Curate Conundrums

  Sometimes we’re lucky that the first aren’t last, and the last aren’t first. For example, with the vaccinations. I’m pretty pleased that it’s not the young and the fit who are being vaccinated first, but the vulnerable. This makes sense. We’ve got three Bible readings today that in some ways don’t make sense. Saul, the Pharisee being transformed into a Christian. God calling Jeremiah a young boy to serve Him as a prophet. And Jesus, saying the first will be last, and the last will be first. Three readings, three topsy turvy things. But what’ve they got to do with us? Three words, as we all love a good triplet: Called Known Loved. I’ll come back to this. I remember when I was a teenager in the line for school lunch. I was what used to be called a gannet. I still am really. Back in the days before Jamie Oliver stuck is awe in, ruined everything, and made it all ‘healthy’, we used to have chips on a Friday. It was my favourite day of the week. Not only did I get two days off, but I ...

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, something that only priests know. Now this is serious, hidden, deep secret knowledge. Promise to keep it to yourself? Sometimes people are difficult. I know right? I bet you’re really surprised to hear that. People are also complicated, which is why they’re sometimes difficult. We’re all a mixture of our past, our present. Our memories make us who we are. We are a bundle of experiences wrapped up in a case. Our experience of life, our values are often all that we have. When something scary comes along that challenges our values, our experience, most of us shut down. Try as we might, when something is deeply challenging, we can often just go, nope, that’s not true, because that’s not my experience. It’s the mental equivalent of putting our fingers in our ears and going la la la la. I can’t hear you. I wonder how many of us have done this? When we come across something challenging? I know I have. That’s not my view, it isn’t true, it’s not my e...

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, something that only priests know. Now this is serious, hidden, deep secret knowledge. Promise to keep it to yourself? Sometimes people are difficult. I know right? I bet you’re really surprised to hear that. People are also complicated, which is why they’re sometimes difficult. We’re all a mixture of our past, our present. Our memories make us who we are. We are a bundle of experiences wrapped up in a case. Our experience of life, our values are often all that we have. When something scary comes along that challenges our values, our experience, most of us shut down. Try as we might, when something is deeply challenging, we can often just go, nope, that’s not true, because that’s not my experience. It’s the mental equivalent of putting our fingers in our ears and going la la la la. I can’t hear you. I wonder how many of us have done this? When we come across something challenging? I know I have. That’s not my view, it isn’t true, it’...