Have you noticed that many of these nativity sets, manger scenes, are so full, even too full, of figurines of people and animals!

They’re way too overpopulated!

Whether the nativity set is sitting on a shelf, or nice fireplace mantel, or in a store window, or on a front lawn …

… We see a whole group of “Wisemen”...

(John 18:33-37 & 2 Samuel 23:1-7)

Fear and uncertainty has gripped the world.

In the aftermath of the brazen shootings and terror bombings in Paris and Beirut, and the bombing of that Russian airline over the Sinai Peninsula….

…. and then the racist violence which followed:
against an innocent Muslim woman in Toronto,
the...

There’s a screen-saver picture that appears this week on my computer: an image of this enormous cliff, this sheer rock face as part of a mountain side… this overwhelmingly large flat, hard, grey rock, filling the whole screen.
And right in the middle of this rock face, in the centre of the picture, so tiny as to be hardly noticeable...

This episode in the Gospel of Mark this morning could go down as one of the great “Unsolved Mysteries” of the New Testament.

That’s because we never hear what happened to the rich young man.

We never hear the end of his story… never find out what he did … whether or not he “sold everything” and...

I have an ASUS computer tablet I use daily for my work.
And every time I turn it on, I see these words flash on my screen as the machine boots up: “ASUS: Inspiring Innovation; Persistent Perfection.”

These words have become so familiar. I think I’ve almost memorized them by now….say them in my sleep.
Almost every day I...

A lifeline.

It’s a loaded word, because, when a lifeline is all you have, it becomes the single most important thing around.

A lifeline keeps you safe. It keeps you alive. It pulls you out of danger. It can rescue you out of a certain catastrophic end. It becomes your “best friend.”

Much like that rope that runs down the middle...

Over the last couple of Sundays, we’ve been focussing our attention on the Gospel of John chapter 6 which is full of rich, symbolic and metaphorical language about who Jesus is, what he’s all about, and what his life’s purpose and mission is.

And, to be honest, this passage can raise a lot of questions.

For example: What does...

This morning I want to share some of my thoughts on the Gospel reading – John 6:1-14 – that we just heard, about how Jesus takes the little boy’s meagre five loaves and two fish, and out of that, creates enough food, an abundance of food, enough to feed five thousand people.

In this story, we’re once again given a glimpse...

In the Gospel reading in Mark 6, the word that pops out and resonates for me, is the word “rest.”
Mark 6: 31: “[Jesus] said to them [the Apostles], “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while….”

Rest. What a wonderful concept. Am I right?

And yet, as we all know, true rest is often...

Mark 3: 20-35, 2 Corinthians 4:13- 5:1

A phrase that jumped out for me from today’s scripture readings, is in the 2nd reading, in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.

“So we do not lose heart.”
What wonderful, supportive, encouraging words to the Corinthian Church!

“So we do not lose heart.”

Paul is...