Tagged: Nathanael
Has the penny dropped?
This Sunday we heard in our gospel reading we heard how Andrew brings Nathanael to see Jesus, and Nathanael’s response. And from the Old Testament we had the story of the boy Samuel being woken up in the Temple by a voice calling him in the night.
1 Samuel 3.1-10; John 1.43-end
The third Monday in January each year – so that’s tomorrow – is apparently known as Blue Monday. It’s a term coined by a psychologist in 2004 and according to an article in The Scotsman newspaper last Monday it’s the day when the financial pressure of the Christmas just passed hangs over us most, the weather is at its worst, and the extra pounds we’ve acquired over the holiday season are proving harder to shift than we anticipated.
So how to cope with Blue Monday tomorrow? The Scotsman helpfully went on to provide a list of 40 jokes, to cheer us all up, so that Blue Monday wouldn’t feel so bad.
They claimed that these are 40 of the best jokes – here’s a sample of what they have provided – see what you think:
Continue readingHas the penny dropped yet?
1 Samuel 3.1-10; John 1.43-end
There’s nothing worse than being with a group of people and someone tells a joke – and you’re the only one that just doesn’t get it. Everyone else thinks its hilariously funny and you just don’t get the punchline. You just stand there looking dim!
Every year during August Edinburgh holds its world famous festival, and along with the festival you will find the fringe – a range of additional shows that has grown up around the official festival. And each year there is a competition run by the television channel Dave, for the best 10 jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe. This annual joke competition is so popular it’s reported in all the quality press – even The Times and The Telegraph. Now, I think I’ve got a pretty normal sense of humour, but every year I just don’t see the point of half of the jokes listed.
Take the winning entries from the last three years – none of which I found particularly funny even after though I did get the point of the jokes. I’m going to roadtest them on you now. Continue reading
2nd Sunday of Epiphany – Do you ‘get it?’
Here is the sermon I preached for last Sunday, the 2nd Sunday of Epiphany. The gospel reading is the story from John about Jesus meeting Nathanael who becomes one of the twelve. Nathanael only appears in John’s gospel. Bartholomew is listed as one of the twelve in the synoptic gospels but not in John. Traditionally it has been assumed that Nathanael and Bartholomew are therefore one and the same.
1 Samuel 3.1-10; Revelation 5.1-10; John 1.43-end
Sometimes when you hear a joke it simply isn’t funny. No matter that other people laugh at the joke – you simply don’t get the punchline.
Take the joke that won the award for the funniest joke at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year, as voted for by the public. I looked it up this week as I was preparing this sermon, but it didn’t seem funny at all – not to me, at any rate. It’s from the comedian Tim Vine: Continue reading
View from the Valley 