The Parish

In the face of all the turmoil in our world, it's tempting to escape into something that gives our mind a break from the anxiety. Some escape strategies just numb us but the psalmist recommends one that brings hope.

There are times when God’s loving gaze is so tangible-so palpable that doubt seems impossible.  And yet there are times when God’s tangible presence is so scarce that to believe seems completely inconceivable.

Maybe the blessedness we're looking for actually rests not in God changing our external circumstances but in changing us.

Plucked from the Billboard charts of Ancient Israel we look at Psalm 57.  This song of David teaches us more about ourselves than it does about God, but what we learn is incredible, and may even earn it a place on your mixtape.

Rip Van Winkle, of fairy tale fame, seemed to have a great strategy: settle down for a LONG winter's nap and don't wake up until the fuss is all over. But what if there is something important for us that we can only find in the waiting?

Not everything that comes out of a box actually fits back in.  Some things seem to expand and grow and can never find their original shape, what if this is called growth.

It’s easy to mistakenly assume that peace comes because our external circumstances have changed in a way that removes any cause for agitation and anxiety. But the newborn king that the Magi discovered in Bethlehem brings a different kind of peace.

It is important to be amazed at the right parts of this story.  In other words open the present, don’t just play with the fancy bows and paper.

Disbelief is one of the doorways by which we are invited to enter the Advent story, not as a reader but as many of the characters.  Joseph's dilemma not just believable but relatable.  Trusting God is only half of the struggle and sometimes not the hardest one.

Sometimes the unexpected takes us to dark places. But the message of Advent is that the Light is coming

And so advent begins, and the story is told.  But not everyone believes it is a good story, at least not at first. Some people who hear it- will need to be convinced-but let's not forget that some people in the story needed the same.

Our lives are capable of doing great good and yet also sabotaging the good we desire to do.  In this talk Neil takes a look at a seldom talked about Parable of Jesus.

Are you sick of all the bad news? Heres some practical ideas from someone who had to take his own advice.

Jesus isn't our bodyguard, faith doesn't offer us protection but instead connection.  If your faith is all about protection then fear is your language.  But if it is all about connection then it sounds like love.

In these difficult days getting along with others is so difficult.  Is there something that appeals to our good nature-that transcends our anger and frustration and can help us move toward a better future?  Yes, thanks for asking.

Unless we believe we can find the divine in other people we will never find it in ourselves-maybe this is part of our problem.

The psalmist asked how can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? In the time of COVID our previously familiar surroundings seem strange indeed, and our thanksgiving may need to come form a different land.

We aren't following Jesus just to get to where he is headed, we are following Jesus to become more like him on the way.