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Love

Many people when asked will say that love is most often recognised as the gift of presence. We are there when needed, when things turn to custard, but also in those moments when what is needed is a listening ear. Being present for people can be the ultimate expression of love. Which is why the story of Christmas is so powerful. God chooses to be present with us in the world, to see what we see, to feel what we feel, to experience what we experience. God as one writer puts it, moves into the neig...

Christmas Carols - come and join us

Come and join us for Christmas Carols and a retelling of the Christmas story. Supper to follow. All welcome....

Joy

I’ve been thinking this week about the difference between excitement and joy. Excitement it seems is that emotion we feel when something unexpectedly good happens, like winning lotto. It is often intense and short in duration. Excitement disappears almost as quickly as it occurs. Joy on the other hand is a deep sense of contentment and goodness we feel often as a result of an interaction with others. It’s how we feel when we catch up with long missed relatives, our mokopuna or people who are...

Peace

Joseph, the husband of Mary, in the Bible is a picture of a man who faced with enormous questions and uncertainty, discovers peace and the ability to make the best of a difficult situation. Joseph is a good God-fearing man, who discovers that his wife to be is pregnant and he knows that he is NOT the father. So, what do you do? Well Joseph decided that the best thing to do was to call it all off without making a huge fuss. It was a good way to respond, because he could have had Mary condemned as...

Rejoice

One of the greatest expressions of praise recorded in the Bible is Mary’s words of praise about being chosen as the mother of Jesus. Known as the Magnificat, from the Latin version, these words are full of celebration, praise and thanks to God. Mary is overwhelmed that she, a lowly young girl, should be chosen by God to be the mother of the Messiah. She sees herself as the most blessed person in the whole world. And so…. she celebrates.I wonder when was the last time you were so blessed and ...

Oh, is that what you meant?

Ever had that feeling in a conversation that while you are using the same words you are talking about different things. You say one thing and they respond with an answer which to you makes no sense at all. This joke here is a wonderful example of getting our wires crossed, of missing what the other person is saying.Jesus and Pilate had a conversation, recorded by John, about the word king. They both use the same word, but they are talking about completely different things. One was talking about ...

Redemption

It’s a word deeply rooted in the Christian story but also the theme of many great movies. The story of a person or character who is deeply flawed but who through a series of trials becomes a much better person. Such a person has been redeemed, restored, returned to a place of honour within their community. I wonder if you have ever experienced redemption? Perhaps you made a big mistake at work or in a relationship and you wondered if that blunder could ever be made right. And then, someone els...

Let me lead

The race for the Whitehouse has dominated our TV screens over the last few weeks as two people offer very different ideas as to how they will lead over the next four years. Both have huge followings of people who have chosen to follow their candidate. Leadership is a huge responsibility for those who lead but also for those who choose to follow. Who will we support and what qualities of character do we want to see in those who seek to lead. What skills do we expect them to bring to the role? The...

To see or not to see

Recently I stood on the beach at twilight trying to spot the comet everyone was talking about. Find the brightest light in the sky, down slightly and to the right, the experts said. So, we watched and waited and hoped the skies would reveal something to us but nothing appeared to my naked eye. The next day there was a beautiful photo of the comet on the net taken by a photographer.Isn’t it frustrating when we can’t see what others can see, or even worse when they can’t see what we can see....

Justice or ....

Several years ago, I read an article in which the author tried to explain the difference between grace and justice. Justice, they argued was the fulfilment of the law. You break the law, legal or even social, and there is a penalty to pay. Only when this has been paid has justice been fully served. So, justice is what we deserve in response to our actions. Grace, however, is when the outcome we get is not what we deserve at all.John in his Gospel tells of a woman who was brought to Jesus as an a...

A free lunch

Once while talking to a funeral director, they told me about people who turn up at funerals even when they have no connection with the person who has died or their immediate family. These ‘mourners’ have turned up because they are after the free food that is made available for those who have come to pay their respects. There’s something about the idea of a free lunch that is very attractive, this concept that we can have something without any cost to ourselves.In Jesus’ day people came t...

The Heaven's Declare

The writer of Psalm 19 makes a pretty audacious claim in the first opening lines.The heavens keep telling the wonders of God, and the skies declare what he has done. Each day informs the following day; each night announces to the next. They don't speak a word, and there is never the sound of a voice. Yet their message reaches all the earth, and it travels around the world.   (Psa 19:1-4 CEV)Perhaps you have seen some of the images taken by the Hubble and Webb telescopes that show a mag...

What a wonderful world

In the 1990’s TVNZ used the song What a wonderful world  to showcase the wonder 0f New Zealand scenery. Here’s a link to the ad. The video reminds us of the wonder and beauty of the world we live in. We are currently thinking about creation and how we as stewards of creation are called upon to care for and look after the world God has given us.This Sunday our service will be held at Robin’s Nest at Nga Manu Bird Sanctuary in Waikanae. Here’s the address 74 Ngā Manu Reserve Road, Wa...

Stuck in a rut

This old expression comes from a time when wagon wheels would get stuck in the ruts in the road left by hundreds of other carts using the road. These ruts could get so deep that once a wheel got into one it was almost impossible to change direction. You were stuck in the rut.Life can be a bit like that at times. We get stuck with one way of doing things and what once may have been fun and life-giving becomes boring and soul-destroying. The traditions we built as families which once drew us toget...

What attracts you?

All of us are drawn to other people, but our reasons may be quite different.  Perhaps because they are famous, or rich, or good looking or we just enjoy their company. Sometimes our motivations are a bit suspect – we like hanging around with someone because of what we can get out of it. Like the lotto winner who discovers all their long-lost relatives and lots of new friends. Or maybe we want to be seen with a certain person, to get the selfie, that shows we are in the right crowd. And if...

Found Out

Have you ever had someone walk in on you and suddenly found yourself feeling really guilty. It’s not that you had even done anything wrong, it’s just that feeling that you have been caught out. In the 1990’s John Powell a Jesuit priest wrote a series of books - two of which were titled ‘Will the real me please stand up’ and ‘Why am I afraid to tell you who I really am?’In the preface to the second book Powell tells of an actual conversation he had with a person about the title of h...

Caring

Over the last week Aotearoa/New Zealand has been filled with the sound of mourning following the death of the Māori King, Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII. In the eulogies that have followed, people have spoken overwhelmingly of his grace, humour and commitment to kotahitanga – the desire to work together and find common ground despite our differences. In a world wrought by division and disharmony his message is something we all need to hear.This week I wonder how we might individually an...

Evil

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” is a quote attributed to Edmund Burke. It is a reminder that evil is something we need to be constantly on the watch for and prepared to stand up against. We don’t have to look far to realise how quickly evil can take root – war provides a perfect breeding ground for evil. But evil can also sneak in in subtle ways, when those with power use that power to distort truth, to take advantage of those who are wea...

Care for others

The cost-of-living crisis has highlighted some of the deep needs existing in our society. There are many who are struggling to make ends meet or have lost jobs. Politicians have multiple views on how we deal with the need that is evident but perhaps the most important question is for ourselves, what can I do, or maybe what am I prepared to do, to help those in need at this time.It’s always easier to make it someone else’s problem – the Government, the local council, the Sallies or maybe ev...

Celebrating the best

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve enjoyed watching the Olympic games and especially watching our NZ athletes doing so well. It’s the chance to see people perform at their very best even if they don’t get to win gold. These people have spent months if not years seeking to be the very best at their chosen sport often making huge sacrifices in the process.It is a reminder to all of us that if we want to be the best we can be, then it will require work, commitment and sacrifice, even if we j...

My way!

I’ve noticed in myself and in other kiwis something that none of us seem to like – being told what to do. There is something about us kiwis that means we react, often quite negatively, when we feel like we are being told how to behave or what to do.  We prefer to do things our way, in our own time and when it suits us best. Maybe its part of our what formed in us as a nation due to our distance from the rest of the world or maybe its just that we’re all just stubborn and grumpy.In con...

Light up your world

Several years ago I went on a tour through the Waitomo Caves. Here we were deep undergroundin absolute pitch darkness or so it seemed at first. But when you were quiet and looked up towards the roof of the caves you began to see little lights. At first it just seemed like a few but then you realise the whole roof is lighting up and the light is coming from millions of little glowworms each of whom is glowing.In the same way, Paul the Apostle says, you and I are called to light up the darkness, t...

Walk this way

There is a great Monty Python skit in which a person goes to the Ministry of Silly Walks to register his silly walk. The skit features several ‘silly’ walks performed by actors and makes light of the British Government bureaucracy. After all, who else, would establish such a ministry.  Here’s a link to the skitPaul writing to the church at Ephesus told them to ‘walk’ the way of Christ. Of course, Paul isn’t referring to physical walking, there isn’t a Christian way of walking ...

To the cross...and back

There is a wonderful children’s book called ‘Guess how much I love you’ by Sam McBratney, which has a baby rabbit explaining how much they love their parent. ‘I love you as high as I can hop’, says little rabbit. But his parent can hop much higher. Eventually he says, ‘I love you to the moon’, and then drifts off to sleep. At which point the parent says, ‘I love you to the moon…and back’.  I suspect we all want to be loved like that.Paul the Apostle wants the people of E...

What I was made for

Every now and then I hear someone say, ‘This is what they were made for.’ And it is usually a person who has discovered a line of work, sport or community involvement that they are totally committed to. This ‘thing’ has become so much a part of them that they cannot imagine doing anything else.Paul, the apostle, writing to the church at Ephesus said a similar thing except he framed it as ‘this is what God has set apart for me to do.’ And for him it was sharing the good news of God’...