Features
“While John the Baptist’s ascetic life isn’t attainable for a city-dwelling Holy Hermits Online member like myself, I am inspired by his life of simplicity, his call for people to be just and charitable and how his ministry emerged from a period of hermit-like solitude,” says Jeremy Fraser from Holy Hermits Online, as John the Baptist’s feast day approaches
Reflections
“So how do we talk about Jesus’ death in a way that keeps the irony necessary for a crucifixion to be good news? Perhaps we begin by leaving to one side all the theories and staying with the narratives in the gospels. The basic structure of those narratives is that Jesus returns from death and seeks out relationship with those who in one way or another participated in his death, starting with those most intimate to him,” says Dr Peter Kline from St Francis College
“God loved all the world so much that we were given God’s son, who saved all of us and then gave us his Spirit. The Spirit of Christ is with us – he gave us his Spirit at Pentecost. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, people will see your face, hear you talk and witness how you act and know the word of God through you,” says The Rev’d Hanna Dally, the Director of the Holy Family Episcopal Church in Reineh, Galilee
“In the Gospels Jesus spoke about the Spirit as a helper and an advocate, while St Paul suggests in his letters that God’s Spirit will transform us to become more Christ-like in character and give each of us different gifts to make a difference for good,” says Bishop Cam Venables
“I guess we could imagine Jesus saying to his disciples, ‘we few, we happy few, we band of [sisters and] brothers…’ because the odds were definitely against them. However, his vision and his way of being in the world seemed to consistently offer something different to violent pathways in conflict,” says Bishop Cam Venables
“They were very different characters, and that may actually be the major piece of wisdom we take away from this reflection. As we collaborate, we each have to be our own selves, rather than seeking to fit in with how other people expect us to think, act or worship…Their life experiences were about as different as two Jewish men could be during the time of the Roman Empire,” says The Very Rev’d Dr Greg Jenks
“…thinking about relics reminds me that they are present, not to simply prompt us about the past, but to motivate us into the future. NASA can rejoice in all that has happened in flight in just over 100 years. The Church has even more to rejoice in what has taken place over the last 2,000 years. We, like NASA, have much to look forward to,” says Bishop John Roundhill
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