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Third Sunday of Advent, December 11, 2022: Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11; Psalm 146:4-9 or Canticle 15 A few days ago a friend and I drove up into the foothills of the Sierra for a day out. As we drove through grasslands that a few months ago had been dry and brown, you could see…

Second Sunday of Advent, 3 December 2022: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 All our readings today look to the future, a future of both goodness and change. In Isaiah, we hear of the future time when the spirit of the Lord will rest on the ruler, and “with righteousness he shall…

November 27, 2022, First Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44; Psalm 122 It’s the first Sunday of Advent, and as happens every year, the readings try to shock us with the coming of something new. It’s not entirely clear what it is, as the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament have rather…

Last Sunday of Pentecost, 20 November 2022: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Canticle 16; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 It’s the end of the year (for the church at least!) and as we do in the world, we glance back but mostly look forward.  Jeremiah promises that the Lord will both “attend” to the evildoers who have scattered his…

November 13, 2022, 23rd Sunday after Pentecost: Isaiah 65:17-25; Canticle 9 (Isaiah 12:2-6); 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” I think one of the most difficult things to accept is that…

November 6, 2022, Feast of All Saints: Daniel 7:1-3,15-18; Psalm 149;Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31 “The holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.” (Daniel 7:18) The celebration of All Saints is powerful, with the reminder of those who have gone before us. We remember…

21st Sunday of Pentecost, Proper 26: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10 When I lived in New Haven, my friend Gretchen Pritchard, who was then in charge of Children’s Ministries the Episcopal Church of St Paul and St James, taught me one of my most important lessons in ministry. She…

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost: Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Luke 18:9-14 I lived much of my life on the east coast of the US, where rain was usually regular but intermittent; I also spent long stretches of time working in Britain, which is generally known for regular rainfall. It was not until I…

19th Sunday after Pentecost: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 The parable in today’s gospel is designed, Jesus says, to show us the importance of praying always. It’s a short story: there is a judge who did not fear either God or the people. A widow kept coming to him, asking for…

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost: Lamentations 1:1-6;  Psalm 137; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10 Where did you learn your faith? What has supported it? What helps it grow? Paul writes to Timothy and provides a genealogy of Timothy’s faith: it “lived first in your grandmother Lois and you mother Eunice”. Timothy, Paul was sure, would follow…