Sunday's coming!

Isaiah 2: 1-5   There is a wonderful story, which may or may not be true, that during the approach to Christmas in 1948, a radio station in Washington DC asked ambassadors to the United States, from a number of countries, their preferred Christmas gift. The replies were recorded for a special Christmas broadcast. Most of the answers were what you would expect from a diplomat: Asked ‘what gift do you most want this Christmas?’ the French ambassador said he most wanted 'Peace throughout the world,' the Russian ambassador said he would like to have 'Freedom for all people enslaved by Imperialism,'   Then the request went through to Sir Oliver Franks, the representative of the Government of the United Kingdom, ‘what gift do you most want this Christmas?’ 'Well, it's very kind of you to ask,' he replied. 'I'd quite like a small box of crystallised fruit.'   Whatever you have said you want for Christmas, Advent Sunday helps us re...

  Colossians 1: 11-20; Luke 23: 33-43   Christmas is most certainly coming closer – today we have given out our sheets describing all the opportunities to celebrate and worship in the pastorate this year, through Advent and Christmas. We will soon start singing about shepherds and angels, stables & mangers, donkeys and sheep… and most of all about the baby, Jesus.   You might wonder why today’s Bible readings seem to be focussing on the end of Jesus life – on the cross – but these readings invite us to reflect on just who this baby is – and what it means to say not only that Jesus is born, but that ‘ Jesus Christ is King’. The church has been reflecting on this for centuries, but I hope there’s always something new to say as we see in each generation what the rule of Christ means in our place and our time. We need to look and see, afresh.    Today I’d like to focus on what one of the criminals on the cross sees.   This is a story we al...

  Proper 26    Luke 21: 5-19   I came across an article this week entitled “What is wrong with the world?”. It gave a few suggestions: -        Tribalism – the sort of nationalism which oppresses others -        The lack of a common vision for good -        Inequality of wealth and resources – which leads to envy and hatred -        Lack of love for people who are ‘not like us’.   I know that the same author has written, too, about the importance for the world of forgiveness, faith in God and love for the widest possible definition of family.   He’s also written one of the hymns in our hymnbook – "O God of earth & altar" – it’s GK Chesterton, author of the Father Brown stories, and a convert to Catholicism. His article ‘what is wrong with the world?’ was written in 1910.   It feels as though there is ...