Alison and the whale

Walking between the waves

The Exodus story is an invitation to walk with others against imperial power and military violence. A reflection on Exodus 14:19-31 given to Sanctuary on 20 September 2020 (Year A Proper 19, one week late) © Alison Sampson, 2020.

Plagues, signs and wonders: A story for our times

A reflection on Exodus 12:1-14 (and preceding chapters) given to Sanctuary on 13 September 2020 (Year A Proper 18, one week late) © Alison Sampson, 2020. 

Aunty Sandra Onus, Lidia Thorpe and a pharaoh with no name

We are all called to participate in God's story of the reconciliation of all things: people, land, culture, and trees. A reflection on Exodus 1:8-2:10 given to Sanctuary on 23 August 2020 (Year A Proper 16, one week late) © Alison Sampson, 2020. Learn more about the Djab Wurrung Heritage Protection Embassy here, or find them on Facebook.

Committing to be together, apart

As we look to our fourth birthday and the annual service of recommitment, how then are we called to live? A reflection on birthdays, church, and Genesis 45:1-15 given to Sanctuary on 16 August 2020 (Year A Proper 15) © Alison Sampson, 2020.

Becoming prisoners of hope

In the face of COVID-19 and climate catastrophe, despair feels unavoidable. Yet we are called to a different story, defined and shaped by hope. A reflection on Genesis 37 ff given to Sanctuary on 9 August 2020 (Year A Proper 14) © Alison Sampson, 2020

Neither death nor grief nor anything else can separate us from God's love

We are in a time of tremendous grief and loss; yet we are assured that neither death nor grief nor anything else can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. A response to Romans 8:26-39 given to Sanctuary on 26 July 2020 (Year A Proper 12) © Alison Sampson, 2020.

Life on the margins has its own reward

Jesus expects his disciples not only to offer hospitality, but to receive it: for it is in this mutual exchange that they will be transformed. A reflection on Matthew 10:40-42 given to Sanctuary on 28 June 2020 (Year A Proper 8) © Alison Sampson, 2020.

Dear Hagar: Letter from a white woman

The stories of Sarah and Hagar have been appropriated by white colonialism to devastating effect. A reflection on Genesis 21:8-21 given to Sanctuary, 21 June 2020 (Year A Proper 7) © Alison Sampson, 2020.
 

Welcoming the stranger, encountering the divine

Emerging from shutdown is an opportunity to recalibrate and create space and time in our lives: but for whom? A reflection on Genesis 18:1-15 given to Sanctuary, 14 June 2020 (Year A Proper 6) © Alison Sampson, 2020.

In the face of chaos, a new story

As the Black Lives Matter protests unfold, let us remember an old story, given to a people who were also invaded, removed from their land, forced into slavery and subject to state sanctioned violence.
Explanatory note: Along with many scholars, this piece assumes that the sea is an ancient symbol of chaos, and that Genesis was written during the Babylonian exile. A reflection on Genesis 1:1-2:4a given to Sanctuary, 7 June 2020 (Trinity Year A) © Alison Sampson, 2020.