Virtual Methodist

Over the past 6 months I've been reading Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg's amazing "The Murmuring Deep" - a profound commentary on various parts of the Hebrew scriptures and their associated midrashes. In it she draws on, not only the creative discourse between rabbis down through the centuries but also the insights of literature, art and crucially psychology and psychoanalysis. It has been an eye-opening and mind-stretching journey. Along the way I've posted a few quotes on social media - its made me look smarter than I am - they're only the bits I understand. This afternoon I finished reading it, with her reflection on the story of Ruth and Boaz. Its better than doing battle with my tax return! But with my mind full of tributes to Seamus Mallon, who lived a life dedicated to helping others, and the upcoming 4 Corners Festival on the theme of "Building a City of Grace" I came across a passage that deals with how Boaz was remembered for his act of c...

Most of the pieces that have caught my eye this week follow on from some of the pieces I pointed to last week... First and foremost being ye olde flags issue... 9 weeks and counting... It must be serious in that even Seamus Heaney, has said something , despite his self-enforced rule of "whatever you say, say nothing." He argues that the whole thing was unnecessary and badly handled, but I would be wary, as some have done of taking from his words much succour for the unionist/loyalist cause, without also hearing his critique of the Unionist "caste" system. One of the pieces on this subject I highlighted last week came from a former youth worker at the East Belfast Mission, while this week one of the best was by the Director of EBM's Skainos project Glenn Jordan, on Crookedshore where he points to this as possibly the end of a political era and, perhaps the emergence of a new one with new voices and emphases. Meanwhile Jude Hill, UTV reporter and the driving f...

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ He is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort others in trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. From 2 Corinthians 1:2-4  It's with those words that we begin our morning worship today, where we'll be exploring the prayer that Jesus taught us - a prayer where we are encouraged to call the almighty God "Our Father." In these couple of verses from Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church, we are reminded what sort of a father he is... not a stiff and distant Victorian father, but "the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." This past couple of weeks I have, sadly been astounded by the lack of compassion exhibited by some of my brothers and sisters in Christ... and have also, with certain justification, been ac...

Few of the Psalms are related so directly to the life of David as Psalm 51. Some include echoes of his life story: as a shepherd, a soldier being hunted by the then King Saul, and of events in his own reign as King. But none so specifically pinpoint any of the stories of his life as this one, which is directly associated with his adulterous liaison with Bathsheba and its consequences. We don’t know whether it was written by David, or simply inspired by his story, but it still speaks of someone wrestling with guilt. Unattended to guilt can be the grit that produces, not a pearl within the oyster of our hearts and minds, but a series of spiritual and psychological problems, that may also manifest themselves in physical illness. But even where we think that we have "got away with it" (much like David) we are assured that no wrong-doing goes un-noted, and we will have to answer for our guilt one day.  David's story may be about sex, conspiracy and murder in high places, ...

Emotionally I'm feeling a bit fragile this week... Probably just exhaustion after a busy few decades... but if anyone were to say anything negative to me at the moment I'd probably burst into tears and run away and hide... That's not my usual state of mind... normally I appreciate robust debate and intelligent critique... always have done, whether in the theatre, in science or in ministry... but at the moment, I'm not too sure I could take it. Which is why I'm encouraged, and inspired, by an unexpected act of grace and humility that I became aware of late on Sunday night... A few weeks ago our book group finished its latest project, "Total Church" by Tim Chester and Steve Timms , and, as is my practice, I subsequently posted a "review" on the "LivingSocial" site and in the side-bar of this blog... To say that it wasn't complimentary is an understatement, as there were parts of the book and its general tone than left me as angry as I...

He wasn’t just a thief… Given that the Romans were crucifying him, he was much more than that… he was probably a rebel, a thug, a murderer… a threat to the state… He had lived a ruthless life and was dying an equally ruthless death…Yet at the last minute, he found it in himself to turn to the man unjustly crucified beside him and say: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” There's actually nothing in the text to say that he said this with any less mockery than his co-condemned had used when he said: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But most believe that he was genuine… That this was the clearest example of a last minute conversion in history. Some people leave everything to the last minute. There’s even a famous website dedicated to finding theatre tickets, gifts and holidays for those who don’t plan ahead… But as has been pointed out by many preachers before me, few of us have the luxury of knowing when our very last minute will be… There may be websit...

I was back on Downtown Radio this morning for the first time in ages, after their decision to completely axe the input from their erstwhile religious advisors was rescinded. This is (more or less) the somewhat idiosyncratic review of the week that was broadcast... Well… it’s been a good week for sports fans, with the World Athletics Championships, the resumption of the English Premier League and the culmination of the Ashes (for those of you poor benighted fools who consider cricket to be a sport). Watching Philips Idowu and Jessica Ennis win gold for Britain in the athletics was brilliant, but the efforts of all other athletes were put in the shade by lightning Bolt shattering both the 100 and 200m world records. Then of course there have been the controversies: the perennial drugs issue and the question as to whether Castor Semenya, the South African winner of the women’s 800m is really biologically a woman… Meanwhile in the Premiership some are wondering whether the massive injectio...

Just before Christmas I was very taken by the description of the incarnate Word coming full of "grace and truth" (John 1: 14), and used that stick to liberally beat anyone who happened to transgress my view of how to graciously stand up for truth in the face of someone that you fundamentally disagree with. But recently I have found myself falling into that deep dark hole... Won't bother with any kind of justifications, medically, psychologically, socially or spiritually, I have simply been horribly graceless... Both in the virtual and physical forms of reality. Pot-kettle... Kettle-pot... But here's a question that came to me while I was reading a rather famous episode in the life of the Word made flesh (John 2: 13-16). When is it OK to adopt the use of a "rope of cords" to beat all round you and still be regarded as full of grace and truth? He didn't do it to the misogynist hypocrites who accused the woman (but not her paramour) of adultery (John 8: 1-1...

I am being driven slowly insane by the current “hit” by Neil Diamond, entitled “Pretty Amazing Grace.” The poppy melody allied with lyrics that are trite, pseudo-spiritual, second-rate, second-hand poetry (the sort that I write but generally don’t get the opportunity to fob off on the paying public) is forcing me to change channel every time it comes on. Is it about a woman (called Grace)? Is it about an encounter with God (in Jesus)? Don’t know… And his website or sleevenotes don’t make it any clearer. Neil Diamond has a history of using Biblical language in secular pop songs… And despite being Jewish, he doesn’t restrict his vocabulary to the Hebrew Scriptures… Among his more famous oeuvres are “I am, I said,” “Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show” or “Holly Holy”, “I'm a Believer” “Lady Magdelene,” but his less well known songs include titles like “Save Me,” “Walk on Water,” “The Way” and are littered with allusions to John the Baptist and Christ... But this latest offe...

It is time to confess to a guilty pleasure... Currently I don't watch much TV, but one programme I really do try to see at one time or other during the week (and no I can't record it, because I've forgotten how to work the DVD recorder I use it so infrequently, and for some reason it isn't on BBC i-Player) is BBC's The Apprentice... And its little sister "You're Fired" with the ubiquitous Adrian Chiles. I feel a little bit uneasy about this, because it is really only a version of Big Brother for people with MBAs... but for some reason it has captured my attention in a way that none of the other unreality shows ever have... And I am no "Johnny-come-lately"... I became addicted to it from its first incarnation in the USA with Donald Trump as the Apprentice-Meister... But hardly a week goes by when I am not left foaming at the mouth with the various contestants... It is hard to believe that such a bunch of arrogant, incompetent, unpleasant indiv...

Another little hidden gem in the Radio 4 schedules this week. A play by Mick Gordon and A.C. Grayling, dealing with issues of science and religion, faith and family, love and kindness. Grace , a scientist and fundamentalist atheist, is faced with the decision of her son Tom to become a priest. Only available on the BBC i-Player... So this play will self destruct in 7 days... Get it while you can.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 (ANIV) It’s sad that truth and grace come as a surprise to us… Or even as an annoyance! I was getting diesel yesterday and found that the tills in the service station kiosk (curious word that give the size of these places now) were staffed by two of the least competent assistants on the face of this earth… They will have many other laudable qualities but manning tills is not their thing… But just as I was finally getting to the head of a very long queue, a woman who had just left the shop came back in and squeezed ahead of me to inform the assistants that she had paid the wrong amount… a smaller amount than she should have, and that the older lady in front of me was going to be hit for her much larger bill… This of course sent the assistants into a tail-spin, and me, the fine, gracious, truthful Methodist minister that I am, into a huge huff of annoyance that this lady’s honesty was going to hold ...