‘Another way’
HOMILY: The word magi comes from the plural of the Greek magos, which in turn comes from the Old Persian magus. The magi are lovers of wisdom from the East … non-westerners, Arabian or African philosophers, Asian priests …
‘Five gold rings’
HOMILY: “On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me … five gold rings …” Allegedly, the popular 18th-century carol was a means of teaching the faith, the five gold rings represented the five books of the Torah.
‘Heavenly folk songs’
HOMILY: “I know that I can sing, that I can write. But what I’m really good at is understanding what a lyric is about. I always ask questions about the context of the lyric, enter into it, become the lyric … [and] I became a better singer as I gained more life experience …” (Agnetha Fältskog, 2013).
‘Tell everybody that I love them’
HOMILY: Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a letter of encouragement, joy and gratitude (eucharist). True joy, the imprisoned apostle says, comes from faith in Christ. His own imprisonment, he says, has led to the proclamation of the gospel.
Christmas Day – readings and carols
NEWS: All welcome, in the church and online, for a service of readings and carols on Christmas morning. Please note special time: 9.30am.
‘Little decisions are the kind we can make’
HOMILY: Rima, a mother of six, has been living in Jordan for 20 years after fleeing Gaza in 2004. Three of her children are disabled. Rima struggled with isolation and the burden of raising her family. But everything changed when she joined the Forsa project.
‘Call of the wild’
HOMILY: “We are all John the Baptists in our own way” (David L. Walker).
‘Look at the fig tree’
HOMILY: “Look at the fig tree, or any other tree” – the reign of God is about how we look … at trees, at one another. It has to do with how the world appears in the light of a Promised One.
‘The Most High, the Most Low’
HOMILY: Is revelation always ironic, always subversive? Our theme for today is certainly both ironic and subversive.
‘Hope and new life’
HOMILY: In today’s reading, which recounts Jesus’ final public act before his farewell speech to the disciples and subsequent passion, a poor widow gives “her whole livelihood” (literally, her “life”).
