Did you know that books have personalities? Oh yes, dear reader. They stand on shelves spic and span, ordered, ready and hopeful that you will be their new friend. We are to treat them with respect because no book likes to be defaced, devalued or denigrated. Every book has something to tell us. Often they inform us and we learn things. Important things. Sometimes they are just frivolous and want to entertain us. Some books have sorrowful tales to tell, whilst others will want to allure us to places near and far. They lead us on to new adventures.

Our 30th Annual Anglican Book Fair is now open for business in the Hub. The Fair runs through until Easter and you can purchase good quality pre - enjoyed books at a very sensible price. Thanks to the generosity of previous years we are not looking for donations at this early stage. It is surprising what you find and or is it ..who you find. If you listen closely the books will whisper to you. Some will speak to you of feeling neglected, a bit care worn and in need of attention. Some have looked after themselves and are trim and shiny. Some are like famous people you have heard about. It's an easy decision to pay the poultry price in order to get to know this book better. New friends are made with new books and if we are honest we can never be quite the same again. Our new friend will nudge us along a bit. They will challenge us, surprise us, and yes, sometimes enrage us. But when that verve is distilled and assimilated, we are a little bit wiser and more rounded for having gone through this experience.  

Some come and make a new friend…. Or two.

Lent 1      6/3/2022

“Brutus!… Brutus you bothersome brute. Let me buy you a drink” The boisterous voice came from my fellow solider at the Dodgy brothers inn. Festus’s timing wasn’t the greatest as I was beginning to negotiate a price for some entertainment with Matilda who works behind the bar. Festus and I have served together as soldiers for more than 3 years and become firm friends. Often Festus happens to be drinking at the same bar at the end of a hard day.

Our boss Claudius the centurion is an idiot but with 99 other soldiers to mind we actually don’t see a lot of him.

Our job is both hard and easy. It is hard when the crowds became noisy and grumpy and protest about  everything from taxes to Herod's private life.

Sometimes, we have to threaten or intimidate to make sure that peace is maintained.

Sometimes, because the wages are so pitiful and the work so disgusting, we threaten and accuse others in order to buy another round at the Dodgy bros bar.

And sometimes, we extort a denarius or six just because we can and we are in a good mood. It’s one of the perks that comes with the uniform. And yet …and yet…

Festus and I fall to discussing the next days operation. Peacekeeping at the Jordan River where some nut job called John has been stirring up the crowds. There’s been no blood shed but some people have been getting excited and the boss wants to make sure that the situation doesn’t get out of control. It should be a very easy gig but you can never tell and we both settle in for another  goblet of wine.

The next day we find ourselves on the Jordan river with a crowd of curious people who have come to hear this lunatic. John is absolutely convinced about what he says and often it is not suave or flattering.

Some of his speech is about the coming of the Messiah. And what needs to be done in order to get things ready, although it sounds more like a job description for the council workers than a religious speech.

Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;

And then he starts.

‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; then he picks up a rock. “I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire’.

Charming.. absolutely expletive charming. Thats a winning policy speech.

My heckles go up and I wonder how the crowds are going to take this. I reach for my sword… just in case like you know. Looks like I might get to biff a few people today.

To my bewilderment they actually fall for it.

“What should we do?” calls out one of them? The guy with the leather belt and the Costa wooly beard says..

“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

Which is just the bleeding heart, soppy sort of stuff that would appeal to the riff raff gathered on the banks of the Jordan river.

Then Zaccheus the cunning tax collector pipes up. ‘Teacher, what should we do?’

The response ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’

It’s becoming a bit like open mike night down at the inn. Even Festus decides to get on board.

‘And we, what should we do?’

The response is pretty much my job description.

‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’

I squirm, because this is exactly my career path and I wonder how John knew. I’ve never met this guy before and yet he knows how the community works and what it thinks.

Well, for some of the folk this is all just a bit too much.  They grunt and turn away, others go forward for a swim in the river and the crowd disperses. There's no trouble  and we’re not going to be needed here.

“So what did you think of all that Festus?” “Mmmph. He’s as smart as a bag of rocks.” I grunt my assent to the general sentiment and we walk back to the inn, pleased to be knocking off early.

Late at night I’m listening to Matilda sleeping beside me. I’m awake because I can’t stop thinking about the guy at the river. It wasn’t just that he knew how I got my wine money. There was something else. He was authentic.

Tomorrow life will go on… I’ll get up tomorrow, put on the uniform, extort, belittle and intimidate. Have a great time… … and yet… and yet…

The good news is that I was able to volunteer for Park run the other day. You can even look up the Hamilton Facebook page and find a photo of the occasion.

It was a simple task really. Just hand out the plastic token barcode thingy as people crossed the line and Congratulate them on a fantastic effort! I’ve done that five kilometres and it is quite a way.

It was lovely to chatter and work with others who knew exactly what they were doing and to be part of a team. It also reminded me that I was part of something much bigger. In fact Park Run, like Mother Church is world wide.

On the way home I reflected that everyone who comes to Church is also a volunteer. No-one gets paid to come to Church, in fact folk put money in as they come into the building. Some of them have visible jobs like serving at the altar, playing the organ or handing out the books. Some of them have hidden jobs like vacuuming the vast amount of carpet we have, washing the dishes after mass or folding pew sheets. All are important, all are necessary, all are valued and all are deeply appreciated!

I also realised again that volunteering is a privilege. To serve others and to put something back into a community whether Parish or Park run is a fabulous experience. The collegiality, the sense of participation, being able to help out, is infinitely rewarding. It not only helps the organisation but the volunteer is also enhanced and enriched. Something about being needed and appreciated?

Park run is on Saturdays at 8am. Sunday Morning Mass at Hamilton is at 10:30am. Volunteering is good for you. All are welcome!

And we have no idea..

Part of the privilege of living in this part of the world is that we have the Grampians or Gariwerd  on our back doorstep. There are many different walks which suit all levels of enthusiasm and abilities. Venus baths at the Grampians is a stroll and cathartic. If you’re up for a stiff walk then the Picaninny  is probably a good way to go. The Zumsteins walk takes you on a different scenic walk, or if you are naive and had a coffee over breakfast then Mt. Abrupt is sure to teach you a lesson or 6.

No matter where you finish up, how you get there, how long it takes you, or how many kilos you lose, the view never disappoints. It doesn’t matter what time of day or what season you go, its always the same, always different, always spectacular, always gobsmacking, always healing and refreshing.

There are times in the more vigorous walks where inwardly, silently and sometimes outwardly and noisily, I complain most passionately about the climb. One word comes bubbling swiftly to my lips. Why? Why  am I doing this?

In the gospel reading we have Peter, James and John going up a high mountain…and I reckon they would have been just like me.

While on the way they most likely were complaining and wondering why they had to go up the mountain. When they got up that morning and had their fillet of fish for breakfast they would have had no idea what the day was going to bring. To all intents and purposes they were just following Jesus and having a good ol whinge.

They have no idea that  the mountain is a symbol of an upward journey to Heaven.  It takes focus and drive, commitment and resolve to go there. It's an elevated place, a place away from the ordinary occurrences of life.

Its a different scene, where different things happen. But they have no idea.

And yet for a few fleeting, tantalising, mind popping moments Jesus is revealed for who He is in all His glory. And then just as swiftly the moment is gone. Like an ethereal bubble popping, the vision disappears before their eyes and they are left like idiots on the ground mumbling something about putting up tents.

They have no idea.

Now as a lad I was always stumped by this miracle. I preferred the story of the water into wine and all those healings and exorcisms, raising Lazarus from the dead, feeding the thousands of people, catching all those red fin and mullet.This miracle had me bamboozled because it doesn’t seem to accomplish anything. Most of Jesus’ miracles end up with someone cured, or bellies fed, or a person raised from the dead, but what did the Transfiguration actually “do”?

After this you beaut moment of glory they just go back down the mountain again and life resumes as normal.

Or does it. It will not be until much later after the resurrection that the disciples will look back and see the whole thing context. They will understand that discipleship has both cross and blood and tears, as well as glory, transcendence and magnificence.

But at the time… They had no idea.

And surely part of the message is that it is in the drudgery, the exertion and the ‘Are we there yet?’ that we are most exquisite and dazzlingly gorgeous. We are fantastic just for sticking it out and getting on with and struggling on, even when and especially when, we seem a very long way from the top and the path is rocky, unforgiving and a brutal challenge. We are most triumphant when we are sorely tempted to give up, but choose to go on just a little bit further. And we can’t see the view around us or below and we, like the apostles, have no idea.

And this ties in rather nicely with the first lesson today.

As Moses came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the stone in his hand, he did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.

Moses is quite oblivious to how shiny his face was and how extraordinary he looked. He has no idea.

And if that be the case with Moses is it not possible that we have no idea how marvellous we look when we have come close to the God and spoken with Him and taken His commandments into our lives.

What if someone told you how shiny and radiant and polished you were… you are? What if some crazy, grey haired old priest guy got up one day and told you how striking and splendid you already are. Wouldn’t that be a moment of transfiguration? Might that not change us just a little bit?

That would have to transfigure all of us and we could never be quite the same.

On top of Mt. Abrupt and in our parish church, heaven and earth are indeed full of your glory. And we have no idea. We dance and sing with angels, we worship with cherubim and seraphim and most of the time…. we have no idea.

I was trying to figure out how to do something really tricky on the computer the other day.

The details aren’t important and someone fifty years younger would have figured it out in 25.6 seconds where I gave up in dismal disappointment.

All this got me thinking. Is ‘progress’ a good thing or a not so good thing? Is it a help or a hindrance?

There are times to be sure when it is a fantastic asset. It has helped me ‘stay in touch’ with loved ones overseas. We can see and speak to each other in real time with real live images. I can see my daughter and son in law’s new corgi puppy Myf. Extraordinary and wonderful and Myf is pretty cute.

But there are times when the new geeky stuff is infuriating, too big, too frightening and not at all desirable. It is not helpful for the numbers in my blood pressure machine and the words which sadly slip out when I think no one can hear what I mutter.

It seems that I will always be doing this dance between looking back and looking forward and I think that is normal and helpful and healthy. Sometimes we need to look back and fix the things of the past (as best we can) before we look to the future. Progress is not a good thing if it keeps pulling you forward so quickly  that it doesn’t allow you to first fix up the past.

Ash Wednesday is on March 2nd. It is a time to look back at the ashes of the past and learn from our mistakes. It’s also a time to look forward to the future with fresh and courageous resolve. Masses will be offered at 10am at 7:00pm and all are very welcome.

He finds the words,… when we have none a reflection for the 20th of February 

In order to understand the significance of today’s Old Testament lesson we have to go back a ways. Jacob has 12 sons and Joseph has come much later on in time so  he is  always the favourite. His brothers have always been resentful and angry. You can imagine their fury when Jacob makes his favourite son a coat of many colours while not even giving the rest of them a voucher for Jeans west.

The opportunity for retribution happens one day when the 11 are looking after their fathers sheep well away from the farmhouse  right down in the bottom paddock.

Seeing their nemesis coming they  plot to kill him.

Fortuitously there are some travelling salesmen from Cash convertors passing that way and the 11 sell Joseph into slavery. They tell their Dad that a wooly mammoth killed their brother and Jacob is left distraught. The cash convertors sell Joseph in Egypt.

There Joseph eventually gains the favour of the pharaoh of Egypt and obtains a high place in pharaoh’s kingdom. Joseph’s adroit acquisition of grain supplies enables Egypt to withstand a famine. Driven by the same famine, his brother’s journey from Canaan to Egypt to obtain food. They prostrate themselves before Joseph but do not recognise him. However, Joseph recognises them.

So today’s lesson opens with Joseph finally revealing his true identity to his brothers. ‘I am Joseph.’

After all they have both been through over many years, Joseph opens a way forward for reconciliation.

Joseph doesn’t wait for his brothers response but swiftly asks ‘Is my father still alive?’

We are told that “his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.” Now I don’t think their silence is because Joseph had grown up muscular, tanned and handsome. I think their inability to speak is because their guilt strikes them dumb. We are left to conclude that their sense of remorse is crushing and debilitating.

They are standing some distance away because Joseph’s next words are both practical and symbolic.

‘Come closer to me.’  So you see how it’s not just an invitation in measurable, physical distance but there is another dynamic happening here. ‘Come closer to me’ in relationship… and the brothers do.

Again Joseph has to reassuringly reveal his identity

‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.’  Yes it's really me and sensing their grief and shame …

“And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

And then Joseph goes on to give them the long range weather forecast, tells them to go and get dear old dad and the other brothers and come on up here to Egypt where not only are they forgiven, but they will be looked after while this interminable drought rages on for  another five years.

Now one of the many important things to note in this lesson is that the recalcitrant brothers do not say anything at all. Nothing. Not one little ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘How can you forgive us?’ or even “Golly gee, you’re looking well on it Joseph’

But then we are not privy to their facial expression or body language. It is Joseph who in this encounter with his siblings is always taking the initiative. It is Joseph who reveals himself, it is Joseph who asks them to come closer. It is Joseph who forgives, reassures and sets out a very comfortable superannuation plan for them, their families and their dad. Then, right at the end of the lesson …”And Joseph kissed all his brothers and wept upon them;” so now they are so close that he can physically hold them. No COVID and social distancing here.

It’s not until the last tear is wiped away that the conversation begins. “and after that his brothers talked with him”.

What was said hardly matters. Joseph had already said and done all that needed to be said and done.

A couple of things to draw out of this.

First, the brothers did not go to Pharaoh expecting to find forgiveness and acceptance from their long lost brother. The opportunity found them and surprised them. They just fronted up to Pharaohs 2nd in command because the crops back home were failing and they were getting hungry.  I suspect that is how God deals with us. That we come and are surprised by God revealing himself in the most unlikely of people and our guilt is dealt with by the Master’s tears as the brother's guilt was dealt with by Joseph’s tears.

Secondly, sometimes just showing up and coming closer to Him is all that is needed. Sometimes we can’t put into words just how appalled we are at our own behaviour. Just coming closer when we are bidden will speak for itself.

Finally I reckon Joseph and his brothers went and had a couple bottles of red cordial, a fattened lamb, some brandy soaked olives and some broken, shared bread.

So we come today to the God who surprises us. Just coming and breaking bread with him will give us the fresh start that we all crave for.

Today he says to you… “Come closer… it is I”

And we know that He has found the words for us, when we could not find the words for Him.

Every so often someone comes to the door of the Rectory. It’s always a whole parish occasion and is something to be celebrated, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. It’s not just about the priesty guy, it’s about every member of the congregation and community when this happens. Ultimately it is the priest and parish who come away the wealthier and more blessed.

This is how I would write up one of these ‘parish events’. I have fudged some of the details to protect the innocent.

You would have to call him a crumpled man. Dishevelled in appearance, his posture was stooped and not just because of his physical ailments. He had that hangdog droop because of the emotional weight that was cast like a lead coat over his shoulders.

We chattered for a while and he told me his story, or part of it. Can you ever really tell your whole story in the space of one conversation and are we ever really completely aware of our own story? Others will always see things we can’t see.

Impoverished is another word to describe this gentleman. It wasn’t just dollars or lack of them, it was also a dearth of family, friends and community. He’d been addicted, bashed, ignored and incarcerated. There was nowhere left to go. This was the absolute bottom of the pit. With every pretence and facade stripped away, things had never been clearer or more sharply focussed for him. And all that seems sad, and it was, but there was also a chat about tomorrow.

When our concrete certainties lie demolished around us and we are left to play in the ashes and rubble of our humanity, then the work of our redemption can begin. May it begin with me.

We could be heroes

When I first read the gospel for today my thoughts zoomed in on this verse.

“And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.”

There is something healing when we are physically touched by another. It’s one of the things I miss not only in COVID times but also because a minority of my colleagues have abused the privilege of touch and their position of trust.

Once upon a time it was quite acceptable for a sad person to sob on my shoulder at the graveside. That is no longer the case and I am sorry that a few have stolen this privilege. Nowadays  clergy have to be super vigilant, careful and sadly we might seem a little distant and cool.

But back to the gospel reading. It’s is very true that when you give yourself pastorally to another power does go out of you. But this allows miracles to happen in all sorts of guises.

I reckon The Master would have been exhausted after all that healing.

I also reflected that it would be great to have super powers like Jesus.  Think of the good we could all do. No more need for RAT tests, IV drips and ventilators. Just a quick prayer, a laying on of hands, some holy oil, a blessing and you’re all sorted. A superhero to the rescue

When we think of the sort of person that would be a superhero the image we might conjure up is someone who is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, is faster than a speeding bullet, has a long flowing cape and might wear their underwear on the outside. Someone invincible, super tough, impervious to feeling. More resilient than teflon and indestructible as a cockroach. Someone who can heal 99.9% of the people 100% off the time.

But then the gospel reading goes on and we get the beatitudes. Matthew also has a very similar version of the beatitudes. These sayings or beatitudes  elevate the most unusual and unexpected people to the status of superhero.

Blessed are you who are poor,
Blessed are you who are hungry
Blessed are you who weep,
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you.

So it is the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the defamed and hated that are the real our super heroes. These are the powerful ones, these are people we turn to when life drops unpleasant messes upon us from a great height.

This doesn’t sound right in our slick 21st century way of thinking. So let me try to explain.

The people who have ministered most effectively to my tears are those who have known the power of tears themselves.

The one who has ministered most powerfully to me in my sinfulness, is the one I know to be a cheeky, grubby brat who personally understands what forgiveness is really all about.

It is those who have known exclusion and prejudice who have confronted me most efficaciously about my own blinkered perceptions.

It is not the slick smooth hand of the professional that I need when mine is mucky and bleeding. It is the pierced gnarly calloused hand of The Master Carpenter that I want to reach out to and grasp when I am smushed.

Or to use  another analogy. It is the alcoholic who has not had a drink for 11 years, 5 months, 3 weeks and 24 days who can be most effective to the person who has just admitted to being an alcoholic.

Part of this upside down puzzle is because those who are broken and tearful and hungry…  and know it, come from an unconquerably strong place of authenticity. There’s no dress ups and pretending when you are sobbing. There are delusions or pretensions when you know you have fallen from grace. Hunger cannot be fudged. There is no charade with poverty of spirit or possessions. This is it. Naked, raw humanity swallowed up by God’s all consuming grace. His unquenchable love does not stay away from our ugly bits, but rather gathers us into His loving embrace to redeem, to sanctify, to make us whole and turn us into angels and messengers of good news.

Now that my friends, is real power. That is real authority. It is far more effective, far more lasting, far more exciting and far more impressive than anyone who jumps tall buildings and can’t dress themselves properly.

In today’s gospel it’s almost as if Jesus is saying well

“Yes, all the whizz bang healing and exorcisms are one thing, but there’s something else going on as well. Something just as important and vital. He looks at us as he looked at his disciples and he says

Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude you, revile you,
and defame you on account of the Son of Man.

And if we took a deep breath, looked into his eyes and said

Yes… I am poor
Yes….I am hungry
Yes …I am weeping

Then we could be heroes, not just for one day, but forever ever and ever. Amen.

There are many wonderful things about celebrating a Harvest Festival. We do this each year at St. Peter’s Glenthompson and all are invited. Folk bring their produce and we gather together to celebrate that when so many have so little, we have so much to share and celebrate. The bounty is then auctioned off and there is wine, mirth, joy, giggles and food.

I look forward to this annual event for many reasons, not least of all because it gives me an opportunity to engage with people in an informal setting.

But there are other reasons.

In an era where we have succumbed to the false gods of data, fear and division, we have this refreshing expression of collegially. We learn again that we have more in common than what separates us. We are better than the deep divisions of suspicion that sometimes make us grumpy and irritable and which turned the humble loo roll into a deity to bow down to and fight over.

So we gather and give thanks. We come to be nourished not just from the generous bounty of the earth and produce of the kitchen and juice of the grape and the delectable things that emerge from the oven.  But  we are nourished most effectively from the jocularity and engagement one with another.

We do not worship the God of data and death. Instead we look into each other’s eyes. We hear the unprovoked and uninhibited laughter. These are our ‘hymns’. We join in with and celebrate with, the God of the party. The God of abundance. The God who calls us to look not only at what we generously have on our table, but also to reach out to those who have never known any of these things.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

Today’s gospel reading reminded me very much of the reading from Ecclesiastes.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

The reading goes on for another half dozen verses listing just about every possible thing you can do.

A time to listen to the homily and a time to snore.

A time to talk with the Master, a time to listen to Him. A time to go to the pub and a time to refrain from going to the pub and so on it goes…

In today’s gospel reading you see that it is divided so that one phase transitions neatly into the next.

When the story opens Jesus sees two empty boats at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.

So the time for actively fishing has ceased and the time for washing nets has started.

The crowds are eager for a few wise words from Jesus. So the time for listening has begun. The crowds are so big that the logistics demand that Jesus get into a boat in order to properly address the mob. So you see what’s happened here. The Master can see that having a quiet fireside chat on the sea shore just isn’t going to work. He’s spotted the empty boats and sees a solution. He’s  a quick thinker or maybe he had this all worked out over breakfast.

Notice please that Jesus chooses his boat very carefully and purpose-fully. He wants to teach in Simon’s boat.

We’re not told what Jesus’ sermon was, but it must have been a rip snorter because  no-one starting snoring or got out their rotten vegetables.

This ‘homily teaching’ phase ends and we transition / begin something new. This next phase is a bit scary. To put out into deep water. Deep water in the gospel is more than just 60 fathoms. In the gospels deep water is also the place of death and new life. It is the place of uncertainty and danger. It is the place of challenge and adventure.

‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’

Simon has misgivings.

‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing’.

It’s almost like…

“Yeah well we tried that…and it didn’t work” but Luke has Simon as compliant. “Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”

Did you spot the shift? Simon is not the boss of the fishing anymore. Jesus is. Simon has relinquished his control and the corporate decisions are now made by Jesus.

And when that shift, that transition happens, when Simon allows it to happen, the results surpass all expectations and are beyond belief.

“When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break.  So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink”.

There was a time of dearth when no fish were caught, the night time which again is symbolic. It’s now daylight and it’s the time to catch lots of fish.

The next phase or station could be called ‘A time to confess and a time to follow’.

Simon has a secret. He is incredibly guilty about something.

And we know this because when he sees the huge haul of fish he drops to his knees saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’.

It must have been something he felt really terrible about.

Jesus response is not

“Well yes Simon, that’s true. You are an absolute stinker. A complete rotter.”

Rather Jesus response is

‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’

So Simon has a new career. There was a time to be a fisherman and now there is a time to be a fisher of people.

When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. The key word here is everything. You can’t cherry pick the nice bits of discipleship.

Odd, isn’t it… That Simon’s CV has he perceives  it is a terrible document with a big black mark on it. An ominous splotch. But from Jesus’ point of view this is exactly the sort of person he wants to apply. Someone who has the integrity and honesty to own up and say ‘I sure botched that up’.

So the new recruits leave behind the old way of life and begin a new way of life. This most significant of changes can only happen when they, like us, accept the invitation to leave behind our misplaced guilt and follow ‘Him’. Otherwise we are left in the nighttime catching nothing and washing redundant nets.

There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

A time to listen - a time to speak

A time to catch nothing - a time to catch lots of fish.

A time to confess - a time to follow.

And that time is now!

I was reflecting that the world has changed forever and we cannot snap back to exactly how things were a couple of years ago.

Masks seem likely to be our everyday fashion accessories. They are tricky and as with most things there is a down side and an upside. The downside is that folk are not as easy to recognise and you have to look a little closer, maybe ask the self effacing, embarrassing question.

So what’s the upside? The upside is that we are doing our very best to protect each other. There are also some pretty zany and creative styles and prints. Some of us have great creative genius and its good to see it on show and celebrate it.

But there is also something else going on with masks. I look at it this way. I see masks as a not so subtle reminder that the person before us is more than their outward features. We have to look beyond the masked face to the real person who is more than just a smile, a grin and a few facial muscles.

This can be hard work sometimes. It is not always easy and some of us for very understandable reasons, often hidden reasons, have masked ourselves in other ways.

But always, the undisclosed is well worth getting to know and enjoy. Over time they, like you, will shift and evolve so there is always something new to learn and gasp at.

The quirky bit is that as we work at getting to know the person on the other side of the mask, we too grow, change and develop. We become more accessible and delightful. In our wrestle to get to know the other person, our mask slips and people see us as never before.