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The silence of eternity, interpreted by love
A sermon preached at the funeral of Barbara Dews, 11 April 2024. Barbara went to church and sang hymns through her long life. So they got woven into her heart and mind. They gave her language which made some sense of her experience, encouraged her, giving direction. And so it is not surprising that near her end, she…
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Love Your Enemies
“You have heard, you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. (Matt 5:43) These words sound like a call, even a command. But we fear the risk. So the miserable-go-round of the world continues – we have enemies, and we hate them,…
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A good politician’s reverberating mistake
Readings : Nehemiah 13.23-31; Matthew 5.38-48 You can watch this sermon here (27:00-52:00, with prayers from 52:00-54:00). I respect and value Nehemiah because he was a politician – a good politician, good hearted, good ideas, great skill and courage. Politics is unavoidable in our living together. We know how much we need good politicians every…
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Though I have a theological degree, but have not love, I am nothing
Address given at Trinity College Bristol degree ceremony sometime in the late 1990s Do not assume that mere Reading will suffice without fervor, Speculation without devotion, Investigation without admiration, Observation without exaltation, Industry without piety, Knowledge without love, Understanding without humility, Study without divine grace. St. Bonaventure (1221–1274) Except for two good years, when the…
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Love and Things
NIRV gives us ‘always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’, as its translation of I Corinthians 13.7: πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει. When this wonderful chapter was read in church recently, that ‘always’ woke me up, jarring with my memory which is based on the KJV and RSV. I missed the…
While it is yet day
Haddon Willmer