Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2
Listen to Inderjit’s 4-part series on Pause for Thought that aired throughout the first quarter of 2021
Pause For Thought: ‘Temptation is about going against rules.’
Pause For Thought: “Who I am is more than where I come from.”
Pause For Thought: “Books take me to places I cannot visit, and to people I cannot see.”
Part of the Communion in Times of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
I greet you all in the Name of Christ, and wish upon you the peace and blessings of God.
It is a pleasure to share in worship with you today, and I do so at the invitation of Cathy Bird.
I want to begin by affirming your leadership team. You are well blessed to have their gifts and company.
Look after them.
Thank you, Cathy, for ensuring Black History Month is marked.
Some of you may be wondering where this idea of Black History Month is from, having been challenged by the Black Lives Matter campaigns following the horrific murder of George Floyd on 25th May this year.
Why all this focus on Black Lives Matter, and Black History Month?
We know white lives matter, that is why it is important to insist also that black lives matter.
All people are made in the Image of God, whatever the colour of your skin. Every person is a child of God. No one should be treated as anything less than that.
Black History Month calls us to ensure black history does not remain hidden. is an annual call to us all to ensure that how black people have been treated, for example in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and more recently in the Windrush scandal, is acknowledged and not submerged in history.
Black History Month falls in October and was established a hundred years ago in the USA, having started in 1920 as Negro History Week.
Four Post Boxes been painted black as a way of celebrating black history month (London, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast), and featuring prominent black Britons like the Jamaican-born nurse Mary Seacole (Cardiff), footballer Walter Tull (Glasgow), and comedian Lenny Henry (Belfast).
A significant Methodist contribution to the theme of colour has been Racial Justice Sunday which was established in 1995, so among other things, we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday, though this particular marker seems to have faded out of church life.
Racial Justice started out as a calendar date in September, it has now been moved to February. I hope you will mark it in your circuit.
Black History Month holds three important features.
It highlights the colour black, the theme of history, and that it is a month, not a day.
The most controversial part of Black Lives Matter, and Black History Month, is the term black.
Some argue, why black?
We are familiar with the cry, white lives matter, and then there are those who say, we don’t have white history month, where does it stop…do we need to go through all the colours of the rainbow throughout the year?
There appears to be a real difficulty in holding up the colour black positively.
However, because of the remarkable Black Lives Matter campaign, there seems to be a greater take up of Black History Month this year.
More people appear to be giving attention to the lives, writings, art, preaching, books of black people.
I want to return to the colour black.
It is so often the colour associated with that which is bad or negative.
People talk about black mood, black sheep of the family, black cloud and so on.
In contrast whiteness is related to good and positive things.
Black came to represent bad, in contrast to white representing good.
White is pure, black is polluted.
White is clean, black is dirty.
This moved on to white skin being seen as positive, and black skin came to be seen negatively.
It is worth paying some attention to this.
I would like to use some biblical passages to aid our reflection.
Let me begin with a familiar verse.
Isaiah 1:18 where we read, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (KJV)
Isaiah 1:18
I imagine you have heard this sentence used in prayers: O Lord, though our sins are as scarlet, wash them as white as snow.
What does that sentence actually mean?
Let me give you an alternative interpretation of this text.
Context: Punishment of Exile on the horizon.
Things are going to get worse.
White as snow does not mean better, it means quite the opposite.
Let us look at the meaning of the term “white as snow” as it is used in the Bible, by examining the first appearance of this phrase in the Bible in Numbers 12 where we read in verse 10 that “Miriam had become leprous, as white as snow”.
What does the phrase “white as snow” mean here?
Clearly it is pointing to something ad rather than something good, it is referring to illness rather than purity.
Let us take a closer look.
The context is criticism of the leadership of the great Moses.
To criticise him Aaron and Miriam pick on the choice of his wife.
Moses had 2 wives.
A Midianite, who is not mentioned at all.
But his second wife is mentioned.
All we know about her is that she is a Cushite.
We know nothing else about her.
Her name is not mentioned.
The women never allowed to speak in the text.
All we know about her is that she is a Cushite.
What does this tell us about her?
Cush is the southern-most territory mentioned in the Bible.
Cush is the ancient designation of territory on the Upper Nile, south of Egypt.
It is usually translated Ethiopia, but it is not the modern Ethiopia.
It can be reasonably assumed that the woman is of black African appearance.
Aaron and Miriam object to Moses being married to a black woman, and see this as the greatest weakness of Moses’ leadership to exploit.
Moses had married a Cushite woman, “for he had indeed married a Cushite woman”.
Numbers 12:1
What is the result of this negativity?
It leads to God actually making an appearance.
And God says Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “right you three, come out to the tent of the meeting, I want a word” (verse 4)
Strips are torn off Aaron and Miriam in the meeting, how dare you question the leadership of Moses, says God.
Then we read, “and the anger of the Lord was kindled against” Aaron and Miriam, and they are punished.
What is the punishment?
Miriam becomes white as snow.
The punishment of Aaron is that he now has to be with someone who is different, something he found an anathema in Moses.
From here on, where ever the term “white as snow” appears in the Bible, we have to read it in this way.
It is a negative term.
That your sins are as scarlet and they shall become white as snow means things are going to get worse for you.
When Black theologians point this out, they are challenging bible based communities to examine how we use colours in our language and liturgy and hymnody.
Cathy Bird is on a similar journey when asks us to examine how we use the terms light and dark in our language and liturgy and hymnody.
So, how would you feel if at a service of Holy Communion a black cloth was used on the table, and to cover the elements, rather than, as the MSB requires a white cloth?
All kinds of questions begin to emerge for church life, and for theology when you examine the way we apply colour.
Just look at the portrayal of Jesus as a white skinned, blond haired, blue eyed Jesus in Christian art, in stained glass windows in churches.
I want to close by offering you some wisdom from a story related to the life of Jesus.
It comes from an encounter of Jesus with a black Canaanite woman.
Canaan is also in the territory of Cush.
Simple explanation.
What makes Jesus a role model for me is his capacity to learn and grow through encounter with the Canaanite woman.
This is the challenge of Black Lives Matter, Black History Month, and Racial Justice.
Engage with black lives, with black history, with racial justice.
Learn and grow.
Don’t court the anger of God with racist behaviour.
Racism is an obscenity.
It is a negation of our humanity.
It is a dehumanising form of violence.
Resist and stop racism.
At this point I want to commend to you a person who in my view is the best British Methodist theologian, namely Professor Anthony Reddie.
He has just written a most profound article on the matters before us this morning, and he insists that black lives matter, black history month, and racial justice should challenge white people to give more attention to whiteness and white supremacy, the way white people have exercised power in the last 400 years.
Thank you, and bless you.
Inderjit Bhogal
4 October 2020
Part of the Communion in Times of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
Click here for more
“Be still and know I am God”
Psalm 46:10
Correct breathing
Stillness…also the goal of Yoga.
Last week I showed simple ways to breathe correctly, with a focus on breathing through the nose.
Just try that again.
Breathe through your nose with the 4-7-8 formula.
Breathe in for 4 seconds. Hold the breath for 7 seconds. Breathe out for 8 seconds.
Have a go now. Breathe in, hold, breathe out.
What happens when you do this?
The first thing, apart from breathing well is that you shut up. You say nothing.
I’ll come back to that in a minute.
Now, what is the first lesson you must learn when you learn to drive?
Answer. You must learn how to stop.
To make any move in a car, you must be able to stop it.
It is important to stop.
Coronavirus has stopped us all in our tracks.
The current situation has taught us that real healing and wellbeing comes from learning to stop.
When you stop you, even when you slow down, you see more, you listen more.
The most important thing in life is not what happens to you, but how you react to it.
In any situation, breathe well, stop, listen, don’t focus on what to say.
If you do these simple things, what you are doing is being still.
In the stillness is God.
Be still and know I am God.
Live in that confidence that God is with you.
The Psalmist who wrote those words was speaking to a people at war.
When he said “be still” what he meant was “put down your weapons”, stop the clatter, and know that your confidence is in God.
What is the weapon you carry? Your words.
Breathe well. Stop speaking.
True Yoga is not about movement and posturing and exercise.
True Yoga has only one goal: the complete stillness of thought, and mental movement.
Total stillness because only in this stillness will you know that you live in God and God lives in you.
I grew up in a large family. Nine of us. The first thirteen years of my life my family lived in two rooms. As you can imagine I could never get away from noise in our home. I learned quickly that what is important is not silence but stillness within me.
Stillness within me can be achieved anytime and anywhere.
I also decided that listening was essential to stillness.
Stillness is assisted by silence, but does not require silence.
Stillness is not doing nothing. It is about being attentive to the moment. It is a resting in the midst of noise and activity.
I can be still when I am walking or running.
In stillness I shut up and listen.
The Prophet Isaiah wrote:
In stillness is your strength
Isaiah 30:7,15
The words Jesus used to still a storm were, “peace, be still”.
If you want peace learn to be still.
God is with us.
Be still and know this.
There are simple practical ways to deepen the quality of stillness in you.
First, in a conversation listen with stillness. In other words, listen without working on what you will say next. Just listen. Allow the person speaking to finish. Then, don’t say what you want to, ask the person a question like, can unpack what you have said a little more so that I have a clearer understanding of what you have said. You could then say, I need to think a little more of what you have said. What is happening is that you are listening with stillness of mind.
St Columba said people say I am wise, but all I do is listen to them.
Second, try the Zen of seeing. Try this anywhere. Look at anything, it could be a leaf, or a feather, or a piece of rock or a flower. Focus on a small part of it and draw it in your mind. You need no paper or pencil. The important thing is you are learning to focus, give attention to detail without using words.
Learn in this time of slowing down to breathe well, to stop, and to be still. No need to hurry.
Here you can be still, and know God.
So, I close with the words of Christ.
Peace, be still.
Thank you and bless you.
Take care, and we will meet at the same time next Sunday.
Inderjit Bhogal, 17 May 2020
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
Part of the Communion in Times of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
Click here for more
We believe God dwells in our midst
The refuge and shelter of our souls,
In whom is our sanctuary and in whom we live and have our being, and eternal life.
We believe the life of God flows in us and restores our soul.
We believe that the Spirit of God is upon us,
In darkness, and light, storms and stirrings,
In which God weaves with darkness and the “deep” to make life and love,
and calls us to protect all creation and life with carefulness, and to do all things with wisdom.
We believe Christ reveals the life of God, and how we can share in it,
By being fully human, embracing beauty and brokenness in life,
By seeking wholeness and the fulness of life for all,
Bearing the cost of suffering, and always keeping hope alive.
We commit ourselves to so live our lives in God that we reflect the likeness of Christ,
See the image of God in all people, those like us and those different from us,
Love ourselves that we may love our neighbour as our self, and,
Always act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
Inderjit Bhogal, 29 March 2020
NOTE: You can use the word “mercy” or “tenderly” in the final line, which ever works best for you.
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
Part of the Communion in Times of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
Click here for more
I am beginning to think we are all in our Noah’s Ark in our own homes with our families (and pets if we have them), our sanctuaries.
“And there were other boats”
Mark 4:36
Life away from others is a daily reality to people who have been housebound for years. Religious communities have developed spiritualities that have required the need to “come away” for a while. We are familiar with the value of “retreat”.
Every household, every individual, in their own “cacoon” is a new place for us all, and requires us to come to ourselves, and imagine a new world.
Noah and his wife Naamah were in the Ark, with their family, and the animals with them, when it rained for forty days and forty nights. They were in the stormy rain and turbulent waters of the flood which eventually did subside (Genesis 6:14-7:12). They did not have a garden they could take a walk in, or social media for entertainment and communication. The story gives us the beautiful image of the Dove with an Olive leaf in the beak as a sign of cessation of conflict (Genesis 7:11), and then the rainbow (Genesis 9:13), with a spectrum of colours in an arch, as a symbol of hope for all creation. I like the image of a rainbow, insisting that there are many colours, not just one. And it looks like a bigger roof providing a more inclusive shelter.
The next Ark we come across in the Bible is the Ark as a “sanctuary” for God (Exodus 25:8) to symbolise God dwelling in the midst of people. This is image we have to hold in our mind when we read the words of John 1:14 “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”, a development of the words of Exodus 25:8.
The Ark represents a sanctuary for its inhabitants. Noah’s Ark is a sanctuary for all those in a safe space with him.
This image grows into the Biblical vision that everyone will have their own Ark, a house in fact, with their own garden (see for example Isaiah 65:21), so that no one is without a roof over their head; and no one is afraid that their house will be destroyed or their livelihood plundered.
This ideal remains a dream that has not been achieved. History is littered with stories of exactly the opposite. Homes and gardens destroyed.
The shameful fact is that today there are 70 million refugees, a new all-time high, an unprecedented global situation. This includes 28 million people who are internally displaced, trapped in their own countries (of these 11 million are conflict related, and 17 million are disaster related. Disasters include storms, floods, landslides, droughts, wild fires and extreme temperatures). Their homes and gardens have been destroyed.
People who have lost their homes and the protection of their countries value sanctuary and safety expressed in welcome and hospitality and shelter. The global image that has been before us has been of refugees in boats in sea waters, and at border fences and walls, desperately seeking sanctuary. All people with names and families, and histories. There are heart breaking images of children whose lives are in danger, and many people in the water. A traumatic situation for anyone to be in.
In Mark 4:35-39 is recorded the story of Jesus in a small boat with his disciples. They are caught in a storm. In this storm we read that there were “other boats” with him. There was not just one boat as in the Noah story. They were not all in the same boat. There were other boats, carrying other people, all in the same storm. They all went through the fears expressed by Jesus’ disciples.
Now, in the deep and choppy waters of the coronavirus, we are all seeking or taking sanctuary in homes and rooms and apartments. We all have fears and anxiety about the wellbeing and safety of ourselves, and our families. Others are going through a similar situation to us. No one is immune to the virus, from rulers to the ruled, rich and poor, women and men, whatever our nationality or ethnicity. Our equality in our humanity, and frailty, and desire to be safe is clear.
The reality of our world is that there are those who have “homes” and many who do not. There are those with lovely gardens, and those without gardens. There are those for whom being in a confined environment will be difficult, and for others this will hold dangers of intimidation and abuse from oppressive others.
The rain stopped in the Noah story. Coronavirus will pass. But as we take sanctuary ourselves, we will keep in our hearts and minds all those in their own other sanctuaries now, with all the surrounding concerns. And we will not forget those who are without homes, or away from homes, and refugees who continue to be “the least important” internationally, and uphold them in our work and prayers. The poorest communities will be the hardest hit by all the circumstances surrounding coronavirus. We will maintain our solidarity with those who feel most excluded and vulnerable. I hope we will not allow enforced social distancing to lead to social division.
Sanctuary in our homes is bringing us to ourselves. We have time to reflect on ourselves, and how we are with others, and to explore our spirituality. In what ways are we individually a home and a garden to ourselves? What are the points at which we are a stranger to ourselves? Where does our deepest nourishment lie? What wells do we drink from?
I love the very first line of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali.
“Thou hast made me endless, such is thy great pleasure”.
Rabindranath Tagore
Each one of us is immense. We grow even more in our relationships with others.
Acknowledge the gift and treasure you are. We are to love ourselves, if we are to love our neighbour and the stranger as ourselves, and in so doing to discover what it is to truly love God. Look after yourself. Your wellbeing is a gift to yourself and to others. Care for your body for it is the Temple, the Sanctuary of God.
This is what it is to be a sanctuary to yourself. Model sanctuary in yourself. Be a wholesome, calm, healing and hospitable presence. So:
Allow yourself space to be. Allow others space to be.
Be compassionate towards yourself. Be compassionate towards others.
Be forgiving to yourself. Be forgiving to others.
Do not be afraid. Help others to not be afraid.
Be safe and non-violent in your words and ways. Support such non-violence in others.
When you do this, you can better support others in being and building sanctuary.
Noah’s time in the Ark with his family concludes with God’s universal covenant embracing all people, plants, animals and the environment around him (Genesis 9:12).
The gift of coronavirus may be to call us back to the insight of this covenant and God’s call to human beings again to commit ourselves to each other and all creation, to imagine and build a rainbow future with each other, as the “oikumene”, the household of God, and not least in terms of an ecumenism embracing all faiths, economic equality, and ecological justice, modelling an over-arching sanctuary for all.
Inderjit Bhogal
27 March 2020
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
Part of the Communion In Times Of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
Click here for more
In my view the first two verses of the Bible are the key to unlock the rest of it. These two verses are a summary, and what follows in the rest of the Bible illustrates this summary.
Use the wisdom of these two verses to reflect on where you find yourself now. I offer a few thoughts.
“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, and the spirit of God swept over the face of the waters”
Genesis 1:1-2
This is the beginning, not the end.
There is a formless void, darkness, and what is termed “the deep”. God does not create this. It is just there. But God dwells in the midst of it all. This is where the spirit of God is, creating something new.
The “deep” is described elsewhere in the Bible as a trembling, a disturbance, a stirring, or a storm within a person, in the mind, in circumstances or in the environment around us. It is a stirring, which can also be scary, but in which new things happen. See for example, Jeremiah 23:9, Daniel 7:2 and John 5:2.
In Sanskrit the word is “vritti”, which signifies a whirlpool.
This is what is being described in the two opening verses of the Bible. And such scenarios are real throughout the Bible.
The stories of the Bible are reflections of a people, their journeys in life, and how they experienced and interpreted God in the midst of the harsh realities of their meanderings and troubles, conflicts and hurts, and the points at which they found meaning and hope.
The Word of God is discerned by the people of the Bible as they reflect on their often terrifying and troubling experiences. Their reflections reveal God who is with them in their travel and travail as the still and secure and creative presence at the heart of it all. Biblical witness illuminates and unfolds this insight.
The life of God flows in the “deep”, and is the ground of all creation. God weaves darkness and the deep into all creation, makes new things, and calls human beings to share in this work, to protect and take good care of life and all created things, and to do all things with wisdom (Genesis 1:26-28).
A true devotee of God (a disciple of Christ, a guru) will reflect the nature and likeness of God: staying without fear and serving in the midst of darkness and the “deep”, interpreting this as a place of sacredness, not scaredness, being creative not destructive, healing not hurting, hospitable not hostile, holding out hope not despair, modelling holiness.
In Christ we see how we too can reflect and share in the life of the divine by being fully human and embracing immersion in life (incarnation), seeking healing, hospitality and the fulness of life for all (ministry), bearing the costs of suffering (crucifixion), and always keeping hope alive (resurrection).
In life we discover God, in our humanity we embrace divinity, and in our time on earth we touch eternity.
Live confidently and help others to do so.
Inderjit Bhogal, 24 March 2020 (Fortieth Anniversary of the Assassination of Saint Oscar Romero)
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
Part of the Communion In Times Of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
Click here for more
Construct one hour a day like this. This is your hour. After this, you can spend time as you wish to, and with others to support them.
Silence. This does not mean no noise. It means you sit comfortably and just listen to yourself, and in all that is happening to you discern the voice and word of God. It doesn’t matter if your mind wanders or goes off in a tangent. Note what comes in to your mind
Write down some of your thoughts from the moments of silence, or other words. Just write. This is not to share with others, it is for you.
Read something. It could be a few pages of a book…your Newspaper…
Read a short passage from the Bible. It could just be one verse. Reflect on this. What does this portion of scripture say to you? You may wish to write down a sentence or two to capture your reflection. Pause for a prayer. This could simply be to say the “Lord’s Prayer” with full attention
Listen to your favourite music. Or tune in to your favourite music station on radio, e.g Classic FM or whatever
Just ten minutes to complete this special hour. A bit of weeding. Or as Jesus suggested, “consider the flowers and the birds” in your Garden. If you don’t have a Garden, tend indoor plants, or just “consider” them
Eat and drink in moderation. Reduce consumption generally.
Live radiantly.
Inderjit Bhogal
20 March 2020
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
Part of the Communion in Times of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
Click here for more
NOTE: While it is not safe to gather physically, use phones and social media to stay connected and in communion.
I dislike the term “self-isolate“. We don’t want anyone to isolate or exclude anyone. Of course we want everyone to take care of themselves and others. We are all used to the idea of staying at home for the sake of health.
We want to watch over one another with love. The commandment to love God, and your neighbour as yourself is best practised in reverse order. Love yourself first. You are number one.
Be a sanctuary to yourself.
Be a sanctuary to yourself. This is not a selfish thought. If you can love yourself and be gentle with yourself you will better be able to love and look after and provide sanctuary to your neighbour. As we are advised on aeroplanes, in case of emergency put your own mask on first before you assist others. If you don’t you will not be able to help others. If you love yourself and your neighbour, you are expressing your love of and for God. This is true spiritual devotion.
And remember that Jesus only ever mentioned one number. He said “where two or three are gathered together in my name I am there in the midst of them”. Be in touch and in communion with two or three. This is the beginning and deepest form of Church and communion and community. Such contact is manageable. Worship centres are closing. Organise your congregation/community/group to be in conversation and communion with each other in 2s and 3s. Do not practice isolation. And live in the confidence that God is with us and desires fulness of life for all. Do not doubt that you have communion and sanctuary in God. Blessings and Peace.
Inderjit Bhogal
17 March 2020
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
Part of the Communion In Times Of Coronavirus series of gentle reflections
Inderjit Bhogal, 2020
Click here for more
There are a number of ways to greet being suggested in the context of Coronavirus. Most Indians use the traditional folded hands greeting.
To greet anyone, if you are able to do this, fold old your hands together at chest level, and bow gently. This action says “I honour you” and that of God in you with deep respect. This action can be used to share peace in the context of worship and prayer. You can greet male and female, young and old like this. This greeting also acknowledges different cultures.
Inderjit Bhogal
11 March 2020
This article can be downloaded for use here
All documents on this topic are located here
Hello supporters,
I hope you are enjoying the weather. It’s tough on training!
Team Bhogal [Rachel Parkinson, Patrick Stonehewer, Liamarjit Bhogal and Inderjit Bhogal] will be joining the British 10km run in London. We are supporting All We Can, the Methodist relief and development charity responding in times of crisis, to humanitarian emergencies caused by natural disasters, conflict and political instability all over the world.
Please sponsor us if you can using the links below:
Our fundraising page:
https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/inderjitbhogal10km
Watch our progress and find out more information about the team, the charity and the eventOur Sponsorship form:
https://mydonate.bt.com/donation/start.html?participant=475733
A direct link to make a donation!! It couldn’t be easier.
Many Thanks
Inderjit
Inderjit Bhogal 