Search Results
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The First Sunday of Christmas Year C
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The First Sunday of Christmas Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The First Sunday of Christmas Luke 2.41-52 Gaze on the chaos of a pilgrimage – the coaches lined up one by one in the car park, people trying to remember which their coach was, and do they recognize the driver? Imagine Mary and Joseph, missing Jesus, but confident he’s with anoth…
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The First Sunday of Lent Year C
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The First Sunday of Lent Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The First Sunday of Lent Luke 4.1-13 Gaze on Jesus in the wilderness. Gaze on the harsh monochrome of fear and confusion, on the hard bed of stones that brings no comfort. Imagine forty days without the scent of grass, his feet cut raw against the ragged paths, as he searches for…
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Fourth Sunday of Easter John 10.22-30 Gaze on a rough, stormy day in Jerusalem. Our usual picture of the Holy Land is of sun and heat, and a life led in the open air, but there can be cold winds and rain, too. Jesus is sheltering in one of the inner courts of the Temple. It’s…
friends, FOES and families - Mary at the foot of the cross
friends, FOES and families - Mary at the foot of the cross
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Mary at the foot of the cross John 19.25-27 Mary came to the foot of the cross, drawn as by a magnet. This was the only place on earth to be; the whole universe spinning around this wasteland. There was no choice in her being there, only the necessity of a mother’s love. Sufferin…
friends, FOES and families - Maundy Thursday: I am innocent of this man's blood
friends, FOES and families - Maundy Thursday: I am innocent of this man's blood
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Maundy Thursday: I am innocent of this man’s blood Luke 22.66-23.25 An inch is the gap between right and wrong, between the cool of the house and the dazzling sun. One step only out into the glare the door slams quickly, you must leave there. Forced to choose either left or right…
friends, FOES and families - Good Friday: several excuses for not following Jesus to the cross
friends, FOES and families - Good Friday: several excuses for not following Jesus to the cross
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Good Friday: several excuses for not following Jesus to the cross I was too busy – it had been a horrendous week. By Friday I’m always exhausted. I had the shopping to do before everything shut for Sabbath. Everyone deserves a bit of time to themselves, don’t they? I did think ab…
friends, FOES and families - Holy Saturday: the empty room
friends, FOES and families - Holy Saturday: the empty room
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Holy Saturday: the empty room God Almighty and All Merciful, rescue us from despair. The room had been empty since Thursday night, when Jesus, desperate for air, had left to be with God on the open hillside. The door slammed shut behind them, with the thud of a hammer’s blow. T…
friends, FOES and families - Betrayed by a word, betrayed with a kiss: Judas and Jesus
friends, FOES and families - Betrayed by a word, betrayed with a kiss: Judas and Jesus
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Betrayed by a word, betrayed with a kiss: Judas and Jesus Matthew 26, 27 God our Judge, none of us sees clearly the consequences of our actions: when we know we’ve made a wrong decision, give us strength to seek reconciliation...
friends, FOES and families - Woe to you, you hypocrites: Philemon's reply
friends, FOES and families - Woe to you, you hypocrites: Philemon's reply
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Woe to you, hypocrites: Philemon’s reply Philemon Jesus, it is our hypocrisy you most deplore. May I never be scornful of others, or shut the door of the Kingdom in another person’s face. (cf. Matthew 23.13)...
friends, FOES and families - Good gifts: the Lord's Prayer
friends, FOES and families - Good gifts: the Lord's Prayer
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
God gifts: the Lord’s Prayer Luke 11.1-13 Our Father, give us today our daily bread and all the other wonders you have in store for us. Luke 11 starts where we all should – ‘One day, Jesus was praying’. The disciples are at a distance, observing him discreetly. Is this in simple …
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 1 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 1 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 1 Mark 1.29-39 Contemplate a solitary place where you can best pray. Where would you choose? Perhaps the sea shore, where you can hear God speak in the roar of the waves; or a wood where you hear him whisper in the rustle of the leaves; a garden, where you see his hope i…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 2 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 2 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 2 Mark 1.40-45 Gaze on this man, whom we know nothing about, except that he is a leper. We don’t know whether he’s old or young, rich or poor. Once someone was labelled ‘leper’, that was all that was important, and their individual identity was lost. His body and limbs a…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Third Sunday of Lent Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Third Sunday of Lent Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Third Sunday of Lent John 2.13-22 Gaze on all that remains of the Temple in Jerusalem. Once a massive edifice with columns of white marble and gates of silver and gold, Herod’s monument was destroyed by the Romans, much as Jesus had predicted. But a fragment remains, which is…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Fifth Sunday of Lent Year B