Men can be reluctant to embrace - in the traditional icon The Embrace of the Apostles Peter and Paul these two certainly are. But the iconographer is saying that, despite their differences, the Spirit united them in the work of the mission of God, in making 'a new thing' happen in a world exhausted of hope.

A talk for The Festival of Peter and Paul, Apostles, 29 June 2025.

Referencing the icon The Embrace of the Apostles Peter and Paul by Tamara Rigishvili, ⁠https://www.tamarapaint.com/Icons/Apostles_Peter_and_Paul_Embracing_by_Tamara_Rigishvili.jpg.

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The exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac is a tale about anyone who does not feel at home in the world at large, anyone uncomfortable with the way of life imposed on them by the powerful spirits of society; it is for anyone made to feel that their so-called ‘mental health problems’ are entirely of their own making, rather than being symptoms of the sick society we live in. And this is a tale which turns that whole conversation upside-down, for the exorcism Jesus performs shows all the witnesses, ourselves included, that when the Spirit of God encounters a person possessed by the spirit of "Legion", the military state, it is not that person who is condemned; it is "Legion" who is expelled.

A talk for The Second Sunday after Trinity , 22 June 2025.

Referencing ⁠⁠Luke 8.26-39.

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Public prayers outside the Cavern to commemorate John Lennon; faithful prayers for the good of the next generations - a meditation on hope.

A talk for Trinity Sunday, 15 June 2025.

Referencing ⁠Romans 5.1-5⁠.

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Luke describes the coming of the Holy Spirit in these words: “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” This was the sound of walls falling down, the sound of barriers to love and understanding collapsing; this was the wind of change which blows away our fear and suspicion of others, and fills  us instead with joyful, mutual respect and understanding.

A talk for Pentecost, 8 June 2025

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Referencing ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Acts 10.34-43, Luke 24.1-12.

A talk for Easter Sunday, 20 April 2025. 

The absence of God "is like a presence”, writes R. S. Thomas. What might this mean for us, living in an era of absence, where, with things lacking in society which we feel should be there, our world seems eerie?

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Referencing ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exodus 1.8-2.10, Luke 2.33-35.

A talk for Mothering Sunday, 30 March 2025. 

Our remarkable scriptures privilege and celebrate the outsiders: like the subversive midwives, the defiant mother and sister, the sympathetic princess, united by their surreptitious risk-taking actions to save a baby. The pharaohs and presidents, the CEOs and chancellors, will go on doing what they have always done, drawing ever-more power and wealth to themselves and their caste at a cost to the people and the planet. But through learning to listen to the stories of those at the edges facing abandonment or drowning, those at the brink of disaster, we get to know the voice of God, and understand his worldview, for he so often speaks through and for such people. In scripture, and in life today. This people's history is a story of beauty bubbling up from beneath.

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Referencing ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Psalm 91.1-11, Luke 4.1-13.

A talk for The First Sunday of Lent, 9 March 2025. 

"...Then the devil appeared at a supermarket checkout, and said to the customers purchasing processed food, ‘If you throw yourself wholeheartedly into consuming food full of additives, fat, sugar, and calories, you have nothing to fear, for the angels of God will protect you from cancer, heart disease, obesity and tooth decay.’ And they said, ‘I believe you, here’s my loyalty card’.The three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness are the very same temptations which we succumb to today..."

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Referencing ⁠⁠2 Corinthians 3.12-4.2, Luke 9.28-43.

A talk for The Sunday Next Before Lent, 2 March 2025. 

Esther Ghey says that the practice of mindfulness saved her. Originally rooted in Buddhist mediation, mindfulness is now popularly attached to no religion in particular. It’d say that it’s not unlike the Christian, Lenten, practice of taking oneself off for a time to quietly be in the moment, to listen for the voice of God, to lift one’s face to the face of God.

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Referencing ⁠Revelation 4⁠, ⁠Luke 8.22-25⁠.

A talk for The Second Sunday Before Lent, 23 February 2025. 

With so much apocalyptic speech in our public realm stirring up agitation today, it’s vital we grasp that ‘The Christian apocalypse does not indicate the end of the world in a mighty conflagration called Armageddon, nor the resettling of the land of Israel as Zionists would have it. On the contrary’, Revelation shows us that all the storms of empires will pass away, brought ultimately to a state of calm by the Lamb of God who holds the world in love.

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Referencing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 1 Corinthians 15.12-20, Luke 6.17-26

A talk for The Third Sunday Before Lent, 16 February 2025. 

Sometimes in our history dangerous, hateful, words are spoken about the poor, the homeless, and the outsider; sometimes we hear scripture being ‘weaponised and abused’ to justify bigotry and hatred and violence against the most vulnerable. We hear it more and more today, and the more we hear it, the more we must challenge and oppose it.

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