeed.
Continue reading “Philippians | Joy in the rain”
Death is all around, so let’s put some language around it. A brief homily given at a recent funeral, for one who suffered too long and died too young.
Interesting fact: the Jesus stuff, what we call the gospel, isn’t highfalutin’ literature. Instead, it’s working class language. Like life, it’s rough, it’s raw, and it’s real. But translations tend to tidy things up. Take the word ‘splanchna.’
Continue reading “Funeral | You’ve got to go through it”
What are we waiting for? And how, then, do we wait? (Listen here.) Content note: One mention of suicide, in the first paragraph only.
The saddest funeral I ever did was for a young woman who died by suicide. She attended a very high energy local church, all praise and worship. However, it did not do funerals and certainly not for suicide. Trying to find a pastor who would hold a service for their daughter, her distraught parents were eventually given my name.
Continue reading “Matthew | Expectation management”
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”
‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ the young man asked in Matthew 19. These days, you might hear it phrased as, ‘How do I get into heaven?’ The answers come cascading down. Believe this, live that way, and don’t, whatever you do, act gay. But what was Jesus’ reply? Keep the commandments, more specifically reject murder, rape, theft and lies. Honour elders. Love your neighbours in this world now … Read here.
A reflection on the closure of the School of Indigenous Studies and, by implication, the church in this land more generally, written for Zadok Perspectives one year on from the referendum and featured on the Ethos blog. Image shows graffiti of Aboriginal flag at Camperdown Memorial Rest Park at Wiki Commons. Graffiti artist unknown.
Suffering is indiscriminate, but then again, so is joy. (Listen here).
There is a story in the gospel according to John which begins like this: Jesus was walking along when he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ These days, we’re not quite so quick to blame people for being differently abled or ill. And yet when my mother, Ruth, had multiple sclerosis, I lost count of the number of people who became frustrated, even angry, with her.
Continue reading “Job | On suffering and shimmering joy”
‘Those who love and fear you lack nothing,’ sings the Psalmist. ‘God listens. God delivers. God protects.’ But we know the truth. Good people suffer. The poor are hungry. The innocent are accused. Prophets are silenced. So, is this psalm sanctimonious and full of false promises? Or is something else going on? Continue reading “Psalms | Slow reading | I called in my affliction”
It was like fire. The hospital had called and told us to get over there quick. My mother had had a relapse, and there was nothing to be done. She wouldn’t last the day. When we got there, we were put into a small ugly room with scuffed grey lino and buzzing fluoros. There wasn’t enough room for a chair each, so we stood around awkwardly or sat on the floor. An oxygen mask hissed and various monitors beeped, and Mum was distressingly awake and gasping for breath. Continue reading “Like fire”
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”
