Monday 28 January 2008
No country for Old Men
A wonderful movie underlining many of the things that America still grapples with today - voilence, short term values, and a dinishing sense of respectability and accountability for actions. Rolling Stone has it just right: Good and evil are tackled with a rigorous fix on the complexity involved. Recent movies about Iraq have pushed hard to show the growing dehumanization infecting our world. No Country doesn't have to preach or wave a flag — it carries in its bones the virus of what we've become. The Coens squeeze us without mercy in a vise of tension and suspense, but only to force us to look into an abyss of our own making. This is a film not to miss.
St Mary Abbots 27th Jan 6.30pm
Luke 4.14-21
Jesus returns to his home town of Nazareth and reads from the Old Testament
FF Bruce simple book"The Time is fulfilled"
Jesus choses the text from Isaiah
1. This is a fulfillment era
2. Message of the Kingdom
3. The Son of Man - about to be revealed
4. Christ as the Lord of TimeWhat is our response to fulfillment time?
Power of the sacred text is highlighted.
But we receive forgiveness through the words of Jesus.
Jesus returns to his home town of Nazareth and reads from the Old Testament
FF Bruce simple book"The Time is fulfilled"
Jesus choses the text from Isaiah
1. This is a fulfillment era
2. Message of the Kingdom
3. The Son of Man - about to be revealed
4. Christ as the Lord of TimeWhat is our response to fulfillment time?
Power of the sacred text is highlighted.
But we receive forgiveness through the words of Jesus.
Saturday 19 January 2008
Thought For The Day 19th Jan
Copyright is with the BBC
John Steinbeck said that the theatre is the only institution in the world which has been dying for four thousand years and has never succumbed. Indeed the opposite is the case and audiences are on the up.
Not only was it reported this week that West End theatre audiences are increasing. The National Theatre also announced more weekly performances to cope with demand, including Sunday Matinees.
What is it about going to the theatre? I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea but it certainly strikes a cord in many people’s lives. Maybe it says something about its compelling depth and relentless quest to understand human nature in all its diversity that it remains such a popular night out?
Just before Christmas I gave myself a treat and went to three musicals in a week: Cabaret, Wicked and Mary Poppins. They ranged from the disappointing to the sublime – but I’d better not tell you which was which! And on each occasion I think it was the priest in me that found myself, at significant moments as the drama unfolded, looking around at the faces of the audience. Faces of all ages reflected the events on stage by a range of reactions, each of which was a story in itself.
Alan Bennett says that he goes to the theatre to be entertained and to be taken out of himself. Unlike movies and the television, theatre, says Shelley Winters, can produce a wonderful deep silence which means that you have actually hit the audience where they live.
This is a skill still to be developed in many places of worship. Finding a wonderful deep silence.
Faith figures prominently in more theatre than we probably care to admit. Spiritual issues addressed on stage confront people with deep questions and unfathomable mysteries right there in front of them. There is a physical aspect to theatre which is immensely spiritual and often deeply painful.
Psychologists might say that many human beings spend much of their lives trying to find out who they really are and what the resulting implications mean for the future. That, of course, is the essence of much theatre. Taking us by the hand, beyond our experience, and confronting us in the flesh with stark realities and challenges. What about our priorities, about love, about overcoming evil; how do we combat jealousy?
With the great Mystery Plays, the Christian church eventually realised that theatre can transform the telling of a well known story. By challenging complacency, reawakening and restoring our spiritual senses, the relationship between actor and audience produces a most astonishing range of insights and perceptions. That’s perhaps why the theatre is rarely a bad night out.
John Steinbeck said that the theatre is the only institution in the world which has been dying for four thousand years and has never succumbed. Indeed the opposite is the case and audiences are on the up.
Not only was it reported this week that West End theatre audiences are increasing. The National Theatre also announced more weekly performances to cope with demand, including Sunday Matinees.
What is it about going to the theatre? I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea but it certainly strikes a cord in many people’s lives. Maybe it says something about its compelling depth and relentless quest to understand human nature in all its diversity that it remains such a popular night out?
Just before Christmas I gave myself a treat and went to three musicals in a week: Cabaret, Wicked and Mary Poppins. They ranged from the disappointing to the sublime – but I’d better not tell you which was which! And on each occasion I think it was the priest in me that found myself, at significant moments as the drama unfolded, looking around at the faces of the audience. Faces of all ages reflected the events on stage by a range of reactions, each of which was a story in itself.
Alan Bennett says that he goes to the theatre to be entertained and to be taken out of himself. Unlike movies and the television, theatre, says Shelley Winters, can produce a wonderful deep silence which means that you have actually hit the audience where they live.
This is a skill still to be developed in many places of worship. Finding a wonderful deep silence.
Faith figures prominently in more theatre than we probably care to admit. Spiritual issues addressed on stage confront people with deep questions and unfathomable mysteries right there in front of them. There is a physical aspect to theatre which is immensely spiritual and often deeply painful.
Psychologists might say that many human beings spend much of their lives trying to find out who they really are and what the resulting implications mean for the future. That, of course, is the essence of much theatre. Taking us by the hand, beyond our experience, and confronting us in the flesh with stark realities and challenges. What about our priorities, about love, about overcoming evil; how do we combat jealousy?
With the great Mystery Plays, the Christian church eventually realised that theatre can transform the telling of a well known story. By challenging complacency, reawakening and restoring our spiritual senses, the relationship between actor and audience produces a most astonishing range of insights and perceptions. That’s perhaps why the theatre is rarely a bad night out.
Changing face of Sunday
Good Morning
News that the National Theatre in London will start Sunday matinees later this year has had a mixed reception. Many Londoners will welcome the news. Actors and support staff might have a different view. The feeling is that many theatres in the West End and larger cities might follow suit.
Radical changes to what we can and can’t do on a Sunday has impacted seriously and sociologically on British life. During the 1980’s, I backed the Keep Sunday Special campaign. Against a tide of sheer consumerism and the market forces, it was pretty obvious that more and more shops would open and the nature of Sunday would change.
Indeed, the issue is no longer just about Sunday; it is about the pace of life and living and the need to protect personal and family time from the rat run of work and stress partly induced by a communications revolution.
From a Christian perspective, based on the Jewish notion of Sabbath, rooted in the creation narratives, the day of rest commemorates the resurrection. Sunday is a special day for worship and prayer: for relaxation and self discovery.
The fact that Muslims observe Fridays and that today is the Jewish Sabbath underlines the larger point that a healthy spiritual disposition embraces the notion of reflection and rest as part of life and living.
But maybe, without being thoroughly radical, we now need to be more flexible about sabbath space without diluting its importance. Church going trends, for instance, are changing. Many churches are experiencing large attendances at midweek services and Mass on a Saturday evening is increasingly attractive. These statistics rarely appear.
And Sunday may have changed, there has been something of a self correction going on for those who can still observe Sunday as Sunday: all over Britain is seems that people are finding new and natural ways of ensuring that Sunday is indeed a different day: going out to share a meal, visiting a farmer’s market, enjoying spectator sports or just being with the children.
Which means that as long as those people who are providing recreational enjoyment and facilities which encourage relaxation and refreshment have time off in lieu, religious groups should surely encourage activities and creativity which encourages relaxation, enjoyment and refreshment.
A friend of mine lent me a tiny book this week. Written as if for children it is aimed at us insecure and frantic adults. It tells the story of how Jesus, exhausted by all the miracles, healings and all the teaching he had been doing, decided to go off for the day and do absolutely nothing. Like most of us, his first reaction was to panic; his next was to seek reassurance; only then did he let go and offer up this time of restoration and relaxation to God himself. But the result was magnificent and God was delighted.
Going to the Theatre after Mass on a Sunday afternoon is no longer something I find difficult or wrong. I have come to realise that the need to take time out and restore the soul is what is most important; it’s just a question of when.
News that the National Theatre in London will start Sunday matinees later this year has had a mixed reception. Many Londoners will welcome the news. Actors and support staff might have a different view. The feeling is that many theatres in the West End and larger cities might follow suit.
Radical changes to what we can and can’t do on a Sunday has impacted seriously and sociologically on British life. During the 1980’s, I backed the Keep Sunday Special campaign. Against a tide of sheer consumerism and the market forces, it was pretty obvious that more and more shops would open and the nature of Sunday would change.
Indeed, the issue is no longer just about Sunday; it is about the pace of life and living and the need to protect personal and family time from the rat run of work and stress partly induced by a communications revolution.
From a Christian perspective, based on the Jewish notion of Sabbath, rooted in the creation narratives, the day of rest commemorates the resurrection. Sunday is a special day for worship and prayer: for relaxation and self discovery.
The fact that Muslims observe Fridays and that today is the Jewish Sabbath underlines the larger point that a healthy spiritual disposition embraces the notion of reflection and rest as part of life and living.
But maybe, without being thoroughly radical, we now need to be more flexible about sabbath space without diluting its importance. Church going trends, for instance, are changing. Many churches are experiencing large attendances at midweek services and Mass on a Saturday evening is increasingly attractive. These statistics rarely appear.
And Sunday may have changed, there has been something of a self correction going on for those who can still observe Sunday as Sunday: all over Britain is seems that people are finding new and natural ways of ensuring that Sunday is indeed a different day: going out to share a meal, visiting a farmer’s market, enjoying spectator sports or just being with the children.
Which means that as long as those people who are providing recreational enjoyment and facilities which encourage relaxation and refreshment have time off in lieu, religious groups should surely encourage activities and creativity which encourages relaxation, enjoyment and refreshment.
A friend of mine lent me a tiny book this week. Written as if for children it is aimed at us insecure and frantic adults. It tells the story of how Jesus, exhausted by all the miracles, healings and all the teaching he had been doing, decided to go off for the day and do absolutely nothing. Like most of us, his first reaction was to panic; his next was to seek reassurance; only then did he let go and offer up this time of restoration and relaxation to God himself. But the result was magnificent and God was delighted.
Going to the Theatre after Mass on a Sunday afternoon is no longer something I find difficult or wrong. I have come to realise that the need to take time out and restore the soul is what is most important; it’s just a question of when.
Monday 14 January 2008
Hebrews 1
Sermon preached at St Mary Abbots on Sunday 13th February
Theme of Baptism
Role of Hebrews 1 in understanding the expectation and fulfillment around the person of Jesus.
Key themes which they might not have fully understood.
Influence of Qumran.
Emphasis on Jesus fulfilling all that has been promised through him.
Theme of Baptism
Role of Hebrews 1 in understanding the expectation and fulfillment around the person of Jesus.
Key themes which they might not have fully understood.
Influence of Qumran.
Emphasis on Jesus fulfilling all that has been promised through him.
Radio 4 13th January 2008
Copyright is with the BBC
Good morning.
The clamour for instant results and success in contemporary Britain is increasingly loud and equally frustrating. We want success and we want it now.
Economists have been arguing for decades about the negative impact of short term ism on British industry. But it’s not just there. In politics and education the cry for immediate results is constant. And it’s the same in entertainment and sport.
The driving forces of short term ism include greed, inflated expectations and a communications infrastructure geared towards the now rather than the not yet.
The sacking of Sam Allarydice as manager of Newcastle United is a case in point. The complex reasons as to why this marriage made in football heaven ended so quickly, and with such disappointment, continue to be debated. Pope Benedict this week suggested that football encourages the virtues of honesty, solidarity and fraternity – qualities easily identifiable with the Geordie spirit – but they can only flourish in a healthy and realistic context.
Knee jerk thinking or planning is, in many ways, the antithesis of any longer term strategy. In constantly clamouring for immediate results and instant success, there emerges a frustrating sequence of crises and calamities resulting in a deepening sense of failure and a consequent loss of morale. Too many of us live in a world where you’re only as good as your last game or your last deal.
As a priest, I speak to lots of people who tell me the stories of their lives with a kind of detached disregard for the cumulative devastation resulting from the need to deliver –and now! That is not an excuse for bad performance or a lack of effort. I have heard this from dedicated bankers and gifted entertainers; prayerful bishops and enterprising executives; and, when I was a part time football commentator, indeed from football managers.
This kind of pressure to deliver now is the product of human behaviour which is, on the one hand modern and trendy but, on the other, undermining and exasperating. And we so easily join the fickle crowd shouting sack him, fire her, change it, sort it ….or else. Here today. Gone tomorrow.
So what does the priest reply? Of course, that faith is one dynamic way of restoring a greater sense of perspective to the basic notion that life is not just about the here and now; it is more about the permanent and not yet! But, also, as a fellow human being at the start of a new year, I simply suggest that there is much much more to life than the short term – and the sooner we start planning for the longer term outlook – the better it will surely be for all of us!
Good morning.
The clamour for instant results and success in contemporary Britain is increasingly loud and equally frustrating. We want success and we want it now.
Economists have been arguing for decades about the negative impact of short term ism on British industry. But it’s not just there. In politics and education the cry for immediate results is constant. And it’s the same in entertainment and sport.
The driving forces of short term ism include greed, inflated expectations and a communications infrastructure geared towards the now rather than the not yet.
The sacking of Sam Allarydice as manager of Newcastle United is a case in point. The complex reasons as to why this marriage made in football heaven ended so quickly, and with such disappointment, continue to be debated. Pope Benedict this week suggested that football encourages the virtues of honesty, solidarity and fraternity – qualities easily identifiable with the Geordie spirit – but they can only flourish in a healthy and realistic context.
Knee jerk thinking or planning is, in many ways, the antithesis of any longer term strategy. In constantly clamouring for immediate results and instant success, there emerges a frustrating sequence of crises and calamities resulting in a deepening sense of failure and a consequent loss of morale. Too many of us live in a world where you’re only as good as your last game or your last deal.
As a priest, I speak to lots of people who tell me the stories of their lives with a kind of detached disregard for the cumulative devastation resulting from the need to deliver –and now! That is not an excuse for bad performance or a lack of effort. I have heard this from dedicated bankers and gifted entertainers; prayerful bishops and enterprising executives; and, when I was a part time football commentator, indeed from football managers.
This kind of pressure to deliver now is the product of human behaviour which is, on the one hand modern and trendy but, on the other, undermining and exasperating. And we so easily join the fickle crowd shouting sack him, fire her, change it, sort it ….or else. Here today. Gone tomorrow.
So what does the priest reply? Of course, that faith is one dynamic way of restoring a greater sense of perspective to the basic notion that life is not just about the here and now; it is more about the permanent and not yet! But, also, as a fellow human being at the start of a new year, I simply suggest that there is much much more to life than the short term – and the sooner we start planning for the longer term outlook – the better it will surely be for all of us!
BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day 050108-
Copyright is with the BBC
Good morning.
A Spanish friend of mine recently told me off for opening my gifts on Christmas Day and not tomorrow – the feast of the Epiphany.
Over in Spain – and many other countries around the world – the arrival of the three Kings from the East bearing Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh is the moment when our Christmas gifts should be exchanged (Los Reyos). There are grand processions, the journey of the kings re-enacted on horseback – and the children have a great night as they wait for their gifts.
Many churches in Britain will at least mark tomorrow with a more Anglo Saxon procession and the placing of the Three Kings into the crib.
But the chief motifs of this wondrous story are of course the star and the offering of the gifts themselves.
The star denotes God’s presence and guidance. With unpredictable Herod just around the corner, and three men in a strange land without satellite navigation, the star leads these foreign figures to a bemused Mary and Joseph – still waiting for a safe passage back home. The universality of the incarnation is suddenly and sharply focused by this visit of the Magi.
And then those gifts. Kathryn Turner has written widely of how the idea of gift wraps together the divine life and the incarnation. You know how it feels if you give a gift and it is not well received: the act of giving can be ruined by the lack of response or enthusiasm. Similarly, we either accept the gifts of God or reject them. The gift of life is offered, not forced
We’ve heard and read so much recently about how humanity has to ponder more carefully over the gift of life in creation. And as individuals, love, understanding and tolerance are desired qualities to help us in our response.
Which brings is sharply back to the spirit of freedom in which the gift is offered in the first place. It is up to you and to me to decide how to respond to what is offered to us.
Faith is a journey of discovery, an epiphany journey. Christianity suggests that the gift of love offered at Christmas is for everyone. It also states clearly that we show our sense of gratitude to God by how we relate to our fellow human beings.
There might be urgency, but there is no pressure. The alternatives to faith might at first appear easier. But the gift of life is offered, nonetheless. There are signs and pointers to guide us.
Celebrating our freedom to make choices and to respond to any gift as we see fit, should never be taken for granted. The gift is offered. The choice is ours.
Good morning.
A Spanish friend of mine recently told me off for opening my gifts on Christmas Day and not tomorrow – the feast of the Epiphany.
Over in Spain – and many other countries around the world – the arrival of the three Kings from the East bearing Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh is the moment when our Christmas gifts should be exchanged (Los Reyos). There are grand processions, the journey of the kings re-enacted on horseback – and the children have a great night as they wait for their gifts.
Many churches in Britain will at least mark tomorrow with a more Anglo Saxon procession and the placing of the Three Kings into the crib.
But the chief motifs of this wondrous story are of course the star and the offering of the gifts themselves.
The star denotes God’s presence and guidance. With unpredictable Herod just around the corner, and three men in a strange land without satellite navigation, the star leads these foreign figures to a bemused Mary and Joseph – still waiting for a safe passage back home. The universality of the incarnation is suddenly and sharply focused by this visit of the Magi.
And then those gifts. Kathryn Turner has written widely of how the idea of gift wraps together the divine life and the incarnation. You know how it feels if you give a gift and it is not well received: the act of giving can be ruined by the lack of response or enthusiasm. Similarly, we either accept the gifts of God or reject them. The gift of life is offered, not forced
We’ve heard and read so much recently about how humanity has to ponder more carefully over the gift of life in creation. And as individuals, love, understanding and tolerance are desired qualities to help us in our response.
Which brings is sharply back to the spirit of freedom in which the gift is offered in the first place. It is up to you and to me to decide how to respond to what is offered to us.
Faith is a journey of discovery, an epiphany journey. Christianity suggests that the gift of love offered at Christmas is for everyone. It also states clearly that we show our sense of gratitude to God by how we relate to our fellow human beings.
There might be urgency, but there is no pressure. The alternatives to faith might at first appear easier. But the gift of life is offered, nonetheless. There are signs and pointers to guide us.
Celebrating our freedom to make choices and to respond to any gift as we see fit, should never be taken for granted. The gift is offered. The choice is ours.
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