Month: June 2021

Here’s a sign with a couple of warnings…

Do we heed warnings, and when is a warning a threat? The second warning is about a physical inconvenience, and it would seem sensible to use the bridge here…

…and very thoughtful of someone it is to have provided this. The first warning might also need to be heeded I don’t want to damage the moorland or harm livestock or lose the way. But things are not always simple. The public use of open spaces is not a given. Ever since the start of the Peak and Northern Footpaths Society over a hundred years ago, and then the Kinder Mass Trespass in the 1930s, things have been in a state of flux. Even now, there are complex negotiations about the Pennine Bridleway…

Fans of spin may have spotted that this notice is completely silent about the fact that pedestrians have a longstanding right to walk on the footpath across these fields.

It seems to me that part of the problem about access is that farmers will always (rightly) point to the actions of inconsiderate walkers, especially those with dogs. And as for people who take barbecues onto the open moor…

There are many instances of warnings/threats in the Bible. The reader is usually shown whether or not it would’ve been a good idea to heed the warnings/threats. And we can usually work it out with hindsight. But if you’re in a dangerous situation, it can be hard to think straight.
Sunday’s Lectionary, for instance, includes the bit about Jesus telling his disciples to shake the dust off their feet when they leave a village that has rejected them, as a ‘testimony against them’. There seems in that statement less of the usual hope for repentance when people are given a divinely approved warning.

Please pray for the Methodist Conference

In Sunday’s Lectionary, the reading from 2 Corinthians features Paul going on in his sometimes tortuous way about his own experiences of weakness and strength. It comes to an end like this…
“Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” (12:8-10)

The fourth of July sees the birthday of the most powerful nation the world has ever seen. And maybe humility is something the powerful need to learn – for people (and nations) who are oppressed or in positions of weakness already know well enough how dependent they are. Remember it was Jimmy Carter who took as his motto Micah 6:8…
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”

Just a reminder of how much we owe to those prepared to endure “insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities”…

… for the sake of others in this case, rather than Christ – we owe them a debt nevertheless.

Please pray on Sunday for the United States of America.

In net Sunday’s lectionary, we see Jesus instructing his disciples to do their ministry on the move. They are to go from place to place. No thousand-year-old churches for them: not even much in the way of supplies for the journey.

I wonder if modern Christians could cope with ‘travelling light’. I find it’s good to have time to at least do some literal walking around the place.

Living God, help us as we are,
weighed down by plans and responsibilities,
obligations that genuinely bind us,
to rediscover the adventure
of following Jesus.

Lots of middle-aged men on bikes on the Trail this morning, presumably inspired by the Tour de France. A bit of a nuisance, but it gets my vote nevertheless – anything that helps people be fitter has to be good. And I’ve cycled there myself often enough in the past. I just hope they don’t have horrible crashes like the Tour had yesterday, one caused by the thoughtlessness of a spectator. It was good to see the cyclists using the Trail.

Then to church to hum some hymns – good enough, but not the same thing.

A pleasant calming walk this morning, apart from disputatious dogs and a car abandoned by twockers.

In tomorrow’s Lectionary, if you read the passage from the deuterocanonical Wisdom of Solomon, you’ll see an affirmation that God is the God of life (not death) – this is our heritage.

Living God,
may the risen life of Jesus
be in us all.
May it be in this world,
suffering with those who suffer,
giving hope and the promise of new beginnings.

Living God, as we rush
to save ourselves,
help us not to forget the billions
who cry out in deeper pain.

The rain has made it a quieter day on the Trail today. A ratio of about one deer to ten people.

In Sunday’s Lectionary, “David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan.” Really? Was he really so gutted, when he stood to gain from this? I’d like to think that he was – but maybe that’s naive, and his lament is nothing more than news/history management. Or maybe it’s more complicated, and he was genuinely sad at the same time as he moved gently into power.

The grass is getting high now. Summer really seems to be coming in – although it’s still not hot. The upside is picking stems for javelin games. The downside is getting your trouser legs kissed with dew.

Not only are some fungi delicious. Fungus is also the source of the first antibiotic. They are beautiful too.

Pleasant visit to Lyme Park today. Paths all over the place, lots of curated trees, views of Manchester and the Cheshire Plain, and a fun, bumpy landscape.