Body, bridge and blessing—that’s what we reckoned earlier was how to read these scriptures in the context of this weekend. Body. Bridge. Blessing. What Jesus did for us he did in the body. His joy, his labour, his love, his passion—all in his body. His transfiguration—in his body. And what we do for him—we always …
Yearly Archives: 2002
Wednesday Week 1 of Lent
OK What is the sign of Jonah … and why does Jesus claim it as his own sign? Well the first reading narrates the nub of the thing—Jonah preached and the people of Nineveh jumped to it and repented, lock, stock, barrel—kids and cattle too. Is this the only sign for this generation? That Jesus …
Ash Wednesday
Lent never starts at the right time. It always comes as an unwanted interruption. When did you last hear someone saying, “I can’t wait for Lent”? Or think to yourself, “I wish Ash Wednesday would hurry up!” No, we are just getting used to ordinary time and a rhythm of life when the whistle blows …
Friday Week 1 Year II
Have you ever, with a taste for roast lamb maybe, planted mint in your garden and found it taking over? ‘Invasive habit’ is the polite word the gardening handbooks use. Mint spreads, it multiplies, it proliferates. Its roots run wild so pulling it out just makes it thrive. It seeds itself, too, if you ever …
Tuesday Week 2 Year II
Isn’t there something deliciously, riskily attractive about the Jesus of the gospel today? When I was a callow youth studying chemistry I had a teacher who was always saying ‘well you’ll have learned X but the truth is …’ and then he’d go on to debunk whatever X was and show you how, impossible as …
Thursday Week 1 Year II
Here are two stories that don’t quite work out the way the heroes intend. Three if you include your own. Anthony hears the gospel, ‘go, sell all you have, give the money to the poor, then come follow me’, and with the heroism of youth he does. Sells, gives, and follows a path out into …
Baptism of the Lord Year A
“Here is my servant whom I uphold”. Here he is! But who is he? Who is it held before our eyes, dripping, half-drowned, dazzled? It all began here says Luke in Acts: “God anointed him with Holy Spirit and power and because God was with him he went about doing good and curing any who …
Tuesday after Epiphany
It isn’t the quality of our prayer that counts it seems—it isn’t even the quality of our ministry. What seems to count with God is how well we love—nothing more. So says John. And just in case that scares you, makes you want to husband the meagre reserves of love you feel you have, Mark …
January 4th
Come and See. Two invitations. And one is conditional on the other. Those getting ready for the 30 day retreat will probably be sick of this gospel passage already—we’ve used it a couple of times by now—but there’s a lot said those two words. Come and see. You have to hear them from the mouth …