Litany of contradictory things
PRAYERS: Disciples prone to boasts and betrayals: let them grow together …
‘So many stories to tell’
HOMILY: There is an oft-viewed Ted Talk by the Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie called “The Danger of a Single Story”. In it she talks about her heritage and how her reading habits shaped her view of the world growing up …
Prayer for SSUC
PRAYERS: Thanks to Dorothy for leading this prayer at our congregational meeting on April 16.
‘In (and out of) touch with flesh’
GOSPEL CONVERSATION: April 2023.
‘Love with determination’
HOMILY: Mary of Magdala sees that the stone has been rolled away from the tomb’s entrance. Mary sees … Mary weeps and misunderstands.
Holy Week and Easter services
NEWS: All welcome for services in Holy Week and throughout the Easter season.
‘One palm branch, one cloak …’
HOMILY: Jesus enters Jerusalem, slowly. Slow enough that people walk alongside the donkey he rides. People follow behind him. Some even walk ahead. There is something about the pace of this story that just might help us right now. A slower pace encourages reflection. A slower pace promotes gratitude, kindness …
‘Fully alive’
HOMILY: One point from which to begin reading/thinking today is verse 25. The Greek word, zoe, connotes quality of life – abundant – more than mere bios or physical life, zoe connotes confidence, moral strength, freedom. St Irenaeus wrote that the glory of God is the human person fully alive (see also verse 4). Zoe means “fully alive”.
‘The one who showed compassion’
HOMILY: Ashley Anne-Maree Montabello was a kind person. Whenever we met – for lunch or coffee at Barn Doors Café on Redfern Street, with carers from St Vincent de Paul, at the Uniting Church in Raglan Street, in Phillip Street – she would greet me as a friend, with affection, humour, respect. And I will never forget it.
‘Saint Photina, the Luminous One’
HOMILY: Two theologians discuss the meaning of living water, sacred sites, spiritual food/harvest; worship, mission, reconciled humanity – a redeemer and messiah in whose Spirit there is life. Their conversation touches on Genesis 33 (the betrothal of Jacob and Rachel), Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 (Moses and the miracle of water from the rock at Meribah), perhaps psalms 42, 63 and 143 (thirst for living water and the divine).
