Reflections

It turns out that some people had done the wrong thing and been exposed. It’s easier to get caught out these days with our ability to record and transmit information with immediate viewing or listening or both. This can be a really good thing and can be used in lots of positive ways, but it...Continue reading→

Once upon a time there was a film called the 10 commandments. It starred Charlton Heston and watching this film at the drive-in is one of my earliest childhood memories. The exhilarating bit was the part where the good guys got to walk through the walls of the Red Sea and the bad guys in...Continue reading→

I thought of Axel the other day. He was a young man of 20 something years and I met him at the funeral of his great aunt. There were several things that struck me about Axel. His manners, charm and his rich guttural accent which was both tricky and endearing. But what was even more...Continue reading→

Octavius came home from school and went straight to the reassuring embrace of his mum Ember. “Mummy … mummy! Some of the grade 6 boys were calling each other names and they used this yucky word.” Taking a deep breath, Amber braced herself. “What was the word darling?” “Bigot” replied Octavius, almost spitting out the...Continue reading→

Jeremy Fisher lived many years ago in a place that is many kilometres from here. But he came one night and poured out his heart to me. The contents were not pretty and there was quite a bit that Jeremy was not very proud of. But there it was, hanging in the air of my...Continue reading→

"Dear David, Thank you very much for this essay, the logic of which escapes me. However if you like, I would be happy to buy you a beer so you could explain it to me. In bepuzzlement  your New Testament theology lecturer." I want to come back to this little note at the end of...Continue reading→

Have you never noticed how doing the dishes can be quite cathartic? It’s a therapy where you don’t actually have to think too much about anything. A space to reflect and sort out our wonky world. Things are in a much better place once the last shiny dish has been triumphantly put away. But sometimes...Continue reading→

There are things known as K.P.I. 's It's short for Key Performance Indicators and they slush around in the business world. They are how success is measured. So if you had a company that made dinky matchbox toy cars your Key Performance Indicators might be these. To make a profit of $1million in the financial...Continue reading→

A reflection for August 29th First a confession. The phrase “Our tears will dry” is an absolute and unashamed pinch from someone far more articulate than I, but as always you deserve the best and the best I can offer today is this simple but profound phrase “Our tears will dry”. This mornings first lesson...Continue reading→

Tell me… what did you learn? I can’t have been any more than 12 years old. My dad had bought fish and chips at Warracknabeal. By the time he got back to Sheep Hills this gastronomic delight had cooled slightly. “Here David. Pop these in the oven as a treat for dinner.” I was stoked....Continue reading→

It was in the summer of 1975 that I first put on the uniform of Horsham High school. The shirt felt tight around my neck, and the blazer was ill fitting, scratchy and awkward… I went tremulously through the front gate, found my way to where I was supposed to be and began. Question. When...Continue reading→

'What's all this about Mary!? A reflection for the 15th of August Anglicans believe that good theology is Christ-centred, Bible based, Affirmed by ancient catholic tradition and Supported by human reason. The flash churchy phrase for these 4 things is the Lambeth quadrilateral. This is very much the case with our understanding of the Blessed Virgin...Continue reading→

It happened when Jeanine and I were out trying to spot those pesky, elusive whales from Logans beach in Warrnambool. We haven’t had a lot of luck in spotting these magnificent creatures; in fact we have never spotted any at all. As we were leaving something happened that was as significant as a whale breaching....Continue reading→

I want to tell you about Bob, Ted, Carol and Alicia. They were great companions and used to go to lovely dinner parties together. Bob was your straight up and down sort of guy who had a deep and abiding love of history. Ted was always quick and straight to the point. What you see...Continue reading→

I am ponderously reading a biography of Gandhi. It's a comprehensive document with lashings of background and context. It transpires that Gandhi was in and out of prison on a regular basis. He made friends with those who kept him locked up and it didn’t seem to bother him. Why? There is a telling little...Continue reading→

Today I want to plunge into the second lesson given to us by St. Paul as he writes to his parish at Ephesus. It is a marvellous letter and has been rightly called a  "Hymn to unity”.  This letter calls the Ephesians and us back to the"dignity of our vocation” which to be unified. The first verse...Continue reading→

I happened to notice a  woman who was pregnant the other day. In the olden days we would have said that she was ‘with child’. I’m really not quite sure why we stopped using that phrase because it told it as it was with all its trepidation, excitement and awe. I thought some more and a...Continue reading→

In the first lesson King David, spying from his roof, spots a woman (Bathsheba) whom he would like for himself. David sends servants to “take” her, a word that, in some contexts in the Old Testament, can be used to designate rape. Bathsheba is given no voice in this story, but the details are clear:...Continue reading→

There is a stain glass window which now means much to me. I look at it every morning and evening when I say my prayers. The window tells the story of the visit of some chaps who have been to Cash-converters and snapped up gold, frankincense and myrrh. To be sure their gifts are a...Continue reading→

Today's text…“They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them”. Here we glimpse the beginning of the sacrament of healing or Holy unction which we still use in the Church today. It is a lovely sacrament because it is given to us by God and it is life affirming....Continue reading→