20th Sunday in Ordinary Time                    Year A                                               20th August 2023 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 56 v1, 6-8;          Psalm 67;        Romans 11 v1-2a, 29-32;        Matthew 15 v21-28. The ‘bigger picture’ requires a ‘bigger heart’. In the gospel reading, the focus is on a mother’s concern for her daughter’s health. In Paul’s letter the focus is on…

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time.                                Year A                                    13th August 2023 Lectionary Readings: 1 Kings 19 v9-18;       Psalm 85 v8-13;       Romans 10 v5-15;       Matthew 14 v22-33. Faith and Doubt. All four lectionary readings challenge us to have faith in God. Faith that God is in control, has a plan that will not be thwarted, a plan…

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time                    Year A                                     6th August 2023                      Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 55 v1-5;       Psalm 145 v8-9, 14-21;       Romans 9 v1-5;       Matthew 14 v13-21.                       God’s Love and Loyalty. Isaiah relays God’s invitation to the people of Israel, to ‘come to me and live’ (Isaiah 55 v3). God promises them his eternal love and…

17th Sunday on Ordinary Time.                             Year A.                                   30th July 2023            Lectionary Readings: Kings 3 v5-12;      Psalm 119 v129-136;      Romans 8 v26-39;      Matthew 13 v31-33, 44-52.               Wisdom and Understanding. Solomon asks God for wisdom to help him in his role as king. God is pleased that he has done so and gladly grants him…

The 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time,                                    Year A,                       23rd July 2023. Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 44 v 6-8;      Psalm 86 v11-17;      Romans 8 v 12-25;      Matthew 13 v 24-30, 36-43.                  Who is Jesus? Matthew has followed last week’s parable about farming with another, in this week’s gospel reading. I think Matthew is trying…

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time                     Year A                                                16th July 2023 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 55 v1-13;        Psalm 65 v9-13;        Romans 8 v1-11;        Matthew 13 v1-9; 18-23 How can I live a ‘productive’ life? Well,  says Isaiah, start by turning back to God, give up your ‘crooked ways’ and ‘evil thoughts’ and you will find that ‘God…

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time                    Year A                                                 9th July 2023 Lectionary Readings: Zechariah 9 v 9-12;   Psalm 145 v8-14;   Romans 7 v 15-25a;   Matthew 11 v 16-19, 25-30.     The Rescuer. “I will come to your rescue and offer you hope”. (Zechariah 9 v 11-12a). The prophet was addressing the people of Jerusalem after their…

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time                   Year A                                                  2nd July 2023                                                                                     Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 28 v5-9;      Psalm 89 v1-4, 15-18;       Romans 6 v12-23;      Matthew10 v40-42                    ‘Slave owner’ maybe, but not a ‘taskmaster’. “Now you are set free from sin and are slaves who please God. I am using these everyday examples because in…

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time                    Year A                                                 25th June 2023 Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 20 v7-13;     Psalm 69 v7-10, 16-18;     Romans 6 v1b-11;     Matthew 10 v24-39                   When the going gets tough…….. In the Old Testament passage, Jeremiah is being honest with God about how he is feeling. Jeremiah is blaming God for his social isolation,…

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.                   Year A                                    18th June 2023                      Lectionary Readings:    Exodus 19 v2-8a;     Romans 5 v1-8;     Matthew 9 v35 – 10 v8.                      Are you part of the solution? That is the underlying question I think is being posed by Jesus to his disciples in the gospel reading. Jesus looks upon the crowds…