Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Mark 3:1-16 I wonder what the man with the withered hand expected when he went to the synagogue that Saturday? He would, at least technically, have not been permitted into the temple, into the very presence of God, because of his disability; but he could come to the synagogue and hear God’s laws and learn of God’s ways. And this Saturday, the visiting speaker was the rabbi from Nazareth. He was quite controversial. There had been a heated debate about some of the things that Jesus and his followers were doing on the Sabbath. And maybe Jesus was speaking about the Sabbath. Maybe he read from Exodus 20 , and he spoke of how God gave the Sabbath as a day to celebrate His creation and as a day to rest, a day for restoration. Maybe he read from Deuteronomy 5 : about how the Sabbath was a day to remember how the people of Israel, who had been slaves, were set free; and how it was to be a day when their servants, their slaves were set free from doing any work. Or maybe he spoke from Levitic...

It is cold, damp, dark and a bit depressing. And so it is good to be reminded that there is glory.  Psalm 96 speaks of the glory of God 'Declare his glory among the nations ..' (v3) 'Ascribe to the Lord .. glory and strength; ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name'. (vv7-8) If we allow Him, God opens our eyes and we see that glory: We see His glory in what He has done: His salvation and wonderful works (v2,3);  in the creation of the heavens (v5) We see His glory in who He is: full of honour, majesty, strength and beauty (v6).  Plato was right. There is absolute beauty. We see His glory in His name: the sacred name 'I am who I am'. It is a name that declares the absolute freedom of God, that He is beyond all limits or boundaries, beyond space, beyond time, bigger than our language and rationality - and yet in revealing to us His name, H e enables us to call to Him. (v8) We see his glory in what He will do: Psalm 96 speaks of how God will come, make an app...

Luke 3.15-17,21-22   From 1993 to 1995 Alison and myself were sent by CMS to build bridges with Orthodox believers in Russia. We lived in the Orthodox seminary in St Petersburg. One of the many treasures that we found were icons, and especially icons from what is called the festival row, depicting the main events in the life of Jesus. A link to the audio of the talk You were, I hope, given a card with the image frosdm a C16th fresco that can be found in the monastery of Dionysos on Mount Athos. The word above the man on the left holding out his hand is John (abbreviated), and the word above the man standing in the water is Jesus Christ. It is an iconic (literally) representation of the baptism (Greek word at top is He Baptesis – just to make sure that we know what it is) of Jesus. And I would like to spend a few minutes reflecting on this icon, because it gives some deep insights into how we might read the passages in Luke and other gospels, how we might reflect on our own b...

John 1:10-18 Beginning of New Year: Opportunity to revisit John 1 and look at these verses in a little more detail. The audio of the talk can be found here Two words for 2025. Glory and Grace! 1. GLORY ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth’ What is it that makes someone glorious? Is it their power, their success, their achievements? Is it being in the New Year’s honours list? Is it a remarkable victory or getting a book published or creating an acclaimed piece of art? Is it the ending of a concerto, when all the different themes are brought together in a magnificent climax, or of the fulfilment of a lifetime of effort? Is it the acclaim, the love, the awe of millions? It is very hard to define what it is to be glorious. It is one of those terms that we sort of know what it is, but we cannot really describe it.  It is about radiance, awesomeness, fulfilment, achievement, joy, love all wrap...