A few years ago I climbed Ben Nevis. I followed the path. Up behind me came two young ladies: no backpack (like I did), no rain-coat (I did), great speed (I wasn’t slow, but…) and at one corner, I followed
Anointed King
What does it take to be a King? Boris Johnson famously articulated his ambition to be ‘World King’ at an early age; the media is currently talking of Andy Burnham’s coronation (as Prime Minister, not King – Long live King
Born and Born Again
Do you remember when you were born? I don’t think so. Some scientists say 3½, some say 2½ as the age of our earliest memory. Fortunately, you don’t have to remember to know that it happened. This week, we’re looking
A Perfect End
At University, the college chapel invited a guest speaker every Sunday evening. One Sunday before Ascension the best speaker ever invited spoke on how Christ deals with Guilt. Word got out. On the Sunday after Ascension numbers were up, but
What is hope?
What is it that you and I hope for? A sunny day for a walk? We often speak like this, and we genuinely wish for something pleasant. But the ‘hope’ seems weak, we cannot do much about it, so we
Patron Saint
It was St George’s day this week. The patron Saint of England (and of Georgia, and soldiers, among other things), whose cross is the centre of our national and union flags. The hagiographies are varied and often contain ’embellishments’, but
Redoubtable Thomas
What do you make of Thomas? We give him the adjective ‘doubting’ and the combination is a modern idiom: Doubting Thomas. I wonder how he would feel about that. Maybe he’d be glad for the part he continues to play
Friday Sunday
I heard of a preacher who repeatedly contrasted the despair of Good Friday with the Hope of Easter Sunday. After each point (and there were many) he would say ‘But that was Friday, and Sunday’s coming’. For us as a
A Plan
Baldrick’s cunning plan was to carve his name into a bullet. If somewhere there’s a bullet with your name on it, by owning that bullet he can’t get shot with it! (Blackadder S4E1). All around us today we see plans
Time to Turn Around
What should I do if I find myself driving the wrong way down a one-way street (let’s not ask how I got there)? The first thing would be to stop (so I’m not actually breaking the law), better would be