Diocese Of Oxford

Pope Francis has one of the most challenging vocations in the world. His calling is to lead the largest Christian Church, stretched across every continent, a Church which is full of challenges and problems. His calling, like ours, is to articulate a fresh vision of what it means to be Church in the 21st century: a Church bearing witness to the love of God in a globalising, secular, pluralist, sometimes dehumanising culture.

This picture of Jesus before the tomb of Lazarus gives us the picture of how the Church is to be in the world: the foundation of God's mission is compassion: feeling with and suffering with others. Weeping with those who weep. This episode is reflection 11 of 21. Written and read by Bishop Steven, each reflection accompanies the booklet Abundant Life. Written and read by Bishop Steven, this reflection accompanies the booklet Abundant Life.

Let's stay with Jesus' vulnerability a little longer... In several places John's Gospel presents us, within a few verses, with Christ's divinity and his humanity, and the ways in which the two are interwoven. Written and read by Bishop Steven, this reflection accompanies the booklet Abundant Life.

This is the only place in the fourth Gospel where Jesus reveals his deepest emotions. We love him for it. This weakness and vulnerability calls forth a response in John's readers in every generation. This episode is reflection 9 of 21. Written and read by Bishop Steven, each reflection accompanies the booklet Abundant Life.

Mary's tears are a sign of two great loves. She loves her brother, Lazarus, and she has lost him to death. As she draws near to his tomb, she weeps again. The pain of her loss remains very raw. Mary also loves Jesus, as his disciple and her friend. She is aware that Jesus has placed himself in danger by coming to the tomb.

Every disciple responds to Jesus in a different way. We are unique. In this story Martha and Mary are in exactly the same situation. They are sisters grieving the loss of their brother. They are friends of Jesus. But they respond very differently.

Look back over the first part of the story of the raising of Lazarus (John 11.1–26). Read the passage slowly and carefully. Where do you notice your attention lingers? It may be a word or phrase which strikes you or a question you want to ask.

Martha makes the good confession of faith in a moment of great vulnerability and loss and questioning. Her brother has died. Her friend, Jesus, was not there to save him (as she thinks). She hears the promise of resurrection and life as for the end of time yet still through her tears and turmoil she believes and places her trust in Jesus as Messiah.

Seeing Jesus is not the work of a moment but the work of a lifetime. John’s Gospel offers us seven great I am sayings to reflect on and to ponder. The first six are all linked clearly to the concept of life. The seventh is all about the life of the vine flowing through the life of the disciple.

The Church is called to be like Jesus: contemplative, compassionate and courageous. The disciples are learning in this passage what that means. When Jesus discerns it is the right time to go to Lazarus, the disciples are the opposite of all these things. They are anxious, indifferent and afraid for their own safety and that of Jesus. They want to preserve their life, not give it away.

At almost every turn in the story, Jesus does the opposite of what is expected of him. He shows us that to live a contemplative life is not to live a life of quiet passivity but to live a life which is reflective, in relationship with God, a life which flows from an inner dialogue of love. We are not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed.

John tells the story of Jesus in seven great miracles or signs. They are in ascending order. They begin with the changing of water into wine. They end with the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

The story of Lazarus begins here. The aim of the story is to teach us the meaning of life in all its fullness. At the very beginning of the Gospel John says of Jesus: ‘In him was life’. The meaning of life unfolds in the pages of the Gospel in what Jesus does and in who Jesus is.

What does it mean to be a more Christ-like Church for the sake of God's world? Abundant Life looks at one of the most powerful stories in the Gospels, the raising of Lazarus. It's a story that reveals Jesus as contemplative, compassionate and courageous.

Listen to the Door Newspaper for February 2018

A new prayer initiative has begun in Milton Keynes. There has been a lot of deep listening. There is a desire to appreciate all that is good but also to think boldly and creatively about ways forward.

This group are exploring how faith is re-ignited, how confidence to live out our faith is increased and how people can be equipped and energised to live as disciples.

This group has done a lot of listening to the need to support engagement with every school in the diocese. This interview with the Director of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE) looks at progress so far.

We need a vigorous new strategy for planting new churches and to become a more mixed economy church. This interview with the Archdeacon of Oxford looks at progress so far.

This group is exploring contact, conversation and dynamic catechesis as three key ways forward in intentional evangelism and sharing our faith.