Sermons 2009
From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
December 09
25 December
I am: God
...a new letter has emerged, perhaps influenced by those written by Screwtape. Whatever its origin, it needs to be taken with a seriously large pinch of salt. Dated 25 December 2009 it reads...
20 December
The meaning of Christmas
... we do well on this Sunday before Christmas (Advent IV) to reflect on the five key meanings the Church has discerned in Mary’s birthing of Jesus ...
13 December
Faith on the buses
This is no superficial 'don't worry, be happy' approach to life, which I fear is what the bus slogan approach espouses. Rather, this is people who have come to know God as faithful and trustworthy, yet they are grappling with what it means to have faith in such a God, when the going gets tough in the real world we live in... more...
Thank God for the Atheists
Thank God for the atheists! The quickly subscribed advertising campaign to plaster the atheist message on buses in our major cities is a fantastic gift to Christians. Just when it seemed that God had disappeared from Christmas ... more...
6 December
High Days and Highways
We may struggle to hold onto that sense of expectation and hope that was so real and present in our journeying from Darkness to Light last Sunday evening... more...
November 09
29 November
It will all be OK
We were struck by the graffiti knitting on some of the fences...some spell out words and sentences. My favourite was this one: It will all be OK... more...
22 November
The open door
It seems I have the privilege of having the last word tonight – and I’m not referring to that which occurs at the end of a meaningful discussion with my husband ...
- Archdeacon Judy Hardie
Of thin places and border lands
I must have been to at least thirty ordination services over the years, including two of my own. Each one is different, each is the same ... more...
15 November
Hold fast in hope
One of my abiding memories of Jerusalem is standing midst the excavations south of the Temple Mount, next to some of the massive stones that have been uncovered... more...
Apocalypse Now
The Gospel today is pretty challenging. Of the Temple, Jesus says ‘Not one stone will be left … upon another’ ... more ...
8 November
Singing in the minor key
As we clergy discussed these words of Jesus the other day, we wondered whether perhaps we should wear short robes this morning, not long!... more...
In the congregations of the princes
If the poetry of the psalms is political, the poetry of the prophets is even more so ... more...
1 November - All Saints' Day
Painful Hope
Where our wounds hurt most is often the place that we least want to identify.... Our hope in Jesus Christ is not a painless hope, but a painful hope... more...
Radically Contemporary
Having just returned from the once in a life-time experience of the consecration of the magnificent Gothic-style Cathedral in Brisbane, it is very tempting .... more...
October 09
25 October
Ecclesiastes the Anglican
Thinking about Ecclesiastes, I've decided that he or she is the quintessential Anglican...
Zooming in!
Imagine you are looking through a powerful camera lens at St Mark’s Gospel. Start with the zoom wide open ...
18 October
God creates in freedom
Recent events – the Tsunami in Samoa, the deadly earthquake in Sumatra, the flooding in the Philippines and South East Asia – have reminded us (if we needed reminding) that Mother Nature can be cruel and destructive – as well as benign and nourishing....
Jesus, Joseph and ... Judith
Jesus, Joseph and … Judith! How many of you thought I would say Jesus, Joseph and Mary? Not today ...
11 October
Camels, swords and needles
...Like the camel in the story, we may have to shed off that excess baggage, learn to travel light, to fit through the gate of God's kingdom, and to have our hands open to receive God's gift of life in Christ Jesus... more...
10 October
Cheeky Chicks & Buzzy Bees
...But I was never quite sure if the 'cheeky chick' reference was meant to be telling me something?!... more...
4 October
Faith spelt RISK
...Living by faith, faith spelt RISK, living into an unknown future, but a future held in the hands of a trustworthy God... more...
Boot-polish and marriage
... vividly remember the hours we had to spend scrubbing off the boot-polish ... more...
September 09
27 September
Authority or Power?
We need more of that sort of authority, that sort of positive empowering wisdom in our land, that goes beyond the glamorizing of power and celebrity, and looks for the real lasting qualities beneath...
Esther
The exploitation of women as sexual objects, intense jealousy and greed for power and influence at the highest level, desire for revenge, killing of the unfortunate losers – and not a single mention of God!...
20 September
Holy and alive!
Anne Sloman was asked what she looks for when she visits a church and I was struck by her answer: "the beauty of holiness, and evidence of a living church community."...
The Beloved Child
...In this coming together of powerlessness and love, there is a triple link-up: between the identity of Jesus, the characteristics of a child, and the nature of God ...
13 September
You become what you say
...Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. Not popular sentiments on Back to Church Sunday when you'd think we'd be offering a feel-good, high-comfort gospel!...
Being a Peace Maker
... But let me tell you three short stories. Today is known as Battle of Britain Sunday ...
6 September
Caring for Creation
... The blast, or air pressure wave, went right around the world, crossed over itself and came back ...
more... The Revd Dr John Flenley
Crumbs from the Table
Even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. The woman holds a mirror up to Jesus’ face ...
August 09
30 August
A community of memory and mission
...Hmm, you might say, but I don't feel like a temple of God's Spirit first thing on a Monday morning...
Theology in the Public Square
... people, in other words, who work in what we might call the Public Square ...
23 August
Come as you are
It is at the door that one decides whether to come in, or turn around and walk away ... more...
16 August
Shock Tactics
The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. In their original context, these words were shock tactics. They were ...
more...] The Revd Dr Raymond Pelly
9 August
Spare the rod?
Have you ever broken any school rules, and if so, were you punished for it? And how?...
Of Janice and Eternal Life
...from battle and murder, and from dying suddenly and unprepared, Good Lord, deliver us. Being killed instantly in a car crash is surely one of those instances where one dies ‘suddenly and unprepared’. And yet ...
2 August
A faith that works
As she was carefully emptying the contents of that bedpan into the tank a truck driver pulled alongside her. He saw what she was doing and called out to her: Sister, I wish I had your faith!!
The Rev Kingsley Ponniah
A People After God's Own Heart
Firmly within the powerful messages in our scriptures today is the heart that we are drawn into again and again, day by day, week by week: confession, absolution, restoration within the life-giving fellowship of God...
July 09
26 July
The Wise Man
But who is Sirach? The name appears to be that of a Jewish scribe, or wise man, who collected ...
Gather up the fragments
Let us not forget that God can take the fragments of broken lives, like the lives in this story, and piece them back together, bring hope and new life again...
19 July
Job 2 Hold me fast by God
Here we are treading on holy ground, and I would be very reticent to say to someone that any particular suffering they might be experiencing was the discipline or chastening of God...
12 July
Job's cold comforters
Job shows faith wrestling with the realities of pain and suffering and doubt and despair in a way that makes it acceptable for us to do the same...
Two Dancers
As the wine flows the entertainment begins. The daughter of Herodias dances before the king and his guests ....
5 July
Family through thick or thin
Families, the source of so much joy and sorrow, fun and learning, and just solidly plodding through life together, through thick or thin...
Antioch or Alexandria?
Is it possible that buried deep in the psyche of modern Israeli and Palestinian is this sub-conscious knowledge that both sprang from the same ancestor? ...
June 09
28 June
Responding to God's call to Mission
...the mission calls from God throughout the scriptures are often calls for people to leave behind security and certainty and to take steps of great trust into an unknown future... more...
Predictably unprotectable
Our head, the head of the body of Christ, was as unpredictable as he was unprotectable ...
Fr James Lyons, Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral
Fair balance
...God's grace ensured that everyone had what they needed. In the same way, Paul encourages the Corinthians to display a sense of balance in their care for one another... more...
21 June
Treasures of Darkness
... it might be timely to explore a little more the treasures of darkness, the positives of finding ourselves with so many hours of darkness to enjoy or endure ... more...
Te Pouhere Sunday
They say that the measure of a really skilled debater is the ability to take the opposing view of one’s own position, and argue cogently for that view ... more...
14 June
Can God 'change his mind'?
And Jeremiah, don’t even think of praying for this people: I won’t be listening. This is not exactly the picture of God we get from Psalm 23 ... more...
Disability Sunday
Two talks by members of the Cathedral congregation - Lisette Wesseling and Christine Nelson more...
7 June
Trinity Sunday
Can we sing, Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come?... more...
Trinity invites us to ‘be’ in God’s presence. That is enough....
more...
May 09
31 May The preparation of writing this sermon felt like the task of wondering what to cook for some cherished guests, at a splendid dinner – should it be salmon, fillet steak, monk fish, caviar? ... more... Judi Hattaway
Pentecost Pictures
The Bible readings we have heard this morning are jam packed full of wonderful images describing God's Holy Spirit. more...
24 May
Gracious Words
One of the most beautiful little churches I visited in the Holy Land was about the size of our Lady Chapel! more...
The Word of God in the World: Called to bear Christ’s witness
So today, for this time of being almost in-between our celebrations of the different persons of the Trinity, our focus rests very squarely upon ourselves and the task which is given to us. more...
17 May
God, Vomit and the Lukewarm Christian
No coach starts the season thinking, ‘I want my team to be playing worse at the end of the season than they are now.’ The expectation is that things will improve.. the team will get better. And this is like life generally… more...
A Community of Friends
Friends - what was it about the American sitcom 'Friends' that had so many people avidly following the ups and downs of 6 friends over so many series? more...
10 May
Without God we cannot…Without us, God will not
As we faced the challenge of a weekend seeking God's vision for our Diocese for the next 5 years, she began with a salutary quote: "Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not". more...
The True Vine
Once we grasp the wonder of the abundant life of a vine, we can see how marvelously adapted it is as a picture (or image) for what John wants to say in his Gospel about Jesus. more...
3 May
Promises, promises!
Promises, promises! I wonder if you noticed how many promises there were in tonight’s readings? more...
Being Both a Shepherd and a Sheep
In order to hear the voice of our Good Shepherd speaking to us, we sometimes we have to turn down the volume of the other noises in our lives... more...
April 09
26 April
St George the Green
One of the surprises of my study leave in Jerusalem was learning a lot in a short time about St George! You'd think I would have seen it coming... more...
St Mark
When new fashions, new ideas, new fears, burst on us, unchanging God, grant us then to know with Mark the evangelist, that Christ is risen and the Gospel stands ... more...
19 April
Easter People
The four short verses speak of a community at peace with itself; of extravagant celebration; and the promise of much more to come... more...
12 April - Easter Day
Emmaus of Reconciliation
This place is often called the Emmaus of Reconciliation, because part of its ministry and mission is that some of its land is being used for a village where Jews and Palestinian Arabs - Jews, Muslims and Christians are living together in community ... more...
An Easter Dawn
I want to say to you this morning that many of us experience Easter day like the dawn; it doesn’t all happen in one go ...
March 09
29 March
Driven by Passion
Passion like energy and spirit has become a 'sexy' word in advertising ... more...
22 March
At our Best!
At its best the Cathedral is like the dossal. It is made up of many different people, over a number of generations, each contributing their particular piece to the whole ... more...
15 March
The Women in my Life
I have called this sermon ‘The Women in my life…’ but I want to hurriedly assure you that there will be no sequel entitled ‘The Men in my life…’!!.... more...
Living as the Temple of God
What does this Gospel story say to us about our surrounding consumer culture and the role of a sacred place located in its midst? ... more...
8 March
Of shaven heads and song!
Simon is one of the people I shall be thinking of on Tuesday night when Richard and I step up to have our heads shaved – a small, but I hope, significant, symbol of solidarity with those who fall victim to such terrible diseases as leukemia ... more...
Transfiguration by Taxi!
I’m not sure if it was our trip up that left us all stunned into silence when we got out at the top, or the magnificent view from the top of Mt Tabor down over the plain of Jezreel below... more...
1 March
Innocence, True and False
One way of reading the story of the Fall in Genesis – of which we have just heard an extract – is to imagine some cave dwellers. In the middle of the cave is a big bonfire ...
Re-View
I hope this review will help you all to remember the tune and dance the dance. I hope the review has helped you to keep your eyes focussed on the gifts of God that are present, rather than grieve what is absent ...
February 09
22 February
Be suprised!
The people were amazed and glorified God! Just for a moment, look around you. Look up at the height of the building ... more...
15 February
Fingers crossed
I have to confess that when we were singing our first hymn tonight, “Father hear the prayer we offer”, I had my fingers crossed behind my back! .... more...
Worship, Education and Hospitality
There’s a lovely irony that, on the day thousands of Wellingtonians are pounding their way round the bays, churches across the city will be reading St Paul’s words to the Corinthians about staying focused and not running aimlessly ... more...
8 February
JMP4JY!
Driving into town one day I followed a car with one of those personalised number plates. It read: JMP4JY ... more...
Divine Intimacy
On the page where the angel Gabriel tells Mary not to be afraid at the annunciation, the picture shows them sitting across from each other at a kitchen table each holding a steaming mug of tea! more...
1 February
Moments of Insight
Miss Hawkins was one of those crotchety old ladies every church is blessed with ... more...
Passionate Paul or Anglican Ananias
We even have a physical description of Paul dating from the 2nd century – a man small of stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked ... more...
January 09
18 January
Body Image
How’s your body image at the moment? Maybe January’s not a fair time to ask .... more...
11 January
Statutory Legitimacy
The tui in the ngaio trees outside my kitchen heralded the dawn, while Israeli tanks trundled across the TV screen and responded to rockets launched by Hamas ... more...
4 January
To know God and make God known
Understanding our spiritual lives as a journey has been one of the most compelling and enduring metaphors for our Christian life ... more...
