NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

Thank you to the friend who pointed out to me that this year Maundy Thursday fell on March 24, the 36th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Romero spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture.It is believed that those who organized his assassination were members of Salvadoran death squads. Funding for the squads came primarily from right-wing Salvadoran businessmen and landowners. On the following day, the Christian church was marking Good Friday, approximately 2000 years after the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. He spoke out against poverty and social injustice, giving a voice to the voiceless and a place to the displaced. He was crucified by the Romans, the ruling power in Israel at that time. [Scholars have provided estimates for the year of crucifixion in the range 30–33 AD, with the majority of modern scholars favouring the date April 7, 30 AD. Another popular date is Friday, April 3, 33 AD. Wikipedia] It w...

It crossed my mind this year, how the church’s activities of Good Friday are so little like what probably happened all those years ago on the hills outside of Jerusalem.  We will gather, many of us at the ‘correct’ time of 3pm but without taking into account that DST wasn’t part of that long ago story, and re-enact the happenings of that day. These often include the 7 last words of Jesus, compliments of an amalgamation of the writings of all the writers of the gospels along with the stations of the cross, which originated with pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The tradition of moving around the Stations to commemorate the Passion of Christ began with St. Francis of Assisi and extended throughout the Roman Catholic Church in medieval times. Then we leave the building silently, get into our cars, and disperse. This is a powerful Act II, following the drama of Maundy Thursday and acting as a precursor to the final act of Easter. But is it what really happened on that day so ...

'If I had been a journalist at the time of the crucifixion, I would have been hanging around Herod's palace talking to Pilate and disregarding [Jesus].'   -Malcolm Muggeridge [' Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990), known as Malcolm Muggeridge, was a British journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he worked for the British government as a soldier and a spy.' -Wikipedia] Today's society is mesmerized with celebrities. We have Red Carpet events, nightly shows on our TVs following the news that highlight the comings and goings of the rich and famous (or infamous!), VIP lounges and preferred seating. I have even heard a priest say that they wore the clerical robes and collar, so that they would stand out as the priest. I guess they saw the priest as a celebrity, of sorts, in the milieu  of the church. We venerate youth and beauty, riches and fame, whatever kind of fame it might be. The more odi...

For many years I have been challenged by the quandary of just what Lent means to me. Firstly, what should I give up and then in latter years what spiritual practise should I add to an already busy life? Somehow it was always easier to take something away!!!  If you are still wondering just what you might focus on for this year, this quote by David Brooks in ‘The Road to Character’ might give you something to think about.  “We live in a society that encourages us to think about how to have a great career but leaves many of us inarticulate about how to cultivate the inner life.” - I am part of a small group that meets weekly. While the focus of the group is to explore current biblical scholarship, I hear over and over again how the participants appreciate the chance to speak out and be heard about those things that are important in their inner life .. something many of them have never experienced before. More importantly it helps them to actually realize what it is that...

‘Anyone who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and anyone who takes care of a master will be honoured. Just as water reflects the face, so one human heart reflects another.’ - Proverbs 27:18-19 The Revised Common Lectionary for last Sunday included the parable Jesus told about a fig tree and the impatient farmer who found after three years it still wasn’t producing any fruit. [Luke 13:6-9] The gardener in this parable wanted to cut down the fig tree after looking for and expecting fruit for those 3 years but Jesus encouraged him to wait one more year, and not just to wait but to fertilize and encourage the fig tree in its unproductively! And then if the tree was still unproductive he could cut it down. This quote from Proverbs would have been familiar to the writer of the gospel and I wonder if that is what inspired this particular parable?  But no matter what inspired the parable, more important is the message it is trying to put across. While we are not familiar...