The bread of life
2 August 2009
18B – Bread of life (John 6:24-35; Exodus 16: 2-4, 12-15) When you read the Gospel of John, you must always be aware of the broad canvas upon which John writes his Gospel. He is always mindful and aware of all that has gone on before in the past – the history of the people…
Hungry to be satisfied
26 July 2009
17B – Season of the Year – John 6:1-15 This year we have been reading from the Gospel of Mark. Last week we had the story of Jesus and the disciples crossing over the lake and coming to find a large crowd of people, which he set out to teach at some length. Rather than…
The true shepherd
18 July 2009
16th Sunday in ordinary time – Year B. Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:13-18; Mark 6:30-34. In order to understand our first reading from the prophet Jeremiah today, we need to understand what has been happening in the history and practice of Israel. We need to go back a few hundred years. When the people of Israel…
View from a high place
12 July 2009
15th Sunday – Year B – The view from on high (Ephesians 1:3-14) I am going on holidays in the middle of August to the United States. I haven’t been there before, so I have been looking around at various maps, trying to work out my itinerary. I have been using Google Maps to work…
His grace is enough
5 July 2009
14th Sunday in Ordinary time (2 Cor 12:7-10). One of the interesting things is that when you read the stories of some of the great saints across the pages of history, almost inevitably when you go through their story you come across some great shadow or darkness that hung over their lives. For example when…
Not dead but asleep
28 June 2009
Sunday 13B (Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Mark 5:21-34) Our first reading today begins with that rather curious line – ‘death was not God’s doing.’ It points to what is in fact the teaching of the Church about death. When we read in the account of creation, in Genesis 1-3, we get the sense that in the…
Storms in life
20 June 2009
Sunday 12B (Immaculate Heart of Mary) – Mark 4:35-41 Last Sunday I received a call from the Drug and Alcohol Department of the RNSH. A friend of mine had been admitted after an overdose of prescription drugs. It wasn’t the first time that he’d been admitted to hospital; it seemed that things had just become…
Body and Blood of Christ – Passover and Eucharist
14 June 2009
The Gospel today (Mark 14:12-16) begins with a reminder that the Last Supper occurred in the context of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the sacrifice and eating of the Passover Lamb. To understand this meal, we need to look back through Scripture to the first and most significant meals in human history. In this…
Above the broken
11 June 2009
New music video from EmmanuelWorship – will be released on their new album ‘Justice and Praise’ – well worth a watch. Great video!Watch now in a new window.
Commissioned in the Trinity
6 June 2009
Season of Growth, Solemnity, Year B
Matt 28:16-20. After the 96 days of Lent and Easter we move back into Ordinary time – but before we do there are two feasts to remind us of the whole direction of our Christian lives. Almost all of the other feastdays are connected with events in the life of Jesus and the saints, but…
Come, spirit of life
31 May 2009
Sometimes we can become so familiar with a word, that we forget what it originally means. When we think of ‘Pentecost’ we might think of the Holy Spirit, or the birth of the church, or those brand of churches that model themselves after the experience of the charismatic gifts, especially speaking in tongues, for example….
The Acts of King Jesus
24 May 2009
Ascension of the Lord (Year B). Acts 1:1-11 Many movies that we watch are sequels – the follow up to an earlier story. One of the things we notice at the moment is there are movies that now take us back to the origins to tell us what happened ‘in the beginning’ (Star Wars, Star…
New Book: Worship, the activity of disciples (Pat Keady)
23 May 2009
A great new book by Brisbane-based author Pat Keady, one of the leaders of EmmanuelWorship, has just been released. I received my copy on Friday – it is great to finally hold something that you have helped a friend to prepare. This is the blurb that I wrote for the book. “In Worship: the Activity…
Chosen by Christ
16 May 2009
Easter, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year B
6th Sunday of Easter (Year B)In the Gospel (John 15:9-17) Jesus beautifully illustrates one of the key distinctions of Christianity – that it is not about our striving to find God, but about his choice of us to be his disciples and to live under the commandment to love. I discovered this personally some twenty…
Connected to the Vine
9 May 2009
Happy Mothers’ Day! 5th Sunday of EasterThe image of Jesus as the vine giving life to the branches offers great possibilities to reflect on the place of our individual lives in the midst of much deeper realities. It also allows us to understand how we are connected with the whole church, especially as we pray…
Being led into the broad and good lands
3 May 2009
Easter 4B (John 10: 11-18) In the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd many people have taken great comfort over the centuries. Yet if we examine the image closely within the context of the broader scriptural story, we can see a deep challenge by the Lord to trust in his leadership and care as…
The resurrection body
26 April 2009
Easter, New Creation, Seasons, Teaching
Easter 3 (Year B) In Luke’s Gospel (24:35-48) we see the disciples gathered together, sharing stories of their encounters with the risen Lord – but still without the foggiest idea what it all means. One wonders whether we have a much better idea, even after 20 centuries of theological and spiritual reflection. Jesus seems to…
The journey of faith in John’s Gospel
19 April 2009
2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) – John 20:19-31In the magnificent 20th chapter of John’s Gospel, we see the culmination of the whole gospel – as Thomas eventually comes to declare his faith in the risen Lord he is able to state fully the statement of faith that was declared in the prologue -…
Easter Sunday
13 April 2009
The first Easter day marked a massive change in world history – no longer would death have the final say. We are called to share in this work as well by being his people and to work to bring about new creation around us by opening ourselves to the kingdom of God and the power…
Easter Vigil – Exodus
11 April 2009
Every year at the Easter Vigil, one Old Testament reading must be read – it is the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Surely this is because it is only when we understand God’s saving purpose – that he is a God who hears the cry of the poor and the oppressed and does something…
Holy Thursday
9 April 2009
Jesus takes bread and gives it to us as his body – a gift totally given and completely received. Jesus transformed those who were at table with him from betrayers and sinners into welcome guests – and he continues to do the same with us. Recorded at St Michael’s 7pm. (5’10”)Play MP3
Passion Sunday – Year B
4 April 2009
Lent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year B
In this familiar story we can forget the dramatic elements of this most powerful story and not allow the drama to impact upon us. Mark’s Gospel (chapters 14-15) provides many unique points, including the woman with the smashed alabastar jar of costly ointment, the singing of songs of praise and the young man wearing only…
Hope of New Creation 5
31 March 2009
The final session in this 5-week course. Building for the kingdom of God – we look at putting the great hope that new creation theology offers us into practice by looking at the areas of justice, beauty and evangelisation. (25’17”) Play MP3
Greeks and seeds
29 March 2009
Lent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year B
Our Gospel today begins with the strange reference to some Greeks wanting to see Jesus. They are also coming up for the festival – the great festival of the Passover – a sign that the influence and reputation of Jesus has moved beyond the local Jews – now even foreigners are coming wanting to know…
Hope of New Creation – 4 (part 1)
26 March 2009
In this first part of the fourth session, we consider the vexed question of Purgatory, drawing from the insights of Pope Benedict in his 2007 encyclical Spe Salvi. (12’49”) Play MP3
Hope of New Creation – 4 (part 2)
26 March 2009
In the second part of the fourth session, we turn to consider the nature of Paradise (or heaven) and how we can begin to understand how a loving God allows the existence of a place that is beyond hope and beyond pity – hell. (12’19”) Play MP3
Grace and works
22 March 2009
Lent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year B
Lent 4B – Ephesians 2:4-10 Last week we had the 10 commandments (Hebrew: mitzvot); this week we have the final verses from the Hebrew Bible (Tanaka) in 2 Chron 36 which record the failure of Israel to live up to these commandments which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and exile. It is only through…
Hope of New Creation 3 (part 2)
20 March 2009
The third session of the Hope of New Creation. In the second part of this session we look at the nature of the redemption of our bodies. (15’06”) Play MP3
Hope of New Creation 3 (part 1)
18 March 2009
The third session of the Hope of New Creation. In this first part, we look at the Ascension of Jesus and what this mystery might mean for us – about absence and presence. Then we consider the Second Coming of Jesus and the often misunderstood idea of the ‘Rapture’. (14’31”) Play MP3
Justice and Praise
15 March 2009
Justice + Praise is the new album from EmmanuelWorship, the amazing Catholic band from Brisbane. This video clip explains some of the songs that will feature on the new album, to be released in June 2009…Justice and Praise