As a child,  

my mother would often read Bible stories to me before bedtime,  

and one of my favourite stories was the one about Joseph.

The story still sparks my imagination because it has all the elements of a powerful drama: jealousy, betrayal, false accusation, political intrigue, disaster, and reconciliation.  

Many of the...

It's probably not too surprising  

if I told you  

that I don’t follow professional Football.  

I also had never listened to any songs by Bad Bunny,the stage name of Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio.

But there I was last Sunday, with millions of others,  

catching the Super Bowl Half Time Show,

Probably the biggest annual...

I don’t know about you,  

but when I hear the words “Behold the Lamb of God”,

I immediately think of the beginning of Part 2 of Handel’s Messiah,  

with the stately chorus  

(And no I won’t sing it) “Behold the Lamb of God”  

echoing the words of John the Baptist from today’s Gospel Reading.

John’s witness about Jesus starts...

It’s not usual to preach on Christmas Day about the beginning of John’s Gospel.  

Normally, the focus on this day is on the shepherds or the angels or another aspect of Luke’s version of the birth of Jesus.

So this will take a different direction than normal.

The verses I read from the Fourth Gospel describe a

Journey from  

above to...

I think that it goes almost without saying that there are lot of vulnerable people in the world today.

We might think about the undocumented migrants in the US

who are caught up in the waves of ICE incarcerations and deportations.

We might remember that there are over  

one hundred million displaced persons globally  

due to conflicts,...

On this last Sunday of the Church Year,  

the final Sunday of the three-year Lectionary cycle,

We get a text straight from Good Friday.

It seems strange to be hearing about the Crucifixion at a time other than Holy Week,

It almost seems to come out of left field.

But today, on a day where we ponder the Reign of Christ, or how Christ is King...

In my early teens, a favourite hip-hop artist of mine was MC Hammer.

Nowadays he’s remembered for  

His “Hammer pants” which were super baggy pants made of parachute material,

Which might be worn by the female dancers of an Arabian nights harem.

As is common with many US American pop singers

Every so often they record a Christian-themed...

---

She was there at the beginning of creation,  

She was with God at the dawn of time.

Wait a minute now,  

hold on.

She was there?

Who is this she?

In our first reading today from Proverbs 8,  

“Woman Wisdom” stands alongside God at creation.  

As Christians, we see in her a foreshadowing of the Triune God

—Father, Son, and...

[Sing:]

Love, love me do

You know I love you,

I'll always be true,

So please, …

love me do

Many of you could sing along with that early Beatles classic from 1963.

And in a bit of a sacrilegious imagination,  

I picture Jesus and Peter singing this song to each other  

with Thomas on harmonica and Nathanael on drums.

Of course they...

The Conversion of St. Paul

Galatians 1 and Acts 9

Preached at First United Church, Waterloo (March 25, 2025) as part of the mid-week Lenten Series

I want to start by thanking Pastor Hoeun and the good people  

of First United for hosting our service this evening.  

It’s nice to be back preaching here  

after our pulpit exchange in...