Religion
Fulfilling the law
1 September 2012
One of the gifts of Fathers’ Day – which we celebrate today in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea – is the impunity that it gives to fathers today to tell Dad jokes. Even though it might invoke a deep groan on other days, today we are more inclined to declare these to…
Love beyond walls
13 May 2012
Discipleship, Easter, Season of Growth, Seasons, Teaching, Year B
In the first century, the standard expression of the Jewish faiths was strongly influenced by the Pharisees, the most populous of the many forms of Jewish sects that were active at the time. Unlike other groups which were often on the fringes of Jewish society or groups such as the Sadducees which were deeply embedded…
Don’t call me father
30 October 2011
One of the things that you really have to admire about Catholics, is that we have taken the warning that Jesus offers us in today’s Gospel (Matthew 23:1-12) so seriously, that there is almost no risk in finding room in the seats of honour at the front of the church – with people crowding around…
Offer the left cheek
20 February 2011
A story told by Eugene Peterson (the author of The Message Bible – a translation in very contemporary English) of the day when the tables were turned on Garrison Johns – the school yard bully who had beaten up on Eugene every day after school for seven months – highlights the way that we have…
Religion binds us
23 October 2010
The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) invites us to reflect not just on what true prayer is about, but also on what religion is all about in the first place. The parable encourages us to ponder deeply about the truth of what we share in common – especially as we…