Sharing some thoughts

Palm Sunday is one of the great days in the church calendar. As a child I really enjoyed the opportunity to go for a walk in the service rather than just sit quietly. I enjoyed the visual aid of the Palm cross even if I occasionally only used it to hit people. For us today Palm Sunday can and should be a day of mixed emotions. It's a day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem knowing what was coming but we too know what is coming. Unlike some of the people who followed it at the time, we know the journey to the cross didn't end there. So it's a day of sadness as we think of the cheering crowds greeting Jesus who somehow went missing only a short time after as Jesus was arrested. It's a day of reflection as we reflect on the reasons for Jesus’s death and our own shortcomings. However it can still be a day of celebration as we think what Jesus has done for us. That journey to the cross was a journey taken with enormous amounts of love not just for his followers but for every...

from Helen  There are some things you know about me and some that you do not. You may not know that I once went swimming with the welsh rugby team. I say swimming, I actually mean that they were in the swimming pool with me. I say the Welsh rugby team which is true but there was the embarrassing moment when I not only needed to talk to them but I, a follower of rugby wasn’t sure which player I was speaking to. I probably need to explain a bit – Ian and I were members of the gym in the Vale of Glamorgan hotel. It is where the Welsh rugby and football teams trained. We got quite used to seeing various famous international sportsmen at the gym. The one day Ian pointed out to me that the whole Welsh rugby team had walked past, gone to the pool and I hadn’t noticed, because I was concentrating on my own keep fit. Anyway, I went for a swim. I realised that I now had a chance to see them. The problem was that when I got into the pool I couldn’t see a thing as I didn’t have my glasses o...

A little boy went along to a prayer meeting one day with his father. It was quite an intense prayer meeting where everyone prayed very loudly. Later the little boy remarked to his father, ‘If they lived nearer to God, they wouldn’t have to shout !’ Lent is a time when we traditionally seek to get closer to God, to live a little bit nearer to him, and today in our readings (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 5:5-10 & John 12:20-33) we are reminded of some of the promises that we are given by Jesus, and mainly that offer of new life offered in love through his death and resurrection. As we get closer to the commemoration of Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and ultimately to Easter Day, I think it’s worth just spending a short time reflecting on new life. And in the gospel reading I think we find some points on the subject. The first is the request to Philip from the Greeks, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus’. It is the most simple, most basic thing of all in a quest for new life in Jesus – tha...

I read about a 12 year old boy who was born without an immune system. Eventually, he underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the problem, but up until that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him.  In his plastic bubble, he lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked before his operation what he'd like to do if and when he was released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother's hand." Small things can mean such a lot to people – and I think today’s readings remind us of how important the care is that we give to others… Perhaps also we’re reminded of the problems that come with love which we will know can sometimes be painful… As of course can the absence of knowing what love can be… And those emotions are ones that are often prominent for people on Mothering Sunday, for some i...

One of the things that really builds up the atmosphere at big rugby matches outside the ground is the smell of the hot dog vans and also the shouts of the various traders, whether they be selling scarves and hats, face painting or trying to buy or sell tickets... Though the hot dog vans and scarves and things were probably missing I think the Passover celebrations must have been a bit like this with traders crowding into Jerusalem to earn a bit of money. It was a great occasion with people going for the religious festival obviously but also for the celebration, and during the Passover even the Temple authorities saw a great opportunity to make some money. This was the scene in our gospel reading this morning (John 2:13-22). It’s one of those great events remembered from the life of Jesus as he stormed into the temple and found people selling animals and the money-changers all ready to help with sorting out the payment. Within the temple compound the Roman currency was considere...