Sermons

SERMON Easter 6 Acts 16.9-15 John 14.23-29 Sunday 22 May 2022 The non-anxious God                                                          ©Suzanne Grimmett Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’ It is interesting when our text for the day begins with the answer and we do not know the question. It is in response to a question asked by Judas (but not, you know, that Judas!) The question was, “Lord, how is it that you reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” … Read more

Acts 11.1-18 John 13.31-35 Easter 5 Sunday 15 May 2022 A higher ethic                                                                     ©Suzanne Grimmett Whom might we believe it is acceptable to exclude from the fullness of life? In what way do we fear we could be excluded? What is it about ourselves that could make us less worthy, less an object of the desire and longing of God and of others? There is a question posed by theologian James Alison; For whom am I a repugnant beast? And there is a counter question; Whom do I perceive to be repugnant?[1] This may sound an offensive question, but I … Read more

                                                             ©Suzanne Grimmett It was apparently not Dorcas’ day to die…or at least not her day to remain dead. In the Easter season we are treated to not only consecutive weekly readings from the Gospel of John, but we also follow both Peter and Paul and all their marvellous works through the narrative of Acts. This is the season of resurrection, so we hear of lives transformed by the risen Jesus and miraculous works of healing amongst the followers of the way. But we will also be hearing, all the way to Pentecost, of the revolutionary nature of the kind … Read more

Acts 9:1-20 Psalm 30 Revelation 5:6-14 John 21:1-19 ©John Rolley +May my words be in the name of the Loving Creator, Compassionate Christ & Healing Spirit, Amen. A poem by Davin Tensen[1] starts thus:          I used to cry out to you          For you          With fervour and volume Not ceasing to bid For divine intervention Asking you to come Like a rider of clouds Like Deus Ex Machina Like a warrior king I’d petition you To deliver me And save me From my suffering From my lack From my angst And you did You did Till you didn’t … Read more

Easter Sunday April 17 2022 St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Indooroopilly Fr Richard Browning Introduction This is the day.  This is the day. This is the day that makes sense of all the others. Easter is the story that makes sense of all our stories. The women who left the tomb that morning with fear, awe, and trembling, did not have a polished theology or even a complete picture. All they had was what they saw, and they told it. It would take time to form and the eruption they witnessed that first Sunday morning would become what we know as … Read more

Maundy Thursday                                                                                      Good Friday Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14                                                                               Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 Psalm 116.1-2, 11-18                                                                               Psalm 22.1-20 1 Corinthians 11:23-26                                                                            1 Corinthians 1:18-31 John 13.1-17, 31b-35                                                                               John 18.1-19.42 Eat this dream (part two, Good Friday)                        ©Suzanne Grimmett He blessed it and broke open his dream, one part in each hand. To those on his left and those on his right, he said the same thing as he handed them his dream, “Eat this dream, and it will kill the dream that kills.” Hands trembling, they wondered which of their dreams would die and which would grow stronger. Willie James Jennings, from … Read more

SERMON Maundy Thursday                                                                                      Good Friday Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14                                                                               Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 Psalm 116.1-2, 11-18                                                                               Psalm 22.1-20 1 Corinthians 11:23-26                                                                            1 Corinthians 1:18-31 John 13.1-17, 31b-35                                                                               John 18.1-19.42 Eat this dream (part one, Maundy Thursday)                                        ©Suzanne Grimmett He blessed it and broke open his dream, one part in each hand. To those on his left and those on his right, he said the same thing as he handed them his dream, “Eat this dream, and it will kill the dream that kills.” Hands trembling, they wondered which of their dreams would die and which would grow stronger. Willie James Jennings, … Read more

Palm Sunday – 10 April 2022 Luke 19: 28-40 | Philippians 2: 5-11 | Psalm 31.9-18 | Luke 23:1-49 ©Suzanne Grimmett Flannery O’Connor once said, “A story is a way to say something that can’t be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is. You tell a story because a statement would be inadequate. When anyone asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell them to read the story.” This morning we are telling a story. We began by telling it as we processed with … Read more

Lent V: 3 April, 2022 St Andrews’ Anglican Church, Indooroopilly Isaiah 43.16-21; Ps 126; Philippians 3.4b-14; John 12.1-8 By Richard Browning Introduction It was to be a wonderful day for Linda – a great anniversary brought her entire family and a few special friends to her place for dinner that evening. Work was always going to intrude. Linda was always going to arrive. So when she finally left the office, very expensive bottle of wine at hand, she drove out, not in haste, but urgency. Filing out of the city and into the more winding paths that led to her … Read more

Lent 4 Joshua 5.2-12 Psalm 32 2 Corinthians 5.16-21 Luke 15.11-32 In the image of the motherly father                                      ©Suzanne Grimmett Just at this point in Lent when we might be tempted to make a performance of our penitence, along comes the story of a blatantly unrepentant wastrel of a son and a profligate father. While we refer to this story as “The Prodigal Son”, since prodigal means to be wastefully extravagant, the tale would be much better referred to as “The Prodigal Father.” The central purpose of the story, after all, is about the nature of a God whose … Read more

Lent III, March 20, 2022 St Andrew’s Indooroopilly Anglican Church Readings: Isaiah 55:1-9 Psalm 63:1-8 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 Fr Richard Browning Joao lived by the sea with his parents in a community whose livelihoods came from the waters.  At three years of age, Joao learnt from his father how to fish with a net.  At five years of age he learnt how to fish with a spear using goggles made from mangrove wood and washed up glass. He loved his father Mario and he loved his village life by the water.  When the catch was good, Mario would … Read more

Lent 2 Genesis 15.1-12, 17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3.17 – 4.1 Luke 13.31-35 Sunday 13 March, 2022 Being chickens, not foxes                                                    ©Suzanne Grimmett We have parish chickens. They are mostly ridiculous. The fact that they have names like Habacluck and Eggzekiel does not make them any more dignified. They are forever needing to be protected from themselves as they wander too far, threatened by cars, dogs and even larger birds, and are always attempting to become mothers by sitting with great determination on empty nests for weeks on end. If you were going to choose a metaphor for the … Read more