Sunday 27th February 2000

Theme: New life in Christ is like the bond of married love

A reading from the Prophet Hosea 2: 16 - 17, 21 - 22
The Prophet Hosea draws upon his own experience of the breakdown of marriage and love, to illustrate the relationship with God. How God lures us away to be alone and without distraction. Then God speaks to us in the depths of our hearts, and with tenderness and love draws us to know the wonder of God, and the fidelity of God’s union with the People.

Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 3: 1 - 6
The Covenant, the union with God, is written in our hearts not on tablets of stone. There it is for all to see, the Spirit of the living God, to be seen in our lives. For Paul, the conversion to Christ, means that his disciples live and breathe the Spirit, their lives are radically transformed by the loving union with Christ.

The Gospel according to Mark 2: 18 - 22
The Kingdom of God, established by Jesus, calls us to set aside old ways, and make a fresh start. This kingdom is like a new world, a new relationship, with Jesus cast in the role of bridegroom. This new and intimate relationship with Jesus, cannot be simply patched on the old cloth, it is a radical, joyously new and lasting relationship with God.