Reflections

Today's parable of the workers in the vineyard has much to teach us and the first thing that I want to offer is that God’s grace is not a business. It’s not transactional. I’m terribly sorry to say that God does not have an EFTPOS machine, nor does he take MasterCard, Visa or Amex. He... Continue reading→

I was prattling on about a recollection I have of the isle of Skye and the flavour of the memory was as potent and palatable as the here and now. After all my words were expended, the patient, sage gentleman eyed me carefully and completely unrehearsed and without any premeditation, offered the wise titbit for... Continue reading→

Peter’s nemesis / Our nemesis There is a curious little Q and A session at the start of today’s gospel. Peter goes to Jesus and asks ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell... Continue reading→

Pin the tail on the donkey An early childhood memory came bubbling to the surface the other day. It was a child's birthday party and we were playing the classic game of pin the tail on the donkey. You know the one where you take it in turns to be blindfolded and are then given... Continue reading→

Words and music - vehicles of resurrection. It was a simple line tucked snugly away in the middle of a paragraph, in the middle of a novel. It went something like this. ‘Words and music are instruments of resurrection.’ What the author was adroitly and succinctly saying was that there are some words and some... Continue reading→

Of Frank and Fr. Oulton Most of you will know that I once had a go at being a school chaplain. I was a spectacular disaster and after 4 long tortuous years, by very mutual consent, I wrote a pleading letter to the then Bishop of Ballarat asking if it might be possible to return... Continue reading→

Vocation = Anticipation I have always enjoyed the story of Moses and the burning bush. Moses had killed a man back in Egypt and escaped before Pharaoh and his henchmen could track him down and put him in solitary confinement. Moses gets a cruisy job with his father-in-law Jethro looking after the sheep in the... Continue reading→

Whats App? One of the new words in our vocabulary is the word ‘App’. Once upon a time, these things did not exist. They were just a twinkle in some millionaire's eye. Now these little blighters are all over my phone and my iPad. They have come a long way and a friend of mine... Continue reading→

On Being Flawsome Church Street today is brought to you by the word ‘flawsome’ and by the number 40. Jeanine and I are not with you on Sunday, August 27th. It was always part of our crafty, cunning plan to elope on this particular weekend and escape to be by ourselves. While you are reading... Continue reading→

A double shot of holy water It was a giggly conversation. ‘Oh! Father … It’s been a stinker of a day. I think I better have a double shot of Holy Water.’ I think I replied ‘Great! Will there be chips with that?’ But for all the frivolity it did get me thinking. What would... Continue reading→

Of Scraps There are several characters for the budding preacher to play with today. There is of course Jesus himself who has chosen to go to the region of Tyre and Sidon. This area is traditionally thought of as the land of the Gentiles. The community outside the realm of salvation. There are the disciples... Continue reading→

My Grandmother’s Tears It was one of those podcast things that I was listening to in the car. The interview was called  ‘The Bookbinder's Luck’ and it was with Dominic Riley. Part of the interview went like this. A woman brought her bible in to be repaired and Dominic patiently explained the process of reparation. “We... Continue reading→

Families Huh? Today's first reading is absolutely stonkering. It’s not just stonkering in its content but chiefly because of its authenticity. It is about a family who makes the most understandable and repeatable mistakes. The story is also about the consequences of those mistakes and the pain that must follow and must be felt. Israel... Continue reading→

It’s not about the cuppa “I got your letter, thanks Fr. David. I appreciate you writing so quickly. Come for tea and buns on Tuesday at 2:30 pm”. So feeling pretty chuffed with myself for my super efficiency and knowing that the tea and buns were going to be of very fine quality, I  gleefully trotted... Continue reading→

What’s a furlough? Most of you will know that I have a close family member who works with computers and does things I will never understand. This family member is incredibly bright but never smarmy or pretentious. At the end of the first year of COVID, the firm he worked for did something wise and... Continue reading→

Anticipation is part of the joy A kazillion years ago, when I was a youngster, I wasn’t very good at waiting for Christmass. It seemed to take forever to get here and then it was swiftly gone. The ache and yearning leading up to this great feast was unbearable. I just wished that it was... Continue reading→

Of Hiddenness Today's Parables and the story of Jesus’ thwarted ministry are all about hiddenness. Parable 1 is all about the treasure which lies dormant and hidden in a field until the prospector finds it. Apparently by accident. The treasure is so fantastic that he hides it again, sells everything, absolutely everything, and buys the... Continue reading→

It doesn’t matter what you believe… or does it? The trailer for the film looked great. Lots of fast-moving action and ‘how are they ever going to get out of this’ type of agility. There were lashings of special effects, impossibly gorgeous people and the rugged strong jawline of a masculine hero. Hec, what’s not... Continue reading→

The less said the better These words are an echo from a childhood memory that I can barely recall. Certainly, the context and place are lost to me now. But, I can still hear my mother saying, rather firmly as I recall… ‘And as for that other matter, the less said the better’! At the... Continue reading→

A different voice. Satara Uthayakumaran Since childhood, my liberal parents taught me that the pursuit of justice, human rights and compassion for the marginalised were all integrated with a loving divine being who created everyone equally. However, as I came to study analytical subjects such as English, history and ethics, and involved myself in human... Continue reading→