Fourth Sunday of Advent                 Year A                                                 18th December 2022 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 7 v10-16;       Psalm 80 v1-7, 17-19;      Romans 1 v1-7;       Matthew 1 v18-25. Poor Mary! By tradition, Mary is the focus of the fourth Sunday in Advent, though you would be hard put to evidence that from today’s readings! This is how Jesus…

Third Sunday of Advent                               Year A                                     11th December 2022 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 35 v1-10; Psalm 146 v5-10; James 5 v7-10; Matthew 11 v2-11. Work it out for yourself. Here is a message for all who are weak, trembling and worried. “Cheer up! Don’t be afraid. Your God is coming. The blind will see and…

Second Sunday in Advent                            Year A                                     4th December 2022 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 11 v1-10;         Psalm 72 v1-7, 18-19;            Romans 15 v4-13;     Matthew 3 v1-12. Hope draws near. The Old Testament reading today is from Isaiah and records his prophecy about the origin and nature of the Messiah. “Like a branch that…

First Sunday in Advent                                Year A                                     27th November 2022 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 2 v1-5;  Psalm 122;  Romans 13 v11-14;  Matthew 24 v36-44. Living in the light. The apostle Paul wrote these timeless words, You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up.…

Sunday before Advent                                  Year C                         20th November 2022 Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 23 v1-6;  Psalm 46;  Colossians 1 v11-20;  Luke 23 v33-43. Christ the King. The lectionary year closes with readings that remind us of who it is that we follow on our journey as disciples. During the prophet Jeremiah’s lifetime, Babylonia conquered Judah…

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time      Year C                             13th November 2022 Lectionary readings: Malachi 4 v1-2a;       Psalm 98;       2 Thessalonians 3 v6-13;       Luke 21 v5-19. Healing and Faith ‘But for you who honour my name, victory will shine like the sun with healing in its rays.’ (Malachi 4 v2). ‘Sing a new song to…

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.              Year C             6th November 2022 Lectionary Readings: Job 19 v23-27a;    Psalm 17 v1-9;    2 Thessalonians 2 v1-5, 13-17;    Luke 20 v27-38. Life in the Kingdom of God. The Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death. So some of them came to Jesus and said…(Luke…

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time                    Year C.                       30th October 2022 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah1 v10-18;      Psalm 32 v1-7;      2 Thessalonians 1 v1-4, 11-12;      Luke 19 v1-10. Hypocrisy and Honesty. Isaiah speaks for God in challenging the hypocrisy of the Temple worshippers of his day. God says, “No matter how much you pray, I won’t listen. You…

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time                        Year C                         23rd October 2022 Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 14 v7-10, 19-22;     Psalm 84 v1-7;     2 Timothy 4 v6-8, 16-18;     Luke 18 v9-14. Better? ‘Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else.’ (Luke 18 v9) The story…

Twenty-nineth Sunday in Ordinary Time              Year C                         16th October 2022 Lectionary readings: Genesis 32 v22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3 v14-4 v5; Luke 18 v1-8. Present or Future? Luke recalls a story that Jesus told his disciples about a crooked judge and a persistent widow in order to illustrate how the disciples should keep…