A reflection for Tuesday of Holy Week 2021

Psalm 109:12-16 Luke 6:32-36 Ephesians 4:25-5:2 It was in 1755 that Dr. Samuel Johnson published the first edition of his famous Dictionary. Johnson was well known for his dry wit, with entries such as: Lexicographer: A harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words. Oats: A grain, which…

Pause for Thought for 18 November 2020 is now available:

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35 Nine year old Joe was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school. “Well, Mum, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he…

John 16:12-15 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Names come and go. A century ago my predecessors were baptising plenty of children called Ada, Esme, Edith, and Agnes; and Tom, Fred, Arthur, and Alfred. Thirty years ago, there were plenty of children called Gary, Jason, Kylie, and Tracey. Now it’s Tom and Jack, Olivia and Emily; not forgetting…

Acts 1:1-11 Luke 24:44-53 Is the ascension a fictional story of something that couldn’t have happened, written by people in an age when they still thought the earth was flat, of no relevance to us today? Or is it – although impossible to explain in modern rational and scientific terms – a literal truth? The…

Psalm 119:33-40 Matthew 7:24-17 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 In my first church at Twyford, the Church Hall was built in 1935. Money was tight in the 1930s, not least for Nonconformists in rural areas, so they built the hall as cheaply as they could. The foundations, if they merit that word, were on brick deep. The…