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Tag Archives: parable
Sheep and goats: beyond the parable
The first goat I ever met as an individual, got to know as a person, as it were, lived in an urban back garden in Oxford, England. He did not, however, necessarily stay there. One evening, doing the dishes after … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon preparation
Tagged Matthew 25, parable, sheep and goats
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Year A Proper 23: come to the feast
There have been two weddings in this church in the past ten days, and three within three months. Each was its own blend of nervousness, family friendship, family friction, love, hope, and joy. Each of them was noticeable, in the … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged Communion, Isaiah 25:1-9, joy, matthew 22:1-14, parable, Philippians 4:1-9, the wedding feast
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Year A Proper 22: parables and other stories
There is a kind of through the looking glass feel to this parable. If you think of the classic fairy tale structure, where a king sends three messengers on a quest to redeem his belongings, in this case the wine … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged baptism, Ebola, fairy tale, God's mercy endures forever, Isaiah 5:1-7, Jesus, Matthew 21:33-46, oppression, parable, Psalm 80, vineyard, Year A Proper 22
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Vineyards
I cannot grow an apple tree, aromatic herbs, fresh flowers. I dig and plant and water and weed; everything dies. I drink the wine of another’s vineyard, climb the walls to scrump the orchard, cadge the scent of another’s roses … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation
Tagged Isaiah 5:1-7, Matthew 21, parable, Psalm 80, scrumping apples, vineyard
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Year A Proper 20: Jonah and anti-Jonah
Poor, petulant Jonah. If he couldn’t give the Ninevites hell, he wanted to at least give them purgatory. I’ve done all of this work, he said, endured all of this drama: the running away the wailing and gnashing of teeth, … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged fair pay, God, Jesus, Jonah, justice, living wage, love, mercy, minimum wage, Nineveh, parable
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Year A Proper 19: forgiving
You remember the Joseph story: “Way way back many centuries ago, not long after the Bible began…” Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, and the father of the twelve tribes of Israel – in fact, it was Jacob who was … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged favouritism, forgiveness, Genesis 50:15-21, Jacob, Joseph, Matthew 18:21-35, parable
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Year C Proper 25: Stand closer
Have you ever read the brilliant dystopian novel, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley? I won’t give the whole game away, but one of the themes in the book is social engineering, which is achieved by a mixture of genetic … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged 2 Timothy 4:6-8.16-18, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Euclid Prayer Walk, God, Jesus, Joel 2:23-32, Luke 18:9-14, parable, Pharisee, prayer, Psalm 65, tax collector, year c proper 25
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Prayers, overheard
Each stood away from the other, his face turned anyway but there, no meeting of eyes for these two, let alone hearts, minds. One looked up to heaven, his prayer belying his blindness to the other, “Thank God I am … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation
Tagged humility, Luke 18:9-14, parable, Pharisee, prayer, pride, repentance, tax collector, year c proper 25
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Year C Proper 24: On the need to pray always and not to lose heart
The days are coming, says the Lord, says Jeremiah, the days are surely coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. I will be their God, and they shall be … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, harvest, Jeremiah 31:27-34, Jesus, Luke 18:1-8, parable, patience, prayer, unjust judge, widow, Year C Proper 24
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Year C Proper 20: The parable of the dishonest manager
We all knew, in the old westerns, who the bad guys were by the colour of their hats. These days, if you go to a movie and a smooth character speaks to you in a somewhat refined British accent, you … Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged dishonest manager, ethical investing, Financial Times, God and mammon, Jesus, Justin Welby, Kray, Luke 16:1-13, parable, Parkhurst, rich man, Shakespeare, Year C Proper 20
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