"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that 'looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand'
So it tells me ( correct me if I am wrong) the parables are given for us to study and find the nuggets hidden within. And each time we look at them, we will find new treasures of wisdom.
Everything has a purpose - some formal; some not. What is the purpose of the UCCAN? Is it written somewhere. So send me to the manual. I don't want to go there.
I was home in bed, sick, and I needed something to watch. Having cancelled my cable TV a few years ago, I decided to give Itune movies a try and I found One Week.. It appealed to me as it was the story of one week in Ben Tyler (Joshua Jackson) life. A Toronto man in his mid twenties engaged to be married, just starting out in his career as a teacher and writer. The film starts with him being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that is in stage 4. With treatment the Doctor gives him a 10% chance of beating it.
Could it be? Is it a possibility? What would it mean to the followers of Christ that call themselves Christians because they believe that "Jesus died for my sins".
Three years ago, I retired. I had led a busy life - teaching, radio twice a day, TV, public talks fifty or sixty a year. I looked forward to doing things I had never had timem for - a family tree, some reading... Instead, I find I'm always tired an spiritless. Two months ago, I spent time in hospital being checked for an irregular heart beat. I have little energy.
A past moderator, Bill Phipps, wrote a book "Cause for Hope". In it he makes the point that people (we) live by the stories we tell. He even makes the point that for us to change the future is rather easy; all we have to do is change the story! Assuming that he is right, this would be an interesting tool for us to use. We could begin by contemplating what our society is like and then make the connection with the foundational stories we tell.
They say that after a death a person reevaluates things and how their life is going. A popular saying is that you will not have written on your tombstone "He/she spent a lot of time at work"
The last time I wrote on this site I was concerned with the “meaning of life." The theme continues in this post, but only because the questions I have been asking myself and others has consistently led back to one answer, despite the variety of questions. I have been asking myself why I believe what I did when I was an evangelical Christian and why others continue to believe what they do - in relation to that which we cannot perceive by the five senses. Granted, there are many of those who simply do not engage in such self-reflection.
This past Sunday, known in the church as Advent 3, and the Sunday coming (Advent 4) both have as a possible Gospel text the song of Mary, singing of her joy at being the mother of the son of God. Lots of sermons will be preached in the next week or so about whether or not Mary was a technical virgin, or just a very young woman; her happiness; the social justice part of the text - the mighty being brought down from their thrones, the hungry being fed and the rich sent away with nothing. All of these are important parts of the text.
Could it be? Is it a possibility? What would it mean to the followers of Christ that call themselves Christians because they believe that "Jesus died for my sins".
