Sharing some thoughts

I think some of the readings that we have for this time of year in the Church calendar are wonderful ! Not wonderful because of their enjoyment value but because of their discomfort value. That may seem a little bit strange but I think all of us at times as Christians need to feel a little uncomfortable. So often we over-complicate things in our lives, and we can easily reach the point where we’re so good at it that we can justify to ourselves and perhaps even to others that we’re doing all we can to do the right thing, that we’re living a good life… I attend Church every Sunday and pray every day… I read my Bible regularly… I send money to help charities… I help my neighbour with the shopping… The list can go on and on – we’ve probably all, either consciously or sub consciously thought such things, and there’s no doubt that every one of those things is good to do, and we mustn’t stop. But the point of discomfort has to be reached as well, as we examine perhaps what more we can do, or

It’s apparently a correct fact that 97% of the world adult population has heard of coca-cola, 72% of the world has seen a can of coca-cola and 51% of the world has tasted a can of coca-cola. Bearing in mind that the drink has only been around for less than 100 years, I wonder if God had given the task of world evangelization to the Coke company it would all be done by now. It is a remarkable success story, but it has taken a lot of planning, a lot of money, a lot of jobs, and no doubt had to overcome many problems. Tonight’s reading from the Gospel of Luke (9:1-6) is a short account of Jesus sending out his 12 disciples, giving them power an authority to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. This was mission 2000 years ago – go, take nothing for the journey, but rely on the hospitality of those you visit. If you don’t find hospitality, move on to somewhere else. It’s not a very well planned mission we might think. Today, we would probably phone ahead and find accommodation, get in t

A married couple trying to live up to a lifestyle that was, to be honest, a little bit beyond them, went to a dinner party. The conversation at the party turned to Mozart. ‘Absolutely brilliant ! Magnificent, a genius !’ The woman wanting to join in the conversation, remarked casually, ‘Ah Mozart, you’re so right about him. I love him. Only this morning I saw him getting on the number 5 bus to Chelsea.’ There was a sudden hush, and everyone looked at her. Her husband was mortified. He pulled her away and whispered, ‘We’re leaving right now. Get your coat, and let’s get out of here.’ As they drove home, he kept muttering to himself. Finally his wife turned to him, ‘You seem angry about something ?’ ‘Oh really ! You noticed ! I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life ! You saw Mozart take the number 5 bus to Chelsea ? You idiot ! Don’t you know the number 5 bus doesn’t go anywhere near Chelsea ?’ I think this wonderful example of missing the point is one that as a Church we can often rat

On Monday I got back from a 10 day study tour in the Holy Land looking at the theme of Reconciliation and conflict, with a particular emphasis being placed on that region. I will no doubt bore you incessantly many times in the coming days, weeks and perhaps even months with details of the trip, but today, on this Remembrance Sunday, seemed a particularly appropriate day to think about some of the things I saw and heard while I was away. Today we remember those who have died in conflicts – we give thanks for those who have lost their lives to try and maintain the peace and comfort that we enjoy so much today. It is a day of tribute to those people, but our greatest tribute must surely be to look at the world around us today and see peace… and that is far from what we do see ! And so I want to think very briefly of 3 different experiences as we remember and we try to offer our tributes to those who have been killed in conflict. I promise you, at other times I will talk in more detail on

In the film ‘Oh God’ which came out in the late 1970’s, the idea was mentioned that the reason God gave Adam and Eve no clothes to wear was because God knew that once they had clothes, they would want pockets, and once they had pockets, they would want money ! Talk about money is always a little bit controversial in Churches – some people think it should never be mentioned, that it’s somehow a dirty subject, however Jesus taught more about money than any other subject. Twenty-seven of Jesus' 43 parables, have to do with money and possessions. One of every ten verses in the gospels deals with money in some way. The Bible includes 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 on faith, but more than 2000 on money. Today’s gospel reading (Matthew 22:15-22) is one of those passages that deals with money and more precisely taxes. There’s a story about a little boy who wanted £100 desperately. He prayed for one week but nothing happened. Then he decided to write God a letter requesting the £100.

The 1st letter of John is a remarkable piece of work. It was written by the apostle John, the man known as the beloved disciple – by the time he wrote this book he was probably the only apostle still alive, and as an eye witness of the work on earth of Jesus his writing claims a particular authority. John, by this time in his life, was probably eighty or ninety years old. Nearly sixty years had passed since Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead. For sixty years, John had been thinking deeply and profoundly about Jesus, and he then wrote this book. After sixty yeas of contemplation, he writes the incredible words, “By this we know love.” (1 John 3:16) And that is what so many people in life search for. We want to know love. We want to know what love is because we sense that all meaning and happiness and goodness in life comes from knowing love. The primary meaning and happiness of our lives does not come from our jobs. The primary meaning and happiness of our lives does not from mone