Changing Attitude Ireland

10/10/2026

Matthew in his Gospel, and Paul so often in his epistles warn of the complacency and passivity that so many of their fellow Christians evidenced. For prevarication is nothing new, it is a human tendency ages old.
When Matthew relates the parable of the wedding feast for a King’s son, he is stressing that even if we accept the invitation, simply attending is not enough.
He is warning against the complacency and misguided sense of moral superiority that those who attend the feast, indeed those who attend church may fall prey to.
The danger, as real now as it was then, is to have such a sense of being invited, that we forget what is expected of us in return.
The man incorrectly dressed for the event, though present, serves as a warning to all whose response may be partial and half-hearted.
We are called to ask of ourselves “Am I incorrectly dressed”, not with externals, such as a wedding gown, but with the clothing of faithful response and repentance. In other words, we must not only hear the gospel, but we must respond to it and be changed, at the very heart of us. We must not only respond, but we must live the gospel. Otherwise, our membership of the church, our attendance at the feast - signify little.

Matthew in his Gospel, and Paul so often in his epistles warn of th...

03/10/2026

In a world of madness, a seeming desire to repeat the tragedies of the past, and increasing tension within countries and across the world, Wendell Berry is a voice of gentle wisdom and sanity, rooted in the land in which he writes and farms. This poem 'I go among trees' comes from his book - 'A Timbered Choir - The Sabbath poems 1979 - 1997', - Counterpoint, 1999. ISBN-10 ‏: ‎1582430063 , ISBN-13 ‏: ‎978-1582430065.

It speaks of the kind of prayer - that could touch every heart.

If you enjoy the video - please like and share.

In a world of madness, a seeming desire to repeat the tragedies of ...

26/09/2026

Power is often all too aware of its illegitimacy; for those who wield it know what transgressions, compromises, crimes – moral and legal, they have committed in order to attain it.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” and the quote continues: “There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.”
Jesus confronted those whose hold on power had made them anything but humble. They were convinced of their own entitlement to privilege, to control the lives of others, and to prioritise their own advantage and wellbeing in any decision they made and any system of laws they administered.
Clearly, they were willing to intimidate, to suppress, to torture and kill, anyone who might be any kind of threat to their dominance.
Whilst the powerful, cruel and villainous have always been with us, in today’s world we face again capricious, ruthless, venal and utterly shameless rulers, that once we hoped had been constrained by the international order of rules and the disciplines of democracy.
We see also the craven, complicit and corrupt, who surround them, and conspire to maintain their control, much as the courtiers of Herod and Caesar did in the time of Jesus.
The Gospel of Jesus, stood in brave defiance against such forces, and though Jesus and so many disciples were savagely killed, in the end his message did prevail, however imperfectly, in us his imperfect disciples.
Time again for the gospel to be reasserted with conviction, courage and integrity.

Power is often all too aware of its illegitimacy; for those who wie...

19/09/2026

It is all too easy in our strivings, in our aspirations and the estimation of what we are and what we have – to leave our faith’s pilgrimage out of the equation.
To think that our daily life is somehow in a separate, cordoned off existence, rather like the labourers in the vineyard. A world of exchange and negotiation, of worldly concerns and worldly solutions; where we owe seemingly everything to our own efforts, what we have been able to wrestle away from an impersonal world of work.
We are encouraged, even brainwashed, in part by social media and each other, but also by our own insecurity and contingent, easily swayed sense of self, to feel that even if we were to achieve the life and the possessions that once we wanted, they would stop being so special, or desirable, if everyone else had them as well.

It is all too easy in our strivings, in our aspirations and the est...

12/09/2026

Forgiveness is a much mis-understood notion.
All too often, Christians can be accused of being a naïvely misguided patsy if they advocate forgiveness, or hypocrites if they display any anger.
On the one hand, idealistic, unrealistic and culpably weak, and on the other hand, unwilling and unable to live the gospel they profess. So where in all this are we to find some sense of balance, and the true virtue of which Jesus speaks?
For Christian forgiveness is neither woolly sentimentality or nanny-like indulgence.
Forgiveness is not flabby pardoning or condoning, but it is rooted in recognising our own culpability, our own contribution to our misfortunes, and our responsibility, not only to rectify the consequences of some of our own actions, but also to repent, to forgive, and to be forgiven; to move forward in love or at the very least, not in enmity and recrimination.
Forgiveness does not mean to underestimate, or downplay the degree of misfortune and suffering that has been imposed.
It does not lesson the guilt of the offender, or remove the need for restitution to be made and penalties to be paid. But it does mean that Christians are meant to free themselves from the seemingly endless cycle of offence and blame, hostility and calls for vengeance and retaliation.

Forgiveness is a much mis-understood notion. All too often, Christ...

22/08/2026

https://youtu.be/EG66fKITtng

The poem comes from Rachel Clift who is a writer, traveller, photog...

15/08/2026

In his encounter with the Canaanite woman, and a Gentile, someone that a respectable Rabbi would avoid completely; Jesus was challenged with his own teaching.
Their conversation can make us feel quite uncomfortable.
For Jesus initially seems to employ a rather rude and offensive tone, apparently refusing to help the woman and somewhat abusively referring to her (and by implication to all non-Jews) as ‘dogs’.
Did Jesus intend to provoke his later decision? Was this all some kind of clever teaching device – a set-up? There are some, especially in those traditions who find it hard to see Jesus as anything other than perfect, who might try to construct such an argument. But that sounds rather desperate, trying to square a circle.
There is a powerful strand in his teaching that shows that he probably had a fairly exclusive idea of who his message was for.
It's likely that Jesus did see his ministry to the Jews as the most urgent core of his calling to the end of his days; still, it is comforting to remember that, however passionate he was, however focused on his urgent goal, he was able to hear a voice of appeal and dissent and recognise the justice of the rebuke.
That whilst he had a primary audience, he came to understand that others were listening too.
By implication, we are challenged to ensure that we do not erect such barriers and obstacles, such inflexible regulations, as to welcome and embrace within the Christian family, and indeed the wider human family, only those who conform to such narrow definitions of sanctity and approval as to create for ourselves an ever-diminishing club of the righteous and oh so special few.
A faith, any creed, should be judged by its compassion, its forgiveness, its forbearance, its commitment to mercy and justice, the degree to which it extends arms of enfolding love and understanding rather than the harsh, prideful and stony-faced rebuke of exclusion and condemnation.
Reflecting on the story of the Canaanite woman, if Jesus can change his heart and learn new ways of living and loving – then so can we.

In his encounter with the Canaanite woman, and a Gentile, someone t...

08/08/2026

When we hear the story of Jesus stilling the storm and walking on the water, and in Matthew’s account, Peter too, if only for a moment, it is important to fill in the background, the context of the time, and the biblical language and imagery that the people were so familiar with, in order to understand, at least in part, what the gospel writers are trying to tell us.
For just as Jesus told parables as his main way of teaching, so too the gospels tell stories and parables about Jesus.
Matthew’s use of dramatic miraculous imagery and his own particular shaping of the story makes it clear that here we are dealing with profound religious symbolism, as much as accurate factual history.

When we hear the story of Jesus stilling the storm and walking on t...

01/08/2026

There is a long-running dispute in the church, sometimes cordial, sometimes less so, and with seemingly no end in sight, about how to interpret and apply scripture.
Part of the intractable nature of the issue is that the positions taken, not only represent different theological scholarly traditions, but are informed by our different mindsets, our different ways of seeing the world and reality, and our preferences and personality traits, that are not easily persuadable because they are embedded in our very DNA.
We might like to think that we make up our minds completely independently, although we can also admit that our upbringing may have formed some of our views.
But we also need to acknowledge that our genes play a role, not only in how we look, but also how we think.

There is a long-running dispute in the church, sometimes cordial, s...

26/07/2026

As we celebrated pride yesterday in Belfast, we were saddened by the events that took place in Berlin last night. As an organisation, we think of all those affected, for the loss of life and for all those who have been injured. 🙏🏻💔🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💔