Dear Jesus, please give us eyes to see, and ears to hear, and hearts to understand your presence in our midst this morning and every day. Amen. So Jesus comes back to his hometown, and, on the Sabbath, began to preach. Here’s what he might have been saying: “The Kingdom of God is here - repent, and believe the good news.” Or according to Luke’s account: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the … [Read more...]
After Pentecost
Trinity Invitation
“Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; YET my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Is 6:5) Let us pray: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” (Ps 19:14) Amen. Today is Trinity Sunday where we celebrate the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the tri-unity of God as we have sung in our first hymn: “God in three persons, blessed Trinity” … [Read more...]
The Presence
Presence, and absence. I’m sure many people here know the deep, deep ache that comes with the absence of a loved one. One summer when I was about 10 we had a visit from a family from Europe visit my family for a little while, and they had a 14-year-old daughter named Merika. Merika and I became friends despite our age difference, and when she left I experienced an ache that I had never felt before in my young life. I remember realising that this must be what it meant to “miss someone” - … [Read more...]