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January - June 2002 These Weekly Thoughts are taken from the Parish's pew sheet called the NOW (News of the Week).
Choices - 30 June To be Afraid or Not - 23 June Geared to Health or Sickness? - 16 June Where were you in fifty two? - 9 June Whom do we serve? - 2 June The Mystery of Love - 26 May Come Holy Spirit - 19 May The Ascension - 12 May Stem Cell Research - 5 May Show us God! - 28 April Abundant Living - 21 April Beyond Belief? - 7 April |
Resurrection! What do you believe? - 31 March Humility & Triumph, Obedience & Honour - 24 March The Spirit Gives Life - 17 March The Influence of One - 10 March 60th Anniversary of the Sinking of the HMAS Perth and USS Houston - 3 March Everyone means Me! - 24 Feb Humility - 17 Feb True Worship - 10 Feb Dedication - 3 Feb Growth and Maturity - 27 Jan Actual and Potential - 20 Jan Live Gloriously! - 13 Jan The Epiphany of Our Lord - 6 Jan Previous Weekly Thoughts: 2003: Jan - June Previous Weekly Thoughts: 2002: Dec - July Previous Weekly Thoughts: 2001: Dec - July Previous Weekly Thoughts: 2001: Jan - June Previous Weekly Thoughts: 2000 |
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Genesis 22: 1-14, Romans 6:12-23, Matthew 10:40-42 Have you considered the importance of our choices in life? A decision made thirty plus years ago brought me to Western Australia and eventually to this Parish, with all the ongoing choices to this day. The Genesis story of Abraham and the near sacrifice of Isaac we find hard to understand. No doubt Abraham too was unsure how it would work out when his long promised son was in jeopardy. The earlier promise of faith to Abraham was set out as an act of grace, without qualification - now as a result of this episode we see the relationship strengthen through his utter obedience in his demonstrated faith in God through Abraham's choice. Today's Psalm is a lament for help over enemies but by choice it becomes a prayer of rejoicing; God has heard and the confident worshipper vows to sing praises to God. Paul encourages the Romans (and us) to choose to live under God's grace as instruments of righteousness contrasted to living for sin. Living in gratitude under grace recognises the competition of sin v righteousness (v.18), freedom v slavery (v.20), wages v gifts (v. 23) and the choices open to us. The closing verses of Matthew chapter 10 bring to an end this phase of Jesus' teaching of his disciples by stressing the relationship between disciples and their master; that hospitatlity and acts of mercy as extended to a disciple are, in effect, extended to Christ himself. Today's Old Testament readings emphasise divine testing while the epistle and Gospel note the costs and rewards of discipleship. We all make decisions in life for various reasons - some choices have far reaching and eternal consequences. Helen Thomas |
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Genesis 21:8-21, Romans 6:1b-11, Matthew 10:24-39 What a contradictory and difficult passage today's Gospel is! What are we to make of it? Amongst some affirming words we read, 'fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.' and 'I have come not to bring peace but a sword.' Some commentators simply question whether it is God or Satan who can consign to hell, not that God wouldn't and Satan can't and say that there is bound to be conflict when some believe and others don't and it teaches us to be resilient and faithful. Dennis, Sheila and Matthew Linn in their book 'Understanding difficult scriptures in a healing way' write that we know how Jesus interpreted the scriptures. When asked which were the greatest commandments he responded 'Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neigbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.' In other words, if it doesn't speak of love of God and neighbour it isn't scripture or if it isn't loving it isn't Jesus. With this in mind we can be more concerned with the positive aspects of the passage - to have no fear because God cares for us and in losing the life that is not real but only superficial we will find our true life in Christ. Fr. Glendon |
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Genesis 18:1-15, Romans 5:1-8, Matthew 9:35-10:8 Today's society appears to be geared to health - but is it sickness masquerading as health? Our health sciences and clinical resources can be found in every town. Doctors' surgeries and car parks appear on every other corner of our suburbs (not quite the same problem in the Third World!) Chemists' shops and even supermarkets stock more and more pills and capsules for real or imaginary illnesses. We may not be so death-oriented as were the ancient Egyptians but are we not, to a large, even a spirit-numbing extent, pre-occupied with sickness? Suppose we pray God to give us a bountiful supply of his healing power? He may just reply: 'I gave it to you, a long time ago.' Fr Robin |
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Genesis 12:1-9, Romans 4:13-25, Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Fresh in the minds of many people is the Queen's 50th JUBILEE of her reign. Four days of festivities that catered for the varying tastes of celebration from the ancient and historic traditions to the pop concert. 'A million in the Mall' ran the headline of reporting on the event which was significant for the British and the Commonwealth. Perhaps there are memories in the minds of our parishioners who recall the beginning of the Queen's reign half a century ago. The coronation that took place in 1953 regarded by commentators as the first significant event televised for a wider audience. Americans viewed the coronation on television after the tapes were flown by aeroplanes to the television networks. In a world of media focus on the tragedies and wars it was a contrasting opportunity for celebration of the Monarch and her people that touched the lives of many. The television broadcasts on this occasion were viewed by millions of people. Like many other people we can join with the 'Brits' in their song 'God save the Queen ' on this Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth The Second. Fr Dennis |
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Genesis 6:9-22, 7:24; Romans 1:16-17, 3:2 2b-28; Matthew 7:15-29 Noah walked with and knew God, he did as he was commanded and God established his covenant with Noah. The Psalmist knew God as his refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble, a rock, a stronghold - 'be still and know that I am God.' In Romans we are reminded that God's spirit of truth has been with us in the world from the beginning and we are also warned that it must not be exchanged for a lie. For Christians, it is Jesus who is the truth and whom we must serve, as we read in the gospel today. Jesus is our rock, his word is our foundation and by following him, his word and the Holy Spirit's guiding, leads us into right actions, "fruits". It is by our right actions and by growth in God's grace and love that we are known and whom it is that we serve. Robyn Mackie |
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Genesis 1:1-2, 4a; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20 Trinity Sunday is an appropriate time for the church to reflect on the dynamic tension between what we know of God and our mumbling attempts to formulate and articulate what we know. Our danger is to imagine that we do not know about God at all, as though nothing has been disclosed. The other danger is to imagine that we have the inscrutable character of God captured and domesticated in our failiar formulations. Our texts for today suggest
that: All these texts assert the community of faith must endlessly struggle to know more fully the God both disclosed and profoundly inaccessible. O God beyond us, give us
faith. Today the Church celebrates the mystery of love, not the problem of mathematics! Helen Thomas |
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Acts 2: 1-21, 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13, John 20:19-23 Gracious Spirit, Holy
Ghost, Word from the hymn by Bishop C. Wordsworth in Hymns Ancient and Modern but strangely not included in Together in Song. 'Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.' (1 Cor 13:4-8a) Paul also gives a list of Christian virtues, the 'fruits of the Spirit' Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. (Gal 5: 22,23) The risen Jesus demands love, asking Peter, 'Do you love me?' (John 21:15) and gives his peace to his disciples (John 20:19) Joy and the other fruits flow from having the gifts of love and peace in our lives. The presence of the Holy Spirit is not some subjective idea but a tangible experience of Jesus with us, enabling us to live in love for one another. Fr Glendon |
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Acts 17:22-31, 1 Peter 3:8-22, John 14:15-21 Coming to Church, you and I have lived through the post-Resurrection accounts of Jesus and his appearances to his friends. Of course, they queried was this really Jesus? 'We knew he was dead. Can he really be alive?' Some still doubted, we are told. Jesus commissioned his friends, doubts and all. They were to teach himself and his message to all the nations of the world. This time when he goes, Jesus does not die. He disappears. Open-mouthed they are told not to hang about but to join with other believers. There they prayed and waited for the promised Spirit to come. Do you know the question you shouldn't ask first about the Ascension of Christ? 'How could a human body go up and disappear in the sky?' Just remember that Jesus is returning to his heavenly glory with his Father God. The outcome of this tale is the salvation of people's soles for Heaven. A glimpse of what lies beyond the tragedy of the death of Jesus is not incredible, is it? Far from it. The Ascension event is a supernatural one. It is, after all, the kind of thing that can happen when human nature has reached its true end. Fr Robin |
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Acts 17:22-31, 1 Peter 3:8-22, John 14:15-21 There was a good response to the parish evening to gain insights into the current development of stem cell research. Dr Brett Christmas began with a number of ethical considerations and elaborated upon them. He centered in on the motives for research and what new possibilities for healing of the human being were possible. It was surprising for some people to hear that the development is not entirely new, as bone marrow transplants have assisted in the treatment of cancer patients for some time. This in layman's terms is a similar pattern to stem cell implants. The future which may only be a decade away could have some life changing patterns for immobilised patients affected by damaged cells. As development in this area of research takes place we await with interest another occasion to be assisted by Dr Brett Christmas on this matter. Fr Dennis |
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Acts 7:55-60, Peter 2:19-25, John 14:1-14 Some people lack meaning and purpose today because they need to see God, or to believe in something or someone that can be proven. Well Jesus has revealed God and explained the meaning of life as no other in history has. What more proof do we need! To see Jesus is to see the God the Father, Jesus is the precise image and replication of God. He took on human form and body. He was here in history, he is here in the gospels and with us now. God uncovers himself in Jesus, in humility rather than majesty. He is the God of justice, but even more of mercy and compelling love. Jesus points to himself as the way human beings can meet and see God and as an authentic way to live life to the full. Philip asks Jesus in the Gospel reading today, "Show us the Father," even after having been with Jesus so long. But Jesus was endlessly patient and loving with Philip (as he is with us) and said, "If you know me you will know the Father also." The works of Jesus are the works of God, to give life, restore meaning to life and to enrich life's meaning. Our challenge is to engage in life giving activities and to put meaning into life by following Jesus' example of love in the here and now. Maybe others then will see Jesus, and God the Father working through his Spirit in us. What a challenge! Robyn Mackie |
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Acts 2:42+, 1 Peter 2:1+, John 10:1+ Traditionally the Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, drawing on both Psalm and Gospel themes. This theme is explored in considerable detail drawing a picture of the marvellous relationship of trust between sheep and the shepherd. Helpless and vulnerable, dependent for nourishment, protection and guidance and in times of threat, the shepherd comes between the sheep and the aggressive enemy to ward off destruction and exploitation. The Peter epistle verses contain both warning and advice for those who would grow in the faith. We are called to build on the Corner Stone of Christ, recognising the new relationship when we become God's people receiving His mercy. Luke in Acts sets out with broad strokes the hallmarks evident in the early Church which brought growht then and how we too may grow today. The early Church was absorbed in the apostles' teaching, they maintained regular fellowship in both social and religious settings, contin uing steadfastly in prayer, all with a proper sense of awe before God, while giving praise to God. Jesus said, 'I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.' Have you taken up this offer? Helen Thomas |
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Acts 2:14+, Peter 1:3+, John 20:19+ Thomas did a lot for which to be grateful. He had the group of disciples of Jesus to which to return. He had the courage to come back, too, a quality which he showed once when Jesus was walking into a town which was enemy territory. The goodness of Thomas was not only in that he shared many months with Jesus and giving him a fair hearing but, it was such, that he was genuinely interested in what lay ahead for Jesus as well as for his disciples. Absentee Thomas was back. So was Jesus, yes, just one week later. Haven't you ever marvelled when you have been at the right place at the right time? So let's give God some credit for moving in our lives as he moved in Thomas's. Today Peter, in his letter, describes the faithful, convinced Christian who also has let go of doubts with courage: "Although you have not seen him (Jesus Christ), you love him, believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy." Now, is not many a modern Thomas just going to return, with doubts and all, to a church of such believers who are blessed with faith and joy like that? Maybe that's not so ....... Beyond Belief! Fr Robin+ |
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Resurrection ! What do you believe? Jeremiah 31:1-6, Colossians 3:1-4, Matthew 28:1-10 At a time when sections of the church believed that the world was flat Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas. Copernicus discovered that the measurement of time needed to be changed and hence we have the current calendar of 365/366 days a year. In the latter years of the 20th century Galileo was recognised for his contribution to the world by the Roman Catholic Church after he had spent almost 500 years regarded as a heretic for following Copernicus and teaching that the world was not the centre of the universe, the sun was the centre of the solar system. Benjamin Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm to show that in a thunderstorm lightning is electricity. The German Church refused to put lightning arresters on church buildings, calling these instruments that interfered with God's will as heretic rods. If God wished to strike a church or tall building with an electric bolt of lightning then that was his will. On Holy Wednesday the West Australian newspaper provided a half page article by a free church pastor who attacked enlighten ed Christianity. The Pastor claimed, 'It is my conviction that the physical and bodily Resurrection of Jesus answers the questions "Who am I?" Where am I going?" "What is ultimate truth?" The pastor said, 'I believe Jesus really rose from the dead because He really died' and again restated, 'I believe in the physical Resurrection of Jesus because it is absolutely central to the Christian faith.' Despite the modern satellite called Galileo inspecting 'close ups' of the planets discovered by the great scientist, some people still wish to discredit Christianity by suggesting a physical and bodily resurrection of Jesus. This ignores the vastness of the universe and the Russian astronaut's comment a couple of decades ago that he had not observed a place called heaven in the universe. Even St Paul the Apostle didn't believe in a physical resurrection, he said first the physical then the spiritual, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Shouldn't we expect the church to be telling the truth? Shouldn't we be expecting church ministers to be proclaiming a faith experience of the resurrection that unites and enhances life rather than a belief outmoded by centuries of research that we take for granted in ever other sphere of living. In a new book 'Understanding Difficult Scriptures in a Healing Way' the authors point out 'today many people's spirituality is informed not only by traditional sources of faith but by science as well' and furthermore 'reason does not contradict faith, we can expect that the findings of science will be consistent with the ultimate truths of the Bible.' Fr. Dennis |
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Humility and Triumph, Obedience and Honour Isaiah 50:4-9a, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 27:11-54 The crowd cries out Hosanna! and they bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. By choosing a donkey, Jesus makes a Messianic statement about himself - 'Lo, your king comes to you in triumph and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey' (Zech. 9.9). Even the lowliest beast is used and the streets are decked with palm branches from the commonest tree. Jesus is the lowly Messiah, his is a spiritually saving role. Yet Jesus is Israel's greatest son, he should enter in triumph, he has more right than anyone else. He is of David's house and lineage, he is the reason why God set up David's house in the first place. God set up the house of David so that a Saviour would come. Jesus is God's only begotten son and Jerusalem is God's own city. Jesus is heir to Jerusalem and all that it represents. In the Passion Story we hear that Jesus is arrested, tried and crucified. All the good he has done seems to be wiped out in one stroke. Yet through his suffering, shame and death he obediently endures to the end and trusts that God will vindicate him. God honours Jesus by raising him from the dead. How can we imitate Jesus today, in a very different cultural world? Holy Week is a time to reflect on this and what God has done for us, through Jesus, The Messiah, our Lord and Saviour. Robyn M. |
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Ezekiel 37:1-14, Romans 8:6-11, John 11:1-45 Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones is a prophecy to the people of Isreal. Though seemingly dead in their exile, they would live again in their own land. However the vision stresses it will be a corporate resurrection being the restoration of the whole people of God. It will be accomplished by word and spirit - the word of God through the prophet and the life-giving spirit is the free gift of God. In Romans Paul notes the role of the Spirit is to bring resurrection to the people of God, the Spirit is the energising force through which God brings about resurrection life within us. Dwelling in the Spirit is the true mark of Christian identity. It is not an exclusive possession of those who might claim special gifts of the Spirit. It is a characteristic which marks Christian existence from other forms of existence and it finds its expression in the ordinary forms of life and service. The well known passage from John's Gospel tells of the death and resurrections of Lazarus and looks ahead to the death and resurrection of Jesus. The raising of Lazarus is a sign story stressing at least two important facts. Firstly, Jesus has his own agenda (which is God's agenda) and the second is to reveal God, which will be God's glory (v. 4) as it also brings glory to the Son of God. The death and resurrection of Lazarus is a sign that, apart from God, the world is a cemetery but into that world Jesus Christ is sent as the offer of resurrection. Lazarus left the tomb only to die again. The price was that Jesus had to enter the tomb but as he himself said, 'one cannot give life unless one dies (12:24)'. Helen Thomas |
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1 Samuel 16:1-13, Ephesians 5:8-14, John 9:1-41 Port, pipeline and railways. Charles Yelverton O'Connor, with the courageous political support of Sir John Forrest, left a great legacy. It was these items of infrastructure which revolutionized our development and changed this State from struggling to progressive. Today at 2:30pm at St John's a service will be held to celebrate the life and work of Charles O'Connor and honour him. The O'Connor family pew will be occupied by present members of the family. His Excellency, Lt Gen John Sanderson, AC, The Governor, himself an engineer, will speak on O'Connor the engineer, the Premier's representative, the Hon Kate Doust, MLC, will address his impact on the State and the Bishop of the Southern Region, the Rt Rev'd David Murray will preach. An afternoon tea, hosted by His Worship the Mayor, Peter Tagliaferri and Councillors of the City of Fremantle, will follow the service. We warmly welcome all who are involved in this memorable occasion. Fr. Glendon + |
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60th Anniversary of the Sinking of the HMAS Perth and USS Houston Exodus 17:1-7, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42 For the past 53 years the service to honour those who served on these two ships has been held in St John's. In Houston, Texas there is an obelisk to those who served on the USS Houston and a Memorial Service is held to remember them. It was an evening battle in the Sundra Straits on the 28th February that these two ships were sunk by the Japanese. By Sunday morning the ships had sustained such damage that they sank to the ocean bed. A grave for so many young men. The survivors planned this service after their return to Australia after years on the infamous Burma Railway. Today we welcome Senior Naval Chaplain, The Rev'd Peter Tinney, to offer the address at the service. We also welcome the senior naval personnel representing the Perth and Houston and the remaining West Australian survivors of the battle. On this 60th Anniversary we acknowledge the attendance of the grandson of Captain Waller, HMAS Perth, Robert Waller and his wife, Fiona. After the call to abandon ship by Captain Waller he was "last seen on the bridge looking down on the silent guns." Shortly afterwards the bridge was seen to receive a shell. "Hector Macdonald Laws Waller will
always remain in my mind as one of the very finest types of Australian
Naval Officers". Our Parish is privileged to be associated with the 'survivors' and to honour all who served in the Battle fo the Sunda Straits at the Memorial Service this morning. Fr Dennis |
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Genesis 12:1-4a, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, John 3:1-17 Abraham's obedience and response to God is the story of the Christian, too. Next, today, the Psalmist looks up and sks, "Where else will help come but from the Lord, all day, all night, help, rescue, shelter from life's handouts of evil?" Then we see how St Paul has vigorously come back to the basic faith dear Abroaham had in God. Paul lives by Christ and not by religious law. A result of this is that God was allowed to place this free and brave Christian spirit at the hub of the egreat Roman Empire. News soon spread around that Jesus was Saviour to Romans, Jews, Greeks and to you and to me, largely thanks to Paul. When you take in the Gospel today, even if you know it by heart, do not miss its point, will you? In Jesus, God gave all he had and the best he had for everyone who would believe, the Holy Spirit. All the Holy Spirit is ours by faith an dinspires us through every work and challenge with which we are faced. Why? How? Because God so loved the world .... That means Me! Fr. Robin |
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Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11 The Dean of Perth, John Shepherd penned an excellent reflection on humility a year or so ago. It is worth revisiting and is as follows: 'Ash Wednesday initiates for us a time of humility. The biblical and devotional writers are virtually unanimous in inviting us, during this period of preparation for Easter, to humble ourselves before God. This, of course, is easier said than done. It's hard, if not impossible, to make ourselves humble. Even if we do somehow manage it, there's always the danger we'll be proud of having done it. Which raises the question, is humility a state of mind we could ever properly aspire to? Is it a condition that's simply impossible for us to achieve? If so, what can we possibly do? Perhaps the answer is for us not even to try to work ourselves into a humble frame of mind, with all the contradictions and self-doubts that that enterprise might bring but simply to concentrate on doing things that we would normally find humbling - things that we would normally think to be beneath us. That is, instead of trying to think humbly about ourselves, we do the humble things. This means exposing ourselves to humiliating, even degrading situations. It means doing things which normally we would never allow ourselves to be seen doing. It means not bothering about how others see us, or what they think of us. It means dropping the pretensions we all hold on to and not caring about how we're coming across. It means deliberately putting ourselves in a position from which we could not possibly hope to benefit. It's hard to think humble thoughts about ourselves but not so hard to do humble, even humiliating things. It's easier to control our actions than our thoughts. Lent gives us an opportunity to see what we can do about it. Fr Dennis |
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Isaiah 58:1-9a, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, Matthew 5:13-20 'Authentic worship occurs when the liturgy is joined with 'hands-on' involvement with the hungry and the homeless.' The Readings for the Sunday before Lent are hard hitting. Isaiah calls us to join God's reversal of the world's power structures - slaves are freed, yokes are broken - and then new relationships will emerge of food shared with those unable to reciprocate, the homeless are housed and people cared for. These are the consequences of the worshipping community living the ethical life outside the sanctuary - and then God will continue to be present in their worship. We are not presented with a choice between ethics or worship; authentic worship determines the character of the community. The Psalm is an extension of Isaiah - from sanctuary to praise, with ethical actions flowing from worship. Paul's debate with the Corinthians is about divisions highlighting their shift of focus from the Crucified Christ and His call to live ethical, righteous lives. The Gospel has a warning not to be closet Christians but to be open for the world to see. Discipleship without visible consequences is light hidden, or to use the salt analogy - it can go bad through the impurities introduced and it is useless, only suitable for trampling upon. We are called to live boldly for God and to God's glory. Called to serve as light in the world in obedience to God's call, our worship then will be effective and God receive His due glory. Helen Thomas |
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Malachi 3:11-5, Hebrews 2:14-18, Luke 2:22-40 Since Christmas, the lectionary has taken us from Jesus the infant to Jesus the adult, to Jesus the child, to Jesus the adult and today, back to Jesus the infant for the celebration of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. This festival, also known as Candlemas, celebrates the close of the Christmas festival of light. Candles are often blessed and carried in procession to welcome Christ, the light of the world and glory of his people. Jesus was presented in the temple, fulfilling the Law of Moses and at the same time going to meet his faithful people. Led by the Spirit, Simeon and Anna came to the temple, recognised Jesus as their Lord and proclaimed him with joy. Abraham had been prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac to God, showing that this was a common practice of the time and it continued for centuries among less enlightened nations who offered children to their gods. Jesus was presented and for Mary's atonement and purification, turtledoves or pigeons were sacrificed, the offering for those who could not afford a lamb, (Leviticus 12). The service, The thanksgiving of women after childbirth, commonly called The Churching of Women has become a thanksgiving for the birth of a child. It isn't that God has changed but that humanities' understanding of God has changed. Those who slavishly obey laws from long ago refuse to see a world which is 'growing up.' Glendon+ |
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Isaiah 9:1-4, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-25 In Isaiah's reading we hear of the light coming to the people who lived in a land of deep darkness. The Psalmist tells of the Lord who is their light and salvation. Paul in the Epistle points to the need to let go of factions and to be united in the Lord and in mind and purpose. In the Gospel Jesus continues to preach John the Baptist's message, although his own ministry doesn't come into being until John has completed his. Jesus' distinctive ministry was that of preaching, of healing and of calling disciples. He preached of the Kingdom and healed, but he needed to leave his home to minister effectively. The disciples he called also left what was comfortable and familiar to them, their nets, their boats (their livelihood) and their families. They recognised the true light in Jesus, a light they needed to follow and they saw the urgency in doing that. Following Jesus can lead to foreign territories, for the sake of Kingdom values. We who are also called may need to let go of what is most comfortable and familiar to follow Jesus. It may not be to another geographical territory. It could be as close as a prejudice, a habit, a perspective, or an attitude that needs to be changed in us or in the way we are living. Journeying towards growth and maturity in the Lord calls us to do this and to encourage one another in mind and purpose along the way. Robyn M. |
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Isaiah 49:1+, 1 Corinthians 1:1+, John 4:29+ 'You are Simon, son of John. You are to be called Cephas.' This is the same name in Aramaic (Cephas) and Greek (Petros). Jesus calls him Peter, "the Rock," a nickname 'man of rock,' Rockman or 'Rocky.' The tense used is 'You are ... you shall be', the actual and the potential. Jesus saw one who at the time was far from being a solid rock-like character but a somewhat unreliable, impulsive man who later would deny and desert him. Nevertheless, Jesus saw past the actual to the potential in Peter. On Friday the Church remembered and celebrated the Confession of Peter. This is the event recorded in Matthew where, with a flash of insight, Peter exclaimed, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.' Jesus commended him and gave his new name a deeper significance with 'You are Peter, the Rock (petros) and on this rock (petra) I will build my Church.' Here Peter's potential is confirmed! What he is in name he must become in fact, the potential must become the actual but this will only be by the grace of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit. this is true for every follower of Christ. We become children of God in Baptism but what we are in name we must later become in fact. As Paul put it, 'I have not yet reached perfection but I press on...' Glendon+ |
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Isaiah 42:1-9, Acts 10:34-43, Matthew 3:13-17 Today's readings lead us to consider new possibilities and the empowerment to live gloriously in these new discoveries. Isaiah 42 insists God is the one who alone accomplishes 'new things' and proclaims the Servant is the vehicle for achieving these 'new things.' It is God who enables the Servant to accomplish the work of righteousness and transformation. Psalm 29 majestically announces the glory of God; God who is not distant but has appeared in the life of the people. The repetition of 'the voice of the Lord' throughout the Psalm points to the glory disclosed at the time of Noah and the great flood. The Old Testament story talks of God's conquest of the unruly water of creation and the flood while the peaceful waters of Jesus' baptism reveal God's love. The Acts reading recalls the baptism of Jesus, for his baptism carries with it the promise of Holy Spirit, richly fulfilled in the baptism of the gentile Cornelius. In Matthew's account of the Baptism of Jesus are the contrasts of the rejection of the old order of Pharisees and Sadducees (verses 7-10) and the acceptance of Jesus (verses 13-14). The persistence of Jesus seems to indicate a divine requirement to fulfill 'all righteousness' (3:15) so that 'all God requires' in obedience is done. Jesus is the prototype for his followers and links with Isaiah 42. Baptism is not a name giving ceremony. Through His baptism Jesus was commissioned to obedient faithful service. We, too, have received this commission in our Baptism to obedient faithful service, following the path blazed by the unique Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Helen Thomas |
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Isaiah 60:1+, Ephesians 3:1+, Matthew 2:1+ The Wise Men from the East stand for the wisdom of the time which was thought to be in the science of the stars and in philosophy. Nevertheless even this wisdom recognises that Jesus is a great King. An unusually bright star, it is said, brought to light the appearance of 'shining forth' (epiphaneia GRK) of a long awaited Saviour King. Those who were drawn by the brightness and movement of the astonishing light in the heavens came from far away. That gave us an early clue that the message of the Lord is open to all people and at all times. Babylon in the East 2000 years ago was the stronghold of astral observation. At least three or so observers read in what they saw the birth of some notable person. The Jewish nation to the West bore a well-known expectation of a Messiah. Several of its prophets' scrolls had supported this. Notice the detail of Matthew's version of nativity story of Jesus, the terror of King Herod and the inspired significance of the gifts brought by the Wise Men, who then were guided to slip past this sly enemy as their camels carried them back East. Fr Robin |
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