Readings: Genesis 45:3–11,15, 1 Corinthians 15:35–50 & Luke 6:27–38 What a strange and disparate collection of readings for this morning! Our first reading, from the Book of Genesis, appears out of nowhere in the Lectionary cycle for this week. Normally we will read a passage from the same book for several consecutive weeks, following a particular story from its beginning to its…

Readings: Jeremiah 17:5–10, 1 Corinthians 15:12–20 & Luke 6:17–26 We see some parallels today between our first reading, from the Book of Jeremiah, and our gospel passage, from the Gospel of Luke.  By way of reminder, in the Book of Jeremiah, the prophet was largely writing to the people of Judah and its capital city Jerusalem, to warn them of impending doom…

Readings: Isaiah 6:1–8, 1 Corinthians 15:1–11 & Luke 5:1–11 How appropriate is it that our readings this morning talk of receiving and answering a call from God? Because in one form or another, all of us here this morning, have in fact recently received and answered a call from God, to a new form of ministry of our own. Lynda received a…

Jeremiah 1:4–10, 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 & Luke 4:21–30Today’s gospel passage continues on from last week’s reading. Jesus is in the synagogue of his hometown in Nazareth. And he has just finished reading a section from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. The section that Jesus reads, is basically an announcement by Isaiah, of the ministry that God has called him to carry…