HOMILY: Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a letter of encouragement, joy and gratitude (eucharist). True joy, the imprisoned apostle says, comes from faith in Christ. His own imprisonment, he says, has led to the proclamation of the gospel.
HOMILY: Rima, a mother of six, has been living in Jordan for 20 years after fleeing Gaza in 2004. Three of her children are disabled. Rima struggled with isolation and the burden of raising her family. But everything changed when she joined the Forsa project.
HOMILY: “We are all John the Baptists in our own way” (David L. Walker).
HOMILY: “Look at the fig tree, or any other tree” – the reign of God is about how we look … at trees, at one another. It has to do with how the world appears in the light of a Promised One.
HOMILY: Is revelation always ironic, always subversive? Our theme for today is certainly both ironic and subversive.
HOMILY: In today’s reading, which recounts Jesus’ final public act before his farewell speech to the disciples and subsequent passion, a poor widow gives “her whole livelihood” (literally, her “life”).
HOMILY: The key theme in today’s lectionary readings is that of passage or transformation. Passage from a place – variously described – of ignorance, fear or blindness to a place of repentance, trust and the enlightened following of Christ.
HOMILY: Today our readings mark a celebration of the life, faith and legacy of St Lydia. Although there is only minimal reference to her in the bible, seven verses in Acts all up, she is a woman who has inspired a tradition connected to her open-hearted, responsive, courageous and generous faith, who crosses cultural boundaries and forges new relationships.
HOMILY: William Blake’s etching of Job, his wife and his friends (1825) tells the story. Job seeks a God of goodness/justice. His friends try to help but can’t help blaming Job, the victim. Their theologies are rigid, their images of God fixed in place.
HOMILY: After a vision at the ruined San Damiano Church, Francis began physically repairing the building, interpreting God’s command to “rebuild my Church” literally at first, before realising it also referred to spiritual renewal.
Where in this story do you rest (what appeals to you most)? How might it offer you deep or soulful rest?
