Coping with the storms of life. My sermon for this week on Matthew 14.22-33
Being caught in a storm at sea is no laughing matter. I speak from bitter experience. Twice I have been caught in storms at sea. And I’m not talking here about a bit of heavy swell and some wind and rain on the ferry over to France. I’m talking about real storms – the kind where you feel that life as you know it has come to an end. Continue reading
I don’t know about your theology of miracles. I don’t know if you take the miracle stories as literal, symbolic, or “myths of a bygone era.” I think it would be very difficult to explain the impact of Jesus on his disciples and on the crowds had he not performed many miracles, signs, and wonders.
Uwe C. Sharp in The Pastor’s Bible Study volume 4
I couldn’t agree more!
Mother Anne-Marie preached this week on the Feeding of the Five Thousand.
Matthew 14.13-21.
It’s school holidays and time for outings. I am planning some days out this coming month with my grandchildren and weather permitting we will be packing a picnic or two. I vividly recollect a day I had at Eastbourne with my elder daughter, her partner and their three sons and little daughter. We took with us some of the cousins – two extra boys. Three adults and six children – the size of our family group attracted attention. Three or four times in the day, my daughter was asked if the children were all hers, and we got into the Redoubt museum at cut price Continue reading
The gospel for this Sunday is the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew’s gospel. I’m not preaching at the main service this week – the priest I live with is doing that. I am giving the talk at our family service. While we were talking about the reading it brought to mind the old folk hymn, “Bread and Fishes,” which I first learned while on a Church Army Holiday Mission in the summer of 1980. As part of the mission we spent a month on the Gower Peninsula in Wales. During our time there we spent several evenings going around local pubs and entertaining the regulars and holidaymakers with folk songs – some religious – and including a brief message and invitation to our other activities. I haven’t sung it for years, and if anyone knows where I might find the sheet music I’d be very grateful – it would be good to sing it in church. Here are the Irish Rovers singing it.
Having had three weeks off preaching for various readings, I was back in the pulpit again last Sunday.
Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52
What does it feel like to be able to buy absolutely anything you want, no matter the cost, and not to have to worry about whether you can afford it? Continue reading
If you’re around do come and join us at this month’s Munch and Music.
This month we are please to welcome Carine Sieberhagen (Soprano) with Margaret Watson (Harp) and Audrey Thomas (Piano) who will present a mixed programme of well-known songs and harp solos.
It is on Wednesday 6th July at St. John’s Church, Caterham Valley. Coffee at 12.15. Performance 12.45 – 1.30. Admission free.
After the Summer break the next event in the 2011-2012 series will be on October 5th.
A bit behind this week with posting my sermon – completely forgot about it until this morning! Never mind, here it is.
Matthew 10.40-end
Jesus said, ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Hospitality means making your guests feel at home, even though you wish they were! I’ve no idea who said that, but we’ve all been there – we all know the feeling!
It’s not always easy to feel hospitable and welcoming to other people. When we were in Peckham we had regular callers at the vicarage. It so happened that we were on a regular route for three people of the road – two men and a woman. They never wanted money, just some lunch, and during the summer months they would turn up every few weeks, ask for some sandwiches, and then have a picnic on the vicarage lawn, before heading off again on their travels. They were always very friendly and appreciative. One day we arrived back from holiday mid-afternoon to find the three of them sitting on the vicarage lawn and we were greeted, as we got out of the car with the children, with, “So where have you been then?” Continue reading
Those in the UK can’t have missed the news (unless of course, you never watch TV, listen to the radio or read a newspaper) that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams was the guest editor of The New Statesman recently and wrote a leader – read it here – commenting on policies of the Coalition Government. Consequently all kinds of people have got worked up about the Church meddling in politics again. When people make such comments I am always reminded of a poster of Archbishop Desmond Tutu holding a Good News Bible and sayting (and I paraphrase since it was years ago and I can’t remember the exact words) “When people say the Church shouldn’t interfere in politics I wonder what Bible they are reading.”
In the midst of all the criticism there have been some sane voices pointing out that Archbishop’s are supposed to speak out – after all, that’s what Christians are supposed to do. And the best article I’ve come across so far is from Victoria Coren writing in her blog under the title Bashing the Bishop.
We’ll be keeping the feast of Corpus Christi as usual. There will be services on Thursday at 10am (a said communion) and 8pm (sung mass with procession and benediction.) I was commissioned as a Church Army Evangelist, and began my stipendiary ministry in the Church, thirty years ago on the feast of Corpus Christ, so we’ll be finishing the evening service with some suitable refreshments. Do please come if you can.
Trinity Sunday – the day preachers dread because you’re trying to explain the unexplainable. I’ve never understood why in the Western Church we find it so difficult to follow the example of the Eastern church who say “It’s a mystery” and don’t try to rationalise it.
Anyway – this year I decided, as a change from my normal practice of sticking to one of the set readings, to preach on that great hymn Saint Patrick’s Breatsplate.
For those of you who are not familiar with the hymn here it is read in full. I can’t find a version of the hymn sung in full.
Anywhere here’s my sermon: Continue reading
View from the Valley 