Tag Archives: violence

Sermon: Jesus gets scary!

Today’s readings do not provide the gentle encouragement on which I prefer to preach. Today’s liturgy contains the word ‘love’ nine times, but it does not appear in either of the readings. And yet, as your minister, of course I am going to end with encouragement anyway. As one of my favourite saints, Julian of Norwich, wrote: God ‘did not say, “You shall not be perturbed, you shall not be troubled, you shall not be distressed,” but he said, “You shall not be overcome.”’ Continue reading

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Sermon: Aren’t there times when you just want to punch Hitler?

I can remember the shock and fear I felt watching an ABC documentary that screened in 2000, so well within my adult life, about the bashing of gay men in Townsville.  One young man said, ‘I’m a Catholic. It’s meant to be a woman with a man, not a man with a man. That’s sick. That’s hitting material’. Continue reading

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Sermon: Absolutely Appropriate Anger

At the very least, when young people facing the injustice of the world express anger at that injustice, even in language we much more mature people find intemperate, we could attack the injustice and not them. Continue reading

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Sermon: #MeToo

From the story of Eli, it appears that the Lord agrees that ‘The standard you walk past is the standard you accept’. Continue reading

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Sermon: God’s NO to violence

Throughout history, even today, attempts have been made to convince people that God endorses violence and that murder can be done in God’s name. Continue reading

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Sermon: Rabble Rousing Riff Raff

“Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice – or will we be extremists for the cause of justice? ” Continue reading

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A prayer for our beloved city

God, we make all these prayers together with your Son,
our Brother, Mother and Friend Jesus,
who we know is weeping with us today. Continue reading

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