SPCK
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 14 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 14 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 14 John 6: 35, 41-51 Gaze on Jesus trying to reason with the crowd. See how very human this story is, how the crowd’s mood swings from worship and surprise to doubt and grumbling so quickly. Listen to the ripples of argument and the shocked whispers, for this man’s claims …
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 13 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 13 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 13 John 6: 24-35 Gaze on Jesus by the campfire burning on the beach; or in the upper room; or on the shore with the five thousand. What is that in his hands? Almost always, it is bread. Bread broken and the crumbs at his feet which the birds will swoop for as he moves away…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 12 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 12 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 12 John 6: 1-21 Gaze on the crowd expecting to see more miraculous cures and wondering who will be healed next. They are in for a shock, for instead they all become part of a miracle, for today Jesus is not concerned for their aches and pains but for their hunger. Taste th…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 11 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 11 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 11 Mark 6.30–34, 53–56 Gaze at the crush as people lean forward and grab the cloak that wraps around the shoulders of one extraordinary man. They stretch out to touch it, they push and shove to get near the front, to stroke his tunic and finger the hem. It is almost as if …
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Christ the King Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Christ the King Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Christ the King John 18: 33-37 Gaze on the gaudy colours of the luxurious Imperial Palace, the wealth of velvet and silk, armour and flags, which decorate the towers and gates that keep the people out. Gaze on the hierarchy of officials and servants, there to make visible the Emp…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Fourth Sunday before Advent Mark 12: 28-34 Gaze on Jesus still in the Temple after hours of debate. Imagine him standing in the outer Temple courts where the doves are fluttering and goats bleating and penned ready for sacrifice. Five hundred years old, the Temple is the gold…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Third Sunday before Advent Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Third Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Third Sunday before Advent Mark 1: 14-20 Gaze on the Sea of Galilee. No one who comes here remains unmoved. What is it about particular places that give them a holiness at their very core? Why does this place emanate such undisputed beauty? It is referred to in the Jewish Tal…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Second before Advent Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Second before Advent Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Second Sunday before Advent Mark 13: 1-8 Gaze on the stones that are all that remains of the Temple today. They are huge slabs, glaring in the sun, lying there as a heap of blocks, tilted and abandoned where they fell. It is easy to imagine the massive walls and the moulded c…
Hymn - So stunned by what she heard then saw
Hymn - So stunned by what she heard then saw
by Andrew Pratt
So stunned by what she heard then saw, a voice was calling out her name, and turning she was shocked by joy for Jesus walked into the frame. Not long before she’d watched him die, the victim of a murderous act, she saw him lose his grasp on life, a witness to this dying fact. Ver…
Hymn - As hollow as her loneliness
Hymn - As hollow as her loneliness
by Andrew Pratt
As hollow as her loneliness, the emptiness of space, the chilling of the morning air had seemed devoid of grace. She heard a whisper, just the breeze that rustled leaves near by. Her feet had crunched across the stones, her breath a simple sigh. And then with sudden recklessnes…
Hymn - Frantic, terrified, the women
Hymn - Frantic, terrified, the women
by Andrew Pratt
Frantic, terrified, the womenrunning from the empty tomb. Not a sense of resurrection, more a sign of fear and gloom. Who had run off with the body? Were they watching somewhere near? Were these mourners now suspected? Should they hide? Their fate seemed clear. Verses 3-5 follow …
Hymn - God makes no distinctions, all people are welcome
Hymn - God makes no distinctions, all people are welcome
by Andrew Pratt
God makes no distinctions, all people are welcome, the rich or the poor, yes, the free and the slave. The depth of God's loving is boundless, impartial, a love that is stronger than death or the grave. The message had spread from the very beginning, the love that they nailed to t…
Hymn - A feast for the nations, the Christ is exalted
Hymn - A feast for the nations, the Christ is exalted
by Andrew Pratt
A feast for the nations, the Christ is exalted, our tears have diminished, the darkness has gone, the death that had shrouded their past conversations, now put in perspective for love would go on. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: STREETS OF LAREDO 12.11.12.11 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Wo…
Hymn - What was the weather like that day
Hymn - What was the weather like that day
by Andrew Pratt
What was the weather like that day? Cold, wet and overcast with rain, or bright and warm with sun and clouds? What formed the back cloth to this pain? What motivated those who came, to watch this scene, to play this game? There is so much we do not know, save tortured death withi…
Hymn - God of unexpected action
Hymn - God of unexpected action
by Andrew Pratt
God of unexpected action kneeling with the towel and bowl, humbled for this time and season, humbling now and making whole. Jesus so revered, respected, prophet, preacher, even Lord, now is acting as a servant, doing things his friends abhorred. Verses 3-5 follow © Andrew Pratt 2…
Hymn - Who shares this wine? Who dips this bread
Hymn - Who shares this wine? Who dips this bread
by Andrew Pratt
Who shares this wine? Who dips this bread? Was Judas hesitant or calm, the moment Jesus sent him out to raise that awful, crazed alarm? The others looked around, askance, not sure what this might sign or seal. They whispered, questioned; all too soon resumed this fated, final mea…
Hymn - Now is the judgment of the world
Hymn - Now is the judgment of the world
by Andrew Pratt
Now is the judgment of the world, the crisis that we face, the magnet of God's dying love, the choice of hate or grace. To move where God's attraction draws, to follow with the flow, to stand defiant, out of line, to stay, or yet to go. Verses 3-4 follow © Andrew Pratt 21/2/2012 …
Hymn - Strange how perfume marked this moment