Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was preached at our Sunday morning service on 26th January 2025, the first Sunday following the inaugration of Trump as the 47th president of the United States of America. The gospel was Luke 4:14-21 . Do you have a technique for getting through a sermon? My kids have a snack. It started, when Isaac was a lot smaller, as a way to ensure he was quiet and didn’t fidget. A decent-sized apple could keep him going through the affirmation of faith and the intercessions too.   I’m sure you’ve seen videos of Trump’s inauguration service on the news or social media. I bet that presidential party would have given anything for a way to get through Bishop Budde’s sermon. Trump really looked like he could have used the distraction of a snack – something like a whole bucket of chicken into which he could bury his head. When we take Isaac and Miriam out to the pub, we let them have their tablets and headphones to watch cartoons or films for when they’ve finished their tea. I b...

This sermon was first preached at our Sunday morning service on 10th July, following a week of political turmoil in the UK, triggered by the resignations of Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Health Secretary, which eventually led (a few days later) to the resignation of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The Gospel was a particularly famous passage, known as The Good Samaritan, and can be found in Luke 10:25-37 . I hope you enjoy reading it. It’s a cliché, but it’s very, very true: a week is a long time in politics. I don’t normally preach two weeks running, but I think it’s fair to say that more has changed in the world of politics since I last stood in this pulpit seven days ago than in the whole time since I preached before that, which was as far back as Easter Sunday!   No-one would have ever predicted this time a week ago that our government would have imploded to the extent that it has. I think roughly 40 ministerial positions have changed...

It is, admittedly, with some trepidation that I have come to lead us all in Evensong this evening. After the horrific events earlier this week at the 16th century St Etienne’s church in Normandy, there is, unfortunately, a small amount of fear in coming to church, to worship God together, at all. I suspect mine was not the only mind whose thought this crossed tonight. For, as I’m sure we’re are aware, on Tuesday morning, whilst saying mass with a small, faithful congregation in an ancient church, Father Jacques Hamel was murdered, martyred at the altar, by two young men, eager to perpetuate and escalate a religious war. I am very glad to see that you are here with me this evening. I am glad to see that you have, consciously or not, made a decision to not let the main weapon of terrorism – that of fear – win over your desire to congregate and to worship God together. I’d like, this evening, for us to think about Father Jacques, and the reaction of the world to the events...