thinking honestly about life and faith
Some time ago, a friend asked me whether I thought that it is possible to be ‘spiritually gifted’.He noted that people are gifted in many areas of life, such as in sport, in academic abilities, or artistic gifting. Is it … Read More »
Time to get back to Luke. We haven’t made a lot of progress through the Gospel so far! Chapter 3 continues with the account of Jesus’ baptism.I am writing about this, to the extraordinary sound of rain outside. Thank the … Read More »
The idea of a ‘God’s-eye view’ has had a bad press lately. The critical philosophy and the de-constructionist movements quite rightly point out that no one can claim to have a complete overview of anything. No one can claim to … Read More »
In the last couple of days I have found a couple of things in my reading which have come together in a really encouraging way. Several years ago, in Walter Brueggemann’s fabulous Theology of the Old Testament I read the … Read More »
Luke Chapter 3: is full of confrontations and contrasts.It begins with a definite focus on who is in power: who holds which powerful position, and where.This places a strict emphasis on the earthly historical reality of Jesus’ life. No airy-fairy … Read More »
Luke’s Gospel has stories of Jesus’ childhood, as no other Gospel does.Circumcision, Naming, Presentation in the Temple, and a story from later childhood: why is all this important to Luke? What is he stressing? With these stories, the Christ is … Read More »
Luke chapter 2 has stories very familiar through Christmas carols and pageants, but other stories rarely noticed.The message behind them all is almost never considered. Luke very firmly anchors these stories in historical reality, ‘the real world’, and then goes … Read More »
Here is a fabulous quote, so relevant to our current situation in the world. I had been doing a lot of reading and thinking about the relationship of religion and violence, hatred, and all that. Then, during a boring meeting … Read More »
Further reflections on Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 1: Just how much, over the centuries of religious piety, has arisen from the use of the word ‘virgin’ to translate the greek ‘parthenon’, a young woman, not married. A young, unmarried woman was … Read More »
This is the year of Luke. In addition to the daily readings set down by the Lectionary, I have decided to follow a simple program of reading each chapter and recording my own immediate reflections upon it. It’s not in … Read More »