John Hebenton's Podcast

John uses Eleanor Catton’s graduation speech at VUW Graduation 2014 to ask “what if”. What if we take the incarnation seriously and are simply willing to trust into God made known in Jesus. Not the God taught about by Jesus, but the God whose character is made know in the life and death of life of Jesus. What if Jesus as the way, truth and life is not a propositional truth but an incarnational truth, a relational truth. What if truth and love has priority and no-one is beyond God’s love.

This is the talk I gave this week to a school about the Battle and why we should commemorate both the Battle, the Battle of Te Ranga, and all that followed.

In this sermon John explores how we understand salvation, and how this understanding affects how we see God, ourselves, Christ, Church and mission. John then offers a way of understanding salvation using Augustine and Julian of Norwich, and then uses that to explore some of Acts, with a side look at God as mother.John then invites people to feel free to embrace a wider array of understanding of all of the above and to know they still fit within the wide stream of Christian thought and belief.

Bonnie Hebenton uses the story of General Cameron and the Battle of Gate Pa to explore doubt, and to get into the story of doubting Thomas. Is this doubt a good thing or bad? How does doubt allow us to grow in faith?

John used the Animated The Easter Story by Geoffrey McLean (you can find this at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3UKd6LQKng) to compare Matthews version of the story of the resurrection to Mark's, and to invite people to consider how resurrection affects their daily lives

John explores the story of the raising Lazarus and wonders in what ways we are bound in death. He offers the daily office as a means by which our rhythms may be shifted to God’s rhythms of life, our outlook shifted to God’s outlook of life, so that we may slowly be unbound from the garments of death and freed to embrace “eternal life”.He finishes by inviting people to try the daily office as part of the growing spiritual disciplines.

This week John uses the gospel reading of Jesus healing the blind man in John 9:1-41 to ask who are the bind people today? He goes on to offer the daily examen as a way of learning to truly see: ourselves, God and God at work in our lives and the world around us; and invites people to spend some time each day using the examen.

John explores the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman as an example of listening. He then introduces the spiritual practice of sacred reading.

John uses the story of Nicodemus to introduce the spiritual practice of prayer. He suggests that in John's gospel Jesus is one who comes from God and who makes God known. In his life Jesus makes known the life based on love offered to all, a life that calls forth our trust and loyalty (belief). Prayer is way we choose to live and pay attention to God’s loving presence.John invites people to reflect on their own understanding and experience of prayer and to use Lent as a time to pay more attention to their prayer life.

I use the Genesis and Matthew stories to introduce Lent as a time to quest for God. I then go on to introduce the need for silence, solitude and fasting in the hope that those who listen will to find space for solitude and silence, and to think of ways they can introduce/develop fasting as a Lenten discipline

In this sermon John explores what “God’s perfection” might mean, suggesting that rather than it being about without sin, guilt free, blemish free, it is much more about God’s compassion for all creation, God’s mercy, justice and love. From this he invites people to ask themselves what images of God they might need to give up this lent, and what new ways of understanding God, as revealed though Christ's life, ministry and teaching we might need to pick up and develop during Lent.

John explores Matt 5:38-48 and suggests two things: first that it needs to be read in the context of the whole of the sermon on the Mount; and secondly that rather than suggesting to those he is talking to (the poor, marginalised, oppressed) that they just need to suck it up and tough it out, he offers ways of standing up to the violence and oppression non-violently.

John explores how to faithfully read and interpret scripture based on The Sermon on the Mount, and in particular Matt 5:21-37, in order to offer people the skills to faithfully read scripture for themselves in a way that is consistent with both gospel writers and Paul.

The Sermon on the Mount, and in particular the Beatitudes, invites to consider what really matters for us in our life? Matthew the gospel writer suggests that what really matters is not honour as traditionally understood, i.e. whether born Israelite or Gentile, status, or even whether perform great acts in spirit. What matters is whether our attitude is marked by that described by beatitudes, and how we act.

John invites us to let go of some more theological assumptions and explores the nature of call from a fresh perspective. In this way he invites people to reflect on their own calling and ministry in light of this story from Matthew

We look at the theological politics in John’s gospel, and how we play theological politics as well. John H then suggests that Epiphany offers a time for us to be reawakened to what Jesus teaches us about the nature of God through Jesus’ life, ministry and teaching. Using “lamb of God” and Jesus is way, truth and life, he explores how our theological glasses blind us to what Gospels teach us.

In this season which seems to be all about how God offers us joy, I use the readings to explore what gives God joy, and invite people to reflect each day on how they offer God joy, and how in turn they receive joy.

Advent is time of waiting. It offers an opportunity to reflect on what we wait for and how. In this sermon John asks “what are we waiting for the Advent?”, and suggests that among other things we watch for Peace.Watching for peace is more than hoping that all will be well. It is an active watching – getting involved in God’s peace - living is such a way that we live as if God’s reign of justice and peace is now.Isaiah offers image of instruments of war and death being turned into instruments of food production and life - more than just beating ploughshares – watching for peace is about learning whole new way of being that involves unlearning ways of war in our households, personal relationships and how we see the world and learning that ways of peaceJohn invites people to spend this week reflecting on what habits and practices of conflict do they need to unlearn and what practices and habits of peace they need to learn

We need to be really careful about how we talk about and live out “Christ the King.” It is too easy to just replicate what the rest of society expects and look no different.One way we can do that is to approach Christmas as a time of good news for all people, and to prepare in that vein, rather than just as a family time

John asks what do we remember on Remembrance Sunday? He goes on to suggest that we remember and honour those who went to fight, either voluntarily or consctiped. by working to prevent any others having to do same. He uses the reading from Haggai as an example of keeping hold of the big picture of God’s ongoing work, and offers the example of Te Whiti and Tohu as an inspiration for those seeking peace.