8 December, Second Sunday of Advent Readings: Malachi 3. 1-4; Phil. 1. 3-11; Lk. 3. 1-6 Theme: Prepare the Way Today on this second Sunday of Advent our readings present us with the theme of preparing the way of the Lord. A new Israel will be reconstituted now that the exiles have returned from their...
24th November, Sunday Next Before Advent, Christ the King Readings: Dan 7. 9-10, 13-14; Rev. 1. 4b-8; Jn. 18. 33b-37 Theme: Kings and Kingdoms What does the language of ‘kings’ and ‘kingdoms’ mean in the bible? Living in the modern world, especially since the French Revolution of 1789, it can seem as if we enter...
Second Sunday Before Advent 17 November Readings: Dan. 12.1-3; Heb. 10.11-14 (15-18), 19-25; Mk. 13. 1-8 Theme: Things to Come Today we see Jesus prophesying that the Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed. We know that this actually happened in the year 70, during the First Roman-Jewish War, and so what the disciples elicit from...
Remembrance Sunday 10 November Readings: Jonah 3: 1-5, 10; Heb. 9. 24-28; Mk. 1. 14-20 Theme: Remembrance One of the characteristics of civilizations is that they are respectful of their dead, especially of those who have fallen in battle defending their country. Remembrance of our war dead is a way in which their struggles and...
The Last Sunday After Trinity, 27 October Readings: Jer. 31.7-9; Heb. 7.23-28; Mk. 10.46b-52 Theme: The Faith of a Disciple One thing that we continually notice when we study the scriptures is that their meaning is inexhaustible. Each time we come back to a passage, we notice something new that we had not seen before....
21st Sunday after Trinity, 20 October Readings: Is. 53.4-12; Heb. 5.1-10; Mk. 10. 35-45 Theme: Status Anxiety The scene in today’s gospel is very human, all too human in fact. It is clear that there is an inner circle developing in the disciples around Jesus with Peter, James and John appearing as the preferred one’s....
13th October 20th Sunday after Trinity Readings: Amos 5. 6-7, 10-15; Heb. 4. 12-16; Mark 10. 17-31 Theme: Stewardship Despite the injunction of Jesus that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, at the end of the...
Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 6 October 2024 Readings: Gn. 2.18-24; Heb. 1.1-4; 2.5-12; Mk. 10.2-16 Theme: Being Human What does the Bible say about being human? There is much talk today about artificial intelligence and whether machines or robots can be considered to be alive if they possess qualities which intimate at intelligence. When one...
Harvest Festival 29 September Readings: Dt. 26. 1-11; 2 Cor. 9. 6-15; Jn. 1. 29-36 Theme: The First Fruits The opportunity of Harvest Festival allows us the possibility of returning to John’s gospel for this week and to reflect on its meaning for us at this Harvest Festival. The passage from St John occurs just...
17th Sunday After Trinity, 22 September Readings: Jer. 11. 18-20; James 3.13-4.3, 7-8a; Mk. 9. 30-37 Theme: Success and Failure Is my life a success or a failure? As the years go by, this question is one which can pop up from time to time as we reach our latter years. In order to give...
