David, Mary and the Ark

After journeying through this season of Advent with the prophet Isaiah, and then for the last two weeks with the witness of John the Baptiser, it is only on this fourth Sunday of Advent that we finally are presented with the figure of Mary to accompany our Advent reflection. When we encounter her in the gospel of Luke 1:26-38, we are invited to reflect upon her in the light of the desire by King David to build a temple for the Lord - as a suitable dwelling place for the Lord (2 Sam 7:1-16). Clearly the church wants us to reflect upon these two figures together in order to understand the prophecy that David receives from Nathan about the House of David.

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Recorded at St Paul's, 10am (11'27")

Beginnings

Literature in the classical world was often concerned to set the scene and provide an overview of the whole text from the very first line of the text. When we come to a text like the Gospel of Mark, we may be tempted to pass over the opening line of the Gospel - which we are presented with in our liturgy today for the Second Sunday of Advent - but that would be a mistake. When Mark sits down to compose his Gospel - more than likely the very first gospel to be written - he was very aware of his context. Most likely he wrote the Gospel from Rome while still living there after the death several years before of both Peter and Paul - both as victims of the Roman regime. Sometimes this Gospel is called the 'Gospel of Peter', because it is seen to reflect the thought and teachings of St Peter, and St Mark acts as the compiler and scribe for the memories of his friend and great Apostle.

St Mark was aware of the claimed power of the Roman Emperor, who would claim to be the divine 'Lord' and the 'Son of God'; who would declare an advent before his arrival anywhere, and who would send out messengers (angelos in Greek) to announce the good news (euangelion) of a new military victory. So Mark carefully chooses to undermine the whole of Roman propaganda when his first line is:

"Beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God".

Any book that is written to a Jewish audience and begins with 'Beginning' would automatically evoke the opening line of the very first book of Scripture - the creation poem in the book of Genesis: "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth." St John will do something similar when he begins his gospel with "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."

What does this beginning teach us?

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Recorded at St Paul's, 8am (11'20")

Images and coin inscriptions

The heat continues to rise between Jesus and his persecutors. Now the Herodians, who normally would not associate with the Pharisees, join forces to ask an impossible 'yes or no' question of Jesus - either answer would get him into trouble with his supporters or even arrested and killed by the Romans. The answer that Jesus provides is much more nuanced than we often imagine, and demonstrates the amazing gift of our Saviour to lead us through similar troubled waters.

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Recorded at St Pauls, Camden 5.30pm (11'34")
Sunday 29, Year A. Matthew 22:15-21

The fruit of creation

The parable in today's Gospel from Matthew 21 continues directly from the parable last week (and leads naturally into the final parable of judgement in this trilogy, which we will have next Sunday) and again is addressed to the chief priests and elders gathered in the temple forecourt, while the crowd looks on, on the Monday of Holy Week. The listeners would have immediately thought of the similar parable from Isaiah 5 (our first reading) or Psalm 79(80) which tell the history of the people of God through the allegory of a vineyard. The parable is entirely poignant - especially given the setting and timing and drives home the reality of the pending passion of Jesus. The parable provides the church with an opportunity for a sobering reflection upon our own lives and the call of the Lord to bear good fruit as the tenants of the vineyard.

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Recorded at SJV, 7'30" (the final weekend in the parish)

Wheat and weeds in the shining sun

How many times have we heard something described as an 'act of God' or a disaster of biblical proportions, and wondered in our hearts - if God is indeed all-loving and all-powerful - then where is he in these times? Why doesn't he step in and prevent these disasters? Why do we see such powerful signs of evil in the world?

The parables that Jesus tells in today's Gospel begin to answer these questions. The wheat and the weeds in the field do grow together; good and bad are not separated by nations or religions - both are present in the world and both are present in our hearts. Our call is to recognise that there will be a judgement day and there will be a separation - the weeds will be gathered and burnt; but the wheat will be the righteous who will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father.

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Recorded at Mater Dolorosa, 10am (9'59")
Sunday 16A. Matthew 13

Chosen race and royal priesthood

During Easter we have been reading from the first letter of St Peter, and we come today to what must be one of the most extraordinary declarations in scripture. Peter addresses a mixed community - young and old, men and women, gentiles and Jews, leaders and members - and to each person he reminds us that Jesus has drawn very near to us and wants to make us into living stones to form a spiritual house. Then, using words that were once addressed to the tribes of Israel gathered with Moses around the mountain of Sinai, he then declares that we share in this same dignity and more - of being a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Strangely the liturgy omits verse 10, which declares, 'You were once no people, but now you are God's people; once you had no mercy, but now you have received mercy.'

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Recorded at Mater Dolorosa, 12noon (Mass with Disciples of Jesus Community, 8'54")
Sunday 5A in Easter. 1 Peter 2:4-10.
Post #150!

Offer the left cheek

A story told by Eugene Peterson (the author of The Message Bible - a translation in very contemporary English) of the day when the tables were turned on Garrison Johns - the school yard bully who had beaten up on Eugene every day after school for seven months - highlights the way that we have often read this teaching of Jesus. Perhaps if we reconstruct what this teaching would have meant to the first hearers, we can discover a richer source for reflection.

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Recorded at St John Vianney, 8.30am (9'35")
Sunday 07 in the Year (A)
Matthew 5:38-48

Building the kingdom with Christ the King

Sunday 34 in the Season of the Year - Feast of Christ the King (B)

Sometimes, especially when we live in a Constitutional Monarchy like we do in Australia, and we have strong democratic beliefs - and perhaps even more so if we are republicans - the idea of celebrating Christ as King can seem quaint and antiquated. When the King or Queen are distant and essentially irrelevant to our lives, how do we make sense of this feast and idea of Christ as King?

If Christ is the king, then we must be part of some kingdom. Perhaps we are also confused by what exactly this kingdom is all about? Sometimes we might think (if we do at all) that the kingdom has probably something to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus. We know that through the Cross our sins have been forgiven and we are able to have the promise of another place which we call heaven after we die. But is that actually what Jesus was on about?

We have been reading through the Gospel of Mark this year, and you might just remember how when we began at the start of the year in Mark chapter one, we heard Jesus begin his public ministry by proclaiming that the 'kingdom of God' was near, and we should repent and believe. And then he began to call and invite people into the kingdom. Yet all of this was happening two to three years before the events of his death and resurrection. So if that is what the kingdom is all about, what were they doing during those years?

Perhaps we need to think about how to live in the kingdom and how it might fit with the whole story of God and God's people. How does this fit with the story of creation, sin, confusion, darkness and so forth. And how does a dance on the streets of Paris or the "parable of the public toilet" fit into this story? Listen to find out more...

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Recorded at Sacred Heart, 9.30am (10'17")