Gospel Conversations
Exploring the weekly Gospel
Gospel Conversations continue into 2024, with Conversationalists from within the Diocese and far beyond, joining with Michael Godfrey to ponder the weekly Gospel readings our lectionary gives us.
These are free-flowing conversations, with the aim of floating and teasing out ideas and responses to the weekly passage,
not as an academic exercise but as a creative dance with the text and the Spirit who enlivens the text for us. We hope they will spark some ideas for those who are preparing sermons, but also that they will be used by people to think about the Sunday readings during the week.
Find our Conversations from 2023 HERE. Conversations from 2022 can be accessed HERE and 2021 can be accessed HERE
Turn your sound up and make sure you view the videos in full screen…
HOLIDAY GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS (Mini!)
We normally take a break over January, but someone pointed out to us that often that’s precisely the time fill-in preachers could do with some ideas. However, since most of us need a break from weekly recordings (and Anne needs a break from editing) we’re offering something different this January. Five of us got together for an afternoon. Each of us had prepared something on one of the readings, and after that we simply chatted about it. No editing, no structure, so not perhaps something you’d use instead of a sermon (as we know some places do occasionally do). Instead we’re inviting you to drop in on us as we chat about our reactions and thoughts about each of the Gospel readings as they come up. These were meant to be a lot shorter than our normal Conversations, but somehow there always seemed to be a lot to say… Still, we stay under our 15min limit for each one! Enjoy. We’d love to have your company.
Normal conversations will return in February.
Have a blessed and safe holiday period.
JANUARY 26th
JANUARY 19th
JANUARY 12th
JANUARY 5th
DECEMBER 29
CHRISTMAS DAY As is now a Gospel Conversation tradition, we’ve opened up today’s Conversation to any of our Conversationalists who were available at the recording time to join in. We asked them all, “What continues to surprise you with joy in the Gospel reading?” The result is a bundle of celebration and unfamiliar ways of thinking about this extremely familiar story. All of us who have taken part this year wish all of you who have watched a wonderful, blessed, and merry Christmas.
Advent 4! So close to what we’ve been waiting for, and today we join in imagination with two women who are also waiting expectantly, actively, and faithfully. This is a rare story in the Bible in that it would fulfil the Bechdel test (google it!) – and is aptly discussed by a panel of three women: Lisa Emerson, Peg Riley, and Anne van Gend, with Michael as usual holding it all together! Join us as we celebrate this beautiful and meaning-packed story of our faith.
ADVENT 3 How many of you have started a sermon with the line, “You brood of vipers”? It’s an unusual way of attracting people to the Good News, but it seemed to work for John! Andrew Doubleday from UCANZ joins Michael today, along with Gillian and Esther, to discover what such unusual preaching has to say to us in this time and place.
CHRISTMAS DAY As is now a Gospel Conversation tradition, we’ve opened up today’s Conversation to any of our Conversationalists who were available at the recording time to join in. We asked them all, “What continues to surprise you with joy in the Gospel reading?” The result is a bundle of celebration and unfamiliar ways of thinking about this extremely familiar story. All of us who have taken part this year wish all of you who have watched a wonderful, blessed, and merry Christmas.
Advent 4! So close to what we’ve been waiting for, and today we join in imagination with two women who are also waiting expectantly, actively, and faithfully. This is a rare story in the Bible in that it would fulfil the Bechdel test (google it!) – and is aptly discussed by a panel of three women: Lisa Emerson, Peg Riley, and Anne van Gend, with Michael as usual holding it all together! Join us as we celebrate this beautiful and meaning-packed story of our faith.
ADVENT 3 How many of you have started a sermon with the line, “You brood of vipers”? It’s an unusual way of attracting people to the Good News, but it seemed to work for John! Andrew Doubleday from UCANZ joins Michael today, along with Gillian and Esther, to discover what such unusual preaching has to say to us in this time and place.
ADVENT 2 Dec 8th This is the week of Advent where we focus on John the Baptist as the great prophet and preparer-of-the-way for Jesus. In the kind of flexi-time we have in the church year, that means leaping forward to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry before we return to Jesus’ birth. What does this prickly prophet have to say to us today? The team this week is Kelvin Wright, Michael Holdaway, Anne van Gend and, of course, Michael. (Prior warning that our normal Gospel Conversations have a break after Christmas, but we’ll have some mini-versions up for those of you who are left holding the fort at churches while vicars take a holiday!)
ADVENT 1 We begin the new church year with a conversation many of us will be grateful for! Just as we begin to get into the mood for celebration, we’re brought up short by Gospel readings full of battles and natural disasters and troubles. What do we do with them? Fortunately we’ve got a dynamic group of conversationalists to set us on our way! Join Grace Morris, John Franklin, Joel Stutter and Michael Godfrey to get our year underway.
Nov 24th. The feast of Christ the King! You may or may not agree that this feast should be celebrated, but as Lisa points out in her introduction, the theme of Jesus as king “bookends” the gospel accounts: from the Magi of Matthew to Pilate in John. What, then, do we make of this profound, if brief, conversation between Pilate and Jesus? Karen Kemp is with us for the first time, and joins with Lisa Emerson, Mannie Marara and Michael to talk through truth, faithful living, and kingship, among many other ideas!
Nov 17. We’re getting to that time of year where all the apolcalyptic parts of the Gospels are brought to our Sundays. This week we have the disciples gaping in amazement at the glories of the Temple, and Jesus telling them calmly that it will shortly be no more than rubble. But that was the 1st Century. What do we learn from this now? John Franklin, Jeremy Nicoll and Lucy Flatt join Mike this week to work it out.
Nov 10 Mark 12:38-44
The story of the “widow’s mite” has been well known to many of us from Sunday School days onwards, often as an encouragement to us to put more in the church’s offertory plate! And certainly, we need often to stop and reconsider all the Bible tells us about our use of money. But there is much more going on in this passage, and this week Bishop Kelvin Wright, the Rev’d Michael Holdaway, and musician and teacher Emma Wilson join Michael to help us explore some of those complexities.
November 3rd
As we celebrate the feast of All Saints together, we step back briefly into the Gospel of John, for that wonderful story of the raising of Lazarus. For a variety of reasons we have Kelvin, Gillian and Anne together this week for the first time, and along with Michael, they would all agree they learned a new way of looking at this passage through this discussion! We hope you will too.
OCTOBER 27th One of the characters in the crowd who is given a name in Mark’s gospel is Bartimaeus: a man who was courageous enough to keep seeking and keep following Jesus. This week Mark Wilson will bring us his unique insights into the story of a blind man, joining Damon Plimmer and Deborah Broome, who kindly took a break among her packing boxes to take part in the conversation!
October 20th It’s lucky for us that the disciples were a thoroughly human bunch, as it gave Jesus the chance to teach them about problems which pop up in every group of human beings. Who’s the greatest? Jesus’ response challenges some deeply-felt beliefs of our culture. Mike is joined by Steve Benford from the UK, John Goodwin from Auckland, and Natalie Millikan from Dunedin this week.
Oct 13 What must I do to inherit eternal life? It’s clearly a dangerous question to ask unless you’re willing to accept the answer Jesus gives. Today we read of the man who genuinely wanted to know this, but was too tied down by his possessions to follow Jesus’ response. It’s one of the many uncomfortable passages in the Gospels, and this week Gillian Townsley, Wendy Scott and Anne van Gend join Michael to grapple with what it means to us today.
OCTOBER 6th At some point in each year we reach the verses in our Gospel for the year which deal with divorce. In previous years we’ve tackled it head-on. This year we’re approaching it a little differently, and daring to pay attention to the verses around Jesus’ pronouncement as well. Jonathan Gale, Lisa Emerson and Judy Ringland-Stewart join Michael to tackle this, one of the trickier gospel passages of the year.
SEPTEMBER 29th. This is a tough reading. None of us wants to hear the words of warning and judgement that Jesus utters in such a vivid and daunting way. Yet we cannot ignore passages like this simply because we don’t like them. We need to grapple with them and see if we can hear them anew, as the words of the Jesus we have come to know. We have an ideal team to do this work: Bishop Kelvin Wright, retired educator Alec Clark, and school chaplain/pastoral priest Peg Riley. Listen to how they engage these issues with Michael, and look again at how you thought you understood this Gospel reading.
SEPT 22Continuing on through the Gospel of Mark, the disciples have hit the high point of recognising who Jesus is and witnessing the transfiguration, and are clearly a bit carried away by it all. Jesus has to remind them that following him is not all glowing mountaintops, but service and humility. This has major repercussions for us as individuals and as the church, so join Esme, Damon, Anne and Mike as they discuss what they might be.
September 15th
We’re at the turning point of the Gospel of Mark this week: the place where Jesus’ confused disciples finally get something right – briefly! It’s a passage that raises questions about who Jesus is, who the “self” is we need to deny, and what that says to our journey of life. Jerry Morris, Ben Truman and Jenny Dawson join Michael to guide us through some fascinating responses to these, and other, questions.
Sept 8 Mark 7:24-37
It’s our favourite controversial Gospel story – the Syro-Phoenician woman’s encounter with Jesus. Kelvin provides some vital background to understanding this complex scene, and then Esther, Kelvin, and Mannie explore what’s happening and where we find good news.
Sept 1 Mark 7:1-23
A change of format this week! Anne and Michael were both away, so Trish Franklin, Eddie O’Connor, and Lisa Emerson soldiered on without them. We’re exploring sections of Mark 7:1-23, talking about systems, integrity, authenticity, and focusing on Jesus.
August 21st
We’re still in John’s Gospel and still talking about the bread! Gillian, Jeremy, Richard and Michael delve deep into why this passage means so much to us, before we head back to the Gospel of Mark next week.
August 18 2024 John 6 51 58
Mannie, John and Lisa discuss our third reading about bread from John’s Gospel, and find good news – and some challenges!
August 11th
This is the time in the 3-year lectionary cycle when we get a whole lot of weeks in a row considering Jesus as the Bread of Life. It can be difficult to find new angles to take on this, week after week! Fortunately we call on a wide range of people to be part of these conversations, so here are a whole bunch of new approaches to the theme you’ve all been considering for a while already. Join David Tombs, Andrew Metcalfe, Emma Wilson and Michael in this practical, grounded look at bread and Jesus.
August 4th John 6:24-35
This week we welcome back with great joy Bishop Steve, zooming in from Hull to be with us again. He joins with John Franklin, Anne van Gend and Michael to begin to explore some seriously big mysteries. Who is this Jesus we are seeking? What does it tell us that Jesus is “the bread of life”?
July 21 Mark 6:30-34,53-56
This week we have a rather odd lectionary offering, with two short passages from Mark whose original purpose was to link some bigger stories. Yet even in these few verses our conversationalists are able to find some big issues to ponder! Join Jerry Morris, Ben Truman and Mark Wilson as Michael leads them through this week’s discussion.
July 28 John 6:1-21
In an interesting little diversion, the lectionary takes us back to John’s gospel this week to give us his version of the feedings of the multitude, and Jesus walking on the water in the storm. As always with John, there is a lot more going on than we might initially realise. Join Bishop Kelvin Wright, and the Rev’ds Jonathan Gale and Peg Riley as they and Mike explore this fascinating story.
Jul 14, Mark 6:14-29
The structure we stick to in these conversations can be demanding at times! Think of this week’s story of the beheading of John the Baptist. Is it a challenging story? Certainly. Is there a “so what?” to take away? Conceivably. Is there good news in it? Now, that takes some digging for! Fortunately we have a superb group of thinkers and faith-ers to tackle the passage. Lisa Emerson, John Franklin, and Mannie Marara join Michael to find where the gospel in this week’s Gospel may be.
July 7 Mark 6:1-13
Who is Jesus? The key question of Mark’s gospel continues to challenge us. Who do we say Jesus is? Can we see through the familiarity that blinded the “locals” to the mystery and wonder beyond? Gillian Townsley, Damon Plimmer, and John Goodwin make up the discussion panel with Michael this week.
June 30, Mark 5:21-43.
This is a conversation you’ll want to listen to more than once. Kelvin, Nicki and Alec are dealing with one of the most beautiful sets of stories in the Gospels – the healing of the woman in the crowd and raising from death of the young girl – and they discover layer after layer of meaning and depth. As Michael says, one challenge will be choosing what to focus on if you’re hoping this will assist your sermon-planning!
June 23 Some Gospel readings have seriously challenging bits to them (“unforgiveable sins” for example) but this week, to our relief, we have the glorious story of Jesus calming the storm. The poor disciples, who were scared enough when the storm raged, become even more scared when it stopped! Would we be the same? Lisa Emerson, Michael Holdaway and Anne van Gend join Michael (over a slightly dodgy internet connection) to discuss that, and other, questions.
Gospel Conversation June 16 Mark 4:26-34 A seed sown in the ground… the farmer sleeps, wakes, sleeps, wakes, and the seed mysteriously grows. It’s a familiar image even today for many of us, but what was Jesus meaning when he used the image as a parable? We have three wise and experienced heads tackling that question this week, with Graham Redding (Knox Church, Dunedin), Bishop Kelvin Wright, and Wendy Scott (St Matthew’s, Masterton) joining Michael.
We often note how tricky some of these Gospel passages are, and this week is another great example of that. Jesus apparently ignoring his family. A sin “against the Holy Spirit” which is apparently unforgiveable. How do we understand these things and learn from them? Jonathan Gale, Emma Wilson and Anne van Gend join Michael this week to wrestle with some of the issues – and joys – of this puzzling passage.
Gospel Conversations 2024 June 2 Mark 2:23-3:6
We’re back into Mark this week, for once following the “ordinary Sunday” readings rather than Te Pouhere on this Sunday after Trinity. We do encourage you to celebrate Te Pouhere if you can, so if you’d rather watch a conversation on that, look to the links at the end of this blurb. If, however, you’re as happy as our conversationalists were to be back in Mark, join us here! Sabbath questions, misquotes of the Old Testament, and Jesus blasting through hypocrisy all make up some of the points raised by Damon Plimmer, Deborah Broome, and John Goodwin as they join Michael this week.
Gospel Conversations 2024 Trinity Sunday John 3:1-17
Trinity Sunday, and one of the most beloved passages in the New Testament. Who is this fascinating person, Nicodemus, and how does Jesus guide him towards an understanding of something of the mystery of God – three-in-one? Gillian Townsley, Mannie Marara, and Richard Johnson join Michael this week to puzzle this most wonderful mystery together.
Gospel Conversations 2024 May 19 John 15:26-7; 16:4b-15
Pentecost Sunday! A time of celebration, wonder, joy and sheer confusion! Today we ponder Jesus’ words as he tries to prepare his disciples for what is to come by promising them the multi-faceted care of the Paraclete. Jesus in John’s gospel can be challenging to understand, so join Judy, Mary-Jo, Anne and Michael as they toss some ideas around that might be worth considering.
Easter 7, May 12: For the next couple of weeks we’re continuing with Jesus’ final discourse in John’s Gospel, in which a sometimes bewildering whirl of ideas, commands, and comfort, are given to the first disciples – and us. In one of our inter-continental discussions, we are joined by Matt Jeffries from the Arthur Rank Centre in the UK, Jerry Morris from the Methodist church of Wisconsin, and Peg Riley from Christchurch. Together they explore our relationships with the church, with God, and with each other in ways that will – as the Spirit does – challenge and comfort you
Continuing on through John’s Gospel, we dig deeper into that amazing word, “Abide”, which we encountered last week. Our conversationalists find in it comfort, questions, and challenges . Especially, how does abiding in Christ connect to his command for us to love each other? David Tomb, Wendy Scott, and Ben Truman give us memorable pictures and ideas to ponder on.
Sometimes the most challenging thing about a biblical passage can be to avoid thinking, “Oh, I’ve read that/heard that a million times.” The image of Jesus as the vine and us as the branches could strike us with that sort of familiarity, so the Conversationalists today “branch out” to see how we might be able to look at it anew. Join Kelvin Wright, Nicki Colledge, and Anne van Gend as they puzzle it out with Michael.
Easter 4. This week we have one of the most beloved images of Jesus to think about: Jesus the Good Shepherd who knows each sheep by name, and welcomes those from unexpected pastures. Even this beautiful image brings with it challenges as well as good news, and Deborah Broome joins us for the first time to mull them over with Lisa Emerson and Damon Plimmer – and, of course, Michael!
Easter 3, and we’re really beginning to grapple with how to deal with the overwhelming GOODNESS of the good news of the Resurrection! Luke gives us a resurrected Jesus who is thoroughly with us, scars and all, and has yet defeated death. John Goodwin, Jenny Dawson and Esther Clarke-Prebble make up our team of conversationalists this week. Christ is risen – indeed!
April 7. Easter 2! Traditionally this is called “Low Sunday” and many congregations find themselves a little smaller than usual as people recover from Holy Week and Easter! It would be a pity to miss this beautiful reading, however. Jesus appearing to his disciples huddled in a room with doors locked; Thomas refusing to believe until he can see it with his own eyes – there is so much here to dig into! Simon Martin joins us for the first time, and together with Gillian, Jonathan and Michael, gives us a taste of just how much there is to glean from this amazing passage.
Easter Day! If you’re not preaching this week, perhaps hold off watching this until Sunday, because this is a real celebration of the resurrection, and over Holy Week we still have Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday to work through before we get there. But when we do, what an amazing, glorious story we are given! Grace, Peg and Anne have a thoroughly enjoyable time thinking about the women at the tomb and the mind-blowing Good News they are tasked with sharing. Christ is risen!
March 24 Passion/Palm Sunday Last year we talked about the “blessing of the Palms” Gospel reading, so this year we’re tackling the longer, “Passion” reading. This catapults us straight into the tension and darkness of Holy Week. Is there good news to be found as we wait by Jesus’ body on the cross or in the tomb? Bishop Steve, Jenny Dawson and Michael Holdaway wonder about this together.
March 17th. We’re continuing to jump around the Gospel of John as we come ever closer to Holy Week. Here, Jesus is told that some Greeks want to see him, and for some reason that launches a speech about seeds and serpents and glory and his own death. This week we have Kelvin Wright, Natalie Millikan and Mannie Marara helping us to find meaning in the swirling and wonderful words of Jesus.
March 10 Lent 4 This passage contains one of the most familiar passages in all Scripture – but our conversationalists may not react to it the way you expect! Whether or not you agree with them, we invite you to enter the conversation, listening, weighing up, accepting or rejecting their suggestions, and being part of the ongoing journey to know God and God’s will better. This week Alec Clark, Gillian Townsley, and Andrew Metcalfe join Michael to discuss “God so loved the world….”
March 3rd Lent 3 For the third week of Lent we jump over to John’s Gospel for the unexpected story of Jesus making a whip and driving out the store-keepers in the Temple. This could seem out of character for Jesus – what’s going on? We’re helped along in our thinking by Lisa Emerson, Esther Clarke-Prebble and Esme Macdonald this week, who give us three gloriously different approaches to this story.
Gospel for Sunday Feb 25.”Take up your cross and follow.” It’s not an easy command to hear, and as we continue through Lent, it’s something we need to grapple with. What could Jesus have meant? What are the dangers associated with some of the ways we understand him? Join David Tombs, Nicki Colledge, Eddie O’Connor (for the first time) and Michael as they ponder these, and other, questions.
LENT 1 Feb 18. We enter Lent with a bang, hurried along by Mark’s rapid-fire story-telling. Baptism, temptations, proclamation, all in a few short verses. Aptly, our conversation this week is also short and sharp! Bishop Steven Benford, Peg Riley and Anne van Gend explore with Michael how to respond to heavenly voices, demons, angels, and wild beasts!
Gospel for Sunday Feb 11. This week’s gospel is the story of Jesus healing a leper, and the beautiful interactions between them. Why was this one healing told in detail, when there had been so many healings before this one? Damon Plimmer, Gary Griffith-Smith and Anne van Gend join Michael to explore the significance of this life-changing story for the leper, and for us.
Gospel for Sunday Feb 4th. We’re back! Refreshed after a month or so off, our Conversationalists are starting again for another year. We launch with the energetic combination of Kelvin Wright, Wendy Scott and Emma Wilson, who join Mike to talk about the rush of stories that strike us just as the Gospel of Mark begins.