“If you are thirsty, come to the waters; if you have no money, come, buy and eat!” Inspiring words - which make no sense to us, economically. For the way our world is organised means that those who have no money cannot buy and eat. But Isaiah’s wondrous hymn celebrates God’s economy, opening the door to a different way of organising our world. A talk for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity, 2 August 2020. Find the text to this and all my talks at bit.ly/johndavies-talks.

From Revd John Davies, priest in charge of Clapham with Keasden and Austwick with Eldroth in the Diocese of Leeds. Prayers and reflections from the Churches Weekly Newsletter in a time of the coronavirus: Sunday 2 August 2020, The Eighth Sunday after Trinity. Featuring 'O Lord All The World Belongs To You' (Patrick Appleford) from 'Divine Hymns: The Worship Collection Volume 9', and 'My Shepherd Will Supply My Need' (Isaac Watts) performed by Allyse Smith from 'Come Thou Fount'. Including my talk for the day, “You that have no money, come, buy and eat!” - God’s economy reorganises the world, also available here as a stand-alone podcast.

If you were given an empty ‘time capsule’, what would you put in it? What of all those things and people you treasure would you want to preserve for a future generation to discover? What old things would you want to share with them? And what new things do you wish for, for those who will come after? What are your hopes and dreams for the coming generations? A talk for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, 26 July 2020. Find the text to this and all my talks at bit.ly/johndavies-talks.

From Revd John Davies, priest in charge of Clapham with Keasden and Austwick with Eldroth in the Diocese of Leeds. Prayers and reflections from the Churches Weekly Newsletter in a time of the coronavirus: Sunday 26 July 2020, The Seventh Sunday after Trinity. Featuring 'We Love the Place O God' (William Bullock) performed by The Scottish Festival Singers from '90 Favorite Hymns', and 'May the mind of Christ my Saviour' (Kate B. Wilkinson) performed by Meindert W. Kramer from 'Koor en Samenzand uit Urk'. Including my talk for the day, Treasures old and new: my time capsule, also available here as a stand-alone podcast.

One strange twist can completely subvert the stories we live by. Consider our response to the government's nbarrative "Stay home - Save lives" either side of the revelations about one man's trip to Barnard Castle. Similarly, when Jesus said “Let the wheat and the weeds grow together until the harvest” he did so to completely subvert the oldest story that “We are the wheat and these others, over there, they are the weeds - and for being weeds, we’re condemning them to hell”. This story is what holds groups of people together - we identify ourselves in opposition to others. “We are the upright ones because we’re not like those degenerate others.” Instead we discover in scripture a kind merciful God who rules the world in compassion and kindness, for his instinct is to spare all.... A talk for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 19 July 2020. Find the text to this and all my talks at bit.ly/johndavies-talks.

From Revd John Davies, priest in charge of Clapham with Keasden and Austwick with Eldroth in the Diocese of Leeds. Prayers and reflections from the Churches Weekly Newsletter in a time of the coronavirus: Sunday 19 July 2020, The Sixth Sunday after Trinity. Featuring 'Let us with a gladsome mind' (John Milton) performed by The Sign Posters from '20 Golden Songs of Praise', and 'There's a wideness in God's mercy' (Frederick William Faber) performed by Kate Higgins from 'The Solid Rock'. Including my talk for the day, Breaking news: there will be no apocalyptic harvest, also available here as a stand-alone podcast.

On Sea Sunday the Mission to Seafarers invites us to think of those who work out in the elements at sea, vulnerable to the weather, to international pirates, to maltreatment by their employers, to poverty, fatigue, homesickness and loneliness - all of this heightened at this time of the coronavirus. The parable of the Prodigal Sower invites us to consider another elemental force at work in the world: the Spirit of God, and the nature of his power - unlimited in generosity and love. A talk for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 12 July 2020, Sea Sunday. Find the text to this and all my talks at bit.ly/johndavies-talks.

From Revd John Davies, priest in charge of Clapham with Keasden and Austwick with Eldroth in the Diocese of Leeds. Prayers and reflections from the Churches Weekly Newsletter in a time of the coronavirus: Sunday 5 July 2020, The Fifth Sunday after Trinity: Sea Sunday. Featuring 'Christ Is the World's Light' (E.P. Green & R. Lloyd) performed by Bussemse Koorvereniging Pro Musica from the album 'Rejoice', and 'Lead Us, Heavenly Father Lead Us' (James Edmeston) performed by The Sign Posters from 'A Treasury of Hymns - Songs of Praise and Inspiration'. Including my talk for the day, At sea with the elemental Spirit of Christ, also available here as a stand-alone podcast.

If you feel like you can’t do right for doing wrong, you are in good company. As a people for some weeks now we have been asked to carry the burden of this damned coronavirus on our own shoulders. We are commanded to ‘Control The Virus’ - as if we had the power - and abandoned to make our own choices as to what that means in practice. And so you are burdened, for if you stay indoors aren’t you failing to help get the economy moving again; but if you go out aren’t you risking infection and putting extra strain on our health services? If you meet with friends aren’t you putting them all at risk; but if you decline their invitation aren’t you being antisocial? What a bind we are in... what burdens we carry. How they weary us. In this, we are not alone.'. Jesus says, 'Come, all you weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.' A talk for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, 5 July 2020. Find the text to this and all my talks at bit.ly/johndavies-talks.

From Revd John Davies, priest in charge of Clapham with Keasden and Austwick with Eldroth in the Diocese of Leeds. Prayers and reflections from the Churches Weekly Newsletter in a time of the coronavirus: Sunday 5 July 2020, The Fourth Sunday after Trinity. Featuring 'Lay Your Burden Down' performed by Chuck Girard, 'Let it Go'' performed by Gyan and Leunig, and 'Go Out With Joy / I Will Sing (Medley)' performed by Maranatha! Music. Including my talk for the day, Come, all you weary and burdened, at a time of the Coronavirus, also available here as a stand-alone podcast.