Sharing some thoughts

  This past week the headlines have again been filled with stories of conflict, division, and uncertainty. Nations are at odds, communities are fractured, politicans are arguing! It is into this very climate that Christ the King Sunday speaks. Today we proclaim that Jesus is not just a figure of history, not just a moral teacher, but the living King who reigns today. And the question before us is not simply whether Christ is King in some abstract sense, but whether Christ is King of our lives . This Sunday is the last of the church year. Next week, Advent begins—a season of waiting and preparation, a season of looking both to the celebration of Christ’s birth and to his promised return. But before we turn to Advent, the church gives us this day: Christ the King Sunday. A day to reflect on our relationship with God, to ask whether Christ truly reigns in our hearts, our homes, our communities. Our first reading, from Jeremiah 23:1–6, speaks of shepherds. Shepherds in the ancient worl...

  I like lots of sports and one of the inevitabilities of watching sport with a favourite team is that occasionally you will get cross with a referee! I support Liverpool football club and last week they played Manchester City - Manchester City were leading 1-0 when Liverpool scored what was obviously a perfectly good goal, but it was disallowed!  Now that made a big difference because instead of going on to win the game 3-1 as they would have done, they ended up losing 3-0! Well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Decisions make a difference!  Sometimes, a word we speak, a path we take, a moment missed or embraced, can seem really small, but we probably recognise that even the smallest decisions can shape the biggest outcomes.  Today our readings encourage us to pause, to reflect, to ask about something far bigger than football…   About what story our life is telling and who’s writing the next chapter? About what kind of future we are shaping with the choic...

The silence that takes place on Remembrance Sunday is never empty. It echoes with stories, with sacrifice, with love. Today, on this Remembrance Sunday we gather not just to remember the fallen but to ask what their memory calls us to become. In the shadow of war, we seek wisdom. In the pain of loss, we proclaim hope. And above all, we stand firm in the love of Christ—a love that no battle, no grave, no sorrow can ever overcome. Our readings this evening invite us to remember with sadness and sorrow, but also to do so with wisdom (1 Kings 3:1–15) and with the assurance of God’s unbreakable love (Romans 8:31–39). Remembering isn’t something we simply do—it’s something that shapes us. It’s not passive, but active. It’s not just about looking back, but about learning, growing, and being transformed. And from our readings, we are called to live wisely and love boldly. In our Old Testament reading, Solomon, the successor of King David, is portrayed as wealthy and powerful, yet he seek...