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…

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time                             Year A                                    11th June 2023 Lectionary Readings: Hosea 5 v15 – 6 v6;       Psalm 50 v7-15;        Romans 4 v13-25;        Matthew 9 v9-13, 18-26. Living examples of faith in God. The readings this week explore the issue of faith, and what genuine faith looks like in real life. The prophet…

Trinity Sunday                                  Year A                                                            4th June 2023 Lectionary Readings: Isaiah 40 v12-17; 27-31;       Psalm 8;       2 Corinthians 13 v1-13;       Matthew 28 v16-20                   Motivation. What is it that motivates and binds together God the Father, his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit? The apostle Paul is in no doubt – and weaves his understanding into the…

Day of Pentecost                                Year A                                                 28th May 2023 Lectionary Readings: Numbers 11 v24-30;      Psalm 104 v24-34, 35b;      Acts 2 v1-21;      John 20 v19-23                 ‘A breath of fresh air’ An expression we use to suggest that someone has made a positive difference to our lives. I think we can describe Jesus as ‘a breath…

7th Sunday of Easter            – (Sunday after Ascension Day)       Year A             21st May 2023 Lectionary Readings: Acts 1 v6-14;     Psalm 68 v1-10, 32-35;     1 Peter 4 v12-14; 5 v6-11.            John 17 v1-11                    Questions, questions. Luke has two versions of the Ascension. Why? At the end of his gospel, Luke says Jesus…