Open Minds

Acts 3:12-19 Luke 24:36-48 A man walked into a corner shop with a shotgun and demanded all the cash from the till. After the cashier put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of scotch that he wanted behind the counter on the shelf. He told the cashier to put it in…

Breakfast on the beach

John 21:1-19 Acts 9:1-6 As the little boat rose and fell, the grey dawn cast an unkind light on Peter’s face. Every line was etched deeper, so it seemed. His eyelids were heavy after a night of fruitlessly casting nets into the water. And there was a far-away tiredness inside. Anger, self-loathing and deep, deep…

Palm Sunday voices

Mark 11:1-11 A voice from the Crowd I don’t know why l did it – didn’t then, didn’t now. Don’t look at me like that. You’d have done it too, if you’d been there. The city was heaving – one great mass of squashed-together humanity. There must have been two, three hundred thousand there, even…

Speaking the language

John 12:20-33 These days when the Greeks turn up, they’re probably asking for money, but it wasn’t so in Jesus’ time. The “Greeks” who asked for Jesus were, I expect, Greek Jews. I expect they were there for the Passover. They wanted to see Jesus. And they found Philip. Philip is a Greek name. So…

Lifted up

Ephesians 2:1-10 John 3:14-21 At 404 ft, the spire of Salisbury Cathedral is the tallest church structure in Britain. Somewhat taller than our own, and be grateful we don’t have their maintenance bills! Completed in 1320, Salisbury Cathedral spire gives inspiration to visitors who feel thrilled when it first comes into sight while they are…

God’s emotions?

Exodus 2:1-10 Luke 2:33-35 One night a wife found her husband standing over the baby’s cot. Silently she watched him. As he stood looking down at the sleeping infant, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, scepticism. Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotions it aroused,…

Taking God seriously

John 2:13-22 Exodus 20:1-17 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 There’s a picture of Jesus throwing the traders and money changers out of the Temple, and cracking his whip, and someone has added a caption: “when anyone asks you what would Jesus do, remind them that getting angry, throwing the furniture, and attacking people is a possibility.” This…

Holding onto one’s hope

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-22 Perhaps it was frustration. Perhaps it was more like mild hysteria. Abraham fell on his face and laughed. And who can blame him? All this talk about covenants and kings, offspring and ancestors, was nothing new. Abraham had been travelling with stars in his eyes and his hand in a pocketful of…