Sermons 2008
From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Contents |
December 08
28 December
Simeon and Anna
Simeon and Anna both feature prominently in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. Their presence suggests we might think a little about the role of the ‘elders’ ...
25 December
For him all stars have shone
In its essence Christmas is about the birth of a baby. Nothing special about that unless ....
A small door in Bethlehem
when we approached the door, we had to line up and bend over to go through the door, making sure we didn’t hit our heads as we went through the door ...
21 December
And he became fully human
last year was our first time experiencing Christmas as a parent and it made the incarnation ... more...
14 December
The Candle of Joy
"Joy is prayer – Joy is strength – Joy is love. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."....
Identity Questions
"I want to make it perfectly clear that I will not be a candidate, no, I won’t be standing in these elections"....
7 December
Foundations in Floods
We’ve had one or two problems with our bell tower here lately, but the great bell tower in St Mark’s Square in Venice ....
Where righteousness is at home
What a marvellous expression – a new earth where righteousness is at home! ...
November 08
30 November
Advent Hope
In such times the concept of hope is a ready one for us; when things are uncertain and negative our souls are eager to look for hope....
23 November
Mattathias the Maccabee
Two questions come to mind as I think about the implications of the all too brief and often tragic history I have sketched.
Woolly Wanderers or Gregarious Goats?
In this land we think we know a bit about sheep and goats, even if we’re city dwellers, at least we know enough to tell them apart! But ...
16 November
Success-ion Stories
And then in the news over the last couple of days the 60th birthday of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and the ever lurking behind the scenes speculation about when and if ...
Risking a Talent
Among the surprises was the way in which each of us teased out a different perspective, perhaps focusing on a different person or aspect of the reading ...
9 November - Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance
I am a member of Te Atiawa and we were among the prisoners from Parihaka, the pa on the slopes of the mountain Taranaki, who in 1882 were transported by the Government to Dunedin ...
Bishop Sir Paul Reeves
Lappers or Scoopers
when we look more closely at the Book of Judges and the period of history it reflects, there is reason for choosing the lappers rather than the scoopers ... more...
Be Still
God asks us to trust, and hope. In the midst of situations that seem impossible, God says – I can bring peace; I will bring peace. more... Judy Wigglesworth
2 November - All Saints
Heroes after Hillary
I was reflecting on this as I read a couple of comments by Sir Edmund Hillary on being acclaimed a hero at such a young age after the ascent of Mt Everest... more...
October 08
26 October
Work-life Balance
For Samuel Parnell it was who on arrival here in Port Nicholson in 1840 campaigned for an eight hour working day, in contrast to the work slavery ...
Love God - do what you will
I doubt that the disciples had a clue what Jesus was on about, but they must have enjoyed the moment – seeing the wretched Pharisees wrong-footed for a change.
19 October
St Luke: Companion for the Journey
Where would we be without Luke? ...
Image is everything
It was somewhat salutary to reflect that what might decide this election is not all the rhetoric and debates about policies and strategies, but rather it might come down to our emotional response to Helen Clark’s possibly air-brushed image, or John Key’s new modishly tousled hairstyle!...
12 October
Family Likeness
But there it is, and the fact of the matter is that we cannot avoid being like our parents. Our likeness to them is the proof of our relationship...
A creature that feeds on grass
It sounds like the build up to a Tui advert and a “yeah right” response ....
5 October
Give it up?
There’s a lovely story told by Jerome of the ancient apostle John in Ephesus, who when he became so weak with age that he could no longer preach ....
A fruitful offering
Francis’ monastic life began with a strong renouncement of worldy goods and connections ....
September 08
28 September
Hikoi of Hope - 10 years on
How did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the large US financial institutions) get into such trouble? ... more... The Rt Revd Richard Randerson
What's your mindset?
As we continue our journey with the people of Israel through Exodus, we see how swiftly they transform from people bravely following their triumphant leader Moses, to a stirred up crowd, threatening to mutiny and stone him! .... more...
21st September
Called by Christ
The challenge is for the Pharisees to understand themselves as sinners ...
The evil eye of envy
The last question cuts to the quick. "Are you envious because I choose to be generous?" A more literal translation would read, "Is your eye evil because I am good?" ...
14th September
Free to forgive
We know we are called to be a people marked by forgiveness. There are often many steps that we have to take towards forgiving people, particularly extremely difficult things; forgiveness is often a long process ...
7th September
Meet the locals
... our profligate use of the world’s resources suggest a literal out-of-context reading of Jesus’ words: Do not worry about tomorrow! The lilies of the field and the birds of the air might not be there tomorrow ...
Family feuds
Everyone has chosen distance rather than the risk of sorting out conflict, and starting again...
August 08
31st August
Upside-down or right side up
Yet in some ways there was a huge dissonance between the serenity of the setting, and the startling nature of the things Jesus was proclaiming in the Beatitudes.
Rejoice in hope
But while the psalm suggests a place of praise and worship the other readings invite us to reflect on why we are here at all ...
24th August
Paul in Athens
Into this market-place of religious ideas and philosophies came Paul...
Become who you are - in Christ
Before Peter’s head swells too much though, Petros means a little stone or pebble, and Petra means a big rock, a boulder. Peter is but a chip off the old block, the real rock is Jesus, the rock of ages, the rock of our salvation....
17th August
Living Water
The picture ‘shows us an image of prayer, of the need and the hunger for God. The apostles have gone into the city to satisfy their hunger for God [with bread].
An oil-dripping beard
Oil dripping down my beard on to my clothing is not really my idea of fun – but you’d have to admit that it is an interesting and striking metaphor we are given in Psalm 133.
10th August
Exercise in futility - or not yet finished?
Richard Ellena, Bishop of Nelson, is widely reported as having written that Lambeth was an expensive ‘exercise in futility’. Following the same gathering, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba quotes his mentor Desmond Tutu when he says ‘the Holy Spirit hasn’t finished with us yet’!
3rd August
Only 5 loaves and 2 fish
But then Jesus calmly turns the tables on them: You give them something to eat. I’d love to have been there to see the expressions on their faces, the worried glances from one to another…whose bright idea was it to talk to Jesus in the first place? Now look what we’ve done!
Sacred Threads
At the end of last year, our Bible study group farewelled a member who was leaving Wellington to go to St John’s theological college in Auckland. On the front of the card we gave her were the words “There are sacred threads that bind us to one another”.
more... Judy Wigglesworth
July 08
27 July
The Church - human like us
God chose Peter, such a mixture of bravado, impetuousness, faith, fear, cowardice, and yet recognised his faith, his desire to follow Jesus wherever he led ...
Treasure new and old
Come with me, walk around the exhibition chamber, pause at each of the parables, allow yourself to wonder, to think, to make connections, to hear echoes...
20 July
Sing - but keep on walking!
So go as a living ikon on this your pilgrimage. Go with our prayers and best wishes. Take some other words of St Augustine with you, when he says, "Sing, but keep on walking. Advance in true virtue, in true faith and in right conduct. Sing up – and keep on walking!"
Living with Weeds
So which am I – wheat or weed? And all that talk of judgement at the end of the parable makes me squirm a little ....
13 July
Moving House
These words of Jesus about Temples and not taking them for granted, about our fondness for our buildings being of little value unless it is matched by a vital and living relationship with God, and a life of faith and obedience – these words of Jesus can make us a little uncomfortable as good Anglicans, and those who love the worship and the sacred space of a great Cathedral. And I’m aware I’m treading on very holy ground!....
Four Parables
If, simply by placing the emphasis differently, we can think of four such different approaches to a few verses in Matthew 13, just imagine what a group of 800 bishops can do over three weeks with the whole Bible! ...
6 July
A son of Abraham
Who are the tree-climbers in our society? Who are the ‘sons of Abraham?’....
The gift of new beginnings
There is always something exciting about new beginnings and having a freshly developing little person as an integral part of your day and your night, has certainly heightened my sensitivity to all that is new in our world....
June 08
29 June
Abraham and Isaac
You'd think that Abraham had been through enough already! ...
Archdeacon Rob MacLay
22 June
Let's cut it out!
Would that we could cut out some passages from the Bible! Stories like that of Hagar and Ishmael’s treatment at the hands of Sarah and Abraham surely have no part in scripture? ....
15 June
God's Prodigious Justice
Hardly a day has gone by in the past few weeks without the nightly news being dominated by reports of high profile court cases, and their sometimes surprising outcomes, or by stories of gut-wrenching crimes that outrage public opinion ...
Dr Chris Marshall
Labourers in the field
It was close to midnight when I clambered up the three flights of stairs and unlocked the apartment booked for me. Not only had I flown non-stop from Wellington to LA and on to New York, but had navigated my way by AirTrain and Subway to Fulton St, downtown Manhattan. The key turned in the lock ...
08 June
Healing
Healing – what do we mean by ‘healing’? First a negative definition – what healing is not. Healing is not, and should not be confused with, a cure. That is the work of doctors and medical practitioners generally. When we’re sick, especially if we are seriously ill, we put ourselves in their capable hands. The outcome we hope for is a cure.
01 June
Through Faith and For Faith
Each of the scriptures for this morning services are powerful and provocative in their own right. Together, they present an interesting challenge. There can surly be no-one here who can hear these particular words of Christ given to us through Matthew’s Gospel and not feel at least a little unnerved:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven” (7: 21)
May 08
18 May
Pilgrimage to unholy places
It was perhaps in the 1920’s & 30s that things began to change. People started making what can only be called pilgrimages to First World War battle sites: the Somme, Passchendael, Ypres, Messines Ridge, Verdun – hardly ‘holy places’ ...
Organ Donors Service
But some doubted
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Trinity this past week. There’s been a lot of time to think during the six days of meetings – first the Inter Diocesan Conference, and then my first experience of our church’s General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui.
11 May
Weaving and Walking
The Sesqui celebrates the diocese of Wellington as a richly woven, well travelled, 150 year old rug. A little worn in places, the odd coffee stain, but with threads and a pattern that are still vibrant and colourful....
Bishop Tom Brown - at opening service of General Synod/Te Hinota Whanui
April 08
Dedicated Living and Giving
27 April
Worship, hospitality and education – the planks which inform our life as Cathedral.
O Praise the Lord!
20 April: 5pm
I still chuckle when I hear the phrase ‘neither delighteth he in any man’s legs’. I have this picture of our college principal sticking his leg out ...
The Home of Forgiveness
20 April: 10am
... many nations are filled with Diasporas; people living away from their homelands. For some this is a matter of choice and preferred circumstances, but for many the dislocation has come ...
Being built in the image of God
13 April: 5pm
After the temple was completed came the challenge to live out their calling as people of the temple; as people whose lives reflected and illustrated the God they worshipped.
This is something that our Young Adult group spent some time considering last weekend on our retreat...
The Fulness of Life
13 April: 10am
if we ask, ‘If the universe is like a great piece of music, in what key is it set? (A flat, B minor, C sharp minor…), the answer is: It is set in the key of GIVING...
The Road to Emmaus
6 April: 10am
It’s a simple story - focused on a meal, on broken, blessed and shared bread. It’s a profound story – with the dawning realisation that life will never be the same again – for the Lord is risen...
March 08
Low Sunday
30 March: 5pm
It’s now fashionable to want to be religious in general, but not to believe anything in particular – and here the resurrection is the big ‘no-no’...
Words, words, words
30 March: 10am
The words are offensive to some, utterly inspiring to others. They are inadequate, easily misunderstood, open to manipulation. They are life-changing, awe-inspiring...
Easter Day
23 March: 5pm
A never-ending dawn
If this is Easter morning, what then of Easter evening? In what way do we greet the Easter message at the close of day in our Evensong?
23 March: 10am
Easter is Good News
Easter this year has then, that special sesqui layer of meaning to it. To some extent the founding of the diocese of Wellington came about due to a series of extraordinary incidents sparked by a tragedy: ‘Tarore, the daughter of Ngakuku ...
The Rt Revd Dr Thomas Brown
23 March: 8am
The miracle of Easter is that no matter what happens in the world – death, mayhem, moral chaos, starvation – Christ is the one who remains standing.
Maundy Thursday
20 March: 7.30pm
For many people this is an extremely uncomfortable event. To have our feet washed, or to wash another’s feet crosses the boundaries of our personal space.
Palm Sunday
16 March: 5pm
One of the less obvious costs of such a war is underlined in a report this week on the discovery of the body of Archbishop Paulos Rahho ...
Jesus wept
9 March: 10am
Jesus wept. No distant uninvolved God here, no stiff upper lip kiwi-men-don’t-cry attitude. Jesus wept – for his dead friend and his friend’s grief stricken sisters. How would you paint that cameo ...
Work the works
2 March: 10am
Jesus continues, and this is the key, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.” (John 9: 3&4)
February 08
Arts Festival
24 February: 5pm
It is a great privilege, Dean Frank to be speaking here this evening, during the celebration of the Arts Festival and specially the Cathedral’s Art Encompassing, thank you for inviting me.
Beverley Shore Bennett MBE FMGP
Living Water
24 February: 10am
In four successive Sundays in Lent we are prepared for the big story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus by the little stories (all from St.John’s Gospel) ...
Thank You
17 February: 5pm
Be thankful – and say so.
Give us passion
17 February: 10am
The challenge is before us today. Last Sunday night we were dared to wear our faith more openly – to show the world that we are part of the body of Christ by our actions and words in every part of every day. Today we ask ...
The Ven Judy Hardie
Our story, God's Story
10 February: 10am
Celebration, temptation, sin, forgiveness, resurrection, life and loving – all are part of the Gospel, all are part of our Sesquicentenary celebrations, all are part of the weft and weave of a Cathedral such as ours.
Sesquicentenary
6 February
It is an honour and a privilege for me to have the opportunity to preach on this important occasion and I thank Bishop Tom for his invitation.
The Most Revd Dr Philip Aspinall (Primate of Australia). Sermon preached on Waitangi Day at Rangiatea Church at the start of the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Wellington.
Being God-bearers
3 February: 5pm AAW Sunday
There is something deliciously ironic, and perhaps a little cheeky, in standing to preach at this service on a Sunday dedicated to the Association of Anglican Women
Let us go into the house
3 February: am
This day Archbishop Brian was there. “Michael,” he said, “you have to finish this Cathedral.” That sounded like music to me. “Last night I was at a reception at the Beehive,” he said. “Prime Minister Lange was showing the visitors the view and said ‘that’s the Cathedral’ and the visitors laughed. Do something about it.”
Dean Emeritus Michael Brown
January 08
Religion and Politics
27 January: 5pm
Rudd begins his essay by expressing disgust at how in George Bush’s America and John Howard’s Australia Christianity has been captured by an unholy alliance of conservative politics and fundamentalist religion. By contrast he indicates ...
Will you follow?
27 January: 10am
Jesus, however, is not going to do this on his own. Nor is it going to be left for some nebulous ‘others’ to do – the government, the clergy, the suitably vague and distant ‘someone else’.
Anglican Communion Sunday
20 January: 10am
The Anglican Communion has featured in media reports in recent months, the focus being, sadly, on news of dissension and division within some of its parts. What is frequently overlooked however is the vast network of Christian love and understanding ...
The Ven Judy Hardie
The Servant of God
13 January: 10am
Today’s sermon was an easy one to write given the readings focusing on the baptism of Jesus, the servant of God spoken of so eloquently in Isaiah, and the death of two great Kiwis late in the week.
