Tag Archives: Lent
Sermon: A man born blind
We are just as prone to blaming the victim as the religious authorities in this story. I have preached before about the deeply human tendency, and we have just seen an appalling example of it in the Robodebt Royal Commission. We will need to wait for the Commissioner’s final report to know exactly how things went wrong, but I have been listening in to the live stream as I have worked, and the apparent attitudes of some politicians and senior public servants to people who need to access Centrelink have been dreadful. ‘Robodebts’ were illegal, unethical, and inaccurate, and yet they seem to have been imposed because of a false belief that welfare recipients must be ripping off the system. Continue reading
Sermon: A woman at a well
Reflection for North Balwyn Uniting Church Third Sunday of Lent, 12th of March 2023 John 4:5-42 Today’s story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well is one of my favourite stories in the entire Bible, with one of … Continue reading
Sermon: An imagined community
The church is another such imagined community, and one that is both local and global. Everyone who participates in the service here each Sunday is part of this congregation, whether they attend in person, listen online, or read a paper version. And all these members of North Balwyn Uniting Church are members of an imagined community we call the one holy catholic and apostolic church. Continue reading
Sermon: Chocolate, Milton, and Lent Event
I have given up chocolate for Lent. I do this at least every few years and I always feel a little ridiculous about it. Jesus is walking towards his death, the most humiliating, painful and lonely death the Roman Empire could impose, and to show my solidarity with his journey I am giving up a completely voluntary sweet treat. 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
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
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
Sermon: Destruction and Newness
This is a dangerous exercise of prophetic imagination. If the ‘least’ as well as the ‘greatest’ know the Lord on equal terms, what will the world look like? It cannot be a world in which those with particular types of education or holding particular offices will have power and privilege, while everyone else knows their place. Continue reading
Sermon: The powerlessness and ugliness of God in Jesus
If we ignore the crucifixion’s horror we lose that solidarity between God and suffering humanity. If we make Jesus too attractive and powerful, we might think that ugly, suffering human beings are not part of the world that God so loves. Continue reading
Sermon: Righteous Anger
This week many people, particularly women, have expressed anger. Before condemning this anger, or dismissing those who are demanding change from Australian institutions as a ‘mob’, let us remember today’s gospel story and Jesus’ outrageous, zealous, righteous anger in the Temple. Continue reading
Rev Doc Geek 