God's love

God's love, however, is anything but silent. He shouts it in Jesus Christ - John 3.16

no vocabulary

There's no vocabulary
For love within a family, love that's lived in
But not looked at, love within the light of which
All else is seen, the love within which
All other love finds speech.
This love is silent.
T.S. Eliot

That's a great and profound thought! I can see it perfectly in my own experience of family. However, in the context of church, which takes on the metaphor of family, why do we have to keep finding a vocabulary to suggest Christian love and community? We're so self-conscious, sometimes; so artificial; so reminding, perhaps. I found reading Andrew Francis, Hospitality and Community (2012) a real help to a less self-conscious Christianity. Also, Ian Stackhouse, Primitive Piety (2012), chapter 9, 'Untamed Hospitality' a terrific challenge.

Hokey Kokey

I saw the other day a notice that said: 'What if the hokey kokey is really what it's all about?' Food for thought, perhaps!

Light

For with you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light. Psalm 36:9

Just returned from the US - two conferences, ETS and SBL. Both excellent. Great sessions, papers and seminars - particularly those on the Reformation! Great conversations with authors, would-be authors, and publishers. Enjoyed the cities too - Milwaukee and Chicago. Mild weather, blue skies, lots of Starbucks. A privilege!

Divine work

Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
Create in me a pure heart, O God.
Renew a steadfast spirit within me (Ps 51).

We need to pray for the work of his Spirit.

Living with wisdom

'Living with wisdom has the fear of the Lord at the centre: reverence, dread, awe, respect, humility - mysterium tremendum. The mysterium tremendum is the beginning of wisdom, You are not at the centre of the world; he is. To put it bluntly: shut up. Stop messing around with trivialities and banalities and pay attention,' Ian Stackhouse, Primitive Piety (Paternoster, 2012). This is at the centre of Ian's thinking in this book, which attempts to help us make our own Christian faith raw, authentic, what he terms 'primitive' in a world and a generation that needs just that. Our faith and our mission is about God and about Jesus Christ; not us.