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Luke 17: 5-10 This story of Jesus and the disciples is an odd one, isn’t it. The story begins with the disciples approaching Jesus with a seemingly reasonable request:  “Lord! Increase our faith!” . Jesus has been teachingthings like: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you. Forgive even when it’s not deserved. Give without expecting anything in return. Be ready to take up your cross. So maybe it’s no surprise that the disciples ask for an upgrade. If we are going to be those kinds of disciples we’re going to need a boost to our faith. But the way Jesus responds makes me think of the scene in the film “Oliver!” where the beautiful blond haired urchin takes his emptied bowl of gruel and asks “Please, sir, can I have some more?”. You will remember the roar of disapproval from Mr Bumble - the portly man in charge -  “MORE?!”. Jesus’ response to the disciples feels a bit like that “More… faith?” and he tells them that if they had faith as small of a mustard seed, the...

1 Timothy 6: 6-19; Luke 16: 19-31 Well, the message of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus seems clear enough – beware being “rich and haughty” (as the letter to Timothy puts it) or else you will burn in hell. After all “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”. But doesn’t the story worry you more than a little, the more you listen to it? The rich man dresses finely and feasts sumptuously, the poor man, Lazarus – a name that means ‘God is my help’ – certainly has no-one else to help him – his is starving and covered in sores. But it seems the rich man never did much more than step over him. They both die – and the tables are turned. The poor man “whom God helps” is taken to be with Abraham: the rich man is in torment. He looks up and sees Abraham and Lazarus and calls out “ Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.”. There are at least two puzzles here: the rich man knows the name of the wre...

Readings are Jeremiah 8:18-9:1;  Luke 16:1-13; 1 Timothy 2:1-7. I am preaching at a church's 200th anniversary and instead of a single sermon I am dealing with each reading in a separate reflection. Reflection 1 Well, happy 200th anniversary. This reading reminds us just why Jeremiah has a reputation for being gloomy. “My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick”. But at least Jeremiah helps us to get real about the ups and downs of life. I wouldn’t mind betting that there have been at least some chapters in the life of this church when you have felt like sitting down and crying: when you have felt your joy is gone and your heart is sick. We would not be human if we didn’t sometimes feel that. But Jeremiah is not just wanting to complain – he is reminding us that God feels these things too and that God hears the cry of his people. Then Jeremiah demonstrates a real faith in God when he asks the question “is there no balm in Gilead?”. It’s a bit like us as...

I am preaching at an induction of a minister - adding a church to an existing pastorate.  1 Timothy 1:12-17, Luke 15:1-10 Any new phase of ministry provides a good opportunity to take stock of who we are as Christians, who our Minister is, and what we expect of them, and what our churches are doing in their communities – and how that can changes with this new ministry. So I’m delighted that in all that thinking the lectionary has provided us with a chance to hear again the story of the lost sheep. It’s a story we might have heard many times. But I have a question you might not have wondered before: it’s one that comes to us from Godly Play – a way of helping children, particularly, to engage with Bible stories. It asks “where are you in the story?”. Perhaps you see yourself as an observer or a listener – one of the crowd who were originally around Jesus. Maybe you have been wondering – even grumbling “What is Jesus doing with tax-collectors and sinners?” “Why a...