Author Archives: malcolmsmusingscom

Wet & Windy On Monday I was walking by the sea. It was wet and very windy. ‘Good morning’, I said to a man taking his dog for a walk. ‘This weather is bl**** sh**. It’s f****** ….’ He continued. Initially I thought he was joking. He wasn’t. My cheeriness didn’t help. I met anContinue reading “This is the day”

Just Two? Two options are presented: truth or lies, life or death, good or evil, black or white. Traditional Christian teaching reflects this choice: heaven or hell, accept or reject, wise or foolish, lost or found… Many questions do only have two possible answers. It is ‘either-or’. ‘Do you take this woman to be yourContinue reading “Either-or, Neither-nor, Both-and”

Musing on…. The Pharisees ask Jesus, ‘Is it right to pay tax to Caesar?’ Jesus answers, ‘Give Caesar what is Caesar’s, give God what is God’s.’  Story-summary, Sermon-outline Trap – The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus. A question involving religion, politics and money is good bait! Truth – Jesus claims to be truth –Continue reading “The Third Option”

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,At Bethlehem I had my birth. As a teenager and as a teacher I didn’t like this song… Life’s a journey, a race, aContinue reading “Lord of the Dance”

Chris, my older brother, lives in France. Musing on a letter from him yesterday… On March 20th I had the last of 9 sessions of chemotherapy. This was the second series of chemo that I have had… Stuff happens. This week’s worries, anxieties, prayers… teenage children with physical and psychological concerns, a wife with mentalContinue reading “Letter from Chris”

A hand above the water,An angel reaching for the sky,Is it raining in heaven?Do you want us to cry? And everywhere the broken-heartedOn every lonely avenue,No one could reach them,No one but you. One by oneOnly the good die young.They’re only flyin’ too close to the sunAnd life goes on,Without you. The grandchildren came forContinue reading “No-one But You (Only the Good Die Young)”

Martin Luther King wrote: This is the great new problem of mankind. We have inherited a large house, a great ‘world house’ in which we have to live together– black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Hindu– a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, becauseContinue reading “More Multi-faith Musings”

Persecuted Muslims Henrietta Blyth says that Christians should campaign against the persecution of Muslims. Responding to reports from China, that in Xinjiang detention camps at least a million Uighur Muslims and other minorities are being held, she says: ‘We need to pray and advocate for everybody to be free to worship according to the faithContinue reading “Christian-Muslim musings”

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ Matthew 11:28-30 Story-summary, Sermon-outline Welcome –Continue reading “Story Telling – My Story”

Matthew 8 Jesus is with his disciples in a boat crossing the lake. A storm comes. His disciples panic; Jesus is asleep. The disciples wake Jesus up and he calms the storm. The disciples are amazed. Arriving at the other side of the lake Jesus meets two violent demon-possessed men. Jesus engages with the men;Continue reading “Story Telling – Disciples and Demons”