Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was given at our Sunday morning service on 12th April 2026, the second Sunday of Easter. The Gospel was John 20:19-31 .     Let me start by wishing you all a happy Easter! And yes, it is still Easter, though, of course, we are now on the second Sunday of Easter, rather than Easter Sunday itself.   It is, though, my first opportunity to wish you all a happy Easter, as last week – as some of you may know – I was on retreat at the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, where I experienced a very different Holy Week than any I have experienced before. It was very special, but I did miss you all, and the Holy Week and Easter we share at St Michael’s. I’m very glad to be back and able to preach for you here today.   A photo I took of Mirfield House of the Resurrection on the morning of Palm Sunday. Our gospel this morning is a very famous passage, and one I’ve preached on a number of times before. That’s one of the things about being a Reader; you...

  This sermon was given at our Sunday morning service on 15th February 2026. The readings were Exodus 24:12-18 and Matthew 17:1-9 . I hope you enjoy reading it!   I’ve been thinking a lot – for various reasons recently – about Change. I swear I saw some of you almost shudder there. I think, deep down, none of us really like change. The American journalist, Sydney J Harris, once wrote: “ our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time. What we really want is for things to remain the same but get better ”. I can very much relate to that, can you? Wouldn’t it be excellent if things were different? Not the things I like, though…   The master of self-change and reinvention, David Bowie This morning’s readings are all about change. They’re probably the readings about change in the New Testament. This morning, we heard the story of the Transfiguration . And the story of the Transfiguration is a pivotal point in God’s story of how the world changes. ...

This sermon was written for our Sunday morning service on 28th December; the festival of the Holy Innocents . The Gospel was Matthew 2:13-18 . I hope you enjoy reading it! May I start this morning by wishing you all a very happy Christmas!   After this morning’s Gospel reading, that sounds a bit incongruous, doesn’t it? Herod learnt that he had been tricked by the wise men, and so set out and killed all the infants in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or younger. Happy Christmas everyone! What a way to begin our Christmas season – mass murder and infanticide.   This part of the Christmas story is one we often gloss over. It does not – for obvious reasons – make it into our nativity plays. It does not feature in our crib scenes. It does not align with the message of peace and joy and hope that comes with the birth of the Christ child. As such, it may not be one that you’re that familiar with. Let me provide a synopsis:   The magi have visited He...