Colourful Dreamer

This sermon can be listened to here Gate Pa –  30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time- Year C - 2019 Readings: Psalm -                        Psalm: 65 First Reading -            Joel 2:23-32   Second Reading -       2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Gospel -                      Luke 18:9-14 What I want to say: To have a conversation about how we read this story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (publican). In what ways do we trust that we are righteous? What does that even mean? Who do we regard with contempt if any? What does it mean to be humble?  Who is God in all of this? What I want to happen: People to wrestle with the story and ask some good questions in relation to the text...

This week’s gospel reading (Luke 18: 9-14) invites us to wrestle with the same questions from last week, which is not surprising given this is the follow on story from last week -   Who is this God we pray to? Does God hear about prayers? Does God act? What is prayer anyway? Why pray? It is also a hard reading. It is very tempting to pass judgement on the Pharisee’s motivations, assumptions and understanding of God, and in doing so assume barriers between him and God. And then there we are, giving thanks to god that we have found the true path in Christ, unlike that self-seeking deluded Pharisee over there. Thank god we are not like him. Oh! When we make these kinds of assumptions about anyone, and about God, we set up a divide between us and them and narrow the wideness of God’s mercy. We deny the outrageous generosity of God’s love lived in Jesus. We separate loving God with all our heart and soul and mind from loving our neighbours as ourselves. We separate ourselves ...

This sermon can be listened to here    Gate Pa –  29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time- Year C – 2019 Readings: Psalm -                Psalm:119:97-104                                     First Reading -    Jeremiah 31:27-34 Second Reading - 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5 Gospel -               Luke 18:1-8 What I want to say:   There are some big questions raised in this story. Who is God? Does God answer prayers? What is prayer? What is faith? What is justice?   What I want to happen: People to name the issues of justice around us today, to pray incessantly, and to be open to being called to engage in that work of justice making – for t...