Colourful Dreamer

A while ago I was talking to someone about how our goals often change in the second half of life. He mentioned a book he had read on how in the first half of life we strain to be successful, and in the second half we let that go and live to be significant. To be significant you need to be imaginative and reframe what your life is about, and then live towards that. Reframing is a big theme is today’s readings. Jeremiah (31: 31-34) reframes the covenant from obedience for a reward to the vehicle the people are shaped by God’s generosity and mercy already experienced. In the shadow of a destroyed temple, Law moves from the lost Ark to the Way of God written on their hearts so that the people live as beacons of God’s generosity and mercy, to each other, their neighbours, and all creation. John too is in the business of reframing. John's version of the story of Jesus is so very different from the other three. God only speaks here, not at the baptism. No transfiguration. The angst of...

You can listen to this sermon here  Gate Pa –  Christ the King Sunday and/or Aotearoa Sunday - Year C - 2022 Readings: Psalm -              The Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79)  First Reading -  Jeremiah 23:1-6 Second Reading - Col 1:11-20 Gospel:            Luke 23:33-43   What I want to say: Where does Christ the King Sunday come from, and in light of that discuss ·        What images or words of Christ’s kingship come to mind? ·        What is unhelpful about Christ the King? ·        Where do we look in the bible for our images of Christ the King? ·        What does Christ the King offer us? Christ the King is complicated and contested. It means different things to different people and can be used to justify some appalling th...

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...

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 ...

This sermon can be listened to here   Gate Pa – Year C 4 th Sunday of Epiphany 2021, Readings: Psalm                          Psalm: 71:1-6 First Reading:             Jeremiah 1:4-10 Second Reading:        1 Cor 13:1-13                           Gospel:                        Luke 4:21-30 What I want to say: For some who follow the C of E calendar, Wednesday marks the end of the 40 days of the Christmas-Epiphany season –> what is this season about? -          revelation who Jesus is -   ...

An overriding question in all the readings for the 5 th Sunday in Lent is are we people driven by obedience to earn our reward, or shaped by our experience of God in whom there is only love? We can see this struggle in this morning’s reading from Jeremiah (31: 31-34) with the covenant being reframed from obedience of the people so that God will reward them to people shaped by God’s generosity and mercy already experienced, and offered to all creation. The Law moves from rules one needs to obey to earn God’s favour, to rules that allow the people to live as beacons of God’s generosity and mercy, both in how they treat each other, and in how they treat all others. John's version of the story of Jesus is so very different from the other three. God only speaks here, not at the baptism. There is no transfiguration. The angst of Gethsemane is moved to here and replaced with determination. In John the cross is central and changes everything. Here we are in chapter 12 heading into t...