Colourful Dreamer

You can listen to this sermon here .   Gate Pa – Year B -Epiphany 2 2024 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm 139:1-5, 12-18   First Reading:               1 Samuel 3:1-10           Second Reading:          1 Corinthians 6: 12-20     Gospel:                          John 1:43-51 What I want to say and what I want to happen: A theme for these two weeks is Call. Use the 1 Samuel story to explore place of others in call, especially with young people. Then use this story to talk about call. Part of call is being knowing God speaks through and works through the unexpected...

We continue our time in Epiphany hearing the stories of Jesus finding Nathaniel, and elderly Eli helping young Samuel hear and respond to God’s voice. Epiphany is this time of the church year when we pay particular attention to how God is revealed in the Jesus. We are invited to read our stories in that light. John’s gospel is so different from the other three synoptics. This gospel is all about helping us see the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. See God in Jesus is the central theme. Seeing and following. Within that John 1: 43-51 is a weird little story. Later in John there is another weird little story when Greeks come to Andrew, and then Philip and Nathaniel to see Jesus. It all jars with discontinuity. There seems to be a lot of back story missing. Maybe that is the point. To draw our attention to what is happening.  So, what is happening? Through Philip Jesus finds Nathaniel, and he becomes a representative of Israel. Jesus does that, finds people. Nathaniel is ...

You can listen to this sermon here Gate Pa – Year B -Epiphany-Baptism of our Lord 2024 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14 First Reading:               Isaiah 60:1-6     Second Reading:        Eph 3:1-12 Gospel:                        Matthew 2:1-12 and Mark 1 :4-13 What I want to say and what I want to happen: Today we have two principal feasts and should not be displaced by any other celebration. -           Epiphany -           Baptism of the Lord Both stories are unsettling, intense, almost violent. They rupture the li...