Sunday's coming!

Apologies that there have been no thoughts here - and now no sermon: you could of course look at the one I wrote in April 2009 (same readings!). We have the Bishop coming to lead worship & to preach so my preparation has been of an order of service, getting readers lined up, etc. Also this week we had (for the first time) a 'Quietly into Easter' service - we tried something similar at Christmas for those who had been bereaved, based on 'Blue Christmas' services which I had seen. We had about 35 people come & they seemed to find the simplicity & directness of the service helpful. I feel stupid for never thinking before that the message of Easter is exactly the message you need to hear when someone dies - those present certainly listened very intently. So here's what we did: Quietly into Easter Welcome to this service. Easter is a time of celebrating new birth – but it is also a time of recognising pain and grief. We will reflect quietly tonight...

Friendship with God Jeremiah 31: 31-34; John 12: 20-33 What does it mean to speak of God as a friend? What sense does it make to talk of friendship with God? I hope we all have friends, so we know something of friendship. A friend is someone you can turn to, someone you know well and who knows you, someone you share your life with. So does God offer us this kind of relationship, this kind of friendship? I’m not a great one for disembodied bible verses, but I do like 2 Cor 5: 19 ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself’. I think that Paul is talking about God extending to us and to all people the offer of friendship. This friendship is seen in Christ and it is a friendship which about sharing our life and even our death so that we can turn to God as someone who knows our human condition all too well. And if ‘God’s friendship’ doesn’t sound very revolutionary or even sounds a bit hum-drum, I don’t think we’re using the concept of ‘friendship’ in its fullest sense. We ...

With apologies for no post last week (Sunday off & I went to see my parents - hooray!); and to those in the States who might want to see a 'Lent 4' sermon - you could look at the one from 3 years ago? Who is Mothering Sunday for? Exodus 2.1-10, John 19.25-27 So – how do you feel about Mothering Sunday? Perhaps you feel that it’s a bit of a hype by those who want to sell cards, chocolates & flowers. It seems today can be a bit too centred on mothers. I would hate anyone to think today is not for them if they are not a mother – so let’s agree, first of all, that it’s about mothering, not just mothers. But even that is not without potential difficulty. I’m very lucky that I have a good relationship with my mum – actually she’s always been a bit of a hero to me – a woman who has raised four very different children and had a career as a teacher, who taught me in Sunday school, and would cheerfully stay up until the early hours baking a cake or sewing something which...

Mark 8:31 – 38 : Romans 4:13 – 25 I was never a specially daring child, though I’ve had my share of bumps and scrapes. One thing I remember trying several times, though, is walking along a see-saw. You start at the end on the ground, you inch your way up, up hill, towards the middle where you know that, any minute now you’ll reach the point at which the whole thing tips the other way and you can run down the other side & off, preferably without breaking any bones! We’re at that point in Mark’s gospel today, the tipping point, the dangerous bit where one end flies up and the other down and then it’s down-hill all the way for Jesus. Up until this point, Jesus has gone about healing and teaching and constantly people have been asking themselves ‘who is this?’. Now, here at Caesarea Philippi – Peter has finally answered the question “You are the Messiah”. Jesus immediately tells the disciples to hush – and then goes on to say what we have heard today, so that they will understa...