The festival of the birth of John the Baptist is 24 June Very few people are mentioned in the Bible before they are born – John the Baptist is one of them. Today is the festival of his birth and one thing we remember is that before he was born, John leapt in the womb of his mother Elizabeth on the joyful encounter between her and the Blessed Virgin Mary when the cousins were both pregnant – Mary with Jesus. Luke tells us that ‘the child grew and became strong in spirit.’ (Luke 1.80) All four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John include the words from the prophet Isaiah about the messenger who will be…

All lives matter. Of course they do, most obviously because our Creator God has intended, invested and takes interest in each and every one of us. But just at the moment it is vital that we acknowledge how Black Lives Matter – in our words, deeds and imagining. This is not knee-jerk, even though awareness is provoked by recent events that are unequivocally (even or especially if unconsciously) racist. The problem is not confined to particular incidents: if it were it would be much easier to address. The problems are deep-seated: buried in egregious problems of history which continue to shape attitudes in the present and the future. That’s why…