Colourful Dreamer

On October 4 we remembered St. Francis of Assisi. This also marked the end of the Season of Creation. Francis saw his life as one of penance. We often think of penance as some kind of action or punishment we inflict on ourselves as an outward expression of our repentance for wrongdoing. It’s not very fashionable today. In “The Art of Letting Go” Franciscan priest and writer Richard Rohr suggests Francis understood penance as “making room for God”. That is a very different thing. Making room for God is the letting go of all that distracts us from seeing God in our everyday lives. And as Francis shows, the more we practice making room the more we see God. In the end Francis saw God at work in all people, even thieves, lepers and Muslims; all creatures, even a ferocious wolf; and all creation, including the birds who he commanded to “beware of the sin of ingratitude and be always eager to praise God”. As a result he saw and treated all creatures as brothers and sisters. The Gospel rea...

In this third week in the Season of Creation we are given Jeremiah – the weeping prophet. He is overcome with grief at what is happening in Judah, and he can see where it leading to the inevitable destruction of his home. As we read Jeremiah, we are reminded that, as UN General Secretary says, “Humanity is waging war on nature. This is senseless and suicidal. The consequences of our recklessness are already apparent in human suffering, towering economic losses and the accelerating erosion of life of Earth.” Today we are invited to weep with Jeremiah. Jesus’ story of the shrewd manager from Luke 16: 1-13 is unsettling. Is Jesus advocating dishonesty? He finishes with “You cannot serve God and wealth” (Luke 16:13). The word “serve” can also be translated as “be a slave to”, or “to be bound to”. It invites us to ask to what we are slaves to. Are we bound to God’s desire that all life might thrive, or slaves to something else. The story also asks us how shrewd we are in the use of our we...

In the podcast on WorkingPreacher   about this week’s readings, Matt Skinner describes Jesus’ response in Luke 15:1-10 to the legalists questioning why he was partying with those wrong folks as Jesus saying “Because it's fun. Because it's joyful. Because it's about these restored relationships, these restored connections and new understanding and new society being formed.” He goes on to say that “it's not like God needs one more repentance to fulfill God's own personal needs or something like that. It's that God encounters great joy in seeing the human family flourishing.” And in this Season of Creation, we might also say that God encounters great joy in seeing the whole of creation flourishing. But as we look around this world, we know that God’s creation is not flourishing. It is struggling, and much of the human family is far from flourishing. And increasingly much of that poverty and violence is caused by climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. We...

You can listen to this sermon here  Gate Pa –  23 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time- Year C  Season of Creation 1 - 2022 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm: 139:1-6, 13-18                             First Reading               Jeremiah 18:1-11 Second Reading         Philemon 1-21               Gospel                          Luke 14:25-33                    ...

There is a lot going on this Sunday. It is the first Sunday of the Season of Creation while we hear the readings for Ordinary Time. The theme for this year is “Listen to the Voice of Creation.” The logo is a burning bush. There are many burning bushes around the world at present. These hugely destructive fires are a “sign of the devastating effects that climate change has on the most vulnerable of our planet. Creation cries out as forests crackle, animals flee, and people are forced to migrate due to the fires of injustice.” (Season of Creation Celebration Guide 2022) In Exodus we read of another burning bush, one that calls to Moses as he tended his flock. This fire did not consume or destroy the bush. This holy fire revealed God’s presence and affirmed that God had heard the cries of God’s suffering people with a promise to deliver them from slavery. Today it is read that God hears and works to delivery all who suffer injustice. During the Season of Creation, this symbol calls ...