Sharing some thoughts

  Today is the 1 st Sunday in Lent – it seems to have come early this year ! Wasn’t Christmas only a few weeks ago ?  Anyway, Lent is a time for reflection, a time for thinking about where we are in our relationship with God. Of course, it’s often associated with giving things up, particularly nice things ! Things like chocolate for example…  But it’s actually much more about deepening our relationship with God – not just for a specific time from now up until Easter, but doing something that makes a lasting difference for us… In our gospel reading today (Mark 1: 9-15) we have the account of the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan.  It’s an interesting reading for the start of Lent because it’s not about giving things up or doing things better, it’s about seeing Jesus more clearly, and recognising what he does and has done for us…  I read some time ago about a New Testament professor who visited a high school youth group. After the professor finished speaking about the significance of

  The word wisdom is one that always fascinates me. What is wisdom to one person is so often not wisdom to another. Today in the reading from the Book of Proverbs we hear about wisdom – the reading (Proverbs 8:1,22-31) begins ‘Does not wisdom call and does not understanding raise her voice.’ True wisdom is perhaps one of the greatest gifts of God and yet most of us struggle to know or agree what true wisdom is ! There’s a story I’ve often told about an angel appearing at a faculty meeting in a University one day. The angel said to the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behaviour, the Lord would reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty. Without hesitating, the Dean selected infinite wisdom. "Done!" said the angel, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all heads turned towards the Dean, who sat surrounded by a faint halo of light. After a few moments, one of his colleagues whispered, "Say something.” The D