Colourful Dreamer

Some thoughts as we get into Advent. I was on holiday at the end of last week. These are based on my thoughts from 3 years ago. Mark Davis 1   writes, “The apocalyptic waiting of the Advent season, is torn between avoiding rudimentary distractions and living with desperate faithfulness in a world where God is at work. And as disparate as   those   two options sound , they describe perfectly the dynamics of Advent 2015. In a world where environmental destruction is heating the planet and bringing threats of drought to one corner of humanity, we are invited to “Tech the halls” with new and improved gadgets. In a world facing the worst refugee crisis of the modern era, we are invited to focus on a “war on Christmas” over red coffee cups. In a world where terror chills the heart in one moment, pumpkin spice warms the body in the next.”     Advent Hope    Advent Hope is not a static thing. Like the evolution of hope between Jeremiah and Luke, our understanding of hope in God keeps evolving.

This sermon can be listened to here   Gate Pa – Year B   34 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Reign of Christ Sunday, Readings: Psalm              Psalm 132:1-12, 13-18                                                                                     First Reading :    2 Samuel 23:1-7       Second Reading :   Revelations 1:4b-8                           Gospel :                John 18:33-38a                   What I want to say: Christ the King has a few issues. It’s history. How it is used today by various groups opposed to the government’s response to Covid. Use the reading from John’s Gospel to explore some of that Use Liz Fitzmaurice 's opinion piece in Stuff as an example of what the reign of Christ might look like today What I want to happen: -           What does the reign of God look like in a Covid world? -           What future do we imagine in Christ? -           What values shape that future? The Sermon        1.      Introduction Welcome to Ch

This week churches around the world are marking the end of another liturgical year and celebrating Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday. For us it is also Aotearoa Sunday, which really reminds us of how slow we were in this land to live out the reign of Christ with ngā iwi ō Aotearoa and the first Anglican Church in this land. And it is Stir-up Sunday – all of this stirs us up, I hope. Today we hear the last words of David the King. He wasn’t a great king. His son and grandson blew it. He is not a great model of what the “kingship of Christ” is about. And yet his reign is held up as the pinnacle, and his last words are worth reflecting on. In contrast to this royal image of Christ the King, we hear Pilate’s interrogation of Jesus in John’s gospel. An interesting choice given how little “king language” appears in this gospel. Here we meet a Jesus who did not accept the traditional understanding of king. He was nothing like David. His kingship is revealed in his crucifixion.

You can listen to this sermon here Gate Pa – Year B 33 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Readings: Psalm                           1 Samuel 2:1-10 (Hannah’s Prayer)              First Reading:              1 Samuel 1:4-20                        Second Reading:          Hebrews 10:11-14, 19-25       Gospel:                          Mark 13:1-8                                What I want to say: I want to use Mark to explore what we give our attention to? I note I give a lot of attention to covid updates, vaccination numbers, traffic lights and vaccine mandates. I suspect I am like those disciples, amazed at the grandeur of Herod’s temple and freaked by Jesus apocalyptic utterances. This is also the end of our year in Mark, where we have been invited to have our minds blown by the ongoing story of the coming of God’s kingdom. I wonder what has blown our minds this year. As we approach Advent and Mary’ story, we are offered an important but small story, of Hannah. The kind of