Repenting of our past ways and following Jesus does not guarantee us safety from disaster, but it certainly opens the way to an abundance of life that is beyond what any disaster can destroy.
Repenting of our past ways and following Jesus does not guarantee us safety from disaster, but it certainly opens the way to an abundance of life that is beyond what any disaster can destroy.
Extravagant grace can be terrifying because it asks nothing of us but a complete change of life!
God’s love is like a refuge from the storm, like the hospitality of a generous host, like the continuing delight of a bridegroom for his bride, and like the alchemical power of the miracle-worker transforming even our fear and inconstancy into the power to love, forgive, and cherish.
In the midst of horror and despair, Christ arrives with love enough, with peace enough, with hope enough to make things very, very, very different.
The Advent season is a gift that illumines our present with light from our promised goal, to shape us as a people of patient and vigilant faithfulness.
The impossible life of peace, joy, justice centred in the other, only becomes possible because God makes it possible.
The gifts we most need – a place of belonging and a place of sacred meaning – will be found when we offer them to others.
Our liturgical expression of faith can nurture but not substitute for putting our faith into action.
When we truly encounter God in worship, we see everything in all its splendour and horror and are transformed for mission.
A modern paraphrase of a Homily from St Gregory Nazianzus for the Feast of the Nativity
You can’t define or dictate how people will experience God, even within the service of worship.
Forgiveness is the voluntary relinquishment of the right to desire revenge or reparation.
We are called to proclaim and celebrate the advent of God’s justice, and doing so is ultimately more radical than simply fighting injustice.
Although the coming Christ is brings our deepest hopes to fulfillment, we still fear his coming because of our unhealthy investments in the present.
We are called to live the lifestyle of the era that has not quite dawned – values found in Jesus Christ that will bring life to the world.
Christian discipleship is an ongoing journey, so any attempt to preserve what is right today can mean we are in the wrong place tomorrow because Jesus has moved on.
When we encounter the reality of God we are overcome with our own unworthiness, and we are confronted with a choice – to push God away and hide from our self-realization, or to accept God’s gracious invitation to mercy, transformation and mission.
With the coming of the Christ, our deepest longings and yearnings will be fulfilled.
God does not wish our suffering and struggle to continue, but is ready to gather us in his arms, and calls us to prepare for his arrival.
If we live as though Christ was reigning now, we will always be ready for what he is about to do.