Sunday's coming!

Philippians 4: 4-7, Luke 3: 7-18 Well, it’s been quite a week – Brexit & politics & the Strictly final - and Christmas just over a week away. I wonder how you feel about John the Baptist’s ‘least Christmassy message of joy’ from the gospel reading. Saint Paul says “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice!” John the Baptist shouts “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”. But I want to suggest that it is John who has the message we need to hear. The world is a mess, personally, politically, environmentally, and instead of retreating into an alternative world of Christmas cheer where everything is merry and bright or ignoring the reality of the world and shutting ourselves away, we need real Christmas hope   - something which changes forever the way we see our world and everything in it. A few years ago I went to an Advent Carol service in Winchester Cathedral. It was organized to celebrate the 70 th birthday of Chr...

  Mark 9: 38-50, James 5: 13-20 I don’t know whether you have been following the case in the news this week of the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme High Court. Considerng his nomination, the Senate have heard an accusation from Professor Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually attacked her when they were both teenagers. Many questions surround the case: who is telling the truth ? how can events from decades ago be properly investigated? If Brett Kavangaugh, who is now a judge, did those things so many years ago, does it have a bearing on his fitness to hold office now? I am not going to try to adjudicate – but I did find myself wondering how ‘good’ you have to be to be a judge – for surely none of u is perfect. And I was still wondering about questions of how to be ‘good’ when I read our Bible readings set for today. What a contrast between the two readings we heard! The letter of James seems very positive about how we live together as a co...

2 Corinthians 8: 7-15     Mark 5: 21-43 Let’s just think about the Gospel reading for a moment from the point of view of Jairus. Jairus is one of the leaders of the synagogue and he comes to find Jesus. We’re not sure exactly where Jesus is when this story is told, but he is somewhere in Galilee, because Mark tells us he and the disciples have crossed back over the Lake, back to the West. Jairus’s daughter, who is only 12, is desperately ill. Jairus has heard that Jesus – the strange local lad, who seems to be some sort of rabbi and healer - is back in the area, so he goes and finds him. He falls at his feet, begging him repeatedly to come and heal his daughter. He must be filled with joy when Jesus agrees to come with him and they set off towards his house. There is a crowd, Jairus wishes they’d get out of the way – there’s not a moment to lose. Then Jesus stops! And starts asking who touched him. A woman comes forward and admits it was her – she was bl...