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An Informed Faith

John T Squires

  • The Word of God, Scripture, and Jesus Christ
  • Marrying same-gender people: a biblical rationale
  • Discernment
  • Interpreting the creeds “in a later age”
  • Affirming the Teachings of Jesus
  • To articulate faith contextually
  • Let your gentleness be known to everyone
  • What can we know about the birth of Jesus?
  • “An orderly account”: a quick guide to Luke and Acts
  • Costly discipleship, according to Luke
  • In the wake of the verdict about Pell …
  • Another Time, Another Place: towards an Australian Church
  • Holy Week: the week leading up to Easter
  • Sacrificial death and liberating life: at the heart of Easter
  • The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Easter in Christian tradition and its relation to Jewish tradition
  • The cross-cultural nature of the early Jesus movement
  • Jesus and his followers at table in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Once again: affirming our diversity, celebrating joyous marriages
  • Ten things about Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • The Paraclete in John’s Gospel: exploring the array of translation options (John 14, 15, 16)
  • “Do you believe in the Triune God?”
  • The DNA of the UCA (part I)
  • The DNA of the UCA (part II)
  • Harness the passion, but restrain the rhetoric. Musing on the role model which Paul offers in Galatians.
  • Providing for the exercise by men and women of the gifts God bestows upon them: lay people presiding at the sacraments in the Uniting Church
  • Freedom and unity: themes in Galatians
  • Australian Religious Leaders support renewable energy
  • Human sexuality and the Bible
  • Dividing the unity, splintering the connections: more ACC agitation
  • Giving Voice, Telling Truth, Talking Treaty: NAIDOC 2019
  • Advocacy and Climate Change, Growth and Formation, Treaty with First Peoples: Synod 2019
  • Climate Change: a central concern in contemporary ministry
  • On earth, as in heaven: the key to The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part I)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part II)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part III)
  • International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
  • In the wake of the verdict (and appeal decision) relating to Pell …
  • Where will we find hope? When will we see justice?
  • Supporting the Climate Strike
  • Gracious openness and active discipleship as key characteristics of church membership
  • Please Leave ?? No — Please Stay !!
  • Stones singing and rivers vibrating … a liturgy for Holy Communion
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part One)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Two)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Three)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part one)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part two)
  • We wait, and hope, and grieve, anticipating …
  • On the move. A reflection on Christmas.
  • Reflecting on faith amidst the firestorms
  • This is the world we live in, this is the Gospel we believe in
  • Giving up? Or going deep? The opportunity of Lent
  • Passing the peace, sharing the elements, greeting the minister
  • When you come together … reflections on community in the midst of a pandemic
  • Holy Week: a week set apart, in a time set apart.
  • It was on that night that everything came to a head. Maundy Thursday Reflections.
  • Sacrificial Death: to give his life. Good Friday Reflections
  • Liminal Space: waiting and not knowing. Holy Saturday Reflections
  • Liberating Life: a new way of being. Easter Sunday Reflections
  • It’s been just over a month—but there have been lots of learnings!
  • Not this year. So what about next year?
  • The times, they are are a-changin’.
  • When we come together (2) … values and principles in the midst of a pandemic
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (1)
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (2)
  • Saying sorry, seeking justice, walking together, working for reconciliation
  • Worship like the first Christians. What will our future look like? (3)
  • Pentecost: the spirit is for anyone, for everyone.
  • Racism and Reconciliation
  • Paul’s vision of “One in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28) and the Uniting Church
  • In memory of James Dunn (1939–2020)
  • Black Lives Matter. Now—and Then.
  • Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945), and the commitment to seek peace (2020)
  • Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill: A Christian Perspective
  • Always Was, Always Will Be. #NAIDOC2020
  • The Lectionary: ordering the liberty of the preacher
  • Women in the New Testament (1): the positive practices of Jesus and the early church
  • Women in the New Testament (2): six problem passages
  • Reflections on a significant anniversary
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (1)
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (2)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters attributed to Paul? (3)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters in the name of the apostles? (4)
  • Revelation: a complex and intricate world of heavenly beings and exotic creatures
  • Why the Christmas story is not history (1)
  • Why “the Christmas story” is not history (2): Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2
  • Advent Greetings from Canberra Region Presbytery
An Informed Faith

Day: July 15, 2019

Listening and learning at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10)

Listening and learning at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10)

The section of the Gospel which is set in this Sunday’s lectionary (Luke 10:38-42) is found only in Luke’s Gospel. It recounts a time when Jesus was in the house of Mary and Martha. The story, by tradition, takes place in Bethany, in the house of Lazarus. The Gospel of Luke doesn’t provide this location, however; the text simply notes that Jesus “entered a certain village” (10:38). The tradition clearly depends on identifying the Mary and Martha in the story, with the sisters of Lazarus, as noted in John 11:1. Luke doesn’t draw this conclusion in what he writes.

The manner of Jesus’ interaction with these women is often noted. Jesus treats Mary as a student, sitting at his feet, learning of God’s ways. Commentators regularly focus on this feature, as a significant action by Mary, affirmed by Jesus. Women can rightly be regarded as disciples. The traditional of twelve men as the closest followers of Jesus, probably shaped by the idea that the 12 men correlated with the 12 tribes of Israel, is another tradition that depends on reading the Gospels in a particular way.

A significant characteristic of Luke’s story of Jesus is the emphasis he places upon women within the story. Feminist scholars have noted the prominence accorded to women as followers of Jesus as well as in the ongoing Jesus movement. Here is a short study that Elizabeth and I wrote on this theme, which might be helpful in preparing for this coming Sunday.

Read Luke 8:1–3. Luke emphasizes that Jesus travelled with women as well as men. Alongside this, we need to note some comments attributed to rabbis in

ancient Jewish literature. Rabbi Jose ben Johanan of Jerusalem (a 2nd century rabbi) said:” Let you house be opened wide, and let the needy be members of your household; and talk not much with womankind.” (Mishnah, Aboth 1.5)

An older saying stated: “What conduct is such that transgresses Jewish custom? If a woman goes out with her hair unbound, or spins in the street, or speaks with any man.” (Mishnah, Ketuboth 6.6)

In the light of these sayings, what can we say about the kind of effect this must have had on those who saw him traveling in this way?

What changes in attitudes and habits would male disciples need to make when women became part of Jesus’ traveling group?

It was not uncommon for Jesus to talk in public with women. Can you name some occasions when he did so?

A famous instance is reported in John 4. Read John 4:9 (most commentators note that this verse is important). Now read John 4:27 (this verse is usually not highlighted as being significant.)

What does this tell us about the attitude of Jesus towards women?

Read Luke 8:43–48. Notice how Jesus insists that he talk to this woman (8:45–46). What kinds of risks was Jesus taking by talking in public to a woman who was clearly unclean?

Notice also what words Jesus spoke to the woman (8:48). Who else does Jesus commend for their faith? (See Luke 7:9; 7:50; 17:19; 18:42.) What do they all have in common? (Hint: Where do they stand in relation to the Holiness which was at the heart of Judaism?) What is the significance of putting forward such people as role models of faith?

Now read Luke 10:38–42. Notice that Mary sat in the traditional position of the pupil, at the feet of the master (Luke 10:39).

What does this say about Jesus’ attitude towards teaching women?

Compare this with a saying of Ben Azzai (another 2nd century rabbi), who is remembered to have said: “A man ought to give his daughter a knowledge of the Law so that if she must drink the bitter water, she may know that the merit that she has acquired would hold her punishment in suspense.” (Mishnah, Sotah 3.4)

But Rabbi Eliezer (late 1st century) is claimed to have decreed: “If any man gives his daughter a knowledge of the Law, it is as though he taught her lechery.” (Mishnah, Sotah 3.4) In the Jerusalem Talmud, Rabbi Eliezer is further reported as having said: “It is better to burn the Torah than to teach it to women” (J.Sotah 19a.7). In yet another rabbinic writing, it is said: “All are qualified to be among the seven [who read the Torah in synagogue on the Sabbath morning], even a minor and a woman. But a woman should not be allowed to come forward to read the Torah in public.” (T.Meg. 4.11,226)

Jesus commended Mary for her interest in the Gospel, and affirmed that she chose “the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Compare this with a traditional rabbinic saying in the Mishnah: “Anything found by a wife and the work of her hands belongs to her husband and during her lifetime he has the use of her inheritance.” (Mishnah, Ketuboth 6.1)

Read Acts 1:12–14. Which people are identified by name?

Who is there but not named?

What else does Luke tell us about the mother of Jesus? (Read Luke 1:26–56; 2:15–20; 8:19–21.)

Who might the other women be? (Read back to Luke 8:1–3; 23:49; 23:55; 24:1–9.)

Where did the group meet?

Why do you think that Mary was the only female named in this passage? What might that suggest about her role in the group?

Read Acts 16:11–15. How is Lydia described in this passage?

What does the phrase “godfearer” suggest to you? Where else is it used in Acts? (Check 13:16; 13:50; 16:14; 17:4; 17:17; 18:7.)

What kind of gathering is described in 16:13–14?

What does this suggest about the role of women in religion?

What does the occupation of Lydia suggest about her financial means? About her status in the city?

Who would be included in “her household” (16:15)?

What does this suggest about her position in society?

What does this passage suggest about Lydia as a role model for conversion and acceptance of the Gospel?

Read Acts 21:8–9. Where else has Philip been involved in the story of Acts? (Check back into chapters 6–8.) What values and qualities did he have there?

How does this passage describe the daughters of Philip? (Read Acts 21:9.)

Who else has been described as a “prophet” in Luke’s story? What role do they play?

Can you recall any other female prophets? (Look especially at Luke 2:36.) What special contributions do they make to Luke’s story of Jesus and his followers?

In the light of all these passages that we have looked at in Luke-Acts, what can we say about the significance of women in the ministry of Jesus? in the early Christian movement? in the community of which Luke was a part?

******

This study forms part of a 64-page study booklet, From Learners to Leaders: an exploration of the Gospel for Year C, by John Squires and Elizabeth Raine (available in hardcopy directly from myself at johntsquires@bigpond.com)

See also

https://johntsquires.wordpress.com/2019/01/31/an-orderly-account-a-quick-guide-to-luke-and-acts/

https://johntsquires.wordpress.com/2019/02/05/costly-discipleship-according-to-luke/

https://johntsquires.wordpress.com/2019/02/19/the-beloved-physician-the-lover-of-god-and-loving-our-enemies-luke-6/

https://johntsquires.wordpress.com/2019/04/17/the-death-resurrection-and-ascension-of-jesus-in-lukes-orderly-account/

https://johntsquires.com/2019/04/26/the-cross-cultural-nature-of-the-early-jesus-movement/

https://johntsquires.com/2019/05/22/jesus-and-his-followers-at-table-in-lukes-orderly-account/

https://johntsquires.com/2019/04/30/the-calling-of-saul-and-the-turn-to-the-gentiles-modelling-the-missional-imperative-acts-8-12/

https://johntsquires.com/2019/07/02/from-learners-to-leaders-deepening-discipleship-in-lukes-orderly-account/

Author John T SquiresPosted on July 15, 2019Categories An Orderly Account: Gospel of LukeTags Luke, scriptureLeave a comment on Listening and learning at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10)

The Beginning of the Good News: Mark

  • The Lectionary: ordering the liberty of the preacher
  • The kingdom is at hand; so follow me. The Gospel according to Mark.
  • Advent One: Towards the Coming (Mark 13)
  • Advent Two: the more powerful one who is coming (Mark 1)

Life during COVID 19

  • Passing the peace, sharing the elements, greeting the minister
  • When you come together … reflections on community in the midst of a pandemic
  • Pastoral Letter to Canberra Region Presbytery on COVID-19 pandemic
  • Pastoral Letter to the Canberra Region Presbytery of the Uniting Church in Australia. 31 March 2020
  • Liminal Space: waiting and not knowing. Holy Saturday Reflections
  • It’s been just over a month—but there have been lots of learnings!
  • Not this year. So what about next year?
  • The times, they are are a-changin’.
  • When we come together (2) … values and principles in the midst of a pandemic
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (1)
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (2)
  • Worship like the first Christians. What will our future look like? (3)
  • Pastoral Letter to Canberra Region Presbytery: June 2020
  • “Greet one another” (2 Cor 13). But no holy kissing. And no joyful singing.
  • Going “back” to church—what will our future look like? (4)
  • When you come together (3) … wait for one another (1 Cor 11)
  • Minimising risks in the ongoing reality of COVID-19
  • Pastoral Letter to Canberra Region Presbytery—September 2020
  • Reimagining—the spirit of our times

Scripture and Theology

  • The Word of God, Scripture, and Jesus Christ
  • Marrying same-gender people: a biblical rationale
  • Discernment
  • Interpreting the creeds “in a later age”
  • Affirming the Teachings of Jesus
  • To articulate faith contextually
  • Let your gentleness be known to everyone
  • What can we know about the birth of Jesus?
  • “An orderly account”: a quick guide to Luke and Acts
  • Costly discipleship, according to Luke
  • In the wake of the verdict about Pell …
  • Another Time, Another Place: towards an Australian Church
  • Holy Week: the week leading up to Easter
  • Sacrificial death and liberating life: at the heart of Easter
  • The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Easter in Christian tradition and its relation to Jewish tradition
  • The cross-cultural nature of the early Jesus movement
  • Jesus and his followers at table in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Once again: affirming our diversity, celebrating joyous marriages
  • Ten things about Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • The Paraclete in John’s Gospel: exploring the array of translation options (John 14, 15, 16)
  • “Do you believe in the Triune God?”
  • The DNA of the UCA (part I)
  • The DNA of the UCA (part II)
  • Harness the passion, but restrain the rhetoric. Musing on the role model which Paul offers in Galatians.
  • Providing for the exercise by men and women of the gifts God bestows upon them: lay people presiding at the sacraments in the Uniting Church
  • Freedom and unity: themes in Galatians
  • Australian Religious Leaders support renewable energy
  • Human sexuality and the Bible
  • Dividing the unity, splintering the connections: more ACC agitation
  • Giving Voice, Telling Truth, Talking Treaty: NAIDOC 2019
  • Advocacy and Climate Change, Growth and Formation, Treaty with First Peoples: Synod 2019
  • Climate Change: a central concern in contemporary ministry
  • On earth, as in heaven: the key to The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part I)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part II)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part III)
  • International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
  • In the wake of the verdict (and appeal decision) relating to Pell …
  • Where will we find hope? When will we see justice?
  • Supporting the Climate Strike
  • Gracious openness and active discipleship as key characteristics of church membership
  • Please Leave ?? No — Please Stay !!
  • Stones singing and rivers vibrating … a liturgy for Holy Communion
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part One)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Two)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Three)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part one)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part two)
  • We wait, and hope, and grieve, anticipating …
  • On the move. A reflection on Christmas.
  • Reflecting on faith amidst the firestorms
  • This is the world we live in, this is the Gospel we believe in
  • Giving up? Or going deep? The opportunity of Lent
  • Passing the peace, sharing the elements, greeting the minister
  • When you come together … reflections on community in the midst of a pandemic
  • Holy Week: a week set apart, in a time set apart.
  • It was on that night that everything came to a head. Maundy Thursday Reflections.
  • Sacrificial Death: to give his life. Good Friday Reflections
  • Liminal Space: waiting and not knowing. Holy Saturday Reflections
  • Liberating Life: a new way of being. Easter Sunday Reflections
  • It’s been just over a month—but there have been lots of learnings!
  • Not this year. So what about next year?
  • The times, they are are a-changin’.
  • When we come together (2) … values and principles in the midst of a pandemic
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (1)
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (2)
  • Saying sorry, seeking justice, walking together, working for reconciliation
  • Worship like the first Christians. What will our future look like? (3)
  • Pentecost: the spirit is for anyone, for everyone.
  • Racism and Reconciliation
  • Paul’s vision of “One in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28) and the Uniting Church
  • In memory of James Dunn (1939–2020)
  • Black Lives Matter. Now—and Then.
  • Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945), and the commitment to seek peace (2020)
  • Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill: A Christian Perspective
  • Always Was, Always Will Be. #NAIDOC2020
  • The Lectionary: ordering the liberty of the preacher
  • Women in the New Testament (1): the positive practices of Jesus and the early church
  • Women in the New Testament (2): six problem passages
  • Reflections on a significant anniversary
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (1)
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (2)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters attributed to Paul? (3)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters in the name of the apostles? (4)
  • Revelation: a complex and intricate world of heavenly beings and exotic creatures
  • Why the Christmas story is not history (1)
  • Why “the Christmas story” is not history (2): Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2
  • Advent Greetings from Canberra Region Presbytery

The First Peoples of Australia

  • The sovereignty of the First Peoples of Australia
  • Affirming the Sovereignty of First Peoples: undoing the Doctrine of Discovery
  • On Covenant, Reconciliation, and Sovereignty
  • Learning of the land (1): Eora, Biripi, Whadjuk Noongar
  • Learning of the land (2): Ngunnawal, Namadgi and Ngarigo
  • The profound effect of invasion and colonisation
  • “Endeavour by every possible means … to conciliate their affections”
  • “We never saw one inch of cultivated land in the whole country”
  • “They stood like Statues, without motion, but grinn’d like so many Monkies.”
  • “Resembling the park lands [of a] gentleman’s residence in England”
  • On Remembering: Cook and Flinders (and Trim), Bungaree and Yemmerrawanne
  • “They are to be hanged up on trees … to strike the survivors with the greater terror.”
  • So, change the date—to what?
  • Learning of the land (3): Tuggeranong, Queanbeyan, and other Canberra place names
  • Learning from the land (4): Naiame’s Nghunnhu—fishtraps at Brewarrina
  • We are sorry, we recognise your rights, we seek to be reconciled
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: learning from the past
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: Bennelong and Yemmerrawanne
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: Bungaree and Mahroot
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: Cora Gooseberry and Biddy Giles
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: “these are my people … this is my land”.
  • Reconciliation on the land of Australia: living together with respect
  • Dark deeds in a sunny land: the exposé offered by John B. Gribble
  • This is the proper way: no climbing
  • “They appear’d to be of a very dark or black colour”. Cook, HMS Endeavour, and the Yuin people and country.
  • “Three canoes lay upon the beach—the worst I think I ever saw.” James Cook at Botany Bay, 29 April 1770
  • Saying sorry, seeking justice, walking together, working for reconciliation
  • Racism and Reconciliation
  • “We weigh’d and run into the Harbour”. Cook, the Endeavour, and the Guugu Yimithirr
  • Black Lives Matter. Now—and Then.
  • James Cook, the Endeavour, twelve turtles and the Guugu Yimithirr (3)
  • James Cook: Captain? Discoverer? Invader? Coloniser? Cook, the Endeavour, and Possession Island.
  • Always Was, Always Will Be. #NAIDOC2020
  • Invasion and colonisation, Joshua 3 and contemporary Australia

Paul

  • The calling of Saul and the turn to the Gentiles: modelling the missional imperative (Acts 8—12)
  • Freedom and unity: themes in Galatians
  • In the name of the apostle …
  • Rightly explaining the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15)
  • What does it mean to say that the Bible is inspired? (2 Tim 3:16)
  • The sincerest form of flattery? Or a later, imperfect imitation? (2 Thessalonians)
  • For our instruction … that we might have hope (Rom 15, Isa 11, Matt 3)
  • Descended from David according to the flesh (Rom 1)
  • The unknown God, your own poets, and the man God chose: Paul on the Areopagus (Acts 17)
  • “Greet one another” (2 Cor 13). But no holy kissing. And no joyful singing.
  • Paul’s vision of “One in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28) and the Uniting Church
  • When you come together (3) … wait for one another (1 Cor 11)
  • The best theology is contextual: learning from Paul’s letter to the Romans
  • The righteous-justice of God, a gift to all humanity (Romans)
  • Sighs too deep for words: Spirit and Scripture in Romans (Rom 8)
  • Praying to be cursed: Paul, the passionate partisan for the cause (Rom 9:3)
  • A deeper understanding of God, through dialogue with “the other” (Romans 10)
  • God has not rejected his people. All Israel will be saved. (Rom 11)
  • Paul the travelling philosopher (1 Thessalonians)

An Orderly Account: Luke and Acts

  • Costly discipleship, according to Luke
  • Advent Four: the scriptural resonances in the Annunciation (Luke 1)
  • Scripture fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:16-30)
  • Sacred place and sacred scripture: forty days in the wilderness (2)
  • Leave everything, follow Jesus (Luke 5:1-11)
  • On a level place, with a great crowd. (Luke 6)
  • The plain, the synagogue, and the village (Luke 6, 4 and 1)
  • The beloved physician, the lover of God, and loving our enemies (Luke 6)
  • Jesus and his followers at table in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Bringing his ‘exodos’ to fulfilment (Luke 9)
  • Listening and learning at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10)
  • Jerusalem, Jerusalem: holy city, holy calling (Luke 13)
  • The discomfort of ambiguity (Luke 15)
  • Don’t take it at face value: on former things and new things
  • Don’t take it at face value: on what lies behind and what lies ahead.
  • What do you see? What do you hear? (Luke 19)
  • Holy Week: the week leading up to Easter
  • Sacrificial death and liberating life: at the heart of Easter
  • The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Easter in Christian tradition and its relation to Jewish tradition
  • A time in-between the times, a space in no-space.
  • The tomb is empty. He is not here. He is risen.
  • He Is Not Here Day
  • A Testing Time: forty days in the wilderness (Luke 4)
  • Discovering new futures … letting go of the old
  • Ten things about Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • The cross-cultural nature of the early Jesus movement
  • On earth, as in heaven: the key to The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11)
  • “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12)
  • On incense and injustice, of assemblies and abominations
  • Coming to grips with the judgement of God (Luke 12 and Isaiah 5)
  • Disreputable outsiders invited inside: parables in Luke 14
  • Disturbing discipleship: exploring the teachings of Jesus in Luke 14
  • In defence of the Pharisees: on humility and righteousness (Luke 18)
  • Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? (Luke 17)
  • Unjust judge, shameless widow (Luke 18)
  • Zacchæus: patron saint of change and transition (Luke 19)
  • Ministry and Mission in the midst of change and transition (Luke 21:13)
  • Look up to the sky? Look down to your feet! (Luke 20)
  • From Learners to Leaders: deepening discipleship in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • What God did through him: Peter’s testimony to Jesus (Acts 2)
  • What God did through him: proclaiming faith in the public square (Acts 2)
  • Repent and be baptised: Peter’s Pentecost proclamation (Acts 2)
  • The calling of Saul and the turn to the Gentiles: modelling the missional imperative (Acts 8—12)
  • Resurrection life, economic responsibility, and inclusive hospitality: markers of the Gospel (Acts 9)
  • On literary devices and narrative development (Acts 16)
  • Leaving Luke . . . Meeting Matthew

The Book of Origins

  • Leaving Luke . . . Meeting Matthew
  • For our instruction … that we might have hope (Rom 15, Isa 11, Matt 3)
  • The origins of Jesus in the book of origins: Matthew 1
  • Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way (Matthew 1)
  • Descended from David according to the flesh (Rom 1)
  • A young woman? A virgin? Pregnant? About to give birth? (Isa 7:14 in Matt 1:23)
  • Herod waiting, Herod watching, Herod grasping, holding power (Matt 2)
  • Herod was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children (Matt 2)
  • Repentance for the kingdom (Matt 4)
  • Blessed are you: the Beatitudes of Matthew 5
  • An excess of righteous-justice (Matt 5)
  • You have heard it said … but I say to you … (Matt 5)
  • The missing parts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6 and 7)
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Passover and politics
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Riding on a donkey (or two) as the crowd shouts ‘Hosanna’
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Waving branches, spreading cloaks
  • Towards Palm Sunday (Matt 21): Acclaiming the king, anticipating the kingdom
  • “Go nowhere among the Gentiles” (Matt 10:5). The mission of Jesus in the book of origins.
  • “Even the hairs of your head are all counted.” (Matt 10:30)
  • Come to me, take my yoke, I will give you rest (Matt 11)
  • Parables: the craft of storytelling in the book of origins (Matt 13)
  • The righteous-justice of God, a gift to all humanity (Romans)
  • Let anyone with ears, hear! (Matt 13)
  • Chopping and changing: what the lectionary does to the parables of Matthew
  • A rock, some keys, and a binding: clues to the identity of Jesus (Matt 16)
  • An invitation that you just cannot … accept!
  • Producing the fruits of the kingdom (Matt 21)
  • Darkness, weeping, and gnashing of teeth: the scene of judgement (Matt 22)
  • The greatest and first commandment … and a second, like it (Matt 22)
  • On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matt 22)
  • Sitting on the seat of Moses, teaching the Law—but “they do not practice what they teach” (Matt 23)
  • Discipleship in an apocalyptic framework (Matt 23–25)
  • A final parable from the book of origins: on sheep and goats, on judgement and righteous-justice (Matt 25)

The Book of Signs

  • John (the baptizer) and Jesus (the anointed) in the book of signs (the Gospel of John)
  • Living our faith in the realities of our own times … hearing the message of “the book of signs”
  • The Pharisee of Jerusalem and the woman of Samaria (John 3 and 4)
  • From the woman at the well to a Byazantine saint: John 4, St Photini, and the path to enlightenment
  • In the most unlikely company: confessing faith in Jesus (John 9)
  • In the most unlikely way … touching the untouchable (John 9)
  • Yes, Lord, I believe—even in the midst of all of this! (John 11)
  • Holding out for hope in the midst of turmoil (John 11)
  • “I am the way” (John 14): from elitist exclusivism to gracious friendship?
  • The Paraclete in John’s Gospel: exploring the array of translation options (John 14, 15, 16)
  • In defence of Thomas: a doubting sceptic? or a passionate firebrand?

The Basis of Union

  • What I really like about the Basis of Union
  • What is missing from the Basis of Union?
  • Alongside the Basis of Union, there was the Statement to the Nation
  • Fresh words and deeds
  • The Word of God, Scripture, and Jesus Christ
  • The sovereignty of the First Peoples of Australia
  • Affirming the Sovereignty of First Peoples: undoing the Doctrine of Discovery
  • On Covenant, Reconciliation, and Sovereignty

Marriage and the Uniting Church

  • Marrying same-gender people: a biblical rationale
  • A diversity of religious beliefs and ethical understandings
  • Marriage and the matter of being vital to the life of the church
  • Seven Affirmations
  • Recognising Pain, Working for Reconciliation
  • The “additional marriage liturgy” for Uniting Churches
  • An Explainer, in nine easy steps
  • Marriage of same gender people: a gift to the whole Church
  • Let your gentleness be known to everyone
  • The Uniting Church is not a political democracy
  • So, what just happened? (An Explainer, Updated)
  • A Prayer for the Uniting Church in Australia
  • “When you suffer, the whole body of Christ suffers”
  • Affirmations we can make together
  • Once again: affirming our diversity, celebrating joyous marriages

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  • The Word of God, Scripture, and Jesus Christ
  • Marrying same-gender people: a biblical rationale
  • Discernment
  • Interpreting the creeds “in a later age”
  • Affirming the Teachings of Jesus
  • To articulate faith contextually
  • Let your gentleness be known to everyone
  • What can we know about the birth of Jesus?
  • “An orderly account”: a quick guide to Luke and Acts
  • Costly discipleship, according to Luke
  • In the wake of the verdict about Pell …
  • Another Time, Another Place: towards an Australian Church
  • Holy Week: the week leading up to Easter
  • Sacrificial death and liberating life: at the heart of Easter
  • The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Easter in Christian tradition and its relation to Jewish tradition
  • The cross-cultural nature of the early Jesus movement
  • Jesus and his followers at table in Luke’s “orderly account”
  • Once again: affirming our diversity, celebrating joyous marriages
  • Ten things about Pentecost (Acts 2)
  • The Paraclete in John’s Gospel: exploring the array of translation options (John 14, 15, 16)
  • “Do you believe in the Triune God?”
  • The DNA of the UCA (part I)
  • The DNA of the UCA (part II)
  • Harness the passion, but restrain the rhetoric. Musing on the role model which Paul offers in Galatians.
  • Providing for the exercise by men and women of the gifts God bestows upon them: lay people presiding at the sacraments in the Uniting Church
  • Freedom and unity: themes in Galatians
  • Australian Religious Leaders support renewable energy
  • Human sexuality and the Bible
  • Dividing the unity, splintering the connections: more ACC agitation
  • Giving Voice, Telling Truth, Talking Treaty: NAIDOC 2019
  • Advocacy and Climate Change, Growth and Formation, Treaty with First Peoples: Synod 2019
  • Climate Change: a central concern in contemporary ministry
  • On earth, as in heaven: the key to The Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part I)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part II)
  • Ramping up the rhetoric, generating guilt and provoking panic: the failed strategy of conservatives in the UCA (part III)
  • International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
  • In the wake of the verdict (and appeal decision) relating to Pell …
  • Where will we find hope? When will we see justice?
  • Supporting the Climate Strike
  • Gracious openness and active discipleship as key characteristics of church membership
  • Please Leave ?? No — Please Stay !!
  • Stones singing and rivers vibrating … a liturgy for Holy Communion
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part One)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Two)
  • Faith in Action: a religious response to the Climate Emergency (Part Three)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part one)
  • Celebrating Transitions: into a strange and graceful ease … (part two)
  • We wait, and hope, and grieve, anticipating …
  • On the move. A reflection on Christmas.
  • Reflecting on faith amidst the firestorms
  • This is the world we live in, this is the Gospel we believe in
  • Giving up? Or going deep? The opportunity of Lent
  • Passing the peace, sharing the elements, greeting the minister
  • When you come together … reflections on community in the midst of a pandemic
  • Holy Week: a week set apart, in a time set apart.
  • It was on that night that everything came to a head. Maundy Thursday Reflections.
  • Sacrificial Death: to give his life. Good Friday Reflections
  • Liminal Space: waiting and not knowing. Holy Saturday Reflections
  • Liberating Life: a new way of being. Easter Sunday Reflections
  • It’s been just over a month—but there have been lots of learnings!
  • Not this year. So what about next year?
  • The times, they are are a-changin’.
  • When we come together (2) … values and principles in the midst of a pandemic
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (1)
  • It’s been two months under restrictions—what will our future look like? (2)
  • Saying sorry, seeking justice, walking together, working for reconciliation
  • Worship like the first Christians. What will our future look like? (3)
  • Pentecost: the spirit is for anyone, for everyone.
  • Racism and Reconciliation
  • Paul’s vision of “One in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28) and the Uniting Church
  • In memory of James Dunn (1939–2020)
  • Black Lives Matter. Now—and Then.
  • Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945), and the commitment to seek peace (2020)
  • Sexuality and Gender Identity Conversion Practices Bill: A Christian Perspective
  • Always Was, Always Will Be. #NAIDOC2020
  • The Lectionary: ordering the liberty of the preacher
  • Women in the New Testament (1): the positive practices of Jesus and the early church
  • Women in the New Testament (2): six problem passages
  • Reflections on a significant anniversary
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (1)
  • What do we know about who wrote the New Testament Gospels? (2)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters attributed to Paul? (3)
  • What do we know about who wrote the letters in the name of the apostles? (4)
  • Revelation: a complex and intricate world of heavenly beings and exotic creatures
  • Why the Christmas story is not history (1)
  • Why “the Christmas story” is not history (2): Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2
  • Advent Greetings from Canberra Region Presbytery
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