Author: Peter Sidebotham
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Learning to listen
The Lord calls Samuel The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying…
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A different resurrection story
Is the Creator here, too, in our garden, walking quietly in the cool of the morning, putting finishing touches to this magnum opus? Surely it is an opus Dei. Profusion of colours brought forth by the intensity of the radiant sun which yet is behind me, hidden and distant. Deep copper plum bursting…
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The Sabbath is over
Dawn was breaking on the first day of the week; the Sabbath was over. So Matthew, in a quiet, unassuming way, begins his account of the resurrection. Their sabbath was over – the three years they had spent with Jesus, following him as their disciples; learning; journeying; resting – a break from their ordinary…
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Five nights in Bangladesh
While the world’s cricket teams battled it out on the fields of Bangladesh in the ICC 20:20 series, I, too, was facing my own battles, wondering what on earth I was doing here for five nights at the end of this incredible sabbatical. I had been so warmly welcomed by Brigadier General Golam Zakaria and…
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Wellington: the city never sleeps
The hours and I lie awake, listening to the sounds of the city night. Across the way a halyard flaps on a flag pole outside the Parliament. A handful of taxis languidly scour the streets, scooping up their home-bound fares from clubs and bars. In the docks below, clunking cranes lift their heavy boxes,…
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Silence and Honey Cakes
In his book, Silence and Honey Cakes, Rowan Williams tells the story of a young brother who sets out to learn from two of the Desert Fathers. The first, Abba Arsenius, sat with the young man in complete silence. Not a word was said. The other, Abba Moses, welcomed the young man warmly, sharing food…
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Labyrinth
What an incredible journey – with all its twists and turns; the rough and the smooth. All leading me, inevitably, to this present moment. Here, at the centre, resting, still, I find you. My life source, my centre, the silent whisper of eternity. My life is the labyrinth – its paths unfolding as I…
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Am I ready?
Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. (John 4: 6) Looking back to my journal entry of 7th October, I realise just how tired I had become by the end of last year, and, by contrast, how refreshed I am feeling now: ‘I, too, feel tired from…
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It is enough
It is enough just to be still. To sit in the present. Now. I don’t need to review the past, or plan the future; or read, write, draw. I don’t need to write my next blog, or solve the world’s problems, or try to discern my life’s course. It is enough just to be. Still.
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Crossing to the other side of the lake
This evening I will take myself off for 48 hours of solitude in the prayer hut at Ngatiawa. Perhaps, like my wedding, this will prove to be a highlight of my sabbatical. Unlike my wedding, I am feeling a degree of trepidation: what will these 48 hours mean? What am I being called to? …