Sunday's coming!

Have just been thinking about wilderness, largely because I read this Jesus' story ( as told by Matthew) begins with the genealogy, but also with the wilderness. jesus' ministry starts with 'you are my beloved son' but then Jesus is sent to the wilderness. Even creation itself starts with wilderness and then the naming of humanity. Is there something about the desert, the bleak place, the emptiness that helps us to take in what this sense of being one of God's own people really means?

Readings for this week are: Isaiah 11:1-10 Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12 All of which seem to speak of continuity, of descendants, of relationship over time. Where are we in this succession? I am reminded of a recent morning spent mooching around Canterbury cathedral, where the windows depicting the figures of Old & new Testament were described as an early version of 'who do you think you are' - linking the monks in worship with their roots in the people of God. I also notice that December 1st commemorates Nicholas Ferrar, deacon of Little Gidding and founder of a religious movement there, devoted to prayer and study of the scripture. Before his death he said to his community: `It is the right, good old way you are in; keep in it'. I think I'm minded to say something about our true roots, our true way, our real 'tradition' in Christ: at this time of year when we tend to think about family & friends & where we have come from only in terms of our littl...

Advent Sunday Isaiah 2: 1-5 Romans 13: 11-14 Matthew 24: 36-44 It’s coming. You can’t stop it. You can’t slow it. You can’t avoid it. You can’t escape it. It’s coming and it will catch you up and engulf you & there is nothing you can do about it. No, for once I’m not ranting about the impending celebration of Christmas: I’m talking about the love of God, the presence of God, the reign or kingdom of God. Advent Sunday is about the start of the season when we get ready for what God does at Christmas. It is about shifting our attention away from ourselves and from human activity and looking for what God is doing and will do. If there is a pithy Advent message today, it is stop trying so hard and doing so much and simply accept that God is coming to you – nothing is required of you except to accept it! I’m reminded of the hoary old preacher’s story fo the 5 year old boy who got lost out in the forest near his home. As ot grew darker and darker and as the temperature and then the snow s...

Christ the King : Colossians 1: 11-20; Luke 23: 33-43 This week we have heard the news of the engagement of Prince William, our future king, and Kate Middleton. I couldn’t help thinking that the plans of a couple who have been together for 8 years to get married next year is hardly ‘news’ – but of course as it’s William then this is a Royal Wedding we’re talking about – and Kate becomes, on marrying him, a prospective queen. I even heard the comment made that their years together so far have helped to give Kate an insight into ‘how the family works’. She needs to know what it will mean for William to be King; to understand the responsibility, the expectations, the role. I imagine that how you feel about royalty will colour how you feel about the news: is it a great source of national celebration, a wonderful excuse for a party, or a terrible waste of public money and time? As we stand on the threshold of Advent, the lectionary invites us to think about royalty, too, and to consider...

Well the end of the liturgical year: Christ the King. I like this chance to take stock before we're catapulted into the madness of Advent & Christmas. Before we get too carried away with babies in mangers, let's not forget that the one who is coming is Christ the Lord of all. Readings are: Jeremiah 23:1-6 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43 God will raise up a shepherd from the stock of David. He is the image of the invisible God first-born of all creation. The crucified one is recognised as king. Plenty of food for thought there...

Today is, of course, Remembrance Sunday . We may be caught between many different feelings: some may wear a red poppy to honour those who fought – especially those who didn’t return. Others may wear a white poppy to pledge themselves to peace. Some may want to look back and thank God that ‘our boys’ won and that this country remained free. Others may want the freedom to be proud of ‘our boys (and girls)’ who are fighting today without facing an accusation of racism. Some may want to remember the victory of self-sacrifice… and others want to be able to forget the horror of war. Caught in the complexity of all these many feelings, it is tempting to focus on the reading we heard from Isaiah – looking forward to a time when God will create a new heaven and a new earth – with love and peace and prosperity for all people. This is a fantastic reading to remind us that life will not always be this hard and that in the end God will sort it out. But the letter to the Thessalonians gives Paul’s ...

This week's readings: Isaiah 65:17-25 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21:5-19 Today I led a reflection on these readings for a meeting, based on the gospel reading. I think this will be my starting point for Sunday - which also needs to bring in Remembrance! : We are caught between realism & the hope of the gospel. Jesus says to his followers quite clearly – don’t get carried away by the splendour of the temple – the fine stones and ornaments. Don’t put your trust in your fine building – because it won’t last. In fact, the Temple was destroyed by the Roman army about 40 years later – but even if that hadn’t happened, it would be hardly be as good as new, 2,000 years on – buildings can’t last. So if we can’t put our trust in buildings, in solid bricks & mortar, what can we trust? People? Jesus says “Take care you are not misled. For many will come saying ‘ I am he’ and ‘the time has come’. Do not follow them”. So however charismatic a leader, or whatever the claim they make for ...

Stand firm (2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-17; Luke 20: 27-38) Do you ever think about this church in 20 years’ time? or even 10 years’ time & wonder ‘What will it be like?’. I hope it won’t come as shocking news to anyone here that the church as we know it is changing. We know that numbers here on a Sunday are not what they were, let’s say 20 years ago. I can tell you that increasingly when I talk to couples getting married, about what hymns they would like in the service they don’t just say ‘I’ll ask my mum’ they say ‘I’ll ask my gran’. We are all getting older, of course – but research tells us that the average age of our congregations is rising. The church is changing. The church as we know it is dying. But the church of Jesus Christ is nearly 2000 years old: and in those 2 millennia it has changed time and time again – new movements have been born, and died, but the Church is (as a friend of mine put it recently) ‘theologically indestructible’. She meant that although the form of...

So is it the lack of sunshine on my pineal gland, the shortening days, or the putting away of Summer sandals & breaking out of Winter boots - but I'm feeling gloomy. Actually it's none of those things, it's most likely the fact that one of my churches is having a wobble about existence. It doesn't matter which one it is - all four could point to falling numbers on Sunday mornings, lack of people to do jobs, wondering how to be relevant to the world around... you get the picture. The problem (I am told by a wise friend) is the Decline of the Christian Church in the West. Please note the capitals - this is a BIG phenomenon and as such it is not my fault. But I am the one who will get up on her hind legs on Sunday to preach the gospel to people who are worried about the future. So what to say? The readings are: Haggai 1:15b-2:9 or Job 19: 23 – 27a; 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-17; Luke 20: 27-38 At first sight the OT & Epistle look like 'keep on going' kind o...