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Author Archives: Avril Hannah-Jones
Sermon: No Christmas in Bethlehem
It is important for us as Christians to do this, because Christianity is so profoundly implicated in the violence in Israel and Palestine. One of the reasons that many Jewish Israelis believe that their state must be a fortress is because of the centuries of Christian antisemitism the culminated in the twentieth century in the Holocaust. And one of the reasons that the United States government provides Israel with weapons is because of the strength of Christian Zionism in the USA. Continue reading
Posted in Reflection
Tagged Bethlehem, Christmas, Gaza, Isaiah 52:7-10, Israel, Luke 2:8-20, Palestine, Year of Mark
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Sermon: Questioning Mary the Revolutionary
Both Israel’s Likud government and the Hamas leadership seem to want a situation in which the people who have been oppressed can become the oppressors. We know that this is not justice, but the Magnificat comes uncomfortably close to such a vision. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Advent, Advent 4, Elizabeth, Hamas, IDF, Israel, Justice, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:46-55, Magnificat, Mary, Palestine, Year of Mark
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Sermon: Even when there is no peace
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church Advent Two, 10th of December 2023 Isaiah 40:1-11 2 Peter 3:8-15a Mark 1:1-8 Thousands of years ago the first of the three prophets we call Isaiah looked forward to the coming of a king from … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 2 Peter 3:8-15a, Advent, Advent 2, Isaiah 40:1-11, John the Baptist, Mark 1:1-8, Peace, peace-making, violence, war, Year of Mark
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Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church Advent One, 3rd of December 2023 Isaiah 64:1-9 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37 Happy New Year! Today, the first Sunday of Advent, the church is beginning both a new church year and a time … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 1 Corinthians 1:3-9, Advent 1, apocalypse, Apocalyptic, Hope, Isaiah 64:1-9, Mark 13:24-37, suffering, Year of Mark
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Sermon: Being Sheep, not Goats
Our charitable giving increases at Christmas because we know that the best way to welcome the new-born baby who is our Saviour is by caring for him in the poor. We may need to wait until the end of time to see the Son of Man come in his glory. But we see Jesus every single day in the faces of those in need. Continue reading
Sermon: It’s not the Rapture
I have wondered whether it makes sense to preach hope and a God of love in such a world. But then I remember that the world has always been like this, and that the church not merely can but must preach hope and a God of love through every crisis. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, death, Hope, life after death, life before death, Living a good life, Matthew 25:1-13, rapture, UNHCR, Year of Matthew
1 Comment
Sermon: We will not use the Bible to justify genocide
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church 5th of November 2023 Joshua 3:7-17 Matthew 23:1-12 Members of this congregation have occasionally asked me why I always preach on a Bible reading from the Revised Common Lectionary. One answer is that by … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged anti-Semitism, Antisemitism, Gaza, Israel, Joshua 3:7-17, Matthew 23:1-12, Palestine, Pharisees, scribes
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Sermon: There is always enough
Pharoah’s world was one of scarcity, in which the people of Israel had to work without ceasing and make bricks without straw. The Lord’s world is one of abundance, in which everyone has enough, and rest is an essential part of life. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Book of Exodus, Exodus, Exodus 16:2-15, generosity, giving, manna, Matthew 20:1-16, Moses, Year of Matthew
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Sermon: No peace without forgiveness
But, as always when I preach about forgiveness, I want to warn about forgiveness that is offered too easily. We know only too well that throughout history the church has demanded that victims forgive their abusers, even if those abusers continue to abuse. Continue reading
Sermon: Our God doesn’t murder children!
Christians believe that in Jesus the God who is on the side of the poor and oppressed became one of the poor and oppressed, and was executed by an occupying power in solidarity with all those tortured and killed by military dictatorships. The God who freed the slaves and led them from Egypt is the God who raised Jesus from the dead in the world’s most pointed act of civil disobedience. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged belief, doubt, Exodus, Exodus 12:1-14, faith, liberation, Moses, slavery
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