Category: A Sabbath Journey – Peter’s sabbatical, 2014
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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.
-
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? …
-
Thoughts at the wedding of Lois and Peter
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion We were like those who dreamed Our mouths were filled with laughter Our tongues with songs of joy Then it was said among the nations The Lord has done great things for them The Lord has done great things for us And we are filled with joy…
-
Ash Wednesday: A Franciscan Blessing
Ash Wednesday. The start of Lent. A time of pilgrimage, prayer, fasting; of sorrow for the sufferings of our broken world and our broken selves. A time also of anticipation and hope; of challenge – that we, in our brokenness, can become part of the solution. At our wedding, Justin Duckworth, Bishop of Wellington, blessed…