Category: Sermon

Those hands that flung stars into space and surrendered to cruel nails left their fingerprints on you too. If you just look closely enough. 

You always know there is going to be trouble when you hear or read the words “Some Pharisees”. Because some…

It’s Creation Season and I couldn’t not talk about Psalm 19 today. Abraham Heschel compared these first verses to someone with ‘presence’.

“What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.

The disciples also had their agenda.  It was pretty much a one item affair, but it was important to them, who was the greatest?

Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.” My question is: “Can we do this?”

Do you ever have those days when you really have to stick at something, to show perseverance, when you would much rather simply give in!  I have had one of those last week when I had to sort out our television licence.

One commentator described today’s Gospel in Mark as “Jesus with his compassion down”. Perhaps we might call it: “Small crumbs of comfort”.

‘And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.’

Are we living a REAL life? The abundant life Jesus not only made possible for us but desperately wants us to have? Are we? Are you? Am I? 

I wonder if we’d been listening to Jesus would we have recognised him as only Mary and Joseph’s boy or would we have seen something more?

Cohen said: “But there are moments when we can reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that’s what I mean by ‘Hallelujah.’”

I’m going to try and keep you awake. If I say: ‘bread from heaven’ you reply: ‘feed me now and evermore’. You get bonus point for singing.

Are you now, or have you ever been, an embarrassing parent? Do your saintly children have a ‘Ready-Brek’ aura around them?

Jesus is telling us that we must also come aside and rest awhile. To slow down and pay attention to our own hearts, our own movements.