And there, the Samaritan woman remains, in Sychar, until the Holy Spirit descends to open up the Kingdom of God to all nations. There is joy in her, seen in the resumption of hospitality.  Because of her serial monogamy, she has had to suspend her role in society, including as a provider of hospitality.  That role is resumed with the Lord’s simple request for a drink.  And he stays two more days, enabling her to fulfil the demands of hospitality for honoured guests.  The timi

There is evidence in the Gospels that the disciples really did understand Jesus predictions about his Passion, that they took him at his word when he said that he would suffer a violent end.  We're not just thinking of Judas’ attempt to turn the blood money.  We would also be thinking of times when the disciples showed readiness to take up arms in the name of Christ.  And all of them involve the Apostle Peter. Only Holy Thursday night, there is Peter's promise that he would d

Temptation works on us because there is truth in it.  Temptation doesn't work for us because there is not enough truth in it.  There is, in temptation, a lie which has been put alongside the truth, to make it plausible and desirable.  We’ll accept the lie if we only see the truth it’s attached to.  So, if we separate out the truth from the lie in any idea we have, then we shall discover the temptation and more often avoid sin. To see how this works in practice, we can take th

If discouragement set in as you heard the Lord identify a new range of bad acts, we need to find a way back for you.  Discouragement is close to hopelessness.  And hopelessness is the enemy of faith. The way back from discouragement for us ourselves will be found in the Fourth Beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right; they shall be satisfied.”  Whenever we're feeling discouraged, that's the time to check on how much we want what is right. The way

Easter Fire in Diemarden ( license ) Why would the Lord describe us salt and light?  We’re not asking what those images mean – we can come back to that – but why he applied them to us.  What has changed to make him say this about us?  Because we feel very much the same in ourselves: we’re the same people as we were yesterday; we’re the same people we expect to be tomorrow.  We have families, jobs, responsibilities to attend to.  It all seems the same.  Yet now we are also sa

Why would the Lord deliver his first sermon on a mountain of all places?  Doesn't that affect who can get near him?  Also, it's not particularly comfortable for the congregants.  If they sit straight forward facing the Lord, they’ll roll backwards! So, they have to sit sideways for 15 to 20 minutes while the Lord delivered his sermon.  Is a mountain, then, a poor choice of stage for teaching?  The mountain is significant for two reasons: one to do with the Old Testament, and

The prophet Isaiah sees a new vocation for Israel.  Having been the servant of God, Israel is now also to become the light of the nations. But what does that mean in practice?  Does it mean that the remarkable perseverance of Israel will be held up for the nations to see and admire?  Will the nations at last pay attention to the tiny nation of Israel because it is now clear that they have the might of God on their side?  These sectarian thoughts do not cohere with all else th

In a few moments’ time, you will see me put a drop of water into the chalice of wine.  The chalice and the wine come from us: the metalworker made a beautiful piece from raw materials for our ceremonial; the winemaker patiently turned his cultivated grapes into drink.  The chalice of wine is the best we can do by ourselves: it is the result of human industry and endeavour.  In it we find aspiration and ambition.  We can admire the chalice of wine as something noble which our

Would that a sign as clear as a star were given more often.  Would that we too would draw the right conclusions about its significance. We can envy the Magi: they saw Christ face-to-face; they met the Blessed Virgin.  Such is their place in salvation history; this is what they were chosen to do.  And we might wish it was our place too. But we have been chosen for other things.  The Magi have such firm conviction, such a good read on the heavens.  Could we not have the same o