Mary Magdalene

I've come across a really interesting poem by John Piper called 'Mary Magdalene'. We know from the bible that Mary Magdalene was delivered of seven demons by Jesus and became a follower. We know that she knew Joanna, from Herods court. And we know- or can guess- she came from Magdala, hence her name. Magdala was the centre of a cult that worshipped Astarte or Astoreth, a fertility goddess. Piper has woven a story from this. It can't be proved to be true, but it's a fascinating poem. You can find it here:

www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Poems/ByDate/1411_Mary_Magdalene_Part_1/

And here is the final verse:

And so, sweet fire of candle three,
That burns so bright and painfully,
Come, light the midnight of our days,
And strike the towers of our ways.
And when we think our chains are strong,
And slavery has been too long,
And wicked ropes are bound too tight,
And demons lurk beneath our sight,
Think not that we are too unclean:
Remember Mary Magdalene.
Come sweetly, painful flame, and be
The fire that sets the captives free

Politics

Interesting result just in from the Australia elections. Kevin Rudd, the Labor candidate, is the new Prime Minister. He is a committed Christian, something he has constantly made clear throughout his campaign.

If we add to that the clear Christian faith that President Bush has (I don't like his politics but the faith is clear enough) and the apparent Christian faith of Gordon Brown (and Blair before him) we are seeing some key Christians in key world positions. And I've not even started to talk of the faith of many African leaders.

I don't expect any of these men will make all the right decisions. But I'm grateful that they pray and believe - and are in a position to influence this world for good.

Wolf Whistle Sunday

My thanks to Sue O'Dell who greeted me with a wolf whistle when I arrived for the church meeting on Sunday. Thanks for reading the page Sue! Tim Hunt, are you reading this?!

Forest Gump

Looking at that last blog entry reminds me of a story from a few years ago. I used to do more running than I do now, as did Tim Hunt, a friend of mine.

Tim called over one night with a big grin on his face, full of what had just happened. He'd been out running and had run past a group of girls- and one of them 'wolf whistled' him. Well, Tim was full of it! He dined off that story for a good while afterwards!

I went running myself a few days later in Yaxley, where we lived at the time, and sure enough, up in front of me were a group of girls. Recalling Tim's often told story, I pushed my shoulders back, increased my pace and ran past them looking as cool as possible. I waited for the wolf whistle. Nothing. Then, just as I passed them, one of the girls called out 'Run Forest Run!'

Tim dined out on that story too!

Finishing the race

I managed to go out running first thing this morning, just round the rowing lake and back. The fact I'm recording it reflects how little running I’ve been doing lately!

I used to do a lot of running and even completed the London Marathon a few years back. My main memory of the race is finishing. As I ran up The Mall, people were cheering me on, calling out to me by name (Tip #1: always put your name on your running vest- people calling out your name after 26 miles is a real energy boost!)

I remember crossing the line. Such a feeling of accomplishment. All the training, pain, hitting the 'wall', running on the cobbles near the Tower of London, nerves and everything else that preceded it (even being overtaken by a 20 foot caterpillar- it was a group of army cadets after all) seemed insignificant compared to finishing. (Tip #2: keep your thoughts on the finish line when it gets tough)

With my friend John dying a couple of weeks back, I’ve been thinking quite a lot about crossing the finishing line. Hopefully I still have a good race to run, but I want to finish well. I want to be able to deal with the tiredness, the pain, the pressures and to finish well. I look forward to thousands cheering me over the line, and to God’s voice saying ‘well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord’. (Tip #3: be sure as to what and who you are running for)