Curate Conundrums

  Let’s talk about fairness. What does fairness mean? What does it look like? When I was growing up we had enough, but not a lot, or at least not a lot by the standards of other people, and perhaps quite a lot by other people’s standards. We didn’t starve, but our house was small. Although we did own our house, which made us better off than many. However, I remember going one winter without heating and hot water because we couldn’t afford to get the boiler fixed. Life is unfair and one of the things we try to do as humans is something called ‘causality’, where we try to seek meaning in everything that happens to us. ‘It all happens for a reason’. I’m not sure I believe in that, I think there are some things that just happen, because that’s the nature of life. Someone stubbing their toe, or winning the lottery, I don’t think God, or some kind of force guides that. Some things are just part of existence and creation. Other things are not just facts of life, they are created and m...

  I’ve always been a bit of a sensitive soul. I love spending time with people. I love seeing my friends, one of the things that drew me most into ordained ministry was the community side of it. Being with people in their time of need, in their joys and their sorrows. The worst part of any relationship for me is saying goodbye. I’ve always hated saying goodbye. Often when I leave my friends or family, I have to go quickly, shoot off, and not say too much, because if I do I find myself starting to sob. When someone visits me from far away, I just can’t do the thing when you stand on the doorstep and wave them off, it upsets me too much.   When I was a boy, we used to go and visit my grandparents who lived near Whitby, and when it came to saying goodbye it was awful. I tell you it made the wailing and gnashing of teeth scenes from revelation look like a holiday picnic. I would get into the car and start crying because I didn’t want to go. Grandma would start because she didn...

  When you look back on your life how many promises have you made? One hundred, one thousand, one million? Perhaps some of them are to yourself, others might be to other special people in your life. Perhaps some of them might be legal. For example promising to pay a mortgage, or in my case abiding by that restraining order… In all seriousness we all make promises all of the time. I’m sure you could list them if you had time and a piece of paper. Promises are important, and we should try to keep them faithfully. Though, sometimes we don’t. Lent is a time of promises . When we say we will try to turn away from sin, perhaps we’ve given something up, or promised to take something else on. But here’s a question, have you ever made a promise to God? Because God’s made a promise to you. Abram had been walking with God a long time. He’d been following God and finally when he was 99 years old God visited Abram and said, I’m making a promise to you. I’m making a special promise with...

  Stay alert, control the virus, protect the NHS. I don’t know about you but I’ve never felt more anxious in my life. At the moment we’re encouraged to be vigilant, to be alert, otherwise we might spread Corona Virus. Wash your hands, make space, and for the love of God don’t you DARE touch your face. I think all of us are under pressure to be vigilant right now. For the sake of our own safety, and the safety of others around us. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. So perhaps this passage is very right for us to think about right now. Jesus is telling us be alert. To be prepared. Because the end is going to come, we can’t predict when, but it will. And Why, why do we need to keep vigilant? Back in the old days Advent wasn’t just about preparing for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, it is also about four things. Heaven, hell, judgement and death. Not very Christmassy eh? But Advent was never supposed to be Christmassy. It’s a purple season, like Lent. A t...

It’s a tough one this week isn’t it? Well at least I found it tough. When writing the sermon for this week I was hoping for one of those lovely Gospel passages. You know. The ones like, consider the Sparrows, see how your heavenly father feeds them, and you are worth more than them. Nice. Or perhaps the return of the prodigal son. Great. Love your neighbour as yourself, fantastic! But no, we’re here, with this bit of Matthew, during a pandemic, telling us about self-denial, how life is sometimes hard, and Jesus having a go at Peter. Great. You see when trying to write this I found myself getting deeply distracted. When there’s something you really aught to be doing, yet your brain finds other things to do. I found myself wandering aimlessly around the house, from one room to another at one point… So I picked myself up, went back to my desk and tried again. Then I found myself cleaning the sink. Again, got cross with myself, picked myself up and went back to my desk, and tried ag...

What can I say about the cross that hasn’t already been said? There is no other event in human history that has been scrutinised more than this one. It’s the moment when everything changed, a universe shattering moment. But what can we compare that moment to? I’m sure many of us for years to come will say, remember when Notre Damme burned down, where were you when it happened? For those who worship there, it must’ve been like the world was turned upside down. Where were you on 9/11? If your memory stretches back that far? That was a moment that shook the world, that changed the world forever, in the wake of its horror the world changed. We stood still, our mouths agape, unable to comprehend the tragedy of what was unfolding in front of us. Our universe was turned upside down. Nothing would be the same again. Nearly twenty years on, we’re still feeling the affects of that event in our society today. Imagine then, how the disciples must’ve felt. Their lives for th...

It’s beginning to look a lot like Lent, everywhere you go. The weather is looking blue, there’s so much repenting to do, and thinking about our own mortality too. Sang no one ever. There aren’t that many secular songs about Lent are there? It just hasn’t got the appeal of Christmas has it? There’s no Lent tree, no Lenten presents or sparkle. It doesn’t have the joy of the Easter Season, with its feast, and the amazing transformative power of the resurrection. Lent’s a bit like the awkward uncle of the Christian year, sitting in the corner, growling and glaring at the rest of the family. Or at least that might be how some of us view lent. But I’d like to change the perception you might have of what Lent is about.   Lent, a season of repentance, when we journey towards the incredibly dramatic events of Holy Week, towards the cross and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. A period perhaps of abstinence, of thought, of seriousness. I think Lent is a very hea...