Colourful Dreamer

 You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa – Year B - 4 th Sunday of Advent, 2023 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26                                                     First Reading                 2 Sam 7:1-11, 16                     Second Reading          Rom 16:25-27                         Gospel                           Luke 1:26-38                What I want to say: To explore w ho is Mary, and h ow she might inspire us in our life of faith And invites us to reflect on who helps us be disciples and who we help What I want to happen: People to reflect on the Mary’s of today and how we honour them The Sermon      1.     Introduction: One of the great things about advent is we get to spend a little time with Mary This astonishing young woman Last week - heard her amazing song of praise and protest This week the annunciation Astounding story Only in Luke -         Mary not really given a lot of airtime by other g

The theme for this fourth Sunday of Advent is love. More precisely God’s love. God’s love is what Paul talks about in his letter to the Corinthians. Hard and crunchy, and utterly faithful. The Hebrew word for “covenant love” is hesed, that peculiar, immersive, active, transformative love that God shows for Israel and requires of us as well (see Micah 6:8). It is a love that eternally pursues all creation, creating a just world where all thrive. Christmas is all about this love. Also on this Sunday, we also traditionally focus on Mary. We Anglicans are not sure what to make of Mary. Over the centuries she has been Mary mother of God; Mary the fourth member of the Trinity (that one didn’t fly so well); Mary the eternal and blessed virgin; Mary the Theotokos (God bearer); Mary the humble, meek and obedient servant of God; or just Mary who happened to be Jesus’ mother but otherwise is not so important. Unlike the other New Testament writers who are more low key in their presentation of

You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa – Year B 3 rd Sunday Advent 2023, Readings: Psalm                          Luke 1: 46-55 (Mary’s song) First Reading :             Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11              Second Reading :         1 Thess 5:16-24                  Gospel:                          John 1:6-8, 19-28                What I want to say: Last week we were invited to “Wake up!”- what does that mean for us? Use passage from John 1 offer a response. -         Wake up to God’s presence in the light of Christ, in our midst (John 1: 26+7) -         Presence as described in Isaiah. o    Reinterpreted by Jesus in Luke's Gospel o    Echoed in Mary’s song of praise and protest as she responds to Elizabeth’s greeting Light is animating force within creation – Logos of John 1 Animating force for justice within creation Shalom – God’s peace is only found in this way Light is within – allowed one to see -         Light is within us -         Allows us to see light prese