Where/what are your priorities?

Our first Gospel reading this month – the Parable of the Rich Fool – is a reminder that “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” and that we need to be “rich towards God”. Whilst most of us would say that we don’t have enough laid up to take it easy in … [Read more…]

Your peace will rest on that man

Taken together, the readings from Isaiah 66 and Luke 10 used on Trinity 5 present us with a picture of a river of peace flowing out from the Lord, mirrored in the Gospel as the flowing of the disciples as they are sent out in pairs on their first mission. From the Lord of Peace, … [Read more…]

Time to grow the Church!

During the early weeks following Trinity Sunday, the church remembers several important participants in the Gospel story. On 24 June, we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and the ‘forerunner’ in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. And no fewer than three of Jesus’ twelve disciples (learners or followers), whom Jesus … [Read more…]

The coming of the Spirit

This month we celebrate Pentecost, the event that marks the start of the explosive growth of the early church. Forty days after He rose from the tomb, Jesus ascended into heaven, as we read in Acts 1. Ten days after that, the disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival that was … [Read more…]

New light and a new beginning

The Paschal or Easter candle is an ancient symbol of the risen Christ and commonly used in churches during the Fifty Days of Easter. It is a very large white candle, the largest and tallest of all sanctuary candles. Paschal candles are always inscribed with a cross, the current year, and the Greek letters Alpha … [Read more…]