Sunday Reflections

Jeremiah 4:23-28Psalm 19:1-6Philippians 2:14-18Mark 15:33-39 Our house looks directly east towards the Dandenong Ranges.  So, every morning we see the sunrise and note the changing place of where the sun rises in winter compared to summer and in between. I remember my time in WA looking at the sun setting into the ocean and seeing the brilliant colours that started in the...
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Read Genesis 2:4b-9; 15-20 IntroductionThe first creation story is very blunt and gives permission for human being to go and subdue the earth and unfortunately feeds into an anthropocentric approach to human endeavour. However the second creation story in Genesis Chapter 2 encourages us to move away from a human centred approach to a more eco-centric approach.  This gives us a...
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Acts 11:1-18, John 13:31-35It happened in my first congregation in Waitoa, New Zealand – I used to meet with the women of the village around their kitchen tables and talk about all sorts of issues.  As the group grew larger, I decided to form a women’s coffee group that met at the Church and discussed social issues.  I was hauled over the...
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Sylvia SchroederContributing WriterPublished: Jan 25, 2022Hospitality can have very different looks. Some of us are outgoing and love people. Others are introverts who tire easily from interacting with others. The Bible shows us that hospitality goes beyond just “acting like an extrovert.” It can deepen relationships, enhance ministry, and bring many people through our doors. When we practice hospitality toward...
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In our modern world how can we talk about God  in a way that does justice to the reality and yet the mystery of who we call God? Besides all the passages I have chosen to be read today the one I really want to focus on is Isaiah 42:1-4.1. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or...
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Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22At the heart of the Jewish festival of Purim, celebrated by Jews around the world is a special story of an attractive and bright young woman who in the ruthless politics of the Persian court stands up to defend her own people from genocide. The central ritual of Purim is the reading of the biblical book...
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I have been a minister in the Uniting Church for over 40 years and one of the groups of people I have had particular pastoral care of is the LGTBIQA members of the Uniting Church. This was the focus of my D.Min dissertation which I completed in 2001.   The title was “Can the Church listen?: listening to the voices...
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The Great Commission refers to the final passage in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus Christ urges the apostles to make “disciples of all the nations” and “baptise” them. The word “disciple,” which is “mathetes” in Greek, literally means “pupil” but also “follower,” as in “follower of Jesus.”  I prefer the term apprentice. The Great Commission, therefore, is usually interpreted to mean...
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To start with it is important to have an overview of the nature of Mark’s Gospel. 1.Part one: For Mark Jesu’s ministry was in Galilee which is a multicultural society.  From a Jewish perspective we know that from Nathaniel’s remark in Jn 1:46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth (in Galilee)”2.Part two: Today’s Gospel marks the end of Jesus’ special...
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This week I answered the Census question about religion. With the steady decline in Christian numbers, this is a time to ask about the future of Church. The stories of Jesus’ ministry and modern culture converge for me in three features that I would love to be marks of all churches as Habitats for Spirituality. They are the Ministry of...
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