As a priest I have the privilege of praying God’s blessing for people on many occasions. So, it was an occasion when somebody prayed a blessing for me that struck me as I considered today’s readings. I was visiting Christians in the Mangla Dam area of Pakistani Kashmir. As is the case in Pakistan I…
Three years ago, I went from Egypt (Cairo to Mount Sinai to Jerusalem) to Israel through the desert of Sinai by road. During this journey I began to reflect on the similarities between the Israelites’ journey through the vast and harsh desert of Sinai and the Christians’ journey through the wilderness of this world. In…
Candlemas is a lovely feast: outside of Easter and Christmas, it is definitely on the top of my list of favourites. Beautiful it is, but it is a bittersweet feast – there is sorrow as well as joy. The bitter: At the end of the St. Oswald’s Candlemas service, we turn from Christmas towards Lent…
Driving north up the M6, there is a place, just south of Lancaster, where hedges begin to give way to dry-stone walls. Most are tumble-down and badly kept, the grey stones often lying in heaps, the walls supplemented by fences to keep the livestock in the correct field. But these tumble-down walls make my heart…
The Epiphany Theme of Glory The account in John’s gospel of Jesus’ first miracle at the Wedding at Cana, speaks of glory – a golden thread running through the season of Epiphany; the bright star which leads the Magi; the riches they offered and their unexpected encounter with the glory of the infant king; the…
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany – when we reflect on the wise men or kings who visited the baby Jesus. It is a quiet feast for the UK but in other countries, Epiphany is full of activity. Processions of kings on horseback throw handfuls of sweets to eagerly awaiting children. Children put…
Today is the feast day of St Stephen. We don’t get to celebrate this very often, and even this year the feast has been transferred to tomorrow so we don’t have to think about Stephen. Nevertheless, we still sing sing Good King Wenceslas at this time of year: the carol tells the story of a…
John the Baptist is a compelling figure. He has been portrayed since the earliest days as a wild and unkempt man with a shaggy beard and tangled hair. He was very outspoken to the point of rudeness – it’s quite something to call people a brood of vipers! His outspokenness brought about his untimely death…