Sermons & Seminars

The story of Cain and Abel is one most who preach avoid.  It has a difficult god.  It has an evasive lesson.  Why is Abel

The parable by Pete Rollins, read this morning, is titled ‘Being the Resurrection’. It contrasts two approaches to being a disciple, a follower, of Jesus. One way was to follow the example of his radical life in behaviour towards others. The other was to take comfort and strength from the belief that Jesus’ resurrection was an assurance of one’s personal salvation. Rollins writes in his commentary on the parable that,

My favourite symbol of Easter is the rabbit. Maybe its my childhood with Beatrix Potter. Cute, little mischievous fellows and fellowesses, with lots of cousins. Or maybe it’s my love of the absurd.

There is an old story about a cobbler who came to Rabbi Isaac of Ger and said: “Tell me what to do about my morning prayer. My customers are poor men who have only one pair of shoes. I pick up their shoes late in the evening and work on them most of the night; at dawn there is still work to be done if the men are to have their shoes ready before they go to work. Now my question is: What shall I do about my morning prayer?”

Palm Sunday. One of those bible stories that got made up to make a message. Not so much about donkeys and humble messiahs. More about ‘don’t presume’. Don’t presume that hope comes dressed in the robes and roles of power – military, political, or even religious. Don’t presume that those so adorned in might will make it alright.

In Galatians 2:20 Paul writes, ‘It’s no longer I who live’. The ‘I’ has died (metaphorically of course) and been re-born into a ‘we’. The identity of the old Paul has died (though traces remain) and a new identity has been forged. He calls this new identity, this we, this new tribe he has joined, “in Christ.”

I’ve been pondering this week about this word ‘Up’

Growing up in Auckland as a kid of the 80s, I had been used to the carefree nature that we had everything in front of us. We had our playground in front of our house, a piece of grass the size of the foyer area. No gates or fences to keep us in, I would play outside with the neighbours on summer nights it would be cricket and touch and during winter rugby and handball or should I say gutter ball. It was a period in our life where we thought we were invincible. Money wasn’t an issue although we would hear a few grumbles from the old man about this and that, but it was never something discussed in our presence. Our parents worked hard labourers’ jobs, mum sometimes two but they learnt to work it out and make ends meet.

Every Lent at least one of the readings will be about the story of Jesus being tempted, 40 days and 40 nights, in the wilderness. It echoes of course the Moses story of wandering in the wilds for 40 years before finding the so-called ‘promised land’ (which of course was Canaanite land!).

Like all good myths, the story of Saint Valentine is sketchy.