(Matthew 28.1-15)12 April 2020 – Neil Millar Over the past few days, we have been participating in a great work – what the early church called ‘the liturgy’, the ‘work of the people’. For many today, this work, this commitment to word and silence, reflection and prayer, seems unfamiliar, even odd. And when you think … [Read more…]
(Matthew 27 1-31)10 April 2020 – Neil Millar There’s a terrible violence in Matthew’s account of Good Friday. It starts with the authorities’ refusal to accept Judas’ repentance. He’s served his purpose. No one cares about him anymore, and his remorse is cast back in his face. ‘What are your second thoughts to us?’ Left … [Read more…]
(Matthew 26.14-16) 9 April 2020 – Neil Millar This evening, we are journeying into the heart of the paschal mystery. All week, we’ve been conscious of the crisis coming to a head, the fomenting of hostility, the agitation of the authorities and instability of the crowd. Judas has been looking for an opportunity to betray … [Read more…]
(Matthew 27.1-17)5 April 2020 – Neil Millar Today we begin the final week of our Lenten journey and the reading hints at a key touchstone of redemption: the capacity to see things as they are and to respond accordingly – the capacity to discern appearances, to recognize what really is good and true and holy, … [Read more…]
(John 11. 1-45) 28 March 2020© Sarah Bachelard It comes as a bit of a shock to realise that the story of the raising of Lazarus occurs only in the gospel of John. As in fact, do all the stories we’ve heard over the past four weeks – Nicodemus visiting Jesus by night, the Samaritan … [Read more…]
(John 9.1-41) 22 March 2020 – © Neil Millar In these past weeks of Lent, we’ve been reading the discourses in John, and noting how in each discourse Jesus challenges people’s taken-for-granted assumptions about aspects of the spiritual life. In the conversation with Nicodemus (John 3), he challenges the assumption that salvation is a birthright … [Read more…]
(John 4.5-42) 15 March 2020 © Neil Millar ‘God, I thank you that I am neither a Gentile, a dog, or a woman.’ Apparently, that was a popular prayer at the time of Jesus. And when you think of this kind of sentiment in the background, the conversion we’ve just heard is striking. Last week, … [Read more…]
(John 3.1-17) 8 March 2020© Neil Millar ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.’ Arguably the most famous verse in scripture. John 3.16. So well-known that we only have to quote the reference, and many know … [Read more…]
(Genesis 2.15-17, 3.1-7 & Matthew 4.11)1 March 2020 – © Sarah Bachelard No sooner are human beings brought to life, blessed and named as Man (Adam) and Woman, than they’re confronted by the lure of the serpent, a cunning deceiver who tempts them away from their rightful dependence on God. So says Genesis Chapter 3. … [Read more…]
(Matthew 5.21-37) – 16 February 2020© Neil Millar So, (after hearing that) hands up all the squeaky clean. Hand up if you’ve not transgressed in one of the areas Jesus speaks about here – never been angry, or lusted, never caused a crack in a relationship or gone back on your word? The first thing … [Read more…]