Dem Dry Bones

Some say ‘What’s all the fuss about?’ A US firm has opened a new exhibition of the human body in London. There are dozens of bodies in varying forms of dissection, positioned in various poses.

More than 260 human organs are also showcased, including a bladder, a spleen, at least three hearts, and a brain. There’s also a five-week embryo and a women, rather absurdly holding a twirling baton.

A year or so ago people were in an uproar when Professor Von Hagens performed live autopsies on television. Then all the furore melted into history. This time, the new uproar is over whether it is ethical to use bodies that were not specifically donated for this purpose.

According to the exhibit’s sponsors, the bodies were acquired from the Dalian Medical University in northeast China. All had died of natural causes, but their bodies were never claimed, which meant, just as with other countries, they became government property and could, by every right, be used for educational or research purposes.

The exhibit is drawing large crowds, but there is an equal number who claim such an exhibit exceeds the boundaries of good taste and common decency. There are even a few doctors who suggest that only medical practitioners should have knowledge of the internal human. You would think we had evolved beyond all of this hundreds of years ago.

To be practical, what difference does it make what happens to the body when that shell that has fulfilled its earthly duty? Surely the soul won’t mind. If you carry an organ donor card, you’re clearly not sentimental.

But it’s an interesting paradox. Unlike other animals, we show reverence for a corpse. There are those who believe it makes a difference with God. I’ve personally had people say to me that they’d never consider donating their eyes at death because when they came to stand before Jesus, they wouldn’t be able to see Him.

As an homage to the deceased, Pharaohs built huge monuments; In Greek mythology, the daughter of Oedipus, Antigone, suffered a horrible execution for burying her brother, so he could rest in peace. She claimed that she owed a longer allegiance to the dead than to the living.

But the reverence we show for the deceased is more often out of respect for the living. Because even after death, we look upon the body as a living person. It is too difficult to separate body from soul and mind from spirit.

So does this suggest that I should preserve and pickle my body in the event that God should want to use it again? I’m sure there’s a plethora of funeral organisations that would promulgate that theory. There’s mega bucks to be made in dolling up old gran and topping her off with a light dusting of rose hips powder. But it’s still the same old vessel that it always was.

We’ve been promised a new body. We’ve been forgiven for our sins. All our wrongs will be corrected regardless of how badly we’ve messed it up. It should make us jump for joy. It certainly does me!

Think of Job and how he transformed his terrible suffering – physical, mental and emotional – into extraordinary faith and hope. Not a fanciful over the top convulsing on the floor type of faith, but a real, physical, flesh-and-blood certainty in a future that is better than today’s.

What more do we need?


Lord, renew me each and every day so that I may serve you better. Help me to shed my worldly veils so that I may be a living testimony to Your love. Amen


I know that my Redeemer liveth. And, though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Job 19:25-27

You're Either With Us or Against Us!

I had a long chinwag last night with a minister who lives in Southampton. We were discussing how we both felt that many of our leaders were pushing us apart rather than bringing us together.

As we each shared our thoughts it became obvious that there’s compelling evidence of our human nature to fragment into ‘in’ groups and ‘out’ groups. It’s not just the church; it extends to our governments as well as industry.

Whether it’s on an international scale or in our own neighbourhoods, schools, and parishes, we see it happen over and over, one group declares another to be outsiders, inferiors, or just not one of ‘us.’ The division is always arbitrary and usually quite superficial in origin, but it doesn’t lessen the intensity with which it is felt and enforced. As a result, barriers are created and people become excluded and sometimes punished, or worse.

Nothing could be further from the sense of family our hearts yearn for. In our Lord’s vision there is no division. There are no strangers. All are brothers and sisters in one communion.

So what steps are we taking to fulfil God’s vision? Are we being followers who stand behind lines or are we being leaders who break down barriers?



God of love, help us to see people and their needs. Help us to keep open our eyes and ears and minds and hearts, to recognise that others may not follow the same path we do. Help us all to follow the path that leads to Your love. And above all show us how to share that love with all whom we meet. Amen

The mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it. Isaiah 2:2

Time For Some Spring Cleaning?

This weekend we had plenty of hours of bright sunshine. It’s a marked change from the damp gloomy days we’ve faced over the past month.

The children and I took some time to walk through the community and collect bits of trash that had accumulated beneath shrubbery and along the roads. And some of the neighbours we spoke with told us they were doing their ‘spring-cleaning.’ This time of year is perfect for getting outside to clean windows, tidy gardens, and prepare for the warmth to come.

But what about our internal spring-cleaning? What steps are we taking to cleanse ourselves of all those things that build up inside us that prevent us from moving forward emotionally and spiritually?

Spiritual cleaning requires honesty and faith. Honesty is essential to identify what clutters and corrupts our worship of God and our relations towards our fellow members in the Body of Christ (as well as those outside it.) Honesty is also essential to recognise that we need help to defend us from evil thoughts, which can assault and damage the soul.

Faith is essential to see that Christ has already come to us. That He is there for us, protecting us from becoming lost in ourselves. And knowing that He is always there; listening, lifting, and protecting.

Gratitude is expressed in our faith and in our celebrations of living. We show gratitude in how we live our lives and how we model ourselves in God’s image.

Honesty, faith and gratitude. Each can be a giant step. But they’re essential to an effective spring-cleaning.

As we approach Holy week, perhaps this is the time to examine ourselves and identify what needs sorting in our house.


Father in Heaven, we pray that You heal the broken bodies, broken hearts, broken spirits and broken relationships of all who ask in Your name. We pray that their lives be full of peace, prosperity, and wisdom as they seek to find a closer relationship with You. We pray this in Your Son’s name. Amen


In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side and said: Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. 2 Chronicles 29:3-5

Changing Old Habits

A fellow priest friend of mine once quoted a paraphrased passage from the Gospels as a justification for why he never prepared his sermons in advance. ‘…do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At the time you will be given what to say.’ Well done him! I wish I were that gifted!

But preparing a sermon, of course, has nothing to do with what Jesus was talking about in that passage. He was making it clear to His followers how challenging life could be if they were true to Him.

And isn’t this true with any type of change? Those comfortable old habits and powers never like to be challenged, even when the evidence is clear that to change will create good and harmony in our lives. This is why Jesus remained such an outsider to the local Jewish establishment, and it's what eventually brought Him to the cross.

Jesus' promise to His followers is not immunity from pain or conflict as we strive to be good disciples. Rather it's a promise of both the wisdom and the spiritual grace and vigour to maintain a steady course and remain faithful. That promise is Jesus' invitation and His challenge to all of us to follow Him without fear.

If we trust Him and truly confide ourselves to His care, we will have what we need to be His disciples. What more could any of us ask as a life's work.


Lord God, You are our refuge. Whatsoever this life may bring us, grant us the wisdom and patience that it may never take from us the full faith that Thou art our Father. May all of our actions be guided by Your light. In Christ's name we pray. Amen



But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say. Matthew 10:19

The Cheque's in the Post

The cheque’s in the post. Hmmm…one of the most common ‘little’ promises that gets broken every day.

Keeping promises can often be difficult and there are times when those who make promises are actually not equipped to keep them, or actually never intended to keep them in the first place! Just ask any church treasurer or charity group and you’ll hear both sad and amusing stories of when it comes time to fulfil those ‘promises,’ how people suddenly disappear. A Rabbi friend of mine once told me his Synagogue was built with a budget of a half a million pounds in pledges and £29.95 in cash.

The floods of divorces and the torrents of lawsuits that plague our society are eloquent testimony to the fragility of promises and the unlikelihood of many of them ever being kept. The images of homeless, abandoned and starving children serve as a powerful testimony of how ‘promises’ disappear.

When it affects us directly it can render us cynical and disinclined to trust anyone, perhaps even God. It can certainly remind us of old man Simeon. He waited all his life for Jesus’ coming, and he never ceased in trusting that God would be faithful to His promise of a Redeemer. And when our Saviour came, in the arms of His parents, for consecration to the Lord as the Law prescribed, Simeon gave thanks, saying ‘Now, Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace; You have fulfilled Your word…’

God is absolutely faithful in His love of every one of us. Even when we turn away and do not walk with Him, God does not turn from us. He waits and waits and waits.

Trust that. He is waiting for you now, hoping that you will give His love for you an opening. If you do, He will show Himself to you in His own way and in His own time, and He will give you what you need to walk with Him faithfully.

His promise will always be kept!


Lord, You have revealed yourself fully in Christ our Lord. May we learn to walk in His ways, and always remember His promise to be with us, forever. Amen

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Are You On A Runaway Train?

Have there been times when you felt as if everything in your life was out of control? Anything you touch seems to go horribly wrong, friends seem distant, there’s little dialogue at home? Just everything seems upside down and everything you felt comfortable with is now falling apart?

This doesn’t happen over night. It may appear to, and the final unravelling may be swift and terrifying, but the process takes time and is a result of many smaller events, decisions, words and actions, building weight upon each other. Singularly we don’t seem able to identify where they’re leading, but in the big picture it all seems a mess.

As you examine yourself you can usually check off the fact that there are no deep dark events that are the root of this feeling, but it’s more the day-to-day patterns and the choices we make that define this type of malaise. If you want to find an answer, it’s often best to examine the patterns of the choices you make. Do you compliment yourself in living, or do you add further weight to such a point that you don’t look forward to the new day ahead. Examining those patterns will help you discover who you really are.

And from this, you’ll be able to make adjustments. These patterns can be quite revealing and they relate to how you interact with God as well. Do you talk to Him? And most importantly, do you listen to Him?

If your new day looks bleak, take a moment to ask God to be there with you throughout the day.

You’ll discover that He already is.


Father in Heaven, we pray for the strength to help us follow a path of goodness and compassions. As we review our riches, let us first review our spiritual richness so that we may see that these are our true strengths and values. We are indeed blessed when we are full of Your love. Amen