Hitchhikers guide to God

Christmas – Who, Where, Why and What Next?  Luke 2.1-20 Exact date of our Lord’s birth is unknown. The Celtic festival of Yule is thought to be one of the motivators for the celebration of Christmas around the winter solstice. In fact Yule celebration takes place on December 21 or 22 and is associated with the lighting of candles and bonfires, decorating homes and feasting. So, not dissimilar to our celebrations today. Interestingly the Celtic teachings are also not far removed from those of our own Ten Commandments. These are the basis of first Jewish Covenant delivered by Moses in the desert.   Celtic ethics the include: Hospitality, Truth, Generosity, taking care of each other, Wisdom, Knowledge, Eloquence, Mercy, Justice, and the strong supporting the weak and worshiping God through the natural world Similarly, the Ten Commandments had also created a basic civilised code of conduct for Israelites. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and min...

  John the Baptist Prepares the Way     Mark 1.1-8 We are in advent! Where would be without the wonderful, courageous, energetic Saint John the Baptist – the herald of Our Lord Jesus Christ Some of you may know that I always gauge people by asking whether I would invite them to supper!   For instance, inviting St Paul could be quite dangerous. We could end up blind as did Bar-Jesus the sorcerer on Cyprus (Acts 13:1-3) Inviting St Peter could be even more hazardous. We remember the fate of Ananias and Sapphira when they did not donate all the proceeds of their field. (Acts 5:1-11) Both were struck down within hours. With St Peter we would need to have absolutely all our ducks in a row! However, 'John the Baptiser' as the Eastern church calls him was a simple, holy man who lived in the desert, dressed in camel hair, living on locusts and wild honey. He led a life of penance and prayer. Why would we have any problem inviting John to supper although we might...