The parable that Jesus tells today (Luke 16:1-13) is a very odd kind of story – one that has perplexed people across the generations. Does he really praise the astuteness of the steward for doing something at least immoral, if not illegal, in the final stages of his term as the steward for the rich man?…

We read the whole of the fifteenth chapter of Luke’s gospel today – which begins with this description of the annoyance of the religious types that Jesus was mixing with the wrong kinds of people – the tax collectors and sinners. In response, Jesus offers these three beautiful parables – the last two of which…

Jesus is somewhat uncharacteristic today as he tries to win friends and influence the crowds by declaring that they will not be worthy to be his followers and disciples unless we hate the most significant people in our lives, including ourselves, take up our cross – which means to prepare to die – and give…

The wonderful reading from Hebrews 12 today (second reading) may pass us by, because it presumes that we have a good understanding of the rest of the book, as well as Jewish history, geography, scripture and the Jerusalem temple. It probably doesn’t help that the name of the first mountain is not even given in…

The Gospel today begins with our first reminder since the end of chapter nine, that Jesus is continuing to teach and minister along the road towards his suffering and death in the city of Jerusalem. Someone asks a question: Will there only be a few who are saved? Now that is a good question, if ever…

If your image of Jesus is of Mr Nice Guy, always meek and mild, then the Gospel today will come as a massive shock. In the Gospel, from Luke chapter 12, verses 49-53, there doesn’t seem to be a hint of gentle Jesus, or even nice Jesus, but instead a wholesale picture of family feuding…

Only faith… We have a selection from the magnificent reflection on faith that is Hebrews chapter 11. Today we hear the stories of Abraham and Sarah, who trusted in a God who they barely knew to set out for a land that they did not know, among a people that they did not know, trusting…

One of the interesting characteristics of the Hebrew language is that it has a relatively small vocabulary – especially in comparison to English. It is also a very concrete, practical language, with very few words that are merely conceptual. So when it comes time to try and describe something that is more abstract, Hebrew has…

We are invited deeply into relationship with a God who as a good father wants to give good gifts to all of his children – and especially the gift of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was a little child, as was the tradition at the time, his mother Mary would have taught him how to…

In today’s gospel, we see Jesus arriving at the house of Martha, who in good near eastern tradition is very attentive to the hospitality of Jesus. But when Martha’s sister Mary is able to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him while he taught, Martha remains distracted by all the serving. Mary…

Arriving at the fourth part of this series on being disciples of Jesus, we are given the provocative question by a lawyer – what must I do to inherit the life of the age to come? True to form, Jesus does not provide a direct answer, but instead asks a question – what does the…

Jesus today sends out the larger group of his followers to become disciples – those who have learnt from the master and now share in his mission to proclaim that the kingdom of God has drawn near. It is this passage of scripture (Luke 10:1-9) that was the inspiration for the new logo for the…

Discipleship 2. Called to follow Jesus Jesus sets his face resolutely towards Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) The kingdom of God: We are called to follow A time of Social unrest • Violence by Roman soldiers • High taxation • Tensions within the Jewish community • The Jewish people had returned from exile God would become King…

Discipleship: The path to knowing and following Jesus The question Today in the Gospel (Luke 9:18-24), Jesus asks these 2 questions: Who do the crowds say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Peter answers: The anointed of God How do we answer this question? How would you describe your lived relationship…

When I read this Gospel, from Luke chapter 7, verses 36-50, of the anointing of Jesus by a sinful woman, two very vivid images come to mind, evoked by two songs. The first is the old song ‘Beautiful to Me’ by Don Francisco, which in his style is a powerful retelling of this story, told from…

This seventh chapter of the Gospel of Luke begins with two stories of healing: the first is the healing of the Centurion’s slave; the second is our gospel story today – the raising from the dead of the son of a widow in the town of Nain. In the first story the healing comes at the…

One of the things that might first strike us about the readings that are presented to us for our reflection on this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, is that we are not given the account of the last supper from the Gospel of Luke. Instead we are given the only account in…

One of the great difficulties that we face in the western church in attempting to appreciate the gift and mystery of the Holy Trinity is the fact that so much of our thinking and even our whole conceptual framework is formed by Greek thinking and the three laws of Greek logic as given to us…

One of the things that strikes me about the celebration of Pentecost, are its Jewish roots. When the disciples met in the upper room on that day, they almost certainly would have reflected upon the passages of Exodus 19 and 20 which detail the events around the arrival of the Hebrew nation at Mount Sinai,…

On this feast of the Ascension, we ponder the event of Jesus ascending into heaven as told in the Lukan literature – the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. The other synoptic Gospels do not record the event at all, and John only hints at it by telling Mary of Magdala that…

Moving into the second week of this series, we need to look at the question of what happens in the moment of death and the personal judgement that each person receives before God. What are the possible options regarding our judgement, what are the possible destinations, and how long does the process of purification take…

With Revelation 21 being the second reading for the next two weeks moving into Ascension and Pentecost, it seemed like the appropriate time to begin a new teaching series on the Hope of New Creation. So over the next four weeks, we will explore the nature of Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, Paradise, Resurrection and the Last…

The image of the shepherd as a symbol for God’s leadership and pastoral care of his people occurs at various places across the Hebrew scriptures, most famously in the Shepherd Psalm, number 23. It has also taken a significant hold on the Christian imagination. Some of the most popular pictures of Jesus are those that…

The gospel that we have today is taken from the twenty-first chapter of the Gospel of John. It is another resurrection appearance, but this time, it is not in Jerusalem, but up in the Sea of Galilee. Seven of the disciples, led by the apostle Peter, decide to go fishing. While seven are described, only…

Although each of the Gospels is carefully crafted, the Gospel of John provides an extra layer of rich reflection which reveal the degree to which the beloved disciple as author has pondered deeply his own experience of the life and sayings of Jesus in the light of the experience of the early church and the…

I have been asked to provide links to the various video clips that were played at St Paul’s during the Holy Week and Easter liturgies. So here goes: Palm Sunday Dan Stevers, Son of Man: http://www.danstevers.com/store/son_of_man/ Holy Thursday No videos were used Good Friday, 10am Stations of the Cross Prelude – Dan Stevers, Scars: http://www.danstevers.com/store/scars/…

St Luke in the first of his Easter stories (Luke 24:1-12) provides us with a story of two contrasting reactions to the discovery of the empty tomb. The women, who unlike the apostles, stayed with Jesus through his ordeal on the cross, and began their preparations for his burial on the afternoon of Good Friday,…

The scripture readings that are offered to us each year during the Easter Vigil are so rich and beautiful. It would be great to be able to spend time reflecting on each reading in turn – but tonight let us at least begin in the beginning and consider the wonderful poem that opens the strange…

To gather each Good Friday for prayer around an instrument of Roman torture is still a very strange practice to have. To sing songs and come forward in procession to touch, embrace or kneel before this sign of brutality and terrorism… It can also be a very difficult exercise to reconcile the fragility and weakness…

A short prayer on the cross offered at the conclusion of the Stations of the Cross. Play MP3 Recorded at St Paul’s, 10am service (1:47)Good Friday, Stations of the Cross