John 3:31-36 Today we move from the story of Nicodemus meeting Jesus by night to the scene of John the Baptist in the Judean countryside. Nicodemus is set before us as a figure who seeks clarity in his confusion. John the Baptist is a figure of absolute certainty. I can sometimes be unnerved by John …
Monthly Archives: April 2023
Wednesday, Second Week of Easter
John 3:16-21 ‘The Son of Man must be lifted upas Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,so that everyone who believes in him may not be lostbut may have eternal life.’ We’ve …
Tuesday, Second Week of Easter
Acts 4:32-37John 3:7-15 ‘The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common.‘ This is a touchstone text for anyone who wants to explore living in community. Living in a way which expresses unity is something …
Monday, Second Week of Easter
John 3:1-8 From Monday to Wednesday of this week the Gospel texts come from the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus, in Chapter 3 of John’s Gospel. When we enter the world of John’s Gospel we enter a special world: there are broad themes of life, light, love and glory; there are words and images that …
Second Sunday of Easter
John 20:19-31 There’s nothing worse than being with a group of people who are talking about an experience that you haven’t had. There’s only so far that you can go in trying to understand what they are saying and feeling. It’s easy for me to understand how Thomas might be feeling when the disciples say …
Easter Saturday
Mark 16:9-15 There’s shift in tone in today’s Gospel text. After the intimacy of Mary’s encounter at the tomb with Jesus and then the breakfast on the seashore, today’s Gospel shifts our focus. It reads as a recap of themes we’ve heard during the week: refusal of the disciples to believe, the journey of the …
Easter Friday
John 21:1-14 Just after my A levels I was able to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Our visit to the Sea of Tiberias stands out for me as a time of grace. In what was a fairly packed itinerary, there was suddenly time to sit and watch the water. It was a relief …
Easter Thursday
Luke 24:35-48 This Gospel passage gives the impression that Jesus just appears among his disciples. They are startled and Jesus reassures them with his greeting of ‘Peace be with you.’ Understandably they think he is a ghost and he reassures them again: ‘Touch me and see for yourselves.’ If I imagine myself among the disciples …
Easter Wednesday
Luke 24:13-35 Luke paints the picture of the disciples at the end of an emotional journey where crucifixion has dashed their hopes. As they walk they talk to each other. There is a sense in which the journey is a time of healing as the disciples verbalise the experiences of the past days. A stranger …
Easter Monday
Matthew 28:8-15 ‘Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.’ These words leapt out at me this morning. I went searching for a picture that would capture ‘awe and great joy’. I had to settle for depicting ‘joy’, but not before I had …