Spring Cannot Be Canceled
In November 2018, the painting, Portrait of an Artist, sold at auction in New York for $90 million. At the time, it was the highest sum paid for a work of art by a living artist. The artist in question, David Hockney, is alive and well at the age of 83, and his passion for […]
Soul Rebel
At breakfast in the Bethany Diner last week, I recognized the song playing as background music – it was “Soul Rebel”, by the Wailers. The Diner had tuned to a reggae station and here was music I knew well, having had this record in my collection some years ago. The Wailers at that time – […]
The Risen Christ
In 2009 I attended the annual summer Vacation Biblical School in Oxford, England, for three days of lectures on Bible-related themes. It was an opportunity to hear eminent Biblical scholars expound on topics they had studied in detail, and also to meet them informally over lunch and dinner. Every year kicks off with an inaugural […]
The Queen’s Speech
Americans, being independently minded, are proud of the fact that they dispensed with the government of King George III in 1776. Having freed themselves from the tyranny of “taxation without representation”, early Americans forged a new country out of the old, one based on an idea of freedom, which was enshrined in the Constitution (although […]
How to Write a Sermon (with the help of Mani)
We own a cat, whose name is Mani. He used to belong to our daughter, but when she left for college, Mani stayed behind. He is the third “person” in our home. He has his own distinct personality, and enjoys the run of the “estate”, including the Rectory and gardens. He is eight years old […]
Father Freddie – A Tribute
My wife and I, along with our young son, had recently arrived back in Brighton, England. We had been living abroad for two years and were renting an apartment temporarily, while we looked for something more permanent. Two months after our return, my wife became ill with the flu; a day later, I also succumbed. […]
The Threat to Christianity
In the past 100 years, the greatest enemy of Christianity – and indeed humanity – has been the ideology of communism. Put forward as a solution to economic inequality, communism’s record as the most murderous political and social movement in human history is without parallel. Communism never took root where it was first intended – […]
Viewing the Corpse
The Benedictine monk Augustine Hooey was a teacher, confessor and spiritual director in the Church of England. He led retreats and taught in schools and churches, working well into his nineties (he died in 2017, a few months short of his 102nd birthday). He was not above lending a theatrical flourish to his teaching. Once, […]
The Queen’s Gambit
The first book I can remember owning was Think Like a Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov, which my parents bought for my 16th birthday. At the time I was a keen chess player, thanks to the encouragement of my maths teacher Mr Goodall, who organized a group from his class to learn the game and play […]
Highway of Dreams
Last weekend I dreamed I was driving along a highway in the middle of the ocean. I drove at a steady speed of 45 mph, watching the unchanging road ahead of me as it disappeared toward the horizon. I continued driving for what seemed like an indeterminate period of time. Road lamps, left and right, […]