Holy Cross

This is a good time for making plans and thinking about whatever hopes we might have for the coming autumn, winter and spring (diet, exercise etc) until summer rolls round again. It's time for taking stock and reviewing our resources...

Today's readings have high fliers and 'bird-brains' in mind when they say: be humble. Sirach tells us to go about our business with humility (3, 17); Luke gives some street-wise advice on not being pushy in public and hogging the limelight (14,10). Both readings come with a health warning on losing the run of ourselves.

Who will make it into heaven? The big question. We have the image of the narrow door in the Gospel. Everyone who has queued patiently at bank, post office, airport, seaport, theatre or cinema appreciates the drama of the moment of arrival at gate, door or turnstile (using someone else's season ticket?) Only valid documents will ensure admission; anything less will result in exclusion. The invitation to the heavenly banquet is without reservation but it is Luke's conviction that a claim to privileged status or to a particular lineage will be of no benefit when it comes to securing a place at the table...

Today's feast really is a test of faith. The first and second readings don't make things any easier. I suppose for many it's just a feast and that's it; just something we commemorate because the church teaches infallibly that it happened. Interestingly, nothing is said about how it happened, just that it did. I think this feast should not be seen as an isolated event. If today's readings tell us anything, it's that the event we commemorate is part of a grand plan unfolding...

Today's Gospel On the Ball: Scientists can be on the ball just as much as footballers. Take Danish physicist Niels Bohr (d. 1962), for example. He watched westerns. As he did, he noted that something strange happened in them: the gunslinger who went for his gun first was often the one who was shot first, even though he had the advantage. Bohr was fast enough to draw the correct conclusion from what he saw: reacting is faster than acting. It has now been confirmed that we move faster when we react to something that someone else is doing than when we start to do something ourselves – about 21 milliseconds faster. How fast are we on the draw when responding to God's...

It is very difficult not to get caught up in the luxuries of life. The earth that God created is indeed good and beautiful and the world that we have generated for ourselves makes living easier and more comfortable. But the only certainty in this life is that we are all going to die...

Give us this day our daily bread? It's almost a strange thing to think about, asking God for our daily bread. There is nothing abstract about the request: just as the text says – our daily bread. There is almost an assumption in our Western world that the table will always be set, that the bread bin will always be full, that we will never have to face the dilemma of Mother Hubbard: the cupboard will never be bare! The Our Father reminds of the fragile nature of our existence. We assume that we are in control and progressing all the time to a more secure future. But our lives can be turned upside down in an instant. Remember what happened just after Easter?

Today's Readings: The school holidays are nearly upon us. Not a lot goes on in the parish at this time; people are away. But for people like parishioner Ian, this is a busy time, working the land, ploughing etc. Summer is on the one hand a time of rest and on the other a time of great energy. Ironically, God made an impact on two people in today's readings who seemed to be doing nothing...