Scripture: Luke 15:1-10 If I asked you to give me an adjective to describe God, what would you say? Our first hymn (Immortal Invisible God only wise) had lots if these: immortal, invisible, wise, hidden, blessed, glorious, ancient … or perhaps you’d think of loving, gracious, creating, redeeming. I hope not angry […]
Scripture: Jeremiah 18: 1-11; Psalm 1; Luke 14: 25-33 What a rich collection of readings today! There’s Jeremiah and the potter’s wheel; Psalm 1; and the difficult Gospel reading which my Bible titles, “The cost of discipleship”. The cost of discipleship In the Gospel passage, Jesus says that the mark of a true disciple is […]
Scripture: Luke 14: 1; 7-14 Concerning justice kindness and humility, the Hebrew prophet Micah said, “What does God require of you? To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before your God.” [Mic. 6: 8]. These motifs are central to the Gospel Jesus’ message. They relate directly to today’s Gospel story, as well as to […]
Scripture: Romans 3-5 Atonement theology has satisfied many Christians through the ages. But I (personally) do not agree that we can only be ‘at one’ with God because Jesus died to pay a debt for humanity’s sins, or for my individual sins. Another possibility is that we are all created in the divine likeness through […]
Reading Luke 12: 32-40 Chapter 12 of Luke is a series of sayings and parables that Luke has put together. Some are only in Luke, some are also in Matthew believed to be from a common source called from Q (from the German word Quelle meaning source). Some have been taken from […]
Scripture: Isaiah 5: 1-7; Luke 12: 49-59 Conflict and change are the twin themes of today’s readings. Conflict is especially clear in the Gospel, where Jesus says that he came to bring division. He will cause strife between nations and even between family members. This reading seems inconsistent with everything we like to believe about […]
Scripture: Genesis 19 and Luke 12: 13-21 Today’s readings offer very different Biblical views of morality. In Genesis Chapter 19, the behaviour of Lot and his daughters is the opposite of “traditional family values”. Conversely, in Luke Chapter 12, Jesus tells us that wealth isn’t everything, and offers us a parable against greed and selfishness. […]
Scripture: Luke 11: 1-13; Genesis 18: 20-32 In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus agave the disciples a model for prayer. But God will not always answer our prayers the way we want. Prayer may change me, not God. It may help me to I think harder about the issues on my mind, or inspire me to […]
Scripture: Luke 10: 38-42 Our inner Martha or inner Mary are the opposites of how we instinctively behave. In the story of Martha and Mary, Martha’s personality focussed on providing hospitality to her guests, but she resented her sister. Mary listened to Jesus, apparently unaware of the need to offer hospitality. So when should I […]
Scripture: Luke 10: 25-37 Who is my neighbour? This is the crux of the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is just as relevant to society today as it was when Jesus told the story. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell versions of a story in which someone questions Jesus about eternal life or the […]