Issue 26 December 2025

Parish life

Father Luke comes home

This week our church welcomed our new parish priest home.

Father Luke returned on Saturday 20 December, following a 40-day stay at the monastery, to start his new journey with the St John's congregation.

He was welcomed by the congregation on Saturday night, marking the start of his priesthood journey with the St John's congregation. He prayed his first Liturgy with us on Sunday 21 December.

Father Luke visited each Sunday School class and congratulated the students who took part in a colouring competition designed to celebrate and honour his return. The Sunday School children also made him a hand-printed banner: "Welcome back Father Luke! Love from St John's Sunday School kids."

We pray we all continue to grow as one family in Christ through Father Luke's pastoral care.

From the pulpit

Favoured by God

Fr Luke · Sermon summary · Luke 1:26–38, 21 December 2025

In today's Gospel we read of the greeting of Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. When he met her he said to her, "Hail to you, O full of grace." In other translations it is written that the angel says, "Rejoice, highly favoured one," so I thought it might be valuable to reflect on what it means to be highly favoured by God. Is that something that we desire to be?

At the end you might think that it's strange that God calls some people highly favoured and not others. We hold a belief that God loves us all the same. We are all His children, but the truth is that throughout the Scriptures, we read of people whom God calls "highly favoured."

Abraham and Joseph

When we start looking through early passages of the Bible, we see that Abraham is one of those highly favoured ones. Abraham was picked out of all the peoples. He was told to leave his father's house and to travel to a chosen land. God told Abraham that because he was highly favoured, He would make a new nation out of him, through his lineage.

We see the rewards of those who are highly favoured. Abraham was given generational blessings because of this favour. The gifts were not just given to him but to generations after him. Even in our Agpeya prayers we ask for Abraham's intercessions, to ensure our prayers are answered.

In today's age, there is pressure to build generational wealth, to create legacies and prosperity for our kids. How much do we desire generational blessing from God? How much do we observe God's word to ensure our kids are blessed by God for generations to come?

Another of those who were highly favoured by God is Joseph. Joseph was favoured among his brothers because of his obedience to God. We read in the Bible that the Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man. This concept again resurfaces to demonstrate that those who are faithful to God are blessed by Him in eternal things, but also in the temporal things of this world as well. It is, again, a calling for us to attempt to be highly favoured, in order to receive the abundant blessings that that favour can bring you and your household.

Moses and the mountain

We also see this in the example of Moses. God said to Moses, "You have found favour in My sight, and I know you by name." I know you more than those around you. The reward that Moses received was an intimate relationship with God.

We read in the book of Exodus that God guided the Israelites to the mountain to come and see Him. We see three groups of people who come to the mountain, with different levels of connection to God. All the Israelites stood at the base of the mountain and they were filled with fear. They were scared to go up any further because the glory of God was overwhelming for them. Then there were the select few, like Joshua and Aaron, who made it to the second level of the mountain, so they saw the glory of God a little more than those at the base. Then there was Moses, who went all the way to the peak of the mountain and spent 40 days with God. We read in Exodus that God spoke to Moses face to face, as with His friend. We learn that God would reveal things to Moses for the remainder of his life that God wouldn't ordinarily reveal to others.

The disciples are a New Testament example of God's favoured people. There were three who were especially close: Peter, James and John. They got to witness the Transfiguration. They got to witness the prayers in the garden of Gethsemane.

It's up to us

The question for all of us today is: do we have a desire in our heart to be one of God's favourites? Do we ask God for our family to be favoured by God?

The answer to that question is, it's up to us. God doesn't pre-select; He invites us all to follow a calling in order to find favour with Him. We need to desire it in order to earn it. Just like His disciples, the select three chose to stay close to Him.

We read about St Mary in today's Gospel. St Mary is venerated higher than all the saints. She sits at the right hand of His glory. Mary was favoured by God because her parents made a conscious choice to devote her life to God. She was put in the temple at the age of three. There, she developed all of the qualities that God valued. It's a lesson for all of us to continue to bring our kids to church, to ensure they are rooted in the church from a young age. This is what encourages them to live virtuous lives.

When I was at the monastery in Egypt, there were five other priests who were doing their training alongside me. One of them was praying his first Liturgy. At the end of it, the new priest is given a blessing, and as he was walking around, a mum who was holding her three-year-old and her baby proclaimed loudly, "I wish to see you grow up to be a saint." She was inspired by what was happening, and this moved her. We often seek worldly comforts and success for our kids, but their holiness isn't always a priority, if it ranks at all.

I hope today's Gospel reminds us of the mission and the mindset to seek to be among God's favourites. There is no quest more important than this for us and our families.

Glory be to God. Amen.

Humans of St John's

Meet Father Luke

Meet Father Luke, who now calls St John's Church his home. Father Luke is the son of our beloved Father Jonathan at St Mark's Church. He is married, and a father of three beautiful children.

Father Luke says Psalm 91:14–16 has always been very close to his heart:

It's hard to think of anything we truly need beyond these promises. When we set our love, focus and priority on God, He is faithful to give us all of this, and more. We should never doubt that God desires to give His children the very best of everything.

He says it's hard to name one thing he loves about St John's but, to be helpful, named a few. "Firstly, the children and the joy they have when at church. Secondly, I love how welcoming it is here, and no one feels out of place. Finally, there's the fellowship: that we're all on the same journey, learning to know and live in Christ more deeply."

Father Luke will serve our congregation weekly on Sundays, but he will also be joining the fathers at the Wednesday morning Liturgies, the fortnightly Thursday Liturgies and the mothers meeting. He'd love the congregation to know he's available mid-week for a coffee or a walk, so please get in touch through the church office or the St John's app to set this up.

Overall, he says he's "so excited to serve in this amazing place alongside the fathers and servants. Lord willing, I'd love to visit every family in their homes in the next period, to get to know you and your families more. Please pray for me and all the church servants always!"

Parish life

Noticeboard