Reflections from the belly
A brief homily given at a recent funeral, for one who loved gardens.
Jim loved gardens. He loved plants, and compost, and growing things. He loved his veggie patch, he loved the wild garden alongside the river, and he loved Wombat Bend. He loved Redgum Café, I suspect not only because it was part of this church, but because of the magnificent redgum which gives it its name.
Continue reading “Funeral | ‘You will be with me in the garden’”
Opening scene: Caesarea Philippi. (Listen here.)
Welcome, welcome to our wonderful city! This beautiful shrine is to the shepherd god, Pan. The guardian of the flocks, as you know, he’s always one for the ladies. Fellas, lock up your daughters! Pan doesn’t always do consent; we wouldn’t want a ‘situation’ now, would we, not like those Sydney Swans?
Continue reading “Matthew | Some keys to the kingdom”
A pragmatic reading for whitefellas. (Listen here.)
‘I’m from one of the oldest families,’ he said. ‘We’ve been here since the beginning.’ And with that he effectively erased 60,000 years of continuous living culture, just as his Irish ancestors had tried to erase the people from the land. He’s a lovely guy, straightforward and well-meaning, and totally oblivious to what he had just done.
Continue reading “Matthew | Decolonising Joshua”
A rainbow reading, and other stories. (Listen here.)
As I wondered about which direction to take this week’s readings, I went for a walk to order my thoughts. Suddenly, a rain shower blew in. Then a vast double rainbow filled the sky, and led me all the way home. I took it as a sign to offer a rainbow reading. Here it is, for all the Josephs we know and love.
Continue reading “Genesis | Joseph and the amazing technicolour princess dress (sorry, what?!)”
Through struggle, we are transformed. (Listen here.)
How often have you been there? Everything is ticking along nicely when, boom! you find yourself flat on your face. The longed-for thing is no more. The relationship falls apart. The lump you tried to ignore turns out to be cancer. Your children move away, your loved one dies, your house becomes shockingly empty. Things were going so well when it happened. It’s unlooked-for, unwanted, a burden. It’s a disruption to ‘real life’, and you struggle.
Continue reading “Genesis | The hidden gifts of struggle”
Notes on sibling rivalry. (Listen here.)
A perceptive young girl said to me once, ‘I’m daddy’s angel, and mummy’s devil. But my sister’s mummy’s angel, and daddy’s devil. It’s a bit difficult, really.’ Then she shrugged dismissively, but I thought ‘difficult’ was the understatement of the year. Those sisters fought every day in every possible way as they lived out their assigned roles and competed for their parents’ affections. Things were more than a bit difficult.
Continue reading “Genesis | Daddy’s angel, mummy’s devil”
On weeds, seeds, scoundrels and descendants like dandelions. (Listen here.)
What wonderful promises! God will give Jacob land to plant roots and descendants to spread across the earth like dandelions. God will ensure the earth will be blessed by him and his countless offspring. And God will bless him, protect him and stay with him until these promises are fulfilled. I should be all starry-eyed, but quite frankly this story annoys the hell out of me. Because Jacob is a complete schmuck. Whatever is God thinking, to grant such glorious gifts to a grifter like Jacob?
Continue reading “Genesis | Deep in the weeds with Jacob”
If God is as big as we claim, there is no scarcity in God at all.
In her recent address to the National Press Club, the Red Menace rolled out her usual poison about Islam. She reiterated a bunch of frightened and frightening tropes about Muslims. She claimed that Western civilisation and its values are under siege. She blamed migrants for shortfalls in housing and social cohesion. She insisted that Australia must be a monocultural society. And in all this, she reminded me of our ancestor Sarah.
Continue reading “Genesis | Isaac, Ishmael and the Red Menace”
Who do we choose to honour?
On 8 June 2026, the King’s Birthday Honours List was announced. This list recognises people who have made a significant contribution to the nation and includes politicians, military personnel, scientists, sports stars, community activists, charity workers, artists, businesspeople and the like. It led me to think about what sort of honours list Jesus might make.
Continue reading “Matthew | The King’s list”
Can a common story offer hope? (Listen here.)
‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household, and go to the land that I will show you… ’ says God to Abram. ‘I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed by you … To your descendants I will give this land.’ Then Abram entered the land with some process of negotiation and treaty. However, from the time of Joshua right up until last week in the White House, these same words have been used to justify driving people out.
Continue reading “Genesis | The joint inheritance”
Alison and the whale 