But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation. (Luke 6:24)

Rich can be an elusive term to define. Living in a developed country, most people would declare: ‘I’m not rich’. To then ignore this passage since ‘it doesn’t apply to me’ is missing the point. Compared to others in our society or those in other countries, we may well be rich. Visiting a developing country brings this home starkly. It comes back to my focus. Is my focus on the accumulation of material wealth? Or is my focus on developing the good in others and myself?

Lent can seem like a negative time but it is vital that each of us take stock of our lives in a really honest way. We can guide the young people in our care to do so. It’s so easy to be seduced by the ‘bright and shiny’ but we need to remember our lives are about relationships: ‘just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’ (Matt 25:40)

Have a great week!
Patrick

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
(Luke 6:22-23)

While some of us are indifferent to others’ concerns, many of us want to get on with those around us. So whether it is by verbal and/or body language, we gauge others’ response to us. We know the importance of community and we may make adjustments to our behaviour. Being hated, excluded, reviled and defamed don’t ’sit well’ with us. But this passage is about being true to our faith. Being true to our faith can, painfully, set us apart. Such is the price of integrity.

God’s covenant with humanity, from both the Christian and Hebrew scriptures, could be summarised as to honour God (not money nor things) and care for those in need. To this day humanity continues to struggle with the profound simplicity of this covenant. Our task is to guide the young people in our care to focus on caring for those around them – harnassing the drive for justice placed in each of us by our loving God – without caring ‘what others might think’.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh. (Luke 6:21)

Each line of these Beatitudes ‘messes with our heads’. For those who have reason to weep – whether it is because of other’s cruelty, a broken relationship, the loss of a loved one (and the list goes on) – laughing seems very distant. The time of God’s reign will be a time for rejoicing, both in itself and because of the joy of the justice and right relationships which are its hallmark.

So, our work with young people takes on another facet. We can help them to discern the times when the best they can do is journey with someone who is grieving, from the times when their actions and the character of their relationships will bring healing. Sometimes, maybe even bring a little justice. Such difficult and important work helps God’s reign become a more lived reality.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled. (Luke 6:21)

How strange these words must sound, then and now, to those who are truly hungry. And I can only imagine, since I don’t know what it’s like to truly be hungry. It is much safer to swerve into a spiritual reading of this passage. I also imagine that the hungry would consider themselves ‘downtrodden’ or ‘beaten’, but not ‘blessed’. Yet the blessing in each of these verses is because of the coming of God’s reign. When justice and right relationships prevail, the hungry will be filled.

What might seem like ‘magical thinking’ to young people needs to be unpacked. We each need to do the hard work, beginning with me and my relationships, where justice and right relationships flourish. The more each of us works in that direction, the closer God’s reign and the more each of us will be blessed.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20)

While we might explore different types of poverty, when this scripture was written it was most likely to have a face value meaning. The kingdom of God is achieved through right relationships and justice. Thus, implied here is that wealth gets in the way of right relationships and justice. Wealth is an obstacle to the kingdom of God. Why might that be? An answer might be that one’s focus is on things (and their accumulation) rather than people. This test, things over people OR people over things, challenges each one of us and requires regular scrutiny.

The young people in our care can focus on the latest and shiniest (as can many of us!). Instead of berating them for being so, we do well to allow the opportunity to explore where their focus lies: Are people more important than things in my life? Are my relationships mostly about me?

Have a great week!
Patrick

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:20)

Some people embrace routine. There are others who think: ‘here we go again!”. Neither viewpoint is correct when it comes to Lent. Each of us arrive at Lent 2016 in a different ‘space’ – physically, psychologically, spiritually – than Lent in any other year in our lives. The questions we ponder, such as this scripture – ‘how can I be reconciled to God?’ – may be identical, but our answers should be different.This Lent may call one person to more action for those in need. Another person may be called to more prayer this Lent.

Our task is to help guide the young people in our care to grasp how they can be reconciled to God this Lent. How will they incorporate more time for prayer? How will they have better relationships with the other members of the body of Christ – at school and at home? How will they care for those in need? The more fully each of us can live our answers to those questions, the more fully we will be able to celebrate Easter.

Have a great week!
Patrick

Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16)

Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’ (John 8:10-11)

What is the kingdom like?

A place where our words

Fall short

Where goodness

Kindness and

Decency are

The norm

Are not

Remarkable

A community

Where needs are

Cared for

Where everyone is

Valued

For now

Glimpses

Must suffice

The grace of a young woman

Helping with great care and little fuss

An older blind woman

Get off a train

The simple joy

Of young children

As they embrace

Each moment

Of living

The happiness and

Acceptance

Radiated

By the man

On his daily walk

We’re not there

Yet

But such

Graced glimpses

Remind us of

Where we’re headed

With God’s guidance

Christmas – birth of Jesus

Beacon of hope

Amid the seemingly hopeless

Human condition

War, hatred

Lack of compassion

Crimes of abuse

God’s image

Filled with dignity

Minimised

Ignored

Humanity cries out

For relief

And yet

We’ve had our answer

In the person of Jesus

To show

We can do it, too

Love

Compassion

Empathy

‘God with us’

Such other-centredness

Builds relationship

In a daily sense

Far from the harsh words

And withering stares

That can be endured

On the personal battlefield

So we need to remember

The timeless and timely wisdom

That we are in God’s presence

In you

In me

With us

Now and always