So here we are. The third Sunday in Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday in Church Latin because it’s all about Joy. We’ve done Hope and Peace. Love is to come. It’s all so neat and tidy. Preparing for Christmas, preparing for Easter … has anyone ever had the feeling that they’re not preparing properly? Preparing … Continued
Welcome to this Sunday, the end of the church’s liturgical year. Next week is the start of a new calendar with the season of advent and its build up to Christmas. For the last 50 years or so, this Sunday has been a celebration of the Feast of Christ the King or, as it is … Continued
We are all familiar with the Sunday school songs “Zacchaeus, was a very little man.” At some point perhaps we have been Zacchaeus.! To be short in stature is not only about one’s physical height. It’s part of the human condition and it’s one of the threads that runs through the Gospel reading. The Psalmist … Continued
In Jesus’ story there was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day and then there was Lazarus. Lazarus should come as no surprise to us at all. We see Lazarus every day. Lazarus was sick, “Covered with sores,” probably from malnutrition. Lazarus longed to eat … Continued
What brings you here? That might be two questions: what brings you to church on a Sunday? and what brings you to Puari Huinga, Aldersgate, Durham Street Methodist Church, however you think of this place? A place to meet God? To meet friends? Somewhere to find calm amidst the storm, or somewhere to be shaken … Continued
“I’ve come to start a fire on this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront! We still … Continued
This is my father – Wyndham – the photo taken in 1939 as he went off to World War 2. He returned to England in 1945, having fought through North Africa and Italy and having, as he always explained, ‘spent the last 14 months as the guest of the Germans’. Earlier this year, I was … Continued
The parables that Jesus told defy simple explanations. Each of the parables is layered with meaning. The varied meanings of each parable can take a lifetime to uncover as the stories weave in and out of our own lives. The parable about the Good Samaritan is probably one of the most familiar of all of Jesus’ parables. I … Continued
In 1499, the German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Stöffler predicted that a vast flood would engulf the world on 20th February 1524. In Europe, more than 100 different pamphlets were published endorsing Stöffler’s doomsday prophecy. Business boomed for boat-builders, not least for German nobleman Count von Iggleheim, who constructed a three-story ark on the Rhine. … Continued
The lectionary has been following John 6 over the last four weeks and today’s gospel reading is the last phase of this long chapter. Commentaries usually point out that every story in this chapter deals with bread in some way. This is clearly why the author chose to link these stories together, one after another. … Continued
“Once upon a time, somewhere far back in ancient human history – so far back that personal survival was the only concern – a defining event must have taken place. Someone didn’t eat what he found when he found it, but decided to take it back to the cave to share with others. There must … Continued
At 8.15 on the morning of 6th August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped from an American bomber to explode about 600m above the centre of Hiroshima, a city of about 300-350,000 people. The blast completely flattened an area with radius 1.6km – the arial photograph[1] shows a portion of this. This can seem like … Continued
On Trinity Sundays, I am mindful of the fact that trying to explain the doctrine of the Trinity usually leads to heresy. So, I dusted my theological books for inspiration – books that have not seen the light of day since last Trinity Sunday – just to ensure that the formulas learned in theological college … Continued
“I am the Way—I am Truth, and I am Life. No-one comes to the father but through me.” The ways in which these words have been interpreted by many people who insist that they are “Christian” is enough to make most mothers, be they Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Shikh, Jew, atheist, or agnostic, cringe. It seems to me, … Continued
As well as being ANZAC Day, today is Good Shepherd Sunday in the church calendar, when we consider the passage from John Chapter 10 (and it is only in John’s gospel) where Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd”. You would think this was pretty well-established subject matter to preach on, but the more I read the more … Continued
When I was reflecting on our text for Easter I recall an old familiar hymn. “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Where you there when they laid him in the tomb?” We have all been … Continued
The anonymous gospel storyteller that we call Mark, wants us to know that: “Jesus began to teach them that the Promised One, the Messiah, the Chosen One, the one the oppressed people of Israel had been longing for, waiting for, expecting, hoping for, had to suffer much, be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and … Continued
We have now moved from Christmas into the season of Epiphany and while it may not be such a popular festival, really Epiphany is where it all starts. The Christmas story is beautifully poetic and comes with all the trimmings to tug the heart-strings – angels, shepherds and wise men, the baby in a manger. … Continued
During these twelve days of Christmas we celebrate the birth of the Messiah. Messiah, is a word the ancient Hebrews used to describe the anointed one. The one whom God would send to change the world. In Greek the word for Messiah is Christ. Just holding a newborn in your arms and before long you’ll find yourself pondering the mysteries … Continued
“Are you a lawyer?” “Yes.” “How much do you charge?” “A hundred dollars for four questions. ” “Isn’t that awfully expensive? “ “Yes. What’s your fourth question?” In my reading of the passage today, I see an issue of justice or more precisely, a strong conviction, by one of the servants. What is the name … Continued