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Showing posts from April, 2016

Litany for Peace

This week is the actual centenary of the Easter Rising in Dublin, and as part of our response to that and the other centenaries being marked in Ireland from 2012-22, tonight Rev. Dr. Johnston McMaster gave a lecture helping us to make "God-Sense" of it all, in the different world that is Ireland 100 years on. In it he asked a number of questions including "Does violence ever bring peace?" challenging the place of the myth of redemptive violence in Christian thinking. As a partial response to that I thought I would post this Litany for Peace from  yesterday morning's broadcast Service on Radio Ulster when we were reflecting on Jesus' challenging promise: "Blessed are the Peacemakers..." Prince of Peace deliver us From those who use violence to impose their will on others. From those who stir others up to use violence to achieve their ends. From those who turn a blind eye to violence and injustice because it doesn’t affect them directly.

The World's Beatitudes

Over recent months in Belfast South Methodist we have been thinking about the implications of Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, and in this morning's broadcast Service on Radio Ulster we were reflecting on "Blessed are the Peacemakers..." and as part of it we contrasted the words of Jesus with common attitudes in the world at large: VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." VOICE 1:          The world says: VOICE 3:          "Blessed are the materially wealthy, because theirs is the kingdom of the here and now." VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." VOICE 1:          The world says: VOICE 3:          "Blessed are those who are too busy living to think about death, because life is for living." VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are the