Reflection: Uncertainty on Christmas Eve

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
Christmas Eve, 2021

Luke 2:1-20

Tonight we celebrate the second Christmas Eve of the covid19 pandemic. On Christmas Day last year I looked back on 2020 and said that for many people throughout the world it had been and remained a year of darkness. But I felt certain then, even if I did not dare say so out loud, that 2021 would be better. I am apparently a slow learner. When the churches first closed in 2020 I thought, “Oh well, we might not be able to celebrate Easter together in person, but it will all be over by Pentecost”. Through lockdowns three, four and five I thought, “Oh well, at least we Melburnians now know how to get to 0 cases of community transmission – short, sharp lockdowns”. Then, when Delta proved intractable and lockdown six went on for months, I thought, “Oh well, once we’ve all been vaccinated we’ll be fine”. Now Omicron has happened and finally, after almost two years, I know not to make any predictions at all. I have not only no idea what 2022 will bring, I have no idea what will happen tomorrow. But, really, that has always been true. We may think we live in a stable, predictable, world, but at every moment the unexpected can shatter it. Continue reading →

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A bit cut out of the Christmas Day sermon

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

I wrote this, about Psalm 96, but in the end didn’t fit. So I cut it out. I hate having to do that. But I like it; so have an outtake from the Christmas Day Sermon, about God’s care for the non-human creation as well as the human.

Because of this promise, of light and joy and peace and justice, today’s psalm calls all of humanity to rejoice and praise God, even when God comes in judgement. The nations, all the peoples, are called to worship the Lord. And not merely human beings; the whole creation, the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that fills it, the lands and all they bear, and the trees of the forest, all the non-human creation is called to join humanity in our praise. At God’s coming God will judge not only the peoples but also the earth with righteousness and with truth, and this will be good news not just for oppressed human beings who need God to speak for them, but lands and trees and animals. The broad-faced potoroo and the Tasmanian tiger, the Paradise parrot and the Lord Howe boobook, the Illawarra zieria and the swamp lily, will all have their day in court. The Psalm reminds us that God’s love and concern is not simply for human beings, but for all of God’s creation, and at God’s coming all of the creation will be judged with equity and righteousness and truth. Judgement is not often seen as something to be greeted with joy and song, but God’s justice is to be welcomed

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Sermon: Small and insignificant

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
19th of December, 2021

Micah 5:2-5a
Luke 1:39-55

This week we were finally able to hold a memorial service celebrating the life of Marcelle Maisey. Jenny Preston presided, and she preached on the Bible passage chosen by Marcelle’s family, Proverbs 31:10-31, which is often titled ‘the capable wife’ in Bibles. Jenny pointed out that the word translated as ‘capable’ actually has connotations of military might or physical strength and courage, and so many commentators prefer to title this passage ‘a woman of valour’. Only two women in all the Hebrew Scriptures are described in this way, the woman in Proverbs 31 and Ruth the Moabite. Today we hear of two more women of valour, Elizabeth, and Mary. Unusually, in a Bible that usually tells the stories of men, today we see these two women meeting and conversing without the presence of any male character, other than their unborn babies. Their meeting and their lives change the world.

In Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ birth the focus is on Joseph, who discovers that his betrothed is pregnant and must decide whether to put her away. In Luke’s telling the focus is instead on Mary, who is told by the angel Gabriel that despite being a virgin she will conceive and bear a son she is to name Jesus. Last year we heard her brave response to the news of her pregnancy out of wedlock: ‘Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word’. This year we see what happens next. The angel Gabriel has told Mary that her relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and Mary hastens to see her. Continue reading →

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Sermon: Rejoicing and repenting, or vice versa

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
The Third Sunday of Advent, 12th of December 2021

Zephaniah 3:14-20
Isaiah 12:2-6
Luke 3:7-18

If, like me, you feel that most of this year disappeared in a locked-down haze you may, also like me, be shocked that today is the third Sunday of Advent. It feels as though 2021 never really got started, yet here we are approaching the end of it. At least this Sunday is one to celebrate; it is ‘Gaudete’ Sunday – Joy Sunday, the only Sunday in the entire liturgical year whose colour is pink. The name comes from a line in Paul’s letter to the Philippians. In Latin, ‘rejoice in the Lord always’ (Philippians 4:4) is Gaudete in Domino semper. As we journey through Advent, with its sombre admonitions that we should be prepared at every moment for the Second Coming of the Son of Man, today offers us joy. Continue reading →

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Sermon: Would we really want God to appear?

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
5th of December 2021

Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 1:68-79
Luke 3:1-6

Advent is a season of waiting, of preparing for the coming of the Lord. Advent could take the second-last verse of the Book of Revelation as its theme: ‘The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Revelation 22:20. Yet today’s readings make me wonder whether we really do want the Lord to come.

The first reading comes from the prophecies of Malachi, made after the Babylonian Exile had ended and the exiles had returned home. The hopes of restoration had not been fulfilled, and people had begun to ask whether God genuinely loved them. Immediately before today’s reading Malachi warns the people that they have wearied the Lord. ‘[Y]ou say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17) It is in this context that Malachi makes the prophecy we heard this morning, of the Lord suddenly appearing in the temple. Hence Malachi warns them that the coming of the Lord will be like refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap, resulting in not just a superficial cleansing but cleansing by extreme heat and strong lye. The people cry out for justice; Malachi warns them that the justice that comes might be executed on them. We are given this prophecy in Advent as good news. Is it really? Continue reading →

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Very short reflection on baptism

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

I decided that this needed to be a very short Reflection, given that in the time since Jarrah’s parents and I met to discuss Jarrah’s baptism, we’d had several lockdowns and Jarrah had grown into a very active toddler. I was right, and I’m not sure I managed to say all this on the day. Continue reading →

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Sermon: Hope in a time of pandemic

Posted on November 27, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
The First Sunday of Advent, 28th of November, 2021

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
Luke 21:25-36

Never in my lifetime has Advent felt more real. Normally the season of Advent feels a bit strange; society around us is singing carols and gathering in celebration, while we are talking about death and destruction and the last things. But this year readings of terror and warning and reassurance speak with more immediacy than they did when the world around us seemed safe and at peace. This year, we all need hope.

You will have seen the massive ‘freedom’ rallies that have been occurring around the country against vaccines, against vaccination mandates, against any continuing public health restrictions. What I found confusing when I first saw the protesters was that so many of them appeared to be, from my admittedly brief glances, well off. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that people from Australia’s lowest socioeconomic group were four times more likely to die from covid than those in the highest group. Even when adjusting for age, those who were poorest were 2.6 times more likely to die of COVID than Australia’s wealthiest. It would make sense if the poor were the people frustrated enough and scared enough by the experiences of the past two years to be protesting, but they do not seem to be the majority of the marchers. Continue reading →

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Sermon: The Return of the King

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
21st of November, 2021

2 Samuel 23:1-7
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37

Last week I attended a lunch of local ministers during which one of them, a member of the Australian Monarchist League, mentioned that it was a boon for their cause that the British Royal Family so obviously took the climate emergency more seriously than most Australian politicians. (I wonder whether this is because royals are used to thinking in generations, while politicians think in election cycles.) I responded by teasing him and saying that as far as I was concerned the last real ruler of Great Britain was Queen Anne and the ‘proper’ monarchy ended in 1714. When I want to tease modern monarchists I tend to say either this, or that I think the last true king of England was Richard III who died in 1485 and that no one descended from the usurping Tudors is legitimate. But, of course, the only king I take seriously and certainly the only ruler I am ever at all likely to obey is Jesus. Continue reading →

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Sermon: The faith and generosity of Hannah

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
14th of November 2021

1 Samuel 1:4-20

Hannah is one of the characters in the Hebrew Scriptures that I appreciate most. I first became interested in her because of her name; ‘Hannah’ is part of my surname and my Scottish grandfather’s name was ‘Samuel Hannah’ so of course my ears pricked up when I heard of ‘Hannah, mother of Samuel’ in Sunday School. But even for those of you who do not share her name, Hannah is a woman well worth getting to know. Here we are, two weeks before Advent, listening to the tale of a miraculous birth that is a precursor of the miraculous birth that we will celebrate at Christmas. Like Mary, Hannah is a marginalised woman of faith who sings a song of justice in response to God’s intervention in her life. Like Mary, Hannah is a role model for all of us. Continue reading →

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Sermon: Is the poor widow a good example or an awful warning?

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Avril Hannah-Jones

Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church
7th of November, 2021

Mark 12:38-44

I know what I should do with today’s reading from the Gospel according to Mark. I should preach about the importance and imperative of giving, even if the amount that one can give is small, with the widow in today’s story as a model. I should say that one of the greatest joys I get from being in fulltime employment is being able to give money away – which is true. I should talk about the psychological studies that have found that giving makes us happy – and there are many. I should mention that over this past lockdown I donated money to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre whenever I felt frustrated and sad and received an immediate dopamine hit – which I did. I should affirm that the charity of the impoverished widows among us is worth more than the philanthropy of the Andrew Forrests and Frank Lowys and Gina Rineharts who merely give away millions from their billions – which I am sure is right. If I preached that sermon we could all pat ourselves on the back, or possibly be inspired to give a little more if we do not yet donate enough to notice it, and end the service feeling satisfied.

However Jesus did not live his life nor Mark write his gospel so that we in twenty-first century Australia could congratulate ourselves on our generosity. Everything I have said about giving is true, but it is unlikely to have been why Jesus pointed out the widow’s action to his disciples. Today I am going to give you two different and contradictory interpretations of the story of the widow with the least coins. I do not know which reading is correct, and I suspect that we cannot know because we are reading the story millennia after it was written on the other side of the world from the community for which Mark wrote. I will leave the choice between these two understandings up to you. Continue reading →

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