Weekly Bible Reflection

The voices around Valentine’s Day say that ‘love is everywhere’. It’s a wonderful thought but is it true? Where there is disagreement today, we find hostility, bitterness and anger. Rarely is genuine, thoughtful conversation exploring points of difference welcome. If...

For the past two years it seems that all the news has been bad news: international tensions, leaders constantly verbally attacking one another – especially during a pandemic when unity would seem to be a better way for countries to address the crisis – bitterness and...

Back in 1995 Joan Osborne’s ‘What If God Was One of Us?’ was an instant hit. It was asking the question how we would react if God was identifiably walking amongst us as just one of us. It’s a good question to ask in every generation, for it awakens us to a time when...

This week a friend sent me a copy of That Was The Church That Was – How the Church of England Lost the English People. Written by Andrew Brown, an English journalist, and Linda Woodhead, Professor of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, England,...

Catastrophic events such as we have seen over this last year, give us pause and challenge us to see life with new eyes. While Covid has dominated the news, volcanoes and earthquakes, wild-fires and devastating tornadoes have also wrought havoc. Nations have looked to...

In this transition from one year to the next, we’re looking at Ecclesiastes, one of the wisdom books of the Bible. The wisdom books stand apart from the main narrative of the Bible, asking questions about our experiences of life. Job asks how do we make sense of...

Another troublesome year has passed. ‘About time,’ we might say. But what about the New Year? With the passing of the years and the seasons and our experiences of life, how do we make sense of it all? Back in the 1960s The Byrds and Pete Seeger with the song Turn,...

Another uncertain and troublesome year with yet another Covid variation! Given that so much has become politicized, where can we find a certain hope for the future? The question of the future in a troubled world is surely felt by anyone who reflects on life. Consider...

Does Christmas hold out something special for you? A time to be with family, Covid permitting? A joyful celebration? Or is it nothing but fake news and a season of stress? Let me touch on two scenes in the biblical narrative in Luke chapter 2. But first, let’s...

We all like to think that there are areas in our life where we are in control. CS Lewis in Surprised by Joy wrote this of his pre-Christian phase: “… But, of course, what mattered most of all was my deep-seated hatred of authority, my monstrous individualism, my...

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord …” are the opening words of the Broadway musical Godspell, that was released in 1971. The lyrics pick up the theme of John the Baptist’s preaching some two millennia ago as he prepared people for the coming of God’s promised Messiah or...

From New Testament times anyone who has said that Jesus Christ will return one day has been considered crazy. Certainly, the idea of him bursting through the skies in a blazing display of power and glory, doesn’t come easily. And now centuries have passed and nothing...

King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, tells the story of a king who voluntarily set aside his titles and property in favor of two of his three daughters, only to find himself reduced to poverty and homelessness because they reject him. “Ingratitude, thou...

Last week we reflected on the reality of the depression many experience – and not least in these surreal times of the Covid pandemic. Psalms 42 and 43 testify to this very real experience. The psalms are an example of the timeless wisdom and counsel that we find in...

One of the consequences of the lockdowns associated with the spread of Covid-19 has been the alarming rise of emotional distress. Lacking community and the opportunity to work, many have experienced depression. And being isolated from family and friends they have had...

Have you ever been resentful of people whose lives seem successful? They’ve achieved recognition; they have beautiful children, and they enjoy material riches. The very thought of them strips any sense of happiness from you. Now there’s nothing wrong with being...

Happiness is something we long for. But how can we achieve it? It’s elusive: one moment we can be feeling happy, but the next we’re not. Like moonlight it has slipped through our fingers. In fact ‘happiness’ can’t be a goal in the strict sense of the word. For a goal...

Introduction – John Mason Psalm 96 is set in a cluster of psalms that form a celebration of joyful praise to God. Announcing God’s reign over his creation, Psalm 96 alerts us to God’s justice and the mystery of his mercy, even in the face of our unfaithfulness....