We like to think that the gospel we just read is about our questions. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why did Pilate murder those Galileans? Why did the tower of Siloam fall on 18 people? Why were 50 Muslims murdered at prayer in Christchurch? Why did they bomb the cathedral in the Philippines, killing 20 last Sunday? They're all good questions. It’s good to hear Jesus affirm that horrific events have nothing to do with sin or divine judgement – but that’s not really what today’s gospel is about. Today’s gospel is about the urgency of repentance. The urgent need for our eyes to be opened to the reality of God. Because unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Back
Have you ever had something you really needed to tell someone, but the person you needed to tell wasn’t around or wasn’t listening? And then, when they finally did show up, when they finally were listening, you just kind of unloaded on them? That’s Abram in our first reading from the book of Genesis this morning. Let’s go back to the beginning. In the beginning, we are told, God created the heavens and the earth. And it was good. In fact God blessed creation and said it was very good. But it didn’t take long before things started to unravel. You know the story about Adam and Eve in the garden. Then Cain murders his brother Abel. Violence spreads. There are wars, there is a flood, th
People say that we live in a secular age. But what do we mean by that? When we speak of a secular age, some have in mind an understanding of how the public square has changed the way in which public discourse and political organization is no longer connected with faith in the way it was, say, in 16th century Europe. Others have in mind the falling off of religious practice and belief that can be seen in various statistics of church attendance and religious affiliation. But according to one of my favourite writers, Charles Taylor, we should understand the present secular age as one in which the conditions of belief have changed. In our society, belief in God is no longer automatic. Put s