Fourth Sunday of Lent

Jesus openly proclaimed that he came to open the eyes of the blind and set free those held captive in darkness. This resulted him in being viewed as a dangerous figure. We see how God is close to the broken. Here a blind man can now see things differently and is no longer held back by outsides forces of authority despite their naked hostility towards him and Jesus.

Third Sunday in Lent

Christianity would be all the poorer without today’s gospel narrative - as it would if we did not have the story of the Good Samaritan! John carefully introduces this story of the Samaritan Woman at the Well saying that Jesus had to pass through Samaria, a place Jewish people tried hard to avoid.  Against community expectations Jesus deliberately passed through this area and is found at this well at an unusual time of day with a woman who was trying to avoid her fellow villagers. She encounters a strange man who begins a conversation with her. He listens to her and she listens to him.

Second Sunday in Lent

‘To see the world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.’ [William Blake]

‘Every time you listen with great attentiveness to the voice that calls you the Beloved, you will discover within yourself a desire to hear that voice longer and more deeply.’ [Henri Nouwen, The Life of the Beloved]

First Sunday in Lent March 1st, 2020

Today we return to our origins and remember who we are, how we are meant to be, and how the story has changed. Where life was meant to be shared [Genesis], God's word was perverted and God’s image in people (others and ourselves) was disfigured and maimed. The readings are very contemporary: about our lives and inconsistencies, of struggles to be faithful, of broken relationships, of the search for wisdom, the fullness of life, of a meaningful relationship with God and one another that embraces a compassionate responsibility for every living being.

Seventh Sunday of the Year February 23rd, 2020

Clint Eastwood’s 1992 movie Unforgiven, like many others, saw revenge being perpetrated on ‘evil’ people because ‘they have it coming.’ Who do we see as an enemy? Is it the neighbour whose cigarette smoke drifts into our yard or throws weeds across the fence? Is it the person with an astonishingly low level of self-awareness, humility, or restraint? Is it the one in power whose racist and misogynist rhetoric threatens vulnerable people? The identity of an enemy can be blatantly clear or very subtle.