Sermons

Luke 3:15-22 ©Marian Free In the name of God who consistently bursts through the bounds of our expectations. Amen. “When Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him” (Luke 3:21,22). These are details of Jesus’ Baptism with which we are familiar, but a closer look reveals two unique features which tell us something about Luke’s agenda in writing the gospel. In the first instance we note that it is only Luke who mentions that Jesus was praying. Prayer is an important feature of this gospel. On a number of … Read more

                                        ©Suzanne Grimmett Feast of the Epiphany Isaiah 60.1-6 Psalm 72.1-7, 10-14 Ephesians 3.1-12 Matthew 2.1-12 The great poet, W. H Auden, having delved deeply through his work into art, community, erotic love, politics and psychology, had come to believe that everything- all of this- had been fundamentally altered by a single event in human history.[1] In this, he is the poet for the Epiphany, because it was the revelation of the Christ child that changed everything. The incarnation meant that nothing looked the same again, posing a radical disruption in the world and therefore of human thought and self-understanding. … Read more

2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2 John 8:12-19 New Year’s Eve 2024                                                 ©Suzanne Grimmett One of the reasons people love New Year’s Eve is for the hope -the hope that next year will be better, different. The hope that we will be different and the promise of new possibilities that this next calendar year may bring. And it will bring new possibilities. There is no doubt about that. The problem with hope, though, is the way we think about it. If hope is about wishing for something we want but are anxious we may never have, then hope is really just fear … Read more

Christmas Day Isaiah 62.6-12 Psalm 97 Titus 3.4-8a Luke 2.8-20                                 ©Suzanne Grimmett Goodness is stronger than evil; Love is stronger than hate; Light is stronger than darkness; Life is stronger than death; Victory is ours through him who loves us. These are words of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu from An African Prayer Book, and while they may not sound on the surface like a Christmas prayer, I think they speak strongly to the heart of what we are celebrating today. I think these words lie behind what the angels are proclaiming when they proclaim good news of great joy … Read more

Isaiah 9.2-7 Titus 2.11-14 Luke 2.1-14 24 December 2024                                                                                                                           ©Marian Free In the name of God, who comes to us as a vulnerable baby insisting on our cooperation in the building of a just, compassionate and caring world. Amen. I am conscious that many of us come to this Christmas burdened with the state of the world – the encroaching collapse of democracy,  the internal strife in more nations than I can name, the horrific wars in and between so many nations and the toll they are taking on human lives and on infrastructure, the increasing ferocity of natural … Read more

Fourth Sunday in Advent Micah 5.2-5a Song of Mary Hebrews 10.5-10 Luke 1.39-45 Sunday 22 December 2024                                               @Suzanne Grimmett Here as we are, so close to celebrating Christ’s birth, the air is full of promise. Promise for the coming child, the promise of a world that desires peace, the promise of God’s dream for the world coming to life. And here, in this domestic meeting between two women- two cousins- we catch a glimpse of the way God works to bring this dream about, and what kind of dream it is. Few women in history have been as idolised, … Read more

Zephaniah 3.14-20 A Song of Isaiah Philippians 4.4-7 Luke 3.7-18 Advent 3       ©Suzanne Grimmett Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world? These, of course, are words spoken by the character Morpheus in the classic movie, The Matrix. Now 25 years old, the film remains a classic because it speaks a compelling and haunting truth. In case you are not familiar, in the first of the series; …computer hacker … Read more

The Rev’d Richard Browning Malachi 3.1-4 The Song of Zechariah Philippians 1.1-11 Luke 3.1-6 In the name of God, Dreamer, Dream and Breath. Amen. If we are in the business of dreaming, fire is really helpful. Humans have been at it for millennia. Nestled by darkness the flames dance and shake and shoot up with delight, kicking sparks that spiral towards the stars. Dreaming and fire are companions. So, when was the last time you made a fire? There is an art to it. Something like newspaper is scrunched and bunched then little sticks, not even kindling is next, then … Read more

Feast of St Andrew Deuteronomy 30.11-14 Psalm 19.1-6 Romans 10.8-18 Matthew 4.18-22  @Suzanne Grimmett What does it mean to be called? Judging by the St Andrew’s Day Gospel reading we share, to be called is to have your life utterly disrupted. Andrew was just doing what he always did to make a living and help feed his family and community, casting his fishing nets into the Sea of Galilee with his brother Simon’s help. We can only speculate about how much these brothers knew Jesus before this moment when they apparently walk away from everything they have known at a … Read more

2 Samuel 23.1-7 Psalm 132.1-12 Revelation 1.4b-8 John 18.33-37                                                                                                                            ©Lauren Martin I invite you to take a moment and picture in your mind an image of a king. Any king. What kind of king do you see? Do you see a modern-day monarch? A historical image of royalty? A medieval inspired fantasy, with epic quests or tyrannical rule and oppression? These are not the types of kings known in Jesus’ time. Perhaps, in this context you thought of someone like King Herod or King David? Today we come to the last Sunday in the church … Read more

1 Samuel 1.4-20 The Song of Hannah Hebrews 10.11-25 Mark 13:1-11 Sunday 17 November    ©Suzanne Grimmett ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’ We might imagine the disciples stepping out from the shadows of such a glorious building, the centre of sacred worship and identity, and feeling that there, at least, is a foundation for their lives. There is God’s glory within stone and brick, an invitation into God’s presence and the cultic practices that bring together the people of God. The restoration of that temple must have seemed a worthy goal- one that would have carried incredible … Read more

Feast of All Saints Wisdom 3.1-9 Psalm 24 Revelation 21.1-6a John 11.32-44 Sunday 3rd November 2024   ©Suzanne Grimmett In this story of the raising of Lazarus, found only in John’s Gospel, we witness the humanity of Christ, overcome with grief, and a God who refuses to let death have the last word. It reveals the bigger story of the God who pursues us even to the grave, drawing us always from death and decay to life, love and community. So as we gather to mark this Feast of All Saints, what we are doing is celebrating those who embody the … Read more