Sharing some thoughts

  In the film ‘Oh God’ which came out in the late 1970’s, the idea was mentioned that the reason God gave Adam and Eve no clothes to wear was because God knew that once they had clothes, they would want pockets, and once they had pockets, they would want money !    Today’s gospel reading (Matthew 22:15-22) deals with money and more precisely taxes but perhaps more importantly, it also addresses the question of priorities and commitment and where those things should be directed.    Taxes and money in general are difficult issues today, and so is the whole issue of commitment to civil authorities. Today we are thinking about and celebrating the coronation of King Charles next Saturday… We’re praying for him and for all involved in positions of national authority… But we’re also thinking about our role as Christians in a country today where faith isn’t an established priority, but where the love and power of Jesus remain as relevant as they ever have been… ...

  Two themes stood out for me when I looked at the readings for this evening (Haggai 1:13-2:9 & 1 Cor 3:10-17) – the first was courage and the second, building, and I want to think a little bit about those themes…   The reading from the Old Testament prophet Haggai starts a little way into the book – what we’ve missed is the command from God to rebuild the temple. This is addressed to a group of people who’d returned from a long exile and perhaps naturally, they began to try and build a good life for themselves – economic times were difficult but they worked hard to make a comfortable lifestyle. But while they were doing this, they actually ignored the fact that their Temple was in desperate need of rebuilding. Today we might look at things a bit differently, but the Temple represented something, or was supposed to represent something, bigger than any of our churches.  Lots of us get attached to particular churches. They can be places with all kinds of memories ...

  Today, in this Easter season, we continue to celebrate the risen Christ with us always… This morning we have heard the Emmaus road account (Luke 24:13-35). It is filled with all kinds of questions about why the 2 people couldn’t see Jesus for who he was, but to concentrate too much on that question is to ignore perhaps the main thrust of the account, and that is to question our own ability to view and walk with the Risen Lord Jesus, and as we continue this Easter season, it’s as good a time as any to do that.   On the Emmaus Road, why these 2 followers couldn’t recognise Jesus is a mystery. We are told that their eyes were kept from recognising him… Perhaps they were too overcome by grief to even consider the possibility that the rumours they had heard of his resurrection were true… perhaps all hope had been taken out of them as they watched Jesus dying on the cross… Perhaps they were just distracted by the pressures of every day life… whatever the reason they couldn’t see ...

  The reading from the 1 st letter of Peter (1:3-9) begins with some amazing words, ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…’ Those words sum up so much of Easter and everything about our faith as Christians…  Our faith is about God’s mercy and grace, our faith is about a hope which remains strong in whatever situation we find ourselves. Our faith is about a love that never leaves us…  And yet, it isn’t always as straightforward as that for most of us I suspect, and it wasn’t even for the first followers of Jesus….  Our gospel reading this morning (John 20:19-31) begins on the first evening of Easter. The disciples were gathered together in the upper room, hiding and scared. The doors were chained and bolted, for fear that what had happened to Jesus might also happen to them. There was a huge amount of confusion – the 2 Marys and ...

A series of addresses for Holy Week   Palm Sunday  Palm Sunday is one of the most dramatic days in the Church calendar – today our journey through Lent takes a dramatic turn.  Through this journey we may well have taken time to consider our relationship with God. We may well have given something up, or taken something up – but now we’re approaching the end of that particular journey.  Soon, Lent will be over for another year – and we have another big decision to make – the decision as to whether anything we may have done or not done through Lent is going to make a difference to the rest of our lives.  The first Palm Sunday was the beginning of an irreversible change – a change not just in the life of Jesus, or his disciples, but a change in the whole of history – because whatever a person’s view of the Christian faith, there is no doubt that Jesus has changed the course of history…  Jesus was taking a journey which would lead to arrest, ...