Christmas is the time to spread the message of love, harmony and peace. Of course, it is a time we are showered with gifts and wishes, but in the midst of all commercialism, we should not forget the spirit of Christmas. The real spirit of Christmas is God’s love to all humanity, as He himself […]
“Elizabeth and Mary, women and mothers bringing their creativity to the movement for change.” Rev Dr William Loader (Uniting Church New Testament Scholar) This divine-human story celebrates women and mothers bringing their creativity to the movement for change. There is no marginalising of women’s stories here, although this is the exception rather than the rule […]
Luke 23:33-43Christ and the power of shared human existence: kindness, love and justice Rev Dr William Loader(Uniting Church New Testament Scholar) A different kind of king! The passage bristles with irony… Had he not said that the great among you shall as the one who serves? Had he not called into question the dominant models […]
“Prediction of the Temple’s destruction, future suffering, and how to live during suffering”. By Rev Dr William Loader Our passage begins with that prediction of destruction. The temple renowned in the ancient world for its beauty (Mark had emphasised the size of the stones) will be destroyed [which it was later, in 70ACE]. … For […]
Our gathering as congregations of Christians is largely about memory. We remember stories of peoples and cultures ancient and distant. We listen to their stories in which we hear wisdom and the voice of God coming through history, story and memory. They are ancestors in this spiritual journey, part of the movement that embraces God’s […]
The story this week (Luke 19:1-10) is about Zacchaeus, a tax collector. This meant that he collaborated with the enemy, the Romans, and collected the high taxes for them. To these taxes he added something more on top for himself – he ripped off his own people. Zacchaeus was despised, hated, rejected, excluded and ostracised. […]
The parable of the pharisee and the tax collector in this week’s gospel bears out the common theme with the previous week’s gospel, the parable of the unjust judge. The common thread is the theme of vindication, justification, exoneration. Last week, the widow’s just cause was vindicated; the widow represents those who were suffering oppression. […]
The gospel this week (Luke 18:1-8) tells about the parable of the unjust judge. He draws sharp lines of contrast between this man and a widow who comes to him for justice. This widow, because of who she was and where she found herself, this widow had no other option than continually beating a path […]
Most of us have felt the sting of ingratitude, but few have felt it as painfully as Ed Spencer. He was a divinity student at Garret Theological Seminary, Illinois. On 8 September, 1860, Spencer was drawn into a situation that changed the direction of his life. That night he was awakened by the shouting of […]
Connections are essential to life and who we are as people. At every level we find ourselves connected – to people, place, the earth and its creatures, culture, and the Divine that pervades all life. Founder of the Centre for Action and Contemplation, Richard Rohr, says that ‘The universe is relational at every level, and […]