|
DATE |
SUBJECT |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
15th
August |
"I Came to Bring Fire and to Divide" -
What's that all About?:
It was a bit cruel and impolite perhaps
– and Beethoven could have found less antisocial ways of telling his
hearers that the world was full of pain as well as beauty. But the
shock of the discordant crash to his upper crust audience is a good
picture for what Jesus had to say at the end of Luke chapter 12 –
because it comes as a huge shock. |
Luke 12:49;56 |
|
8th
August |
The Kingdom of God - Psalm 33:
We’ve
been trying to get our heads around the notion of the kingdom of God
– and the difficulties people had in Jesus’ day and have had
throughout history understanding what it’s all about – that God is
about bringing his creation into (to quote Monty Python) “something
completely different”. Centuries before Calvin tried to get the
French monarch to understand that he’s on a loser going in any other
way, in the psalm we just read we get the same kind of idea –
because it’s what God has always intended. |
Psalm 33:1-33:22 |
|
25th July |
What's God About? The Importance of
Seeing the Big Picture:
I’ve never been a great watcher of
soaps – even though I had a tutor up in Oxford (Michael Green) who
would recommend them to his students going on Christian missions –
because, he said, that’s what people would probably be talking
about. He probably had a point. But I sit there dutifully for a
while, completely lost as far as the following the story is
concerned, because I only see bits, now and then. And I’m sure it
drives Sue bonkers when I always have to ask what’s going on. And
it’s so easy to get the wrong end of the stick dipping in and out,
like I tend to do. |
Luke 11:1-13 |
|
18th July |
What's Going On With Martha and Mary?:
Now if you thought the ‘good Samaritan’
was radical, the powerful little story we have as our gospel reading
this morning suggests that Luke the gospel writer has plenty more
where that came from – as Tom Wright puts it in his ‘Luke for
Everyone’ commentary. And once again there are ways this interaction
between two sisters has been generally understood that doesn’t seem
to fully grasp how scandalous this incident and Jesus’ use of it
might have seemed at the time - so I wonder if, like me, you’re
getting the sense from looking into these gospel stories that Jesus
was an incredible risk-taker? Let’s have a quick look. |
Luke 10:38-42 |
|
11th July |
The Good Samaritan - What's Really Going
On Here?:
Some of the best-known and best-loved stories are the hardest to
understand – because there’s lots going on at different levels. I’ve
always loved the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, that even his fellow
Inklings in Oxford, like Tolkein thought were quite simple and
‘twee’. But in
2008 Michael Ward published some research that proposed that each of
the seven books actually related to one of the
seven moving
heavenly bodies or "planets" known in
the Middle Ages, according to the Ptolemy’s classic model of
cosmology (how about that!). |
Luke 10 |
|
4th July |
Bringing Joy to God's Heart - Jesus Sends
Them Out:
I wonder if you’ve ever thought you’re capable of bring joy to
God’s heart? What me?? Come off it! And anyway God’s not really that
interested in what I do…! Luke’s Gospel is the only one that tells
us about Jesus appointing and sending out seventy others. It’s also
the only version that describes their joyous return and victory over
all the darkness they’d discovered when they were ‘on the road’ (so
to speak). |
Luke 10:1-24 |
|
27th June |
Conversations on the Road to Jerusalem:
I wonder where you think you’re headed – most of the time, if
you thought about it? In our gospel reading this morning Luke tells
us Jesus set his face – “like a flint”, one version tells us – to go
to Jerusalem – where he’s going to face torture and execution on a
Roman cross. This is the ultimate cost he’s prepared to pay to get
us back into a relationship with God and nothing’s going to divert
him from fulfilling what he came to do. |
Luke 9:51-62 |
|
20th June |
Healing of the Demoniac:
we’re not sure exactly why Jesus did a lot of the things that he
did. Why he would leave Capernaum and travel down to the obscure
little village of Nain (as we saw last week) or why would he go to
the land of the Gerasenes – an area to the east of Galilee, where
for the most part the land rises steeply from close to the lake.
What we do know is that this was largely Gentile territory –
although many Jews would’ve lived there as well. |
Luke 8:26-39 |
|
13th June |
Barnabas: An "Unsung Hero of Faith"?:
Barnabas we’re told was a Levite who’d become a believer in
Jesus the Messiah (you probably noticed that the title ‘Christian’
came later at Antioch. In other words, he’d been part of the Jewish
religious system... and to break away from that was no mean feat! (
and we’ll see more about that in minute). |
Acts 11:19-30 |
|
6th June |
God Is Here to Help His People:
It seems to have been a time for funerals recently in the
village; time when we’ve been able to take stock of what’s
important. There are four funeral scenes on the pages of the New
Testament. At each one of these, the people attending are touched by
the presence and power of Jesus Christ. |
Luke 7:1-11 |
|
30th May |
Trinity Sunday:
On Trinity Sunday (May 30th), which is the fifth
Sunday in the month our service was led for the first time by our
Lay Worship Leaders (Phyl, Chris and Julie). The following is the
dialogue they presented in lieu of a sermon.
We would like to share with you some extracts from a book called The
Shack, written by Wm Paul Young. We would stress that this book is
a novel, it is not a true story. Nevertheless, it has impressed all
three of us, not least in its portrayal of The Trinity. |
- |
|
23rd May |
Pentecost:
I don’t know whether you’re on e-mail lists when someone with a
great ministry gets together the kinds of material that lifts the
spirits. Here’s one Jaki kindly passed on about KIDS IN CHURCH
3-year-old Rhys: ' Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His
name. Amen. ' (or) A little boy overheard praying: ' Lord, if you
can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a
really good time just as I am. ' |
- |
|
16th
May |
Paul Silas in Prison:
There’s a fascinating research study done by an academic from
Northwestern University in the United States. She studied Olympic
medallists and discovered that Bronze medallists were happier than
Silver medallists. Here’s why. Silver medallists tended to focus on
how close they came to winning gold so they weren’t satisfied with
silver. Bronze medallists tended to focus on how close they came to
not winning a medal at all so they were just happy to be on the
medal stand at all. |
Acts 16 |
|
13th
May |
The Ascension:
Ascensiontide and Pentecost draw us with their rich imagery and
their proclamation of triumph in Christ’s majesty and the Holy
Spirit’s empowering presence and gifts. This is the time when we
remember the Church has something to say which is good news for all
the earth. Ascension Day used to be one of the great days of the
Christian year, but now most of us never even notice it. |
Psalm 67:1-7 |
|
9th
May |
The Mission Song (Psalm 67:1-7):
One of the most beautiful and most used blessings is from the
Book of Numbers in the Old Testament. Those who come up to receive a
blessing during Communion have sometimes heard me using it
"The Lord bless
you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and
be gracious to you. The Lord lift up the light of his
countenance upon you, and give you his peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
For the people of God
this blessing has great significance because it’s the blessing that
Yahweh himself gave through Moses for Aaron to bless the Israelites.
It was the blessing then pronounced those who held his priestly
office, at all the public assemblies. |
Psalm 67:1-7 |
|
18th
April |
The Open-Book Test:
The end of John’s gospel as we saw last week is full of echoes
of the total earthly ministry of Jesus and the message the gospel
writers and particularly John have set out to proclaim from the
beginning: stories of miraculous trawls of fish; of Jesus calling
Simon and his brother to be ‘fishers of men’ (in the old version) or
catchers of people if you want a more pc rendering –all sorts of
similarities, parallels with this resurrection story. In those early
stories of the calling of the disciples you can feel their
excitement. |
John 21:1-19 |
|
11th
April |
Seeing (and NOT Seeing) Is Believing:
One senior church leader is of the
opinion that many churches simply throw Easter away year by year. He
thinks they don’t make enough of Easter being about the wild delight
of God’s creative power. It’s probably not very Anglican but he
thinks we should probably be shouting hallelujahs instead of
murmuring them; and that we should be continuing the festival with
champagne served with lots of expressions of praise after morning
prayer. |
John 20:19-31 |
|
4th
April |
Easter Day:
(It’s great to see everybody – and may
I wish you all a Happy& joyous Easter – after quite a journey
together this week (in more ways than one) – and after what seems
like such a long winter. It’s great to have cause for celebrating
today. Spring is on it’s way – &, guess what? Jesus is truly
and fully alive!! So what good, robust, cogent reason do we have for
getting excited today, despite whatever emotional state we’ve been
in, or how tired and strung out we might be feeling? What do you
think? |
Luke 24:36-48 |
|
28th
March |
Palm Sunday:
I wonder what kind of holy week you’re
expecting this will be? I really hope there’s going to be time to
think about Jesus and the monumental week he had; a week that
started with the adulation of crowds of people but which would take
him on a journey to die in agony on a brutal Roman cross the
following Friday morning, into a dark tomb on Friday night and all
day Saturday. And then despite all he’d been saying to his
friends and close followers, his own disciples didn’t have a clue
that ultimately he would be raised to life again on the Sunday
morning. |
Luke 19:25-40 |
|
21st
March |
Mary Anoints Jesus' Feet:
When a
group of strangers came up to the disciples, they expressed a desire
that has been felt by millions upon millions of people ever since.
Speaking to Philip they said: "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." –
it’s a statement of intent that has motivated Christians for almost
two millennia; one that’s inspired artists from Michelangelo to
Salvador Dali; that’s been the driving force behind numerous works
of scholarship and literature. And it touches us this morning as we
reflect upon the importance of Jesus Christ for our lives – in our
lives. |
John 12:20-26 |
|
28th Feb
|
Jesus Grieving Over Jerusalem:
Well here we are, heavily into Lent now – how’s it going?
Lenten lunches have begun after Communion and Douglas’ question-and
answer-study on Wednesday mornings. This coming Tuesday evening why
not come and have a cuppa and have your mind and heart enriched with
the unique ministry of Rob Bell – you won’t be disappointed. Our
Enquirers Group starts on Wednesday evenings – so lots to consider –
and, of course, please do borrow one of the books at the back to
accompany your own quiet time with God these next few weeks. |
Luke 13:3-35 |
|
21st Feb
|
Delighting in the Good News:
Today’s reading from Deuteronomy brings us the ‘remembrance of
times past’ when Yahweh (Israel’s God) had rescued the people from
slavery in Egypt – and it was the very struggle to get to where they
were – into a more settled state in land that was promised - that
gave them huge reason to be grateful. So Moses is giving them
rituals for remembering – like the things we do at harvest festival,
recalling God’s goodness and provision. |
Luke 4:1-13 |
|
31st Jan
|
Candlemas:
We’ve had some pretty grey months of hard winter weather haven’t
we? I was reliably informed by the kids of some close American
friends when I stayed with them a couple of winters ago (they’re now
back home in Colorado) that it was actually a week last Friday
January 22nd that’s supposed to be the most depressing
day of the year. |
Luke 2:22-40 |
|
17th Jan
|
Do What He Tells You:
I wonder if you can think of someone you always love showing up
at any get-together. When you hear that he or she might be going you
think to yourself – well it’s not going to be that bad then –
probably even worth the effort of going. Mind you, as I was thinking
of this I also thought of words that might strike fear and
consternation into the minds of some people and kill any
occasion dead – how about this – “oh and the vicar’s going to be
there!” (Ha!) |
John 2:1-11 |
|
13th Jan
|
Do Not Be Afraid:
It’s great to
be in this Epiphany season – and (if I missed you last week) a very
happy new year to you. Although the Christmas decorations (for most
people anyway) have now been put away, as Christians we continue
celebrating the joy of Jesus’ coming. I picked up this letter from
the Times newspaper in early January a couple of years ago to
encourage those who might not have got ‘round to it yet (& you can
imagine the tone of voice - from ‘outraged of Peckham’) |
- |
|
3rd Jan
|
Epiphany:
As the world slips hesitantly into the fresh measurement of what
it means to enter a new year, the Church begins again to think about
the ministry of Jesus Christ. Next Sunday begins our Epiphany season
that starts with Jesus’ baptism by John and it’s the beginning of a
story that changes the lives of millions of people who hear to it –
(or rather who listen to it.) But already, today,
we’re in the seasonal mood for new beginnings, announcing that the
good news is starting to unfold – right here, right now. |
John 1:10-18 |
|
24th
Dec |
Christmas Eve:
It is so great to see everybody here
tonight. And may I take this opportunity to wish you all a
peace-full Christ-mas. This is a good place to be isn’t it? – worth
suspending the craziness for a nanosecond - and just for a few
stolen moments a chance to make sure the person – Jesus Christ -
gets back into XMAS (such are the pressures to rename this
Christian festival ‘Winterval’ or whatever, “so’s not to offend”!
|
- |
|
13th
Dec |
So What About While We Wait?:
We don't quite know what to make of John the Baptist – but this
3rd Sunday in Advent is when we think about his message.
Who he actually was and what he has to say is certainly important -
we have to admit that. After all he was Jesus’ cousin; and someone
who would baptize him right at the beginning of his ministry? But
what an oddball! Shall we say, an interesting taste in clothes and
food? But John is the one identified by the Prophets as the
messenger, preparing the way for Jesus – the Messiah – despite the
fact that he was in no doubt whatsoever that he was just the
voice. |
Luke 3:7-18 |
|
6th Dec |
Repent and Turn Towards God:
How does the good news of Jesus Christ begin in Luke’s gospel?
With John the Baptist: wild-man John: long-haired, dishevelled,
dressed in the skins of wild animals wandering in the desert
wilderness eating honey and locusts, and crying out to the people –
“Repent - The Kingdom of God is at hand”. |
- |
|
29th Nov |
Advent Sunday:
Today is Advent Sunday – “advent” - derived from the Latin word
‘adventus’ meaning (?) ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’ – because it’s all
about the coming of the King. And each of our readings seems to
point to the importance of waiting. And it’s not like waiting in
Tesco either in long queues while they decide who’s on duty; or at
the badly named express self-service checkout where it waits for you
to put the item in the bag – and that voice tells you several times
to do what you’ve already done, but then the item wasn’t heavy
enough to register in the first place, so you try fooling it... |
- |
|
22nd Nov |
Christ the King:
These past weeks we’ve been following Mark in his account of
Jesus and his teaching about the kingdom of God. I hope we’ve begun
to understand that the values and perspectives of that kingdom are
all ‘upside down’ in comparison with those of our culture (although
‘right-side up’ would probably be more appropriate!). |
John 18:33-37 |
|
15th Nov |
Shaking the Foundations:
I wonder if there’s ever been a time in your life when your
foundations have been totally rocked – when something’s happened
that’s completely altered the way you see things. Many people have
taken that view ever since the planes flew into the twin
towers of the world trade centre in New York in September 2001. |
Mark 13:1-8 |
|
8th Nov |
A Call to Discipleship:
As we’ve been seeing these last few weeks from the gospels,
Jesus is looking for us to be disciples, rather than merely
customers or consumers or of Christianity – and there’s another call
we hear him make in today’s reading.
Someone once
observed that "an athlete was never made by reading an instruction
manual, but by training and practice.” In other words things don’t
happen just through the reading and repeating of words – but by
living them out - and working hard at them! |
Mark 1:14-20 |
|
25th
Oct |
Bartimaeus:
This story from Mark is the kind that lends itself to quiet
meditation. (Christians have been using their imagination when using
Scripture for centuries). Try to visualize being part of that
surging mass of people. You’ve been on a long journey; you’re all
hot and sweaty; dust is clinging to your clothes and skin; you’re
weary - but also excited – you can’t wait to see what Jesus is going
to do next. He’s at the height of his popularity and you’re there:
part of a huge crowd pressing close to him. (Can you imagine it?) |
Mark 10:46-52 |
|
11th
Oct |
This Discipleship Thing:
Don’t we
complicate things as adults?! I’ve spent quite a bit of time with
kids this last week – deluged by the Infants last Monday who came up
from school for their Harvest Service – and then down at the Primary
School on Friday after being invited by the year 6 kids to come
explain what Harvest is about at the end of their Harvest Service –
so I was the final act - after they’d said and sung it all
(brilliantly!) They knew it was all about saying “thank you” - and
(as the Bishop said last Sunday) all about ‘sharing’. I couldn’t add
a thing. |
Mark 10:17-31 |
|
27th
Sept |
Are You With Me or Not?:
I have to
confess I’m not an avid watcher of the soaps – and I know Sue and
Joel get totally fed up when I have to ask what’s going on – who’s
this or that character? – and what’s the story all about? It seems
to me that it only makes sense if you have some idea of the bigger
narrative after watching it for a while and getting familiar with
the characters. Only then are you able to locate what on earth’s
going on. |
Mark 9:38-50 |
|
20th
Sept |
So What
Makes Someone Great?:
I wonder who
your heroes were when you were growing up? Whose pictures would you
have put up in your room? (that’s if you ever had your own room and
were allowed) What kind of role models were they? |
Mark 9:30-37 |
|
13th
Sept |
Peter Declares Jesus to be the Messiah:
There comes a time when relationships get personal - when you
have to figure out for yourself just who that other person is to you
and what he or she means to you (& that’s certainly the case if
you’ve ever been in love!) We heard some of the story of Lowri and
Chris at yesterday’s wedding celebration. |
Mark 8:27-38 |
|
6th
Sept |
Jesus and the Gentile Woman:
Have you ever felt when things just seem to close in on you that
you just want to get away from it all? If you haven’t been able to
get off this grey misty island this summer (as one of my American
friends describes it) I hope at least you’ve managed a bit of space
from all the demands which can crowd in. |
Mark 7:24-27 |
|
30th
August |
Mark's Gospel: "Lots to do, must
dash...!":
You might have noticed this morning that our lectionary leads us
to change direction and pace (again) in our set readings as we
return to Mark’s gospel. We’ve been considering in depth John’s
account of Jesus’ discourse on the living bread from heaven – in all
its power and depth and elegance – and Mark’s gospel is just so
different. |
Mark 7:1-8 |
|
23rd
August |
Lord, to Whom Can We Go?:
I guess we’ve all been in situations where the speaker is
talking over our heads. We go along thinking we’ll hear an
introduction to a subject, only to find the lecturer speaking to
those ‘in the know’ in very abstract terms – those who’ve already
had the basics - and we don’t usually give it another try, do we?
|
John 6:56-69 |
|
9th
August |
Jesus - the Bread of Life Part 2:
“I am the Bread of Life…”
They’re simple enough words. Yet to those listening this was
shocking. Shocking for a start because Jesus dared to associate
himself with the name of God by actually using the words ‘I AM’ -
which would have reminded the Jews of the story of the burning bush
when God tracked down Moses to tell him he was going to be the one
to rescue his fellow Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Shocking
because Jesus then compounds his blasphemy by claiming to be ‘the
bread of life.’ |
John 6:25-35 |
|
2nd
August |
Jesus - the Bread of Life:
Try and imagine the scene if you will – it’s right after the
astonishing event we looked at last week - where 5,000 people were
fed out of practically nothing. Jesus is at the height of his
popularity - the crowds are wanting to take him - by force if
necessary – to make him their King. He even tries to get away from
all the people’s demands by crossing the lake – only to be followed
the next day when they’d figured out where he might be, and a huge
flotilla of boats follows him across Galilee. |
John 6:25-35 |
|
26th
July |
Feeding the Five Thousand:
The whole of this long 6th chapter of John is
dominated by one aspect of the Passover theme. Do you recall how God
fed the children of Israel as they were wandering in the desert? It
was through ‘bread from heaven’ – you can read all about it in
Exodus 16 where ‘manna’ was provided for the people who were all
complaining and grumbling. And what do we have here in this story,
which is told in all four gospels? Jesus provides food for a large
crowd (where?) – in an area of wilderness, across from the Sea of
Galilee and away from towns where food might have been available. |
John 6:1-21 |
|
19th
July |
Breaking Down the Dividing
Walls - A Whole New Humanity:
Some break eh? Just settling down to what you think is a free
evening and someone arrives. The other week for Sue and me it was a
chap called Marcus from Germany – a traveller, a pilgrim, needing a
bed for the night and his clothes washed…. Well here is Jesus
anticipating the wisdom of modern therapeutic approaches - taking a
rest after the exhaustion of work – making sure his disciples take
time-out. But a short boat trip is the only time he and his
disciples actually get to themselves, because by the time they get
to the shore everyone else has got there first. Great?! |
Mark 6:30-34 & 53-56 |
|
12th
July |
The Utter Extravagance of God's Grace:
I wonder if you’ve been catching a sense that God might be
speaking to us through the weekly lectionary readings of Scripture –
and particularly the gospels these past few weeks. Maybe it’s
because I’m hyper-sensitive to what I hope the Holy Spirit might be
saying to us (or have been thinking about things a bit more during
clergy school). |
Ephesians: 1:3-14 |
|
5th
July |
Fix Your Eyes on Jesus:
Can you remember the first time you did something in public in
front of your parents? I can remember the first time I got up in a
pulpit and preached. It was after my ordination as priest and they
were attending my first Holy Communion service. And it wasn’t the
same as the other things I’d done. |
Mark: 6:1-13 |
|
28th
June |
From Fear to Faith:
Why does Jesus insist on identifying himself with all the
wrong kinds of people? Have you noticed? And why does he seem to be
making a point of shocking people out of their comfort zone as he
demonstrates his power (in this case) to take people out of their
fears and into faith? Because that’s what this is all about today.
So let’s at least try and understand what’s behind Mark’s ‘story
within a story’. |
Mark: 5:21-43 |
|
21st
June |
Jesus Calms the Storm:
You might remember the phrase from Forrest Gump - that famous
movie for which Tom Hanks got one of his Oscars. His mother tells
him “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re
going to get.” And we all know that that phrase is true…that life is
anything but predictable. Circumstances can change with a blink of
an eye, can “throw you a curve ball as the Americans say” – the ball
from a pitcher in baseball that seems to be coming straight at you –
and you think you can give it a good wallop, and then it suddenly
curves, dips – and you ‘swing and miss’. |
Mark: 4:35-41 |
|
14th
June |
Parable of the Growing Seed:
As we saw last week with the ambiguous image of the old and
young woman, sometimes things are not as they appear to be. And this
parable has long been used to describe the amount of faith one would
need to be used by God: it’s about our littleness - his greatness; a
lunch pack of a few loaves and a couple of sardines – and Jesus
feeding 5000 people. |
Mark: 4:26-34 |
|
7th
June |
Trinity Sunday:
There’s a story of a little girl who was asked to write an essay
on “birth”. She went home and asked her mother how she’d been born.
Her mother, who was busy at the time, said ‘the stork brought you
darling, and left you on the doorstep.’ Continuing her research she
asked her dad how the same question. |
|
|
31st
May |
Pentecost Sunday:
This Day of Pentecost must have been a great day – we sometimes
called it the birthday of the church (& join us for this afternoon’s
Whitsun Tea when we’ll be cutting the cake!). The great wind of
God’s Spirit swept through Jesus’ disciples and filled them with a
new joy and a sense of God’s presence and power – new confidence to
proclaim from the rooftops that Jesus was indeed the culmination of
God’s rescue plan for the human race – and not just for the Jews,
but for everybody. |
John 15:26-27 |
|
24th
May |
Ascension Sunday:
Ascensiontide and Pentecost draw us with their rich imagery and
their proclamation of triumph in Christ’s majesty and the Holy
Spirit’s empowering presence and gifts. This is the time when we
remember the Church has something to say which is good news for all
the earth. So let us daily seek to bear the fruit of the Spirit and
work for this Kingdom that will not pass away. |
John 15:9-17 |
|
17th
May |
Abiding in Christ:
We talked last week about drawing strength and life from Jesus
in our relationship with him. ‘Abiding’ or remaining in Christ means
we remain in his love. “As the Father has loved me, so have I
loved you. Now remain in my love.” But what does that mean? Does
it mean Christ might stop loving me? No, his love for us is
everlasting and unconditional. He will never stop loving us. |
John 15:9-17 |
|
10th
May |
Abiding in the Vine: I’d
struggle through the week sincerely trying to “live the Christian
life” and then go to church Sunday morning. I’d look around at all
the people. They seemed so pious and holy sitting there in the pews.
It seemed to me that others might be cut out for Christianity but I
certainly wasn’t. But the truth is I just didn’t understand what
Jesus is saying here. |
John 15:1-8 |
|
3rd May |
The Good Shepherd: Jesus
seems to be addressing this eternal question is our reading today –
"How do we find our security; our satisfaction in life?"
We’re all desperate to find our real identity aren’t we? To discover
where we belong – to be known and loved unconditionally – recognized
as special. I’m sure you’ve seen this if you’ve spent any time on
the Gower. |
John 10:11-18 |
|
26th
April |
Life after 'life after death': Last
week (if you remember) we had John’s take on the resurrection – and
today we have part of the closing scene of Luke’s Gospel, which is
full of joy and excitement, but also brings into focus one of the
abiding questions about what actually happened at Easter. For a
biblical scholar like Tom Wright, the present Bishop of Durham, this
is a cause of fascination – and is for us if we to think about it
for a moment. |
Luke 24:36-48 |
|
19th
April |
Seeing (and NOT seeing) Is Believing: This
remarkable passage describes the first appearance of the resurrected
Jesus to the assembled disciples.
In it we sense the fear felt by the disciples, even though it
doesn’t say precisely what they were afraid of. Perhaps they afraid
of the Jews because they suspected them of stealing the body and
making it all up. Maybe they were afraid people would accuse them of
leading some kind of insurgency movement? |
John 20:19-31 |
|
12th
April |
Easter Day - Alive for Ever and Ever: It’s
a curious choice that has been made to favour Mark’s somewhat
truncated account of the resurrection over John’s this morning. In
the reading we have before us (printed) it’s almost like the last
bit of the manuscript has been torn off and Mark ends with the
disciples being ‘seized with fear’. |
John 20:1-21 |
|
5th
April |
Palm Sunday: as we enter
Holy Week, what a beginning to the final week of Jesus’ life: a week
that started with the adulation of the crowds but which would take
him on a journey to die in agony on a brutal cross on a Friday
morning, into a tomb on Friday night and all day Saturday. And
despite all he’d been
saying to them, his disciples didn’t have a clue that ultimately
he’d be raised to life again on the following Sunday morning. |
Luke 19:25-40 |
|
29th
March |
We Wish to See Jesus: There's
something in us that won’t rest until we have a clearer picture of
the one we worship as the very Son of God. All our biblical
affirmations, theological statements, creeds and sermons, all our
words, however effective, still leave us with that elementary desire
to see him for ourselves. |
John 12:20-26 |
|
22nd
March |
Jesus and Nicodemus:
Like many
devout Jews of the time Nicodemus was longing for God’s kingdom to
come – and (here’s the thing) he would have assumed that he would
have had the right to enjoy God’s blessings automatically by virtue
of belonging to the Jewish race – God’s special people – and also as
a reward for his devotion to religious tradition – his piety. |
John 3:14-21 |
|
15th
March |
Jesus in the Temple:
There’s really no adequate way of trying to picture this astonishing
scene in the Temple in Jerusalem. Although I’ll have a bit of a go
in a minute, there’s no illustration that can do justice to what
Jesus did, but we do have to try and understand the event, in all
its uniqueness, to see what the gospel writer John wants us to see
within it. |
John 2:18-22 |
|
8th
March |
Following Jesus - Take Up Your Cross: Well despite Jesus’ friends and
followers being used to danger and knowing that following him was
risky – because anyone growing up in Galilee would have known that
the holy revolutionaries of the time ended up getting crucified –
what we have in our gospel reading today is something different,
something new. |
Mark 8:31-38 |
|
1st
March |
You Are My Dear, Dear Child:
the whole of the Christian gospel could be summed up in what we
read: that when the living God looks at us, at
every baptized and believing Christian, he says to us what he
said to Jesus on that day. He sees us, not as we are in ourselves,
but as we are in Jesus Christ. Now I know that it sometimes seems
inconceivable, especially to those who have never experienced this
kind of unconditional support or regard from their earthly parents,
but it’s still true: God looks at us – you, me - and says, ‘You are
my dear, dear child; I’m delighted with you.’
|
Mark 1:9-18 |
|
25th
Feb |
Ash Wednesday:
I remember the
first time I looked through a microscope as a kid – I think it was a
human hair on a slide multiplied so many times it’s been difficult
to ever look at it in an ordinary way again (not that I have many
home-grown specimens to research these days). And then there was the
first time one of my great uncles let me look through his telescope
at the night sky – it was just mind-bogglingly amazing. I’m sure
you’ve had similar experiences when life as you’d known it up until
that point is suddenly transformed; when you begin to see things in
a different light. Well ratchet that up a few notches on the
‘gob-smacked’ scale and we see how Peter James and John (in Mark’s
account of the Transfiguration event) get completely overwhelmed when
they are confronted by a new reality about Jesus. |
- |
|
22nd
Feb |
Transfiguration Sunday:
I remember the
first time I looked through a microscope as a kid – I think it was a
human hair on a slide multiplied so many times it’s been difficult
to ever look at it in an ordinary way again (not that I have many
home-grown specimens to research these days). And then there was the
first time one of my great uncles let me look through his telescope
at the night sky – it was just mind-bogglingly amazing. I’m sure
you’ve had similar experiences when life as you’d known it up until
that point is suddenly transformed; when you begin to see things in
a different light. Well ratchet that up a few notches on the
‘gob-smacked’ scale and we see how Peter James and John (in Mark’s
account of the Transfiguration event) get completely overwhelmed when
they are confronted by a new reality about Jesus. |
Mark 9:2-9 |
|
15th
Feb |
Touching the Untouchable:
leper came to Jesus, and said "If you will, you can make me clean "
Notice his exact words. "If you choose to you can make me
clean; if you want to, Jesus…". He was taking a risk and putting his
whole life into the hands of this young teacher.
Being a leper, this man was taking a chance that Jesus might walk
away - as the scribes and Pharisees would have done, or have stones
thrown at him, or be taunted, like he and many others were
accustomed to. But he obviously felt that Jesus was different, that
he just might be the one who could change his whole life.
|
Mark 1:40-45 |
|
8th Feb |
Finding the Strength in Prayer:
generally than just this enforced break from so-called ‘normality’.
How many of us lead way-too-busy lives? How many of us wish we could
slow down and smell the flowers (as they say) - replenish our
energy. Perhaps it’s taken some freak weather to give us some space
to think? |
Mark 1:29-39 |
|
1st Feb
Evening
Prayer |
Overflowing Supply:
Psalm 130 is one of probably seven Penitential Psalms - which have a
pattern of confessing sin and stating a desire to return to God.
What these seven Psalms all have in common is that they are the
cries from the heart of an individual: a person who is in dire need
of help from God is calling out for him to help. |
Psalm 130 |
|
1st Feb |
Candlemas:
I was reliably informed by the kids of some close American friends
when I stayed with them this time last year (they’re now back home
in Colorado) that January 22nd is the most depressing day
of the year. Now that we’re into February (just), it’s thankfully
past, but when you think about the current pressure many have
already have found December with the same potential for stress. |
Luke 2:22-40 |
|
18th
Jan '09 |
Jesus, Philip and Nathaniel:
Jesus said some pretty strange and thought-provoking things didn’t
he – and I wonder if you noticed this one at the end of our gospel
reading? He seems to be referring to the Genesis story in the Old
Testament when Jacob was running away penniless from his brother
Esau whom he’d tricked out of his birthright and his father’s
blessing. Jacob had a dream where he saw a ladder reaching up from
the ground to heaven – and God’s angels were going up and down on
it. And the Lord was beside Jacob and promised him that he would
bring him back to his homeland in peace and prosperity. |
Luke 1:43-51 |
|
4th Jan
'09 |
Epiphany:
A very happy
new year to you all. Although the Christmas decorations (for most
people anyway) have now been put away, we continue celebrating the
joy of Jesus’ birth in the season of Epiphany. You might remember
the letter I picked up a letter from last year’s Times at Epiphany: |
- |
|
21st
Dec |
Announcing the Birth of Jesus:
If you were to ask tabloid newspaper editors what sorts of stories
sell most papers, they’d probably have no hesitation in coming up
with 3 main ones: sex, the royals and religion. This is how the
Bishop of Durham (Tom Wright) begins to get us thinking about our
gospel passage this morning in his Luke for Everyone
commentary. |
Luke 1:26-38 |
|
30th
Nov |
Advent Sunday:
The focus of the church during the
Advent season is Christ's threefold coming – past, present, and
future. First, we remember the Lord's first coming as a humble baby
in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. This is what we celebrate at
Christmas. Second, we give thanks for his present and continual
coming to us through Word and Sacrament; through the experience of
the Holy Spirit as he makes his home in us – as he fills and
indwells us. And finally, we look forward with hope and patience to
his victorious coming as Judge and King at the end of time.
|
- |
|
23rd
Nov |
Sheep and Goats:
(Intro) Today is the Sunday before Advent, known as the Feast Day of
Christ the King. It’s the last Sunday of the Church year and it’s
the day on which we remember and celebrate that Christ is King of
the whole of creation – the eternal Christ who came to earth for a
brief period to show the world the way to God, to live life as God
intended it to be lived and to open the doors of salvation and new
life for all those who believe in him. But he’s also the “servant
King” – because, as he himself said, he came ‘not to be served but
to serve’ – One who washed the feet of the disciples, a job normally
done by a slave, and he told told us to do the same... |
Matthew 25: 14 -30 |
|
16th
Nov |
The Parable of the Talents:
There’s always a danger that people have this idea about
Christianity: that’s it’s some kind of heavenly examination system
where God - who’s set the syllabus to be followed - will one day
come and set the final examination (and with our luck it’d be an
unseen paper) to assess who passes and who fails. Maybe there’ll be
special rewards – scholarships even – for those who do really well,
and likewise special detention or something like for those who don’t
score very highly. |
Matthew 25: 14 -30 |
|
9th Nov |
The Wise and Foolish Girls:
‘I think most of you know by now that
I’ve always been a great fan of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
I’ve read it 3 or 4 times in all (it is a long read – but well worth
it), but it was the release of the films over the last few years
that really brought it to life in a tremendous way. (I think I might
have checked this before, but how many are familiar with the story?)
Well although a great proportion of the story is focused on two
hobbit characters - Frodo and Sam and their mission to ensure the
destruction of the ring of power - there’s a sub plot to the whole
epic: a continuing story that runs underneath. |
Matthew 25: 31-46 |
|
26th
Oct |
The Greatest Commandment:
‘Which is the greatest commandment’, they asked? Jesus’
answer was so traditional that nobody could ever challenge him on
it, and yet so deeply searching that everyone else
would be challenged by it. |
Matthew 22: 34 -36 |
|
12th
Oct |
Parable of the Wedding Feast:
“If only politicians would tell us the truth”. Mind you, if they did
we might see pigs flying! We’ve heard the claims again recently
during the party conference season – “this is no time for a novice”,
says Gordon Brown; “I’m a man with a plan”, says David Cameron – and
along with McCain and Obama in the United States, the message is
always the same ‘vote for me and things will be better’. |
Matthew 22: 1 -14 |
|
28th
Sept |
The
Question About John:
Well what’s going on here in our gospel reading is yet another
example of the Chief Priests and Scribes trying to trap Jesus and
trip him up with their questions. And like all barristers or police
interrogators wanting to catch the suspect out, they skirt around
the question they really want to ask Jesus – which is So
do you really think you’re the Messiah? All the other
questions they ask him and all his answers revolve around this
central issue of who Jesus is. WHY? Because it was only the Messiah
(the anointed king – the Christ) who would indeed have authority
over the Temple. |
Matthew 21: 23 - 32 |
|
21st
Sept |
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard:
As in many of Jesus’ stories, the landowner is standing for God, and
the workers for Israel – his own people. But what’s it all meant to
represent? Well first, Jesus probably intends the parable as a
warning to the disciples themselves about their own attitudes (and
that’s where it hits you and me hard this morning – because we too
are students – disciples of the Lord Jesus – or at least wanting to
be). Jesus is following up what he’s already been saying to them
about God’s pecking order. |
Matthew 20: 1 - 6 |
|
7th
Sept |
Open Church Weekend -
Sermon on the Mount:
As far as Jesus’ life and ministry was concerned you could say
things began well. In the early part of the story the gospel writers
tell us, Jesus experienced widespread popularity and success – he
was a real local celebrity. But the feelings quickly shifted. In
his hometown of Nazareth, they hated what he was saying so much that
only a miracle kept a mob from killing him. |
Matthew 5: 38 - 48 |
|
31st
August |
Jesus Predicts His Death:
Well what Jesus is now asking of his disciples is that they
learn to think in a similar upside down or inside out way - because
that was the way of his kingdom – there’s a new standard of
normality; a whole new set of rules for life. Speaking for the rest
of the disciples we’ve just had Peter telling Jesus (if you remember
from last week) that as far as they’re concerned he really is the
Messiah – God’s anointed king. So to their minds the natural
thing to do next would be to sit down and plan their strategy. |
Matthew 16: 21 - 28 |
|
24th
August |
Peter Declares Jesus to be the Messiah:
There comes a time when relationships get personal - when you have
to figure out for yourself just who that other person is to you and
what he or she means to you (& certainly if you’ve ever been in
love!) Perhaps you can recall such times in your life when a best
friend asks: “So, is she your girlfriend or what?” Or your mother
forcing the issue by using the parental tactic of asking a question
by making a statement: “So, she’s the one...?” |
Matthew 16: 13 - 20 |
|
17th
August |
Jesus and the Canaanite Woman:
Jesus was
this woman’s last hope. She’d probably spent months going from
doctor to doctor, specialist to specialist only to be told the same
thing, “I can’t do anything, I’m sorry.” She might have tried all
sorts of alternative medicines, herbs, health food and vitamins and
none of it worked. As much as she tried her daughter remained the
same, and Jesus was her last hope – her only hope. |
Matthew 15: 21 - 28 |
|
10th
August |
Jesus Walks
on Water - Keeping Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus:
Such
incredible pictures of Jesus – stories that Matthew and the other
gospel writers invite us to hear or see in different ways – if only
we have ears to hear; eyes to see. I used to get my undergraduate
students to read a story which sounded like a burglary was taking
place. They could see the words as I read it along with them – and
then the overhead projector slide would be switched off and I’d give
them a set of statements where they had tick ‘true’, ‘false’ or
‘unsure’. |
Matthew 14: 22-33 |
|
3rd
August |
Jesus Feeds
the Five Thousand:
There
are times when we just have to get away from all the usual clamour
and be alone? Perhaps we’ve lost a close friend, or maybe things
haven’t worked out for us: we didn’t get that job; had to move from
that house we loved and never wanted to leave. When sadness comes we
sometimes feel like we need space to reflect, perhaps pray, but
certainly to be still and to take stock. |
Matthew 14: 13-22 |
|
27th
July |
More Kingdom Parables: I can just
about remember the feeling in the 60s that something different was
happening (!). I think the historical jury’s probably still out
about how positive some of the developments were, but there was
a buzz of energy that seemed to suggest that life could be different
– even if, sadly, the hopes weren’t exactly realized. |
Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52 |
|
20th
July |
Cultivating the Weeds:
Why doesn’t God do
something? Why does he allow all this to happen? Perhaps the most
frequent questions we all tend to ask when we’re struggling with
faith. Tragedies happen; horrific car accidents devastate lives and
families; people lose loved ones unexpectedly; despite praying,
nothing seems to get better; tyrants and bullies crush and oppress
the people they’re supposed to care about and seem to get away with
it. |
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 |
|
13th
July |
Parable of
the Sower:
Try and imagine the scene: A group of
pilgrims in the Holy Land – on the shore of the Sea of Galilee on a
spring morning. Everything is peaceful and still; the lake
glistening in the sun and behind the group of people, land that
slopes steeply from the shore. Their guide knows what he’s doing.
He’s already asked a local fisherman to bring a small boat in
preparation. Leaving his visitors on the shore he gets into the boat
and rows into the middle of one Galilee’s inlets. Still seated he
quietly reads the parable of the sower. |
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 |
|
6th
July |
Jesus Will
Give You Rest:
I’m sure you’ve had the
experience: a bright red sports car sweeps by you with tyres
screeching – the driver with opaque dark glasses – ‘shades’,
predictably long hair and designer stubble, rock music playing at a
million decibels – and the sticker in the back window reading
proudly “I’m the one your mother warned you about!” |
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 |
|
15th
June |
The
Sending Out of the Twelve:
When Joel started driving between here and his school in Monmouth it
reminded me of the world of difference between being driven by his
dad and finding his way by himself. With someone else making the
decisions about which roads to take you think you know the way as a
passenger – but you haven’t a clue really, until you begin driving
and navigating yourself. |
Matthew 9:35 -10:8 |
|
24th
Feb. |
The
Woman of Samaria:
When I was an undergraduate in Sheffield in the dark distant past
there was a singer-songwriter who made a mark for a while called
Andrew Gold. One of his albums called ‘What’s wrong with this
picture’. At first glance everything on the album cover (remember
those?) seemed in order – just a room scene with him and his guitars
– but as you looked a little closer it just didn’t make sense – like
the pictures of Max Escher the artist who plays with our minds. |
John 4 |
|
6th
Feb. |
Ash Wednesday:
It's a common misconception that Lent is about self-improvement.
Somehow a half-remembered custom of giving things up has been mixed
in with our society's obsession with self-help and self-improvement,
so that we've blurred the true meaning of the fast into a rather
individualistic concept, more like a New Year Resolution to detox or
de-clutter. We are fallen creatures and need redemption, not
cosmetic surgery. |
- |
|
3rd
Feb. |
Transfiguration Sunday:
Today is Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday before we
begin the journey of Lent toward Easter. I wonder what today’s
celebration means to you – or what impact this story has had on your
spiritual life. It’s a strange and other-worldly story isn’t it –
but actually, in the midst of this supernatural event we find a
passage that can have some of the most concrete, down-to-earth
applications for our own lives. |
- |
|
27th
Jan. |
The Kingdom of Heaven is
Rising: You must have
caught the news last week about the panic and fear that’s been
taking hold of the international stock exchanges – panic that we’re
just about to descend into a global recession. Wall Street in the US
wasn’t trading last Monday because it was Martin Luther King Day - a
public holiday –– and everyone just went into desperate panic mode. |
- |
|
20th
Jan. |
"Come and See":
Have
you ever tried a product or purchased an item because someone
recommended it to you? Or ever gone to a restaurant recommended by a
friend? Ever rented a movie because someone else said they thought
you’d enjoy it or because they said it was fantastic? |
Matthew 3. 13-17 |
|
13th
Jan. |
You Want Me to Baptize
YOU?:
It’s
probably safe to say that John was as surprised as we would be if
we’d read this gospel passage without knowing what was coming. But
it needs a fuller context for us to get the sense of dismay: In the
preceding verses John had been saying “I am baptizing you with
water for repentance, but the One is who is coming is more powerful
than me! I’m not worthy to even carry his sandals. He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He’s got his shovel in his
hand, ready to clear out the barn – but he’ll burn the chaff with a
fire that will never go out.” |
Matthew 3. 13-17 |
|
6th
Jan.
Evening Service |
Jesus Is
the Way:
Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration
paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They
said, “Sir, we want to see (meet) Jesus.” Philip told Andrew about
it, and they went together to ask Jesus. Jesus replied, “Now the
time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you
the truth, unless a grain of wheat is planted in the soil and dies,
it remains alone. But its death will produce many new grains—a
plentiful harvest of new lives. |
John 12. 20-26 |
|
6th
Jan. |
Epiphany:
We
have these two biblical events to guide our worship and thinking
today. The actual word – “Epiphany” – derives from the Greek for
‘manifestation’ – or revealing – revealing what? Well the light of
Christ that has come into the world. So we have our Paschal Candle
as a symbol of the light of the world – God incarnate revealing
himself, coming amongst us in Jesus Christ. I love the fact that we
have a faith that’s ‘enfleshed’ – that God somehow sacralizes and
makes special our physical existence. |
- |
|
24th
Dec. |
Christmas Eve:
It is
so great to see everybody here tonight. And may I take this
opportunity to wish you all a peace-full Christ-mas. This is a good
place to be isn’t it? – worth suspending the craziness for a
nanosecond - and just for few stolen moments a chance to make sure
the person – Jesus Christ - gets back into XMAS (such are the
pressures to rename this Christian festival Winterval or whatever,
“so’s not to offend” – oh and also the £75 billion we’ve spent on it
this year!). |
John 3. 3-16 |
|
16th
Dec. |
Are You the One?:
We
don't quite know what to make of John the Baptist do we? – but this
3rd Sunday in Advent is when we think about him: his life
and his message. Who he actually was and what he has to say is
certainly important - we have to admit that. He was Jesus’ cousin;
he was the One Jesus approached to baptize him at the beginning of
his ministry? |
Matthew 11. 2-11 |
|
2nd
Dec. |
The
Unexpected Arrival:
I’m
sure you’ve been there on a sunny summer’s afternoon – chilling out
with the family, last minute barbeque on the go, dishes unwashed;
books and magazines, coffee mugs and biscuits lying around: the sort
of cheerful untidiness any family can produce in about – half an
hour. Suddenly there’s a ring at the doorbell – it’s the posher side
of the family – mum had said they might be in the area and might
call in, but as sometimes happens you’ve completely forgotten!
Oops. |
Matthew 24. 33-44 |
|
- |
Introduction to Luke Series Sermons
:Year
C of the three-year Lectionary has been taking us through Luke’s
Gospel recently and I’ve been indebted to Tom Wright (N.T Wright),
the current Bishop of Durham and New Testament expert for helping me
begin to get my own head around Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom –
and particularly the incredible stories, the parables, that
he told. I was thinking about a title for the series of sermons,
and, while it’s not exactly pithy, here’s what’s been in my mind as
I’ve prepared and preached recently: |
Luke |
|
25th
Nov. |
Christ the Crucified King
:
Today we
celebrate Christ the King. And there’s a question lurking behind
these gospel accounts of the crucifixion that continues to fascinate
and trouble people. If Jesus is a king, then what kind king is he? A
rebel king for the Jews who wants to get their own back on the
Romans and regain power. A king intent on conquering the world and
lording it over people? Or is Jesus different from any kind of king
the world has ever known? |
Luke 23. 33-43 |
|
11th
Nov. |
Marriage and the Resurrection: A
famous theologian, confronted by an eager young theological student
to say a few words about the resurrection of the dead, refused. "I
can't talk about the resurrection with anyone under the age of 30.
Before 30 what do you know of honest-to-God failure, real
heartbreak, mortality, solid defeat? What can you know of a dark
world which only makes sense if Jesus Christ is raised?" |
Luke 20. 27-38 |
|
4th
Nov. |
The Calling of Zacchaeus
:
Sunday schools love Zacchaeus – acting out the story and singing
choruses about this little man climbing up into the sycamore tree
“for the Saviour he wanted to see” – and then Jesus saying to him
“I’m coming to your house for tea”. It’s such a lovely, vivid story
and the kids can identify with him probably because they often find
themselves at the back, trying to peer over the big people, unable
to see what’s going on. |
Luke 19. 1-10 |
|
28th
Oct. |
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
: We
must remember that a tax collector was a crook. He was a person who
was a Jew but he worked for the Roman government. He had a
franchise, an area in which he was entitled to collect taxes. He’d
have been told by the Romans the exact amount he needed to pay them.
Anything else he made over and above that was his to pocket for
himself. “Tax collectors”? Well not surprisingly they were despised
as turncoats, traitors. |
Luke 8. 9-14 |
|
21st
Oct. |
Training in Righteousness
: Is it
just me, or is there something about the Bible readings we’ve had
recently that seem to be hitting me right between the eyes? I’ve
talked to a few folks recently who seem to be getting the sense that
God really is speaking ‘through his Word’ – but I wonder if we’re
listening? |
2 Timothy 3: 14-14:5 |
|
14th
Oct. |
Gratitude and Ingratitude?
: Two
men were walking through a field one day when they spotted a very
angry looking bull. Instantly human nature took over and they darted
toward the nearest fence, only to find the bull following in hot
pursuit, and it was soon apparent they weren’t going to make it.
Terrified, the one shouted to the other, "Can’t you pray or
something, John, we’re in for it!" John answered, "I can’t. I’ve
never said a public prayer in my life." "But you’ve got to!"
implored his companion. "The bull’s catching up to us." "All right,"
panted John, "I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father
used to repeat at the table: ’For what we are about to receive, may
the Lord make us truly thankful.’" |
Luke 17. 11-19 |
|
7th
Oct. |
Jesus - The Bread of Life - Harvest Festival
:
Try and imagine the scene if you will – it’s right after the
astonishing event where 5,000 people were fed out of practically
nothing - Jesus at the height of his popularity - the crowds wanting
to take him - by force if necessary – to make him their King. Jesus
even tries to get away from their demands by crossing the lake –
only to be followed the next day when they’d figured out where he
might be, and a huge flotilla of boats follows him across the lake.
|
John 6. 25-35 |
|
30th Sept. |
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
:We’ve
all seen him. He’s usually lying on a pile of newspapers in a shop
doorway, covered with a moth-eaten blanket. Perhaps he has a dog
with him for safety – and company. People are used to walking past
him, or even stepping over him. He occasionally rattles a few coins
in a tin or cup, asking for a more. I can’t remember him being there
when I was a kid, but he’s been in every country I’ve ever lived or
visited; he’s in all our cities and wherever we go. |
Luke 16. 19-31 |
|
23rd Sept. |
'Come to Church Sunday'
:A
woman came up to a very well-known priest (who’s now a bishop) after
the service demanding to know what the reading meant. It was this
same parable from Luke, and like today, was read after an Old
Testament reading from the prophet Amos who was denouncing the
commercial activities of the businessmen who couldn’t wait to get
the religious festival over so they could get back to ripping off
the poor people. She’d obviously been listening hard to the
readings, but couldn’t make head or tail of what was going on. |
Luke 16. 1-3 |
|
16th Sept. |
Lost Sheep and a Lost Coin
:You’ve
just moved house into your dream location – a quiet, secluded cul de
sac backing onto a river near woods and fields. It’s your first
Saturday night in your new home. Everything seems so peaceful and
perfect and having got the kids settled you’re drifting nicely into
sleep. Then without any warning all chaos breaks loose: loud music,
amplified voices, cheering, even fireworks – all going on without a
break into the small hours – keeping the children awake, driving you
to utter distraction. And you begin to wonder: |
Luke 15. 1-10 |
|
9th Sept. |
The Cost of Discipleship
:
Imagine a party political broadcast where the leader of the party
says “ If you vote for me, you’re voting to lose your homes and
families; you’re asking for higher taxes and lower wages; you’re
deciding in favour of losing all you love best! So come on sign up –
who’s on my side? Somehow I don’t think the media would even bother
reporting such a no-hope political message – but they might be a
little puzzled. Why on earth would anyone want to publicize his
policies in such a way? |
Luke 14. 25-35 |
|
2nd Sept. |
Meals and Parties? Humble Pie?
:I
love Luke’s gospel don’t you? – for one thing it has more meal-time
scenes than all the others. And if his vision of the Christian life,
from one point of view (as we’ve been seeing) is a journey, from
another point of view it’s a actually a “party”. The story we have
here isn’t always recognized as a parable, because it looks
simply like a piece of social advice, of practical wisdom: “you want
to avoid embarrassment in front of your social guests – then take
this tip.” |
Luke 14. 7-14 |
|
19th August |
"I Came to Bring Fire and Divide" - What's That All About?
:The
feast of Mary the Mother of Our Lord was celebrated last Wednesday.
If Jesus’ mother had been in the crowd that day, I don’t think she
would have been in the least bit surprised by his words. She
knew from the beginning that he was going to be controversial.
Before Jesus was even born, Mary knew that he was the key to God’s
plan to bring down the powerful from their thrones and lift up the
lowly, to fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away
empty. We get that at the beginning of Luke in chapter 2 (v52-53) |
Luke 12. 49-52 |
|
29th July |
Deepening Your Roots
:As
we live out our purpose in this world, we quickly realize that
Christian growth is a process. We can become Christians in an
instant when we receive Jesus Christ into our lives as our Saviour
and Lord, but it takes a lifetime to work out what it means to live
out our faith. So our focus should not just be on ‘knowing’ but on
‘growing’. The Bible always links information with a change of life
- we’re to become what we’ve begun. |
Colossians 2. 6-15 |
|
22nd July |
What's Going on with Martha and Mary?
:Now
if you thought the ‘good Samaritan’ was radical, the powerful little
story we have as our gospel reading this morning suggests that Luke
the gospel writer has plenty more where that came from – as Bishop
Tom Wright puts it in his ‘Luke for Everyone’ commentary. But once
again there are ways this interaction between the two sisters has
been generally understood that doesn’t seem to fully grasp how
scandalous this incident and Jesus’ use of it might have seemed at
the time. |
Luke 10. 38-42 |
|
15th July |
The
Good Samaritan - What's Really Going on Here?
:The
best-known stories are sometimes the hardest to understand. This
gospel story of the Good Samaritan has passed into folklore, and has
succeeded, confusingly, in changing the meaning of the word
‘Samaritan’ itself in modern language. There’s the well-known
organization called the ‘Samaritans’ whose task it is to give help
to people in the direst need. But that certainly wasn’t what people
would have meant by the word in Jesus day. |
Luke 10. 30-37 |
|
8th July |
'Bringing Joy to God's Heart' Jesus Sends them Out
:Luke’s
Gospel account is the only one that tells about the sending out of
the seventy. It is also the only version that describes their joyous
return and victory over the forces of darkness. Today’s passage
reminds us that with our own faith comes the responsibility to join
in sharing the good news of God’s grace with those who have not yet
heard. |
Luke 10. 1-24 |
|
1st July |
Conversations on the Way to Jerusalem
:
Jesus set his face – “like a flint”, one version tells us – to go to
Jerusalem – where he’s going to facing torture and execution on a
Roman cross. The cost he’s prepared to pay to get us back into a
relationship with God. And you might not have considered this in the
same way before – but I wonder if you’ve ever given much though to
the cost of following someone like this? Let’s have a quick look at
what’s involved in being an apprentice of Jesus Christ. |
Luke 9. 51-62 |
|
24th June |
Healing of the Demoniac
:We
don’t know why Jesus did a lot of the things that he did. Why he
went to the Land of the Gerasenes – the area to the east of Galilee,
where for the most part the land rises steeply from close to the
lake. What we do know is this was largely Gentile territory –
although many Jews would’ve lived there as well. |
Luke 8. 26-39 |
|
June 2007 |
The Lord's Prayer - Series 1
:Today
begins a short series on what we know as the Lord’s prayer – but
should probably more accurately be referred to as “the disciples’
prayer’. I wonder whether you’ve ever asked the question ‘Why am I
here?’ You might well be asking yourself that right now – like why
on earth did I have to get up so early? – but that’s not what I’m
talking about; What am I here in this world for? What’s the purpose
of my life? |
Matthew 6:10 |
|
June 2007 |
The Lord's Prayer - Series 2
:
We’ve
come to the second of our series on the Lord’s prayer – and there’s
a shift in focus – from the emphasis on you and yours (your name,
your kingdom) to ‘us’ and ‘our’. Remember when one of the teachers
of the Law asked Jesus ‘of all the commandments, which is the most
important? What did Jesus reply? –“love the Lord your God with
everything you possess – and – (equally important) ...love your
neighbour as yourself”. It’s a subdivision that reflects the 10
commandments – if you look at them there are 5 to do with our
relationship with God; and 5 that cover our relationships with
others. |
Matthew 6:11 |
|
June 2007 |
The Lord's Prayer - Series 3
:
In
some ways this is the most difficult clause of the Lord’s prayer. It
covers two issues that are interlinked: God’s forgiveness of us and
our forgiveness of other people. You’re probably already thinking –
as I was when I was preparing this – that the subject of forgiveness
isn’t one that lends itself to cool, detached, theoretical
discussion – just the very mention gets the adrenalin going. Almost
anybody who has risked publicly about the necessity of forgiving
those who might have hurt us will have had some sort of experience
like someone coming up to them at the end of a meeting with a pale,
angry face, blurting out “It’s all very well for you to talk about
forgiveness, but let me tell you what happened to me...” |
Matthew 6:11 |
