Thoughts and reflections on what it means to be human.
Category: Seasons
A Reflection on the Epiphany
For me, the Feast of the Epiphany is both about growing in wisdom and new beginnings. Maybe one of the reasons is that I defended my doctoral thesis on this day eight years ago, ready to move to Berlin the next day: wisdom, or maybe better learning, and a new beginning.
A homily for the First Sunday after Christmas on New Year’s Eve
I don’t know if it’s just me, but at this time of year, with the endless lists of the past year being published, I find it very hard not to start measuring myself against the achievements of others. What may have been a healthy reflection on who I am, becomes an unhelpful realisation of all the things I have not achieved yet and probably will never do.
A reflection on Christmas, the New Year and the Church family
Based on a sermon preached at St Mary’s Marlborough
on the First Sunday of Christmas
Following earlier thoughts and reflections on Advent, Christmas and the New Year
On this first Sunday after Christmas, in many churches, the Holy Family is the central theme. There are times in the Church year when we remember Mary and Joseph individually, but this day we are invited to think about them as a family. What struck me a couple of years ago, when reflecting on this theme, is how Joseph, despite not being Jesus biological father, is fully given this father-role in Scripture and tradition. Joseph, as foster-parent or adoptive parent is not only taking the responsibility as Jesus’ father, but is also treated as such. For me, this is already an early sign that God in Jesus embraces all complexities of human life, including the complexities of family life.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Most of us will be able to think of moments of great significance in our lives. Often you recognise them at the time, even though you don’t always know precisely how until much later. I would like to suggest that most, if not all, of these moments involve an encounter: an encounter with the other, in which suddenly something is revealed that we hadn’t recognised before.
How do we re-orient ourselves to God?
A sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 61.1-4,8-11; 1 Thessalonians 5.16-24 and John 1.6-8,19-28
On the third Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist is our central figure. During the four Sundays in Advent, we start with the patriarchs, followed by the prophets, John the Baptist, and Mary, the Mother of God on the fourth Sunday of Advent. Together with these figures, we journey towards Christmas; towards the celebration of God coming to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. Advent is a time of preparing ourselves once more for Christmas, but also reflecting on how ready we are to receive God in our lives, and indeed, how ready the world is to bring in the Kingdom of God.
A Sermon for the Second Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 40.1-11 and Mark 1.1-8
Advent, maybe more than any other time of the year, encourages us to reflect on the many paradoxes of faith, and through that, indeed, on the many paradoxes of life. In the darkest time of the year, we prepare ourselves for the light coming into the world. We are waiting for something that in many ways, though not all, has already happened. Many of us will go from Advent service to Christmas carol concert, and then back to our Advent devotion or worship.
An early Advent Reflection
Advent is a season of expectation and preparation, as the Church prepares to celebrate the coming (adventus) of Christ in his incarnation, and also looks ahead to his final advent as judge at the end of time.
Advent is a season of expectation, a time during which we wait and prepare for Christmas. It is also the beginning of a new Church year, so even more than other days, we are given a new beginning; we can make a new start.
As all of us have experienced, the reality does not always coincide with our expectation: more often than not it doesn’t. Whether it is our expectation of ourselves, our expectations of others, many a time, the reality is not as good as we had expected, and we can feel let down, again by ourselves or by others. It is an experience so common, that I don’t even think I need to give an example. Continue reading “Advent: Expectation vs Reality”
A reflection on the Season of Remembrance
Beginning with All Saint’s Day today, November is a season of remembrance. We celebrate and give thanks for the holy people who have gone before us, and we remember with thanksgiving those who have died, including those who gave their lives for our freedom. Maybe also in more trivial ways, as the leaves are falling, we remember the long summer evenings and, in our melancholy, we may also think about those people who have crossed our paths but who have disappeared out of sight. Continue reading “Do this to remember me”
Discovering Life 