153 fish, three loves, and one call to follow in John 21 video discussion

The lectionary gospel reading for Easter 3 is John 21.1–19. It is a long reading, full of fascinating things to reflect on, including whether the number 153 means anything, and if there is any significance to the different words Jesus uses for ‘love’. James and Ian reflect on these issues and their implication for reading … Continue Reading

What does ‘doubting Thomas’ teach us?

The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for the Second Sunday in Easter is John 20.19–31, which includes Jesus’ encounter with so-called ‘doubting Thomas’. It is the set reading for this week in all three years of the lectionary, so we know it well—and need to reflect on it if we are going to preach effectively on … Continue Reading

Preaching on Christ the King

This Sunday, the last of the liturgical year, is Christ the king, and comes immediately before Advent. It is a slightly odd festival, since one of the key themes of Advent is not the anticipation of Christmas, but the anticipation of Jesus’ return as king; the Latin adventus is a translation of the Greek parousia … Continue Reading

Jesus the bread of life in John 6

We continue through our careful reading of John 6 as an intermission from Mark’s gospel, and on Trinity 9 in Year B the gospel reading is John 6.24–35. Having romped through 21 verses last week, which include the Fourth Gospel’s lengthier version of the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water (though in a … Continue Reading