Lent VMarch 22, 2026Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45 The French actress Simone Signoret famously titled her autobiography ‘Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be’. It’s a witty title, but it has a deeper and more melancholy meaning. Nostalgia is a complicated feeling. It has its positive sides: it can strengthen a community’s…
Last Sunday of Epiphany The TransfigurationFebruary 15, 2026Exodus 24:12-18 II Peter 1:16-21 Matthew 17:1-9 If we were to read the story of the Transfiguration for the first time without knowing anything else about Jesus’ teaching, his healing ministry or his death and resurrection, we would probably find it rather strange or exotic. Perhaps we would…
CandlemasFebruary 1, 2026Malachi 3:1-4 Hebrews 2:1,4-18 Luke 2:22-40 Major feasts of the Church calendar have a more ancient history than we often realize. They are rooted in pre-Christian holy days that were governed by the sun’s seasonal movement through the sky. The solar year was ritually marked by eight key moments: the two…
EPIPHANY IIJanuary 18, 2026Isaiah 19:1-7 I Corinthians 1:1-9 John 1:29-42 John the Baptist is one of the most distinctive and colorful characters in the New Testament. In his appearance and his message, he stands out like a bright and striking signpost pointing towards the coming of Christ. We heard about his clothing of camel’s…
The First Sunday after Christmas DayDecember 28, 2025Isaiah 61:10 – 62:3 Galatians 3:23-25, 4:4-7 John 1:l-18 Every culture in the world loves a good story. Many of us were brought up with them in the form of children’s books of fairy tales, or through Disney films. We probably remember the first time we could pick…
Christmas EveDecember 24, 2025 The ancient world’s epics start with a dramatic appeal to a transcendent authority – as if the story to be told is too huge to be told by a human voice alone. Homer’s Iliad begins with the words: ‘Sing, goddess, the rage of Achilles’. Virgil’s Aeneid begins with the words: ‘I…
Advent IIDecember 7, 2025Isaiah 11 :1-11 Romans 15 :4-13 Matthew 3 :1-12 Joris mentioned last week that one of the major themes of Advent is watchfulness – a sort of heightened awareness of the circumstances and events that are around us, with the expectation that if we look carefully, we will see signs both of God…
Christ the KingNovember 23, 2025Jeremiah 23 :1-6 Colossians 1 :11-20 Luke 23 :33-43 Having spent the majority of my life as a British ‘subject’ of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II, it felt very strange to sing God save the King for the first time, and to see His Majesty’s name on my English tax forms. There…
Pentecost XXIIINovember 16, 2025Isaiah 65:17-25 ; II Thessalonians 3, 6-13 ; Luke 21:5-19 The French and American social security and welfare systems were created in the wake of enormous crises: situations that were nothing short of apocalyptic. The family, social, political, and economic devastation of the Great Depression prompted President Roosevelt to sign the Social…
Pentecôte XXII9 novembre 2025Aggée 1, 15-2, 9 II Thessaloniciens 2, 1-17 Luc 20, 27-38 Avant de devenir prêtre, je ne me souviens pas avoir assisté à beaucoup de funérailles. Il y avait parfois un décès dans la famille ou parmi les voisins. Mais à 26 ans, je ne connaissais pas autant de personnes décédées qu’aujourd’hui.…