Messing with evil 13 Feb 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Messing with evil
"What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don't give me a hard time!" so said the out-of-control man to Jesus (according to The Message translation).
Does it sound familiar? “What business is it of yours to mess with me and start telling me about your God?”
“Who said you could try to ram your religion down my throat?”
“Leave us alone and don’t disturb us with any of that Christianity nonsense.”
And so on. The man in the story found his territory invaded by someone much more powerful than himself and responded quite aggressively. His aggression was partly sparked by fear. His space was invaded not just by a stronger person but by one with very great authority. So much so that he knew he had to kneel in front of Jesus to acknowledge it.
But he didn’t want his world messed up.
Praying for what? 6 Feb 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Praying for what?
This week I have been preparing some guidelines for our Intercessors about the kinds of things we should pray for in our common prayers in church. It is worth being reminded about our heritage as Anglicans. This is the intercession prayer from the original 1662 Prayer Book Communion service. Notice the kinds of things that are prayed for.
Dale
Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's Church militant here in earth.
Old wine? 23 Jan 11
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- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Old wine?
“No one puts new wine into old wineskins.” So Jesus said in answer to a question as to why his disciples didn’t fast. The main reason was that they couldn’t fast while the party was raging – at least while the bridegroom was present. Him, that is. Something new was under way. But what was new?
It is easy to think of the new as a replacement for the old system of Jesus’ day – a new version of essentially the same sort of religious practices. Just the latest vintage of the same crop. The church did not take long to develop an orderly and established way of doing things that resembled old Judaism, but with a kind of Christian focus.
However it is just possible that Jesus and his apostles did not intend that.
The Great Disaster 16 Jan 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
The Great Disaster
So many disasters heaping one on top of another. The forces of the natural world so powerful and frightening. A creator so mighty as to build into such a simple thing as water such enormous power. And fire – so powerful. What an amazing creation.
Humans have many parts to play in disasters of course. Wilful evil in some cases, selfish or poor policies and planning in others. If one wants to apportion blame there are plenty of targets.
And we do seem to like to blame someone. We want to hold people accountable for their actions. Sometimes this is right and proper to a civilised society. In other cases it may be a way of diverting attention away from our own responsibility.
Is God to blame as well?
The King in God's Kingdom Epiphany - Lenten Studies 2011
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Studies for Groups and Individuals
The King in God's Kingdom Epiphany - Lenten Studies 2011
| "The King in God's kingdom" is available as a downloadable pdf file, ready to be printed as a small booklet. Click here to view, right click to save to your computer |
These studies are meant to help us read and understand Mark’s gospel during the period leading up to Easter.
Our aim is to read Mark’s gospel right through (in company with the middle part of Isaiah); to discover Mark’s proclamation of the gospel about Jesus Christ the Son of God and to understand how Jesus explains and demonstrates the arrival of the kingdom of God. And to see what all that has to do with how we live.
Read more: The King in God's Kingdom Epiphany - Lenten Studies 2011
Serving what end? 9 Jan 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Serving what end?
Another year is under way. Perhaps there are new hopes, or old hopes remembered, maybe the same resolves as before, or perhaps something will change this year. Perhaps not. “The trouble with the future is that it keeps turning into the present” as Hobbes said to Calvin recently.
The repeated cycles of weeks and months and years are helpful. They do bring a sense of new beginnings. But they can also be misleading. Life is not an endless series of cycles. Neither do God’s purposes keep circling around forever.
God has made life on earth head for a climax, a fulfilment. It is directed to an end. It has a goal. God’s purposes and the life of his church are also directed to a great completion, a consummation as the old hymn has it.
So the beginnings and ends of years are only markers in a longer story. It is a story that began with creation, had its centre and pivotal event in the death and resurrection of Christ and will come to completion when he returns and brings everything together under his rule.
In the meantime our life and the life of this church finds its meaning from that story.
Reading and Understanding 2 Jan 11
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Reading and Understanding
2010 saw celebrations of the 100thanniversary of the famous Edinburgh Missionary Conference and the 25th anniversary of Christ the King Willetton. 2011 will feature the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James version of the bible. Even Richard Dawkins is waxing lyrical about its wonderful impact on the English speaking peoples.
I suppose if we talk about it too much we will be heartily sick of it soon enough. However for all its alleged impact on English speakers in the past, the King James Bible has little influence now. Indeed the bible in any version seems to have a limited impact these days, even though it is far and away the world’s best-selling book.
Today’s news reported that an e-version of the newly revised NIV was the best seller in the Religion/Spirituality in the Apple iTunes store and 13th across all categories over the Christmas weekend.
Buying is one thing, reading is another.
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