Miracles in Mark 3 - Breaking the Boundaries
June 28, 2009 by James
Sermon for St Mary’s: Breaking the Boundaries
St Mary’s Sung Eucharist,
21st June 2009
Miracles in Mark, 3: Mark 5:21-end
‘Daughter, your faith has made you well’
May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I’m not sure if you should know this, but my daughter has received a proposal of marriage. On a recent trip to Cuddesdon, Theo popped the question to Eliza. This he apparently often does to fellow 5 year old-girls. Anyhow, Eliza was having none of it, expressing her firm intention not to marry anyone, not least because of slobber kisses. We shall see. I have both her uncles to call on if this changes too radically, to enforce some boundaries.
Of course, some boundaries are best respected and not broken. Children are usually better off inside the school playground than outside it. A husband and wife who value their commitment to marriage are usually better off not playing around outside it.
But some boundaries that grow and harden are not of God, but of man – or of our own making. In today’s gospel, the raising of Jairus’s daughter and the healing of the woman with a haemorrhage are beautiful, powerful miracle stories that point to God in Jesus breaking the boundaries.
Psalm 121 Sermon by Mary Duncan
June 28, 2009 by Mary
Sermon by Mary Duncan.
June 28th Morning Prayer 10 am
Psalm 121 and Mark 5: 21 - 43
This is perhaps the best known of all the Psalms after psalm 23, and the reason for that surely lies in the fact that it is a quite beautifully simple and straightforward statement of trust. No sudden change of mood is expressed as, say, in psalm 73, where the psalmist starts with a confident statement of God’s goodness and then goes on to express his indignation at the way the wicked (the exploitative, the selfish) seem to prosper while he, pious as he is, is in distress. Well, life is full of perplexity and paradox and there are many psalms which reflect the struggles and inner tensions of human beings even as they worship.
But for a few moments in this lovely Psalm the worshipper expresses with unclouded confidence his trust in God. It is an expression of very deep piety. And in this inward stability lies its strength and a strength which is communicated to the hearer. As we read or listen to this expression of confidence it becomes our own, “The Lord will keep me from all evil; he will preserve my soul; he will keep my going out and my coming in.” Read more
Miracles in Mark 2 - Christ and chaos
June 21, 2009 by James
Sermon for St Mary’s: Christ and chaos – who will win?
St Mary’s Sung Eucharist with Baptism,
21st June 2009
Mark 4:35-end
‘Do you not care that we are perishing?’
May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I was round at Jim and Dawn’s to get ready for Daniel’s baptism on Thursday evening. Daniel was not keen on going to sleep. Jim, his dad, was doing his best but I could see it was a struggle.
It reminded me of a similar moment when my son Dominic was a few weeks old. Kathryn and I were so desperate to get him to sleep that we got hold of a tape of womb noises. This alleged that it would help by making the baby feel at home. Picture the scene – the middle of the night, strange underwater gurgling noises blaring, rhythmic red lights on the old portable stereo flashing. Poor baby.
This completely did not work. Dominic cried on. And I resisted the frightening urge to bash him over the head, showing some of that paternal love, self-sacrifice and restraint which we especially give thanks for in our dads today.
I suppose that we all feel that we are sinking sometimes.
Favourite Psalms: Psalm 46
June 15, 2009 by Andrew
I don’t know if you know this, and I hope it doesn’t come as a surprise but - God is in trouble! Now all of us have had days of anxiety ,stress and frayed nerve endings but - God in trouble? We know life can be cruel too. We experience grief and see our friends face sudden calamities. Unemployment and financial troubles wipe out a family dream. Cancer strikes, and long, drawn-out suffering begins. Friends and family let us down through broken promises. They are not there when we need them most. But don’t get discouraged because as I said - God is in trouble! Meaning, of course, that whenever we are in trouble - He is in it with us. God is, as the Psalmist says, our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Read more