What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Sermon – the Maker, Troublemaker, Peacemaker

    Here’s what I said on Sunday in the pulpit about that tricky gospel reading.

    Not peace, but a division

    Sometimes one reads the Gospel in church and everyone nods knowingly. You can tell that people think that what is being said is wise and good.

    When we tell the story of the Good Samaritan, perhaps. Or the Prodigal Son. Or the stories of his response when people brought him those who were sick.

    We hear Jesus being clever, holy and gracious. We see him healing and enlightening and blessing.

    And we approve.

    We approve of this Saviour for he is made in the image of all our hopes and our dreams.

    This is a God whom we can like. He would not be out of place in our company. We would be honoured to take him home for tea.

    But the truth is, Christianity is about something a little more than this. It is about following a Saviour who sometimes turns around and says things that we find tricky, difficult or bewildering. (more…)

5 responses to “Back to School”

  1. william Avatar
    william

    I note your reference to “in straight lines ” when you were at Bearsden PS.
    Were you not taught about tautologies in these former days, when education would have been more content based than you would have found on your recent visit?

    Reply
  2. Kelvin Holdsworth Avatar
    Kelvin Holdsworth

    Er, yes I was and no, it isn’t.

    Reply
  3. PamB Avatar
    PamB

    Ah yes, the staffroom etiquette. I’ve done the cup thing, the chair thing, and, possibly worst faux-pas of all, the crossword thing in my time. Nowadays there are no staff rooms, just bases, a whole new minefield of unwelcoming stares.

    Reply
  4. Jaye Richards-Hill Avatar
    Jaye Richards-Hill

    Sorry to hear about the torrid time in P7 you had with the belting teacher…as a teacher myself, I’m not in favour of such tactics. I find a cold silent stare always used to work better than any cane or belt…such activities should be reserved for consenting adults only ;-/

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      Thanks Jaye.

      The same teacher spent a quarter of each day on religious instruction and was, as I said, quite mad.

      One one occasion I was belted for humming. On another, simply, I suspect for being me.

      There are probably those reading this who have some sympathy with her.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Blog Migration

    I’ll be migrating this blog over the next day or so. I’m moving from postnuke to wordpress. Those who read via RSS may need to resubscribe. UPDATE – Wednesday 1930 The update is now complete. Whole site moved from one CMS to another. Like the redesign? You need to refresh the page a few times…

  • Two weeks off

    Someone has started a Wikipedia entry on me. I’m trying to follow the convention that you don’t edit the entry about yourself. Not easy. Do fill in the blanks.Two weeks off blogging is in order I think. Back soon. Comment moderation on until I get back.

  • Cat Pic

    LP asked for a cat pic on Sunday evening. Thus, madam appears on the photoblog: http://photoblog.thurible.net/?p=193I told you she was trouble. The subtext to the picture is that I’m about to take her, first to the Vet and then to Cat Barlinnie. She was not impressed by either. Not even when the assistant at the…

  • Evensnog

    Yesterday was the first day of choir term and it was great to have them back.Who would have guessed that I would get so much nourishment from Evensong? I certainly wouldn’t have done before coming here. No doubt it helps to be singing it with Scotland’s premier church choir but even during the summer when…