Easter 7A:    An example of the old and the new: Coventry Cathedral.

In all these weeks since Easter Sunday we’ve been walking with some of the first followers of the risen Jesus, in their strange new landscape of mingled grief and joy and hope. And at the same time we’ve been walking through our own strange new landscape, not knowing what it will look like, but realizing that whatever it is, it won’t be as it was before. And in these post Easter reflections there have been the underlying questions. What have we learned? Has it changed the way we walk our own faith journeys? What comes next? The same questions, I’m sure, that those long ago first Christians asked themselves. Next week we will celebrate Pentecost: that life-changing event for many of those on the spot. And I still wonder how all those individual lives were changed from that day on. Continue reading One Step at a Time →

Easter 6A

All these weeks through Easter and then all the Sundays of the Easter Season we’ve been walking through strange landscapes inside and outside the churches. It seems as if we’ve lost the script and now we’re making it up as we go. For us in the churches, Easter usually goes like this: Easter Day a big celebration, lots of singing, everybody cheerfully anticipating some time off. Then the minister goes on holiday after all those extra services the week before, and we have the visiting preachers dealing with the lectionary readings of those joyful reunions with the risen Christ, and then it’s back to normal, and waiting through a few more weeks of somewhat uncomfortable readings until we have another party for Pentecost. Not this year. Continue reading Strange Landscapes →

Easter 5A 2020

In our 7^th week of ‘Lockdown’ we’re in days of ‘information overload’! We get more and more opinions and more and more theories about what’s happening, and more and more questions:  what should we do next, who’s right, who’s wrong. And in the age of twitter there’s less and less substance, and more and more hype and headlining. And, unfortunately, rather more sloppy research and lack of thought before rushing into print or on line. Continue reading Building Blocks →

Easter 4A. St Ninian’s. May 7 2017

Let your light reach into our minds
transforming our blindspots
into places of understanding and love, Risen Christ
-Tui Motu Team

Today our lectionary readings are all about sheep or rather, about using shepherding as images of God’s love and care. I know that I used Psalm 23 for one of my reflections in 2016, so I thought, better not go there again. Or not quite in the same way! Something that’s woven through all of our readings for today is the importance of building community, and in these days when we can’t share our community activities in person, this is something worth thinking about. How have we been coping? Continue reading The Swinging Gate →