Sermons And Gubbins

I often see posts on Facebook trying to flood the site with music, or superheroes. There's one doing the rounds at the moment asking people to post 'then' and 'now' photos of their relationship. They're all fun, but I think, at the moment, Facebook in the UK probably needs to be flooded with something different. There's a tide of racism sweeping the country, with some people thinking the Brexit vote legitimises the voicing of torrid, vicious, nasty views. I hope it's just the media publicising these things more widely at the moment. I fear it is not. Even so, if these views are *not* being expressed with more force, volume and frequency at the moment, they *are* still being expressed, and that scares me - *especially* so if this is normal (or the 'new' normal). I believe that staying silent whilst this is happening is to be complicit. If I do not speak out, how can I expect others to do so? If no-one speaks out, then there is no challenge...

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgement comes forth perverted.                                                                                  (Habakkuk 1:2-4) The question has plagued us throughout the ages. Those words, from the book of Habakkuk were written two and a half thousand years ago, and yet, you can imagine them being spoken – you can almost hear the words echo – any night of the week on the news, by people all over the world being interviewed at the scene of the late...

This sermon was preached on the morning of 5th June 2016. The readings were 1 Kings 17:17-24 , Psalm 30 , Galatians 1:11-24 and Luke 7:11-17 . You’d be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu with today’s Gospel reading. It seems like we’ve heard it before – only minutes earlier, in fact – in our reading from the Old Testament; the story from 1 Kings. In both readings, we hear of a great faith hero – Elijah and Jesus – and their coming into contact with a woman – in both cases a widow, who is mother to an only son, who, in both cases, has died. Again, in both readings, the dead son is raised and is given back to his mother – the same phrase, in fact, is used – by the hero of the faith. Finally, in both readings, there is a recognition that the man is a holy man. This is surely not coincidental. Luke, our Gospel writer, clearly knew of the story of Elijah and the widow, and wanted to refer to it when he gave his account of what happened that day in Nain, when Jesus met tha...

This sermon was preached at Evensong on Sunday 29th May 2016. The Old Testament reading was Genesis 4:1-16 . I came across the idea for the sermon from an article on a website I've referenced before. Whilst the idea of reciprocity is probably one that isn't really found in the Genesis passage, I thought it was a good one to explore, especially as no reason for the rejection is given. It would be hard to make an academic argument that this is what the passage is about, but, to be fair, it would be hard to make that argument with any interpretation. I hope you find the sermon helpful at any rate!   It’s interesting how the rivalry between brothers can become legendary. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of myths and the ancient world, and have recently enjoyed watching Mary Beard’s Ultimate Rome on the BBC – the first episode harked back to the foundation of Rome, and the two famous brothers, Romulus and Remus, who vied to found the city. In English legend, we have the...

This sermon was preached on the morning of 10th April 2016, in the wake of the breaking of the story of the Panama Papers. In preparing for the sermon, I realised that it would feel somewhat divorced from reality if it did not deal in some way with the news that has dominated the media and conversations all around the world this week. The readings were Zephaniah 3:14-end , Psalm 30 , Acts 9:1-20 and John 21:1-19 . What a week it’s been for the world’s elite. Of course, by ‘elite’, I, like most of the English speaking world, mean the super-rich. It’s funny that we don’t really use the word to refer to the most faithful people in the world, or the most hopeful, or most charitable and loving.  No – this week has not been especially remarkable for them ; but, for the wealthiest people in the world, it’s been somewhat of a worrying one. I refer, of course, to the leaking of the Panama Papers to the media. These papers showed how many world leaders and movers and shakers used ...

This sermon was preached during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity , and in the aftermath of the primate's statement on The Episcopal Church . It was given at an Evensong service on 24th January. About 10 years ago, a website called The Ship of Fools held a poll to find the world's best religious joke . The winner was one written by the American comedian, Emo Philips: Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"  He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Bapti...

This was preached for my sermon on 17th January 2016. It is an imagined piece from the point of view of one of the slaves at the Wedding at Cana . There were a number of things I wanted to bring in, which I hope come out in the story. I've not provided links for any of the references this time, as I wanted part of the reaction to this piece to be thinking upon the meaning and how the references link in. One thing in particular that I was struck by in researching this was how maligned Mary is in our traditional understanding of the story; she is so often portrayed throughout Christian history here as the overbearing Jewish mother. I found this piece  from a Catholic writer which made me stop and think, and encouraged me to look for a non-sexist, non-racist view of the narrative. I hope the story helps you find another view too. I love a New Year wedding, don't you? It seems to fit so well - the sense of hope and new beginnings. The celebration mingled with the feeling o...