Episodes
Saturday Apr 27, 2013
A search for meaning finds an answer
Saturday Apr 27, 2013
Saturday Apr 27, 2013
Saint John pondered for many years on the meaning of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Then, as he came to the end of his long life, he wrote a best selling book on how he made sense of the many astonishing things he had experienced. His book changed the world. Dare you read it? 5th Sunday of Easter - I'm talking about Revelation (Apocalypse) 21: 1-5.
Monday Apr 22, 2013
We are very much like sheep
Monday Apr 22, 2013
Monday Apr 22, 2013
This morning I had to take my father-in-law to the airport for a 6am book-in. It was a beautiful Spring morning and I thought, "I could go and say my morning prayers in the countryside. Why not?" So I drove to nearby village of Meriden - said to be the exact centre of England - where I followed a track a short distance to find a low wall in a quiet field. To my surprise I was surrounded by sheep with their lambs. The sheep were very wary of me, and my prayers were accompanied by a cacophony of bleating. What a perfect accompaniment for today's gospel - the story of Jesus being "the gate to the sheepfold". Three hours later, after proclaiming today's gospel, here's what I had to say to the little flock of 23 people who had come to church......
Saturday Apr 20, 2013
Someone with real presence outsmarts a visionary leader
Saturday Apr 20, 2013
Saturday Apr 20, 2013
The Friday of the Third Week of Easter. The readings are from Acts 9: 1-20 and John 6: 52-59
Listen here to a weekday homily (the text is at www.deaconphilip.com)
The very familiar story of the conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus. The question that arose in my mind was ‘why was Paul (or Saul) going to Damascus?’Tuesday Apr 16, 2013
Very mysterious indeed....
Tuesday Apr 16, 2013
Tuesday Apr 16, 2013
Sometime the crowd just couldn't grasp the full significance of what Jesus was teaching them. After feeding the 5000, they track him down to the synagogue in Capernaum, trying to get more free food. They get more than they bargained for! The relevant scripture is John 6:22-35 [ Read the text at www.deaconphilip.com ]
Monday Apr 15, 2013
Show us the error of our ways
Monday Apr 15, 2013
Monday Apr 15, 2013
Many people who criticize us Christians do so because they believe we are arrogant and hypocritical, that we judge other people and find them wanting. We must try to understand that, like both Peter and Paul, we may be weaker than we think, we may be wrong when we think we are right. [You can read the text at www.deaconphilip.com]
Sunday Apr 07, 2013
Have you ever felt ashamed of yourself?
Sunday Apr 07, 2013
Sunday Apr 07, 2013
We have all done something selfish or foolish that has hurt somebody else. When we let someone down, we know we have let ourselves down. It is not a good feeling. We feel ashamed. And then there's the dreadful embarrassment, shame and fear of meeting the person we have let down. How will they react to us? Today's readings for "Divine Mercy Sunday" show how frightened people behave when they have done something shameful. And Jesus' reaction to being betrayed and abandoned is truly astonishing...... [ The readings are from Act 5: 12-16; Revelation 1:9-13, 17-19; and John 20:19-31 ]