Sermons

Luke 24:36b-48 ©Marian Free In the name of God who meets us on the road and enflames our hearts with the Holy Spirit. Amen. There have been a number of attempts to tell the gospel story through drama, film or musical. I think of Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus of Montreal, and The Passion of the Christ to name a few. Each has contributed to making the story relevant for a new generation.  Where they fall down, I believe, is in their attempt to portray the resurrection. Jesus of Montreal, which tells the story of a modern-day Passion play. When … Read more

St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Indooroopilly 7 April 2024 Preaching on 1 John 1:1-2:2 Rev’d Richard Browning At the school Easter service I led on Holy Tuesday we used a 5.5kg loaf of bread made by a student. It was huge. We used it as an instrument for storytelling. Before it was torn open on the altar, these words were spoken: What if this bread is real? What if this bread can become a part of you? What if the bread gave you the courage to turn towards others with compassion, bringing light and life in all that you do? Would … Read more

     ©Suzanne Grimmett For terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. If those first witnesses -the two Marys who came faithfully to tend the body of Jesus- had nothing to say but could only flee, in terror and amazement, then it should make us cautious about speaking too long and confidently about the mystery of resurrection. This is the surprisingly abrupt original ending to Mark’s Gospel. Many commentators have surmised that later scribes, unsatisfied with the unfinished feel to such an ending, felt the need to add to the story to … Read more

Matthew 28:1-18 ©Marian Free In the name of God, who in Jesus shows us how to be truly free – of our fears, our anxieties and our insecurities. Amen. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! If Friday is Good, if on the cross Jesus defeated evil and death and deprived them of their power why did he need to rise? What can the resurrection do that the cross has not done?  If you have been a part of our liturgical celebrations over the past few days, you will know that they are of one piece. During the Last Supper, … Read more

Good Friday Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12  Psalm 22.1-20 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 John Friday 29 March 2024      ©Suzanne Grimmett My God, my God, why have you forsaken me:  why are you so far from helping me and from the words of my groaning?  These are words from today’s Psalm that Jesus knew well. So well, in fact, that he seems to have identified this Psalm with himself, repeating these words from the cross in both Matthew and Mark’s Gospel accounts. Somehow, we need to come to terms with the cry of God-forsakenness on the lips of the God-man, Jesus, who … Read more

SERMON Maundy Thursday John 13.1-17, 31b-35 Sunday 24 March 2024      ©Lauren Martin During supper, our Lord and teacher takes the place of a servant – removing his outer robe, wrapping a towel around his waist, and washing our feet. How scandalous an act! That one above us should stoop so low and do something so intimate for us as wash our feet. What an act of love indeed! An act of love that is followed by an act of betrayal. How much more bitter did this make the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter, after such … Read more

Palm Sunday Philippians 2.5-11 Mark 11.1-11; 14.1-15.27 Sunday 24 March 2024                                                                                                 ©Lauren Martin Today we are walking through the doorway from Lent into Holy Week, as we remember Jesus’ joyful and triumphal entry into Jerusalem, reminiscent of the triumphal imperial processions of the Roman Empire. As Jesus enter the city, the crowds shout out ‘Hosanna’ and wave palms. Originally, ‘Hosanna’ was used as an invocation addressed to God, meaning ‘save us’ or ‘save now’. Later – but still in the times of the in Old Testament – hosanna became a shout of joy or welcome. A cry for … Read more

Fifth Sunday of Lent Jeremiah 31.31-34 Psalm 119.9-16 Hebrews 5.5-14 John 12.20-33   ©Suzanne Grimmett As we join ourselves to the escalating tension in our journey to the cross we find St Andrew making one of his rare Gospel appearances, gathering up some Greeks who “wish to see Jesus”. This is, after all, the disciples’ role- to help others to see Jesus. Here in the community of St Andrew, we are always inviting others to journey with us and come and ‘see Jesus’, particularly as we approach this most Holy Week. It is also a time which should make us think … Read more

John 3:14-21 ©Marian Free In the name of God, Earth-Maker, Pain-Bearer, Life-Giver. Amen. Snakes alive! Today’s gospel is so dense and so filled with complex ideas that it is easy to overlook the almost throw-away line that likens Jesus to a serpent and his crucifixion to a bronze serpent placed on a pole to ward off death. The image of a serpent in today’s gospel is disturbing to say the least. Even though our lectionary gives us the OT Testament reference – the plague of snakes and the bronze serpent as the cure, it can be difficult to see the … Read more

3RD Sunday in Lent Exodus 20.1-17 Psalm 19 1 Corinthians 1.18-25 John 2.13-22 Sunday 3 March 2024    ©Suzanne Grimmett The thing about paradox, is that it doesn’t get resolved. The thing about paradox is that we get to sit in the tension between opposites, letting that tension challenge our certainties and lead us towards the precious gift of humility. It is hard, after all, to have a sure sense of superiority in how right one is, when the deepest answers are paradoxical. The life of Christian faith requires us to hold much in tension. If your religion eases you over … Read more

2nd Sunday of Lent Genesis 17.1-7, 15-16 Psalm 22.24-32 Romans 4.13-25 Mark 8.31-38          ©Suzanne Grimmett We are used to the sight of crosses everywhere, not only in cemeteries and  in our places of worship but around people’s necks, on t-shirts or tattooed on bodies. The cross can symbolise the centre of the tension between between opposites. The point where there is a meeting of life and death, transcendent and imminent, divine and human. We can think of the cross as a sign of the vertical relationship between God and humanity and the horizontal relationship with one another and all … Read more

Mark 1:9-15 ©Marian Free In the name of God whose love is our beginning and our end. Amen. I wonder, if we only had Mark’s account of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness would our practice of Lent any different? Mark simply tells us: “The Spirit immediately drove him out (literally cast him out) into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”  There is no mention here of fasting, no reference to Jesus being famished and no elaboration of the temptations. It … Read more