SPCK
The Open Gate - Preparation
The Open Gate - Preparation
by SPCK - David Adam
Preparation We all need to prepare ourselves for prayer, just as we get ourselves ready for meeting a friend. There are things we will want to share, and events we will want to talk about. We may want a bit of support or guidance, we may want to offer to do some work for our frie…
The Open Gate - Introduction
The Open Gate - Introduction
by SPCK - David Adam
Introduction As long as we are alive, we are on the move. To become static is to stagnate and die. It is necessary for all living things to move and grow and change. Life is meant to be an adventure; change is a gift that we have to learn to use aright. In Celtic folk-tales a cur…
Occasions for Alleluia - Resting in God
Occasions for Alleluia - Resting in God
by SPCK - David Adam
Resting in God The conversation of the brethren should help and cheer us, but God’s voice speaks most often in silence. Keep some part of every day free from all noise and the voices of men, for human distraction and the craving for it hinder the Divine Peace...
Occasions for Alleluia - Unbend the bow
Occasions for Alleluia - Unbend the bow
by SPCK - David Adam
Unbend the bow Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering. (Augustine, Confessions X.8)...
Occasions for Alleluia - Introduction
Occasions for Alleluia - Introduction
by SPCK - David Adam
Introduction One Easter on Holy Island, a few things suddenly came together. During Lent I had been reading A. N. Wilson’s novel, A Bottle in the Smoke, and I came across this passage describing the main character, Julian Ramsey, falling in love for the first time:..
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Save First, Spend Afterward
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Save First, Spend Afterward
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Save First, Spend Afterward Genesis 41:25-57 Writers and TV producers have noted that the cell phone and other technological devices have undermined some of the staple plot devices that make novels and movies work. In Casablanca, Rick need not have been in any doubt as to why Ils…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - What Game is Joseph Playing?
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - What Game is Joseph Playing?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What Game Is Joseph Playing? Genesis 42:1-35 I arrived home late one evening, picked up the mail, and checked messages. When I was in charge of a seminary, I used to avoid reading messages just before bedtime in case it gave me things to worry about that kept me from sleeping, bu…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - What Game is Genesis Playing?
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - What Game is Genesis Playing?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What Game Is Genesis Playing? Genesis 42:36-43:34 In the movie The English Patient, Count Laszlo crashes a plane and in order to go to get help has to abandon the only woman he has loved, in an injured state, in a cave in a desert mountain. He is long unable to convince people to…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Tough Love
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Tough Love
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Tough Love Genesis 44:1-34 A woman came to see me the other day. She thought she had met the love of her life. I had seen her with him. There had developed that light that comes into people’s eyes when they know they are loved. They had started talking about engagement. But then …
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Not You but God
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Not You but God
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Not You But God Genesis 45:1-28 Last night we had a group of students in our home for dessert after class. One of them asked what is my favorite book in the Bible (the answer is Ecclesiastes) and then what is my disabled wife’s favorite book. I am not aware that she ever had one,…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Call No One Happy until They Are Dead
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Call No One Happy until They Are Dead
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Call No One Happy Until They are Dead Genesis 46:1-34 Introducing Genesis 44 I referred to one incident in the life of a man and a woman; then, introducing Genesis 45, I referred to an aspect of my wife’s and my life. In different ways, both stories show how at the time something…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Nationalization
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Nationalization
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Nationalization Genesis 47:1-26 In the recession of 2008 and its aftermath, a new n-word was uttered in hushed tones in the United States. To many people, “nationalization” was as frightening a notion as government-organized health insurance. But the question had to be asked: Was…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder Genesis 47:27-48:22 I have known more than one grandfather who made a nuisance of himself by whipping out a folder of photographs of his grandchildren at the slightest provocation, to inflict them on other people. I understand the intensity of…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Deathbed Promises and Predictions