Welcome to Lent dear friends, and today we will look at Jesus’ very first words, or command, to the disciples as recorded in today’s gospel from Mark and what that means for these newly called disciples and us.

Early in January we looked in detail at Jesus’s baptism. Mark then records Jesus’ Temptation with breathtaking brevity, but we’ll examine the Temptation of Jesus at another time, as it needs its own story. Today we are focussing on just two verses, vv.14-15.

Today is the last Sunday after Epiphany, where we celebrate that Jesus came as a light to all the world, not just the Jews. In whose face (as Paul tells us in today’s magnificent NT reading) is the very light of the knowledge of the glory of God!

Today Mark’s gospel shows us exactly who this Jesus of Nazareth is. He is the Christ, the Son of God.

I think today’s gospel shows the level of expectation placed on Jesus from the very beginning, by people (just like us, incidentally) who had made assumptions about who Jesus was and the way he went about his Father’s business. 

These expectations are not in themselves bad, but an indication of just how easy it is to try and ‘domesticate’ or ‘organise’ Jesus.

Today in this wonderful season of Epiphany, the great and complete revelation of God in Christ Jesus, we look at an aspect of Jesus’ teaching and healing that is fundamental to our lives as his disciples and children of the living God; that he has the full authority of God himself.

We have thought about Jesus as a child to be adored, a God to be worshipped, a Saviour to be followed, and a Lord to be obeyed. Today, we are thinking about Jesus as a healer and teacher with authority, to be trusted.

In the season of Epiphany, we celebrate that Jesus comes as a light to the nations, the revelation that Jesus is Lord of all the earth, of both Jews and gentiles.

So what could today’s remarkable and difficult little passage from Paul possibly have to do with that?

Today’s wonderful gospel reading, unique to John. The calling of Philip and Nathanael is that we are all called to be disciples, so this passage in particular deserves a closer look because it is the most detailed story we have of Jesus calling his disciples.

A disciple is a follower of and an adherent (stick like glue) to the teachings of Jesus, so we look at the passage thinking about what it means to follow Jesus.

Today is an excellent time to bring to mind how important the baptism of our Lord is in our own lives as baptised children of God.

So it is important to celebrate and remember our baptisms today and recognise that our own baptisms are located back into the very baptism of Jesus Christ himself in the River Jordan, which we heard Mark’s brief account of this morning.

The light has come into the world. And today’s beautiful gospel shows us wonderful ways of how to live this life of light, modelled in a young mum, a dying man, and an old widow.  Witnesses to hearts that have been fully given to God.

I also love it because its about a pair of senior citz.

Today we are celebrating Christmas, the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. So what is it exactly, that we are celebrating, and what does it mean?

Today, the fourth Sunday of Advent, the gospel reading focuses on what we call the annunciation, when God visited Mary through the angel Gabriel with the amazing words from today’s gospel, “Greetings favoured one!” (1:28) 

This morning we are going to think about what we have in common with this very uncommon woman.  Gabriel went on to tell her that she has been called to bear the Saviour of the World, this fifteen or so year old girl from a poor village in a poor province of the Roman Empire.

Well that’s one thing we don’t have in common we might think; but hang on, perhaps we might. Let’s hold this thought.

I think as we watch and wait this Advent, we do so in three distinct ways.  The coming of God in human form as a little baby in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago (the incarnation), the coming of Christ into our hearts, and thirdly we watch and we wait for his coming again, the day when everything we know and think we know will change.

This third Sunday traditionally focusses on joy and to do so today, we are looking at our second reading from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, probably the earliest document in the New Testament, c.48AD.

Last week we spoke a little of how the gospel of Mark is the shortest and most urgent gospel, and at its heart asks the questions; ‘Where can God be found?’ and, ‘Who do you say Jesus is?’

 Mark, often called John Mark in Acts and the NT letters, was discipled by the apostle Peter, and Mark’s gospel often seems to me to be imbued with the direct nature of Peter.

So in typical Mark style, unlike Matthew and especially Luke, he forgoes all talk of Jesus’ birth and childhood and cuts straight to the chase to open his gospel. “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (1:1).

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and the word means ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’.  Despite the busy time of year, Advent is actually a time for slowing down and patient watchfulness, to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom, first in our hearts through an infant saviour, and then in joyful anticipation of his coming in glory like a Bridegroom to his Bride.

I had planned to preach on Ephesians today, but I feel compelled to talk about today’s gospel which perfectly summarises the Kingdom Parables we have been looking at over the last couple of weeks, (plus I have preached on the Ephesians passage twice in the last 18 months!).

The Kingdom parables describe how we are to wait for Jesus’ return, and today’s passage on the sheep and the goats, (which is not actually a parable) is why the way we wait is so important, because today, the long-awaited master, bridegroom, and King suddenly returns.

We are going to spend one more week in the Kingdom parables in Matthew’s gospel. There are five of them, but we are only looking at two. Last week we looked at the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, and today the very well-known Parable of the Talents. The context is just Jesus and the disciples on the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem, so again it is a parable for Jesus’ church, for us.

Imagine that you are driving by yourself on your way to meeting your future parents-in-law for the very first time, you are meeting your fiancée there.  You don’t want to be late, and you really want to make a good impression, so you take a short cut over some back roads when, suddenly, your car engine coughs then dies.  You’ve run out of petrol and there is no mobile coverage.  You will be an unexplained no-show and it’s your own wretched fault.

If we can picture this, we can come a part of the way to feeling like the five foolish bridesmaids.  It’s not as if it were unexpected that they would need to light the lamps, they were after all carrying them!

This morning we are looking at the beatitudes we just heard in Matthew’s gospel. The word ‘beatitude,’ is just Latin for blessings, and this morning’s reading opens up Jesus first major block of teaching which we call the sermon on the mount and takes up chapters 5-7.

Now the gospel of Matthew is a very Jewish gospel and one of its major themes is that all of the Jewish Law and prophesy is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

Today Matthew reading follows directly on from last week’s gospel, where the Pharisees tried to test and trick Jesus about paying taxes, and the Sadducees (who don’t believe in the resurrection) tried to trick him about the resurrection.

Today’s reading opens with, “When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’” (vv. 34-36).

So he answers the lawyer (or scribe) just the way he answered the Pharisees and Sadducees – with a pure and piercing truth that goes straight to the heart of living the Christian life.

We are spending another week with the apostle Paul, but this time in his letter to the Thessalonians. If Philippi was the church that filled Paul with the most joy, then the church in Thessalonica would have been a close second.

For the last few weeks the great theme has been imitating Christ in humble unity, being reconciled with each, resulting in the very peace of God protecting our hearts and minds. This morning’s reading shows what happens when this rich soil (united, humble, peace-filled) is seeded by the word of God. It’s about what it means to ‘receive the word,’ i.e., the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today we conclude our four-part series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians by looking at how we can experience lasting joy through the peace of God that truly does pass all understanding.

 Last week’s reading ended with Paul using the image of a very long race to picture the Christian life as one of constantly moving into God's future, always pressing forward.  Here, he begins his final urging to the Philippians quite differently: "Stand firm in the Lord!" Pressing forward and standing firm in one place; how are these images to be reconciled?