Category: Uncategorized
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“Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness” O Morning Star,splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:Come and enlighten those who dwell in darknessand the shadow of death. On this day, the light turns. Today, the 21st of December, marks the winter solstice – the longest night, the deepest dark. From here, almost imperceptibly…
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“You open, and no one can shut” O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;you open and no one can shut;you shut and no one can open:Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Keys are small things, but they can carry…
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“Come and deliver us, and delay no longer” O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;before you kings will shut their mouths;to you the nations will make their prayer:Come and deliver us, and delay no longer. Roots are usually hidden.They work quietly beneath the surface – anchoring, feeding, holding fast. We tend…
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“Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm” O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bushand gave him the law on Sinai:Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm. Adonai is not a word we use lightly. Hence, my translation might appear clumsy as…
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Each year, in the final days of Advent, the Church slows its breathing and begins to pray differently. From 17–23 December, we sing or speak the ancient O Antiphons before and after the Magnificat at Evening Prayer, names addressed to Christ, drawn from the deep well of the Old Testament scriptures. The names are not…
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Every year I get to about this point in the Advent season and I feel exhausted, almost as though the “reason for the season” is slipping by. Before I was a priest, I was a professional musician, and the old adage that December pays for January and February’s rent is not really an adage at all, it…
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A Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Advent The Third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday.Gaudete means Rejoice! A moment of rose-coloured light in the deep purples of waiting. A day when the Church invites us to loosen our shoulders just a little, to breathe, to notice joy even when the candles are still surrounded by night. Joy…
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A Sermon for Second Sunday in Advent If you’ve ever walked the Hadrian’s Wall path in Northumberland, you’ll know the Sycamore Gap tree – an iconic, solitary sycamore tree standing in a dramatic dip in the landscape. For decades it was one of the most photographed trees in Britain. Strong, rooted, quietly majestic. Bizarrely, my…
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An Advent Sunday Reflection On the eve of Advent Sunday – our “New Year’s Eve” in the Church – I often find myself in a place of deep gratitude for the year that has been, pondering the things that have been painful or challenging, reflecting quietly, and also with a growing excitement for the year…
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The liturgucal year is drawing to a close, and these last few weeks we have turned our thoughts to the season the Church calls Kingdom Season, and this final Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. This season born out of the turmoil of the last century in a time when nationalism, fascism and…
Ruth Greenaway-Robbins 