Colourful Dreamer

I was a little worried abut the flight over, being in a full plane all masked. But so far so good. Lets face it, having access to the lounges makes flying much more pleasant. I got to watch some good movies, got some sleep, and read some of Hirini’s book, and my dragon book. And Heathrow was a breeze really. It took a while to get through the e-gate, but not too long. And my bag awaited me on the luggage thingy. I had arrived with my bag. What more could I want? I have had 2 and a bit days to enjoy London. Saturday I cleaned up and chatted with Sr. Sue, then had a wee nap. Later in the day I ambled down to Black Friars Bridge, and walked along Southbank towards London Bridge, and then back the other way towards Westminster Bridge, supping on a cup or two of nice lagers and enjoying the vibe. I went over the bridge to see the Houses of Parliament, which are now uncovered and gleaming. And through the deserted streets around the back of the Abbey crossing Lambeth bridge and ambling back

I will not be posting reflections on te readings for the coming Sunday, or a sermon, for the next few weeks. I am off to the UK to enjoy sweltering heat waves and how to not deal with Covid. And I am there for a number of Franciscan obligations including meeting with some of the bishops at the Lambeth conference. And I am spending some time in North Wales, if the trains let me get there. If all goes to plan I will offer reflections about what I am in the UK for and life on the other side. Or I might not.  We shall see.  If you could keep me in your prayers. And if you want you could pray for Lambeth as well.

                                 Gate Pa – 16 th Sunday in OT - 2022 Readings: Hebrew Scripture:     Amos 8:1-12 Psalm:                       Psalm 52 Epistle:                        Col 1:15-29    Gospel:                      Luke 10:38-42                                   What I want to say: Explore the story of Mary and Martha as about what takes us away from what is important, rather than reading this as saying that listening to Jesus being more important that offering hospitality. What I want to happen: What might be the real things for us, and what distracts us? The Sermon        1.     Introduction: This is the kind of gospel reading that can get preacher, especially a man, into a lot of trouble, both here and at home. I need to tread carefully here. Too many men have preached lovely pious sermons about the need to focus on Jesus rather than on mundane things like morning or afternoon teas, or parish lunches; and then enjoyed the morning tea at end of the se

Luke’s story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) is a little bit of a mine field, especially for nay male trying to preach on it. Maybe I should stick to the prophet Amos who has some straightforward things to say about the priorities of the wealthy and powerful and the not good consequences of those priorities. Too often this story of Mary and Martha is used to again devalue the hidden work of women around the world keeping families, households, and communities going by providing food and hospitality and doing most of the cleaning, resulting in women remaining invisible and their contribution unacknowledged. Yet none of that fits with how Jesus treats women just about anywhere else in Luke’s gospel. So how might we read this. Luke is writing for small house churches struggling to life the way of Jesus. In this part of the Gospel, we are travelling with Jesus to Jerusalem, and a constant question is what pulls us away from this journey. And maybe one of things is being so preoccupie

You can listen to this sermon here Gate Pa – Year C 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, 2022 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm 30   First Reading:              2 Kings 5:1-14  Second Reading:         Galatians 6:7-16  Gospel:                        Luke 10:1-11, 16-20     What I want to say: Explore what Luke and Galatians might offer us as we seem to spiral down with so many issues dividing us What I want to happen: What do we offer all this? The Sermon 1.      Introduction: As I read the newsfeeds on the internet, and am bombarded on Facebook and Instagram, it feels like our world is so broken at the moment. I guess it always has been. It’s just that social media and the constant news stream makes it a lot more visible. And the issues seem more intense with passions burning bright in America around gun violence and availability of assault weapons and the decisions of the Supreme Court around that and overturning Roe vs. Wade. Not to mention the Congressiona