St John's and Kiltermon

  'Not That You Know These Things.’   I noticed a typo I sent out in this evening’s service sheet. It’s a misquote of Jesus saying to His closest disciples, ‘Now that You Know These Things.’   My version read, ‘Not That You Know These Things.’ And either could be a reading of the church’s current state. We do know the example of Jesus, and we now ought to do as He did, but very often I’m inclined to think that we really don’t know what He has asked of us.   Holy Week is a very particular time. It’s a part of the Church year which the Church itself has created to help us journey again in our worship and thinking, through the days which led up to the crucifixion of Jesus.   What does it mean to us today? Other church traditions seem to get along perfectly well without observing Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday or Easter Eve. Most, even the very reformed, seem to have adopted something of an observance around Christmas and Easter Day, but I often wonder is that...

  ‘Many of His disciples left Him.’   You know the story. Palm Sunday. The search for a donkey. The cheering crowds. The quickly gathered leaves. Coats thrown on the ground. A welcome fit for a King. And within days, Jesus goes alone to the Cross,  to do a work for us that no one else could do. Usually we journey in our hearts and minds through that week with Him. Usually eight services in as many days, perhaps lit on an occasional year with mention of the Queen at Armagh Cathedral presenting the Maundy Monies, or a Kids' Brunch in the parish, or the once long sought for Agreement. Holy Week. It’s barely noticed these days. Few businesses will close for the Three Hours on Good Friday, if anyone still remembers what that even means, and the lasting impression usually is of fluffy bunnies and Easter chicks. Yes, the church has a bit of a job to do. Or does it? This year will not be the same. Christians will not have the infrastructure around th...

Your Feet Beside My Own ‘Lead, Kindly Light … Your feet beside my own on the Way.’ Audrey Assad   It’s great to receive encouragements.   This week I mention three.   The first is a small grey envelope with my name and address handwritten which greeted me from the front door mat. On opening it was a delightfully bright card which included the loveliest words of encouragement and appreciation from a parishioner who has been listening to the online services we have made available during this last year. I was quietly gob-smacked. Sadly, handwritten to me sometimes means complaining and unkind.  This was very far removed, and even thanked me for the sermons. Who knew someone was listening? That of course is the problem with on-line ministry, it becomes an offering sent into the wherever, and the harder part is to quietly accept that it was simply that, an offering. A former rector of mine would have excelled in this digital age because he wisely ref...

Learning to be selfless is hard. It is undoubtedly one of the essential asks of being a dad. And I know, from seeing it lived in the everyday life of my own wife and how she mothers and cares for our sons, and in the I care I still receive from my own mum, and my mother in law, and in the kind of love I see in my own sisters and sisters in law, that selflessness goes a very long way in family life.   Of course it’s not the preserve of mums. It’s seen in dads and brothers and sons and fathers in law and uncles too. But on this very special day in my own home, in your home, in the parish, and in our nation, being Thankful for all that Mothers have been and are, is at the very heart of our life today.   For many, Mothering Sunday, and many other days too, is a time of great sadness as we remember with Thanksgiving those we love, but see no longer. We remember the selfless life of the one who brought us into this world, and the countless unseen tasks every day in bringing ...

  The Lord says, ‘I will send down showers in season—showers of blessing.’ Ezekiel 34   Ever Faithful. Ever New. God’s words to His People continue to speak and challenge us today. Delivered as a prophecy around 600 years before Jesus was born, Ezekiel was given a message to deliver to the household of his own day. Ezekiel in Hebrew is Yehezqel, meaning "God is strength."   That strength of God is evident in Ezekiel’s message then, and for the Church today. It really is very worth reading all of Ezekiel chapter 34; the plight of the household, the neglect of their under-shepherds, the infighting between sheep, the deliberate muddying of watering holes and feeding pasture. The problems it addresses for the household then can sadly seems very modern today.   Ever Faithful. Ever New. But therein lies the great hope. T he remarkable part is the influence and care of God as the Good Shepherd of His flock then and now. None of what happens to His s...