Colourful Dreamer

Can be listened to here Gate Pa – Year C - 20 th  Sunday Pentecost; 27 th  Sunday of Ordinary Time Readings: Psalm                          Lamentations 3:19-26 First Reading:                         Lamentations 1:1-6                              Second Reading:        2 Timothy 1:1-14                           Gospel:                        Luke 17:5-10                                          What I want to say: What does it mean to increase our faith? Is this a real question? What is it we have faith in God to do? Fix it? Be with us in the midst of life? What I want to happen: people to reflect on what it is we have faith in God to do? The Sermon      1.      Introduction: sad story from Facebook people posted – praying hard son healed             believed son healed             God glorified             have faith three days – son died             hard imagine devastation             family many people who had had faith God would

Theme for the week  The readings for this sunday ( Lamentations 1:1-6 , Luke 17:5-10) confront us with some of our basic emotions: doubt, hopelessness and fear, and meet us in our darkest question: why has this happened? and have I the strength, the faith to find my way through? In the midst of all this we join the disciples in their plea - "Increase our faith Lord, increase our faith in the face of all that is happening!" These readings invite us to explore where those anxieties and requests come from. They invite us to see our desire for certainty and invite us to meet God, not in certainty, not in clear answers, but in the messiness of life, in our doubts and darkness. When hope seems gone, there is God.

Can be listened to here Gate Pa – Year C 19 th Sunday Pentecost; 26 th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Readings: Psalm                         Psalm: 91:1-6, 14-16 First Reading:                         Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15             Second Reading:          1 Timothy 6:6-19                     Gospel:                                    Luke 16:19-31                         What I want to say: To explore how this story is imbedded in a number of stories about humility and chastity – seeing others as belonging to God and not for use in our quest for self-fulfilment. What I want to happen: People to examine their own attitudes individually and as a church The Sermon      1.      Introduction: Last week we heard Jesus talking to the disciples about the dishonest/shrewd manager -  a story that confuses us today finishes with “you cannot serve God and wealth” now some Pharisees (who Luke says love money and wealth) hear all this and mock Jesus bec