Every so often a verse from the Bible jumps at you to challenge us to think afresh about how we are to follow Jesus. Well, for the last week or so I have been carrying around Mark 14:21. It’s one of those verses which I have read many times and simply passed over, not really giving it a second thought. Until now. We are at the last supper and Jesus has just shocked his disciples to the core as he reveals that one of them is about to betray him. They can’t believe it.

The cruel and lingering death of Jesus, the Son of God, would upend our entire view of reality, subvert our every assumption of how we are to live. As the apostle Paul explains “This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It’s written, “I’ll turn conventional wisdom on its head, I’ll expose so-called experts as shams. (1 Corinthians 1:18, Message translation) I’ve just finished reading an astonishing book of how a collection of very clever men in the o

The question I kept asking myself watching BBC’s Roadkill this week was “Is this really true to life or simply David Hare projecting his cynicism onto our political leaders?” Occupying a totally different world to the sunny uplands of Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, this four part drama portrays our politicians as utterly ruthless in their pursuit of private ambition. Thanks to BBC iPlayer Jacqui and I were able to watch it over four consecutive nights rather than wait seve

The police, I know, are on full alert as we await the influx, invasion even, of those from the other side of the border. As Ormskirk and rural West Lancs Police explain, somewhat tentatively, in their Facebook posting: “We are aware that some people may be planning to travel to Lancashire (they mean Ormskirk) this weekend to watch the football.” Yes, tomorrow’s 238th derby match between Everton and Liverpool may be a top tier match but in terms of covid restrictions it i

To forgive is not to forget but to remember aright. That seems to be have one of the conclusions of the report produced this week from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. This revealed that the Church of England had failed to protect children and had a culture where abusers "could hide".  The focus was on bishops who defended alleged perpetrators instead of protecting children and young people from sexual predators. Not just bishops but an entire culture is h

Just like President Trump with the coronavirus, you can’t simply dismiss the threat of evil as if it wasn’t there. As he enters self-isolation he has ample time to reflect on his observation in February “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” Similarly evil – it’s there, whether we like it or not. And not just out there, somehow remote and disinterested, it’s here powerfully and purposefully working against us. To deny its presence is t

“Gross injustice demonstrates a basic premise: in our world: something is terribly wrong and cries out to be put right.” I’ve pulled this quote from Fleming Rutledge’s excellent book, The Crucifixion. And as it happens it powerfully intersects with another book I am currently reading (in the evenings), Richard Bessel’s Germany 1945. Both document the terrible dominion over human nature wrought by the power of evil – and our urgent need for rescue. To quote the 1662 Book

“When you wear a mask, you have my respect,” declares actor Morgan Freeman in the tone he uses when playing God. “Because your mask doesn’t protect you, it protects me.” So we are all now wearing masks to do our shopping, a necessary move given more recent research showing that face coverings inhibit the spread of the coronavirus especially in poorly ventilated spaces indoors. In fact, only last week my daughter visiting from Bedford, a virus hotspot, commented how few p

Early start this morning – to join in with a family birthday. For once I will be singing “Happy Birthday” without lathering my hands. Birthdays, of course, are very special. We all have one, whoever we are and whatever our status. It’s a time for friends and family to come together and celebrate you! Birthdays are the great leveller and having just finished reading Tom Holland’s Dominion I would imagine that he would argue this, like so much in our culture, is as a direc

On this grim day, three powerful statistics: * Now 100 doctors in Italy have died of COVID-19. * In the UK the 10 doctors who have died from the virus were all immigrants. * Nine London bus drivers have died from the coronavirus along with five other transport workers. What holds these disparate people together is a strong sense of duty. Certainly medics know the risk. Sadly Abdul Chowdhury, the latest doctor to die, warned the prime minister directly to provide NHS w