I have to confess that sometimes when I’m reading the Gospels, I don’t pay the closest attention to the healing stories. There are just so many of them, and they don’t seem to offer much narrative punch, to my eyes. But, of course, they are there for a reason, and which stories among the hundreds, … Continue reading Two Daughters of God: A Reflection on Mark 5.21-43
Like many of us who grew up in the Church, one of my favourite stories as a child was David and Goliath. It’s a story that feels tailor-made for a young audience, pitting as it does the faith of a small boy against the cowardice of his older brothers and a giant enemy. But it’s … Continue reading A Contrast of Kings: A Reflection on 1 Samuel 17
[When I was reading over today's readings, my thoughts were much what they were three years ago, so I'm re-posting that reflection here today.] We humans are a rather predictable lot. Our heads are turned by good looks whether we want them to be or not; we can know someone is manipulative and still find … Continue reading A Kingdom of Small Beginnings (Repost)
We live in an age the devil must love. For ‘devil’, and likewise ‘Satan’, means ‘deceiver, one who confuses’, so this age of AI-generated lies, fake news (and people crying ‘Fake News!’ about real news), dissembling, finger-pointing, and distracting, is right up their alley. (This is true whether we take the devil as a literal … Continue reading A House Divided: A Reflection on Mark 3.20-35
A recurring theme on this blog (and indeed in the New Testament) is that being a Christian means living a radically different life. There is supposed to a marked difference between life following Jesus and life following our own impulses, between life with the Spirit and life outside of the Spirit. There are few places … Continue reading Life in the Spirit: A Reflection on Romans 8.12-17
Matthew Root 