Showing everything tagged as Revd Richard Carter

Those of you who have read the flyer, for our Autumn Lecture series will have seen that our theme is the quality of mercy. Mercy feels a slightly anachronistic word today, in a culture and political backdrop which often appears to be one of blame, hostility and increasing division.

Last week I took my nephew to see the production of Jesus Christ Superstar which is playing at the Barbican. It’s a great revamped production and the music, set and dancing feel fresh, dramatic and alive.

All the way through the Gospels one of Jesus’ constant refrains is “Do not be afraid.”

These words seem to be directly addressed to our times. For while we live in a nation of relative wealth and plenty, we also live in a time it seems of anxiety and fear.

One thing that Jesus does not shy away from is the fact that in the world there is suffering. Real suffering. In fact he tells his disciples that he himself will suffer and if they want to follow him they will have to take up the cross and suffer too.

Richard Rohr in his new book The Universal Christ quotes the Twentieth Century English mystic Caryll Houselander who described in her autobiography how an ordinary underground train journey in London transformed into a vision that changed her life.