The still of the night

The still of the night. People often speak of the still of the night. A beautiful image of peace and calm. What tranquility. What a joy to be caught up in such a place. And yet, the still of the night often seems the most tumultuous of places. A place filled with darkness, filled with fear and doubt and questions, with worries that you can do nothing about... Until morning... Until light comes... But that light will come. In fact that light is there... And recognising that, we come full circle, and can think once more, of the still of the night. In the light things always seem better. With the light, life is always better. The light doesn't mean we won't see darkness, but that we will know the light will prevail in the end... Walk in the light... And sit and lie in the light... And know that light always...

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Characters around the cross reflection

Today I want to think about some of the characters involved around the cross. Some played important and good roles, others were those who turned on Jesus, and sought to hurt him. I want to begin with a short reflection about Jesus written by Gregory of Nazianzus, A.D. 381 “Who was Jesus? He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life. Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water. Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest. Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King. Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons. Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears. Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world. Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.” The Power of Numbers...The Crowd Mark 11:1-10 : When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent tw...

Marriage thanksgiving

Today we have dedicated this service to giving thanks for the gift of marriage… All of us I’m sure will join with me in offering prayers to ask God to continue to bless married couples everywhere, but marriage itself can never be taken in a vacuum. The Bible tells us and human nature dictates that actually we are all part of a much bigger family, married, unmarried, old or young, and as such each of us have commitments to each other. And that commitment must surely be to love… If you have a sense of humour, and I’m sure you all do (!) you may like to hear some of the things the Bible says about love in marriage. In the book of Genesis (29:20) we read that Jacob worked for seven years for Laban to earn the right to marry Laban’s daughter, Rachel. We’re told that the 7 years of work seemed to him just like a few days because he loved her so much! He worked seven years for her father so that he could marry her. I am tempted to say he had it bad! Moving on a little, The Song of Songs in ...

Goodness and mercy…

The subject of weather is always a popular topic, but rather unusually today the subject of winter comes up in our gospel reading (John 10:22-30). We are told it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, a feast that happens in winter time, celebrating the rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in 165BC. And so it was probably cold and maybe that's why John, the gospel writer, tells us Jesus was walking in the Portico of Solomon, a covered area in the Temple. Or perhaps it's rather more likely that John was referring to the fact that the spiritual temperature seemed rather cold. This was a great feast - a feast of victory and celebration, a time to think again about God's goodness and how he provided for his people. But no... The Jews instead gathered around Jesus to quiz him. 'How long will you keep us in suspense - if you're the Messiah, tell us plainly'. There's a story about a farmer who lived on the same farm all his life. It was a good...

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