Virtual Methodist

Here's the third and final element of last night's event at East Belfast Mission. It's the story from Judas' perspective. I've published different versions of this before, as well as a verse version based on those found in various medieval passion plays . he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.  But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. Luke 22:19-21 (ANIV) I was there at the table with him… as I had been many times before… and I suppose it was me he was talking about… But  before we go any further, let’s get this clear, it had nothing to do with the money... I just had to do something. The others think the same as me, but they'd never do anything... All talk and no trousers. It’s alw...

Just over three years ago a story came out suggesting that artistic portrayals of the Last Supper have been "super-sized."   There were a number of thoughts that occurred to me on reading it: the first was to check the date just incase it wasn't an April Fool prank... the second was one of despair regarding the usefulness of such research and the money expended on it... but the third related to the statement that: "Craig Wansink, who is a professor of religious studies, says the changes in portion sizes is probably a reflection of culture rather than theology." To how many things could that be said? And tonight, as people share, not in an artistic representation of the Last Supper, but a liturgical re-enactment of it, how much of what is said and done has been influenced more by culture than theology? Is the liturgy shared by the congregation, or predominantly led from the front? How much of that is out of a desire for extempore, Spirit-led worship (ev...

Here's the second of the monologues I'm using for the Maundy Thursday event at EBM. It's based on the anointing of Jesus at Bethany. Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. "But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."  While he was in Bethany , reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Mark 14:1-3 (ANIV) I had been keeping that perfume for my wedding day… It was the most expensive thing I owned… even the jar itself was worth more than my other possessions… But the perfume sealed inside it had been brought from the far east… the mountains at the edge of the earth… Pure nard… the very best that my brother could buy f...

Originally one of my sabbatical tasks had been to write and direct a community Passion play. Got the writing bit done, but for various reasons the wheels came off actually staging it this year. Given the weather I'm fairly glad not to be contemplating a production that was to culminate in a semi-naked actor on a cross in the open air. Instead, we've scaled things down and are staging 3 of the monologues within the play as a devotional event on Maundy Thursday night at East Belfast Mission. The first of these offers the perspective of a Roman centurion watching the events of Palm Sunday (I also used it as part of the Palm Sunday broadcast) When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the Pharisees in the cro...

The last in this series of live Thought for the Days (as usual you can pick it up here for one week only at 25 and 85 minutes into the programme... I have one more to produce next Monday but it will be pre-recorded as I will be elsewhere next week). This picks up on one of the themes of yesterday's studio service for Palm Sunday , and, in many ways, a repeated frustration with the direction of travel in this province. So we’ve just had a weekend where the province ground to a halt because of the unseasonable weather… Including the bizarre experience of an international football match between Russia and Northern Ireland being called off because of snow here … I wonder what the Russians made of that given the much worse weather they have to play through every winter? As I listened to Sunday Sequence yesterday morning it was also interesting to hear a lengthening list of Palm Sunday services being called off because of the snow… It’s not unusual to have services cancelled aro...

I was responsible for the Radio Ulster studio service for Palm Sunday this morning . You can listen to it via the link if you so desire. This is the psalm I included in it: You are my God, and I will praise you For your love lasts forever! Pushed to our limits we cried to the Lord , and he responded by setting us free. The Lord walks with us; So we have nothing and no-one to fear. He is always at our  side, So we will triumph over our enemies. It is better to seek support from the Lord than to trust in others who will let us down. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in politicians and people in places of power. All our strength we owe to the LORD. He is the source of our singing; He is our salvation. Songs of joy and shouts of victory fill the homes and hearts of the people he has redeemed: Hosanna! We are saved! The LORD's strong hand has reached down to rescue us! Let us sing of all that He has done. We have come into his pr...

Here's this morning's Thought for the Day on Good Morning Ulster , prompted by last week's superb BBC NI documentary about Alec Reid's role in the dramatic events of 25 years ago and how this prompted his ongoing efforts at peacemaking. As noted in the comment below the image to the left apparently originated from the camera of Sam Knox. Check out his other work on   www.shotbysam.com . Apologies to the artist for the previously unauthorised use... Although yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, it was a mixed weekend for Irish rugby fans – The women won their first ever grand slam, but their male counterparts slumped to ignominious defeat. Yet despite the Celtic gloom that enveloped me I reminded myself that it’s only a game… and, that no-one had died. Because all through Saturday my mind kept going back 25 years. I was studying in Edinburgh then, having deliberately left behind a Northern Ireland riven by hatred and violence. That year, like this, Ireland had...