Sunday's coming!

Ah, well - I'm being a Godmother again this coming Sunday (a great honour!) so won't be preaching. But I can heartily recommend this site here - I think it brings together a lot of the Lukan material we've been looking at over the last few weeks.

So here's the 'church' version: Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31 1 Timothy 6:6-19) Jesus talks about a division between rich and poor. We know before we even listen to the news or read our papers that there is a huge gap between the poor of this word and the rich: in education, in life-expectancy, in health.. and so on. What should we do about this gap – ignore it? Thank God we’re on the right side of it? Or act.. and if so, how? In the letter to Timothy, Paul warns that those who are rich should be rich in good works. Particularly in this season of Autumn and harvest festivals, we remember to give thanks to God for all the riches we enjoy and in many places we combine that with some sort of charity giving to those who are less fortunate – the poor in this country or in others. So we have gifts here for the Cambridgeshire food bank, and opportunities at the harvest supper to make some money to help the people of Zimbabwe, and all through September we have been collectio...

Here's the diagram that explains the whole "I'm OK, you're OK" idea, which comes from Transactional Analysis:

This week I began the working week with a Ministries Committee meeting. Since I had to write a reflection for devotions i thought I might as well use the Gospel readings form the lectionary: Luke 16:19-31 So here is what I wrote - my plan is to adapt this for my congregations on Sunday - probably also bringing in 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Reflection Even as I was driving to the station this morning there was a discussion on the radio about the division between rich and poor and whether the current coalition government has been redistributive in its programme so far. We know there is a gap between the poor of this word and the rich: in education, in life-expectancy, in health.. and so on. Particularly in this season of Autumn and harvest festivals, we remember to give thanks to God for all the riches we enjoy and in many places in our churches we combine that with some sort of charity giving to those who are less fortunate – the poor in this country or in others. All of this is good – and maybe ...

The Unjust Steward I spent the first part of this week at a gathering of ministers in the Eastern synod. Before I went I looked up the lectionary readings, hoping that while I was away I might be able to find some time to reflect on the readings, and so come home with a super-duper sermon for you all. My heart sank when I realized that it’s time for the parable of the unjust steward. So I thought I would be clever and pick the brains of my colleagues. For a few meals I’d ask whoever I was sitting with ‘Are you preaching on the unjust steward this week? – what did you make of it?’. After a while I sensed that people were becoming strangely reluctant to sit with me at mealtimes. In any list of ‘very hard sayings of Jesus’ – this parable has to be in the top 10 – if not No 1. OK – so here’s a killer start to a sermon: this parable is really hard to understand and even a group of people with quite a lot of theological training between them would rather not have to say what they think it me...

What a cracking parable Luke gives us this Sunday: Luke 16: 1-13 First thought - should I even try to preach on this? Second thought - I've just been learning about parables in general, so can I apply some of the general principles? a) Looking for the shocking and surprising, rather than the predictable meaning: and b)it doesn't get much more shocking than this. b) I'm also reminded that we should beware automatically assuming that the most powerful character in any parable MUST be God. c) In what context is the story first told? So.. well, it's certainly a shock that Jesus seems to commend the trickery of the steward - surely we expect him (want him?) to get his comeuppance from his boss - even if his 'creative accountancy' does win him some other friends. I'm glad I'm released from trying to imagine God as the 'boss' in the story. And as for context: this comes right after the story of the prodigal son - another wastrel who doesn't get the ...

A re-telling of the story, with all ages in mind : if I was telling it I think I would carry a broom! The lost coin – the woman’s story I’m sure you know what it’s like when you’ve lost something. That sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach and the maddening little voice in your head that says ‘it must be here somewhere – LOOK!’. You go round in circles, you look in places you know you’ve looked already, but you’re just getting desperate. The frustration, the sadness, the anger with yourself…where IS it? That’s just what I was like when I lost one of my silver coins. You might be thinking – one coin, big deal! – but it was a denarius, that’s one day’s wages for my husband, Eli. We’d saved up 10 of them, you see, 10 coins. Enough for a lovely trip away somewhere, or a really special meal for all our friends and family, maybe a great big rug.. we hadn’t really decided what to do with it. But we kept those 10 coins safe. Then one day I was counting them – I loved doing that, unwrap...

This Sunday is our Creative Church Sunday & although I won't be there (other duties call) - I was part of the planning. So here is our plan: Creative church celebrating new beginnings Call to worship: Let us worship God – who makes each new day. Hymn: 377 This is the day Prayer of approach How do we feel about any new beginnings we are (or someone known to us is ) facing? Apprehensive? Scared? Excited? Unsure? Afraid of getting lost? Story of lost sheep from Luke 15 (from point of view of sheep) Hymn: 92 Amazing Grace Prayer for others – written on ribbons, tied to cross as CD plays (Taizé “Jesus, remember me”) – can read prayer or name of person or place for whom you are praying – if you would like to. Story of the lost coin – from point of view of woman in story Offertory - chance to give thanks & give back to God Giving out pennies – shiny, attractive, small – something for you to take away to remember these stories of being lost and being found and of the God who n...

A 'Wordle' based on the sermon for today: if I can work out how to print it I'm going to do so for the 3 young people who might be at one of the services. title="Wordle: Following Jesus"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/2370546/Following_Jesus" alt="Wordle: Following Jesus" style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

Luke 14: 25-33 ‘Anyone who does not hate their mother, father, sister and brother cannot be my follower’. Sometimes what Jesus says is so shocking that we might wonder whether we’ve heard it right. Jesus telling us to hate? My daughter Ellie happened to be in earshot as I was looking up the lectionary readings and heard me say “Oh boy!” – so wanted to know what I was reading. I read the gospel reading to her and her response was ‘Well then, Jesus is going to get some very strange people as followers”. If we take Jesus literally I think she’s right – only those who have been very damaged and hurt are usually in a position to say that they hate all their immediate family. So what is Jesus doing? What does he mean? Well, for a start he’s got us thinking and like any good Jewish rabbi he does that by shaking us out of our complacent rut and saying what we least expect to hear. All of Jesus’ listeners would have grown up with a good knowledge of the law: even in 21st century Britain most pe...

Well, actually the sermon's more or less written - but very unusually for me it's written on paper with a pen - because I had 45 minutes to sit and kill in the car & I had been thinking quite a lot about the gospel reading.. and it just sort of 'came'. Now I just have to transcribe it onto the computer - because I don't trust my own ability to read my scrawl! Deuteronomy 30:15-20 & Luke 14: 25-33 are the lectionary readings...and I have been thinking a lot because I wasn't sure at first where to go with the gospel reading. Notes to follow asap.