the adventures of retirement
At least, for this breed; not yet for most sheep around here…
Meanwhile, in next Sunday’s Lectionary, Jesus refers to two local tragedies. People had been congratulating themselves for not being involved – but Jesus warns them, they are no better than those who perished. In any case, if you are caught up in tragedy, do you really need other people to be crowing because they got away with it? No, you need some solidarity.
Praying “Your will be done on earth as in heaven” today – but it seems so far to go from here. By what steps will God’s will be done on a suffering earth? God knows.
…frogspawn this morning near the crossover between horse and pedestrian paths.
In Sunday’s lectionary, it’s written in Genesis that Abram “believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.” When I read the rest of this passage, I see that Abram (soon to become Abraham) was obsessed with leaving a physical inheritance, his literal descendants. Paul makes much of this verse, in Romans 4 and Galatians 3 and elsewhere – and turns it to a very different purpose. What matters is not your physical inheritance – it’s not your parentage or ancestry or race – it is faith. The People of God is now wide open – to everyone who chooses God, regardless of inheritance.
Presbyopia makes it harder to sew a button on my trousers, especially if button, trousers and thread are all black. But the headtorch I usually take for winter pre-dawn walks makes all the difference – it’s much easier again!
In Sunday’s Lectionary, people tell Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you” – and that all seems like a different world, far away from comfortable Europe. But it now crosses my mind, not so far away after all.
This was the world of Jesus – oppression and violence. And in such a world, he called people to love and justice.
Lifted the spirits to go in the train to Manchester with J. Here it is from afar (not from the train!)…
…Mottram church and distant stratocumulus
In next Sunday’s Lectionary, Jesus speaks about the road to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the holy and tragic city where prophets are killed, as Jesus was to be. Jerusalem remains a tragic city, contested by different faiths, because of its significance in those faiths.
Jerusalem is not the only tragic city – there are many right now, in Ukraine and beyond.
God of truth and mercy,
even when all hope is gone,
we pray to you;
give peace,
give justice,
give hope once again.
In the Old Testament reading from next Sunday’s Lectionary, a ‘deep and terrifying darkness’ descends on Abram. The terrifying darkness may not be such a common experience in the twenty first century, but maybe some can remember being in an unfamiliar part of town late, or being in deep countryside with no lights brightening the sky … or on the sea maybe.
The people on this island are culturally diverse. To state the obvious, what defines ‘Britishness’ is not a culture, but the simple fact of being here, being on the earth in this place.
Excellent day out today seeing the Sistine Chapel in the Trafford Centre with friends. The Centre itself was quite something as well – I’d forgotten just how OTT these places are.
I thank God for the freedom and peace to do this stuff. Not that freedom is an absolute good – it has to be limited by our obligation to be caring of others.