The Afterword

Tag: faith

  • Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21

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    Peter
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    Three times a yearthe scattered people gathered—Passover,Pentecost,Booths. They came by the old roads,by memory,by moonlight,by the calendar of God. Jerusalem filledwith accents,dust,old prayers,the smell of harvest,the ache of distance. Fifty days. Seven sevensand one more,as though time itselfhad been waitingfor something to overflow. The grain was gathered in.The nations were gathered in.And hidden in an…

  • An Infinite Hunger

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    Peter
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    What is the meaning of life? At the beginning of the year I sat with a student who was trying to decide whether to change degrees. He had come to the college office after lunch and had waited near the doorway until I looked up from my desk. He said he only needed five minutes.…

  • Vital Signs – James 2:14-26

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    Peter
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    Faith is not a wordkept safe in the mouth. It is not the old habitof belonging somewhere,the family name,the Sunday seat,the language we learnedbefore we knew what it meant. James asks the hard question:what does your faith look likewhen someone is cold,hungry,standing in front of youwith no coatand no bread? A blessing is not bread.A…

  • Underrated People

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    Peter
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    Who are some underrated people in history? The world is full of underrated people: people whose contribution to others is far greater than the recognition they receive. Some are ordinary in the obvious sense. They keep minutes, cook meals, teach children, nurse the sick, open doors, and hold families together. Their quiet contributions are part…

  • Mercy Triumphs – James 2:1-13

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    Peter
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    Last time Jesus was on earth,crowds followed himlike a rockstar,not fanboys,not fangirls,but the poor,the sick,the unclean,the hungry,the frightened,the ones who had run outof other doors to knock on. And he did not turn them away. Often late into the nightcompassion kept him awake,healing one more body,touching one more wound,answering one more desperate hope. Then, in…

  • The Mystery of Grace

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    Peter
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    What’s a mystery from your own life that you’ve never solved? My father is ninety-six and still does not know why his mother left. He was seven years old. There was an argument in the kitchen. Plates and condiments went flying. His mother stormed out the door and walked up the road to stay with…

  • The Compass, Not the App

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    Peter
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    What gives you direction in life? I used to think direction meant knowing where I was going. Now I think it means knowing what I must keep facing. In the old days, we followed a map. We unfolded it across the steering wheel, argued about the best route, and tried to imagine the landscape before…

  • Where Our Wanting lives – James 1:12-18

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    Peter
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    James came lateto faith. Brother of Jesus,then servant of Jesus,steady in the early churchwhen the gospelopened its doorsto the nations. He knew this much:faith is not inheritedlike furniture. It is birth.Second birth.God giving lifeby the word of truth. So it is not enoughto say,my parents believed,my grandparents believed,I have known the songssince childhood. A chain…

  • When a Bold Step Was Needed

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    Peter
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    I have made cautious decisions all my life, which is probably why this one still catches me by surprise. When I was minister on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, there was a persistent idea that surfaced every now and then. There had once been a drive-in theatre on the beaches and, after it closed, one entrepreneurial leader…

  • When I Should Have Said No

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    Peter
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    Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently? When I was in theological college, I worked on weekends as a student minister in a church. My senior minister was very conservative, authoritarian, and very forceful in his opinions. At the time, we were building a…

  • What Now? – John 21

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    Peter
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    Two weeks after Easter,people were already backto ordinary things. Back to work,back to home,back to the placesthat felt familiar enoughto hold their confusion. Jesus was risen.That much was clear.Eternal life was theirs.But what did that meanon a Monday,or in grief,or when your body hurt,or when someone you loveddied too soon? The disciples went fishing.Of course…

  • One Sunday Morning

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    Peter
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    Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you I met him in Tanzania when I was there with an international team working with the Lutheran church on a project for training preachers. On Sundays we were sent out to different churches around the region, which meant each of us needed…

  • Inexhaustible

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    Peter
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    What book could you read over and over again? That is both a hard question and an easy question. Hard because there are many books I’ve enjoyed, admired, and loved for a season. But easy because there is really only one I could go back to endlessly. The Bible, though even calling it a book…

  • The King of Peace

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    Peter
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    He goes before usnot hurried,not turning aside,not shielding himselffrom what he knows is coming. We follow behind himinto the city of palms,into the trembling air,into the week that gatherslike stormlight at the edge of the sky. He is called king,but not the kindwho comes with horses,with iron,with banners snapping above the will of men. He…

  • Building Your Life – Matthew 7:15-29

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    Peter
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    We have listenedto Jesuson the mountain. Words of blessing.Words of life.Words gentle enoughto lift the weary. And thenwords that search.Words that warn.Watch out, he says. It is a surprise.He has called us blessed.What danger remains?Not only the danger outside.The danger within. Voices among the people of God.Pretenders.False guides.Wolvesin sheep’s clothing.They promise lifeand lead toward ruin.…

  • Before I Speak – Matthew 7:1-12

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    Peter
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    Do to otherswhat you would have them do to you. A beautiful sentence.Simple enough for a child to remember,deep enough to follow for a lifetime. It sounds gentle on the tongue,but it reaches everywhere—into thought,into tone,into the private verdicts we passbefore we know the facts. How quickly we judgeas though we see everything,as though motives…

  • A Gift Finding Form

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    Peter
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    What was the best compliment you’ve received? The best compliment I received was not praise for something I had done, but recognition of something I was becoming. I went to theological college because I wanted to study the Bible. I was hungry to learn, but I never imagined candidating for ministry. I am a fairly…

  • The Courage of Conviction

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    Peter
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    Who is the most confident person you know? For me, confidence is not bravado. It is not loudness, swagger, or an inflated sense of self. A confident person has the courage of their convictions. They listen carefully, think independently, and act on what they believe. Their confidence is clothed in humility. They are willing to…

  • The Divine Store – Matthew 6:19-34

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    Peter
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    Jesus has been speakingabout the hidden life,the secret places of the heart. Now he turnsto the outward things—the stuff we store,the things we trust,the treasures we keepin the storeroom within. What do I cling to?What captures my attention,my hope,my ambition? Treasure is not onlyjewellery, clothing, food, money.It is anythingI believe will keep me safe:control,comfort,security,a future…

  • When No One Sees – Matthew 6:1-18

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    Peter
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    She was raisedto think often about righteousness.Her father was a Pharisee.She learned to do what was right,and she did it well. So when the rabbi said,Be careful,she was startled. What danger could there bein righteousness? Then he named it:doing holy thingsto be seen. Giving to the poor—the law had always made roomat the edge of…