Richard Bonifant

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12 October 2025

Ordinary 28

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Luke 17:11-19

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I once fell out of friendship with someone who I counted as a close friend and ally. At a time of great vulnerability in my life, this friend made decisions that hurt me a great deal. So much so, that I withdrew from the relationship entirely. Years passed and the pain remained. It felt as if the open wound would never heal. And then a chance meeting occurred, and I suddenly noticed a change within myself. I had imagined the angry bitter things I would say to this person many times. I imagined how good it would feel to tell this person how much they hurt me and how they ruined our friendship and ruined my life (yes, my emotions love to run wild with hyperbole). In those fantasies, I always felt powerful, as if inflicting hurt on another person would somehow bind up my own wounds.

Susan Adams

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5 October 2025

St Francis' Day

Richard Rohr "Everything Belongs", p. 106, 108

Luke 17:5-10

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The world is a rough place at the moment. Everywhere you turn there is violence and death, there is conflict and cancelling, there are climate catastrophes, there is extreme wealth and unimaginable poverty and injustice that marginalises whole groups of people. In the face of it all we feel so small and inadequate. What have we come to? Yet as I meander about in the early morning with my cat - who likes to pause frequently and watch and listen - I see the wonderful colours of sun rise, I hear the marvelous bird song, I see the first spring buds on the flowering trees, I see the animals greet each other - and all seems very well in my small corner. And I wish it could be like this for everyone, everywhere.

Richard Bonifant

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28 September 2025

St Matthew's Day

Amos 6:1a, 4-7

Matthew 5:13-16

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Church life is full of jargon, and for someone like myself who has been coming to church since I was 8 days old, it is easy to be blissfully unaware just how much we use it. The problem with jargon words, is that we can unwittingly exclude people, which is the last thing we want to do as a church. Almost every part of human life has special words that relate only that area, or words that are used in that context with particular nuance and meaning that is different to how those words are used in everyday life. I can remember when I was studying musical composition at university that every would be composer was not so much judged on the quality of their music, so much as their ability to describe their music using words such as juxtaposition, permeation and climax. 

Cate Thorn

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21 September 2025

Creation 3

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13

Matthew 9:9-13

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Today we celebrate the third Sunday in the season of Creation. It just so happens to coincide with the actual St Matthew’s feast day so I can’t resist the opportunity to play a bit with both themes. What’s more after today’s service we’ll have the chance to delve more deeply into themes that relate to our thinking about how we care for creation in this country. In the gospel today we hear Jesus call Matthew the tax collector. Without ado Matthew gets up and follows. Immediately we find ourselves in the midst of a dinner party. Jesus and his disciples are hanging out with a disreputable crowd and censured for doing so, for boundary crossing, by religious leadership. This tells us something about Jesus. It could also be telling us what choosing to be a disciple might lead to. Being a disciple may lead to us seeing through the status quo, questioning it, being willing to upset and upend it.

Grace Cox

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14 September 2025

Creation 2

Exodus 32:7-14, 15

Luke 15:1-10

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In Nelson, in the Maitai Valley something beautiful is happening. The river that runs from the mountains down to the sea has been under pressure for a long time. Pollution, invasive weeds, the slow damage of human activity. The life force of that place, its mauri, has been diminished. But over the past few years, a collaboration has taken root. Project Mahitahi is about more than just planting trees. It’s about healing a valley. It’s about restoring wetlands, caring for waterways, making space for crayfish and tuna to thrive again, and creating food corridors so that native birds can safely return. It’s about recognising the river as taonga, a treasure, alive with the breath of God.

Richard Bonifant

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7 September 2025

Creation 1

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Luke 14:25-33

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Today marks the first day of our season of creation. While the season of creation is not an official season of the church, we are among an ever-growing number of congregations that spend a number of weeks leading up to the feast of St Francis to reflect on the importance of our environment and the challenges we are facing. This time of reflection reaches its conclusion with our special service where we bless the animals. Dog will bark, cats will hiss, donkeys will bray and some of us will worry about the state of the carpet when all is said and done. But that is all yet to come.

Richard Bonifant

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31 August 2025

Ordinary 22

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Luke 14:1, 7-14

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Great art does not distract us from this world. Great art is not about escaping into a different reality, where we are free from the challenges of the real world. Rather great art helps us to see the world in new ways. I begin with this particular thought today because of a recent discussion where someone told me about the guilt they feel for limiting the amount of news they engage with from day to day. Many of us struggle with feelings of being overwhelmed by politics, wars, homelessness, environmental crisis, to name but a few challenging issues. It is not unreasonable to want to take a breather and to reduce our ever-growing anxiety about such things. And yes, sometimes that process of stepping back, or what we might call a tactical retreat, can come with feelings of guilt, because let’s face it, if we don’t do something about the state of this world, who will?

Cate Thorn

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24 August 2025

Ordinary 21

Isaiah 58:9b-14

Luke 13:10-17

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​The keeping of the sabbath, the prophet Isaiah declares, is part of the deal to be in right relationship with Yahweh. Along with doing what Yahweh requires, ensuring all in the community receive their rightful share of the bounty and blessing of God. As the people enact God’s community of caring and inclusion, rewards from Yahweh are promised. I wonder, is the reward the experience of the community as caring and inclusion, justice and equity are enacted, or do we still expect an interventionist God to drop blessings from heaven?

Wilf Holt

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17 August 2025

Ordinary 20

Richard Bonifant

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10 August 2025

Ordinary 19

Genesis 15:1-6, 18

Luke 12:32-40

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Nine years ago today I was on a plane returning from a three week pilgrimage to Israel/Palestine. As it happened I was arriving home late on a Saturday night and had not had the foresight to get myself off the preaching roster for the morning after I arrived home. What this meant was that I wrote a sermon on a plane reflecting on some of the experiences I had in the Holy Land. I don’t tend to repeat sermons, especially ones from nine years ago. But, upon rereading what I wrote then, I found that many of my reflections on that part of the world are as relevant today in light of the ongoing violence in Gaza as they were in 2016. What I was fortunate to discover on that plane trip was that the first reading for that Sunday, the reading we heard from Genesis this morning, was a good place to start.

Cate Thorn

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3 August 2025

Ordinary 18

Hosea 11:1-11

Luke 12:13-21

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The words of Hosea and of the gospel speak keenly into our world today. I’ve known preachers of some renown who might stop at this point and suggest there’s enough in the readings of the day to absorb us. Further words would only serve to interfere with the response arising in us. Then give space, silence for the people gathered to reflect. Tempting as it is to follow such tradition, I’m not sure how that might get interpreted given I’ve just had a few days away. 

Linda Murphy

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27 July 2025

Social Services Sunday

Genesis 18:1-10a

Luke 11:1-13

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My sympathy is with the friend in bed being asked for three loaves of bread in this morning’s Gospel. I can guarantee there wouldn’t be three loaves of bread in my cupboards, however I am sure we would manage to find something to offer. Today is Social Services Sunday and as I am very slowly and reluctantly moving towards retirement at Te Tāpui Atawhai after working with our homeless CBD whānau for the last twenty years. I am going to share some reflections of those twenty years 2004 to 2025 this morning.

Bryan Haggitt

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20 July 2025

Ordinary 16

Genesis 18:1-10a

Luke 10:38-42

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In Luke’s account of the Gospel today, Jesus visits the home of two women — Martha and Mary. One is engaged with the business of preparation work and household chores, whilst the other is entertaining and talking with a guest. There could be a critique of been actively busy: business of re-ordering the world from disorder of dust with food to be prepared. This is exactly what Martha is doing – ordering the household, cleaning, preparing, doing the chores.  Jesus doesn’t say what Martha is doing is wrong, but rather initiates a conversation about, timing, and an understanding of what is going on in a wider context. Mary on the other had displays an intentionality of being present in the moment with God through conversation. 

Susan Adams

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13 July 2025

Ordinary 15

Deuteronomy 30:9-14

Psalm 82

Luke 10:25-37

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It’s the parable of the Good Samaritan again. Anyone heard this before? So, nothing special this week. What can be said that has not been said before? When I realised I was preaching today my heart sank. All I could think was ‘Oh no, whatever can I say that might be helpful in navigating our world. Surely, we’ve heard every permutation, of any useful comment, that can be drawn from this story many times. So, nothing special. Even the term ‘good Samaritan’ has entered our English lexicon with a well-defined meaning that we all know.

We know it means good deeds toward those in need, We know it means helping others when circumstances require it. We know it means expecting nothing in return for our good deeds. And we easily extend this to include helping those who are different from us, helping the economically disadvantaged and those who struggle.

Grace Cox 

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6 July 2025

St Thomas' Day

Habakkuk 2:1-4

John 20:24-29

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​In the quiet town of Smallville, nestled amid the rolling fields of Kansas, a baby's cry pierced the night. Jonathan and Martha Kent, had just become the accidental guardians of an extraordinary secret. They had found a baby, in a mysterious spacecraft that had crashed into their cornfield. Unbeknownst to them this child, named Clark was no ordinary child. Raised with strong values, he grew into the mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent. By day, he reported for the Daily Planet, but by night, he faced supervilliains and fought to keep his city safe from crime. This truly iconic storyline, is of course, that of Superman.

Richard Bonifant 

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29 June 2025

Ordinary 13

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Luke 9:51-62

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​Some of you will be familiar with the Crowded House song Four Seasons in One Day. That song was written in part about the weather in Melbourne, but it could just as easily be about Auckland, certainly at this time of year when we often experience Four Seasons in One Day. Has anyone else here recently left home on what you thought was a clear crisp mid-winter day, only to be caught in the rain? Years ago, I remember such a day when on the way to an uncle’s home I got soaked to the skin. As I walked in the door looking like a drowned rat my uncle asked “how are you?”. Without thinking I said, “what an utterly terrible day.” He grinned and simply said, “no it’s a good day, just bad weather.” It was a simple point, but one I took to heart. The day is what we make it after all.

Cate Thorn 

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22 June 2025

Matariki Sunday

Wisdom 7:16-22

Matthew 6:19-34

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In these troubled times, it’s challenging to stand here and speak words that touch our heart break, are real, allow us to be open, honest, genuinely present to our experience of anguish and pain and dare to suggest there’s more than only this. As if to rescue or save us from our experience, provide salve or solution, some way out of our bewildered not knowing what to do, to understand how to be, what to think. To relieve us of our not knowing. Yet this is the seat of our beginning. It’s the place we find ourselves. From this place we can open ourselves to grow in understanding.

Amanda Mark

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15 June 2025

Trinity Sunday

John 16:12-15

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“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

These are Jesus’ words in John 16—tender, patient, honest. He knows his disciples are overwhelmed. He doesn’t demand that they grasp it all. He doesn't deliver a doctrinal summary. Instead, he makes a promise: the Spirit of truth will come and guide them. That promise is still for us. We live in a time of profound uncertainty. The ground shifts beneath us—not just politically or ecologically, but spiritually and intellectually. We are flooded with information, yet we often feel uncertain about what is true. In a world of misinformation and disinformation, even naming what we know—and how we know—feels precarious.

Richard Bonifant

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8 June 2025

The Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

John 14:8-17, 25-27

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I always think twice before jumping into a sermon with a story about a famous person, or an obscure book, or a film that I enjoy but no one else seems to have heard of. The risk of using such stories is that while I am trying to make a connection between these stories and a possibly even more obscure theological idea, is that rather than encouraging you all to listen, the result can be the exact opposite. Only last month I boldly jumped into a Star Wars reference only to see some of you take that as permission for a quick nap. Over the years I’ve found a few references from popular culture that seem to work better in church than others. For example, for some reason that I personally can’t quite understand, Anglicans seem to like the music of Leonard Cohen. That might be something to do with Kim Hill playing his music on national radio for decades, but I’m not sure.

Susan Adams

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1 June 2025

Easter 7

Acts 16:16-34

John 17:20-26

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Imagine a world where oppression is normalized, where economic systems exploit the vulnerable, and where those who challenge injustice are punished…. This is not just a modern reality—it was the world Paul and Silas encountered in Philippi. The story Luke tells, writing early in the 2nd century about Paul and Silas missionary journey 50 or so years earlier, is not a story with the focus on a miraculous escape; it is a story about the radical power of faith to disrupt systems of oppression and bring about transformation. Frequently the Luke-Acts writings contain hints of the accommodation that the Jew and Gentile Christians of this time were having to make to the Roman authorities. They didn’t want to draw attention to themselves; they didn’t want to be seen as a threat to the imperial way. They wanted to avoid coming to the attention of the authorities and thereby avoid punishment.

Cate Thorn

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25 May 2025

Easter 6

Acts 16:9-15

John 14:23-29

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‘The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.’  We hear this promise. It builds on the readings we’ve been hearing since Easter of the promised Holy Spirit that’s to come. And we know Pentecost is just around the corner, the festival sometimes named the birthday of the church, when there’s great outpouring of the Spirit upon the gathered community. Is this promise of the Holy Spirit a new thing, a special thing that’s to happen? If so, what happened to the Holy Spirit we already know of, where’s she being hanging out in the meantime? 

Grace Cox

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18 May 2025

Easter 5

Acts 11:1-18

John 13:31-35

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In New Orleans, in 1960, in the deep heat of racial segregation, a six-year-old Black girl named Ruby Bridges became the first child to integrate into an all-white school. Every morning, she walked past mobs of angry white adults—grown men and women screaming slurs, throwing objects, threatening her very life. The images from that time are haunting: Ruby, so small, her hair neatly tied back, her hands clutching her schoolbooks, flanked on both sides by federal marshals. Alone, yet courageous.

Cate Thorn

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11 May 2025

Easter 4

Acts 9:36-43

John 10:22-30

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Have you ever wondered why the stories in the Bible ended up being the ones that were kept? The stories we have, the mythos memory, history now in regulated written form began mostly as oral tradition, things told and retold – to remind, re-member the people who they are, a community God called them specially to be. During the season of Easter, we hear readings from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke’s record of the early community that emerged after Jesus’ death and then witnessed experiences of his being alive after such dying. Today we hear one particular story. Why do you think this one was included? Is it to tell us about Tabitha/Dorcas or about Peter, or to tell us of the nature and faith of the early community and the role and place of women/widows in it? Or perhaps to tell us of conversions and miracles and the church growing and the gospel spreading as a result?

Richard Bonifant

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4 May 2025

Easter 3

Acts 9:1-6

John 21:1-19

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My apologies if you are not in on the joke, but today is international Star Wars day. Now I appreciate that Star Wars may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but these are the stories that I grew up with. In fact, The Empire Strikes Back was the first movie I ever saw at a movie theatre and I can still remember the large poster of that movie which I had above my bed as a child. This particular franchise turns 40 next year, and love it or hate it, it has certainly endured. I think that one of the reasons Star Wars has been so popular over the years is because despite the fantastical elements of the storytelling, the narrative is ultimately about people and their struggles. While it’s easy simply boil down Star Wars to a story in which good overcomes evil, a closer look reveals that within that grand narrative are many stories of setbacks, mistakes and misunderstandings.

Amanda Mark

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27 April 2025

Easter 2

John 20:19-31

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Anyone ever been to an Escape Room or played a board game version like this? You’re "locked" in a room with some friends and have to find clues and solve puzzles to get out before time runs out. People actually pay to be trapped in these Escape Rooms. For fun. In today’s Gospel, the disciples are in a locked room - their own kind of escape room.Only this one isn’t for fun. This one’s no game. The disciples are not there for fun. They’re hiding. From the world, from the authorities, maybe even from themselves. They’re shut in by fear, confusion, and perhaps a deep sense of failure.

Richard Bonifant

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20 April 2025

Easter Day

Acts 10:34-43

John 20:1-18

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Long long ago, at the beginning of creation, God sent forth ten vessels, like a fleet of ships, each carrying a cargo of light. If those vessels had reached their destination the world would have been perfect. But the further they travelled, the more fragile they became. Finally the vessels shattered, scattering sparks of light throughout the heavens. And that is how the stars came into being. But the sparks did not only cover the sky, they fell everywhere. They spread so far that God could not gather them all together. That is why God created us, to help gather the sparks, no matter where they are hidden. Every time you do a good deed one of the sparks is set free. When you plant a tree, you gather up a spark. When you care for another person, you can see a spark in their eyes. When you are kind to animals a new spark enters the world. But most of all sparks are found when you love someone.

Susan Adams

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6 April 2025

Lent 5

Isaiah 35:1-10

John 12:1-8

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Have you ever been told that you're “too much”? Too loud, too passionate, too radical, too outspoken? Maybe you’ve spoken up about racism and someone rolled their eyes. Maybe you’ve advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and been told you’re taking things too far. Maybe you’ve demanded justice for the poor, only to be dismissed as ‘woke’ or unrealistic. This is not new. Movements for justice are frequently met with resistance, often from those who claim to be on the side of good! And in today’s Gospel reading, we see this same dynamic play out. A woman named Mary steps into the room and does something extravagant. She responds from an emotional place to the tense situation the group are in as they head to Jerusalem—she pours an entire jar of expensive perfume onto Jesus’ feet, anointing him in an act of profound love.

Richard Bonifant

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30 March 2025

Lent 4

​Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

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A few years ago, I was given a copy of the prose poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. Some of you will be familiar with this work which is best described as a collection of wisdom statements for our time. The poem was largely unknown in the writer’s lifetime, which is not too surprising given that that he wrote these thoughts for himself to encourage the virtues he felt most in need of. The second line of the poem is one that has taken on greater meaning for me in recent years. The line is: As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. It was not the first line of the poem to leap out at me, but it is the one that often encourages a virtue I feel in need of.

Cate Thorn

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23 March 2025

Lent 3

​Isaiah 55:1-9

Luke 13:1-9

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Today’s gospel opens with two accounts of people being killed in catastrophic circumstances. The first, a group slain while sacrificing in the Temple. The second, a number dying when a tower at Siloam fell. Those approaching Jesus seem to want to know why. Who’s to blame? The empathetic, careful listening Jesus is somewhat absent, rather Jesus the pragmatist appears.  Some died because of human intent, others because a tower collapsed, either way their dying wasn’t about punishment for sin, or guilt. At least, they were no more sinful or guilty than those looking to find such things.

Linda Murphy

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16 March 2025

Lent 2

Luke 13:31-35

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A few days after the church picnic   we were visited by a fox in the guise of a black dog possibly a Labrador. Peter had arrived home to find feathers everywhere and many of our much-loved chicken and roosters passed away. He rang me quite upset and there was no way I could leave Homeground at that time. I called and texted neighbours who checked in on Peter, located the offending dog and owners. The culprit was a rescue dog new to our area and behaviour was totally out of character. His owners our new neighbours came and saw Peter and are taking precautions that this won’t happening again. And Peter is now mother hen to three young chicks who lost their mother.

Amanda Mark

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9 March 2025

Lent 1

Luke 4:1-13

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Moments that bring us up short, stop us in our tracks, shock us. Moments of disorientation. Moments in politics: President Trump’s attack on Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the White House, his intention to “have” Greenland, his plan to empty out Gaza and turn it into a resort. Here in Aotearoa, we’ve had Christopher Luxon’s “give them marmite sandwiches and an apple” and the recent attacks on the LGBTI community where we see the allure of black and white answers, inflexible positions on issues that are deeply nuanced and where carelessness, rigidity and a lack of compassion are deeply damaging. Moments in our personal and professional lives that strike deep. These kinds of moments cause us to focus more deeply, or to refocus. They reorient and realign us, sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically. We find ourselves driven deeper, pushed harder. We find ourselves questioning how we should respond, where we stand, what we position we should take.

Susan Adams

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2 March 2025

Ordinary 8

Sirach 27:4-7

Luke 6:39-49

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I read a confronting comment a couple of weeks ago that set me thinking. The comment stated that the faith, and teaching, evidenced in Jesus’ ministry and relationships, was a far cry from the Christianity that took shape in the later centuries - the Christianity that we (in the main) embody. It suggested that for Jesus, the task of ministry was a radical political address to the situation of the poor and dispossessed, the marginalised and outcasts of a colonial system, and rigid religious framework. While the Christianity that developed itself became a system of power that shaped the lives of the people over whom the ‘Christian’ emperors and the bishops and religious leaders held authority.

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.​​