Talks, Sermons and Reflections

John 5.1-9 A link to an audio of this talk 1. Jesus sees this man. That is important. There are many people who are sick by the pool by the sheepgate. But Jesus chooses this one man. He has been ill for 38 years. We are not told what his illness is, but he obviously cannot move himself easily. And Jesus sees him . We’ve noticed that before. In John 1, Nathaniel comes to Jesus, and Jesus says to him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” It is a bit enigmatic, but it seems that Jesus is saying something that is incredibly significant for Nathanael. He had noticed Nathaniel and he knew Nathaniel. It is enough for Nathaniel to make the pretty dramatic declaration: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:47-49) What is interesting in this passage is that whereas Nathaniel is told about Jesus and comes to Jesu...

  John 13:31-35 Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another”. (John 13:34)  The audio of this talk can be found here It is a strange saying because the command to love is not a new command.  It is there in the Old Testament In Leviticus 19:18, the people of God are commanded to love their neighbour, the member of their community: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD”. And now Jesus commands his followers to love 'one another', the community that is now centred on him.  So how can Jesus say that this is a new command? Some say that up to now, in John’s gospel, the great command has been to believe, to put our trust in Jesus as the Son of God. And now Jesus says that he is giving them a new command. Not just the command to believe but the command to love – to love one another. ...

Micah 4:1-4 It is wonderful to be here celebrating VE day 80. Quite a few of you will remember the actual celebrations. My mother travelled from Newcastle to London, to be in Trafalgar Square, along with thousands of other people. Evil had been defeated People were coming home. Children would see fathers for the first time, and there would be family reunions. There was peace: no more fear of sirens calling people to the air raid shelters There was the possibility to rebuild There was the promise of abundance Sadly, of course, we know that VE day was just a glimpse of what could be. There is still so much evil. Men and women go off to war. Today there is the fear of renewed war between India and Pakistan; and we add that to the litany of Sudan, Congo, Ukraine and Gaza Families and communities are torn apart People live in fear. Possibly tonight they will hear the sirens and have to run to the shelters The arms industry is huge, and it is growing And because of war, millions are homeless...

John 21:15-19 In our reading Jesus commissions Peter to care for his people, for his sheep. Jesus commissions Peter. Icon from the  church of St. Peter Gallicantu in Jerusalem   I wonder what the qualification is for a new Archbishop? Or a new pope? This is rather an appropriate passage for the beginning of the conclave. 1. It is about a very personal encounter between Jesus and Peter Three times Jesus asks Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ Twice Peter answers, ‘You know that I love you’. But the third time he says, and I wonder whether it is a bit of revelation to him, ‘Lord you know all things. You know that I love you’. John tells us that Peter denies Jesus three times, just as Jesus predicted. But, unlike Luke, he does not tell us that Jesus turns and looks at Peter after the third denial in the courtyard. So, when Jesus asks him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’, he must have realised and is now acknowledging that Jesus knew that he had denied him three times. In some homes ...