Matthew | Ten foolish bridesmaids, embraced

Ten bridesmaids. We may hear this story as a Boy Scout lesson: Be prepared! Then we find some sick hungry homeless people, in order to earn our service badge and win the approval of our scoutmaster-king. But some of us are less confident about our belonging, and hear the story differently. Tonight from Sanctuary ... read here or listen here.

Exodus | Agents of joyful rebellion

The story of exodus points to the joy-filled possibilities of civil disobedience.

Read here, or listen here.

Matthew | Pride parade

I know I’m not the only person here who finds the palm parade a little awkward, a little cringe-worthy. We look ridiculous, waving jackets and branches as we sing our way into the building. But compared to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, it’s very tame indeed. Because in that story, you have a bloke on a wacky ride surrounded by a bunch of shirtless guys waving stuff and singing in public. It’s joyful, vulnerable, disruptive; and the modern equivalent which comes to mind is a pride parade ... Read here, or listen here.

Luke | Want to encounter God? Get lost!

If we want to encounter God, then we can’t limit ourselves to church or creed or doctrine or any sense of complacency. God’s off seeking the lost: and this tells me that we are found by God precisely when we ourselves are lost. In other words, God finds us in our doubt and confusion; when we’re wandering the wilderness of dementia; when we’re in the depths of depression; when we’re bewildered and vulnerable and afraid. God finds us when we’re hidden in darkness and shadow and it seems that the world has abandoned us. God finds us in our questions, and when we are seeking, and when we are straying. God finds us not in the confidence of certainty, but in grey areas, in liminal spaces ...

Read here or listen here.

No authority but Christ

Back when it was legal in Victoria, we had a couple of school families over for dinner. We lit a big fire in the fire pit; cooked up a storm; and gathered around our long table for a meal. We chatted and told stories, and gradually the talk turned to politics. At this point, one of my teenage daughters entered the conversation; and she set out her strong and considered opinion on the intersection of power and violence ...

Read here or listen here.

The parable universe

The kingdom of God is like a Facebook post with zero 'likes' ... a man who leaves the workforce ... a woman who fears she's lost her marbles. Read here or listen here.

Life on the margins has its own reward

Jesus expects his disciples not only to offer hospitality, but to receive it: for through it they will be transformed.

Read here or listen here.

Touching the untouchable in you and me

When I was fourteen, our family moved to Washington, DC. I will never forget the day we arrived. We drove downtown, and everywhere I looked, I saw tents and tarpaulins, refrigerator boxes and flapping plastic sheets. ‘What’s happening?’ I asked, ‘I mean, what’s with all the tents?’ I had never seen a homeless person before, and I didn’t understand that this is how many people live. And I never became accustomed to it: that, in the capital city of the richest country in the world, thousands of people live on the streets ...

Read here, or listen here.

Church without Boundaries

Churches and religious organisations regularly exclude people from full participation, but following Jesus means demolishing all boundaries and seeking Christ beyond the walls of the church. Read here, or listen here.

A message for a congregation preparing to commit to the next twelve months, drawing from Mark 7:24-30. Sanctuary, 9 September 2018 (Year B Proper 18, BP18).

Senator Anning vs Christo-Cannibalism, and the New Community of Love

For many years, our family shared Christmas lunch with friends and strangers. We’d put the word out, and eat with whoever wanted. One year, it was huge. Friends, and friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends, all turned up at our door. Some of them I knew and loved; others, I hadn’t met before. But gradually I came to realise: almost everyone there was gay. And almost everyone came from a religious family, which had rejected them because of their sexuality ...

Read here, or listen here.

A reflection on John 6:51-58, given to Sanctuary on 19 August 2018 (BP15; Year B Proper 15) © Alison Sampson, 2018.

Bloody hell

Jairus is a big shot: he’s a deacon at the church on the hill. Everyone knows his name. He’s a Rotarian; he’s a member of the golf club; his photo’s always in the local paper. But he has a twelvie, a daughter, who’s really, really sick, so sick she’s about to die. So Jairus comes to Jesus and begs him: “Heal my daughter! Touch her, rescue her, let her live!” Jesus agrees, so they start walking to the house, the crowd pressing in; and in the crowd is a woman ... Read here, or listen here.

Prepare the Way: But how?

Advent is a prophetic call to go to the margins, and serve. Tonight's reflection from Sanctuary is available online here.