Sermons

The eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

I love iced gems.  For me, they’re bound up with childhood memories; it’s the trivia that fuels social banter. Why’s a jaffa cake a cake not a biscuit? To dunk or not to dunk your digestive? Custard cream or bourbon? Seemingly inconsequential remarks touch on questions of se… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 7th October 2012

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity - Eucharist

We are the Body of Christ… Bodies are funny things for human beings. We’ve all got one, they’re all pretty similar essentially, but it would seem, at least in the West, that many of us are rather dissatisfied with the one we’ve got. We have body image issues. This can… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 30th September 2012

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

Last month the New Statesman ran a piece about the so called ‘ink-stained assassins’; the political cartoonists who present zany artistic comments about domestic policy, economic crisis, international conflict and public figures. Their satire can be aggressive or light-hearted; their o… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 16th September 2012

The Forteenth Sunday after Trinity: Baptism

Baptism: Sunday 9th September – James 2:1-10, 14-17; Mark 7:24-end A couple of weeks ago, in preparation for baptism, I asked Catherine why we light candles, she replied: we can put them on birthday cakes and when we blow them out we make a wish. She’s right of course. We’ve al… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 9th September 2012

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Today completes our sequence of readings from the book of Jonah at Matins. To many people Jonah’s is a familiar tale - despite their often being a little hazy on some of the detail and why it might matter. Jonah: who absconds, to flee from the call of God to preach repentance to the people… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 2nd September 2012

The Twelth Sunday after Trinity

Brother, sister... rival: so ran the headline of article recounting readers' tales of sibling rivalry –  the poignant,  mischievous and hilarious.  I'm sure my sister and I have our own memories of petty jealousy, perceived unfairness, pranks and squabbles.  We've  s… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 26th August 2012

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Taste, and see that the Lord is good(Psalm 34) Mealtimes at my grandparents’ house brings back warm memories for me (they were always more peaceful than at home!) and I recall one of the quirks of my late grandfather who always insisted that we should chew our food well. Not just bite a… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 26th August 2012

Evensong - Eleventh Sunday After Trinity

There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. (Exodus 3.2) There are few things more terrifying, impressive and majestic than a flame.  Just think how captivating the fire breather is. No wonde… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 19th August 2012

The Bread of Life

Guildford Cathedral possesses a small but interesting collection of twentieth-century church plate.  Most of the pieces were commissioned in the years leading up to the Cathedral’s consecration in 1961, and inevitably reflect the taste of the period.  Among the finest of the commun… Read more

Sermon by Nicholas Thistlethwaite on Sunday 19th August 2012

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Be not afeard: the isle is full of noises. Much has been made of Danny Boyle’s £27million budget for Friday night’s Olympic opening ceremony. The stadium was full of noises; full of colour and dance; full of words and music. Creative: yes. Eccentric: probably. The tableaux from… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 29th July 2012

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity

If you were to choose a passage from the Bible for a wedding, I wonder what you would choose and why. I wonder if either of today’s readings would feature in your choice. The first reading from the Song of Songs is full of the most passionate, intense, intimate and yearning description of h… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 29th July 2012

The Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Ahead of the Booker long list, and in time for the holiday season, yesterday's Guardian Review was full of suggested summer reading.  From The Casual Vacancy, J.K Rowling's foray into adult fiction, to the latest  offerings of John Banville, Ian McEwan and  Zadie Smith, we are spoil… Read more

Sermon by on Sunday 15th July 2012