Lent
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…
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…
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
Cleansing and Covenant
15 March 2009
Lent 3B (John 2: 13-25 & Exodus 20:1-17) We really need to work hard to understand the real significance of the incident of Jesus going into and cleansing the temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Passover. There is nothing that comes remotely close in our experience. Doing the same in your…
Lent 2B – The binding of Isaac
7 March 2009
Lent, Season of Growth, Seasons, Year B
When studying Biblical Studies at Sydney University many years ago, I studied under a lovely Rabbi who highlighted the significance and power of this passage from Genesis 22 – the binding of Isaac – called the ‘aqedah sacrifice’. It still disturbs and challenges us to reflect deeply on the nature of faith and the call…
Chaos and Covenant
1 March 2009
Lent, New Creation, Seasons, Teaching
Lent – Sunday 1B. Understanding the world-view of the People of God is crucial to understanding the Scriptures. We imagine that we understand how the world works, having a post-Enlightenment, post-Industrial Revolution and post-modern world-view. Yet, perhaps we are beginning to see that the world and the environment is not quite as easy to control…
Forgiveness and Our Real Crisis
22 February 2009
National Day of Mourning. Mark 2:1-12On this Sunday before Lent, Bishop Peter Ingham addresses the whole Diocese in his Lenten Pastoral Letter entitled “Our Real Crisis.” My homily this week is based on Bishop Peter’s letter, with a little more material on the Gospel, the beautiful story of the paralysed man being brought to Jesus…