It’s one of the first sounds a baby will make. ‘Ma ma ma ma’. Or ‘Ba ba ba ba’. Which is why, in so many languages, the proud parents take their babbling children to be speaking their names. ‘Mama’ or ‘Amma’ is a very common word for ‘mother’. And ‘Papa’ or ‘Baba’ is similarly common […]
Every Sunday for 2000 years ministers of the gospel have been repeating this phrase. All over the world, Christ’s people gather to eat the bread and drink the wine and they hear these words: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and […]
War memorials the world over record these words from Jesus: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13) In the context of a war memorial we might picture a brave soldier taking a bullet for another. Or perhaps throwing himself on a grenade, or […]
Last time we saw the incomparable enormity of Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. If we want to see God we must look no further but only at Jesus. For, as He says, “The Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 14:10) While we are still reeling […]
— “That’s the way.” — “Aint that the truth.” — “This is the life.” How do we tend to speak of the way, the truth and the life? For us, ‘the way’ is usually a technique or learned habit. In the ‘religious realm’ we might think of lengthy pilgrimages and ritualised approaches to God. For […]
What lies beyond death? The Hindu might claim reincarnation. The Muslim seeks a paradise, with Allah conspicuous by his absence. The atheist asserts there is nothing. What is the Christian hope? In words that are read out at funerals the world over, Jesus says this: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, […]
…So the handsome prince married his beautiful bride and they all lived happily ever after. Do you believe in fairytales? I say “fairytales” – it’s a bit deeper than that. It runs in our cultural bloodstream. It courses through our literature, our music, our films, our deepest values in life. We have this belief that […]
What does a true disciple of Jesus look like? Perhaps we imagine soldiers assembled before their commanding officer. Or students in the school of their Rabbi. Or labourers in gospel service. Or worshippers at the feet of their Lord. In Matthew chapter 19, Jesus gives us a hands-on portrait of the kingdom: 13 Then were […]
Two friends of mine were getting married. They had just made their vows and the minister held their hands aloft to present them, united, to the congregation. He was about to read these words from Matthew 19 as the prayer book stipulates: “What therefore God hath joined together let not man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:6) […]
Jesus is both the brightness of the Father’s glory (Hebrews 1:3) and the light of the world (John 8:12). Let’s think about that for a minute. The Father radiates. His nature is luminous. His being shines out. You cannot think of the sun without sunshine and, just so, you cannot think of the Father without […]
