There are so many things that could be said today as we reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus, but  I thought I would give the word to one of our partners overseas. The following reflection is from Dr Kiran Martin from ASHA in India - one of the organisations we work with in that great part of the world. Dear friends, As Easter draws nigh and reminds us of the wonderful gift of God to us [...]

Here’s my second favourite Easter story. (If you missed the first one see Tuesday’s blog.) This one occurs on Easter Sunday, concerns Mary Magdalene and is found in John’s gospel. After the Sabbath Mary Magdalene was the first to visit Jesus tomb, before dawn, where she discovered the big stone blocking the tomb had been moved. She raced to tell the disciples who ran to the tomb and found neatly folded grave cloths but no [...]

Today, Wednesday of Holy Week, the focus is the anointing of Jesus for burial where Jesus talks of his crucifixion. The traditional reading is Matthew 26:1-15. This is certainly worth meditating upon today, but I thought I would also offer something that looks back to Palm Sunday and one character within that story – the Donkey. The following poem about the Donkey was written by G.K Chesterton:

With only two blogs to write before Easter I’d like to share with you the two Easter stories which move me most. The first is the story of the good thief and it only occurs in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew and Mark mention that Jesus was crucified alongside two criminals who both mocked him. John doesn’t mention the criminals at all but good old Luke, as he so often does, gives us a bit [...]

Sorry it has taken me till near on midday to get a lent reflection for you today. The honest truth is that I was trying to find some deep way of conveying the significance of what today centers around in the lent calendar… but I haven’t been able to. The focus of today, the day after Palm Sunday, is the first major act undertaken by Jesus after his heralded entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey. [...]

Today is a significant part of Lent, it is Palm Sunday and represents the beginning of Holy Week. For the context of Today, take the time to read Mark 11:1-11 and consider. Today represents the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a humble donkey and the people received him as a King, laying their cloaks and leafy branches they had cut in the fields on the ground before him. Those who went ahead of him [...]

I’m a Ben Harper fan, so today’s offering is a video of Ben singing Better Way live at Abbey Road. Listen to the lyrics and let yourself get lost in the song. There is a better way.

I feel I should apologize for my blog last Thursday. I’m not going to apologize for all the mean things I said about my buddy Frank. He’s a great guy with a wicked sense of humor and took my comments as part of our usual, facetious banter. But I do apologize for being too rough on “ordinary Christians”. While all Christians have faults and foibles most of us are trying to follow Jesus.

In her book, Joy in our Weakness – A gift of hope from the book of Revelation, Marva J. Dawn writes this: The best way we can help each other in the suffering is to acknowledge its existence as an undelible part of our being in a world that has been marred by sin and human destructiveness – to lament with the Psalms over the seeming absence of God. We are much more able to [...]

I’m not a theologian. I have no wish to be a theologian. It seems to me that theology has the same relationship to God that studying cook books has to eating. And if you could see me you’d know I prefer eating. So it is with considerable bravado and ignorance that I enter the hoary old debate on faith versus works. In my last blog entry I suggested that all Christians, even saints, fall short [...]