Colourful Dreamer

There is a lot happening today. First, happy Mother’s Day to all mothers. May you know God’s joy and goodness this and every day. And for those for whom this is not a good day, may you know God’s peace. I wonder how our experiences of either being a mother, or of our mothers, help us reflect more deeply on the motherhood of God and how we live out God’s love each day? The theme for this Sunday is being on the edge of big change. Thursday was Ascension Day, the day we mark the Ascension of the crucified and risen Christ to the Godhead. Too easily we forget it. We often don’t know what to do with it. And yet it invites us to have our minds blown by the fully human, crucified, and risen Jesus, in all his full, created, creaturely, humanity, ascending into the full presence of the Godhead. Our humanity mingles with the divine, just as God’s divinity mingled with our humanity in the Incarnation. That leads to big changes for those disciples in how they lived God’s love. It offers hope in ...

You can listen to this sermon here  Gate Pa – Year B   6 th Sunday of Easter, 2024 Readings: Psalm                          Psalm 98 First Reading:              Acts 10:44-48  Second Reading:         1 John 5:1-6 Gospel:                         John 15:9-17 What I want to say: The writer of John’s gospel is not a linear Greek thinker. He presents Jesus using older circular ways of teaching – circling around a topic, with each pass going deeper into the abundance of layers of meaning, into the abundance at the heart of the message, How does this help us be open to all the image of Jesus the true vine, we are the branches offers as we continue this ...

We are still in Easter, a time to have our minds blown by, and have our imaginations run wild with, the possibilities of what the reign of God might look like. Hold that thought. This morning’s readings from both John’s letter and John’s gospel are all about love. On Tuesday I was asked what is love, or where do we find love defined. How would you answer that? For the gospel writers love is embodied by Jesus. Jesus teaches love, lives love, receives love, dies for love, and rises in love. It’s big! Mind blowingly big. And we are invited to let our imaginations run wild with the possibilities of that love. Mostly we want to define it and limit it and keep it manageable. The Spirit of God in Acts is having none of that, just like last week. Barriers are broken, all that separates is set aside, and new communities based on love are born. John says God is love. Not loving. Love! Jesus abides in this love. He invites us to remain in this love, branches of the love vine. Jesus continue...

You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa – Year B   Easter Sunday 2024 Readings: First Reading:             Isaiah 25:6-9                             Second Reading:         Acts 10:34-43                           Gospel:                        John 20:1-18    What I want to say: Our friend died this week. The resurrection affirms that she is with God now. Swallowed in God’s life. I don’t know what that means or what it looks life. That is ok. I trust God for all that. This story is bigger than Liz, or ...

You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa – Lent 5 2024 Readings: Hebrew Scripture:     Jeremiah 31: 31-34 Psalm:                         51:1-12 Epistle:                        Hebrews 5: 5-10 Gospel:                        John 12: 2-35 What I want to say: Explore how John and Jeremiah reframe what is going on to find hope in the midst of despair. As we approach an interregnum and gather for our AGM how might we reframe the story of Anglican Parish of Gate Pa? What might the parable fo the seed dying to bear fruit offer us in these fragile times? What I want to happen: How does John help us reflect on: What...