Reflections from the belly
Who do we choose to honour?
On 8 June 2026, the King’s Birthday Honours List was announced. This list recognises people who have made a significant contribution to the nation and includes politicians, military personnel, scientists, sports stars, community activists, charity workers, artists, businesspeople and the like. It led me to think about what sort of honours list Jesus might make.
Continue reading “Matthew | The King’s list”
Can a common story offer hope? (Listen here.)
‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household, and go to the land that I will show you… ’ says God to Abram. ‘I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed by you … To your descendants I will give this land.’ Then Abram entered the land with some process of negotiation and treaty. However, from the time of Joshua right up until last week in the White House, these same words have been used to justify driving people out.
Continue reading “Genesis | The joint inheritance”
It seems that doubt is part and parcel with faith, and this should be deeply encouraging. (Listen here.)
It might shock you to hear this, but there are days when I find it hard to identify as Christian. There are days when I struggle to hold onto faith. And there are days when I wonder what on earth I am doing with my life, preaching these few and futile words. For I scroll through my newfeed and see nothing but chaos and a world going up in flames.
Continue reading “Matthew | The life of faith & doubt”
Death is all around, so let’s put some language around it. A brief homily given at a recent funeral, for one who suffered too long and died too young.
Interesting fact: the Jesus stuff, what we call the gospel, isn’t highfalutin’ literature. Instead, it’s working class language. Like life, it’s rough, it’s raw, and it’s real. But translations tend to tidy things up. Take the word ‘splanchna.’
Continue reading “Funeral | You’ve got to go through it”
Want to encounter Jesus? Just look around! I’ve had three funerals and two services in ten days, so this is something from the archives, lightly tweaked. (Listen here.)
There he was, living and walking and eating among us. There he was, hanging on a cross. And there he was, among us once again and explaining the scriptures and breaking bread. And then he simply … disappeared.
Continue reading “Acts | Just look around!”
A promise to all who have been judged and found wanting. (Listen here.)
Last week I caught up with a friend who told me a sad story. She’d been cleaning up her mother’s place when she found some old letters her mother had written. I would like to tell you how much her mother had praised her in these letters, but I can’t. Instead, the letters were venomous. ‘My daughter is so difficult. She’s so brittle, so defensive, so selfish. She’s hard as nails, she won’t let me in. I can’t understand why I had to have a daughter like that.’ On and on it went, with not a thought as to what might create such a daughter.
Continue reading “John | Her mother’s voice”
Can a nation be holy? Or is Peter pointing to a different reality? (Listen here.)
‘You are a chosen race,’ writes Peter, ‘a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.’ ‘Ura!’ shouts Vlad as he orders yet another series of bombings and sends yet another bunch of Russian boys to their deaths in his drive to extend the Holy Russian Empire. ‘Yes!’ screams the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda as it abducts yet more children to be soldiers and sex slaves, victims of a horrific campaign to establish a Christian nation governed by the Ten Commandments. ‘Yessiree!’ crows Pete as he wages an illegal and despicable war against Iran in the name of the God of the Crusades.
Continue reading “1,2 Peter | A holy nation?”
The hallmarks of the voice which is good. (Listen here.)
Many years ago, my husband and I stayed at a little bed and breakfast on the shores of Lake Te Anau. As we chatted with the other guests over breakfast, we quickly realised they were all sheep farmers. The couple from New South Wales ran 20,000 sheep, and checked on their flocks by helicopter. The couple from New Zealand ran 2,000 sheep, and ran among their flocks in an old ute. The couple from the UK raised just 20 sheep of a rare and precious breed. Each day, they fed and combed each sheep by hand, and yes, they knew every sheep by name and their sheep knew their voice.
Continue reading “John | Knowing his voice”
In the shadow of empire and its death-dealing gods, the Risen One comes quiet and unobtrusive. (Listen here.)
‘But we had hoped…’ say the disciples. The words are so deeply familiar. We had hoped that our marriage would endure. We had hoped the cancer was benign. We had it wasn’t dementia. We had hoped our daughter would live. We had hoped our son would come home. We had hoped for clarity, for success, for blessing. Oh, we had hoped.
Continue reading “Luke | But we had hoped …”
(From the archives) The medium is the message, and our guy is the clown. (Listen here.)
In many churches around the world, today’s story will be called ‘The Triumphal Entry’, and it will be told with great pomp and dignity. Perhaps you’ve been at one of these services. The choir slowly processes down the aisle, solemnly singing, then priests wearing exquisite garments follow behind as acolytes waft incense everywhere. The church is aflutter with beautiful banners; and a pipe organ contributes sparkling notes. The congregation stands in their Sunday best and joins in the hymn: Glory! Praise! Honour! and Hosanna! – which means, Lord, save us!
Continue reading “Palm Sunday | The two parades”
Alison and the whale 