Mullavilly Diary

ADVENT THOUGHTS

2011-11-26T17:34:00.001Z

Cast away the works ofdarkness and put on the armour of light.

there are times whendecisions have to be made. Perhaps its the pressing of the finalbutton on your computer when making a purchase or booking a holiday.The finger hovers and you think, maybe there's still a better deal,have I accidentally bought 10 of these, is it the right date?

Or which way will Idrive into town today – Mahon Road or Tandragee Road – and youneed to decide before you get to the junction.

Life needs decisionsand commitments. We can't always get through by hedging our bets,maybe, what if, lets wait and see, it can wait. We must have thecourage to push the button.

Today's collect – asummary or collecting up of our prayers – for Advent is a prayer ofdecision on our part. It is a prayer asking for change but that, ofcourse, implies a willingness, a desire to change:

AlmightyGod, Giveus grace to cast away the works of darkness andto put on the armour of light nowin the time of this mortal life inwhich your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; thaton the last day whenhe shall come again in his glorious majesty tojudge the living and the dead, wemay rise to the life immortal; throughhim who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, oneGod, now and for ever.

Thisis a prayer for the present – the clue lies in one little word –NOW!

Thisis a prayer about what has already happened. Note the Old Testamentreading – “O that you would rend the heavens and come down!”Sadly,I think many people are still praying that prayer – not justthe Jewish people who have decided theologically that the Messiah hasnot yet arrived, but Christian people and agnostics who behave andpray as if the Messiah had never arrived.

Wehear the pleas – if only God would intervene, if only God would dosomething, if only God would show himself, if only God were one ofus, he might understand better. Of course, you've guessed what I'mabout to say! He has done all these things – your Son Jesus Christcame to us in great humility.

Thismeans we are no longer waiting for this to happen, no longer waitingto hear the starting pistol. We are not sitting in the darknesswaiting for the light to come – the light has come into the worldand we must put on the armour of light and cast away the darkness.Its a powerful picture and a life-changing decisive prayer! The worksof darkness are all those things you might associate with godlessness– too numerous to mention but the obvious ones are hatred, malice,pride, deceit, envy, selfishness, unholiness, all of which work outtheir own symptoms in each of us personally. The armour of light, onthe other hand, shines brightly. We choose to become knights inshining armour! It is holiness and love; it is faith and commitment.Its not a weak crutch – it denotes strength and courage. And itsNOW. It has an impact NOW in this life.

Itsa decision to be taken NOW so that we are not taken unawares later.This is the teaching in Mark, that we be always alert and awake towelcome the King in his glorious majesty and rise with him in glory.This future event impacts on our lives now. We are not a product ofour past – that is fatalistic negative psychology. We are theproduct of what we shall become. That realisation is perhaps part ofthe grace given to us – it the hope, the purpose – which enablesus to cast away the works of darkness NOW in the time of this mortallife.

2011-05-01T13:59:00.000+01:00

It would seem that the rain is determined to follow us around. Although warm and dry yesterday, it is once again wet. We are now in Bloomington Indiana at the home of the Thomas family. We drove down yesterday from Chicago and the trip was really the dawning of Spring in a day. Chicago is still in winter mode but as we left the city, we began to see some green on the trees, then a little blossom on the black cherries. As we travelled, the green became greener and the trees burst into life. We stopped twice on the journey - once for a quick lunch at Wendy's which was uneventful, but prior to that we stopped at a rest area. The story of the rest area cannot be told within the confines of a blog but it involves President Obama, lots of African-American laughter, and the greatest paper chase of all time!

Tiffany ceiling in Macy's

Thursday and Friday in Chicago were good days. On Thursday, the temperature plummetted so we wrapped up and took an open-top bus tour with our guide, Claudette. By lunchtime we were frozen solid and deboarded at Navy Pier. Most of this was indoors so we had the chance to thaw out and walk to the end of the pier where there were some beautiful views of the city.Neither Heather nor I had any interest in lunch as the deep crust pizza from the night before was stilll clinging gelatinously to the walls of the stomach. We returned by the Tour Bus (staying inside) to State Street and explored a few of the shops. The most impressive was Marchall and Field (now Macy's) The architecture and design of this store was a amazing. At least 13 stories high with a variety of spaces open from roof to floor, including a walnut restaurant and glass-tiled Tiffany ceiling. Thursday evenings are free at the Art Institute so we called in there for some wonderful culture. By 7:30pm , we were finally ready to eat and enjoyed the faithful reliability of the largest McDonalds restaurant in the world.

a geocahe hiding in a tree in Lincoln Park

Friday was a beautiful sunny day. We spent most of the day in Lincoln Park, walking, geocaching and visiting the zoo (admission free). Here, we saw the usual famliar exhibits but a few that were totally new, including the beautiful sand cat, the strange Sichuan Takin (giant goat) and the white-lipped dear. The beaver were active and it was fascinating to watch them swimming.

the Sichuan Takin (google it)

We finished the day with another visit to Millenium Park (in the sun this time) and then returned to our hotel, enjoying a beautiful meal in a Turkish restaurant.

So now we're on the road. Our car was so easy to collect and, with automatic gears and cruise control, a very comfortable vehicle. This morning, we're off to church and then doing a geocaching tour of Bloomington. Tomorrow we head for the horse country of Lexington.

2011-04-28T14:59:00.000+01:00

I'm afraid our weather experience in Chicago pales into insignificance with the tornadoes that have ripped across the South-East - almost 200 killed. The pictures on television are horrendous.

The flight from Dublin to Philadelphia was long and uneventful with rubbish movies. However, Philly airport was a beautiful building, which was just as well, as we had a bit of a delay in clearance due to thunder storms and wind in Chicago. The 2-hour flight certainly had its moments. There was constant light turbulence and an event I had never seen before when the stewardess shouted out "Is there a doctor on-board?" a young girl a few rows in front of us had a seizure. thankfully, there were about 5 doctors and a plethora of nurses willing to help. The descent was very turbulent but the highlight was when the stewardess screamed from the back of the plane and began a sprint to the front. a little old lady had decided to leave her seat in an emergency totter to the loo. The crew managed to rugby tackle her, get her sandwiched securely between themselves and shoved her into the bathroom. A few minutes later, they used the same procedure to get her back into her seat before hastily strapping themselves into their seats on the point of landing.

We exited Chicago airport in about 5 minutes and into a taxi. The driver was one of the most honest, pleasant and helpful taxi drivers I have ever encountered. Our hotel is beautiful - great breakfast and cookies in the afternoon. Our room was "upgraded" to one with a computer/TV which isn't a lot of use as I've got my lap top with me!

a wet Wrigley Field

Yesterday morning, in the rain, we took our travel passes and headed to Water Tower mall - a 7 storey upmarket mall downtown. The "El" is a very efficient transport system and its great to see the amazing buildings. Chicago has an architecture all of its own. We then wandered round Millennium Park for an hour before heading to Wrigley Field. The El was solidly packed with Cubs fans who were in for a disappointment. after an hour and a hot-dog later, it was announced that the game was posptoned until June 27th. :( Much as everyone was disappointed, their was still a good atmosphere as people gathered up their coats and went home.

As for us, we went back downtown and shopped - Filene's Basement, American Eagle, Aeropostal. It was late when we went to find something to eat and we finished up in Chicago's top Pizza restaurant - giordianas. As expected, the standard of the service was outstanding and us Brits could learn a lot. However, the food didn't really match up. the starer was delicious - mushrooms, zucchini and mozarella - all deep-fried in breadcrumbs. It was tasty but why deep fry good food? The pizza was a traditional Chicago stuffed. We ordered one small between the two of us and only ate half" basically, it was a loaf of bread (not cooked through) with bacon on the base, a large slab of tasteless cheese, a slither of tomato sauce and herbs scattered with tinned pineapple chunks. One slice would have been tasty but two was a killer. Most customers left with a doggie bag, as did we - leaving it where we hoped someone homeless might find it!

deep stuffed pizza - small portion

deep-fried everything

Today, the temperature will not rise above 50F but it should be quite dry. the plan is to head into town and take a trolley-bus tour, hopping on and off as the day proceeds.

Brian and Heather's Big Adventure

2011-04-24T15:41:00.000+01:00

The proposed route from Chicago through Kentucky and St Louis

There are now only two sleeps left until Heather and myself head to USA to explore Chicago, Indiana, Kentucky and a bit of Missourri. We might even be able to add Tennessee to the list. The plan is to stay 4 days in Chicago, taking in a baseball game at Wrigley Field. We will then hire a car and drive to Bloomington, Indiana where we will meet our friends James and Amy (we have actually never met them before!). After that, its a free-running, unplanned road trip which might include Kentucky Horse Park, the homestead of Daniel Boone, the KFC museum (finger lickin good), a quaker village, and most likely a shopping outlet. This trip will finish in St Louis and from there we will drive Route 66 back to Chicago. The bags are in the process of being packed, the satnav has been uploaded, and there are just a few parish duties left to complete. Do check in here to see how much, or how little, we actually achieve.

From Earth to Heaven 3rd Sunday before Advent. Luke 20:27-39

2010-11-05T12:53:00.001Z

People can be very limited in their understanding! Its nothing to do with intelligence but rather in what information we have been given, or (more sinister) in what we want others to believe. We see it in politics when prejudices and myths are promulgated to ridicule te opposition or promote an attitude. For example - most benefit claims are fraudulent or the French are unreliable.

It was ever thus and therefore there's a social and historic background to this morning's gospel reading. The history of the Sadducees is a bit vague and may itself be coloured by the prejudices of those who passed on the information but it seems that they were a small group of Jews who focussed on a literal and basic interpretation of Scripture without any allowances. Also, for our purposes, they did not believe in immortality or resurrection. These two attitudes explain why they challenged Jesus in the way they did. It might have been a deliberate attempt to provoke ridicule or it might have been a genuine concern, rooted in their very literal approach to the teaching of the past. They simply couldn't handle anything that was new.

As they saw it, heaven, if it existed at all, was simply a continuation of this life and that the rules of this life would continue to apply.

The Sadducees may be gone, but the attitude still remains among us! Not in any malicious sense, but simply because we, as humans, have such great difficulty trying to understand what heaven will be like. Even the descriptions in Revelation are limited to things which we can understand – a city of gold, a river, a tree, a throne room, a large gathering. You might have in your mind heaven as a place in the country, or a cloud, or a place where you will have a mansion in which will live all your past generations – the great reunion. People get anxious about who or what will be there – the dog or cat? What about Roman Catholics, what about criminals, what about Sadducees. And it gets so confusing.

And it will continue thus for our little minds cannot, in this life, comprehend heaven.

At its very simplest and broadest, the words of a chorus come to mind:

Heaven is a wonderful place

Filled with glory and grace

I’m gonna see my Saviour's face

For heaven is a wonderful place

I wanna go there.

To the Sadducees, Jesus makes two points.

First, he says, remove your limitations. Set aside the regulation on marriage because it is a gift for this age – there is something greater. This doesn't do away with the hope of reunion but rather tells us that there is something even greater. My soul will meet with the souls of grandparents and more but the relationship will be even better, even deeper because we are children of the resurrection, God's children.

Second, Jesus tells the Sadducees, this is not actually a new teaching, the great fathers of our faith, Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still alive under God. He is the god of the living, for to him all are alive.

This is a big encouragement to us this morning. And a big challenge. We are encouraged by the hope of resurrection but also challenged in our understanding of heaven. We don't always want to deal with such issues and this is something so great that writers, artists theologians cannot help us but maybe only increase our limitations of thought.

We can only catch a glimpse, through Scripture, through worship, through seeking the presence of God here with us now – a little bit of heaven breaking into earth. Setting aside our prejudices and misunderstandings and allowing the Holy Spirit to show us enough of what we need to know so that, despite the rubbish that we hear around us,we can truly rejoice and find comfort today in what is yet to come.

Liverpool Cathedral at Halloween

2010-11-02T21:47:00.000Z

Every so often, the opportunity comes along to try out something new. The tag line for the Halloween event in Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral was "Night of the Living Dead". The comments on the Facebook event suggested that it wasn't suitable for children and that we would be asked to stare face in the face in this Gothic space.

The event had already attracted some local radio publicity and the evangelical wing were already very suspicious that the cathedral was engaging in something pagan and nasty.

we arrived a half hour early and were quickly ushered to our seats. The cathedral interior was lit with green lasers, strange white lights, candles and lots of white ice. The sounds were suitably atmospheric. to my amusement, the cathedral staff, in their capes and gowns, looked as if there were part of the set!

The service started with the funeral march and a coffin was carried up the aisle and set in front of the communion table. Actors screamed out words of fear and terror. then Richard, the (genuine) priest, dressed in bright white alb, stepped out of the coffin. he introduced us to what was about to happen - a celebration of Holy Communion with the theme of overcoming our fears. There was a powerful and moving dramatic presentation of Peter stepping out of the boat towards Jesus - "walking over the waves, walking over his fears" , and then being distracted by those fears and sinking, with only Jesus able to save.

Richard then elaborated with a sermon appealing for people to abandon their zombie half-life for fullness of life in Jesus. this was succinct and well-delivered to a congregation sitting in silence as we thought about fear and weakness and the new life that Christ could offer.

The communion part of the worship was simple and straightforward. A beautiful highlight was the way a spotlight was used on some of the stone carvings of the last supper and crucifixion. We were invited to respond in any of three ways. we could take communion, we could initial the coffin as a symbol of putting to death our old self and we could sit for awhile in an area occupied by a large cross. This was one of those special moments as the congregation wandered from one area of the large cathedral to another, spending time in their response.

The whole was brought to a close by a powerful live solo rendition of Matt Redman's "You never let go"

This wasn't the usual celebration of light that Christians usually opt for at Halloween but it embraced the darkness and the fear and leads us through the valley of the shadow to the cross and to peace. it was a superb use of the space of the cathedral, of contemporary technology, of drama, of Scripture. it was a simple point well-made and it allowed all those present to to walk on their fears and reach out to Jesus. It was a privilege and a blessing to be there.

Sermon notes on Transfiguration Sunday (Feb 14th) 2010

2010-02-13T23:28:00.000Z

I’m not sure whether to tell you the good news or the bad news first this morning. Actually, it’s the same piece of news; it just depends where you’re at.

Although the later congregation at the Family Service will be thinking about St Valentine’s Day, our allotted task in this act of worship is to focus on the Transfiguration – that event on the mountain top when Jesus visibly changed from being “just” Jesus to someone, we assume, more obviously divine and glorious.

The good news (small initials intentional) is that Jesus is glorious. In the midst of our mundane ordinariness, we have the most glorious saviour. In the midst of tragedy and suffering and sorrow and humanity, our God is still awesome. In the midst of anxiety and worry born out of human concern, our Lord is the bringer of peace and comfort. Many regular worshippers tell me than their presence here on Sunday is what gives them the strength for week ahead. This is the mountaintop (or maybe a little hill) which is precious to them. Others have a more frequent reminder in daily meditation and prayer and some less frequent.

This reflects the importance of regular and disciplined worship. You do not know when you will see something different. It could be when you least expect it, when you are feeling at your most human, your most cynical, your least believing. Peter and James were wrecked after climbing this mountain. They were possibly wondering why they had followed Jesus all the way there when they could have prayed just as effectively from the comfort of their beds. Yet it was on that mountain that they witnessed an event that would stay with them and be a pillar of their faith forever. In whatever situation they may find themselves, Jesus has the power to transform, to be the presence of the glory of God.

The bad news stems from the same event, the same realisation. Jesus is the Son of God, therefore the Son of God is Jesus! God became human and lived among us. He did not keep his distance from this awful world, he did not draw his followers out of this world, but he came to be with us in this world. We cannot hide away behind our worship in this place. We cannot separate ourselves from a suffering world. We are in it – in work, in family, in community – we live in a fallen world and God challenges us to be there, just as Jesus is there. Peter and James caught a glimpse, but they were not allowed to stay there. Jesus brought them down from the mountain, they faced the suffering that existed then, as now, and Jesus touched those broken lives.

I said this was bad news, it’s not really – it’s challenging news. It is bad news only to those who seek to use their faith as an excuse to hide away from the world.

We see in Jesus a glimpse of the Glory of God, we know that He is the Messiah, our Saviour, Emmanuel, God with us. This gives us hope in the midst of sorrow. It also turns us around to look at the world, to look at the suffering, the sin, the hopelessness. Indeed, not only to look, but to go back there and to carry with us the knowledge of the glory of God.

Sermon for St Stephen's, Gateacre: extreme giving!

2010-01-30T11:05:00.000Z

1 PETER 4:7-11

⁷The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. ⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

I’m going to go way out on a limb today and talk about something extreme. We have extreme sports, extreme fishing with Robson Green. Dangerous, exciting, total. Its the Bunjee Jump, the barefoot water ski, the sitting in a wheelie bin tied to the back of a mini on the M6.

So what is extreme in Christian living? £10 a week? Church once a month. Wearing a little badge? Or maybe extreme is being a big stadium evangelist – don’t believe it!

Extreme is making a life investment! Its a term a heard this week from one of our civil servants – head of synod services- as she was debating the stringent budget cuts needed. She was referring to those who had made an investment, not of their savings, but of their life, the standard parish clergy.

And it can be widened but not too much. You can invest your spare time, your talents, a good whack of your income. That might be where God is calling you – you work, so we don’t have to! Or perhaps its just a safe investment that you’re making? So far, but no farther. Let the clergy do it – so you don’t have to.

This happens so much. New person in church – tell the clergy. Someone ill – tell the clergy. No youth work – clergy fault, tower falling down – clergy fault. But I rant. I want to encourage. I want you to think about your investment in the kingdom of God. Wht will you put in. Look at the start of the passage – the end is near. The day of reckoning. Its time to get on board. (eg Ryanair).

There are so many people who miss their calling. Other things get in the way – reasons or excuses – some don’t know what they’re hearing (eg Samuel).

For me, it was through rejection in my first job application!

For others its a parishioner saying “You could do that”.

A friend was once asked “Did you really hear a voice calling you?” He answered "No – it was much louder than that!"

I want to tell you that everything you do is a vocation. But I want to be cautious, because that is often used as an excuse.

“I’m a very wealthy banker helping to make the world go round and that is my vocation.”

Certainly, if you are absolutely certain that what you are doing now or planning now is where God wants you to be, and wants you to be serving, then cherish that. It may be your life investment and the income from that may need to viewed as the gift that you must use in service. That might be very challenging for you.

When you give, you don’t know where your life will go. I’m here! 30 years ago I had no idea that having Sunday lunch with Jane would have this consequence! Or that my daughter would be in the same place and a son in South Africa . That I would be sitting a rural parish in Ireland. That I would be drawing very close to the hearts and souls of people and seeing Christ touch their hearts.

Whatever you have been given in grace (a gift undeserved) invest it wholly and totally in service to Christ so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. AMEN

If any of us ran our churches/charities/schools with such poor governance, we would be dismissed

2010-01-27T22:38:00.000Z

As mentioned before, Ruby the Dachshund continues in poorliness. The vet suggested this morning that she may have a spinal lesion which is causing the paralysis. Sadly, there is eventually only one outcome. This is even more tragic because, even if the back half has failed, the front half continues to be as bright and alert as ever.

Abraham Lincoln who said, "I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." Someone else that I heard preaching said that if the farmer were Christian, every beast in his field should know it (I suspect he was plagiarising Mr Lincoln).

By the same argument, shouldn't we, the inhabitants of Northern Ireland, be benefitting from the goodwill and generosity of spirit which stems from the religious convictions of our politicians? Not a hope! It strikes me that they are the most self-centred, petty and lazy bunch of time wasters! This issue of "Policing and Justice" has been up for discussion for a very long time - why wasn't it sorted earlier? If any of us ran our churches/charities/schools with such poor governance, we would be dismissed. Can you imagine having a school governors' meeting to discuss the new principal's appointment the day before the post was to be filled? And what precisely does the role of the Irish language and a "marching" issue that should have been resolved a decade ago have to do with the majority of items on the police agenda? Have they discussed how to deal with road safety, with the security of pensioners, with the protection of children and support of young people drawn into alcohol and drug abuse? Unlikely. But Irish language and Parades are more likely to encourage the electorate to vote - so it is actually my fault at the end of the day!

2010-01-26T17:07:00.000Z

I'm afraid we are moving into that very difficult area of deciding a suitable "care plan" for poor wee Ruby. (miniature wire dachshund, 10yr 4 mth) She has been troubled with ill health for a few months but this week her back legs have collapsed and she can't get out of bed. However, her front end is as bright as ever! She's the sort of dog that you could attach a roller skate to, but that won't help the bladder and bowel. The tests and x-ray have revealed nothing apart from a hole in the bank balance.
On a brighter note, Elizabeth has arrived home for a few days to celebrate Samuel's 16th birthday (tomorrow). Samuel was born in South Tyrone Hospital at 11am. We left Mullavilly that day about 9:30am. Jonathan had gone to school and we had to wait for the in-laws to arrive to look after Elizabeth.
Elizabeth and I leave again Saturday as I'm preaching in Liverpool on Sunday.
Also, Jonathan has got a South African mobile number and will hopefully get internet tomorrow. He's been playing beach rugby today and starts classes properly next week. What a life!

Sermon Outline for Sunday Evening (Epiphany 3)

2010-01-22T16:57:00.000Z

Mark 1:21-28 (New International Version)

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

²¹They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²²The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. ²³Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil^[^a^] spirit cried out, ²⁴"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"

²⁵"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" ²⁶The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
²⁷The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." ²⁸News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Authority is not a particularly positive word. It is generally associated with over-powering leaders, dictators, and stern teachers. It is a word that is associated with military discipline, law enforcement and punishment. It is a word that can be used as an excuse for inaction – “I don’t have the authority to do that”, or as a means of denying responsibility for our deeds “I was under authority”.

In this age, we do not welcome hierarchy – everything should be democratic and achieved with consensus. Everyone should be free to do whatever they like, follow their own rules and bow down to no-one. “I’m the boss of me”, is the independent cry.

And yet authority is much needed. In Haiti, we see chaos when no-one takes authority or responsibility. A teacher would achieve little if she had no authority in the classroom and our society would collapse into a free-for-all anarchy if we did not submit to the authorities.

In the synagogue at Capernaum, I suspect, from reading between the lines, there was an absence of authority. Teachers would come and go and say their piece. They might be harangued for their new ideas, they might receive abuse. Those who taught the law were possibly not well-respected – perhaps they were obviously hypocritical or were running up large expense accounts!

Into this melee, came Jesus. Jesus, we read, taught as one who had authority and people were amazed. As well, a man with an evil spirit named him as the Holy One of God, challenging his authority. But Jesus had control of the situation and showed his authority. His was not just a new teaching, another made up story that had no substance, like so much of the nonsense that I mentioned last week. He had authority.

People have since misused the authority of Jesus to justify their own behaviour. It has been misused to justify liberal behaviour and misused to justify narrow attitudes. We have been slow, or afraid, to accept the authority of Jesus in our own lives, governing our attitudes and behaviour. We have recognised Jesus as the Holy One of God, the Messiah, but we have not knelt down under his authority. We can quote his instructions to love God, love our neighbour, to repent, to be thankful, to be humble, to be childlike, but yet we qualify his words and adapt his teaching to suit ourselves. “Judge not” is a clever phrase to use when we feel others are judging us, but conveniently ignored when we make a judgement on others.

In our worship, in our prayers, we do not tell God what to do. We do not tell him who he is, or who he should be. God is not made in our image, but we in his. Our worship, our prayers, are about acknowledging his authority in our lives – Thy will be done – and taking up the responsibilities that come with that.

For the confirmation candidates, that may mean considering service and vocation in their career choices; for others it may mean righting wrong relationships, abandoning wrong attitudes, releasing love and generosity, giving up old grudges.

If we claim that Jesus teaches with authority and speaks with authority, then we must also let that authority speak into our hearts. Words like “My peace I give you”, “Fear not”, “do unto others what you would have them do unto you”, take on greater urgency and weight when we saturate them with the authority of Jesus rather than see them as mere quotations.

Let Christ, the Holy One of God, rule in your heart.

2010-01-21T22:14:00.000Z

Twenty - no, I cannot tell a lie - thirty one years ago I was revising for my A level mock exams. As a wise pupil of Limavady Grammar School, I worked hard for the mocks and did very little for the real thing. Anyway, I wonder how I might have reacted back then if a prophet had wandered into the school library with a message for me. Something like "Brian, in 31 years you will be married a lovely girl from Portadown."

"Where?"

"You know - that suburb of the new city of Craigavon that you're learning about for your A level Geography. Also, you will be the Church of Ireland rector of a wee country church just outside that city. Your wife will be a school librarian the same as Mrs Larmour in a school in the wonderful new city. You will have three children. The first will have landed this day in the town of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, (I cast a quick glance at the map on the wall), the second is sitting an exam in Liverpool, probably in the same exam room that you will be sitting in in 1980, and the third will be revising for his mock GCSE (a what?) in Geography, learning about how not to design a new city. As for you, with your religious prejudice, you will, on this day in thirty-one years, be having morning coffee with the Cardinal. When the day is done, you'll type it all into a TV screen and people in America will read about it."

That would have been quite a daydream!

up, up and away

2010-01-20T22:13:00.000Z

Over this past year, I've paid many visits to Belfast City Dump Airport. It started with Elizabeth's open days and interviews at Liverpool and Newcastle, then both Elizabeth and Jonathan going to Burundi and Kenya, then lots of visits via Ryanair to see Elizabeth in Liverpool (today she signed for her apartment for next year). This afternoon, we took Jonathan to begin his three-flight journey to Port Elizabeth , South Africa. Thankfully, due to my wisdom and discipline in suitcase packing, he avoided any excess charges - he was only allowed 20K for 5 months! After paying the extortionate car park fee at the airport, we watched his British Midland flight to Heathrow pass the window of the Ikea Restaurant as we indulged in Swedish meatballs and then, for comfort, bought a few nice things, including two packets of those delicious Punschrolls.
Although departures like that are sad, the world is certainly a much smaller place than before. SMS, Skype etc mean that we can travel far and yet be never far away.

There are many skills (other than how to pack), that children will never learn until they start to travel and grasp every opportunity. Like Elizabeth, I went to Liverpool when I was 18. I hitch-hiked across Europe when I was 20 (not recommended today). I spent 4 weeks in Jerusalem and 5 weeks roughing it (in beach-houses) in Brazil. Those were good and worthwhile experiences. All our children were camping in France before their first birthday and we've managed to take them all to North America on three occasions. We taught them to be adventurers and thus they go adventuring.

Introduction

2010-01-20T00:36:00.000Z

I'm afraid I can't quite see where the fun is in blogging! To begin with, other people have to be interested in what you're doing or what your opinions are. However, as a clergyman, most of the interesting bits of what I do are not for public consumption. Nor are many of my opinions! I can't tell you that, in my opinion, the lady in the third row looks as if she's had cosmetic surgery. I can't really tell you my political opinions or make light of things that others may take very seriously.

I could write about family life in the rectory, but that's quite private too. I could tell you that Ruby the daschund has an hormonal imbalance that causes unusual bowel behaviour, hair loss and depression, but that's probably not very interesting. you may enjoy the soap opera relationships of the cats - that Dyna is the demon, that Abercrombie and Fitch are the newcomers who have upset the tranquility of the pride and that Furbie is a complete pain with his constant bossiness - but that makes us sound like oddballs!

However, the family is now about to be scattered further round the globe. Elizabeth is in Liverpool studying for a nursing degree and Jonathan heads for South Africa tomorrow to complete his 3rd year of teacher training. The learning outcome for tonight (how to travel with a 20K luggage allowance) may or may not have been achieved.

Thus, blogging will help us and any other readers who have little else to do, stay in touch with other. Watch my space and be amazed!! Not.