Advent Reflection: grief and the Christmas story

Last Sunday was the third Sunday in Advent, known within the church as Gaudete Sunday (rejoice Sunday).

In the chosen reading from Philippians chapter 4 (4-7), Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Advent Reflection: saying yes to God

When we read through the Christmas story, what is striking throughout the narrative, pulled together from the gospel accounts of Luke and Matthew, is the constant theme of men and women chosen to play an integral part in the story, saying yes to God, affirming their trust in him.

Advent Reflection: hope in fearful times

This reflection for the first week of Advent will invite you to consider 3 important questions: In what do I hope? On what do I depend? What do I love most?

It’s those who seek to defer gratification, not the cheery November Noel brigade, who really understand this season’s meaning and significance

“Have you put your Christmas decs up yet?” The question shouldn’t be a serious one in the middle of November. Sure, we’re used to shops shoving Christmas in our faces from about the start of September onwards, the commercial rationale for which is well understood. But large numbers of people this year, seem to have decided that Christmas started as soon as Halloween was over, and if you’re one of those who think Christmas decorations are the preserve of December, you’re a misery.

Vaccine passports aren't about public protection but our unhealthy addiction to fear

I know! I know! Another bloody Covid blog! I’m as sick of writing them as I’m sure you are of reading them. But there is no reprieve. With every step in the right direction, it seems we face yet another horror – yet another authoritarian leap that would have seemed unthinkable just a couple of years ago.

The latest of such horrors is vaccine passports, which I have no doubt will be extended and extended until every activity that might involve leaving your house will require you to present your papers, and of course to get the NHS app whether you want the dam thing or not.

The real story of masks isn't one of public health but a marriage of fear and toxic politics

It’s the end of the road for the mandatory wearing of masks. When they were introduced, few subjects proved more polarising and more capable of provoking visceral rage between the two sides of the debate. As we prepare for their wearing to become a matter of personal choice, the controversy has brewed up once more, and the topic is just as divisive.

The non-binary identity is not beyond criticism, when it's built on deeply binary nonsense

What’s a narcissist to do! After mental health struggles and overdoses, it must be a bit of a bind trying to think what battle to exploit for publicity next. Of course, one could always retreat from the world, sort oneself out and come back when one is ready to be judged by the talents that brought one into the public eye – but where’s the fun in that!

The answer, at least for the 28-year-old troubled American singer Demi Lovato, is to join the growing ranks of people describing themselves as ‘non-binary.’

In praise of waiting

Written for Linkedin: view the original here.

 

I had my first post-pandemic hospital appointment in London this week. I approached it with a sense of curiosity, having not seen either the inside of a hospital or indeed what has become of London on a busy weekday since Covid-19 reached our shores.

My enduring thought, once I had got home, was that the entire episode had been characterised by a total absence of waiting.

Madness this week: royals without honour, roadmaps and a lesson in chitchat

The insanity of the week commencing 15 February 2021.

Why I defend Bill Michael, no matter his privilege

Written for Linkedin: view the original here.

 

Bill Michael, the outgoing UK chair of KPMG, is probably not someone who many people would feel inspired to defend. He has quit his role after comments he made criticising staff for moaning about the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, and for a blistering attack on Unconscious Bias Training.

Living Christian: responding to things our non-religious friends say

 

In this first article exploring the challenges of living our Christian faith today, I want to look at the things our non-religious friends say.

My top lessons from 5 years of blogging

    This blog, unbelievably, has been going for over 5 years. In all that time, whilst I have continually reflected on it and wondered how I can improve it, I’ve never shared what I’ve learned, or what I would have done differently if I were starting out again.