Sunday was the turn of the seed and the sower in our series on the parables of Jesus. Picking up with my finger tip a mustard seed, it amazes me that something so tiny, insignificant, infinitesimal, has the potential for life. To the untrained eye it has no more worth than a grain of sand, but for the one who knows, it holds a wealth of growth and fruitfulness. Looking around our room on Sunday evening at where we are at as a community of Christians, we may seem a small and insignificant group, yet we have the most amazing potential for something massive and awesome that God is wanting to do. Holding out this Word of Life in a crooked and soulless generation, and shining here like stars in the universe
This last week, the Portuguese newspapers related two events which, in one sense, had little to do with each other and yet had everything to do with each other. One was the launch of a new edition of the Bible by the Sociedade Bíblica de Portugal to mark 200 years of its existence. Not so much a new translation but an elegant new presentation, without chapter and verse numbers, created to look and be read as a work of literature
The same week heralded also the launch of Jose Saramago’s new novel “Caim”. Saramago is Portugal’s nobel prize winner, and best known author, probably best known for his book “Blindness” for which . Unfortunately his words at the Press Conference showed neither much nobility of spirit, nor vision. In a vitriolic and bitter attack on the integrity of the Bible, he called it a catalogue of violent acts and the worst aspects of human nature, and not a book suitable to be put before children.
Yes, if you don’t know the difference between a mustard and a grain of sand, you would be inclined to sweep up both and throw them out in the rubbish.
This last week, the Portuguese newspapers related two events which, in one sense, had little to do with each other and yet had everything to do with each other. One was the launch of a new edition of the Bible by the Sociedade Bíblica de Portugal to mark 200 years of its existence. Not so much a new translation but an elegant new presentation, without chapter and verse numbers, created to look and be read as a work of literature
The same week heralded also the launch of Jose Saramago’s new novel “Caim”. Saramago is Portugal’s nobel prize winner, and best known author, probably best known for his book “Blindness” for which . Unfortunately his words at the Press Conference showed neither much nobility of spirit, nor vision. In a vitriolic and bitter attack on the integrity of the Bible, he called it a catalogue of violent acts and the worst aspects of human nature, and not a book suitable to be put before children.
Yes, if you don’t know the difference between a mustard and a grain of sand, you would be inclined to sweep up both and throw them out in the rubbish.
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