the adventures of retirement
…but not bad if one is wrapped up well. Some snow around, and the little roads unexpectedly icy. No problems staying vertical.
Please pray for the people of Uttarakhand, in northern India, where a dam has burst, flooding a long Himalayan valley.
We were chatting about identity earlier. And there are a number of things one could put in the gap… “I am a ___” – but in most cases we’d add “…but not that kind.” Because any description puts a stereotype in people’s heads which doesn’t quite fit.
Lovely morning today. You may be able to see here some distant morning shadows on the hills.
In Sunday’s Lectionary, we see a needy Jesus. After he is drained, preaching and healing, we read this… “1:35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” In that praying, he discovers new impetus to move on to more places. But at that moment, in the small hours, and many more times in the gospels, Jesus is needy. So, I reckon it’s OK to be knackered. I reckon it’s OK for our prayers to be real … As Ted Loder writes in, “Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle”,
Will you accept my prayers, Lord,
my real prayers,
rooted in the muck and mud and rock or my life,
and not just my pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged
bouquet of words?
If the story of Jesus seen through Christian eyes tells us anything, it is that true love is costly. That’s why I didn’t clap for Captain Tom last night. This man’s extraordinary kindness has been exploited by people who know more about how to curry favour with the public than they do about running the country. Clapping costs nothing, but a real NHS/GIG is costly, and I am ready, willing and able to pay my extra few pence in the pound income tax. The NHS/GIG are not charities; they are a fundamental expression of what we are as a nation.
Two ways of being ‘cloud’ from this morning’s lovely walk…
An early walk on which the Trail turned out to be surprisingly snowy as I went further east,
followed by a day of looking for stuff.
Isaiah 40:21-31
Beyond a world of injustice and crap
I seek you God,
architect of all-that-is.
Renew me, renew us,
renew our human world
upon this planet.
Let our ways change
to become your ways.
Let poor, and suffering, and weary,
weary people
rise up on wings like eagles.
Lovely morning today. Still chilly enough for icicles on the bridge (or stalactites I’d not previously noticed). And there was still a bit of white on the high, shaded valley side.
Next Sunday’s Lectionary has Jesus healing people and proclaiming the message, and from 1 Corinthians, Paul’s account of why he proclaims the gospel.
It’s Good News!
And when you ask a million people what the Good News means for them, you will hear a million different stories. There will be common threads – the love and mercy of God, the presence of Jesus, holy justice – maybe – and many others – for I believe God is consistent and faithful. But we are human, and we each have our own needs – liberation from oppression, forgiveness, an eye-opening to the harm one is doing, etc.. But sometimes different Christians have incompatible stories of what God has done for them or for their community, We have to pray.
God give me grace to understand
how others may be different,
but nevertheless your children,
believing different things from what I do,
but loving Jesus just the same.
Help us learn from one another
what you are really saying to our generation.
Heal us, and put good news
on our lips
and into our typing fingertips.
According to the BBC, it’s becoming less likely that I’ll see again anything like this fuzzy picture from fifteen years ago…
A pleasant walking morning, with subtle pink shades in the dawn clouds and a just-past-full moon on the opposite side of the sky.
A cool breeze, and the Trail drying out, with not too many icy patches (none hidden). It got quite busy from about half past eight onwards. Even in lockdown, weekends are still a thing. And people in demanding and essential jobs, they need every bit of relaxation they can get.
A rough cold wind this morning, making the supergrid sing like an aeroplane coming in to land. There were a few small, sleety showers, and a suggestion of white on the sides of the valley above about 400m.
No experience of COVID is good, but that of the asylum seekers trapped in Napier Barracks where the infection is rife is at the terrifying end of the spectrum.
We pray for all whose lives have been changed by COVID,
for bereaved people who couldn’t say ‘goodbye’,
for people trapped and in terror,
for those who have a long wait
to be vaccinated,
for people who have no voice
who suffer from others’ political games.
Christ, have mercy.