-
What I’ve been reading …
-
Recent Posts
- Sermon: The futility of war and the peace of Christ
- Sermon: The God of Israel? The God of the USA? The Father of Jesus Christ is the God of the whole world and all creation.
- Sermon: Jesus’ advantage over Genghis Khan
- Sermon: Was Jesus a violent or a peaceful protester?
- Sermon: It is not going to make us any friends
Recent Comments
-
Join 273 other subscribers
Author Archives: Avril Hannah-Jones
Reflection for Mothers Day
On this day when some of us are mourning the loving mothers we once had who have died, others are regretting the mothers who were unable to love us as they should, and yet others are grieving their own inability to become parents, it may comfort us to remember that in Jesus we have a Mother who is always with us and who will always love us. So on this Mothers’ Day let us celebrate and give thanks for the God who is our Mother as well as our Father. Amen. Continue reading
Posted in Reflection
Tagged God as Mother, images of God, Jesus as Mother, Julian of Norwich, love, motherhood, Mothers' Day
Leave a comment
Sermon: Thank goodness for Peter
There is a lovely line in a poem called A Vision of Piers Plowman, written in about 1400 by a man called William Langland: ‘And all the wickedness in this world that man might work or think/Is no more to the mercy of God than a live coal in the sea.’ That is what this epilogue to the Gospel according to John tells us; no human crime, sin or failing can outweigh the graciousness of God. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged A Vision of Piers Plowman, Acts 9:1-20, Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, Easter 3, forgiveness, John 21:1-19
1 Comment
Sermon: This is our story
In the single greatest act of civil disobedience ever seen this man, executed by the powers of Empire, was raised from the dead. The very least that the world’s oppressive regimes expect when they kill someone is that the person will stay killed. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged civil disobedience, creation, Easter, Easter Sunday, eucatastrophe, Isaiah 65:17-25, Joy, Luke 24:1-12, resurrection, Year of Luke
Leave a comment
Sermon: Thank God! Palm Sunday and Refugees
I believe that Australia’s mistreatment of the asylum seekers who sought refuge here by boat has in recent years been this country’s greatest sin. It is supported by both the ALP and the LNP, and has broken the hearts of supporters of both. Continue reading
Sermon: Do not be afraid
We do not need to fear the future or look back on the past with nostalgic regret, because we know that the God who does new things will walk with us into whatever lies ahead. It may be death, but we also know that after the crucifixion comes resurrection. We have nothing to fear. Thanks be to God. Amen. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Babylonian Exile, Exodus, Fear, Isaiah 43:16-21, John 12:1-8, Lent, Lent 5, Mary of Bethany, Psalm 126, Second Isaiah, Year of Luke
Leave a comment
Sermon: Two brothers
We often fail to live as the people God creates us to be, and then we repent that, but that doesn’t mean that we need to try to earn our Father’s forgiveness. As this parable shows us, all we need to do is come to ourselves in whichever far country we have exiled ourselves, and return home. The Father will come running to welcome us. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged forgiveness, judgement, Lent 4, love, Prodigal Son, welcome, Year of Luke
2 Comments
Sermon: Don’t blame the victim
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting ChurchThird Sunday of Lent, 20th of March, 2020 Isaiah 55:1-9Luke 13:1-9 Humans have a dreadful tendency, in our need to make sense of life, to blame victims. We tend to see it when a woman … Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged death, floods, Isaiah 55:1-9, judgement, Justice, Lent, Lent 3, Luke 13:1-9, Mercy, Repentance, victim blaming, Year of Luke
2 Comments
Sermon: “All shall be well”
As we lament over the pain of the world, and pray for its healing, as well as doing our own small part towards caring for the vulnerable, we can hold on to the reassurance offered to us by a fourteenth-century mystic. Because we know that at the core of the universe is love, we believe that ‘all will be well and all will be well and all manner of thing will be well’. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Abraham, comfort, Genesis 15:1-18, Julian of Norwich, Lent, Lent 2, love, Luke 13:31-35, Year of Luke
1 Comment
Lent 1: Journeying with Jesus
It is this very danger that Ash Wednesday seeks to overcome, by making visible the fact that every single one of us is a sinner who needs to repent. None of us is perfect, and today that truth will be marked on our faces. And we can acknowledge and accept our imperfection, because God does not save perfect people. Continue reading
Sermon: The beauty of the mountains
Mountains are beautiful, but even if we feel ourselves to be living on the plain, even if our lives seem weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, God’s Son, the Messiah, walks beside us on the exodus that will ultimately lead us to the kingdom of God. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Exodus, Exodus 34:29-35, Glory, Luke 9:28-36, Mountains, Psalm 99, Transfiguration, Year of Luke
Leave a comment
Rev Doc Geek 