‘A counter-procession’
HOMILY: Jesus’ triumphal entry into the crowded streets of Jerusalem was a kind of performance art, an enacted parable that dramatised his subversive mission.
‘Mary the teacher’
HOMILY: Today I’m going to be talking about teaching, learning and wisdom – how Jesus taught, how the people closest to him responded to his teaching, and how we teach and learn now. I have lived my professional life as an English teacher, working mostly in girls’ secondary schools. Some years ago, when I worked at a Catholic school, we began all our faculty meetings by praying together.
‘Lost in translation’
HOMILY: “I once was lost, but now am found …” sings a former slave trader (John Newton, 1725-1807). Another hymn writer concludes a poetic account of salvation/new creation with the beautiful line: “Lost in wonder, love and praise” (Charles Wesley, 1707-1788). It’s at least as complex as this.
‘A measure of love, a matter of depth’
HOMILY: The call to change our thinking with regard to tragedies and blessings is at heart a call to eschew simplistic worldviews (prosperity gospels as well as theodicies) which serve primarily to bolster a sense of control over others, a sense of order wherein the interests of the powerful (the prosperous-blessed) remain central.
‘O people of religious zeal!’
HOMILY: I love the gospel image of Jesus as a devoted hen gathering her chicks; protection by way of courage and commitment.
‘Consider the lilies’
HOMILY: The season of Lent, which mirrors Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and temptation in the desert/wilderness, is a time of preparation and discipline when we reflect on the life and ministry of Jesus and renew our commitment to follow in Christ’s way.
‘By this light we are dazzled’
HOMILY: We are sometimes dazzled by power and money, by celebrity or aristocracy … by any number of smooth, shiny baubles – alluring, beguiling.
‘Only love is revolutionary’
HOMILY: The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were killed. Our artworks for today were created on January 28, 2020, by fourth-grade students at Sandy Hook.
‘Three crucial questions’
HOMILY: I realise, again, my love for Sr Corita Kent (1918-1986), whose artworks embody so wonderfully/colourfully an orthodox faith – what we might call, after Catherine Keller, and in recognition of orthodoxy’s depth (diverse gifts and vocations), “polydoxy”.
‘… for my yoke is easy and my burden is light’
HOMILY: Nehumi lived and laboured for the ones he loved. I’m in awe of the story – the leaps of faith, the open doors, the guiding hands, commitments honoured, elders remembered – the weight of responsibility he regarded a blessing – the grandchildren lifted high.
