Tag Archives: magi
Epiphany: Inclusion versus Exclusion
There are two ways in which humans have responded to the certainty that they are the people of God. The first is to see this as justification for rejecting or oppressing all those not considered to be God’s people, claiming that this is God’s will. In one of Balaam’s prophecies he says, ‘God, who brings [Israel] out of Egypt, is like the horns of a wild ox for him; he shall devour the nations that are his foes and break their bones. He shall strike with his arrows.’ (Numbers 24:8) We know the damage done throughout history, the destruction still happening today, because people believe that their foes are God’s foes and that God fights in their wars. Continue reading
Sermon: Epiphany 2024
The magi, as Gentile foreigners, would be able to get through the checkpoint into Bethlehem in the same way that I did when I visited. It would now be illegal under Israeli law for Herod and his court to enter, though. Jewish Israelis are forbidden from visiting and seeing Palestinians as ordinary people, living in their own homes, which makes it easier to convince them that all Palestinians are terrorists who want to kill them. Herod’s soldiers would still be able to raid Bethlehem, as the IDF did this Christmas. Mary and Joseph would need to go through multiple checkpoints on their flight to Egypt, and arguing that they needed to do so to save the life of their baby might not work. Continue reading
Sermon: Mutual epiphanies
As Christianity loses its place of privilege in Australia, there are some Christians who think the response should be to circle the wagons, to build walls between us and the rest of the world. But that is contrary to the mystery revealed to Christ’s holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, the mystery of absolute and utter inclusion. There can be no excuse for churches to re-establish walls between human beings when Jesus came to tear all those dividing walls down. Continue reading
Sermon for the Epiphany
When I look at the refugee crisis in the world, I wonder whether it happened to remind us that anyone can become a refugee, that God himself became an asylum seeker in Jesus. Continue reading
Sermon: The foolishness of the wise
The magi may be ‘wise men from the East’ but apparently they lack all common sense. Continue reading
Sermon: Putting Herod back into Christmas
If we include the Massacre of the Innocents and the Flight into Egypt in the Christmas Story, then the answer to the question, ‘where is God?’ is: ‘right there in the midst of danger and slaughter, vulnerable and defenceless’. Continue reading
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