November 29th Advent and the Second Coming

Luke 21 vv. 25-36

Are We Ready?

This morning, we thought about the need to keep a smoke alarm checked and ready for action. Our reading thinks ahead to the second coming of Jesus which is certain to happen but at an unknown (and therefore, unexpected) time. It speaks of cosmic upheaval before His return but, although a great deal is happening at the moment, we should not try to predict when He might come.
We need to remember that God's time is not our time. For him, past present and future are all the same. Nevertheless, there is this certainty and we need to be ready. In the period of waiting, we have the opportunity to live out our lives in the way Jesus taught and also to pass on the Good News to as many people as we can.
We remember that Jesus told his disciples, and so us also, to go out and preach the Gospel to all the nations. In one of the other Gospels, Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Those who were ready were able to celebrate with the bridegroom; those who were not missed out. So, ARE WE READY? If not, we shall miss out too.

Any comments?

Peter Ewen

November 22 - Christ the King

Christ the King! - but how does this relate to our lives today? We considered today's reading, shown above in probably the earliest representation of the scene, from a fifth century mosaic in Ravenna, Italy. What sort of king does Christ appear to be, captive and on trial for his life? Pontius Pilate seems a much more kinglike figure seated on throne representing h the power of the Roman Empire. But is Jesus much more in control of the situation? Pilate is washing his hands unable to accept responsibility, Jesus is choosing to die.

'My kingdom is not of this world...' so what sort of kingdom is it? We thought of mustard seed, yeast and a pearl, all descriptions of the kingdom of God in Jesus' teaching. They suggest the kingdom happens in small, hidden ways but making a big difference to our lives and also is precious.


Savita is an Indian rubbish collector supported by one of the small projects St Peter's Caring and Sharing group helps. She now employs other women too – an example of the Kingdom at work? Especially as Jesus always identified himself with the poor and marginalised and was crucified outside the city walls, where rubbish was thrown.

We were reminded that Jesus' love can and should transform our lives and those around us. As we often pray Thy Kingdom come and as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the newborn King, so we are challenged to follow better Jesus our king.

Judith Platt

November 15 - The Good Samaritan

Today at TFG we welcomed Christian Voices who through drama helped us to explore the parable of the Good Samaritan and posed to us the question "What would you do ?"

By conicidence this weekend also marks the launch of the Charter for Compassion, remidning us that The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves.

For further details go to: http://charterforcompassion.org/

And, by the way, what would you do ?

Peace & Remembrance

David Knight led our thoughts this Remembrance Sunday. After reminding us of some of the horrifying statistics of war dead, he read poems by Wilfred Owen and Rudyard Kipling, and then opened up the question of whether war is indeed inevitable or necessary.

We are called to be peacemakers. To that end, some of us believe that sometimes war is the only way to prevent the spread of evil, whilst others believe that nonviolent resistance is both morally preferable and even sometimes more effective.

What do you think ?