Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Matthew 17:1-10 We see Jesus transfigured. This icon was written by Theophanes the Greek c 1403. Elijah is on his right, and Moses on his left.  And Peter, James and John have fallen to the ground in fear.  An audio of this talk can be found here This is a key passage in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus has just told his disciples that he is going to Jerusalem to be crucified. But before he goes, he takes Peter, James and John with him up the mountain.  1. This passage, this icon, is about seeing glory Jesus goes up the mountain. “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white” (v2) There are echoes of the OT, of Moses (Exodus 24:12-17), who is called up the mountain to meet with God, together with his assistant Joshua, and ‘the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain’. But now, as Peter, James and John go up the mountain, they do not see a devouring fire, but they se...

Matthew 6:25-34 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life’. This might seem rather unrealistic advice. An audio of this talk can be found here I did an assembly on this passage on Tuesday and I asked the children what they worried about. I suggested a couple of things somebody might worry about – to give them an example: dad not picking you up at the end of school on time, or not finding a friend to play with at break. And then I said, what do you worry about? A boy put up his hand and said, ‘the end of the world’. Another child, a girl, said, ‘the possibility of war’. I would like to follow that up. It would be a fascinating conversation. We can worry about so many things: perhaps we worry about the big things: where is our world and our country going, or we worry about our health, our children, our parents, being scammed, decisions about jobs or where we live – what if I make the wrong decision, about whether I should be with someone, or not having enough money, or being al...