Creative word

The Word of God is so creative, powerful and fruitful, that sometimes we need to go to a high place to see the incredible vista that the Lord provides before us. This is the image that St Paul uses in Romans 8 when he lifts us with him to see the vision of all creation groaning and longing for the revelation of the children of God. The powerful and prophetic Word of God (dabar) never returns empty - that is why the parable that Jesus tells of the sower of the seed is even more intriguing. The scattering of the seed willy-nilly suggests a farmer who is extremely foolish with such a precious commodity in first-century Israel. The grace the Lord offers is never stingy; he is always generous.

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Recorded at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, 10.30am (9'33")
Matthew 13:1-23; Isaiah 55:10-11; Romans 8:18-23

Resting in the Father

As we return to the ordinary season of the year, we are given a most magnificent Gospel to land on, in Matthew 11:25-30. This gospel passage is unusual in the first three Gospels that rarely take us into the inner life of Jesus in his prayer to the Father. Here we are plunged into this moment when Jesus rejoices in the possibility that those around him might be able to share in the incredible intimacy that he shared with the Father - a secret that the inarticulate infants are able to grasp, but which is hidden from the learned and clever. If we wish, this secret is available to us as well - especially if we labour and are overburdened and want to finally find our place of rest.

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Recorded at the Kairos Young Adult weekend, QCCC Centre, Mt Tamborine. (11'17")

God is love

When you read through the scriptures, one thing that modern readers might expect are passages that point to proofs for the existence of God. And yet there is not a single place that we can turn to to find something even remotely close to a De Deo Uno (Concerning One God) treatise that you find in classical and medieval theology. In fact the closest that you get is the statement that begins Psalm 14 and 53 - 'The fool says in his heart, "There is no God".' The bible - like all of the ancient near east, simply takes for granted the existence of God.

So what does the bible tell us about the nature of God? What are the images that you find that can help to illuminate the profession of faith of the early Church that God is three in one?

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Recorded at St Brigid, Gwynneville, 9am (10'49")
Trinity Sunday | John 3:16-18