John Hebenton's Podcast

John invites us to think about the Parable of Talents in Matthew 25:14-30   f rom several perspectives, reminding us that when we can hold those perspectives rather than looking for the one right way of reading it, we will gain a deeper understanding of all Jesus in inviting us to. He suggests that one we to read this that the Parable of the Talents invites us into the utterly outrageous gift of G...

John uses those three responses to explore the readings for Ordinary Sunday 32,  especially Joshua 24:1-3, 14-25   and Matthew 25:1-13 .  . In  reading Matthew, and Jesus' story of the 10 bridesmaids John reflects on the 3 audiences that are involved in listening to this story, and how that helps us hear what it might say to us. We are invited to get ready to live lives of active waiting for...

For our St George's Day celebration I wrote this little play about St George, the Serpent (no dragons in this play thank-you!) and the Empress Alexandra (no damsels in this play either - enough of that nonsense.) Here it is all acted out. You can find the script here

Cliff Simons talks about our early years as a church and when we became St George's

St Georges Anglican Church - Hori Tapu, has been doing the Season of Creation early. This week is also Matariki - the Māori New Year. John talks a little about the themes of the Season of Creation and how Matariki helps us engage with these. All this was by way of introduction to watching the " Prophetic Indigenous Voices on the Planetary Crisis- Aotearoa & Polynesia " presented at t...

Bonnie Hebenton preaches about how Matariki and Harvest Festvial support each other. In the pew sheet she writes "As we come to this Harvest Festival Sunday, the opening line from Philippians 4 is perhaps what should be foremost in our minds: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." Harvest is a time of looking back over what has been, pausing to give thanks and restin...

St. Georges Anglican Church, Gate Pa, sits on the site of the Battle of Gate Pā-Pukehinahina. Each year we try to offer free lectures to help people understand our history and how it shapes our present.  The first talk was given by Dr Cliff Simons on The Northern War 1845 – 46,   a well-known historian, speaker and author who specialises in New Zealand's colonial and military history. Cliff w...

John talks about some of the themes from his time at the Franciscan Convocation in Phoenix. He then talks about Matthew 9:35-10:8   as a pivotal moment in the story, when 12 of his followers suddenly became "sent ones - apostles" no longer observing what Jesus was doing but taking part in proclaiming the reign of heaven has come near. He then explores the importance of Matthew 10:5-8 for...

The second lecture will be given by Dr. Alistair Reese on the Treaty of Waitangi: He Tatau Pounamu. Alistair is a well-known farmer, historian, public theologian and author who specializes in reconciliation work. He will be exploring the Te Tiriti o Waitangi through a reconciliatory lens. St. Georges Anglican Church, Gate Pa, sits on the site of the Battle of Gate Pā-Pukehinahina. Each year we try...

Rev Debbie Garrett writes "Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter.  In the Book of Joel, the author foretells of a time when God will pour out his Spirit on all people.  The name Pentecost comes from the number 50 in Greek and occurs 50 days from Easter. Jewish people possess a connected holiday called Shavuot, which occurs 50 days after Passover, a...

What difference does the Ascension make in our lives? John has a conversation about that, and suggests that one way to see the ascension is that it completes the Incarnation, and through it Christ becomes the Christ of all times and places. In light of that, we contemplate on the Ascension and Jesus final prayer in John 17  and take time to reflect on the invitation to make visible the presence of...

Happy mothers day - John wonders what mothers day offers us? It has been a tough last three years – for many it is still tough with inflation.  For churches like ours and many others covid has really hit many parishes – we are much more vulnerable than we were. This was a theme of parish planning day on Saturday. Easter is a time to reflect on reflect on and celebrate resurrection and to wonder wh...

John puts John 14: 1-14 back into its context. He reads it in its holy week context as Jesus offering words of hope to his disciples as words of hope and promise - that there is always a place in the heart of God, in the midst of our uncertainty and fear. And he reads it for the Easter season we are invited to also ask how these words help us see the risen Christ among us, active in our world. In...

Cliff Simons uses his experience of visiting his sister in PNG while she was a missionary there to look at the work of Alfred and Charlotte Brown, and one of their key converts - Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa. You can read more about Tamihana here

A reflection/sermon inviting us to bring our own trauma from recent times and to join the two Marys’ at the tomb. And we are invite with them to have our world rocked and to know that God’s life cannot be contained. Jesus’ resurrection changes everything for them and us.   We too are invited into the ongoing story to live resurrection lives. How have we met the risen Christ? How might we live resu...

How we are at the moment? - How many of us feeling like field of dry bones in Ezekiel – in need of breath of God? We are reminded by our gospel reading (John 11:1-45 ) that with Mary, Martha and Lazarus we are invited to know Jesus as the “resurrection and the life.”  We will then use the life of one of our “saints” Hēni Te Kiri Karamu, to see explore what this life might look like. What I want to...

John continues the Lenten theme of looking at people who lived the Beatitudes with persistence. This week he uses the story from  John 4:5-42   – the story of an unnamed and mostly invisible Samaritan woman who is made visible though her persistence in conversing with Jesus. From that John explores some of the story of Georgina Beyer – a woman of great persistence You can read the notes for this s...

·       Born 1907 in Hong Kong, an ethnic Chinese named Li Tim Oi, which means ‘Much Beloved’. Father chose this name because he valued her as a daughter even when other Chinese preferred sons ·       When she became an Anglican and was baptised as a student she took the name Florence ·       1931 aged 24 she was present for the ordination of Lucy Vincent as a Deaconess in Hong Kong cathedral and...

Jesus invites us both into the wilderness, and to know he is with us in our wilderness. Being in the wilderness tested Jesus in his sense of who he was as beloved Son of God, and how he might live that out. Normally Lent is a time for us to reflect on those same questions - who we are as beloved children of God, how we forget that, and how we might live that out. But this year ongoing weather even...

We continue our journey into the sermon on the Mount, holding the beatitudes as our map and key. We listen as Jesus continues to reinterpret the law for the new time he lives in, applying the law to new circumstances and requirements. He does do in ways that invite people to be subversive and persistent in the joining God to bring to perfection/completions all God desires – the empire of heaven. I...

A sermon looking at Matthew 5: 21-37 in the context of the whole of the Sermon on the Mount, and as Jesus teasing our what the Empire of Heaven as described in the Beatitudes are really about. What does it mean for Jesus to fulfil the law? This week we are given examples of how Jesus reads the law. It is to create a community where all can thrive, not just the rich and the powerful. Where the poor...

As we end Epiphany-Christmas with its focus on light and revelation, we are given the Beatitudes from Matthew's sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 1-12). John explores how Jesus gives words to what he is already doing, and what he will continue doing. Jesus is living the empire of Heaven and inviting his disciples to join him. In an election year in all that has happened what uncomfortable posit...

John explores Epiphany as time of intentionally seeing the world differently (repentance) and living that out (call). What are they wrapping their minds about at the moment? You can read the notes for this sermon here

Let’s read Matthew on its own terms and not in Luke’s shadow Today we read the stories of two men, one faithless and untrusting (Ahaz in Isaiah) and one faithful and trusting (Joseph in Matthew). When I read this, I am reminded of John Dun Scotus – Francisan theologian of high middle ages - "The Incarnation is caused simply by God's generous and free love, and is not provoked by anything...

Joy reminds us that for many, Christmas is not a time of joy. For many reasons it is very hard. John was finding life hard too. Explore some different ways of reading John’s questions. And then reflect on joy, and where we see God’s joy in the world, and what we might need to hear and see to know joy We are invited to reflect on what joy means this advent. You can listen to this sermon here.