Tag: Alison Sampson

John | The scent of gratitude

Listen here.

What would you spend a year’s wages on? A house deposit? A fancy car? A university education? How about some fabulously expensive perfume for a man about to die? In tonight’s reading, that’s exactly what Mary does. Jesus is visiting Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, whom he had recently raised from the dead. While the men are reclining at the table, Mary brings in an eye-wateringly expensive jar of perfume and uses it to anoint Jesus. And then, in the gospel according to John, she wipes Jesus’ feet with her hair. Continue reading “John | The scent of gratitude” →

The wilderness beckons

Next week we will hold a service on Ash Wednesday, 6 March, at 6pm. During the service, we remember that we are formed from dust and will return to dust; and we recall the tradition of repentance in dust and ashes. It is an austere ritual which includes being marked by the sign of the cross in ashes; and is the first step on the road to Jerusalem. That is, it is the first day of Lent: the forty days leading up to Easter, and a time when Christians reflect deeply on Jesus’ life and ministry and their own call to discipleship. Continue reading “The wilderness beckons” →

Reading our lives

I have just finished an absolutely rollicking novel: Hag-Seed, by Margaret Atwood. Felix is a theatre director, who has been deposed by his deputy and the Minister for the Arts from his role as artistic director of the Makeshiweg Festival. He putters off in his rusted out car/leaky boat, and effectively falls off the theatre map. In exile and mourning, his beloved daughter at his side, Felix/Prospero slowly plots his revenge: a revenge which eventually involves a staging of The Tempest in a medium-security prison with his enemies in attendance. Continue reading “Reading our lives” →

Luke | Going deeper at work with Jesus

Listen here.

Close your eyes, and consider your workplace: the place where you put regular time and effort; the place which demands your experience and skill. It might your home, where you raise children, cook and clean. It might be a classroom, where you teach or learn. It might be an office, where you negotiate and communicate. It might be a garden, where you help things grow. It might be a courtroom, or a library, or a factory, or a studio, or a hospital. Wherever it is, whatever you do: consider your workplace. Imagine yourself there. Continue reading “Luke | Going deeper at work with Jesus” →

Luke | Seeing through God’s eyes takes practice

Listen here.

Here we are, forty-one days after the hype of Christmas and just beginning another year at kinder or school. We are a group of lovely ordinary people with lots of children among us, and we are gathered tonight to worship God and receive a blessing, just as, two thousand years ago, like every other ordinary Jewish family, Mary and Joseph went to the Temple forty days after their firstborn son’s birth to worship God and receive a blessing. Continue reading “Luke | Seeing through God’s eyes takes practice” →

Luke | The way of Jesus Christ

Listen here.

The Australian politician walked onto the stage, glanced at his iPad, and said: “The spirit of the mob is upon me, because the mob has appointed me to bring good news to the rich. It has sent me to place boat arrivals into indefinite detention, to close the eyes of the clear-sighted, to extend mandatory sentencing, and to proclaim the day of violent judgement of our God … And this prophetic work is for the benefit of straight white middle class Australians who call themselves Christian—and no one else.” Continue reading “Luke | The way of Jesus Christ” →

Luke | Let’s make a splash!

Listen here.

Baptism. It’s something John offered, and something Jesus underwent, and something his disciples are told to do. It’s got something to do with water and washing and sin: but what is it, actually? What are we doing, what are we declaring, who are we becoming when we are baptised? What does it all mean? Tonight’s story offers a few clues, but to explore the depths, we’ll first need to zoom out a little. Continue reading “Luke | Let’s make a splash!” →

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑