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52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the teacher: words and deeds
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the teacher: words and deeds
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Jesus the teacher: words and deeds We can probably all remember particular teachers we had at school. Some stick in the mind as ‘good teachers’, but we probably remember others because we didn’t like them, got on the wrong side of them or were hopeless at their subjects…
52 Reflections on Faith - Light: Standing in the river
52 Reflections on Faith - Light: Standing in the river
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Light:Standing in the river One evening as I sit in my study, reading by a table lamp, a wasp hovers overhead for a moment, then makes for the light bulb. Finding the bulb hot, it moves to the inside of the shade and settles in the warm glow of the light…
52 Reflections on Faith - The ten commandments: Doing what you like
52 Reflections on Faith - The ten commandments: Doing what you like
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
The ten commandments: Doing what you like The fourth-century North African bishop St Augustine once wrote, ‘Love and do what you will’, which is often rendered ‘Love God and do what you like.’ It sounds ideal— as if there were no moral requirements made of us as Christians…
52 Reflections on Faith - Remembrance: Hope against hope
52 Reflections on Faith - Remembrance: Hope against hope
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Remembrance: Hope against hope Remembrance Sunday is a sombre day. It’s the day of the year set aside for remembering all those who died in the two World Wars of 1914–18 and 1939–45. Always held on the Sunday nearest to 11 November, it marks the cessation of violence at the end o…
52 Reflections on Faith - Repentance: saying you’re sorry
52 Reflections on Faith - Repentance: saying you’re sorry
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Repentance: saying you’re sorry One of the most popular songs of the 1970s was ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’ by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It featured on Elton’s Blue Moves album and came out as a single in 1976…
52 Reflections on Faith - Glorious Food: The Eucharist
52 Reflections on Faith - Glorious Food: The Eucharist
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Glorious food: The Eucharist Whenever I think of food, I think of the well-known song from the musical Oliver: ‘Food, glorious food’. It conjures up images of exotic banquets and unlimited eating. I also think of the saying ‘You are what you eat’. It’s true that whatever we put i…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: the door of the sheep
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: the door of the sheep
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Jesus the Good Shepherd: door of the sheep When I worked in the Holy Land with St George’s College, Jerusalem, we often took groups to the Sinai desert to camp overnight under the stars on the way down to St Catherine’s monastery. It was an amazing experience. Quite often I would…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus Christ today
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus Christ today
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
8 Jesus Christ today: ‘Who is Jesus Christ for us today?’ This is the famous question asked by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his cell in Tegel military prison, Germany, during the last 18 months of his life. Bonhoeffer had been arrested and imprisoned by the Nazis in April 1943. He wa…
52 Reflections on Faith - Palm Sunday: little donkey
52 Reflections on Faith - Palm Sunday: little donkey
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Palm Sunday: little donkey Sometime in the late 1990s the local municipality of Jerusalem denied all donkeys access to the walled Old City. The decision was made primarily on health grounds but it changed the landscape of Jerusalem immediately. Somehow the donkey was a feature of…
52 Reflections on Faith - Prayer: Listening to God
52 Reflections on Faith - Prayer: Listening to God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
21 Prayer: Listening to God Prayer is sometimes defined as ‘talking to God’ and, on the face of it, that sounds as if it might be a helpful definition. What we’re doing when we’re talking to God is praying. The Oxford English Dictionary defines prayer as ‘a solemn and humble requ…
52 Reflections on Faith - Mothering Sunday: the motherhood of God
52 Reflections on Faith - Mothering Sunday: the motherhood of God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Mothering Sunday: The motherhood of God Mothering Sunday is a day for celebrating motherhood and giving thanks for our mothers. On this day we reflect on the place and importance of our mothers in our lives and thank them for everything they’ve given us. Everyone has (or has had)…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Peter Declares his Faith
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Peter Declares his Faith
by BRF - Dick France
PETER DECLARES his FAITH Caesarea Philippi is the most northerly point of Jesus’ journeys, in a remote non-Jewish area in the foothills of the Mount Hermon range. He takes his disciples not to the town itself but into the countryside, and the whole focus of this part of the story…
52 Reflections on Faith - Ash Wednesday: depending on God
52 Reflections on Faith - Ash Wednesday: depending on God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
4 Ash Wednesday: Depending on God Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the period of 40 days before Easter. Lent is a season of fasting and repentance in preparation for the joyous celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Day. The 40-day period comes from Jesus’ 40 d…
52 Reflections on Faith - Christ the King: Overcoming Suffering
52 Reflections on Faith - Christ the King: Overcoming Suffering
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
25 Christ the King: Overcoming Suffering On the feast of Christ the King, at the very end of the church’s year, it’s useful to note just how many different sorts of crucifix there are. Go into a few different churches in your area and you’ll soon see quite a variety. Look also at…
52 Reflections on Faith - Easter Sunday: transforming lives
52 Reflections on Faith - Easter Sunday: transforming lives
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Easter Sunday: transforming lives Once upon a time, a small caterpillar popped out of its egg and found itself sitting on a leaf. It had striped fur and was called Stripe. As Stripe made his way slowly along the branch of the tree and down the trunk, he looked into the distance a…
52 Reflections on Faith - Becoming Real: Loved into life