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What I’ve been reading …
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Recent Posts
- Sermon: Why persecution does not work on Christians
- Sermon: We have no reason to ever feel insecure
- 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
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Author Archives: Avril Hannah-Jones
Sermon: Give Gazans their necessary bread!
It has been hard to think about daily necessary bread this week, while seeing the images of skeletal children starving in Gaza. I will not show them to you, because they are simply too graphic for church. Charities have been warning the world of this impending human-created disaster for months; now Palestinians are dying daily of hunger. More than a thousand Palestinians have been killed trying to access the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, whose name is bitterly ironic. Continue reading
Posted in Political Activism, Sermons
Tagged Apostle Paul, Gaza, genocide, hunger, Israel, Lord's Prayer, Luke 11:1-13, Palestine, starvation, Teresa of Avila, war crimes, Year of Luke
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Sermon: As I have said before, economics are theological
I do not believe in a God who destroys nations for their wrongdoing. I do believe that the words of Amos are a warning to any nation that might believe it has God on its side, or in today’s terms, that it is a virtuously liberal democracy, and yet commits injustice against the most vulnerable. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Amos 8:1-12, budgets, economics, injustice, Kingdom of Israel, Poverty, Prophet Amos, Year of Luke
4 Comments
Sermon: Casting the first stone
There are few things harder than forgiving those who have done wrong, whether they have harmed us or others. For many of us, there is nothing harder than forgiving ourselves when we know we have done wrong. I suspect that the two are connected, and that the people who judge others most harshly are those who are most unable to forgive themselves. Continue reading
Sermon: Murder is not a biblical value
One side of the Hebrew Scriptures worships a violent and vicious tribal god. But throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is a second stream, with a God who cares as much for the stranger as for the Israelite. Continue reading
Sermon: Dear God, we pray for unity and peace
But as I write this Reflection, Israel and Iran are dropping bombs on each other, and there seems every likelihood that President Trump wants the USA to be involved. So today these readings seem to me to speak less about the need for unity among Christians, and more about the need for unity among human beings. Continue reading
Sermon: International, multicultural, multilingual communities
When Peter receives his vision and Paul is sent to the Gentiles, the church becomes an international, multicultural, multilingual community. Pentecost tells us that even before Gentiles were involved, the Jesus movement understood Judaism to be an international, multicultural, multilingual community. Continue reading
Posted in Sermons
Tagged Acts 2:1-21, internationalism, Judaism, multiculturalism, multilingualism, Pentecost, Year of Luke
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Sermon: Universalism means universal love
That light so lovely is God’s invitation to everyone, God’s intention for the whole world to experience justice and live in peace. Because we know that the grace of Jesus Christ is for all people, we also know that as Christians we cannot care only about those closest to us, only about those who look like us, only about those who share our race, our faith, or our nationality. Continue reading
“First they came …” the progressive Australian version
Now, as so many times before, they are coming for Palestinians, and when we speak up, we’re told that we’re antisemites who only pretend to care about genocide because we hate Jews.
To which we say, “Huh? Have you even met us?” Continue reading
Posted in Political Activism
Tagged Anti-Poverty Week, anti-Semitism, Australia Day, Australian Christians for Marriage Equality, First Nations People, LGBTIQ, marriage equality, Palestine, Palm Sunday March for Refugees, Poverty, Trans Day of Visibility, transgender, Week of Peace in Palestine and Israel
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Sermon: Building Jerusalem in Australia’s dry and dusty land
We live as citizens of the New Jerusalem when we work to make the world a better place. Knowing God’s ultimate intentions, we do not accept injustice, war, and poverty as just ‘the way things are.’ Knowing God’s universalism, we do not limit our compassion to our families, friends, and those like us, those of the same race, faith, or nationality. We are not afraid of speaking out, standing up, or even sitting down and refusing to be moved when those things are called of us. We know that even if we die, God wins. Continue reading
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