Showing everything tagged as Revd Richard Carter

Mum’s are not always easy. I know that. But they are still your mum. Sometimes they say or do terrible things mums do, stuff that other people could never say or think of saying. But they are still your mum.  And of one thing I am certain, that none of us would be here in this church without them. And children are not easy either. Think of the problems Jesus caused Mary.

This year we have been studying the Confessions of Saint Augustine as the basis of our Lent Course. We decided it would be interesting to look at a text which has been one of the most influential and translated books in the Christian Church.

There were fifty young Norwegians in this church yesterday asking me questions about St Martin’s and the question that always gets asked in this church is what does that east window mean? And my answer to those young people was. “What do you think it means? Look and see. There is no explanation better than the experience of you yourself.” When asked what they saw they were full of ideas. What do we see in today’s Gospel? 

Our Gospel today is from Luke and Jesus is presented at his most outspoken and challenging. He presents us with stark contrasts. First the poor and then the rich. Notice unlike in Matthew’s Gospel he doesn’t say “blessed are the poor in spirit.” He is much more direct than that. He says: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

Funeral Address for Anne Duffin by Revd Richard Carter, given on 31 January at St Michael’s Chiswick. 

I have just been reading a book called The Character of Virtue that I received for Christmas. It is a book of letters that the American theologian Stanley Hauerwas wrote to his Godson Laurence Bailey Wells. When Lawrence was born Sam Wells asked Stanley to be Lawrence’s Godfather. At that time they were living on other sides of the world.

Christmas is a time when you often notice how much people have grown. Like my nephew who seems to have grown a foot since I last saw him only a few months ago, or like my niece who I can remember so clearly holding as a baby and now is almost 18.