Category: Thoughts

Random thing that I’m thinking about

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Thoughts

Duke of Edinburgh Award

I did my DofE award (bronze and silver) a long time ago now and things have changed a little. However, the general idea is still there and one well worth supporting. I nearly got my gold award but I then had to commit to becoming a minister and everything else had to take a back seat. In retrospect I only had to gather together the information to get it – never mind.

It’s the expedition that I’ve always favoured the most – it can be a real challenge to complete it for some people. It’s not always the fit sporty types that find it easy. It’s a great thing to be able to do and get involved in – not sure why I didn’t volunteer a long time ago.

I guess there are a lot of things that we think we will volunteer to help with but never get around to it. Why not let this be a challange to find something to help with and volunteer.

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Thoughts

Christian discrimination

Just added a blog entry on my Jesus Course site about Christian descrimination
http://jesuscourse.info/blog/

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Thoughts

Happy Christmas

I want to take the chance to offer my Christmas greetings to everyone. I know that for many Christmas is tough and it brings back all kinds of memories (both good and bad). I suffered a bereavement myself this year with my mum passing on to glory and I understand that such a thing can really dent people’s Christmas celebrations.

I think, though, that whoever you are and whatever you have been through there is still a bit of Christmas that is just for you. It’s the bit where God says – I love you this much.

If you wonder how much God really does love you then remember that Christmas is really about the birth of God’s son and that God says I love you enough to even give my Son to you. Don’t get distracted by the theology or the glitter of the season but instead see the best gift that anyone ever got for Christmas and remember that this best gift God gave to you.

Have a wonderful Christmas and see you in the new year.

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Thoughts

What is truth?

How can we know what is true? Should we be bothered.

To hear some people speak you would think that what is true is subjective – that is it all depends on your viewpoint. Sometimes this is true, of course. If you ask me if it is a good thing that LiverpoolFC won last weekend I will say yes but you might well say know – especially if you were a fan of the opposition. But some things are not subjective; for instance it really is not up to us whether 2+2=4. Such is the truth (or otherwise) of the existence of people and also of God. There is also a truth about Jesus that is not open to opinion: either Jesus is the son of God, as he claimed to be, or he is not; either he was God incarnate or he was not. These are important truths that need to be decided upon.

So how do we make a choice as to what is true or what is false?

There are all kinds of evidence we can look to for help but we will never find the physical evidence that some people claim we need to make the choice. But you will struggle to find the equivalent demanded physical evidence available for much that is important in our history. All that is available is historical evidence (testimony comes in here) and revelation (what we might believe God has told us about Jesus).

The value of testimony depends on the person who first relates it (as well as any who pass it on). We must decide if we are willing to trust the gospel authors. For my part, after considering the evidence for this I am convinced that they are worth trusting.

The value of revelation is more complicated. It is similar to testimony but you have to first accept that God does want to reveal himself. To believe this is complex but I think there is plenty of evidence to believe this is true – including Jesus himself who believed in revelation. We can consider the evidence but ultimately it will be a matter of faith: you must decide if you want to believe it or not. In the old testament there is plenty of revelation, recorded in the books of the prophets. Prophets who so often talk about Christ.

So ultimately we have to decide what we are going to think about Jesus. There has to be one thing that is true – not everything can be. What does the testimony and revelation say to you about Jesus?

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Thoughts

Advent messages

I had intended writing some advent messages on the lead up to Christmas but then its a strange thing but there are so many services to take that I’m starting to get a little swamped with having to find things to say that I didn’t say last year and then again avoiding saying anything in a post that others might here me say in a service (don’t want to bore anyone more than I have to).

So, instead here is an advent Poem I love from John Betjemen. Oh and by the way, if you are desperate for an advent message from me you can always go to jesuscourse.info and view the blog – but don’t be surprised if you read something you then later hear from me in a Christmas sermon.

The bells of waiting Advent ring,
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain.
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hooker’s Green.

The holly in the windy hedge
And round the Manor House the yew
Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,
The altar, font and arch and pew,
So that villagers can say
‘The Church looks nice’ on Christmas Day.

Provincial public houses blaze
And Corporation tramcars clang,
On lighted tenements I gaze
Where paper decorations hang,
And bunting in the red Town Hall
Says ‘Merry Christmas to you all’

And London shops on Christmas Eve
Are strung with silver bells and flowers
As hurrying clerks the City leave
To pigeon-haunted classic towers,
And marbled clouds go scudding by
The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,
And oafish louts remember Mum,
And sleepless children’s hearts are glad,
And Christmas morning bells say ‘Come!’
Even to shining ones who dwell
Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And is it true? and is it true?
The most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me?

And is it true? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant.

No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare –
That God was Man in Palestine
And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.

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Church Thoughts

He never said a bad word about anyone

I’ve sometimes heard people say, about someone who has recently died, that ‘ he never said a bad word about anyone.’ I’ve always thought that this was a very good trait to have and someone who was like this is no doubt very saintly. But something I read the other day made me rethink this. This book pointed out that whilst it sounds like this is a quality that we might believe makes someone very close to the way Jesus was; it isn’t.

Jesus had an awful lot to say about some people and he didn’t mince his words either. Maybe we might say that this is because Jesus alone had the right to say such things but I think that misses the point.

Jesus had a lot of good things to say when people were doing good things (even when it was a bad person doing a good thing) – in fact he pointed to the good when often others chose to ignore it in favour of making people, even good people, feel bad about themselves. Sadly the trait of making even good people feel bad about themselves is something that the church has fallen in to from time to time.

But when Jesus saw an injustice, or when he met religious bullies, or people who should know better; he had an awful lot to say to them that was pretty bad.

So maybe we should not aspire to be the person who never said a bad word about anyone but instead aspire to be someone who speaks out against injustice, stands up to bullies (especially the religious kind), and who praises the good he finds in people even when it was hard to find. In fact, just like Jesus.

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Thoughts

My mum died

A couple of weeks ago my mum died (July 8th). It has been a strange time for me. First there was the shock of hearing the news. Of course we all knew one day she would die – in fact doctors told us that she would die years ago.  I still felt shocked when it happened.

Everyone has been excellent to me since it happened. People have given me good wishes and reassured me of their prayers. I’m very grateful for them all.

I’ve tried hard to keep going – what am I supposed to do anyway? Should I cry for a few days? Will it make any difference if I did? There has been a lot to do but being busy has somehow helped a little – partly because the busyness has involved spending time with my dad and brothers – something I seldom seem to have time to do.

Now I’m starting to feel that I want some time just to think. I’m trying to find a couple of days of space when I can think and just be alone. My relationship with my mum was not always perfect. She could be demanding and even manipulating but she was still the woman I clung to as a child, the one who gave me life and helped me make sense of the world (at least to begin the process). I need time to say I’m sorry to her for all my failings; time to be angry with her and so forgive her for all her failings; time to say goodbye to one of the most important people in my life.

I don’t think this will all happen in one or two days but I’d like to have the chance to at least begin the process. If the weather allows I shall be off to Dartmoor to do this – somehow all that open space and nothing to do but walk and look and think helps me. I remember many happy Dartmoor picnics; perhaps it is a fitting place to say my goodbyes.

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Thoughts

Safeguarding

Off to some Safeguarding training today. A very necessary, if somewhat harrowing experience.

The church in recent years has been scared by reports of Priests and workers who have abused those put in their care. We have to hang our head in shame that we were part of an organisation that both failed to protect those in its care and then tried to cover up what was going on. Of course these things happened in a time when everyone tried to cover up this kind of thing – that, at least, is not exclusive to the church.

The church has a dilema. It has had a high proportion of abuse problems in its past. This is doubly bad because Christianity teaches that we should be caring for the abused and oppressed. However, it also has such a high number of problems because it has been the place where most of the work with children and vulnerable adults has taken place. When you are the one doing all the work it is no surprise that you will be the one who also has all the problems. The churches dilemma is this: do we continue with the work and risk more cases of abuse or do we simply stop all the work and appear to be squeaky clean?

My feeling is that we must do all we can to prevent abuse but still continue with the work. It wouldn’t be right to abandon our work of caring for those that most people don’t seem to be bothered about. Who is bothered about helping young people discover fullness of life and helping them become useful members of society? We have tended to leave this stuff up to churches and now they can’t do as much we want our schools to do it – when their job is really about education. I’m not sure that a school can successfully help young people in this way given the restrictions they face on what they can and can’t do or say. I for one am not prepared to abandon young people (or vulnerable adults) to fend for themselves from now on.

I have heard the question asked: who in our society, outside of school hours, knows the names of the young people who populate our streets, save perhaps the drug dealer?

Yes, the church must continue to work with young people and vulnerable adults and then we must do all we can to protect them in our care.

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Thoughts

The Gospel and the Greeks

Does the new testament have more in common with Greek Philosophy than the gospel? I don’t think so and neither does Ronald Nash.

Much is often made of the similarity of some of the teachings of the gospel to some of the teachings of the Greek Philosophers. This had led some to believe that Jesus didn’t actually have an original thought but instead just cobbled together some of the teachings that were around during his day – or at least the writers of the new testament cobbled them together.

Ronald Nash was so disturbed by the claims that some were making about this (and still do) that he wrote a book called “The Gospel and the Greeks”. In it he wanted to put across the arguments that had already taken place over this issue and he thought (and incidently much of the acedemic world thought) that the claim had been well and truly refuted. The web has a wonderful nack of resurrecting problems that everyone thought were solved once and for all.

If you are confused about this issue then you could do a lot worse than read Nash’s book.

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Thoughts

Easter Day!

Here is a part of my sermon for this morning:

Jesus is not just a man with a strange story but is the source of wisdom for us all. He is the head over all. He is the saviour of mankind. He is the second person of the trinity. He is God himself. So put your faith in the one who has come back to life.

And what does it mean to us that Jesus is now risen from the dead?

Where do I begin? You could come to church every week for the rest of your life and only begin to hear a little of it.

But among so many other things it means:  the promise of eternal life; it means the start of a new relationship with God; it means in the midst of darkness there is always a light; that when all seems lost there is hope; that when we feel we can’t take another step we can find the strength to step forwards; that when we are afraid we can face that fear and carry on; it means that when life is getting the better of us we know God has got the better of life.

It means that today we can start to celebrate and nothing – absolutely nothing – can stop us.

Amen