• Sermon – the Maker, Troublemaker, Peacemaker

  19/08/2013

  Here’s what I said on Sunday in the pulpit about that tricky gospel reading.
  

  Not peace, but a division

  Sometimes one reads the Gospel in church and everyone nods knowingly. You can tell that people think that what is being said is wise and good.

  When we tell the story of the Good Samaritan, perhaps. Or the Prodigal Son. Or the stories of his response when people brought him those who were sick.

  We hear Jesus being clever, holy and gracious. We see him healing and enlightening and blessing.

  And we approve.

  We approve of this Saviour for he is made in the image of all our hopes and our dreams.

  This is a God whom we can like. He would not be out of place in our company. We would be honoured to take him home for tea.

  But the truth is, Christianity is about something a little more than this. It is about following a Saviour who sometimes turns around and says things that we find tricky, difficult or bewildering. (more…)

Previous Posts

• Edinburgh (E)CU

  20/11/2006

  Like Fr Gadgetvicar, I’ve been following the story of the alleged banning of a group of Evangelical students from the University of Edinburgh. It has been widely reported – there is a variation on the story here. The Lawyers Christian Fellowship has done very well at portraying the story as a freedom of speech issue…

• Botafumeiro Demonstration

  17/11/2006

  All right, all right, I’m back already. [Well, back to work tomorrow]. And with this little gem – an online demonstration of the physics of the Botafumeiro, the enormous thurible swung in Santiago de Compostela.

• Driftwood

  16/11/2006

• Glasgow buildings

  15/11/2006