EXPLORING THE BIBLE

Psalm 118 reminds us again of its refrain about the steadfast love of God-the refrain we have read before this month.

While Palm Sunday might have been a piece of street theatre that had some element of triumph, Good Friday is a black day. Support for the Jesus movement seems to have evaporated; even his closest disciples abandon him.

This evening Jesus welcomes his disciples and he washes their feet. He turns convention upside down and bids his disciples enter that different world.

This Lent, let us practice kindness, the love that unbinds the cloths that hinder us from living in the light of love, the love of God seen most clearly in Jesus Christ.

So, while we may hear the cries of the people and the enthusiasm for the donkey rider we know that he has taken a heart-rending step towards the abyss.

April 2020 is Easter month. We embark on an Easter journey that starts in Bethphage and ends in Emmaus. It is a journey that starts with Jesus on a donkey…

Grief comes in many forms: grief at the death of a loved one or respected leader; grief as we watch illness rob someone of precious abilities; grief as we discover that we will never reach a cherished personal goal or grief when someone for whom we had high hopes disappoints us, to name just a few.

Whilst most wars now are over petroleum, soon they will be over water. Pacific Islanders’ homes are even now being inundated by sea water. Who will welcome them in and give them a place for themselves? Deserts are expanding in Africa. People are being forced to migrate. Who will welcome them in?

…. we the church are called to be a pilgrim people, never content to settle into a fixed routine, always open to new insights into how we should worship and whom we should serve. With many of our congregations now without settled ministers, God may be inviting us to explore new ways of doing church together.

Lent offers us a time to reflect on who we are, and how we are to relate to other people who are equally God’s beloved. It calls us to allow ourselves to be changed by God’s love, not just to give up some rather insignificant indulgence for a few weeks, although such a fast might help concentrate our minds on the real challenges.