Simon Says ...

Isaiah 52.7-10 ; Hebrews 1.1-4 ; John 1.1-14 Some words from that very familiar Gospel reading: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us … full of grace and truth”.   If you want a thread to help you understand St John’s Gospel, then you could do worse than to look at the way that truth appears in the Gospel from the beginning to the end.   The Gospel begins with the passage that we have just heard.   Here we learn of the true light which was coming into the world, and the grace and truth of the Word made flesh.   Truth remains a theme throughout the Gospel.   Near the end, Pontius Pilate asks Jesus ‘What is truth?’ as part of his trial.   Truth is important to John’s Gospel, and so tonight I want to say three things about truth.   First about the truth shown in Jesus; second about truth as a life; and third about being witnesses to the truth.   First then, the truth shown in Jesus.   The whole thrust of the Gospel reading about the Word is that in Jesus,

The short meditations on the O Antiphons that I have posted since 17 th December combine to form an Advent hymn.   It can be sung to the tune CaelitesPlaudiant (which is more normally used for the hymn ‘ Christ the Fair Glory ’). I have taken the opportunity to edit the verses since my original posts. God’s Word and Wisdom come, stay among us always, Teach us to live in tune with all creation, From cradle to the cross, show the way you made us: Grain of the universe. God of your people come, save us by your presence, Lead us through wilderness, exile and addiction, Fulfil your promise, free us from what binds us: Lord God of Israel. Seed from the Sower come, plant in us your harvest, Grow in our lives, we pray, fruits of your Spirit, Form us from good soil, fruitful and productive: Root of the tree of life. Key to the kingdom come, break the locks that seal our hearts, Free our compassion, challenge our indifference, Help us to

Christ born among us come, take our flesh and live in us, Forgive our selfishness, heal our wounds and brokenness,  Transform our lives and hearts to show forth your salvation: Jesus, Emmanuel.

King of the Nations come, bring an end to all our wars, Undo injustice, repair the world we share, With those we try to harm, reconcile and bless us: True Prince of Peace

Sun always burning come, dawn upon us daily, Judge us with mercy, teach us in our ignorance, Lead us through darkness, bring us to eternal life: Light of the World.

Key to the kingdom come, break the locks that seal our hearts, Free our compassion, challenge our indifference, Help us to welcome strangers and the outcast: God in our neighbours. 

Seed from the Sower come, plant in us your harvest, Grow in our lives, we pray, fruits of your Spirit, Form us from good soil, fruitful and productive: Root of the tree of life.

God of your people come, save us by your presence, Lead us through wilderness, exile and addiction, Fulfil your promise, free us from what binds us, Lord God of Israel.

Wisdom of God, come live among us always. Teach us to live in tune with all creation, From cradle to the cross, show us how to live: Grain of the universe.

Romans 8.12-27 There is a story told of a boy who was taken to church by his father.   As the preacher got into the pulpit, the boy was fascinated.   Once he arrived at the top of the steps, the preacher put a Bible onto the desk.   “Daddy, Daddy, what does that mean?” asked the boy.   “Ah, son, that means we’re going to have a good Biblical sermon today.”   From the Bible, the preacher took some papers – his notes for the sermon.   “Daddy, Daddy,” said the boy, “What does that mean?”   “That, my boy, means that the preacher has done his homework, and we’re going to have a well-crafted sermon today.”   Then the preacher took off his watch, and laid it next to the Bible on the desk.   “Daddy, Daddy, what does that mean?”   The father looked his son in the eye and said, “That means absolutely nothing.”   I should warn you I don’t wear a watch! My name is Simon.   I’m the CMD officer for the Diocese, which means I look after clergy training.   I have a speci

Review of Sarah Coakley, The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender and the Quest for God (Bloomsbury, 2015). This is the best and most challenging book I read in the whole of 2015 (at the time of writing there are 16 days left in which I might read something better!).   It is not always easy to read, but that is not a reflection on the excellent writing.   Rather it is because the subject matter is important, and because it makes the reader engage with things within their own lives.   It tackles issues that are dividing the church with a spiritual seriousness and depth that is all too often lacking.   Whilst it will, inevitably, be read as a contribution to the debates that afflict the church, it should be read as a significant work of spiritual theology in its own right.   In her Introduction, Coakley tells us that she wants to retrieve asceticism as a vital part of Christian life and theology.   This has implications for the life of the church, particul

God of joy,  may your church rejoice in the coming of your Son, may he bring wisdom to those who teach; acceptance to all who are excluded; and guidance to all who follow. Come quickly, O Lord Jesus, bring joy to your church.   Amen. God of joy, may this world rejoice in the coming of your kingdom, may it bring justice to the oppressed; peace to all the nations; and freedom to all who are enslaved. Come quickly, O Lord Jesus, bring joy to your world.   Amen.                                                                God of joy, may all in need rejoice in the coming of your salvation, may it bring healing to the sick; comfort to all in distress;   and safety for those in danger. Come quickly, O Lord Jesus, bring joy to those in pain this day.   Amen.  Joyful God, we thank you for your delight in creation, for your care for your people, and for your many gifts to us. Prepare us for the coming of

Zephaniah 3.14-20 ; Luke 3.7-18 . In the four weeks of Advent we have marked the lighting of the Advent wreath by remembering the preparation that God made for the birth of his Son.   This began with Abraham and continued with the prophets.   Today, the third Sunday of Advent, we reach John the Baptist.   In Christian art, John the Baptist has often been portrayed pointing upwards to heaven.     John points to Jesus.   The image is taken from John’s Gospel, when John says of Jesus, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’.   But it also takes up the Christian understanding of John as the one who prepares the way for the coming of Jesus.   John is a figure of some importance himself – in the Gospel reading this morning we hear how people asked him if he was the Messiah.   But John constantly directs attention away from himself to Jesus.   ‘One who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of hi

The Paris Summit has reached an agreement.  Praise be.  It is a moment of hope, there are continuing concerns, and there is work still to be done. It is a moment for hope: Nearly 200 countries have reached an agreement.  This is not an insignificant feat of diplomacy. The agreement aims for a lower temperature than the 2 degrees that was seen as the absolute maximum before the summit began. There is broad agreement between rich and poor, developed and developing. There are continuing concerns: The pre-Paris pledges take the temperature rise to 2.7 degrees.  Still too high. This agreement has to go back to places where climate change denial is still mainstream politics like the United States.  Shameful, but true. There is work to be done: This agreement should mark the beginning of campaigns to meet the goals and even to better them.  Ed Miliband is going to work for zero emissions from the UK. We need to keep the pressure on. Investment in non-carbon energy needs to i

Yesterday was Human Rights Day (and the computer swallowed my post) so here is a Friday Five on human rights. Human Rights are rooted for me in Genesis 1.27 which proclaims that all are made in the image of God.  It is a remarkable insight - Jewish slaves in exile proclaiming that all people (including their persecutors) are to be valued just because they are human.              Amnesty International has been part of my life since I was 15.  Their simple but personal way of writing on behalf of prisoners of conscience is an amazing thing to do.  Why not take a simple action today? Human Rights are inconvenient, but only in so far as human beings are inconvenient.  Those who want to be exempt from them because they are inconvenient should be watched closely.  That includes the Church of England, and the Conservative Government. Human Rights came home even more strongly to me as the second Gulf war started.  When the US were happily avoiding human rights by sending suspected ter

Anne Lamott's Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers (Hodder and Stoughton 2013) was one of my best finds this year. It is a beautifully written book, and does exactly what it says: it introduces praying through three prayers - help, thanks and wow. Perfect for putting into the hands of someone beginning to pray.  Brilliant for helping someone who has been praying for some time. And the fourth essential prayer is really important: "Help me not be such an ass" (p. 67). Highly recommended!

This is my initial response to the Report of the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life .   There’s been a lot of fuss about it (though if it really is the worst report that Ruth Gledhill has ever read , it suggests she hasn’t been paying attention to the General Synod very well). Let’s start with the positives: 1.      It is good that this is being talked about seriously on the public stage.   Religion is going to be an important part of the life of the whole world, including Britain, in the coming decades. 2.      The emphasis on religious literacy is hugely important and welcome.   We need to be able to distinguish between different traditions within religions.   Put very simply, the current situation in the Middle East is incomprehensible if you only have one category for Muslim. 3.      Placing religion and belief at the heart of a national conversation about the fundamental values underlying public life sounds a lot more pr