Auld Lang Syne

Wishing all readers a might fine 2009!

New Years Eve in Bideford last year

May pop down in an hour or so for this year's do!

Predictions for 2009

My Manx friends, The Heretics have a tradition of everyone making 10 predictions for the coming year. So that I may be a competitor (I have never won) I offer 10 predictions on this site. They are to be read as predictions and not as hopes for the coming year.


1/. Gordon Brown calls a General Election. The Conservative Party emerge as the largest party.

2/. Hilary Clinton resigns as US Secretary of State.

3/. The BNP get their first Member of the European Parliament.

4/. Unemployment hits the three million mark in Britain.

5/. No meaningful breakthrough takes place between Israel and Palestinians.

6/. Before the General Election David Blunkett returns to the Cabinet.

7/. Manchester United retain the Champions League.

8/. Australia retain the ashes but only just.

9/. Robbie Williams rejoins Take That.

10. Irrefutable evidence comes to light that Osama Bin Laden has been dead for at least the past 2 years.


On that note, I wish readers a good 2009 although wealthy ...s and their supporters among the men in suits who run western countries, have left a difficult year in proppect.

Jewish Voices for Peace

An excellent statement by Jewish Voices for Peace on the current Gaza conflict.

Jewish Voice for Peace joins millions around the world, including the 1,000 Israelis who protested in the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, in condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. We call for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.

Israel's slow strangulation of Gaza through blockade has caused widespread suffering to the 1.5 million people of Gaza due to lack of food, electricity, water treatment supplies and medical equipment. It is a violation of humanitarian law and has been widely condemned around the world.

In resisting this strangulation, Hamas resumed launching rockets and mortars from Gaza into southern Israel, directly targeting civilians, which is also a war crime. Over the years, these poorly made rockets have been responsible for the deaths of 15 Israelis since 2004.

Every country, Israel included, has the right and obligation to protect its citizens. The recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza shows that diplomatic agreements are the best protection for civilian life.

Moreover, massive Israeli air strikes have proven an indiscriminate and brutal weapon. In just two days, the known death toll is close to 300, and the attacks are continuing. By targeting the infrastructure of a poor and densely populated area, Israel has ensured widespread civilian casualties among this already suffering and vulnerable population.

This massive destruction of Palestinian life will not protect the citizens of Israel. It is illegal and immoral and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. And it threatens to ignite the West Bank and add flames to the other fires burning in the Middle East and beyond for years to come.

The timing of this attack, during the waning days of a US administration that has undertaken a catastrophic policy toward the Middle East and during the run-up to an Israeli election, suggests an opportunistic agenda for short-term political gain at an immense cost in Palestinian lives. In the long run this policy will benefit no-one except those who always profit from war and exploitation. Only a just and lasting peace, achieved through a negotiated agreement, can provide both Palestinians and Israelis the security they want and deserve.

Chav tribute to Woolworths

And before anyone gets the hump, I have been a pretty regular shopper at Woolworths as long as I can remember.

A Communist Christmas

HAT TIP: Janine

Please sign up for ceasefire

Please go to this site to sign an international petition in support of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza crisis!

When will we hear from the Middle East Peace Envoy?

Just noticed that Tony Blair is silent on the current violence. What is the point in having him? Not that Bush or Brown are doing much to restrain the situation.

Boys, what part of "Thou shalt not kill" don't you understand?

Methodist Church calls for international pressure to end Gaza conflict

In light of the escalating conflict in Gaza over the last 24 hours, the Methodist Church is calling for international pressure on both Israel and Hamas to bring an end to the violence.

Steve Hucklesby, Public Issues Policy Advisor, said; 'The devastating death toll resulting from Israeli air strikes has shocked many. Rather than improving security, this action by Israel could compound conflict in the region. It is also likely to make it more difficult to bring regional powers together in a search for solutions. Both Hamas and Israel must respond to the UN Security Council call for an immediate end to all military operations.

'We call on the EU, United States and the UN to bring increased pressure on Israel and on Hamas to refrain from violence. At this time of year when the focus of Christians around the world is on the Holy Land we pray for courageous leadership in the cause of peace.

'Before the recent outbreaks of violence, Gaza was already suffering a dire humanitarian situation. This has not been helped by Israel’s blockade and restrictions on relief supplies. Now food, fuel and medical supplies are needed urgently.'

From Methodist Church News Service

A few brief thoughts on today's gospel reading - Luke 2: 22-40

No sermon posted today due to the fact that Christmas has left me much too tired for anthing of the sorts. Therefore I am today preaching without notes.

However, the lectionary gospel reading has a wealth of meaning within it. Here are just a few of the things that struck me.

1/. Jesus parents were good Jewish people. They observed the rites of their religion as did Jesus. This doesn't mean that we all have to become Jewish. It means that it happens that Jesus was Jewish as a matter of fact and that anti Judaism is a rejection of Jesus.

2/. His family were of modest means. The offer of two birds at the Temple was the Poor Person's offering as those who had means would have offered a lamb. Still one mustn't take this too far as Joseph being a carpenter would have been better of than many. But I think Jesus' natural place is with the humble rather than with those who have rached the top of the Greasy Ladder.

3/. The Temple was run by an elite. From the time of Herod's death to AD 70, the role of High Priest was kept within 4 families. Indeed the family of Annas had a monoploy of the meat trade. Too often institutionalised religion can be dominated by religious elites who are often linked to political elites. However, we see nothing of Jesus meeting these elites. Instead the story tells us of faithful people, Simeon and Anna. In people like these true faith is often fostered rather than in elites.

4/. Simeon and Anna were advanced in years. It is not just that I will be 50 at my next birthday but I think we sometimes take the glorification of youth much too far in our contemporary western society. Some cultures revere the learning and wisdom of age. Perhaps, Simeon and Anna can teach us something of that.

5/. I am not sure that Simeon or Anna knew that much about what the Messiah would bring. Their expectations would have been coloured by those that were common at that time. However, Simeon does point out that Jesus is not just for Israel but is a light for the gentiles. This is a sign that Jesus will be for all peoples' not just the community to which he belonged.

6/. Simeon also warns that Jesus will bring division and the falling and rising of many. There will be opposition and pain. I think we make Christmas and indeed Jesus much too safe. The kingdom of God which he brings is a challenge to the kingdoms of empire. Furthermore, it is a challenge to our visions of God, the world and life itself.

7/. The stories around the nativity are as much if not more about the evangelists' interpretations of the significance of Jesus as they are about concrete events. Matthew sees Jesus as very Jewish yet being for those outside Israel such as the wise men. Luke sees Jesus being particularly at work with the socially lowly such as shepherds. I think that it is by exploring both gospels that we gain a more holistic view of the Jesus mission.

8/. Christmas cannot be an end in itself. it draws us to want to know more. This year the lectionary is primarily based on Mark's gospel with its call to be disciples of Jesus. Ultimately we are all called to enter a journey of following Jesus from the cradle to the cross.

Slaughter in Gaza

An excellent Juan Cole article concerning the Israeli bombing in Gaza.

How this slaughter can be defended as proportionate is just beyond me. It was indiscriminate murder pure and simple and deserves to be condemned by all humanitarians.

This does not mean that Hamas is beyind criticism. Their rocket attacks on Israel are hardly discriminate. In a just world leaders of both Hamas and Israel would be facing judges at a War Crimes Court. Of course that won't happen. What is needed now is surely to get the poverty stricken Gaza open to humanitarian aid and the implementation of another ceasefire. Then the world needs to address the search for a fair peace (possibly based on the Arab League proposals of a couple of years ago) in which the needs of Palestinians and Israelis are addressed in an even handed manner.

Some Christians on the fringe seem to be obsessed with Biblical Israel (whatever that is)and opposing territorial compromise in hope of bringing on the 2nd coming. Such an approach is spiritual masterbation. Look at this video and see where Christian Zionism takes us! It takes us further into darkness which is to conflict with the Light that has entered the world in Jesus

Zimbabwe deportations threaten to make British government accessory to murder

This evening I will be encouraging my congregation at Alverdiscott to pray for a mother and her two daughters who face the propect of death courtesy of the Home Office. the story of Priviledge Thulambo and her daughters is reported in The Independent. I post the article in full;


A Zimbabwean mother who has been refused asylum by Britain despite being a victim of Robert Mugabe yesterday revealed her terror at being sent back to the country.


Writing from her cell in Yarl's Wood detention centre, Priviledge Thulambo said she could not believe the UK Government was handing a "death sentence" to her and her daughters, Valerie and Lorraine. The three women are booked on a flight from Heathrow to Malawi tomorrow, but their solicitors will lodge an application for judicial review hours earlier, giving them a crucial delay in the proceedings.

The Home Office has refused to grant the family asylum because they entered Britain on Malawian passports. However the papers were forged as a means of escape from Zimbabwe seven years ago, meaning it is almost certain they will end up being sent to their home country.

Mrs Thulambo, whose husband was killed for supporting the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has been tortured and raped by President Mugabe's men. She arrived in Britain in 2000, and Valerie, 20, and Lorraine, 18, came here in 2004.

The family spent Christmas at Yarl's Wood after being arrested on 12 December. In her note, handwritten on Christmas Eve, Mrs Thulambo, 39, said they would be sent to jail in Malawi for their fraudulent documentation, before being deported to Zimbabwe, where they face torture and death.

"We can't believe that the Government can't see how much this is torture we are already suffering while we are here. As soon as we get to Zimbabwe, no matter where we are going to be, our lives are in danger.

"I call this a death sentence. I know people might ask why am I so afraid, but I know what I have gone through. I have been trying to be strong for my two daughters and with the help from my friends in Sheffield, but now I can smell torture and death.

"All these years I have been here I had started to feel comfortable and have a sense of belonging... I had started to rebuild my girls' lives and mine, hoping to be given permission to stay. Everybody knows what is going to happen when we are to be returned to Malawi. It is facing death. Only God knows what I am going through."

The family's MP, Angela Smith, and their former MP, the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, have protested at the decision to turn down their asylum applications. The Home Office insists it has followed proper procedures.

Gordon Brown and the British Government have when convenient spoken about the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Foreign Office website is clear about the dangers in that land. Yet our Government has allowed fear to stalk this family for an disgraceful length of time. For that they deserve to be condemned. That alone shows that we are ruled by some of the sickest shitsknown to man.

BUT if this deportation is not stopped from happening tomorrow, the Home Office and indeed the entire British government will be an accessory to anything bad that befalls the Thulambo family. It must be made clear that they will be held to account for their machinations. Indeed to deport this family is tantamount to reintroducing capital punishment albeit contracted out to Mugabe's henchmen!

May God have mercy!


UPDATE: Deportation on hold pending judicial review. A relief but how did it get this far?

Merry Christmas

Just to wish those who visit this blog a wonderful Christmas - especially tonight's visitor from the Isle of Man.

I shall be leading a Christmas Day service at Bideford Methodist Church at home before spending the rest of the day with my family. We shall do the usual stuff like eating far too much and watching television. Doubtless we shall take the dog, Orla, out for a walk at either Westward Ho or Instow.

I will not be blogging unless something earth shattering happens. Will return to posting either Boxing Day or the day after

Joy to the world!

Christmas Day Sermon - Born! (based on Luke 2: 1-20)

And so the reason for all the fuss has arrived. A bouncing baby boy has been born. And what a commotion he makes, crying and screaming when his needs are not met. And what a lot of work he creates. Barely a moments rest for the doting parents for when his lungs are not being exercised, those cloths in which he is wrapped are being soiled and discoloured with interminable regularity. It's not that his parents are sorry to see him arrive but boy is he hard work!

And yet this baby boy so like millions of others that are born each year, has been causing quite a fuss ever since. Not that this was always so. There was certainly no reception party of the great and good for his arrival. The guest room, for it was that rather than an inn, was not even made available for his birth. Instead he was visited by well shall we say not quite the sort of people you might expect!

In the first case, it was shepherds, men with quite a reputation. And not a good one! Unclean in the eyes of the religious establishment, they couldn't be good religious men even if they wanted to be. And trust me, they probably had no desire to be such. Dishonesty was the quality that most people associated with them resulting in their testimony being no better than useless. Doubtless today, they would be well and truly loaded with letters after their names - only ASBOs rather than degrees. Quite possibly their reputations were unfair but prejudice has little in common with fairness. Have no doubts that the Palestinian Sun would be branding these men as scum and the reaction of most people to a visit by these people, would be to count the cuttlery on their departure.

Some time later, there would be other visitors. They would be of greater status than the shepherds. Only trouble was that these men were foreigners. Why had they come, people would wonder. Probably the Palestinian Daily Express would have suspected them of coming to take advantage of the Palestinian health service or at least of having a less than honourable intention. But come what may, these men were most probably of both a different ethnicity and religious background to the boy whom they visited.

It's not a promising start is it? And yet, that start tells us so much as to what this boy would be for the world. For from his very beginning, he is far from a greasy ladder. Much more at home is he with those who are the outsiders and never do wells!

And the stories of his infancy suggest that with this boy there will be no such things as No Go areas. Instead, his place is very much with those who local wisdom counts as but nought! Indeed the angels were on to something when they spoke of his coming as "good news" for this was a term used to relate the the doings of Caesar Augustus. Only Caesar Augustus' good news and his pax Romana were about the use of force to maintain an order that was unjust and rooted in the exploitation of the poor and needy. Compare that to the good news of Jesus and the peace that he brings which liberates those enslaved by empire and affirms the outsiders and the rejected.

And in these stories we see glimpses of what will follow. Soon a King will seek his death. Later that King's son would mockingly abuse him whilst a bloodstained Roman official would have him crucified to the great pleasure of the religious establishment. But in the meantime, the boy will have become a man and demonstrated a new way of living and being in which each person was valued. The boy become a man will have pointed to God's kingdom as infinitely superior to the empires that have dominated throughout history. The boy become a man will have challenged all that poisons the wells of life and offered a vision of what being truly human is about and invited all into an abundance of life. The boy become a man will have irrevocably changed the world in a way that has no parrallel.

But this boy is more than just another good man. They, after all, come ten a penny. Fully human he is, but he is also fully divine. In him we encounter the living God. In him we see what God is like for in the words of that pithy creed offered by Bishop David Jenkins;

"God is. He is as he is in Jesus. Therefore there is hope."

So today we celebrate God coming into our world. He comes with an invasion not of the shock and awe type but an invasion of love. For this boy is Immanuel - God with us! Far from being left alone or given remote instructions, we have the presence and the help of God given to us through the freely given Christmas gift.

And because he has come to be with unexpected people whose lives and religion are in a state of confusion, we see him being for all of us. We don't have to have neat lives before we receive him. Far from it! He comes for us at those very moments when our lives are in tatters and we are most battered. In love he lifts us up and helps us to discover what it is to live life to the max. He offers us new perspectives of what can be and of our place within his ocean of boundless possibilities.

But today we celebrate his birth. Today is a day to devour the turkey and pudding! Today is a day to enjoy the wine! Today is a day to pull the crackers!Today is a day to party with those whom we especially love!

But it doesn't end there. For this boy like dogs is for life and not just for Christmas. Follow, learn from and be transformed by his story. Listen to his teaching and be filled with wonder at his deeds. Follow him even to the time where he hangs naked and dying on a wooden cross and see that it is ultimately his love for all people that put him there. And then see the wonder of his resurrection and marvel that he who was executed as a common criminal is now glorified! That he is the ultimate authority whose kingdom will one day come in great power.

A baby boy helpless and limited like any other but a baby boy who even at his infancy points us to the news that he will bring quite some change to our lives and our world.

Song for Benedict - The gays are getting married

So not for the first time this year, Pope Benedict is on the march regarding gay marriages. Indeed homosexual orientation now seems to be a grounds for exclusion from the priesthood. I can't be bothered to take up the cudgels on Christmas Eve but here is a song for Benedict.

Good News - A Midnight Communion sermon based on Luke 2: 8-20

And so it is that night of nights once more. The clock is ticking down to Christmas Day and soon festivities will be enjoyed with great fervour.

But wait, it is still night. Outside this church the world is dark with only the street lights and the light of some of the properties opposite enabling us to experience light.

And is that not a powerful image for this Christmas Eve. This year we come together so very aware of the darker experiences of human life. Conflict is taking place in so many parts of the world with servicemen based but a few miles from here being caught up in the happenings of Iraq and Afghanistan. Cruelties abound within our own country, cruelties particularly symbolised in the past year by the wretched death of Baby P yet replicated all too often on those whose faces we have not seen. And has there been a time of greater financial security for millions of people than at present? Even a Cabinet minister behind cover of anonymity talking of "an unemployment bloodbath" - the feared outcome of a historically irresponsible bout of binge greed in financial circles.

Yes we know the dark side of life all too well. But in that we are hardly alone. For precious little in this world is new. And indeed Palestine of 2,000 years ago was hardly immune from the dark side of life. Not that the official propaganda would admit this. After all did not Palestine benefit from the Pax Romana?

Yet this was a distortion of peace. It was rooted in the force of an occupying army which enforced its so called peace through military violence. It was rooted in the enforcement of domination of one people over another, albeit with the oppressors being aided and abetted by collaborators. It was a system that ensured the prosperity of the rich with the poor eking out a subsistence lifestyle and being subjected to harsh penal treatment.

And amongst the poor were shepherds. Regarded as the scum of the earth, these were people kept well away from the sham that is polite society. No place for them within religious life, they felt the very sort of prejudices that gypsies and travellers today know all too well.

But tonight they are the recipients of good news. The angelic news of a birth in Bethlehem is given not to religious professionals or even to the King a few miles up the road. Instead it is given to this motely crowd of have nots. To men whose reputation for dishonesty caused their testimony to be considered invalid, came the message of good news not just for the elite but for even ragamuffins such as them. A saviour was born - not the sort of saviour such as Caesar Augustus with bloodstained hands but a saviour for vulnerable and broken people.

The story of Christmas Eve powerfully reminds us of the value of every human life for it demonstrates God's touching those considered as not really counting. And as we look ahead to 2009, we do well if we take that seriously. The prisoners, the asylum seekers, the poor, the homeless all have a place in the loving heart of God and so to whatever nonsense Pope Benedict spouts do gay people. For here is a calling to value and affirm all human life as intrinsically precious in the sight of God.

And in our coming year, this story needs to inform our priorities at a time of recession. For God's heart especially reaches out to those who have just lost their jobs at Woolworths, those whose journey to unemployment is around the corner, those who face losing their homes and those who due to years of criminal neglect by the powers that be, face little hope of decent social housing. And all of that is before we even contemplate the stark effects on many a producer in the so called Third World.

But the real hope of the story has to lie in the baby to whom those shepherds travelled. For here is the Saviour who comes in vulnerability rather than in domineering power. Here is one for whom the guest room is not made available rather than one whose every whim is met by grovelling attendants. For he comes as one who is for us rather than intent on ruling over us. Sharing in the harshest expression of human life, he is nothing less than Immanuel - God with us! And believe it, just like the puppies that are bought in such numbers at this time of year, he is not just for Christmas but for life!

So tonight when you leave this church, look up at the light that shines in the darkness. It does not deny the reality of darkness but breaks into it. So to, this night we celebrate that in Jesus, the light has entered into the darkness and can never be shut out. This night we rejoice that the oppressive reigns of darkness as in Caesar Augustus have their days numbered but the inclusive all embracing, loving reign of light embodied in Jesus is transforming both us and our world. So as we move from this place, may we be those who identify with the good news, embodying it in our words and deeds whilst always waiting for that time when the Kingdom for which Jesus came into the world might come in all its fullness as a blazing light that vanquishes the darkness that breaks so many lives.

May you have a joyful Christmas and may you be good news for the needy and hurting in 2009.

President of Methodist Conference's Christmas Message

Here is the Christmas message from the President of the Methodist Conference, Rev Stephen Poxon.


A night of hospitality

Christmas is the season of parties, family meals and special occasions with friends but it can be exhausting if you are the host all the time. As we listen to the Christmas story once again this year we hear that it was a night of hospitality – but who is the host?

The supernumeraries and their spouses and widows of the North Lancashire District are invited for a Christmas lunch each year. They are so grateful and often say things like ' it’s so good of you to host us' but in honesty all we do is provide the space, the food and drink and then it just happens! That may be how the innkeeper rationalised offering the stable area with a manger to the holy family. As the host we’ll never know if it was out of warm generosity or just a business transaction that resulted in them being pushed out of the way.

In Britain 100,000’s of people come among us year by year from around the world. Many are migrant workers from eastern Europe, bringing their culture, faith and skills whilst others are people fleeing from persecution, war, seeking a better life for their children as asylum seekers and refugees. Time and again we hear that people want to come among us because of our hospitality; of our tolerance; our openness. How welcome do we make others feel?

Many churches are doing remarkable work among asylum seekers and refugees, with the homeless and others who feel on the edge of society. Yet there can often be a fear within us about those who are different and perhaps we might be tempted to want to push them out of the way, into the stable. As we see the landscape of our communities changing with the rich variety of people from across the world we must continue to discover ways to embrace and make everyone welcome, for each is a child of God, created in his own image. For when we meet any one we are meeting the Christ.

There was another hospitality that holy night. In a young frightened girl there is the hospitality of Mary whose willingness to receive the gift of God brings to birth the salvation of the world. We cannot begin to understand the fear, the shame, the bewilderment tinged with anticipation and even hope. Yet out of her ‘yes’ God became human and lived among us in Jesus…….and since then there have been countless people who have said ‘yes’ to God…to welcome Christ into their lives…so he may find a resting place, a birthing place to continue God’s living presence within the world.

This must be at the heart of who we are as church communities. We must become people who continually offer that hospitable space, within ourselves as well as our buildings, for God’s love and grace that others may come among us and encounter Immanuel. We need to welcome all but especially discover ways to welcome the young, many who like Mary are frightened and trying to make sense out of what is happening to them and the world they inhabit.

Yet there is a further host on that holy night. Here is God hosting his own party, the birth of His son, His own coming among us. God, Immanuel, becoming human and living among us in Jesus.

In some of the carol services this year we will find everyone singing the soprano line with no descant and little harmony. We live in a world where there is little harmony with people at war, where people in Britain struggle with the beginnings of recession, where in the wider world there is an increasing poverty gap, people suffering from cholera, AIDS, hunger and countless injustices. As we hear again the song of the angels we catch a glimpse of creation in harmony with the creator…as a child is born….God come among us.

God the eternal host is giving us a glimpse of eternity, of His Kingdom, where all are one and at peace and in harmony seen in the poverty of shepherds and the riches of magi; in the powerlessness of the secular authority of Herod and in the glory of the vulnerability of the weak and frightened. And in this moment, this holy, eternal moment we hear the eternal host welcome us….

'To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.'

Reimagining the world - A sermon for a Carol Service

And so this evening we have heard those familiar readings that are being heard in many a church this day not just in Devon or even Britain but across the continents of this globe.

And yet if we sink into nostalgia we do the story a disservice. for at every turn the story has challenged our all too comfortable views of ourselves and our world.

What do I mean by this? I think what strikes me about the story is that this world changing event, this Divine invasion of love, takes place away from the places of political, economic and religious power.

Indeed its beginnings are with the shame of a young teenage girl for whom even life itself is on the line. And with her is a man, a tradesman, whose self respect has surely been hit by the circumstances of the girl's pregnancy. They are just ordinary people who are bearing an extraordinary load.

And now from remote Nazareth, they have journeyed to the man's ancestral home down south in Bethlehem. And it is there possibly in a peasant family home - for the word kataluma often translated as inn, is elsewhere used by Luke to speak of a guest room - that Jesus is born.

Now I believe that he is born with love all around him in good Palestinian tradition. But what of the visitors to whom we have been introduced by our scripture readings? Shepherds may in our eyes be honourable men. But this was in a culture in which they were the sort of people you kept your distance from. Every prejudice uttered today against travellers could have been utilised in those days against shepherds.

But should we be surprised? After all in her song, Mary had foretold a role reversal with the powerful being brought down and the powerless being lifted up, with the poor being fed and the rich sent empty away. A new order surely with this child welcomed by those often regarded as scum whilst the elite are conspicuous by their absence.

And then there's men from the east. Men of different ethnicity and different faith traditions, come to the Christ child whilst the Temple and Israel's King are conspicuous by their absence at least until the King feels threatened and responds with violence. See here there are no "No Go" areas. Christ has come for all peoples. He is the rebuke for those who would treat those who are other as lesser. He is to be revealed as Lord of all peoples rather than a tribal or national leader.

And then how does it leave us? The fourteenth century mystic Meister Eckhart wrote;

"We are all meant to be mothers of God for God is always needing to be born."

In other words, this story does not belong solely to the past but is also for us today. God made flesh in Bethlehem needs to be born in us so that we can see the world with new eyes, so that we can be enabled to reimagine both God's world and our place within it. For this story which refused to be conformed to the norms of Palestine two thousand years ago, is a living story which dares to call us to move from seeing that which we are and that which the world around us is, as the only way things can be. Instead we are called to imagine new ways of being and living.

And the power for that comes from the reality of God made flesh. Some years ago, Desmond Tutu said these words;

'Of course, there are times when you say, Oh God, we know you are in charge, why don't you make it slightly more obvious? But there was no question for us that the God we worshipped was a God who didn't give you good advice from a safe distance. When you went in a fiery furnace, God didn't just say it would be a good thing if you put on asbestos, protective clothing. Our God was Immanuel, coming into the fiery furnace. There is a wonderful story of the Jew who was taunted by the Nazi guards and made to clean out the toilets and stand in the filth while they said - where is your God now? And he says, "He is in the muck with me."

Now without doing that Jew the disservice of Christianising him, he was onto something very powerful, God with us. For as Christians we see that revealed in Jesus. So believing him to be present with us, we are called to let him be born in us today. And then with his help we can respond to the wonder of his coming by embarking on the journey of reimagining the world and our place within it.

Bush and flying shoes

I would never advise anyone as to whether or not they should throw their shoes at George W Bush. That said if you are going to do it, you might as well hit the target!



Afterwards Bush did not realise that extreme insult that is involved in man's actions. Come to think of it "did not realise" just about sums up his Presidency!

Hallelujah!

Please don't get me wrong! I think X Factor winner Alexandra Burke has a superb voice and a great future. However, I think that the best version of "Hallelujah" is that by the late Jeff Buckley. Have a listen!

Magnificat - A sermon for Advent 3 based on Luke 1: 46-55

I think it is time to bolt the doors and to speak in hushed voices. For what we are considering this evening is the very essence of subversion. Sure many would like to spiritualise away Mary's Magnificat. And as we shall see there is great spiritual wealth within it but I warn you that within it there are also the seeds of revolt and rebellion against the injustices of this world. After all the Guatemalan military were right to recognise this when they prohibited its public reading back in the 1980s. My only difference with them is that I would love to see Magnificat proclaimed week by week by faith communities in both words and deeds.

Now I do not know to what extent these are the words of Mary and to what extent they are put in her mouth by Luke. You see, Magnificat fits the message of Luke's gospel regarding the according of value to those who are at the bottom of the pile often at the expense of the mighty. Even Christ's ministry in Luke's gospel will begin at the synagogue in Nazareth proclaiming Isaiah's message of good news for the poor.

But on the other hand, Mary seems to have been devout in her faith and I am sure that she would have been well acquainted with Hannah's song which much of Magnificat is taken from, a song born out of a great desire to be freed of the stigma of childlessness. Mary, facing parenthood all too early, may have sensed a connection with the rather more advanced in years Hannah.

We cannot know although Mary would seem to have been a strong minded woman from the little we know of her - certainly she would have needed to be at the time of her pregnancy. A real case of when the going gets tough, the tough get going! And certainly Magnificat cannot be treated as simply a nice song. For it is so much more. Within it is the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now firstly, we need to treat seriously the devotion to God that is found within Magnificat. Mary may speak the language of rebellion but this is not the rebellion of the dysfunctional or the untransformed. At the heart of Magnificat is a deep devotion to God. Not long ago she has heard the news of her pregnancy , news that might have led to her death were it not for the "justice" of occupying forces. But surely for a girl probably in her early teens, shame is more than enough to bear. Yet Mary in the company of her relative, Elizabeth far from complaining, actually glorifies God. For this young woman has a deep trust in God that is rooted in the deeds done by God for her people. And to her God is not just power but goodness itself. To be caught up in doings of God is to be blessed in Mary's eyes no matter what the cost to her. Sure, many will scorn her but for her what matters is that she is on God's side no matter what.

In this Mary is a wonderful example to those of us who struggle to see what God is doing, those of us who are naturally tempted to take the safe option of the easy way out. In this alone we have much to learn from this teenage girl.

But still she leads us on the road of offence. She does not see God working to shore up the status quo with all its unfairnesses. For she knows something of the real world. Herod is on the throne, a man of great achievements in terms of buildings and keeping the Romans from defliling the Jewish nation as much as could have been the case and would be the case after rebellion seventy years later. But his court is opulent when many live a subsistence lifestyle. He is violent when he feels threatened even at the expense of his own family. All around the rich are getting richer whilst life is brutish for the poor. And this along with a shaming of those at the bottom is made possible in large part by the collaboration of the religious establishment.

Against all of this, Mary cries time! That God is intervening in the world through the baby that she bears, means that the world can never be the same again. This baby is not simply about tickets for heaven. To suggest that such is the sole purpose of Incarnation, is demeaning. He comes to bring change to both society and to our hearts. For he will come bringing the Kingdom of God which can not but confront the exploitative kingdoms of this world.

And yet, nowadays we often make Christmas the most predictable of times. Ghastly newspapers like the Daily Mail ( which is good only as a fish and chip holder) will remind us of traditions under threat from political correctness - not that they understand that term. And surely we need to respond not by thanking them for their concern but rather by utilising the catchphrase of Catherine Tate's Lauren;

"Am I bovvered?"

And frankly the answer should be NO! Because much of the traditions of the season owe an awful lot more to Victoriana sentimentality and in the case of Santa Claus to the ethically challenged company Coco Cola than to the underlying message of the Christmas story. What really matters surely is God's purposes which is where Magnificat comes in.

And wow does it come in like a tornado. For the message proclaimed is that the existing social order is under judgement. Listen once more to those words;

"He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich empty away."

No beating about the bush there! It is not about which group of people with which rosette or which unifrom are going to dominate you. It is more than that. It is about a totally different way of being and living. No shifting the deckchairs on the Titanic which is the weakness of Marxism as practiced in East Europe where one lot of dictators replaced another lot of dictators. Far from that this is about the vision of Kingdom values where peace, justice and mercy met, where all are valued as children of God - a new way of life to which we look for signs of the kingdom whilst awaiting the climax of history when God's Kingdom will come in power.

Of course the people of God can face resistance when they take this vision seriously. Yet there are examples. Let me share two example from early Christianity. One is when in the fourth century, the Roman Emperor Theodosius slaughtered 7,000 people in a massacre at Thessolonika. The Bishop of Milan, a man named Ambrose, publicly refused to allow the Emperor to receive the sacraments. Only when he had done 30 days penance did the situation change.

The second example concerns Basil the fourth century Bishop of Caeserea who fiercely opposed extreme disparities in wealth and exploitation be it by pimps or through usury or unjust taxation - even at the threat of torture. Both men who took Magnificat seriously!

And what of today. We live in a world facing many challenges. The global economy is close to collapse. Environmental crisis means that our living as we do may be painfully paid for by future generations. And around us we see conflicts and wars between nations and within nations. More than that we begin to see that tendency when things are tough to scapegoat people merely for being different.

Tonight I offer no easy answers but I encourage you to take Magnificat seriously with its challenge to the accumulation of power and extreme differences in wealth and opportunity between the well off and the poor. I encourage you to take seriously Magnificat with its belief that God is concerned passionately for the needs of those counted as least rather than for the greeds of those counted as the greatest.

No easy answers but forget not for a moment that the corrupted kingdoms of the world stand under the judgement of God's Kingdom, So I urge you to identify with every sign that you can see of God's Kingdom and to foster all such signs. And if that gets you tarred as a rebel, well rejoice. No more than that as we prepare to sing that hymn "Sing we a song of high revolt," I suggest that it is a part of our Christian calling to be revolting - after all some of us have been accused of so being albeit with a very different meaning!

Moved to tears - O holy night!

This is the most beautiful version of one of the greatest songs of Christmas. Please listen and feel your very bowels be moved.




This will be a highlight of my Christmas Eve Communion.

HAT TIP The disturbing/disturbed Gareth Leaney

Univeral Declaration of Human Rights 60 years on

Still so much to do but YOU are powerful!

Self praise is no recommendation

At least that is what my mother used to say. I think Gordon would do well to take her advice.

Lie detector tests - if they're good enough for claimants, they're good enough for Cabinet ministers!

So benefit claimant are to face lie detector tests. Apart from the sheer obnoxiousness and bullying of such a proposal, I can but wonder why stop there.

Perhaps every year we could have Cabinet ministers and senior advisors submit to extensive lie detector tests. We could make them retrospective ragarding the Iraq War followed by trials of those who misled the nation.

Oh sorry I forgot, it's only the little people who should face such indignities! Pass the sick bowl!

World Aids Day

Last year, AIDS killed two million people. For more dreadful statistics look here. The rest of the site is worth exploring too. The battle to defeat this terrible disease and the prejudices that surround it must go on.