One of the hardest things about life in 2020 is getting perspective. Everyone and everything seem to have been holding its breath as we’ve experienced and ongoing series of “unprecedented” events: bushfires, pandemics, global tension around racism and violence, and the underlying questions of the climate crisis. For each of us this has been exacerbated […]
Faith is always done together. As the saying goes, it may be personal but it is never private (Jim Wallis, Sojourners). Because faith is about how we love God and how we love one another, it is by necessity a shared conversation. How you speak about Jesus matters to me; and the language which we […]
Advent/ adv(e)nt/ noun The arrival of a notable person or thing. The first season in the Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays. Christian Theology: the coming or second coming of Christ Well Jesus. It is Advent, again. And here I am, desperately awaiting your arrival. Christmas is rapidly […]
We spend much of our time here at Hope, exploring and teasing and playing with the Gospel narratives of Jesus – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Like every church, indeed every Christian, we have our favourite sections of the Bible. The ones that we return to, the passages and images that most inform our faith; that […]
Sometimes Easter feels like standing in the surf at Maroubra, another series of waves comes crashing through and I have to judge whether to jump, swim, dive or float. Another season of Lent wends its way towards an upper room, some washed feet and a purple clothed cross. What sort of Easter is this one? […]
Often during Advent, churches will have a wreath with five candles in it. Each week they light one more of the candles until on Christmas Day the final candle is lit as the Christ Candle. It’s a pretty liturgical ritual – and one that assists in giving rhythm to Advent as we traverse through the […]
Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of South Africa and human rights activist, once said,” a person is a person through other persons”. Having a sense of belonging is crucial to our sense of self. Often we define ourselves through the quality of our relationships with others. At Christmas, that sense of belonging, connection with family […]
“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.” – John 20:11 It felt like an ending It seemed like failure Even her grief was being denied as the body was now gone. She stands as witness in her tears She stands faithful and willing to grieve even in this emptiness. And it is […]
Peter in the courtyard is perhaps the centre of the discipleship journey for me. Certainly, Jesus upon the cross remains the mystical heart of faith – central to the mystery and passion of divine reconciliation. But for my own journey in seeking to follow Jesus, there is a profound broken beauty in Peter’s courtyard moment. […]