Reflections

It must have seemed a peculiar sight. A straggly baggly group of people walking the streets of Hamilton with a thumping great cross. Every so often this gaggle stopped, said some words and sang a hymn. How peculiar to see in our secular society, a religious symbol in broad daylight. Yet there we all were...Continue reading→

I have always loved the story of Thomas. How he had slipped out to get the groceries down at the market while the other disciples got to see the Risen Jesus. You know, the spices, herbs, veggies, fish and figs oh.. no roast lamb as it was still too expensive. No cheese either, as the...Continue reading→

Of rumour and bribery And you would have thought that would be the end of it. When someone is crucified by our trusty team they’re dead. Stone cold, clinically dead. They’re not getting up and singing anywhere. And that’s what the ‘whole break the legs’ ‘stab the side’ thing is all about. To make sure...Continue reading→

The wise old priest and I  were looking deep into the flames in companionable amiability. That unspoken bond whenever two or more people gather around a fire. It’s been going for centuries now. The fire… a meeting place… a cooking place, an eating place, a safe place. He was senior to me in years of age...Continue reading→

Palm Sunday You’ll recall that I helped to arrest this Jesus guy in the garden. We then marched him off to meet some friends called Gonzo and his goons. They are exactly as they sound. Rough, tough and ready to give a bit of biff, Henchmen par-excellence. Their job is to make the person before...Continue reading→

So we come to that day of days when we’re really not quite sure what we’re supposed to be doing. Like, we know that we should be doing something, but just how do you mark a day when God dies at the hands of humans. Well, you tell the story, you remember, maybe weep, give...Continue reading→

This year it will happen on Thursday April 14th at 7:30pm. It’s the night before Good Friday and in a stunning, sublime act of worship, the priest takes a towel and a bowl of water and washes 12 peoples feet. At the time of typing there are still some spots left if you wanted to...Continue reading→

Brutus and Festus do some crowd control. We hear them before we see them. Shouts and cheers. It’s Festival time and the city is awash with religious excitement. The trouble is that when people get excited about their faith then they do stupid things. “Come on Festus… this sounds like a bit of fun.” We...Continue reading→

Great news Friends! Our book fair is going gangbusters. From now until Easter you can snap up some of the many fantastic bargains at The Hub. I consider it a privilege to be able to help out there.  I do so for a couple of reasons. One is that there are plenty of gaps on the...Continue reading→

Brutus goes to the garden.  “Festus. Festus! Get out here” It is the middle of the night and I am thumping on his door because our blockhead leader Claudius has a so called ‘important’ job for us. “Festus!” I hear muffled whispering and scurrying around. I smirk to myself. “Festus?” “I’m in bed” “So I...Continue reading→

It’s late. I’m lying in bed waiting for Matilda and I am somewhere in that lovely dozey land. There is a timorous knock at the door and I sense more than hear Matilda approaching. Her perfume is different, potent, exotic. She slips effortlessly into bed and instead of the usual vivacious extrovert, she is tentative,...Continue reading→

Take impossible off the table You remember how I wrote about the Harvest Festival at Glenthompson? To begin with the numbers seemed sparse and our hearts sank. But we toddled into Church, we sang, we prayed and we gave thanks for the generosity that makes our tables groan. We prayed for those who did not have anyone...Continue reading→

Festus came into the Dodgy Brothers inn the other night with a smashing great yarn about Claudius our idiot boss. Claudius has many servants but it happens that  one of them, Romulus, wakes up paralysed and in great distress. Can’t move a muscle and is in tears. Now Claudius… did I mention he’s an idiot, I...Continue reading→

On a house in London there is a plaque. It reads “John Lennon 1940 - 1980 Musician and Songwriter lived here in 1968” There is a real sense in which the house changed when that plaque went up. It ‘sealed’ the house as significant and different. And no matter who lives there now or what...Continue reading→

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...Continue reading→

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...Continue reading→

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...Continue reading→

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...Continue reading→

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...Continue reading→

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...Continue reading→