Luke21: 29-end Gospel reading. In my garden I don’t have a fig tree, but I do have fruit trees which have long been telling the season, like the fig tree in the reading from Luke. As Luke tells it, when you see the trees come into leaf, you see it as a sign of summer coming, a hope of fruit to come. I inspect my apples and pears and plums every day to watch the changes, as blossom has come and gone, the tiny fruits started to form and now the beginnings of colour touching the fruit as a promise … Continue reading Morning reflection 23rd July 2020

Today we remember John Keble, the man after whom Keble College Oxford was named. His poetry and sermons had a radical effect on the church. Writing nearly 200 years ago, he gave us these familiar words: Blest are the pure in heart, for they shall see our God, the secret of the Lord is theirs; their soul is Christ’s abode. He preached about the difference between seeing the Church as an institution in society and seeing it as a way of sharing the prophetic voice of God. We still have this tension, that the church is a ‘thing’, in today’s … Continue reading Morning reflection

In today’s reading from Luke I was really struck by the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Both are praying and the Pharisee lifts his eyes up to God and gives thanks for not being like other people, listing all the good things he has done for God. The tax collector looks to the ground and recognises only his sins. I don’t think we see either of those behaviours in Heathfield Benefice! Not directly anyway. We don’t see people beating their breasts as sinners and we don’t see people standing in church looking self-satisfied either. But all of … Continue reading Morning reflection 7th July 2020

Morning reflection Monday 22nd June There is disturbance in the air. It is not just the usual cold fronts and warm fronts and the disturbances of the jet stream on our English weather. It is not just the sense of change as restrictions are removed and new old freedoms are returning. It is the Holy Spirit challenging us, making us face up to the hard issues of life. Usually at this time of year, my work would be rising to a peak and I would be looking forward to the summer: for me a time of less work, more time … Continue reading Morning reflection 22nd June 2020

We didn’t fall out much, my parents and I. But I remember a couple of arguments which made a deep impression. One was about a toy I wanted – some of you will remember the Etch-a-Sketch toy – a plastic tablet on which you drew by twisting buttons at the base of the screen. I so wanted that toy, years later it remains etched (sorry) on my memory. And another a few years later when I came home from school inspired by a careers talk encouraging us to leave school at 16 and study for a business diploma at college. … Continue reading Morning prayer reflection 10th June 2020

Today is the first day of a new month and the first day of new regulations which let up to six people from different households meet together outside. We still cannot meet together within a church building, but we are meeting often online and by phone. For me it feels as if we are more connected than ever during this time, and that is because of our constant prayer. We may pray similar words, perhaps the Lord’s Prayer, or perhaps we pray without words, sitting or standing in the silence to be close to God.  But our prayers, in whatever … Continue reading Morning prayer reflection 1st June 2020

Jesus is risen – this is the essence of our Easter season. But today we recognise that he is also ascended. Ascended where? Ascended to his Father, ascended into eternity. Wow. Not only was he resurrected from death on the cross, not only did he appear to people after his resurrection, but now we try to understand that he is ascended to his Father. Jesus is like us and yet unlike us. Lived on earth as we do, but now lives through eternity – with us, with our ancestors, with our children’s children. This is a very big idea. An … Continue reading Morning prayer reflection 21st May 2020

I stood among trees yesterday and was overwhelmed with prayer. Now, we all have a little more freedom to go out and stand among trees, in gardens or parks or the countryside, we can all do this.  I stood and looked up at the tops of the trees waving and rustling, engaged in intimate conversation with one another. I felt grounded in the earth, all one with the trees, alone with the trees. These trees have grown in diversity – alder and ash, fir and pine, beech and cherry. I have read that their roots intermingle and communicate through the … Continue reading Morning prayer reflection 21st May 2020

How many times in recent weeks have we heard people use the Second World War as some kind of comparable event to the virus lockdown and its impact on our lives? While the scale of national emergency may be in some way comparable, there are few other ways in which such a comparison can be made.  In no sense do I want to minimise the suffering of families bereaved through Covid-19, or the bravery of key workers who take risks each day to keep not just our health service but also our society – its utilities, its food production and … Continue reading Morning reflection 5th May 2020

I found myself up a ladder the other day, securing an external light which had broken from fixings in the wind. In more normal times, we would have asked someone to do this job properly, but just now we are thrown back on whatever skill or resource we have to hand, while so many professionals are unable to ply their own trades. Even my home cooking is getting more practice, which is not to say it is improving. As we do our best to deal with the little challenges of the home, outside in the wider world  people face challenges … Continue reading Morning prayer reflection 20th April 2020