Showing everything tagged as Thought for the week

I hate being told what to do. Even though I am old enough to know better, teenage rebellion rises in me if I’m advised to increase my pension contributions, or drink less coffee – and I am sure I’m not alone.

Han van Meegeren held a grudge. The art establishment had failed to recognise his genius, so he duped the critics by painting the perfect forgery.

This week, in these days between Ascension Day and Pentecost, we are invited to join in the ecumenical worldwide prayer initiative Thy Kingdom Come.

Last weekend I attended a wedding party on Saturday and a memorial service on Sunday. I thought they would be very different occasions but both proved, above all, to be joyful.

The past year has seen a change of pace for me and I’ve spent some time wondering what my purpose is. I know that I’m not alone in having existential angst around ‘retirement’ age.

We live in a world of war, displacement, and fear. And we each carry our own hidden wounds and fears, which prevent us from letting go and reaching out, in recognition, forgiveness and love.

One of my earliest memories of church was going with my mother to hear the Passion Gospel read on Palm Sunday. I loved that the people got to deliver some lines, though it still rankles with me that only the priest ever got to play Jesus.

Make the most of Lent, and the opportunity to lament. God is ready and waiting to respond.

Mothering Sunday is worse than Valentines Day. The shops are full of folded pieces of card wrapped in plastic, covered in language that people are meant to be and feel.