Today is the second Monday of Lent and, among other things, it is a time of waiting, reflecting, and expectancy. What is it that you are waiting for today? In popular cartoons, God is often depicted as a stern old man with flowing white beard, sometimes sitting on a cloud, sometimes surrounded by strange little …
The winds of change and renewal
The winds of unwelcome change blow harsh through all our lives. Last week we looked at the challenge of negotiating the changes that come our way. Today I want to continue that theme, and reflect on the relationship between change and personal renewal. Long ago the psalmist wrote these words: As a deer longs for …
The winds of change and me
Last week I quoted the refrain of an old hymn, “All may change, but Jesus never,” and I talked about the consistency and reliability of Jesus. Today I want to talk about the first phrase in that refrain: “All may change.” SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA - 2018/09/01: Upward view of giant sequoias in Sequoia National …
Jesus and the winds of change
As a young child in Wollongong, I learned a lot of hymns and songs at Sunday School, in church, and at home listening to Burl Ives LP records. Burl was a challenge to my tiny mind, since as well as revivalist hymns he also sang patriotic American songs, and colonial Australian songs such as …
God and the winds of change
Each of us has our own unique experience of 2020, the year that brought us a disruptive pandemic, and our own perspective on what it all means. But one thing we all share in common: we have all felt the winds of change, and those winds are with us now. We call it “the new …