Archive | Themes

Theme of each week.

Theme for the Week – Trinity 2016

Scripture for Trinity Sunday: Proverbs 8.1-4,22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5.1-5; John 16.12-15 Trinity Sunday occurring at the end of May – an anniversary of some sort!  Three years ago I stood before the congregation of Santa Margarita and set myself the task of introduction to a new congregation and reflection upon the Trinity. Anniversaries remind us […]

Theme for the Week – Pentecost 2016

The Day of Pentecost: 15 May Readings for Pentecost: Acts 2.1-21; Psalm 104.26-36,37b; Romans 8.14-17; John 14. 8-17,25-27 What is the connection between an English rabbi visiting Bradford, and Pentecost? We tend to focus on the language and the tongues at the original Pentecost, and it leads us off in one direction, which is not wrong.  […]

Theme for the Week – 8 May 2016

Prayer Scripture for this Sunday: Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26 I once worked in Silicon Valley with one of those “hail fellow, well met,” sort of people whose greeting belied any attempt at listening to what anyone said to him.  Some of our attempts at prayer must seem like that to […]

Theme for the Week – 1 May 2016

Scripture for the week: Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5; John 5:1-9 (alternate gospel) In 1631, a 32 year old French woman, Marie Guyard, found herself as a widow with a 13 year old son.  She decided to take the veil and entrusted her son to the care of her sister.  She took the name of […]

Theme for the Week – 24 April 2016

Scripture for the fifth Sunday of Easter: Acts 11:1-18 (Peter’s dream of ‘unclean’ food); Psalm 148; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35 (‘Love one another as I have loved you.’) The congregation of Santa Margarita has a prayer list.  This week, a couple of people moved from those for whom we pray in life to those for whose […]

Theme for the Week – 17 April 2016

Scripture for this Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday):  Acts 9.36-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7.9-17; John 10.22-30 During the same week that the Archbishop of Canterbury warned that climate change is one of the major challenges facing the world, data was released indicating that global temperature, month-by-month, increased by a record amount for […]

Theme for the Week – 10 April

Scripture for this week: Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19. The press seems to be full of the story of the conception of the Archbishop of Canterbury this weekend.  I must say that he has handled the whole thing with dignity and grace, showing concern for the dignity of his 86 year old mother, and […]

Theme for the Week – 3 April 2016

The Second Sunday of Easter. Scripture: Acts 5:27-32; Psalm 150; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31 The account of the exchange between Thomas and his fellow disciples, and then Thomas and Jesus, is remarkably well known – so familiar that the term ‘doubting Thomas’ has entered colloquial language.  One problem is that the word for doubt is not […]

Theme for Easter Sunday

In his gospel, Luke makes us wait for the full impact of the resurrection to be revealed. It all begins predictably, with women going to do what is needed for the dead body of Jesus. But the tomb is empty. Then there are messengers, giving instructions. Then the disciples discount the women’s testimony, although Peter […]

Theme for the Week – Palm Sunday 2016

Palm Sunday, when we first process with palms to re-enact the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and then find ourselves abruptly immersed in the reading of the Passion narrative, has traditionally been in many churches an occasion to refrain from preaching – to let the gospel speak for itself. Playing the part of the crowd […]

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