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A sermon on Matt 15:1-20 given during Morning Prayer on December 10th.

I've always heard Hannah talked about as full of grief alone. On closer examination, that's not the full story. This is my Bible exposition on 1 Samuel 1, exploring Hannah, how she moved from desperation (and anger!) to peace and gratitude, and where God was in it all.

I was struck by the lectionary reading this morning (Matthew 5:38-48). It's from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' most famous sermon, and includes the well-known "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" line (v.44). What struck me, though, was the rationale and following words Jesus says (v.45 onwards). You might want to read it for yourself (click here) and read my reflection on it below. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. And, v.45 says, you will be children of your Father in heaven. If we love our enemies, we are loving like God. Looking like God: becoming his children. But here's the thing: sometimes we talk about love of enemies in terms of trusting that "God will avenge." God will bring the justice, we just do the 'nice' bit. Judgement is God's domain, love is ours. But Matthew 5 doesn't say that! It says judgement is what we naturally do, whereas God more naturally shows generosity. [We might consider Hosea 11:9 which has a similar perspective: " I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath." ] All that to say... if we want to step into the likeness of God, we will treat all people with the same love He shows. In Matthew 5, that's through providing sustenance. He shows generosity to those who are wicked as well as to those who are good: he provides rain for them to be able to farm, eat, and live a good life [ for rain as sustenance see Isaiah 55:10-11 ]. God blesses their livelihood. This is the “perfection” of this part of Matthew 5. To love friend and enemy the same. To provide for others, regardless of who they are. To show the same charity. Humanity. To not hold our enemies over a barrel until they believe what we believe. Or make decisions that we think they should make. It is not to love them because we know God will judge them, as though love of enemy were about holding our breath until 'they get what they deserve.' Jesus makes it clear: love of friend and family is not the love of the gospel: that is a human, natural love. A love that all possess. But to love enemies, those “other,” those who present a challenge to us and our way of life? That is to show the love of the Father. The love of Christ. The love revealed in the Cross. The love Christians are called to live out. It is, unquestionably, a harder love. It takes work to learn this perfect love. But it is the love we are now called to, as bearers of Jesus’ death and resurrection. No other love will do. ******  Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash

Teamwork makes the dreamwork. Right ...? A sermon on Nehemiah 3 on just that topic, given at Wycliffe Hall Chapel on October 28th, 2025.

An early morning video thought for the day. Enjoy!

I think I probably talk about the following a lot, but I believe this is still true and ever more relevant. The stories we tell ourselves are increasingly divided, continue to alienate, and frequently provide more heat than light. So here are some thoughts on reducing the heat.

Every summer, Wycliffe hosts a week-long summer school. This year, I gave the sermon at the opening Eucharist on August 31st. The reading was Luke 14:1-14: what I thought was a 'typical' gospel story about Jesus, but proved to be quite a striking dinner conversation on a closer reading.

Why study academic theology? Here's a few observations from me.

A sermon given at an all-age service at the wonderful church of St Wilfrid's, Calverley, on June 29th. The reading was Matthew 16:13-20: it was fun to work the film Labyrinth into a sermon on a very well-known text!