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Showing posts from October, 2016

Longer sermon on Zacchaeus

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12        Luke 19:1-10      We live in a world which wants to polarise – right or wrong, left or right, In or out. I can’t be the only one who watches ‘Strictly Come Dancing’: it’s great to watch the celebrities improving their dancing skills, the costumes are amazing, the musicians so wonderful – but the real drama comes when it’s time for one of the couples to leave the show each week. Will they stay or go? This tendency to polarise has serious implications too – I have been watching some of the footage of people discussing whether we should welcome refugees in this country – is it yes or no – are they in or out? We live, also, in a world of rapid change – new gadgets, new occupations, even new countries. And so as Christians living in a rapidly changing, ever more polarised world we might want to claim that we are people of stability. Our God never changes: our faith is stable and we sing, with Anna Letitia Waring: In heavenly love ab

Zachaeus and change

Closing Reflection for Synod  (also the readings for a few week's hence) 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12         Luke 19:1-10       We live in a world which wants to polarise – right or wrong, left or right, In or out.  And we live in a world of rapid change – new gadgets, new occupations, even new countries. And so as Christians living in a rapidly changing, ever more polarised world we might want to claim that we are people of stability. Our God never changes: our faith is stable and we sing, with Anna Letitia Waring: In heavenly love abiding        no change my heart will fear And safe is such confiding     for nothing changes here. And yes, it is true that God is outside as well as inside time and space and so is eternal and ever reliable – but I don’t think the Bible points us to holding onto a faith that should never change and to living lives that should cling to the past and fear the future. Paul, writing to the Thessalonians praises, even boasts