Revd Caroline's Retirement Thoughts

  Garsington Sunday 29 th  December     Christian children all must be mild, obedient good as he. A well-known but not terribly realistic couplet from Once in Royal City, curry can be mild, weather can be mild, the boy Jesus the boy Jesus is anything but mild! Our gospel reading today is a supremely important reading.  It is a story only seen in Luke’s gospel and a reading which gives us a sole glimpse of Jesus growing up, so here he is a 12-year-old boy, who has given his exasperated parents the slip!   John Bell member of the Iona Community and writer of many hymns suggests an adaption to Once in Royal with the following couplet.   Christian children must abscond if of God they’re truly fond.   Mary and Joseph appear to have lost Jesus; we can probably easily imagine those feelings of cold-blooded panic.  Have you ever lost a child, grandchild or someone you were looking after even for a few moments on a supermarket visit or a wal...

  Horspath 2024 Christmas Day Today, both of our readings speak of a sense of darkness and of light and of the promise of hope entering that darkness.    The Revd Sue Lupp talking about these passages speaks of them as Estuary Readings, I have never heard that and was very struck by what she said. In an estuary, the freshwater of the river meets the saltwater of the oceanThe combining of the waters makes a difference as the salt content is changed.  I think that we see something of an estuary in our readings and songs Tonight/today. "The essence of Christmas is the greatness of God coming down to meet us and sweep us into the bigger picture of his love and His kingdom."  (“Christmas Eve: The Estuary of Christmas | The Irreverent Reverend”)  In our reading from the prophet Isaiah the people of Israel who Isaiah was prophesying to were in slavery in Babylon. The Israelites needed to be reminded that better times were ahead. God had not forgotten them; He was ...

All Saints morning 2024     Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints; as well as singing some great hymns and hearing much loved bible texts we think with thanksgiving of those before us, those ahead of us and those with us.  This is a day for celebration, reflection and to glimpse the hope which calls us forth to fullness of life.   This morning through the word, song, prayer, and Eucharist, we place ourselves within the Christian story as we recall and celebrate that this life is not all there is. We are not merely a happenstance, a coming together of molecules in a certain time and place bu t  people of ultimate loved and created by God, not just now but for eternity. Each one of us is unique, each one loved beyond measure.    The gospel reading chosen for All Saints Day is the raising of Lazarus from John. It happens to be one of my favourite NT passages; I think because it is one of the most intimate in the bible and it presents us wit...

  Sunday 20 th  October Garsington.   How do we become great?   What does your mind picture when you ponder the question.  If I am brutally honest, I am influenced by models of earthly success.  During this week England have appointed a new Football Manager, rightly or wrongly he will be judged by the press and by the fans on his success, there may well be a honeymoon period, but he will need to have a winning record and hopefully some silverware to show for it.   I last preached here a few weeks ago and the lectionary invited a similar sort of reflection on the nature of greatness. These questions are floating around because we are reading through Mark 9 and 10.  Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem and is teaching the disciples on the way.  If there is a lot of repetition, I get the sense this is because for the disciples (and perhaps for us all) this is hard teaching.  Jesus, you see turns any idea of ea...

  Sunday 6 th  October 2024 Cuddesdon   Today’s gospel reading continues in the section of Mark where Jesus is leading the disciples toward Jerusalem. There is an undergirding theme of care for the vulnerable.   Jesus is proclaiming a topsy turvy kingdom where greatness is expressed through service of those who need lifting.     Jesus has consistently asked them to use what they have in service of those who are most vulnerable: children, the poor, those denied status.    The opening verses in the gospel on marriage and divorce may sound jarring to us in our 21 st century context but I think it is helpful to put Jesus’ teaching on divorce into this category Given the way divorce worked in the ancient world (and often still does today), certain people were disproportionately hurt in a divorce—especially women and the children they cared for.  I don’t want to delve deeply into this part of the passage but want to concentrate today...

My first regular sermon for quite a long time, preached at St Mary's Garsington 22nd Sept and based on the lectionary readings,  James 3.13 – 4.3, 7-8a Mark 9.30-37   Sunday 22 nd  Sept 2024   In my spare time I enjoy watching tennis, for armchair tennis fans like me the last few years have provided rich pickings.  This has been a great era to watch greats like Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, the Williams sisters.  All of them have become all time greats each with their own claims to be the GOAT. (Greatest of all time). How you decide these things is a complex argument, how can you compare different eras, different levels of fitness, genders, racquet science.     For what it’s worth I would put my money on Serena Williams, not just for what she has achieved but for what she has overcome to get there.  It is subjective though, just how can you decide who is the greatest tennis player, musician, poet playwright....

As the parent of a profoundly disabled child I have always found Emily Kingsley's description here both moving and easy to relate to.  Perhaps you will too.  Emily Perl Kingsley extract  A Trip to Holland :  “I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this...  When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans...  “After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, ‘Welcome to Holland!’ ‘Holland?’ you say. ‘What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy. I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.’  “But there’s been a change in the flight plan...