Hark, the glad sound - the Saviour comes!

sermon preached in Merton Chapel for Evensong of Easter 3 Psalm 86;  Isa 38: 9-20; John 11: 17-44 A few years ago, some American Episcopalian friends introduced me to Lent Madness: an online knockout tournament between saints from every period of Christian history. From Ash Wednesday to the end of Holy Week, the 32 saints nominated from the start of the tournament are whittled down to one, the saint of the year, who is celebrated as the winner of the Golden Halo – via rounds highlighting the saints’ stories, quirky quotes and saint-themed tat. It’s exactly as much fun as it sounds. This year’s winner was Martha of Bethany: and, having followed her through the tournament from the Round of 32 all the way to the Golden Halo, I have come to think that Martha is both interesting and important – important in what she says and does, and also an important element in the structure of John’s Gospel where she is the catalyst for Jesus to reveal himself as the resurrection and ...

A sermon preached at Keble College, as guest preacher for the evening Eucharist, 20/01/2019. I don't usually start sermons with jokes, but after the way this one was received, I see why people do! Epiphany 3 Isaiah 62: 1-5 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11 John 2: 1-11 +May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our Strength and our Salvation. As part of my role at Christ Church, I’m chaplain to the cathedral school where the choristers, as well as about a hundred other boys, go; and every week I take an assembly for the Pre-Prep boys. And this week I told them the story we’ve just heard. On reflection, 4 to 7 year olds may be the wrong audience for a story that is essentially about how very nice a good bottle (or three) of wine is. It certainly seemed that way when one boy stuck his hand up and told me his dad had drunk a whole bottle of wine the night before. At this point I tried to catch the teacher’s eye ...