Even greater things

John 11:21-27; 14:12 Teaching, training apprentices, rebuking religious leaders. Healings, exorcisms, turning water into wine, calming a storm, feeding a crowd with five loaves and two fish. And then the biggest of all: raising a widowโ€™s son from death to life, and then raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was one of the most unusual, noteworthy …

The Dream of the Rood

Anglo-Saxon, 8thย century, reputed to be the earliest Christian poem in English. Translated by Richard Hamer, 1970. Line numbers refer to the preceding line. The Dream of the Rood Hear while I tell about the best of dreamsWhich came to me the middle of one nightWhile humankind were sleeping in their beds.It was as though I …

Films with Lenten and Easter themes

Inspired by a friend's social media post, I created a list of 30+ films with Lenten/Easter themes. How many of these have you seen? Can you recommend other relevant film titles? The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)The Robe (1953)The Wrong Man (1956)Ben-Hur (1959)The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)A Man for All Seasons (1966)The Shoes …

Sermon for World Day of Prayer

St Stephenโ€™s Uniting Church, Sydney, Friday 7 March 2025 Sermon by Rev Tinirau Soatini, read by Rev Dr Rod Benson Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. โ€˜Kia Ora-naโ€™, as we say it in the Cook Islands: which means, โ€˜To live onโ€™ or โ€˜Continue being alive.โ€™ To a Cook Islander, โ€˜to …

One kneeling, one looking down

Les Murray My half-buried timbers chained in corduroylead out into the sandwhich bare feet wincing Crutch and Crotchspurn for the summer surfโ€™s embroideryand insects stay up on the land. A storm engrossing half the skyin broccoli and seething draband standing on one foot over the countryburrs like a lit torch. Lightningturns air to elixir at …