Some years ago, Revd. Sam van Leer, who is now our Area Dean, shared a video clip with a funny cartoon about St. Patrick. Two Irish brothers ask St. Patrick to explain the Trinity to them in simple terms, because they don’t understand difficult theological language, or so they say. So St. Patrick tries several analogies to explain how God can be three Persons and yet remain One.
It was in the middle of January 2016 and the ecumenical service in the RC Bavo Basilica was over. Two people were rushing into the vestry when I was just about to leave. One of them commented on the organ intro and called it dreadful and unsuitable. The other, an altar server at the Bavo, just smiled beatifically, not knowing what to answer to this complaint. Continue reading
No, I am not going to do it. I am not going to ask you if you are prepared for Christmas. Why not? Well, many people would instantly feel the stress coming up of all the things they still have to do, or should I say, all the things we have imposed on ourselves, whether it is preparing family dinners, writing cards or newsletters, extra choir practice, reviewing our health insurance, finishing projects at work or travelling and visiting. When we come to church, we don’t want to be reminded of that, do we? Continue reading
“I just called to say I love you”, “you are the sunshine of my life”, “ebony and ivory”, “don’t you worry ‘bout a thing”. Do you know who wrote these songs? Yes, it was of course Stevie Wonder! This American song writer and record producer was blind from infancy, probably due to an excess of oxygen in his incubator. It did not stop him from having a great career. Continue reading
The human heart is a great mystery, don’t you think so? Without it we could not be inspired to make great works of arts and heavenly music, and to love with every fibre of our being, to care for others, temporarily forgetting our own needs. But the same heart can also distrust, and hate, and destroy. Still there is a widespread belief that if you just follow your heart, you will be doing the right thing. You may still make mistakes, but you will have lived the best possible life. Continue reading
An old man lived on his own, deep in the mountains of Colorado. When he died, some relatives came from the city to collect his valuables. Upon arriving, all they saw was an old shack. Inside it was just some old junk, like an old cooking pot, some mining equipment, a cracked table and a three legged chair. Continue reading
A picture says more than a thousand words. It is much quicker to communicate than spoken or printed text, and for a large group of people who are visually oriented, it is easier to remember. That’s why today’s shops and media are full of images, photographs, logo’s, posters and videos. In the time of Jesus all these things did not exist, but perhaps the nearest thing was a parable. Continue reading
The parable of the true vine is a rich one. Whenever I read it, I find new meaning in it. But what is the main message here? And how is it more than just another sermon about love? Could this parable help us to improve our lives in real and practical terms? Absolutely! And it is not meant to just govern the behaviour of people in church. Continue reading
Social psychologist Alison Ledgerwood is interested in how people think and how they can think better. One day she asked herself the question, how is it that when I return home from a day’s work, my mood is largely determined by what went wrong during that day, and not by its successes? She found that once our minds encounter something negative, they hold on to it longer. It was also easier to change from a positive to a negative view of things than the other way around. Continue reading
The gospel reading for today is probably very familiar to us.
Also, it was part of the reading on the first of February when we celebrated Candlemas.
So it is a legitimate question why we are presented with the same text today.
Well, this time the emphasis is not so much on the start of Christ’s ministry, but on the inevitable suffering that was to follow, not only for Christ himself, but for his mother as well, and indeed for everyone in Israel. For many in Israel would stumble over the offensiveness of the cross, and those who would follow Christ would also have to bear their cross. Continue reading
