Here we are on All Hallows Eve, pausing to look toward a realm and life beyond Earth. Our readings speak of life beyond death and a New Eternal Heaven and Earth to come. And our hymns remind us that, as we raise our voices on Earth, we join the Heavenly realm in praising God.
Continue readingIn a recent BBC documentary on the UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, his sister revealed that as a child, whenever Boris was asked what he wanted to be, he replied “World King.” The documentary suggests this wasn’t a childish whim; with Churchill as model, Boris Johnson did seek greatness.
Shakespeare in his comedy “Twelfth Night” has this thought: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Boris Johnson wasn’t born great; greatness wasn’t thrust upon him; but he wants to achieve greatness. Whether he does – history will tell.
Continue readingJesus said “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
A strange statement? Maybe not. Because Jesus constantly talked of a new Kingdom, a new family, a new order on earth.
Our Old Testament reading is a sobering reminder of how transient Kingdoms of this world, and their rulers, can be. It reminds me of Percy B Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias.
Continue reading“The righteous will shine like the sun, in the Kingdom of their Father,” says Jesus in the Parable of the Wheat and weeds. Pause for a moment to think of that. He means us. Even though we are often so unrighteous in the here and now!
My very first encounter of the “righteous shining like the sun” was in the face and very presence of a Methodist minister.
Continue readingA Sri Lankan friend told me about a chauffeur she hired. He was confident and drove well on the test drive. But a few days later, careering and swerving madly in the chaotic city traffic he was clearly out of his depth. He then confessed he had only driven on country roads and not for ten years. He was well-intentioned, but completely unrealistic about the demands of modern city driving, and totally unprepared for the reality.
Continue readingThe film Trainspotting opens with John Hodges’ cynical poem that uses the same phrase, “Choose life”, that we read of in Deuteronomy, in a bitter rejection of life and its meaningless choices:
“Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a big Television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electric tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage… Choose your future. Choose life.” Continue reading
There is an image used by James May (one of the Top Gear lads) that has stuck in my mind – I may have mentioned it to some of you. He was presenting a series, “The 20th Century”, which explored the changes that made the last century so distinctive. One of these revolutionary changes was the coming of electricity. The Earth, viewed from space, is no longer dark – it is a glowing globe. Our habits, our interests, our occupations, our very world have all been transformed. Continue reading
As a child I always encountered Christmas in three phases. First came Anticipation and Expectation; then Christmas itself; and finally, The New Year with its resolutions and new beginnings.
As a child, anticipation ran high. Approaching Christmas the atmosphere was fragrant with baking and sweetmaking… the promise of good times. Continue reading
This talk covers a number of issues:
Further information, including a recording of the talk, is available on the Contemporary Christianity site.
A PDF version of the slides of the presentation may be downloaded here.
We all know the pitfall of extravagant promises. There is a story I think of when I read about the three men who wanted to follow Christ: A young man very much in love emailed his girlfriend a card that said “I would cross the hottest desert, swim the deepest sea, and climb the highest mountain to be with you.” At the bottom of the message was a PS: “It is raining heavily here, so I can’t make it tonight”. Continue reading