Thoughts and Reflections

Zechariah 9:9-10/ Ps 145(144)/ Romans 8:9, 11-13/ Matthew 11:25-30 Think back to Palm Sunday and the image of Jesus entering Jerusalem. He did not enter the city with a flourish of kingship and splendour. He rode on a borrowed donkey. The crowds greeted their Messiah, ready to crown a great leader, only to see him approaching on a donkey, his feet almost dragging on the ground. This is what the prophet Zechariah foretold, a king, a triumphant saviour, who would come not with

Acts 12:1-11/ Ps 34(33)/2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18/ Matthew 16:13-19 Consider a parish council meeting where two members just cannot see eye to eye. One is practical, plain-spoken and has been around the parish for many years, knows everyone, but is not one for theology. The other is a sharp, university-educated newcomer who can quote scripture and church documents chapter and verse. They clash, disagree, sometimes openly, in front of everyone. You might expect one of them to sto

Jeremiah 20:10-13/ Ps 69(68)/ Romans 5:12-15/ Matthew 10:26-33 We are here today, I would suggest, because our faith means something to us. It is important that we follow Jesus and the guidance he gave us. This can come at a cost sometimes. We might want to be somewhere else, doing something different. We can find ourselves in awkward situations because of what we believe and how we know we should live. We might be out with friends, on a break at work, when the talk turns to

Exodus 19:2-6a/ Ps 100(99)/ Romans 5:6-11/ Matthew 9:36-10:8 In the 1850s, in the slums of London, there was a young man who could not help feeling compassion for the poor that he saw all around him, the people rejected by society, outcasts because of the way they lived. He felt compelled to do something to help, not waiting for them to come to church but going out to find them. Together with his wife Catherine, William Booth started what we know today as The Salvation Army.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a/ Ps 147/ 1 Corinthians 10:16-17/ John 6:51-58 When we think about our families, we sometimes see that they may have become scattered far from home. Children grow up, move away, form their own relationships and families. There can be family splits and disagreements, deep hurts that are hard to heal. Relatives who have not spoken in ages. Every so often there comes an opportunity for a family to gather, it might be at Christmas, a family wedding, fune