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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

The Scriptures this week seem to be challenging us to see (and trust) that the world as we know it, with all its brokenness and its inequalities, needs to be allowed to die in some form so that the new life of God’s desired way of being can emerge. Sentence: “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39 Collect: Creator God, Life giving Redeemer, Spirit that brings new life to bear, Grant us courage to trust

Our readings this week touch upon many important subjects. When read together I am challenged that the decision to follow, to be obedient, begins for us with a decision to step out, often into a place of discomfort or vulnerability, but to actually get started with the living of our faith before we are sure of everything. (Third Sunday after Pentecost. Proper 6 [11]. Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 [or Exodus 19:2-8a; Psalm 100]; Romans 5:1-8; and Matthew 9:35-1

And so we begin the Season after Pentecost by returning to the story of the call of the disciple Matthew. But our gospel and other texts (Proper 5 [10], Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25: and Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26) speaks to an already radical and rather inconvenient gospel message – that the life giving truth is being shared with those who are dubious, that Jesus enjoys the company of those on the edge of proper society, and that membership is simply to know and

Speaking of God as three yet one, if nothing else, should lead us into humility, wonder, and curiosity! At the very heart of the Divine is mystery, relationship, and movement. The church has worked very hard on the doctrine of the Trinity and wonderful work continues to be done. But we should be humble and cautious enough to know that whatever we think we know, whatever glorious or mechanistic metaphors we put forward, they are but fleeting shadows of the power and vibrant na