Excellent walking from Janet. She has now been going three days, and the distances are a little greater than planned — a consequence of short diversions to see stuff, minor route alterations on the fly and a couple of percent for GPS inaccuracies. Nevertheless she keeps on going brilliantly, despite the largely unpleasant weather — though when the sun comes out, the landscape sparkles. Hats off to Janet!
Radio 4 Spoonergeddon
It’s strange what routes your train of thought takes when you lie awake at night. I wonder if I’m still remembering OK. Would I be able to remember the names of the main cabinet ministers if asked? Probably not. I note that Jeremy Hunt hasn’t been given a portfolio beginning with C since he was Culture secretary — although how many Cabinet posts are there beginning with a letter whose Scrabble value is 3?
Also, how do you spell Armageddon? Someone once said it’s named after Megiddo, so one G and two Ds maybe. Some people in America look forward to an apocalyptic battle. I remember some uncomfortable parts of the Bible. Matthew 10:34, for instance. The writer tells us Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” You’d have to look at the context to understand it, but my default understanding is that this is a prediction rather than a manifesto. But is it really?
I also note that the same people say different things depending on what mood they’re in or what the circumstances are (even maybe the people of Britain). Could at least part of this apply to Jesus – look at Luke 10 … “35 He said to them, ‘When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?’ They said, ‘No, not a thing.’ 36He said to them, ‘But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. 37For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, “And he was counted among the lawless”; and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.’ 38They said, ‘Lord, look, here are two swords.’ He replied, ‘It is enough.’”
These hard things, because they are difficult to fit with my overall preconceptions may, if anything, be more likely to be genuine, because whay else would the writer include them?
It’s Lent, and a time to remember the passion of a man acquainted with the dark side of humanity. And Sunday’s readings include the story in John’s Gospel which is close to passion as in ‘my night of passion with the bishop.’