As I’ve noted, as the liturgical year has been winding down over the past few weeks, the Gospel readings turn to apocalyptic messages: Stay alert! Be bold enough to imagine a Kingdom where justice and compassion reign! Judgment is coming! These these themes become even more heightened today as we step into the season of … Continue reading An Apocalyptic Season: A Reflection for Advent 1 2023
Once again, as November winds down, the Western Christian liturgical year is also winding down. In fact, the liturgical ‘new year’ is this coming Sunday. As I was planning my Advent series for this year, I realized that I hadn’t yet reflected on the traditional Advent themes, represented in the candles of the Advent wreath: … Continue reading Coming Soon: A Series for Advent 2023
Last week, in reflecting on the Parable of the Talents, we saw how it’s important not to take the master figure’s callous, ‘The rich get richer,’ attitude as Jesus’ stance on economics, as though he’s advocating a ‘trickle down’ economy or a ‘prosperity gospel’, in which wealth is a sign of God’s favour and poverty … Continue reading Generosity in God’s Kingdom: A Reflection on Matthew 25:31-46
I remember as a kid asking lots of big questions about the world’s injustices. Invariably, they’d be met with a shrug and a resigned “That’s just the way the world works.” True as that reply may have been, it’s also true that ‘the way the world works’ is killing us. And yet, far too many … Continue reading Breaking the Vicious Circle: A Reflection on Matthew 25.14-30
Today’s Gospel reading is the Parable of the Bridesmaids (traditionally better known as the Parable of the Foolish Virgins). Whenever I see it in the lectionary, I consider it like the sounding of a gong: it’s telling us that Advent is just around the corner, and that we’d better be ready. This is a passage … Continue reading Eyes Open: A Reflection on Matthew 25.1-13
Matthew Root 