the sensation of life
The God of the Bible is ever an elusive one. The only guarantee of divine availability is God's own promise to be present to those who empty themselves in perfect trust.Belden Lane The Solace of Fierce Landscapes p.63 God, I have been thinking about trusting You, and what trust means, for some months, if not … Continue reading Trust Me
Prayer is a subversive activity. It involves a more or less open act of defiance against any claim by the current regime. Eugene Peterson: The Contemplative Pastor, p.10 The 'claim of the current regime' is multiple and multiply overwhelming: improve: today's achievement is never good enough tomorrow (something I learnt from working in the NHS); … Continue reading Prayer in the intersticies
“My job is not to solve people's problems or make them happy, but to help them see the grace operating in their lives. It’s hard to do because our whole culture is going in the other direction, saying that if you’re smart enough and get the right kind of help, you can solve all your … Continue reading Eugene Peterson: quotes from The Contemplative Pastor
I go to a patient in a side room. This elderly lady, about whom I know nothing, is dying and, as it turns out, has less that 24 hours left to live. She is unconscious, lying on her side, one eye and her mouth slightly open, breathing softly, unresponsive to my voice or gentle touch. … Continue reading A Fall of Snow
In the last few days, I have sat with two people with failing memories. One could not remember that their spouse had died in the last few hours, could not remember being there, the time and place, the last conversation. The other, who plaintively, anxiously asks for a sibling who visits every afternoon with a … Continue reading Failure of Memory
There are some words that I am allergic to when used in the context of spirituality. Two of them are journey and growth. Both of these words encapsulate really positive ideas and images. They have the connotations of movement, hope, change, possibilities, potential. Nevertheless, they need tempering. The bottom line is this: God is here, … Continue reading Word Allergies:
No.1 “Journey” and “Growth”
How can I reconcile: The God who seems to be so personal, personally loving and present; who is there when I "lift up my heart to the Lord with a gentle stirring of love, desiring him for his own sake and not for his gifts;" the God without whom life is desperate, depressing and meaningless?God, … Continue reading Reconciling different apprehensions of God
We often reduce the scope of God's concern to the scope of our own concerns. We are confused when we get ill and are not healed. We are outraged when a natural disaster – a so-called Act of God – is not averted. We commit acts of war or terror believing that God has commissioned … Continue reading On God’s point of view
I've always been fascinated that in the Creation story (Gen 1:26) humanity is made in the image and likeness of God. I want to know if this is emphasis by repetition (as is often the case in the Psalms) or whether 'likeness' is different from 'image'; and if the latter, what is the difference?
When they fetch up in hospital because of an illness or old age, some religious people ask, "Why is this happening to me?" and might add "I've been a good person." Some have never thought about their mortality. Illness takes them by surprise. They have made no preparation. Illness and death is an affront to … Continue reading On illness and punishment