Andrew's Sermons

A sermon for Sunday 9 December 2018 In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. I have a confession to make. It’s this, okay, here we go, it’s that, when I think of Advent, my first instinct isn’t about waiting and reflection, but it’s about tinsel, bright lights on Christmas trees and remembering how I felt when I was little and the joy of looking forward to getting lots of presents. So I think of a joyful time full of happy memories, full of colour. I do try the reflecting part a bit more these days but while the idea of a voice crying in the wilderness is very poetic, lonely and dramatic, (and my apologies if you’ve not seen it) but it’s a bit like Jud Painter in Poldark standing on a cliff, looking out to sea, crying out to Prudie, “'tin't right, 'tin't fair, 'tin't fit, 'tin't proper, …won't last, …won't work.” Not to dissimilar to John, except his version was more, “Repent, be forgiven your sins!” Not pa...

Gospel Reading     Mark 9.30-37 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it;  31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.’  32 But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. 33  Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’  34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.  35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’  36 Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them,  37 ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one wh...