Reflections

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→

Three cheers for the Farmer. I was trying to explain to our very patient confirmation candidates the significance of the different colours that we use in church. Purple is our getting-ready colour. We use it to show that we are preparing for something special. So we wear purple for the 6 weeks of Lent when...Continue reading→

Embracing Our Imperfections It is a well-known fact that I am not articulate at tricky meetings. I always think of the diplomatic and soothing words many hours later. If only I had said this instead of that, then everything would have turned out far better. If we are honest, when we look in the mirror...Continue reading→

When you’re weary… “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  I...Continue reading→

Meet Bellabot It was a convivial evening at a restaurant. You scanned in the QR code and ordered the food on your phone. Then, in a very short time, Bellabot came and delivered your food, right to your table. Bellabot is of course a robot. It has big charming eye’s, glides easily around and is...Continue reading→

Who did you help today? It was just a line from a novel. Hidden there, waiting for me to extricate it from page 256. Asking me to wrench it out of the paragraph and to exploit it mercilessly. To offer it to you dear reader for your consumption and enjoyment. Hoping that it might give...Continue reading→

The Righteous, The Prophets and the Children. While we are called to welcome absolutely everyone, in today’s gospel there are three groups of people that we are specifically asked to look out for. They are prophets, the righteous and little ones. In this day and age these words aren’t familiar to us and I wonder...Continue reading→