Reflections for Lent

Palm Sunday starts with an extra gospel reading to set the scene for the beginning of Holy Week, as Jesus makes his triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11). But our liturgy then quickly pitches us into the later stage of the story, when Jesus is betrayed, captured, tortured and executed (Matthew 26:14—27:66).  Maybe we do […]

Life and death. Most of us probably don’t spend a huge amount of time thinking about it – which is probably all to the good. Those who do find themselves thinking a lot about the death part of the duo are often not in a good place and need help or support. But as we

There is a lot of nonsense talked about how you can look into someone’s eyes and know whether they are trustworthy, or even maybe if you are in love.  Doubtless we have ways to judge people based on small behavioral hints that operate at a level below our conscious awareness. Our relationship with dogs or

For a time that is traditionally associated with fasting, Lent provides an extraordinarily rich feast of scripture readings. We’ve already heard about Jesus’ temptation in the desert; the Transfiguration; the fall of Adam and Eve; Abram setting out for a new, unknown life. Today we hear of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the

This year in our cycle of Lenten readings we hear often about beginnings. We heard first about the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. We heard of the beginning of human existence in a world as we know it, with its separation from God. We hear this week about another of the beginnings central to the story

We have started our Lenten journey through the desert towards death, and resurrection. Today we listen to one of the best known stories in the bible (Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7). We hear about Adam and Eve, how they fell from grace, out of the intimate presence of God, to a state of shame and separation from

I doubt many of us are tempted to stand on the street corner tooting a trumpet and calling attention to our piety. So the warnings that Jesus gives in our Gospel reading today, for the beginning of Lent (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18), they don’t really apply to us, do they.  In terms of correcting our behavior

As we move into Holy Week we celebrate the slightly schizophrenic Feast of Palm or Passion Sunday. The palms and celebration of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem is short lived (Luke 19:28-40), quickly followed by a long reading of his passion and death (Luke 22:14-23:56).  Head snapping though this may be, and probably was for

Another week, another altercation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees (John 8:1-11). But this one is a little different. In some cases Jesus takes the fight to them, as in: “you brood of vipers” (Mt 12:34). In others he engages with a friendly questioner: “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk

During Lent we are presented in our Readings with many of the most familiar scripture stories. Maybe it’s a way to focus us back on the clearest summations of what our faith is all about. Today we hear the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32), which is certainly up there as one of