Scripture for this Sunday: Joel 2.23-32; Psalm 65.1-7; 2 Timothy 4.6-8,16-18; Luke 18.9-14 (the parable of the Pharisee & the tax collector) In some of the stories that Jesus tells as parables, it can be very easy to become so caught up in the detail of the story that we lose track of the overall point. […]
Archive | Themes
Theme of each week.
Theme for the Week – 9 October 2016
Scripture: Jeremiah 29.1, 4-7; Psalm 66.1-11; 2 Timothy 2.8-15; Luke 17.11-19 (Jesus heals ten lepers) Penguin Bloom is the subject of a book published in April 2016. Penguin is a magpie, rescued by a family who found her after she had fallen from her nest. The family had its own recent history of falling: Samantha, the mother, […]
Theme for the Week – 2 October 2016
Readings for Harvest Festival/Thanksgiving, Year C: Deuteronomy 26.1-11; Psalm 100; Philippians 4.4-9; John 6.25-35 A trip around Andalusia is illuminating and inspiring, especially at this time of celebrating Harvest Festival/Thanksgiving. My wife and I have just returned from seeing Seville, Córdoba, Granada and the Alhambra, and we were able to appreciate various forms of architectural beauty, […]
Theme for the Week – 18 September 2016
Scripture for the week: Jeremiah 8.18-9.1; Psalm 79.1-9; 1 Timothy 2.1-7; Luke 16.1-13 (the parable of the crafty steward/manager) How well known is Ebico? It is a company founded in 1998 by a small group of Christian businessman as an alternative energy supplier. They were responding to the unfairness where the poorest customers, who could not afford […]
Theme for the Week – 11 September 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: Jeremiah 4.11-12,22-28; Psalm 14; 1 Timothy 1.12-17; Luke 15.1-10 (parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin) Exactly five years ago Kate and I were walking along a stretch of the Camino de Santiago which was originally a Roman road. And it was the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The road was […]
Theme for the Week – 4 September 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: Jeremiah 18:1-11 (the potter reworking the clay); Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33 (giving up and letting go to follow Jesus). According to this week’s news, the most popular song played at funerals is Frank Sinatra’s version of My Way. Written by Paul Anka, it embodies much of the world’s attachment to […]
Theme for the Week – 28 August 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: Jeremiah 2:4-13; Psalm 81:1-11; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14 There’s been a fuss this week about whether Moslem women should be allowed to wear ‘burkinis’ on French beaches. What is the problem: explosives disguised as fat rolls? It seems rather nonsensical. No one thought of restricting nuns wearing habits during the […]
Theme for the Week – 21 August 2016
Scripture for the week: Jeremiah 1.4–10; Psalm 71.1–6; Hebrews 12.18–29; Luke 13.10–17 (Jesus is criticised for healing a woman on the sabbath) In the three-way exchange between Jesus, the crippled woman and the synagogue leader, there is a notable shift in positions. The woman enters, bent double, looking down, but she becomes straightened, able to face the world […]
Theme for the Week – 14 August 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:1-2, 8-18; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56 Winston Churchill’s warning about “blood, toil, tears, and sweat,” delivered in 1940, might well have been drawn from Jesus’ words to his followers on the road to Jerusalem. He warned of division and difficulty, with the intent to disturb his listeners into paying […]
Theme for the Week – 7 August 2016
Scripture for this Sunday: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-7; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40. According to the letter to the Hebrews, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That being so, hope is the content of faith. Mythology recognises the role of hope in dealing with anxiety and fear: […]