Author Archives: St Francis Webguy

Place of Honour?

It has been said that if Jesus came and walked the streets today, people in Christian churches might not recognise him or want to hear what he had to say.

Jesus wasn’t known for his politeness around the dinner table; or … Jesus wasn’t known for his politeness. The Gospels record him bluntly challenging the social order of the day many times. … [To read more, click on title]

Pollyanna Part Two

If pessimism can and should be challenged, is optimism the antidote?  Yes … and no.  Stating the obvious, it’s a high bar to expect someone of pessimistic disposition just to change up.  … And, perversely, a pessimist is likely to feel pretty pessimistic about his/her chances of attaining optimism!

Naïve optimism, pollyannarism, can be damaging too.

Division? Really?

… and then we have this harsh and uncomfortable Gospel passage. Jesus telling us he’s come not for peace but for division. It would be easy to read it as if Jesus loves dividing people – friends, families, communities – but that seems far out of kilter with the rest of the Gospel story. Didn’t he come to give life rather than condemn? …. [To read more, click on title]