Gathering on the mountain

As we begin a new liturgical season, and indeed a new year - the first year in our three year cycle of readings - it seems appropriate that the first image that is presented to us is something that is so deeply ingrained in my psyche - the mountain as a sacred place. I grew up in the shadow of a beautiful mountain - Mumbulla Mountain in the Bega Valley, a place that is sacred to my family and to the Aboriginal people. Our readings begin with the vision of the Prophet Isaiah of all the nations streaming up to the holy mountain of the Lord, and being changed and transformed by the law and ways of God, as we worship together. (7'19")

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Advent 1A.

A king on a cross

Christ the King - the final Sunday in the Season of the Year. This feast, and the image of king, undoubtably invokes many images. This week it was announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton were finally engaged which caused many hearts to race in anticipation of a royal wedding in the middle of 2011. As much as I would like to be excited by such things, the British monarchy doesn't really do anything for me. When we think about a king, I am sure the many plays and movies that we have watched would supply a myriad of imagery - huge thrones, crowns with bling-galore, magnifent state rooms and equally splendid attendants bowing and scraping before the exalted presence. And although this image sometimes appears in scripture, the dominant image that is given to us this Sunday is so radically different.

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Recorded at SJV, 8.30am (7'04")

Asteroids and kingdoms

Sunday 33 in Year C; Luke 21:5-19. In the Gospel, which takes place in the final days of Jesus ministry in Jerusalem, the country-yokel disciples remark on how magnificent the temple is. Thinking back to the impression that the very first time that I beheld the incredible magnificence of St Peter's Basilica in Rome some sixteen years ago, I wonder how I would have reacted if we had met a crazy Cardinal who told us that not a single stone would be left standing on another. Then Jesus begins to tell us of all the possible calamities that may befall the earth, kingdoms and families. Cheery stuff indeed!

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Recorded at SJV Vigil, 8'49"

Life, death, hands, feet, bodies and couches

Now that our journey with Jesus to Jerusalem has finally reached its climax in the triumphant entry into the city, the tension only continues to increase. Likewise, as the liturgical year rapidly draws to a close, the church this week offers readings that invite us to reflect on what happens to us - and very specifically what happens to our bodies after we die. So why do our bodies matter? Shouldn't we only worry about our souls? Or is it okay to buy a new couch? Listen in for all this and more!

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Recorded at SJV 6pm