Tag Archives: Apostle Paul
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
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: No, we are not unworthy
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting ChurchLent 4, 30th of March, 2025 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Today’s reading from Paul’s Second Letter to the church at Corinth, or at least the second letter of his to the Corinthians that we have, is … Continue reading
Sermon: Jesus IS a wishy-washy liberal
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting ChurchLent 2, 16th of March 2025 Luke 13:31-35Philippians 3:17-4:1 ‘Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.’ If you have … Continue reading
Sermon: The Glorious Impossible of the Transfiguration
God alone is the Holy One, and we are called to imitate God’s holiness. God’s glory is far beyond humanity, and we are being transformed into the same image. In Jesus so many boundaries are overcome, and the greatest of them is the division between humanity and God. In the words of L’Engle, we cannot make God’s mighty actions comprehensible to our finite minds. But we can ‘choose to live by the most glorious impossibles,’ in the freedom of the Spirit, with hope and great boldness, because God is with us and we are in God. Continue reading
Christmas Reflections: Remembering Bethlehem, Seeking Peace
… as Christians we still have a duty to speak up against war crimes, racism, and injustice, even if that means we are accused of antisemitism or of being on the side of terrorists. If we are to celebrate Christmas and sing carols with integrity then we must speak up against all violence in the Holy Land, even if our calls for peace are misinterpreted or misrepresented. Continue reading
The Gift of Peace: God’s Love for All
The reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church on the Second Sunday of Advent emphasizes the contrasting visions of Zechariah and John the Baptist. While Zechariah holds a nationalistic hope for Israel’s redemption, John’s message calls for a wider, personal vision of repentance and peace. Paul reinforces that true righteousness stems from love, not mere religious identity. As Christians prepare for Christ’s arrival, they are urged to pursue and embody peace in a troubled world. Continue reading
The Power and Danger of Speech: Insights from James 3:1-12
The lie that Haitian immigrants are eating pets could be seen as funny. That is the way many people have taken it, you can already order t-shirts with Trump’s quote on them, although it is less funny when we think about the anti-immigrant hatred that prompts such lies. A much more dangerous lie, a lie that we know has sparked a fire, is the lie that Hamas beheaded forty Israeli babies on October 7, 2023. Continue reading
Sermon: Strength in weakness
Both Paul, describing the thorn in his flesh, and Jesus, telling the Twelve to take nothing for their journey but staff and sandals, are making the same point. We do not share the good news of Jesus Christ using our own power. We do so in the power of God. Continue reading
Sermon: Enough for all
Each ‘daughter’ receives from Jesus what it is they need. While the delay caused by healing the haemorrhaging woman makes it appear that Jairus’ request has been denied: ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ both daughters are healed. The time and power Jesus gives to one is not taken from the other. Continue reading
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