I want to tell you a little secret. Are you ready for it? Those who boast of their own power; those who rely on their might - whether of wealth, of words, or of weapons - to accomplish things in this world, especially the will of God, will not, through these means, inherit the kingdom of God.  Listen to Jesus’s warning to all whom he encounters - especially the religious and political ruling class - as he goes out on his three year mission: “Beware of false prophets who come

This morning we hear that soon after John is arrested, Jesus sets off to Galilee. He doesn’t do this to avoid confrontation. I mean, we know that ultimately he will confront those who refuse to recognize him and so hang him on a Cross. We also know that he has a mission to accomplish before that final confrontation occurs. And it needs to start in Galilee, apparently. Why? Because this is part of God’s promise unveiled in the Words of his Prophets, as we heard this morning in

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” John the baptist shouts, as he sees Jesus coming toward him. Last week we heard John declare in Matthew’s Gospel, that he was surprised that Jesus wanted to be baptised by him. And yet he fulfilled Jesus’s request and in doing so, he got to see the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus and heard the Father’s voice declare that Jesus was his beloved, with whom he was well pleased. And so John confirms again in John’s Gosp

Last week we celebrated Epiphany: the revelation to Gentiles just like us, that God fulfilled his promise to gather all nations to him by sending his Son into the world. We see in his birth that Jesus comes not merely as God, but is born a true human infant who will grow into a true human man. And this leads us to the strange episode of Jesus’s Baptism we hear in today’s Gospel lesson. Why on earth would God’s Son Jesus, who of course is God himself, be baptised by John, a me

Like most of us, the Jews we hear about in today’s Gospel were likely going about their daily routines, working, focusing on the political and social events of the day, conversations with friends and neighbours, frustrations with this or that person or situation, going about their regular worship routines. In the midst of these things, we often develop habits to harden ourselves against challenges to our expectations because they throw us off our routines; moreover, they ofte

One of the greatest illusions we all seem to share is that our lives are our own. That we can fully see and control our circumstances, that with just the right research and planning, with warding off those people and ideas, those rules and regulations and impositions of others on us, that we can determine not only our own fate, but that of others as well. The peril in believing this is that it keeps us from allowing the one who created us - God himself - to be borne in us.  W

The story from Matthew’s Gospel this morning, of Mary’s pregnancy, seems quite matter of fact, shorn of the mystery and descriptive nuance that some of the other Gospels use in telling the story. And yet Matthew stripping the event down to its core reveals the central point clearly: obedience. Joseph’s obedience to God announced by his angel in Matthew’s Gospel, parallels Mary’s own, which we find in other Gospel tellings of Jesus's birth.  We hear very matter of factly that

Advent is a penitential season of self examination. But that penitence isn’t intended to create despair. In fact, it is intended to clear the way for hope to take hold of us so that joy might ensue. But it’s important to understand that it’s God’s joy, and not the world’s joy that we’re seeking. The joy we experience in this world is often fleeting, and limited. But Paul’s joy springs from his recognition that Jesus isn’t just a prophet telling us about a future event, or a t

You brood of vipers - don’t presume that your traditions will save you; that your possessions or knowledge, or capacity, will save you. Don’t approach God like Adam and Eve, caving to the Serpent’s temptation to imagine yourself holy and righteous. Don’t think that just because you have your butt in a pew on Sunday or that you can spout off this or that doctrine, or that because you’re ‘nice,’ that you are righteous before God. No my friends: repent, for God is coming into th

Today is of course the first Sunday in Advent. Last Sunday you saw the colour white on my stole, and on all the altar hangings, and covering the chalice. White is intended to signify God’s peace in recognition that in Christ, God has completed his redemptive plan and now we are seeing the fruits of the Holy Spirit enfolding or drawing all things to God the Father, in his Son, Jesus Christ. As you see now, though, everything is draped in purple (or some churches, light blue).