Fifteenth Sunday after PentecostSunday, September 1st 2024 Song of Solomon 2:8-13 James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-23 Have you ever had to dress in a certain way to feel that you belong? Or even to prove that you are who you say you are? I sometimes have to wear a clerical collar for that purpose, and people…
Pentecost XIVAugust 25, 2024 I Kings 8 :22-43 Ephesians 6 :10-20 John 6 :56-69 It can’t have escaped anyone’s notice that it is Presidential election season in the United States of America. When I was younger, I quite enjoyed the excitement of watching the United Kingdom results come in one by one during the night as the count…
Pentecost XIIIAugust 18, 2024I Kings 2:10-3:13 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58 If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life within you. For many Christians, one of the most difficult things about the pandemic a few years ago was the fact that it wasn’t…
Pentecost XIIAugust 11, 20242 Samuel 18:5-33 Ephesians 4 :25-5:2 John 6 : 35-51 Does anyone still remember all seven of the deadly sins? Even if we never learned the list, I’m sure that we could name at least four or five of them, even if it was just by guessing! Theologians used to divide them into two…
PENTECOST X | AFRIQUE FÊTEJuly 28, 2024II Samuel 11:1-15 Ephesians 3:14-21 John 6:1-21 “I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.” Paul’s declaration in our reading this morning would have shocked many peoples of the ancient world. Almost without exception, cultures around the globe…
PENTECOST VI July 7, 2024 I Samuel 5:1-10 II Corinthians 12:2-10 Mark 6:1-13 The Serenity Prayer is perhaps one of the most popular prayers in the world. Many people know it as the prayer used by the organization Alcoholics Anonymous, but it has been widely disseminated through greetings cards, posters and even fridge magnets. It…
Sixth Sunday of Pentecost June 30, 2024 II Samuel 1:17-27 II Corinthians 8:7-17 Mark 5:21-43 It’s taken us some time to get used to the crowds in New York City again. During the pandemic, the streets were almost empty and it was always possible to find a seat on the subway – even in rush…
Pentecost III June 9, 2024 I Samuel 8:4-20 II Corinthians 4:13 – 5:1 Mark 3:20 – 35 When I was on sabbatical last October, I visited the university where I studied Egyptology. It happened to be ‘open day’, when prospective students were invited to interview and to explore what the university had to offer. I…
The Day of Pentecost May 19, 2024 Acts 2:1-21 Romans 8:22-27 John 15:26 -16:15 On the Sunday after Easter, we heard the first words that Jesus spoke to the gathered disciples after his resurrection: “Peace be with you!” Today, on the day of Pentecost, we discover that the first gift that Jesus sends to those…
SUNDAY AFTER THE ASCENSION May 12, 2024 Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53 Five hundred years ago, Guru Nanak was born in what is now modern-day Pakistan. He grew up surrounded by Muslims, Hindus and Christians. From a young age, he was driven by a desire to find the spiritual meaning of life. When he…