NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

“All giving constitutes a challenge to faith because there is no guarantee of a return.” When I heard this statement as part of a sermon on Rogation Sunday, my ears pricked up and my mind started to spin. The rest of the sermon had things to say as well, but this sentence is still the one that has stuck with me. It made, and is still making me think! For those of us who identify ourselves with the church, whenever we hear the word ‘givings’ our minds go immediately to what we put on the offering plate each Sunday and for that we expect, but are not guaranteed, that the church will be there for us when we need it; for weddings, baptisms, funerals and other rites of passage. However what intrigues me about this quotation is that first word. “ ALL giving constitutes a challenge …” And how true it is! Each time we ‘give’ something away and it doesn’t have the expected return, it is upsetting and we have all had that experience. I remember many years ago s...

“We live by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7 For my 70th birthday, my daughter, who lives in South Africa, painted me this picture. In explaining why she had used the text from 2 Corinthians as part of it, her words, as I remember them, were: “I choose these words because we see each other very seldom, but have faith the the other is there even when we can’t see them.” For her, they encompassed what she was experiencing living half-a-world away from her family. Yet one of the common expressions of our time is ‘Seeing is believing’ which first came into use in 1639 according to Wikipedia. Like 'Doubting Thomas' we will only believe that which we can see. How many times have you used, or heard someone else use the phrase ‘I’ll believe that when I see it!’ Often this is used referring to someone else’s promise to do something unlike what they would do normally such as give up FaceBook  or chocolate for Lent.  The feeling seems to be that we need to ‘see’ s...

‘The Green Lantern is a unique superhero because it's not that he's super that is his focus; it's that he's a man. He's very human. That's his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.’ ~Blake Lively It is funny, isn't it, how so often our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness .... and also that which is most irritating to those around us. You see this all the time. Someone comes through a medical crisis with flying colours. The health care team is impressed with their determination and drive to recover to their full potential.  When they get home, they exasperate their family and care-givers with their continual pushing of the boundaries, beyond what common sense might dictate. BUT, when you look at it, that is exactly the character trait that got them where they are. Perhaps you know a ‘Pollyanna’, someone who is so irritating to you with their continual insistence that ‘all will be well’; that ‘life’ is good; that ‘e...

I'm sitting out in the patio on a beautiful May morning. The sun is shining.  The birds are singing. My first cup,of coffee for the day tastes delicious.  But as I sit in this idyllic, peaceful place, I wonder. "What is the point of existence, of all existence?"  Surely there must be a reason for all this struggle and pain? Questions philosophers have asked over the ages, questions all humanity must ask at one time or another. Today however I have no answer. Today I can see the allure of a religion that offers that  answer for really the first time.  Yes, if I could but believe that life on this earth is merely a testing ground for how well I lived out my allotted years and if I did well, I would be reborn into a higher caste or form of life! If I didn't however, the next life would be definitely more unpleasant. That would make the struggle worthwhile. What about the belief in Ezekiel 37:5 that the righteous death would be raised on the last day. “Th...