A lot has already been said and written about the past year as a year of highly surprising events; two of the most prominent were the Brexit Referendum and the US Presidential elections. Professional pollsters, commentators, clairvoyants and the like had made their predictions, only to be proven wrong when the actual events occurred. Last Friday’s official transition of power…
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So here we are, at the beginning of the New Year. Let me be honest, for decades it’s been just another night as far as I am concerned, differing from all the other nights only in the level of noise outside at midnight. The date as well as the time have been set artificially without any connection to natural phenomena.…
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A couple of weeks ago, I was delivering yet another boring Sunday sermon. The final part of it included a story about a grandfather talking to his grandson. The grandfather was a member of the Cherokee tribe of Native American Indians. Only a few days later, I learnt that one of my parishioners had heard the word ‘turkey’ instead of…
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‘Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace to men who enjoy his favour.’ Do you belong to that exclusive group of people, to those who enjoy his favour? That’s a tricky question to answer. If you say ‘Yes’ you might be presuming that you’re a better kind of person than those who do not enjoy his favour, and…
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‘The greatest story ever told’ kicks off in today’s gospel with a rather controversial opening scene. You might not have picked up on any controversy there, as you’ve heard that episode so many times. Or perhaps you missed it because it’s a tiny part of the much greater story, a part of seemingly minor importance. So, where’s the controversy in…