Global Crossroads - Ancient Paths

The Lamb of God: A journey through St John’s story of the passion Our journey to the cross begins with the betrayal and arrest of Jesus. While the other three gospels focus on Jesus’ agony and inner turmoil, John instead focuses our attention elsewhere – on the real reason Jesus is drawn to the cross. Hymn: There is a Green Hill Far Away , recorded and performed at home by Tom and Mandy Green for...

The Lamb of God: A journey through St John’s story of the passion We see both darkness and light around us in this pandemic – the darkness of human isolation and suffering; the light of love as people reach out to one another. The story of Jesus’ passion takes place in the cold darkness of night, but John tells us that light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. Reading John...

The Lamb of God: A journey through St John’s story of the passion The Evangelists invite us to place ourselves in the story through the characters who come and go. Like them, we are both powerful and powerless before this story of the cross. Reading John 18.28-40 by Julia Hollander. (NRSV) Commentary by Bishop Steven. A minute of silence follows +Steven’s commentary for personal reflection. Taizé:...

The Lamb of God: A journey through St John’s story of the passion As Jesus rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he is making a profound statement of who he claims to be. But in all that follows, Jesus takes this claim to kingship and power and to being God’s Son and God’s Messiah and turns it inside out. Reading: John 19.1-16 by Julia Hollander. (NRSV) Commentary by Bishop Steven. A minute of sile...

The Lamb of God: A journey through St John’s story of the passion As we come to the centre of the story, we travel with Jesus to the cross. No-one takes Jesus’ life. He gives it. What has he done? What has been completed? Reading: John 19.17-37 by Julia Hollander. (NRSV) Commentary by Bishop Steven. A minute of silence follows +Steven’s commentary for personal reflection. Hymn: When I survey the w...

The Lamb of God: A journey through St John’s story of the passion We end these reflections with much to think about, but hopefully with anticipation: not cast down by the solemn events we have rehearsed but deepened by them. The story is told but is not yet complete. Reading John 19.38-24 by Julia Hollander. (NRSV). Commentary by Bishop Steven. A minute of silence follows for personal reflection....

As we reach the sombre anniversary of the start of the first national lockdown, revisit this podcast from October 2020. Take a moment to reflect on all that has passed and cast your fears for the future on the Lord. Look back over the last six months and reflect for a moment. What part has fear played in your own life and your life’s journey? What part is anxiety playing now in the key decisions o...

Some people spend their whole lives trying to discover what is important and valuable – what really matters in life. Some stumble across it almost by accident. The final lines of the Creed remind us of the blessings which are ours in Christ, offered to us by God, free of charge. This film marks the end of our series on the Creed, but there is still so much more to come and see. oxford.anglican.org...

Sometimes God can feel distant and far away, and the truths about God can seem hard to take hold of. When we feel worn down by life, the Holy Spirit can bring us comfort and peace. But how do we actually experience the Holy Spirit at work in our lives? This is the fourth of the Come and See weekly films from Bishop Steven. It accompanies daily email reflections throughout Lent. See the journey so...

Even on the best of days, there are shadows in our lives – darkness created by our human tendency to mess things up. There’s a shadow at the end of our journey too. The Bible calls it ‘the shadow of death.’ The third part of the Creed makes the remarkable claim that Jesus rose from the dead, three days after he was crucified. What does that mean for the darkness within us? What lies beyond that fi...

When all around us is in chaos, coming back to the Father can help us recover a sense of identity and purpose. But what’s the next step on our journey? The four gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – unfold the powerful truth of Jesus. But they weren’t written to simply tell us about him – they invite each of us to take the next step and follow Jesus for ourselves. Come and see more…

As far as we know, we are the only part of the whole universe able to consider the cosmos and its meaning. But who gave us that desire – the need to know and understand what we are created for? From the very first line of the creed, we place our faith in God, the creator of heaven and earth. But God is more than just our maker – from all across the universe, his great love is calling us home. Come...

Over the course of the pandemic, many people have been asking questions about faith. In fact, one in five people in our online congregation were not regular worshippers before COVID. So now we want to invite everyone who is searching for truth and meaning to go deeper. As a Church, and across the Diocese, we are sending out a big, warm, open invitation to everyone, whether or not you know anything...

So we come to the final chapter, Isaiah 55. This chapter is about comings and goings, and they set a profound rhythm for the life of God’s people which flows through the worship of the Church. The first verses of Isaiah 55 offer the most gracious and powerful invitation for thirsty, weary souls: Come. But our prophet turns this into a fuller and deeper invitation still. Music in this episode is ta...

Three times now, the unknown prophet has sung to us of the servant of God. The fourth song is a reflection on the suffering of the nation and the way God will raise up his people again, no matter how difficult the circumstances or how far we have fallen. How are we to hear these words afresh today as we walk through the pandemic, as we re-assess our lives and the life of the church and the life of...

The Queen has approved the appointment of Gavin Collins as the next Bishop of Dorchester. In this special edition of My (extraordinary) family Bishop Steven talks with Gavin about his Christian formation, his ministry since ordination and his hopes for the role he is about to take on. Gavin will be consecrated on 28 January, you can find further details on the Diocese of Oxford website . This epis...

We often think of comfort as something soft and soothing, like a big hug. But to comfort someone is not simply to wrap them up in cotton wool and tenderness. Comfortable words are words which restore our strength, our core, our backbone. The next three months or so may well be the hardest of the COVID journey – how can we find the resources to give strength to our communities when we are already t...

The prophet sings of love and forgiveness, of new hope and strength in God, to rekindle courage in the hearts of God’s people. The prophet sings of a new kind of leadership, based on humility and gentleness. The prophet sings to tell us not to be afraid even in the face of death. These are comfortable words the whole world needs to hear afresh in this season. The Comfortable Words I want to explor...

One of the oldest books on my shelf is John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress , the famous allegory of the Christian life published over 300 years ago. The famous hymn Who Would True Valour See is taken directly from his text. I first read Bunyan as a young Christian and have returned to Pilgrim’s Progress many times. At the very end of Christian’s journey, after many twists and turns and trials, he...

Brother, sister, let me serve youLet me be as Christ to youPray that I may have the gift to let you be my servant too. The servant song by Richard Gillard is one of the most popular contemporary worship songs, sung by churches of many different traditions. It’s often chosen for services of ordination and licensing new ministers. The song captures something vital about the way of discipleship. As C...