Rev elations

Abraham and the three angels Rembrandt, 1646 See Genesis 18 O ne of the significant characteristics of early Christianity was that it was a religion that sought converts. It was a religion on the move.  Christianity, in the hands of Paul, was a religion for all peoples and Paul saw his ministry as being an Apostle to the Gentiles . If we take a look at the passage, below, from the Acts of the Apostles , we see this movement and spread of Christianity in action. Paul and others are on the move and arrive in Malta. What can we learn about Christianity from their experiences? 1.        Christians wish to share their faith with others who know nothing about it 2.       That inner ethic of Christianity leads Christians into unknown places 3.       That drive to communicate means that Christians are often strangers and guests 4.       As a stranger or guest, the Christian i...

Thorn in the Flesh     St Paul has written so much of the New Testament (and in letter form) that we have an in-depth psychological profile of him- unlike anything else we have for any other New Testament character. In this particular section of his letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 12.2-10) we encounter something of Paul’s paradoxical experience as a follower of Christ. On the one hand, Paul has experienced the most extraordinary revelations – he talks of being caught up in Paradise; whilst at the same time this reason for boasting is balanced by what he calls ‘a thorn in the flesh’. There has been endless speculation about what this thorn in the flesh might be, from those who say it is a physical infirmity, his endless persecutions, his poor speech or a sexual temptation. Nobody can possibly know. But what can be known is that his experience of this persistent pain, irritation and torment is interpreted spiritually. Paul writes that he asked the Lord...

Giving Generously? In the Second Letter to the Corinthians Chapter 8 Paul writes about obedience to the Gospel in relation to generous giving. He is obviously having a difficult time persuading the Corinthians to stay true to their initial desire of making a gift-offering to the poorer Christians in Jerusalem. So, how does he go about persuading them of their responsibility? Paul emphasizes to them the importance of Christian generosity through the principles of: ·         Gift ·         Grace ·         Thanksgiving Paul is at pains to emphasise that he cannot and would not compel or command the Corinthians to give to the Jerusalem Christians: ‘ I do not say this as a command’ . It is essential that Christian giving is never seen as a payment – it is always gift . In our society and theirs, no doubt, payment for goods and services was the norm. Giving freely to...

Ford Maddox Brown Jesus washes Peter's feet https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jesus_washing_Peter%27s_feet.jpg In today’s culture in the West there is intense fascination with leadership studies. Businesses and organisations invest millions in identifying and training leaders. At the same time the rewards and pitfalls for leaders seem more extreme than ever before. Leaders in the public eye face hostility and adulation in equal measure; leaders are like marmite. Just think for a moment of the leaders you loathe and the ones you love! More than ever, today, we are in need of leaders who can enable positive transformation in the communities that we live. What would that sort of leadership look like? Jesus offers a particular form of leadership when he washes his disciples' feet the night before he dies (John 13:1-15). As teacher and ‘Lord’, i.e. one with authority, status and power he deliberately humbles himself to serve those whom he leads. He gets a...

'Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need’.   Acts 4:32-35 This description in Acts seems like an impossibility – can it really be that through faith in Jesus humans can so limit their own pride, greed, wrath and envy that they live together in harmony, sharing and taking care of each other? Surely, this cannot be so? The Gospel on the other hand (John 20:19-end) explores the very human and realistic propensity to doubt. The figure of St Thomas is so important because his doubt, normal and understandable as...

From Palm Sunday to Easter Day the great liturgies of the catholic tradition encourage us to walk with Jesus, from his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, to his disappearance from the tomb. The journey of this week is an annual opportunity and it reminds us that the life of a Christian disciple is one of movement. It is a movement that is primarily about following, but also involves watching and waiting, and finally it brings an opportunity to witness. Who are we following? What are we waiting for? What are we seeing? What is it that we believe because of what we have seen? These are questions that each disciple is invited to consider afresh in Holy Week. The movement and the journey work best if we engage with the story in its entirety. After following Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we wait and pray. On Maundy Thursday Jesus calls his followers to gather with him in the Upper Room; it is here that we hear the invitation for the first t...

Stock photos courtesy of   photos-public-domain.com     pdphoto.org I grew up in Essex, so I know all about what it means to come from a place that  is ridiculed and joked about. I used to dread the question, ‘where are you from?’ Yes, I come from a place where the women are routinely mocked as being sexually promiscuous with vulgar jokes. Of course, it can be traced back to the tenacity of the English class system in Britain. People dwelling in Essex were, after the 2 nd  world war, mainly former slum dw ellers, who were encouraged to move out to the new suburbs in Basildon and Harlow in Essex. Former East- Enders, who, if they were lucky would go to Southend-on-Sea for a day out in the summer, became increasingly wealthy as they took the advantages of suburban living. As the decades progressed they enjoyed the economic boom time, no longer working in manufacturing or skilled manual labour. Slum dwellers became middle-class, and so we had bette...