Sunday's coming!

 Exodus 3: 1-15; Luke13: 1-9 It has been worrying to hear reports of the ill-health of Pope Francis over the last   5 or 6 weeks – it seems that his long struggle with lung conditions is getting the better of him. Even so, we are told that he continues to read and write when he is able – there is, of course, a long history of Popes working right up until their death. I found a reference this week to a sermon that Pope John Paul 2 nd had written just before his death – in fact he died the evening before he was due to preach it – so I suppose these are the nearest we have to his ‘last thoughts’. It was a sermon about the grace of God and included the lovely phrase “how much the world needs to understand and accept divine mercy”.   Twenty years on, it is definitely something which the world still needs to hear, and it could almost be a summary of the two readings we have heard: “how much the world needs to understand and accept divine mercy”. ...

  Psalm 118 19-29,    Luke 13: 31-35   About 600 years before the time of Jesus, the Greek story-teller Aesop, told this story:   There was once a cockerel, settling himself down to sleep, safe in the branches of a tree. Just as he was starting to nod off, a fox came along and looked up into the tree, at the cockerel, far too high up to be caught for dinner. “Have you heard the wonderful news?” said the fox “Peace has been declared across the animal kingdom. We are no longer enemies, but friends. Come and down to me and let’s celebrate our new friendship.”. But the cockerel appeared to be looking intently into the forest beyond the fox. “What are you looking at?” asked the fox. “I see some dogs coming this way. They must have heard the good news of peace in the animal kingdom. We can all celebrate together!”. The fox immediately started to run away “I have just remembered somewhere I need to be… goodbye”, The cockerel chuckled, settled his ...