HR 30 July 2017 Trinity 7 (Pr 12) I Kings 3.5-12; Romans 8.26-39; Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52 Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” – and we find ourselves on familiar ground. These sayings are lodged deep within us. Heard and reheard over years and years, they form a central part of our experience […]
Sermons
The Sower
I have heard quite often that the sower in Jesus’ parable sows the seed in the traditional peasant fashion, casting it from side to side. If this is the way all farmers sowed their seed it is no wonder peasant farming was so bad and famines so frequent. It is a very inefficient way of […]
“Salvation has come to this house today.” (Luke 19.9) – Re-hallowing of the Community Church
“Salvation has come to this house today.” (Luke 19.9) It was in July 1911 that Charles Gore presided at a service here for the laying of the foundation stone of the Chapel of the Resurrection. He and Walter Frere were not at one on the liturgical arrangements. Gore was “all for incense” but refused to […]
Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, look inside and there’s the people
The gospel tells us that the Church is the people. “You are the body of Christ”. Every church building is for the people, the People of God. Having church buildings is an inevitable consequence of the gospel. In Jesus God entered into human life, taking flesh. And so our relationship with God is not just […]
Wonder
Looking at today’s readings, I was wondering what I might preach about. As I was doing this, it came to me that the very idea of wondering, even the very word wonder might be worth exploring. When I was a small boy, I was, with my parents, on our way to Norfolk in my father’s […]
Pentecost
‘Poor, little, talkative Christianity’ – that was E.M. Forster’s somewhat tart observation, and indeed it has to be acknowledged that ours is a religion which is very verbal, and very vocal, and which from the beginning has invested a great deal of energy in the whole business of communication. Today’s celebration and commemoration, ‘the last […]
Lord let me see your footmarks and in them plant my own
When I was an ordinand, a returning student of the College, I found myself at the end of one year at Mass in Lower Church presided over by the then Principal and at which all the others present were leavers preparing to be made deacons. There was a hitch. When it came to the Creed, […]
Sermon on Acts 17: 22-34
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts Be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. The last time I stood here was also the first time I stood here: It was Palm Sunday Evensong and I preached on John 14: 15-21: If you love me […]
Easter IV 2017
The two portions of scripture appointed for today make a daunting prospect for any preacher for they both provide large scale generalised statements about the requirements for a Christian. Holding everything in common, and making sure that we go through the right door who is Jesus Christ, all well and good for generalised waffle, but […]
Low Sunday Sermon
EXODUS 14; 1-END; 15;20-21, PS 16 1 PETER 1; 3-9 JOHN 20; 19-end Preaching today, Low Sunday, is a bit of a challenge– it’s bound to be an anti-climax after the amazing Easter celebrations, and yet it’s the day when brethren of the Community of the Resurrection try to celebrate the Resurrection together.. […]