Reading: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 An advisor to Pope Francis approached him with great excitement. “Your Holiness, I have some very good news and some very bad news”, he says. “My son, I’ve had a hard day. Please give me the good news first to cushion the bad news.” The Pontiff requests. “Your Holiness, I just […]
Readings: Genesis 25:19-34; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 A New York City hipster moved to the country and bought a piece of land. He went to the local feed and livestock store and talked to the proprietor about how he was going to take up chicken farming. He then asked to buy 100 chicks. “That’s a lot […]
Readings: Acts 7:55-60; John 14:1-14 William came home from the doctor looking very worried. “What is it?” asked his wife, “What’s the problem?” “Well, the doctor told me I have to take one of these pills every day for the rest of my life,” explained William. “So what?” his wife replied. “Lots of people have […]
Readings: 2 Tim 3:14-4:5; Psalm 119:97-104; Luke 18:1-8 Annoying Faith? An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout “PRAISE THE LORD!” Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would […]
Readings: 2 Tim 3:14-4:5; Psalm 119:97-104; Luke 18:1-8 Annoying Faith? An elderly lady was well-known for her faith and for her boldness in talking about it. She would stand on her front porch and shout “PRAISE THE LORD!” Next door to her lived an atheist who would get so angry at her proclamations he would […]
Scripture, Luke 10: 30-37. Nigel Bunce Last Sunday, I set the parable of the Good Samaritan in the context of neighbourliness. However, we can also view it as an example of when to follow, or to break, socieity’s rules of behaviour. Parable of the Good Samaritan Last Sunday, on the occasion of Melissa Varga’s baptism, […]
Scripture readings: 2 Kings 2: 1,7b-14 and Luke 9:51-62 Jan Savory Our readings today are about discipleship. Elijah and Elisha In our OT reading, we heard how Elijah’s disciple, Elisha, followed him to the end of his life and how this faithful disciple received Elijah’s mantle. Literally the mantle is a coat or […]
Scripture: Luke 21: 25-32; 37 to 22:6 Tonight’s Scripture presents us with a problem. How much is authentic to Jesus’ earthly life? And hw much is editorializing by Luke to account for the fact that Jesus had not returned to complete his work of kingdom-building when Luke put quiill to papyrus? But however we answer […]
Scripture Luke 20: 9-19, Nigel Bunce In the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus identified the tenants with the Temple leadership. They cared for themselves not for the vineyard. It was metaphorically the land and people of Israel. But perhaps we 21st century people similarly reflect the same selfishness towards the Creation. God gave it […]
Prayers that look to the year ahead, and traditions associated with the turn of the year, including St. Luke’s story of the naming of Jesus New Year and the Christian Church The Church recognizes January 1 as the ‘Naming and circumcision of Christ’. In my mind, the older term, the Feast of the circumcision […]