Sermons based on readings from the Gospel of Luke
Luke 16:1-13 Parables always need some extra information to make sense of them. Parables are stories, but it isn’t the surface meaning of the story that is necessarily important. Parables are stories that point to something else, they are metaphors or analogies. What is important is the relationship between the parable and the real world …
Luke 15:1-10 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”One of the things that strikes me is that our culture and our politics are designed to make us miserable, to actually …
Luke 14:25-33 Jesus never does what we often try to do! He never tries to soft-sell Christianity. He does not offer discipleship on easy terms. He doesn’t even try to persuade. He never runs after someone after they have turned away saying, “Wait, perhaps if I explain it to you better, in a different way. …
Luke 14:1, 7-14 Once again Jesus is the guest of honour at a meal. And as usual he observes the behaviour of his host and those around him, which leads him eventually to comment:When he [Jesus] noticed how the guests chose the places of honour he told them a parable.Actually we don’t hear a parable. …
Luke 13:10-17 The WomanJesus, as is his custom, is in the Synagogue, on the sabbath, teaching. He is with the whole gathered community, with them for praise of God and for learning. And just now there appears a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. Into the midst of their regular …
A Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (21/08/22): Sabbath of Freedom Read More »
Luke 12:49-56 Jesus says:“You know how to interpret the signs of the earth and sky but you do not know how to interpret the present time.”Human ability to forecast the weather has advance a great deal since the time of Jesus. When you see a cloud in the west, you know it’s going to rain. …
Luke 12:13-21 “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. . . . But God said to him, ‘You fool!’ ” The story which Jesus tells is usually called “The Parable of the Rich Fool.” But on the face of it, we might not call the farmer in Jesus’ story, a fool. He certainly has …
A Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (31/07/22): The Foolishness of Greed Read More »
Luke 10:38-42 Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him [Jesus] and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?” The evening has been a long one. And through it all Martha has not had a moment’s rest. Since before …
A Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (17/07/22): The One Thing Needful Read More »
Luke 9:51-62 As Jesus turns towards Jerusalem and begins to plough his furrow in that direction, he says to his would-be followers:No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God. One of the hardest things for Christians to grasp is what kind of leader it …
Luke 8:26-39 Possessions, indeed any sickness or any evil, affect not only an individual but whole communities. On the face of it the Gerasene demoniac is the victim of “Legion.” It is he who is tormented to the point of nakedness. It is he who has no home except among the dead. It is he …