Colourful Dreamer

Gate Pa – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time,     29th   September 2013    Readings: Hebrew Scripture:       Jeremiah 32:1-3,6-15 Psalm:              Psalm: 91:1-6, 14-16       (But Psalm 42 cos we need a good lament) Epistle:             1 Timothy 6:6-19            Gospel:            Luke 16:19-31    What I want to say: I want to use the story of Elizabeth of Hungary to shed light on the story of Lazarus – how can we live out what this story is suggesting What I want to happen: people to talk about who is at their/our gate, and how do we and how might we respond  The Sermon        1.      Introduction: wonder where saw yourself as you heard this story – rich man or Lazarus for myself interesting very poor man is named and rich man unnamed certainly not see self as rich term leave people Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Graeme Hart, Owen Glenn, Todd Family or John Key,             in comparison to them I am poor             know not poor either -> a lo

One of the things that struck me on my recent journeys is how easily Christianity has been co-opted to support and give credence to economic and political systems that benefited the very few. The Bible was used to declare slavery as God’s way; Aboriginals in Australia and the San in Capetown as non-human and pests to be exterminated; and whites to be superior to blacks and therefore created to rule over them. Terrible things all justified by the use of scripture. It has always been so with the people of God. We find the way of God hard. We look to make it more manageable, and allow it to give credence to ways that allow us to focus on ourselves and to be blinded to all others. Today’s readings invite us to hold to God’s bigger vision, for ourselves, our societies, for all humanity. The prophets, including Jeremiah constantly speak against this co-opting of God to justify the way of self-preoccupation. We have heard Jeremiahs profound lament over this. He is clear that this will

  Gate Pa – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time   Readings: Hebrew Scripture:       Jeremiah 8:19 – 9:1 Psalm:                          Psalm 79:1-9 Epistle:                         1 Timothy 2:1-10          Gospel:                        Luke 16:1-13 What I want to say: Explore gospel reading link it to:             living wage concept             upcoming local body elections What I want to happen: People to think carefully about who to vote for and why The Sermon      1.       Introduction: I wonder what thinking listened to this mornings reading? problematic reading             people struggling with this one for long time. Jesus seems advocating for dishonesty and cunning – bending rules struggle make anything of it. struggle to fit this into what think Jesus should be on about             honesty problem is that world Jesus lived in and our world are so very different             think said that before, more than once our world – mo