Light of the world

Have you ever been in a light-filled space, and suddenly youโ€™re plunged into darkness? Or youโ€™ve been out driving in a thunderstorm when the traffic signals fail?ย It can be frustrating; it can be frightening; it can quickly lead to chaos. Without light, Gerard Manley Hopkins would never have uttered those immortal words, โ€œGlory be to …

Must have a short memory

We have all heard of the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians on October 7, 2024, and the military responses and counter-responses.ย That deplorable conflict, far from over, is now further complicated by evidence of mass starvation, allegations of genocide in Gaza, and Israeli โ€œpogromsโ€ against Palestinians living in Israel. And this is merely …

There’s some good in this world

Walter Brueggemann, one of the great Protestant theologians of the Hebrew Bible, died on Thursday, aged 92. Brueggemann is widely described as a modern prophet in the tradition of the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. He possessed the ability to explain the meaning of the ancient text with clarity and precision, and interpret its prophetic …

Nothing in my hand I bring

Last week, I suggested that, in his inaugural sermon at the Nazareth synagogue (Lk 4:16-21), and in the Beatitudes which must have been taught very soon after, Jesus echoed the words of Isaiah 61:1-7. I said that Jesus came to change the world, to turn the world upside down, to right wrongs, to pour out compassion, …