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…

6th Sunday of Easter                        Year A                                                             14th May 2023 Lectionary Readings; Acts 17 v22-31; Psalm 66 v8-20; 1 Peter 3 v13-22; John 14 v15-21. We are not orphans, we are children of a loving God. In the passage from Acts, Paul is telling his sceptical audience that there is only one true…

5th Sunday of Easter            Year A                                                            7th May 2023 Lectionary Readings; Acts 7 v55-60; Psalm 31 v1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2 v2-10; John 14 v1-14. Do we need a visual aid to explain a mystery? In the hymn, popular with children of all ages, ‘Our God is a great big God’, (Singing the…

4th Sunday of Easter – Year A                                                                                  30th April 2023 Lectionary Readings:  Acts 2 v42-47;     Psalm 23;     1 Peter 2 v19-25;     John 10 v1-10.        Whose ‘voice’ do you trust? In the passage from Acts we are told ‘that they spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other.’…