Tag Archives: Mourning

Sermon: “We wish to see Jesus”

We need to be careful about arguments that God needed a sacrifice to be made to forgive human sin. Such arguments turn God into a blood-thirsty monster who demands the death of his beloved Son before he deigns to forgive us. Continue reading

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sermon: Death and Life

The funeral service used to contain the reminder that ‘in the midst of life we are in death,’ which apparently comes from a battle song by tenth-century monk Notker the Stammerer and, while that might strike our twenty-first-century ears as morbid, it is simply a fact. If we accept that, today’s reading can offer us comfort. Continue reading

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Reflection: More of the David Soap Opera – rape, rebellion, death, grief.

I think today’s passage is in our lectionary because in the depths of David’s love for Absalom we get a hint of the love God feels for us. Continue reading

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sermon: Life and death and Lazarus

It is a story about death and darkness and mourning; about life and light and rejoicing; and so it is an almost uncannily suitable story for us to hear during this pandemic, as the world faces the prospect of thousands upon thousands of deaths from COVID19. Continue reading

Posted in Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prayer: Remembering Black Saturday

We know that just as your share our joys, you also grieve with us in times of sorrow. Continue reading

Posted in Liturgy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment