52 Reflections on Faith - Epiphany: The fourth wise man
52 Reflections on Faith - Epiphany: The fourth wise man
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Epiphany: The fourth wise man The feast of the Epiphany on 6 January is a celebration of the ‘manifestation’ or ‘shining’ of Christ to the Gentiles. In the Eastern churches it’s also Christmas Day. The baptism of Christ is another closely associated feast. In the Western imaginat…
52 Reflections on Faith - Mary, mother of Jesus: pointing to God
52 Reflections on Faith - Mary, mother of Jesus: pointing to God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Mary, mother of Jesus: pointing to God Michelangelo’s Pietà is one of the most beautiful and famous pieces of art in the world. It stands just inside St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In glorious white marble, sculpted in the 15th century when the artist was only 24, the statue depict…
52 Reflections on Faith - Love your enemies: Israelis and Palestinians
52 Reflections on Faith - Love your enemies: Israelis and Palestinians
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Love your enemies: Israelis and Palestinians It’s well known that Christianity tells us to love our neighbours. The expression ‘love thy neighbour’ has a special place in the English language and there was once a British TV sitcom with exactly that title…
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 - Justification by faith: Computer studies
52 Reflections on Faith - Justification by faith: Computer studies
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Justification by faith: Computer studies Sometime back in the late 1980s, I took an adventurous step and bought an Amstrad computer. Thinking of it now, it feels like a computer dinosaur. Actually, mine was only a word processor and I bought it partly, at least, under the sad ill…
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 - The body of Christ: respecting difference
52 Reflections on Faith - The body of Christ: respecting difference
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
The body of Christ: respecting difference On a recent visit to the concert hall at Snape Maltings in Suffolk, I became particularly aware of the need to respect differences. The concert hall at Snape is widely known as the music centre founded by the composer Benjamin Britten (19…
52 Reflections on Faith - Repentance: saying you’re sorry