Tag: Ian Banks

May your life become a place of hospitality, where others, too, discover that the grace of God is never measured in crumbs, but always in love that keeps making room.

Elijah hears God in silence after a storm. Peter hears Christ above the storm. Paul reminds us that faith begins with hearing. Different stories but the same invitation – and that is to listen again and hear the voice.

Both passages ask us to move from scarcity to trust. Both invite us to stop measuring life solely by what we lack. Both remind us that God’s economy is different from our own. And both point us toward a God whose first instinct with us is one of invitation: “Come and Eat”

The invitation is to ask for a listening heart. To learn to notice the kingdom already growing among us. To trust that when words fail, the Spirit continues praying. And to become people through whom others begin to glimpse the hidden riches of heaven.

Isaiah says: “Do not fear.” Those words are not simply reassurance. They are an invitation to trust the One whose vision stretches far beyond our own. Because the future of the field does not depend upon our anxiety, but upon God’s faithfulness. It’s a field of mercy.

The word of God is not always comfortable to carry. But Jeremiah can also say: “Yet the Lord is with me.” Even in frustration, even in fear, even in anger, he cannot quite let go of the God who has called him.

Being God’s “treasured possession” is not presented as a blank cheque for superiority or entitlement. It is covenant language. Relational language. Vocational language. Israel is chosen not for privilege, but for purpose.

The Trinity: The music that holds you:
Blessed are you standing at the edge of mystery, trying to name what cannot be contained…

‘Add to Playlist: the Sound of the Spirit’ looks at Pentecost through the lens of the popular Radio 4 music programme…

Paul tells us that God is not far from each one of us. Jesus tells us that the Spirit will be in you. And the Ezra Collective reminds us that you have been given feet for dancing.

Here are two blessings for those approaching ordination, one based firmly on the Anglican Ordinal

So, we come back to where we began: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Not because life will be simple. Not because loss will not come. Not because questions will be answered quickly…

We walk. We talk. We wonder. And slowly, perhaps, we begin to realise that we have not been alone on the road. Not for a moment.

I sometimes wonder about the person the Gospel never mentions. Because the Gospel tells us something intriguing about Thomas. He’s called the Twin.

Expect a third day. Not always quickly. Not always in the way we imagine. But the third day comes. A day when what was hidden is revealed; when what was broken begins to heal; when what seemed dead begins to live.