CategoryReflections

Reflection (Palm Sunday)

R

In each episode of Ramsay’s 24 hours to hell and back, Gordon Ramsay transforms a restaurant from a dire unhygienic disaster into a gourmet food heaven. It’s rapid. It’s quick. And it achieves what everyone wants.

Reflection (3rd Sunday of Advent)

R

A few weeks ago the words of this beautiful gospel song performed by Mica Paris echoed through my bedroom as I listened to Radio 2. I couldn't help but feel my heart filled with joyful hope as I reflected on the long night we find ourselves in at the moment.

Reflection (3rd Sunday of Advent)

R

The only time I'd ever heard the threat of Christmas being cancelled was from my mom when I'd been a pain and likely to find myself on the naughty list. Yet, we find ourselves in a world where we're having to think about whether Christmas might be cancelled, or at the very least whether it will resemble any Christmas we've experienced before. This tough, horrid situation is shaking our very...

Reflection (21st Sunday after Pentecost)

R

Read: Deuteronomy 34:1-12, Matthew 22:34-46 Reflect: Everything in this world has a beginning and an end. Life in this world has a beginning and end. The tasks we do begin and end. Our jobs begin and end. Our ministry begins and ends. We holiday, it begins and ends. Everything in this world is temporal. Even our lives on this planet, begin and end. The seasons reflect our journey of beginnings...

Reflection (20th Sunday after Pentecost)

R

Read: Matthew 22:15-22, Ephesians 2:1-10 Watch: 12 Years a Slave (Official Trailer) Reflect: Watching such stories is uncomfortable. It’s not just an imagined story. This really happened. It is part of humanity’s past. There’s no doubt that what we see here is evil. But where does this evil come from? There is no doubt that people’s individual sins contribute to evil in...

Genesis Reflection (8th Sunday after Pentecost)

G

Read: Genesis 29:15-28 Meditate: Genesis 29:20 Reflect: I remember when I was a young lad being asked by my nan if I’m courting yet. I’d blush and tell her I’m far too busy for that. I mean at that age I really didn’t want that conversation with grown-ups. Of course, I did court—even though I didn’t use that term. I was interested and exploring dating, trying to find ‘the one’ that everyone else...

Romans Reflection (8th Sunday after Pentecost)

R

Read: Romans 8:26-39 Meditate: Romans 8:38-39 Reflect: I remember as a child—and probably into the early years of my Christian discipleship—treating prayer like a shopping list: God, I’d like this and that, with this on top, oh and while you’re at it, can we have peace on earth too? Then, there’d be times I’d pray for much more serious issues, like loved ones who were seriously ill. Recently, I...

Gospel Reflection (8th Sunday after Pentecost)

G

Read: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 Meditate: Matthew 13:31-32 Reflect: I’m into ideas, vision, dreaming big. I like to think about all the possible opportunities and analyse an idea from every angle. Then I like to plan every step, taking into account all the possibilities—continually adding to the plan, preparing for what might happen next or how we might build on it in different ways. That’s all...