What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Sermon – Christmas 2

    Here’s what I had to say in the pulpit yesterday:

    Video first…

    When I was young, Christmas was pretty much the same every year at our house. The morning would comprise of morning worship and after that there would be lots of driving to pick up older relatives so that the family might be together at Christmas.

    Eventually gathered together around a specially prepared festive table we would eat and manage to get through vast quantities of food before listening to the Queen at three o’clock. And then and only then, unwrapping presents.

    The thing that I want to remember today is one of my older maiden aunts. Actually a great aunt, who was always with us at Christmas.

    The thing I remember was something that she used to say as we prepared to tuck into the food, glorious food, that my mother had prepared.

    “Do you know,” said that maiden aunt each year, (more…)

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6 responses to “The Antisemitism Notice”

  1. Gordon Avatar
    Gordon

    Helpful, thank you

    What is the concern with the reproaches? I’m not familiar with them

    Reply
    1. Kelvin Avatar
      Kelvin

      They can be interpreted as being directed at us the listeners. But they can also be interpreted as speaking to Jewish people as all the imagery is from the Hebrew Scriptures and doesn’t reference the experience of those who actually were around Jesus during his life on earth.

      For example:
      “I led you out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea:
      and you have delivered me to the chief priests.”

      Who is being addressed here?

      Reply
  2. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    I must admit I had always read the Reproaches as directed to the listener. That the Egypt from which we are delivered is the Egypt of the modern world, the slavery of ghastly jobs (I’ve had a few, in fact a lot) and the oppression of terrible political systems. But I come from a totally different thought world to that of most people today, and I absolutely see they wouldn’t commonly be read that way.
    But I think it would benefit everyone to find a way of expressing BOTH what faith can offer in terms of freedom AND the mess we do make of the world, and sitting with that tension.
    And I think the church as a whole urgently needs to find a compelling and deep reaching way of doing both.

    Reply
    1. Kelvin Avatar
      Kelvin

      You might be interested that we’re looking at Isaiah 59 as a helpful text for this year, given the current ways of the world.

      Reply
    2. Christine McIntosh Avatar
      Christine McIntosh

      I’m of much the same mind. (A mind that is still blown away when I hear them sung)

      Reply
  3. Dan Floyd Avatar
    Dan Floyd

    Thank you

    Reply

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