Virtual Methodist

A short reflection prompted by one of Jesus' Beatitudes, the steps taken by those who seek to make peace, and the toll that sometimes takes on them. Blessed are the peace makers Making up Making amends Making friends Making time for others Making space for possibilities Making cups of tea Making a fool of yourself Making sense Making a stand Making a start Making Not destroying Shalom

Over recent months in Belfast South Methodist we have been thinking about the implications of Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, and in this morning's broadcast Service on Radio Ulster we were reflecting on "Blessed are the Peacemakers..." and as part of it we contrasted the words of Jesus with common attitudes in the world at large: VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." VOICE 1:          The world says: VOICE 3:          "Blessed are the materially wealthy, because theirs is the kingdom of the here and now." VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." VOICE 1:     ...

For those who haven't heard already via social media the prodigal cat has returned... at 3.30am on Thursday morning. Never has meowing outside our bedroom window at such an ungodly hour been greeted with such joy... The fatted calf wasn't killed, but the feline equivalent was served up as Claudia ate her bodyweight in Whiskas and Iams (other catfood products are available), suggesting that she had been stuck somewhere without food for 3 days... Anyway, my worst fears expressed on Wednesday evening had not come to pass... The question is whether my worst fears of Thursday evening will do so?  On Thursday afternoon the Democratic and Ulster Unionist parties involved in Haass-lite talks at Stormont pulled out because it had just been announced that the Ligoniel Oranges lodges have been refused permission to return from the field on the 12th via the Ardoyne shops by the Parades Commission determination... I have already expressed on facebook that, from my outside perspecti...

A few days ago a facebook friend posted a video of Brigitte Gabriel of "ACT! for America" verbally eviscerating a young Muslim woman who asked a question of her and other panellists at Heritage Foundation event. I won't post the video myself as I won't give either organisation easy hits as they are both highly media-savvy right wing institutions that, like our own insidious Britain First, frequently use hit counts as a measure of their reach... If you are interested you can do a bit of googling... The video produced the usual range of people praising her forthrightness and dismissal of political correctness... And it chimed well with some of the negative things that were said here recently about Islam... But there was little in it that I hadn't heard before... Dressing up general prejudice in righteous indignation. And to be fair, if Ms. Gabriel's life story as a Lebanese Maronite Christian is to be believed, she has good reason to be, at very least, wary...

Hero or villain. Saint or sinner. No. I’m not talking about Luis Suarez, but I’m a Liverpool fan, so you might guess my opinion there. How we define people often depends on our personal perspective and the truth is usually more complicated than such a simple definition. We in this province know that well, particularly in the messy business of making peace after a period of prolonged and profound conflict. (You just have to check out the responses to the presence of Martin McGuinness at the state banquet in Windsor Castle last week for evidence of that.) This is Holy week, the run-up to Good Friday, where we reflect on the price Jesus paid to make peace between us and God, followed by the resurrection joy of Easter Day. Personally I’m fascinated by the characters we’ve traditionally portrayed as villains in the Holy Week story. Judas Iscariot - wondering what his motivation was for betraying his teacher. Was it all just a matter of money or something else? Pilate, the ultimate po...

This is the first of the Hope and History Advent Candle Liturgies that we will be using in Belfast South Methodist this morning (and I hope elsewhere too). It includes part of my sermon for the morning... But let me include a spiritual health warning. If our commitment to the Kingdom of Peace is only a matter of gathering in a holy huddle around an advent ring and reciting this or another form of words, then we are an irrelevance to the future of this world... For me the key part of this liturgy is the bit that may well be neglected in most settings... the closing exhortation and benediction, and what flows from it. The benediction does not just act as a bookend to the opening candle-lighting ceremony, but is about the incarnation of these words into flesh and blood actions in the coming week... taking the promises of peace and making them a reality in a city and world that really needs to know that peace... VOICE 1:       There’s a day coming     ...

Yesterday my friend David Porter, Canon for Reconciliation at Coventry Cathedral and the Archbishop of Canterbury's advisor on reconciliation, retweeted the quote from Bonhoeffer daily: "From now on there can be no more wars of faith. The only way to overcome our enemy is by loving him.” As I read this I was just starting the chapter in Jim Wallis' recent book "On God's Side" entitled "Surprising Our Enemies", which begins with another, more sizeable Bonhoeffer quote taken from " The Cost of Discipleship " where he is exploring the Beatitudes and specifically Jesus' blessing of the peacemakers. The entire section reads: "The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. His...