Grace Cox

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23 February 2025

Ordinary 7

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Luke 6:27-38

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Imagine a small town where two bakeries sit side by side. One is owned by an old man named Henry, known for his warmth and generosity. The other, by a woman named Sarah, who is equally hardworking but deeply suspicious of those who do not share her views. One day, a new family moves into town — two fathers and their adopted daughter. They enter both bakeries, looking for a cake to celebrate their daughter's birthday. Henry welcomes them, serves them with joy, and refuses their payment, blessing them on their way. Sarah, on the other hand, refuses to serve them, citing her religious beliefs. The town is divided in its reactions — some praise Henry for his kindness, others Sarah for her stand.

Cate Thorn

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16 February 2025

Ordinary 6

Jeremiah 17:5-10

Luke 6:17-26

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Blessed are you who are poor

Blessed are you who are hungry now

Blessed are you who weep now

Woe to you who are rich

Woe to you who are full now

Woe to you who are laughing now

How do we understand this in our contemporary context? 

Luke’s quite concrete about this the poor, the hungry and those who are weep are blessed now. Unlike Matthew, Luke doesn’t spiritualise the plight of the poor and their poverty, their relief is not deferred to the hereafter. If we put this text in its ancient Palestinian context, poverty can be understood as both an economic and a social reality. Essential to such understanding is the idea of ‘limited good’.  In modern economics we assume goods are, in principle, in unlimited supply. If there’s a shortage we produce more, if one person gets more of something it doesn’t automatically mean someone else gets less, it may mean the factory has to work overtime so more become available.

Richard Bonifant

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9 February 2025

Waitangi Day

Isaiah 6:1-8

Luke 5:1-11

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I can remember as a high school student an occasion when my year group was asked to fill out a form. I don’t remember what the purpose of the form was, but I do remember that there was a section in which we needed to tick the appropriate box to identify our ethnicity. The options included, Māori, Samoan, Chinese, and many more. What I particularly remember was that many of my fellow students took exception to the box simply titled Pākehā. Some chose to respond to this by crossing out the word Pākehā and writing in European.

Cate Thorn

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2 February 2025

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

Malachi 3:1-4

Luke 2:22-40

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Today we meet Simeon and Anna. Simeon, a righteous and devout man, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked forward to the consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit had promised him he’d see the Lord’s Messiah before his death. And we meet Anna, of a great age, long widowed, without children as far as we know, a devout woman, who lived in the temple. Anna looked forward to the redemption of Jerusalem, and worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer. It just so happens both appear in the temple at the time Jesus is presented. Both were waiting, both preparing for the time of consolation, of redemption that would come with the Messiah, the Saviour. Simeon and Anna lived expectantly in their time and context with hope and courage.

Richard Bonifant

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26 January 2025

Epiphany 3

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Luke 4:14-21

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I have been really fortunate in the last few weeks to have had some downtime during which I got a lot of work done on the thesis I am hoping to submit later this year. I am not going to talk about the specific work I’ve been doing, that will happen at some point, but not today. What I will say is that the focus of my research has been the ways we often overcomplicate religious ideas in a way that can be disabling to many parts of our lives. One doesn’t need to get too far into any introductory book on psychology to realise that humans have a vast skillset when it comes to self-deception. And if you don’t believe me about that, you’ve just proven my point. (Just so you know, I was feeling quite pleased with myself when I wrote that last sentence, so I hope it comes across as light hearted rather than patronising).

Susan Adams

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19 January 2025

Epiphany 2

Isaiah 62:1-5

John 2:1-12

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In the season of Epiphany, we are hoping to see, in a different way, something about Jesus that will open our eyes and our hearts once again to the power of the story of his life and teaching, and his compassion for those who are in need. It is often said that we glimpse God in Jesus’ life and relationships with his contemporaries, in his ministry and in his concern for the well-being of people. In John’s gospel images and ideas tumble over one another urging us to ‘see Jesus’, to really ‘see who he is’.

Amanda Mark

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12 January 2025

Baptism of Jesus

Isaiah 43:1-7

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

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“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

What does it mean to be beloved?  What does being beloved call us into? In the Gospel today, Jesus is baptised in the Jordan, and then the voice from heaven declares “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you, I am well pleased.” Jesus’ baptism marks the beginning of his public ministry, a ministry which begins with the proclamation that he is God’s beloved son.  We see Jesus stepping into his true identity, God incarnated as human, God’s son, God’s beloved. His baptism underscores the deep significance of the incarnation. Jesus became one of us, shared in our humanity, and stands in solidarity with us.  He participated in the struggles, joys, and vulnerabilities of human life. And crucially, he does that as God’s beloved.

Richard Bonifant

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5 January 2025

The Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-6

Matthew 2:1-12

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In 1998 I spent most of the year living in Saudi Arabia. It so happened that I was there during the time of Hajj. The Hajj is arguably the largest religious pilgrimage in the world given that tens of thousands of people complete it every year. It is an obligation of all Muslim people to participate in the Hajj at some point during their life. To do so they must travel, often from great distances, to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, in order to walk in the footsteps of the prophet Muhammad and of Abraham.​​