Advent
The law of four – part 3
13 December 2015
Advent, Seasons, Series, Teaching
We saw in the first week of this series that one of the places that we see the law of four is in every great story ever told as well as in the story of our own lives – the pattern of (1) Hearing the summons; (2) Enduring the obstacles; (3) Receiving the prize/favour and finally (4) Returning…
The law of four – part 2
8 December 2015
Advent, Seasons, Series, Teaching
This week in our Law of Four series, we looked in more detail at the four Gospels, and particularly the connection and relation of the first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) – why we call them the Synoptic Gospels, and how over the last 150 years we have developed a better understanding of the…
The law of four – part 1
29 November 2015
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Series, Teaching, Year C
The new parish logo has been inspired by a much larger and more ancient reality. Looking at the nature of church and our involvement within it, as well as the structure of the liturgical year and the arrangement of the readings from the Gospels is part of what we will be considering over the next…
Mary and Gabriel
21 December 2014
The scene that is presented in the Gospel today is one of my favourites. We read from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 26-38. The angel Gabriel appears to announce the birth of a child and follows the pattern established in the Hebrew Scriptures: the angel says, ‘do not be afraid’; the recipient is…
Rejoice always and pray constantly
14 December 2014
When you learn a new language one of the things that you need to become familiar with are the rules of grammar and syntax. But the degree to which you have to continue to remember each of the rules in turn is an indication that you haven’t yet become fluent in the new language. Once…
Beginning of good news in the desert
7 December 2014
As we enter the second Sunday in the season of Advent, we come to the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. The opening line of his Gospel is somewhat curious – it isn’t immediately obvious if it is meant to be a heading or simply the first line. It richly evokes a number of scripture…
The longing of Advent
30 November 2014
As we begin this new liturgical year and return in Year B to the Gospel of Mark, it is a little odd that we don’t begin with the opening lines of the Gospel. Surely we should be reading from the Infancy Narratives in Mark. Oh wait – there aren’t any. Yes, that’s right, you can…
The face of God
22 December 2013
As Christians, we can take for granted the possibility of knowing Jesus, the son of God, as a human baby. In fact this is an absolutely radical idea. If you were a Jew living in the years before the birth of Jesus, there would be many things that you could know about God. The Hebrew…
The Choice to Rejoice
15 December 2013
Pillar of Fire by night, by James Murnane (which I purchased last week) If you took a poll among first century Jews about their expectations of what the Messiah would be like, and what he (a female Messiah would not feature) would do – there would be many and varied replies….
The King is Coming
7 December 2013
The King is coming. Make way for the King! So it’s time to get ready – for God is the king and he’s on his way back. The trouble then – and the trouble now – is that the people weren’t at all ready for the king to come back. If you knew that the…
Delight Connect Worship
1 December 2013
The first image that we are presented with on this first Sunday in the season of Advent and the new Year of Matthew is from chapter 2 of the Prophet Isaiah. All the nations are streaming up to Mount Zion – but rather than the historical reality of the armies of the surrounding nations laying…
Grace impels us to go in haste
22 December 2012
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year C
The liturgy through the season of Advent provides events and characters to meditate upon. We are joined by Hebrew Testament prophets in our journey who express the hopes and longings of the generations of people for the Messiah to come. In the weekday Masses, Isaiah provides the main voice, but in our Sunday Masses, we…
Rejoice in the day of the Lord
15 December 2012
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year C
As a society we so often accept poor substitutes rather than the fullness of life experience that is offered to us. When we journey through the season of Advent, it can at times feel like a poor substitute for the season of Lent. The reality is very different – because the character of the season…
Arise and look to the east
9 December 2012
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year C
The readings today reminded me of being in Brisbane at the start of last year, when the devastating flood waters that had claimed too many lives in the Lockyer Valley moved downstream towards the city. Authorities did not want any more lives to be lost, so did all that they could to ensure that the…
Days of darkness
3 December 2012
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year C
We begin the new liturgical year (Year C) in much the same tone as we concluded Year B – with a focus on the destruction of Jerusalem. So it seems appropriate to reflect on the events that would have so marked the lives of any Christians living in the forty-year period between the wonderful events…
David, Mary and the Ark
18 December 2011
Advent, New Creation, Season of Growth, Seasons, Teaching, Year B
After journeying through this season of Advent with the prophet Isaiah, and then for the last two weeks with the witness of John the Baptiser, it is only on this fourth Sunday of Advent that we finally are presented with the figure of Mary to accompany our Advent reflection. When we encounter her in the…
Rejoice always
11 December 2011
On this third Sunday in Advent, the church issues a command – Rejoice! The teaching comes to us from the second reading today, taken from the very end of St Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, and therefore the very earliest Christian writing that we have. In the few short sentences, Paul manages to pack…
Beginnings
4 December 2011
Advent, New Creation, Season of Growth, Seasons, Teaching, Year B
Literature in the classical world was often concerned to set the scene and provide an overview of the whole text from the very first line of the text. When we come to a text like the Gospel of Mark, we may be tempted to pass over the opening line of the Gospel – which we…
Images of sin in Isaiah
27 November 2011
As we begin the new liturgical year and this new season of Advent, it is fruitful to consider the readings that the Church presents to us on this first Sunday, because it sets the agenda for the whole of the season and the year. It has been said that if Christmas were removed from the…
Big dreams and promises
19 December 2010
In our final Advent Sunday, the magnificent prophecies from the book of Isaiah turn with a very specific promise made to a very specific king – the young man Ahaz (only 20 in 735BCE) who finds himself hemmed in from every side by enemies. He doesn’t know where to turn and is most likely quite…
Waiting and growing
12 December 2010
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year A
As we celebrate Gaudete (Rejoice!) Sunday, we remain with the figure of St John the Catholic Baptist – but now, we are not at the very beginning of his prophetic ministry, but almost at the end. He is in prison because of his objections to the marriage of the claimed king of Israel, Herod (who…
Washed in the desert
4 December 2010
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year A
As we continue our journey through this sacred season of Advent, we are again given the majestic vision of the glory of the Lord bringing peace and unity to all creation – all as the fruit of a small shoot that grows from the root of Jesse. As Christians, we profess that this shoot is…
Gathering on the mountain
28 November 2010
As we begin a new liturgical season, and indeed a new year – the first year in our three year cycle of readings – it seems appropriate that the first image that is presented to us is something that is so deeply ingrained in my psyche – the mountain as a sacred place. I grew…
Leaping and dancing for joy
20 December 2009
4th Sunday of Advent – Year C. (Luke 1: 39-44; Micah 5:1-4) In a survey published in the Sydney Morning Herald this weekend it seems that around 68% of Australians still believe in God, but only 27% believe that the Bible is literally true. Which may not be a bad thing, if by literally true…
What must we do?
13 December 2009
Third Sunday of Advent (C) – Luke 3:10-18. When you look through the teachings of Jesus, a number of themes emerge – love, prayer, money and faith. But as you consider the teachings of Jesus according to these categories, it quickly becomes apparent that Jesus talks about money and possessions far more than he talks…
The word of hope
6 December 2009
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year C
Second Sunday of Advent (Year C) – Baruch 5:1-9; Phil 1:3-11; Luke 3:1-6. Luke begins the account of the ministry of John the Baptist with a list of strange names – what is he doing and why is he doing it and how does it relate to the splendour and integrity of a people lost…
The coming of Christ
29 November 2009
First Sunday of AdventJeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thes 3:12-4:2; Luke 21: 25-28;34-36. Happy New Year! As we begin this new season of Advent (and new liturgical year), you might imagine that we would have readings that speak of preparing for the birth of Jesus, or that would take us back to the very beginning of creation….
Saying ‘yes’ to God
21 December 2008
Advent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year B
Advent Sunday 4 (Year B) – 21 Dec 2008 We are presented with the powerful image of the virgin Mary,’deeply disturbed’ by the angel Gabriel’s message – and yet she says ‘yes’ to the Lord with all her heart. The great contrast is between Mary’s ‘yes’ and the desire of King David (2 Sam) to…
Advent Homilies
14 December 2008
Advent Sunday 3 (Year B) – 14 Dec 2008 – 6pmBased on Isaiah 61 – “The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He sent me to bring good news to the poor…” This text is fulfilled in the person of Jesus, but each one of us…
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