Sunday's coming!

Palm Sunday It’s no good looking through today’s gospel reading for mention of palms – you won’t find them in Luke’s account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Luke has the followers of Jesus placing their cloaks on the path before him – the palms are in John’s gospel – with another little mention of ‘branches’ in Mark. And perhaps you were a bit puzzled to find yourself carrying not a palm branch but a branch of Christmas tree in the procession – and you don’t have to be eagle-eyed to spot that the cross here is made from the trunk of a Christmas tree, too. So is it just time the vicar had a holiday? Quite possibly – but I wanted these Christmas tree branches to help us not only to celebrate Palm Sunday, as we wave them, but to remember our celebrations of Christmas. Perhaps our Christmas tree branches can help us to rediscover the sense that I’m sure Jesus’ disciples had as the events of Holy Week unfolded – that this is not what we expected. The same crowd crying ‘Blessed is the king w...

.. what? already?? Interesting footnote to last week: as ever I went 'off piste' from the notes somewhat into a bit of a discussion about Judas, his possible motives, his role in the Passion of Christ. What was interesting was the way people picked up on 'Judas as the good disciples of Jesus' - yet the one who gets it wrong. Is it Judas' extreme fallibility which makes him interesting and attractive to people? I find myself hoping that, on another shore, Judas has the 'restoration conversation' with Jesus which Peter gets after Easter day, on the shore of Lake Galilee... but I digress. Readings this week: Luke 19:28-40 and Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (for observing the procession of the palms) We will be processing. There will be palm crosses. I also have a slightly wacky idea of using branches of a Christmas tree & a cross made from its trunk - something about Jesus overturning expectations, and our willingness to face ridicule as we follow. Also I have some d...

So this is what I'm taking into the pulpit tomorrow... the backbone of what I'll say (but with the possibility of elaborating or even imaginatively diverting as the Spirit leads. Lent 5 As we travel with Jesus through Lent, we reach this story from John’s gospel, in the build up to Palm Sunday – which we mark next week – and the beginning of Holy Week. It is a story which we read knowing that Jesus life is drawing towards its end and it’s a story which teaches us a lot about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. There are a variety of stories about Jesus having his head or his feet anointed – but in this story in John, it is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus who brings expensive ointment and anoints Jesus’ feet. When he sees what is happening, Judas asks ‘why could this ointment not have been sold, and the money given to the poor?’ and John adds ‘he said this because he held the common purse and used to steal from it’. John wants us to know that Judas is in the wrong – ...

Lent 5 As we travel with Jesus through Lent, we reach this story from John’s gospel, in the build up to Palm Sunday – which we mark next week – and the beginning of Holy Week. It is a story which we read knowing that Jesus life is drawing towards its end and it’s a story which teaches us a lot about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. There are a variety of stories about Jesus having his head or his feet anointed – but in this story in John, it is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus who brings expensive ointment and anoints Jesus’ feet. When he sees what is happening, Judas asks ‘why could this ointment not have been sold, and the money given to the poor?’ and John adds ‘he said this because he held the common purse and used to steal from it’. John wants us to know that Judas is in the wrong – and I think that one of the reasons John does this is that Judas asks a perfectly reasonable question. Judas has heard Jesus’ teaching over the last 3 years. Judas presumably heard Jesus...

Readings are: Isaiah 43:16-21 Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4b-14 John 12:1-8 I think as we travel with Jesus through Lent it's only natural to focus on the gospel. Which means (this week) this lovely story of Mary of Bethany annointing Jesus' feet. It's a story that seems to have been following me around over the last year or so and we've kept bumping into each other - which means that I almost have too much I could say. I think I'm most struck by what Mary teaches us of what it means to love Jesus - this almost erotic act of annointing his feet; the importance of focussing on Jesus, not rushing off in service too quickly, listening to what Jesus has to say and learning. In an activist world the idea of adoration and worship and spending time being with Jesus is an important one.

Cartoon by Dave Walker . Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons .

This cartoon rang bells for me - my desk is usually in a 'state'! Cartoon by Dave Walker . Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons .

I have to be away Wed/Thurs so I wanted to get ahead this week. God as father & mother Luke 15: 1-3, 11b – 32, 2 Corinthians 5: 17-20 The prodigal son. One of the best known of Jesus’ stories. A story so well-known that the true meaning of the word ‘prodigal’ – ‘recklessly wasteful’ is often forgotten among understandings about repentance & return. A story so well known that in my family when I was growing up, when my sister came home from college we used to talk about opening the ‘fatted tin of apricots’, those being her favourite. So I was interested to see that the lectionary reading included the beginning of the chapter – the context in which Jesus tells the story. People are criticising Jesus for the bad company he keeps, and he answers with three stories of what God is like. He tells the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son: or more accurately, in order to teach his listeners what God is like, Jesus tells the story of the shepherd who goes out in ...

Which means - Mothering Sunday as well as Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 The story of the prodigal son. - so my question is where is the mother in this story? I'm thinking of getting people to sit up and listen by retelling the story with the mother as the parent - the father in Jesus' story acts much more like a mother than a middle Eastern patriarch - the 'zing' is then that God acts like this - like a mother, or whoever we find easiest to imagine as the most amazing, loving parent. God defies all our stereotypes of stern parent to fall on our necks in sheer delight when we come home. This is Good News.

No, I didn't win an Oscar - I wasn't even up for one. But I did have 3 young people in one of the congregations yesterday, and so adapted the sermon a bit as I went along to make it more immediate for a younger age-range. I think it's really important that if young people are in the congregation they feel included but not patronised and that is what I was aiming at (it helped that i already had the 'dead donkey' reference in there!). As I left the church (to go off to the third service of the morning) the dad of the family said to me 'my daughter is too shy to say but thought the sermon was really good'. I asked him to say thank you for the feedback. Sometimes it all feels worthwhile!

Here's a first draft - I have to confess I've enjoyed my wrestle with this (lesser known, to me anyway) parable. Lent 3 Today’s readings
tell us a story of 2 trees. The story of the burning bush and God speaking to Moses is very familiar to us – but how can God speak to us from Jesus’ parable of the fig tree? So many of Jesus’ parables begin with ‘the kingdom of heaven is like this..’ – but it seems that this parable springs from the questions with which people are coming to Jesus. Here’s the introduction again: “There were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusal...

I think I'm getting there with the fig tree. People want reassurance from Jesus that when bad things hit people it's God judging bad people, not PLUs (People like us). Jesus tells the story to turn attention away from judging others & onto judging ourselves - we should be bearing good fruit. The obvious thing to do with this fig tree is cut it down (they are, apparently, very 'hungry' plants - a friend tells me "you should always bury a dead donkey under a fig tree" - eeeugh!) - but Good News! - the tree gets another chance, just as God gives us 'time to amend our lives' as some prayers of confession put it. But what happens?? Does the tree take the opportunity?? There Jesus hands over to you - are you going to take the opportunity to change & be more fruitful? We might think that the news stories (Haiti, Peru, Uganda...etc) test us - but the real test is what you do with your life-chance. Well.. that's the gist - will now try to make that ...

Lectionary readings are: Exodus 3:1-15 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Moses and the burning bush - a tree with a message that is easy to understand. Jesus and the parable of the fig tree - a tree with a rather elusive message. The context is people talking to Jesus about those who have suffered - and Jesus warns that they mustn't fall into the trap of thinking that it's sinful people who suffer. In the light of Haiti, Peru, and (today's news - a mudslide in) Uganda I really want to hear what Jesus has to say to us... but then we get this parable of the unfruitful fig-tree in the vineyard. The owner wants to chop it down - the vine-dresser/gardener asks for another year to give the tree a chance. And... that's it. So far I think I see that Jesus might be saying that instead of looking at others we should attend to our own lives & our own fruit, and that the judging time will come in the end...but so far that's it. I wonder what happened to the tree?