“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:2) Most of us will recognise this line from the Gospel of Matthew. Indeed, ‘Render unto Caesar’ has become something of an aphorism for many Christians and is regularly used to defend the ‘Two Kingdoms’ doctrine in Christian […]
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
Render Unto Caesar Read More »
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.” (Matthew 22:2) And so begins another of Jesus’ great party parables. ‘The Kingdom of God is a party’. It’s a familiar theme. Jesus talked a lot about parties. Jesus attended a lot of parties. Jesus evidently loved
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
The Kingdom of God is a Party Read More »
“Hear another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.” (Matthew 21:33) Thus begins the ‘Parable of the Vineyard’ – quite honestly, my favourite parable, though
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
Making Sense of the Chaos Read More »
“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
Collaborators and sex-workers Read More »
So, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16) Greetings, Fighter. I’m introducing this week’s Gospel reading with the last verse rather than the first. That seems appropriate in this case, of course, but my reason for doing so is solely because I feared losing your interest if I began
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
The Kingdom of God is Full of Surprises Read More »
“Then Peter came and said to [Jesus], “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22) Greetings, Fighter. One of my favourite people in the world is Dr Hassoun – until recently, the Grand Mufti
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
Forgiveness is Serious Business Read More »
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
Love is all you need Read More »
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it,
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
Get Behind me, Satan Read More »
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
The Paradox of Power Read More »
“Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But [Jesus] did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” He answered,
Preacher, Pugilist, Activist, Father of four
Coping with Confusion Read More »
