![]() ![]() Through them it shows the continued relevance of the church for those in peril: the poor and the marginalised. ![]() Our Daily Bread is as much the story of the rich cast of characters that cross the threshold of any church as it is our vicar’s. But amid the tragedy, addiction, appalling loss, illness and neglect, there also lies hope, joy and moments of comedy. And so it was that he found himself running a food bank from a car park, helping the desperate amid his flock as the pandemic raged.įr Alex’s down-to-earth style of ministry struck a chord with people of all faiths, cultures and class at a time when the divide between rich and poor is widening cataclysmically. Burnley is typical of many towns across Britain: a place of run-down council estates, severe poverty litter, crime and drugs, but also a place where the sacred sits alongside the secular in an intimate and personal way. ![]() ![]() He found his calling while running an Argos store in his native Burnley, moonlighting as a stand-up comedian and die-hard fan of The Clarets and Depeche Mode.īut having achieved his profession, Fr Alex quickly recognised the 17,000 inhabitants of his new parish were in dire need of help. As we reflect Him, may the world be amazed to see His glory shine through us.A warmly funny, intensely moving and startlingly personal account of the lives of an urban parish priest and his parishioners.įather Alex Frost was not always a man of the cloth. This is our role, as one source says, “perhaps because unbelievers are not able to bear the full blazing glory of His light firsthand.”Ĭabrera teaches his art students that “anything that has direct light falling on it in a scene becomes a source of light itself.” Similarly, with Jesus as “the true light that gives light to everyone” (v. 8).Īs with John, we’re chosen by God to reflect Christ’s light to those living in the shadows of an unbelieving world. The gospel writer tells us, “He himself was not the light he came only as a witness to the light” (v. John the Baptist “came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe” (v. We hear similar insight in the Bible concerning Jesus as “the light of all mankind” ( John 1:4). He says, “Reflected light belongs to the shadow and as such it must support, not compete with the lighted areas of your painting.” Message : To capture the beauty of reflective light in his landscape oil paintings, artist Armand Cabrera works with a key artistic principle: “Reflected light is never as strong as its source light.” He observes that novice painters tend to exaggerate reflected light. In describing Jesus as life and light, John teaches us that He’s God’s fullest revelation, the ultimate source of hope for all people. Isaiah says Israel was called to be “a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (42:6–7). In Psalm 119:105, Scripture is described as a “lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Light was also understood as a symbol for holiness-being separated from the world and devoted to God’s purposes. In Deuteronomy, for example, the Israelites were told that through obedience to God’s law they could “live and increase” (30:16). Both life and light in Jewish tradition would’ve been associated with God’s revelation in Scripture. John 1:1–4 describes Jesus as God’s Word-the source of life and light for all humanity. ![]()
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