The Fourth Sunday of Easter
“I am the Good Shepherd.”
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
How do you see Jesus? What is the image of Christ you carry in your mind?
Continue readingAuthor Archives: Paul
Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday – 14th March 2021
I remember an animated discussion Paul and I had in the early days of marriage. It’s a perfectly normal conversation to have when transitioning from carefree, candlelit dinners to sustaining a home together. Continue reading
Do you want to be made well?
There’s a man who had been ill for 38 years. An invalid lying by the pool, waiting for healing when the waters are stirred up. 38 years is a long time to wait for healing. And Jesus knows he’s been there for a long time. So the question he asks, is a strange one:
“Do you want to be made well?”
Give us a sign
The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany – 11:30am
I wonder how many of you watched the film Jesus Christ Superstar? There is a moment in the film when Jesus is brought before Herod. The scene captures Herod’s expectation of Jesus. He dances and sings:
“prove to me that you’re divine,
turn this water into wine… Continue reading
Christ is on the move
Third Sunday in Advent – 11:30 am
Advent is that season of expectation, when we await the First and Second Coming of Christ – as Saviour and then as Judge. Traditionally, Advent includes looking at the dark things – including Death and Judgement. Advent means “arrival.” And so we wait expectantly for Christ to come.
The first coming of Christ our Saviour was as a baby in a manger. Continue reading
Like a grain of wheat
5th Sunday in Lent
I wonder whether and how you celebrated St Patrick’s day yesterday?
My first experience of St Patrick’s day was of the green everywhere. Leaping green Leprechauns with large green hats and green hair. The larger than life St Patrick, the famous bishop wearing green and yellow. Continue reading
What’s in a Name?
Here we are a week after Christmas. I suspect mince pies and Christmas cake have lost their shine right now. And biscuits. And turkey. Maybe even chocolate!
Yet we are still journeying through the Christmas story. And we are still thinking of the nativity and its scenes.
In Bethlehem, the world’s most earth-shattering event has happened. Silently, a wondrous gift was given… a gift that meets all the hopes and fears of all the years. There was no fanfare. No trumpets. Mortals sleep. The silent stars go by. And a King of an eternal Kingdom is born. The baby – God’s son – lies asleep in a manger as the shepherds come to visit him.
Incarnation
Christmas Eve / 4th Sunday of Advent
“How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given…”
In Bethlehem, the world’s most earth-shattering event is happening. Humanity is receiving a gift. A gift that meets all the hopes and fears of all the years. There is no fanfare. No trumpets. Mortals sleep. The silent stars go by. And a King is born. The baby – God’s son – lies asleep in a manger. Continue reading
Overwhelmed by the Coming of Christ
4th Sunday of Advent – Christmas Eve
We are here. The 4th Sunday in Advent. Christmas Eve. The season of waiting for the coming of Christ. We’ve been to carol services, started on mince pies and watched the nativity plays.
Last Sunday I was at the Ballyholme children’s nativity. In it, the little Angel tells the little Joseph the amazing things that would happen – how Mary, his fiancée, was going to have a baby, but it was God’s plan. Joseph listens, pauses, and responds with a beautifully underwhelmed, “oh, OK.” Continue reading
Identity
When I was an undergraduate in Sri Lanka I was shocked by what a friend whispered to me during a prayer meeting. “I know which of the boys I can marry,” she confided. I looked at her blankly. While everyone’s eyes were closed, she went round the circle indicating with her eyes, whispering “him, not him, not him, him…I think him.” Continue reading