Pilgrim

What does Baptism or Christening mean to you?   What has happened this morning for Caitlyn and her family and friends.   I wonder if there is anything that related to what we remember of Jesus on Palm Sunday.   Let’s investigate a little together. First some clarification.   We might Christen our child, or they may later undergo what is called adult baptism, (that’s not a second baptism but some people elect to wait until they are old enough to decide for themselves and then choose to be immersed in water – it is not necessarily better, rather it is different).   In either case, it is a ritual that is engaged in.   It is a very arranged piece of theatre.   Much like many church services you might think.   There are questions and responses, we have heard them this morning.   There may be Godparents, the person may be shown off to the church and afterwards a time of celebration.   When we then look at the Gospel reading today from Mat...

What do we mean by SIN?   (invite suggestions) What do we mean by forgiveness? In my childhood, I was raised in the Catholic Church and as such confession was a regular occurrence.   Most of the time I didn’t really know what to say, so offered a measly collection of lying, winding up a sibling etc.   On reflection, I feel a bit sorry for the priest, who must have sat there listening to a litany of material that perhaps didn’t really mean anything.   And those were the days before Ipods, and the like so he really had nowhere to escape to.   When I was preparing to write this message, I started to wonder why I didn’t really know what to confess to.   Was it a lack of imagination?   Unikely, as I never had problems with imagining myself in all sorts of situations and crises, always of course as the hero.   Was it because I didn’t sin?   Definitely NO.   I am the same as anyone else.   No, on reflection, whatever one’s views on ...

When you read the Bible, what do you hear?   Do you hear the words of an angry and jealous God in what we call the Old Testament?   Do you hear a God biding his time until a day of Wrath and Judgement? Does God seem different to you, in our so-called New Testament?   If that’s the case, could it be that we have been led to believe in an interpretation that in fact sells itself short and leaves us confused and possible disenchanted?   There are lots of questions here, because I strongly believe we are in a time when we should be asking ourselves questions, as a church, as a family, as a community, as a country. The Gospel means “Good news”.   In the early days and years of the church, the message was clearly interpreted as Good News by the poor and scary to those in power.   When we preach the Gospel today, is that still the same?   Why doesn’t it seem to have the same power as back then?   Why would most people equate the Gospel with “B...

Based on Matthew 2:1-12, a meditation on the Magi in the form of a poem.   Legend has it that there were 3 Magi, we traditionally think of them as Kings and Cologne Cathedral has a reliquary that purports to contain bones of them.   We even have given them 3 names, Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar but biblically we know very little.   They are only mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel and all we know is that were Magi, we are not given their names or how many there were.   We see them as Gentile Kings paying Homage to Jesus and gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh have been given meanings that may not have been an initial intent.   We have also forgotten how the visit itself seems to have led directly to a massacre.   We are the misrepresented Our message warped In nativities; We are Kings, celebrities, spacemen, Robots, figures of fun We gave notice of revolution Of an ancient prophecy coming to term Of the birth of new beginnings The birth ...