Geoff's Reflections

Rev Geoff Stevenson, Chairperson of the Presbytery and Mission Strategist, writes a weekly reflection, offering an opportunity to delve deeper and recognise God (the Sacred, Holy Divine) in our midst, around, in, and through us and the world.

He shares these thoughts and ideas that hold significance to him, hoping they provide something for others to ponder and inspire their own reflections in the Spirit of God.

You can sign up directly to Geoff's Reflections or read previous reflections below:

To Dream the Impossible Dream - of God!

I read a story of a couple who went to the theatre – Tony Campolo and his wife. The show was The Man of La Mancha, and the enigmatic Don Quixote. As they sat in wonderful seats near the front, taking in the story and music, the man was distracted by the woman next to him. She was whispering to her husband, but the hushed tones grew louder: ‘Stop that. You’re embarrassing me. Stop it!’ The man surreptitiously leaned forward and glanced sideways to see a man dressed in a fine suite and tie, very respectable in every way.

A Hope on which to Build A Life…

A few years ago, there were a couple of different houses built in our street. I watched with fascination as they dug around 70 holes to provide deep and stable foundations. I remember one section where the hole digger (technical term for the large boring drill) kept going down deeper and deeper.

God's Grace Treats us Upwards - to become who we can be!

I had a child in the Scripture class I taught some years ago. He was quite hyperactive and quite smart. It was clear he was largely bored with Scripture, which was a combined year 6 Protestant group that 3 of us co-led.

When We Are Loved...

There’s a bloke that used to stand on a corner opposite Westfields Parramatta. There, at the lights, he spruiks his particular line of religious belief with passion and desperation. Occasionally someone will sidle up and engage him in a conversation that encourages and affirms his hard-line, narrow stance. Occasionally someone who had time and energy to take him on did so, but he gave no ground. His size and fierce, passionate manner was intimidating, and most people simply ignored him and couldn’t wait to cross the road.

Persistence, Prayer, and Love!

This morning, like all mornings, our 8 year-old Short-haired Border Collie X Cattle Dog was very keen to go for a walk. As soon as I am up and about, he is persistently nudging or licking me and then looks into the laundry where his lead is. He repeats this in the late afternoon as well, if I am around. Nico loves his daily walk(s)!

In the Borderlands, Grace!

Most of our lives are lived in the in-between places, what this week’s story will call the borderlands. This is the place between the places, the moment between the moments. It is the place or journey between the destinations. On the larger scale it might be the journey between our first and last breath. But along this way there are many ‘betwixts and betweens’ or borderland spaces – it is where life is mostly lived.

Faith Like A Mustard Seed

Theologian Walter Wink (1935–2012) recalls a tense moment in Selma in which a reminder to love their enemies shocked the conscience of the crowd and forged a nonviolent path forward: King so imbued this understanding of nonviolence into his followers that it became the ethos of the entire civil rights movement.

LOVE: Breaks down Barriers that Divide

Sometimes something is right before our face, and we do not (cannot/will not?) see it. I have often looked in the fridge or cupboard for something and cannot see it. I look and look and look but it is not there – well it is but I do not see it. Perhaps it was in a slightly different position or had a different label or looked different for some reason and I did not see it.

LOVE: Relationship and Connection

Recently I was reminded of a trip Susan, and I made a few years go. It was a visit to the Top End of Australia – Darwin, Kakadu and East Alligator River, Litchfield NP, Katherine and Nitmiluk, and Adelaide River. I was reminded of the immense beauty and wonder of this place. The diversity of flora and Fauna continues to create a sense of awe in me.

Lost and Found – in Love!

I knew a woman once who told a story that perplexed and deeply concerned and moved me. She grew up in a particular part of Western Sydney considered impoverished, challenging, rough and where, of course, no-one of any capacity would emerge.

A Party Where Everyone is Welcome…

On our morning walks, Nico and I sometimes walk down a particular road and there, amongst the houses is a simple home, a bit the worse for wear. Often, in passing, we see an older woman sitting out on her front veranda, well rugged against the winter cold.