In one of the spurious endings to Mark’s gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” (Mark 16.15). It’s not in the oldest manuscripts, but I think it echoes the way Mark tells the temptation story at the beginning of the gospel. There,Continue reading “Europe’s Rainforest: a theological response”
Tag Archives: Jesus
And there was a shepherdess
Here’s this year’s Christmas story for you… You say that it’s a fairy story for children, but while it’s true that I was a child, there were plenty of adults present who saw what I saw. What’s more, those were angels, not fairies. You say the facts don’t add up and that the dates don’tContinue reading “And there was a shepherdess”
Money makes the world go round?
As Extinction Rebellion turns its attention to financial institutions this week, I’ve posted a sermon about money from a few weeks ago. Jesus had a lot to say about money and power. It’s not always easy to hear it and can be even harder to put it into practice in a culture that’s been basedContinue reading “Money makes the world go round?”
Abundance versus Excess
Earth Church
I was sitting in church a while back and the preacher said that we might look back and ask why the German church of the 1930s didn’t speak out more strongly against the rise of the Nazis. Then he asked, What will be the issue that future generations look back to the church of theContinue reading “Earth Church”
The Lord’s Prayer
Rowan Williams, in his book ‘Being Disciples’, makes an interesting link between the line in the Lord’s Prayer “Give us this day our daily bread” and the succeeding lines about forgiveness. I struggle to follow Rowan Williams a lot of the time, probably because I’m not one of your natural mystics. (For all the timeContinue reading “The Lord’s Prayer”
Pet Service
It was my first ever pet service today. We did the story of Noah’s Ark. It’s tough, because this is a service aimed at little kids and Noah’s Ark is such a dark story that I’m not sure it’s suitable for children. Anyway, I kept it at the level of a nice man who savedContinue reading “Pet Service”
Climate Week
Here’s a contribution to Climate Week – yesterday’s sermon. Apologies to those of you who don’t like sermons. At least with a blog sermon, you can argue with the preacher in public. The readings are: Isaiah 55.1-13 and Luke 13.1-9 The readings today hinge on whether or not we can have hope. For the JewishContinue reading “Climate Week”
Candlemas
A couple of weeks ago, I was on a course in Salisbury and went to choral evensong at the cathedral (which is one of my favourite cathedrals). One evening, the girls’ choir sang as an anthem Dorothy Parker’s poem, Prayer For A New Mother, set to music by Richard Shephard. I found it very moving.Continue reading “Candlemas”
The Christmas Wolf
There’s a little voice in my head asking what’s wrong with the Christmas stories in the Bible, that I feel the need to write new ones. But I can hardly hear that little voice, because of a much louder voice howling like a wolf – “Aarroooooo!” Here’s this year’s story … (The biblicalContinue reading “The Christmas Wolf”
Alex Mabbs 