Blog

Forgiveness is closely linked with healing for us as individuals who have been harmed, who have harmed others, and in our relationship with God and therefore for us as community. (Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 19 [24] Matthew 18:21-35.) Sentence: “Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’ ” Matthew 18:22 Collect: God of creation and recreation; Jesus Word of forgiveness and healing, Spirit of new again hope and love, help us t

The readings this week are very challenging and also hopeful as we are given guidance on how to respond to the real-life problems of loving in community and discerning how love and compassion looks when there is conflict and struggle. (Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 18 [23]. Matthew 18:15-20.) Sentence: “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.” Psalm 119:34 Collect: Gracious God, you have created us with love for the pu

The gospel is good news for us and for the world. And the gospel also calls us to suffer. (Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 17 [22] Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28.) How do we hold this tension in our life? Sentence: “Rejoice in hope; be patient in afflictions, persevere in prayer.” Romans 12:12 Collect: Word of God, Through whom the world was made and the good news made visible, grant us the courage and desire to make real your living love in the places we find o

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 16 [21]. Matthew 16:13-20; Romans 12:1-8) Paul’s words challenge us to understand that transformation is firstly an internal process of having our minds renewed that then works its way outward into the world. If any of this material is of use to you in your p

While reflecting on what maintaining a desire for mercy and justice might mean in these hard times (Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 15 [20]. Matthew 15: 21-28.) I stumbled across this wonderful quote: "Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public." Cornel West. Sentence: “Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed.” Isaiah 56:1 Collect: God of all, We come before you with e

From what, or when, do we need saving? Not just at the beginning of our faith journey but now? (Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 14 [19] Matthew 14:22-33.) Many of us begin by feeling a need to be saved from sin but as we travel through life we find we also need saving from weariness, despair, flagging hope or just the sense of overwhelm and distraction. Sentence: “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” Romans 10:10 Collect: Gracious Lord, place within our

We are a hungry species and often it seems we are never quite satisfied - or not for long! So what is the hunger that leads to satisfaction? (Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 13 [18] Matthew 14:13-21.) Sentence: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your earnings for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” Isaiah 55:2 Collect: God of life and all good things, You have created

Wisdom often seems elusive – something not quite of this world – and the wisdom of God most mysterious of all. We say things like: God’s ways are mysterious, the unfathomable love of God. However, our readings this week (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 12 [17]. 1 Kings 3:5-12; Psalm 119:129-136; Romans 8:26-39; and Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.) suggest that wisdom is indeed difficult to attain but is hidden in plain sight – under our very noses and feet! Sentence: “Your d

An undivided heart: wouldn’t that be a state of peace and grace, to not know division and uncertainty and contradiction within our own heart. An undivided heart: isn’t that in some ways the goal and destiny of faith? An undivided heart: isn’t that what our spirit’s groan for as we labour toward the fulfilment of God’s work in us? (Eight Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 11 [16] Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43.) And yet most of us know what it is like to have a divided heart. A heart div

The parable of the Sower is deeply familiar and as such can seem tame or exhausted of all new meaning and challenge. And yet when we come to this story in the midst of life when old and valued things seem to be failing or dying, when new seeds of hope look vulnerable, and we fear the harvest to come, we may benefit from looking again at images of the prodigally generous Sower and the abundant crop that may yet flourish. (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 10 [15] Matthew

As soon as we think we can define the divine the divine turns up in our life in a different and confounding way! Or so it seems to me and many of us I suspect. (Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 9 [14] Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30.) We come to worship God as Creator and the divine shows up as lover leaping and enticing us somewhere different. We recognise the divine as king and he comes on a donkey not a war-horse. We see the holy messenger who does not drink nor eat more than

This talk of reward is curious and potentially misleading if we think of it as primarily about “How will I personally benefit from being a disciple or supporting others?” Especially in the context of our other readings and the state of our world. (Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 8[13] Genesis 22:1-14; Psalm 13; [Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18] Romans 6:12-23; and Matthew 10:40-42.) Sentence: “ … and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones