Curate Conundrums

  I tell you what, thank God God’s forgiveness and grace isn’t anything like ours. Is anyone else relieved by that? Human forgiveness falls short. If we look through history, we can see the affects of unforgiveness on our society. It’s dangerous. Wars, famines and many atrocities have all been caused due to a lack of grace and forgiveness. We’re obsessed with people getting what they deserve. You pays your money, and you takes your choice. What if I told you that it’s not as simple as that? What if I told you that’s not the way the kingdom of God works? If anything I think we’re more vengeful than God ever has been. I think we project our vengefulness, our characteristics onto God. But what do I mean? Many people present the Bible as a black and white thing, these are the people who are saved, these are the people who’re not, and it’s convenient isn’t it, that the people who aren’t saved are always the ones who don’t look like us? Who think differently or look different...

Have you ever read the terms and conditions for something you sign up for? When on a website, when we’re buying something online, or using an app on our phone, if we’re taking out insurance there are terms and conditions for all of these things. I must admit, when I sign up for something online, I virtually never read them. Do you? For all I know itunes or Amazon could own a part of my soul! Though thankfully, I think I’ve got enough insurance on the eternal life front. Terms and conditions are a legal way of saying, this is our relationship. They set out what the company you’re buying from or employing you expect. Do you think there are terms and conditions for Christians? Do you think there are terms and conditions to be a member of the church? Do you think that our relationships matter? I think they do, and I think there are. Because relationships matter, how we treat each other matters, and compassionate justice matters. It’s all about relationship. This passage is ab...

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...