Weekly Podcasts

The Common Good is an ideal we appeal to as citizens, but what does it mean in a distinctively public and political space, a space guaranteed by laws and even by force if necessary? Is there a way of thinking about the common good as a political concept, and how might Christians be involved in this? In this podcast, I am joined by Paul Billingham, Associate Professor of Political Theory at Oxford, to discuss the Common Good in our political and religious life.

An interview between the Revd Dr William Lamb, Vicar of the University Church and the Revd Canon Dr Jessica Martin about the upcoming Bampton Lectures 2021. The Bampton Lectures have been delivered at the University Church since 1780. The Bampton Lecturer this year is Dr Jessica Martin, who has been Canon Residentiary at Ely Cathedral since 2016, after 6 years as Priest-in-charge of a multi-parish benefice in South Cambridgeshire. Before that, she was Fellow in English at Trinity College, Cambridge, where her research focus was on early modern piety and the early history of literary biography. Dr Martin's title for this year's Bampton Lectures is Four-Dimensional Eucharist. She will be thinking about the eucharist both as sacrament and as ritual theatre, and asking some unusual questions of it. She will be considering its physicality in a time of increasing online presence, the abiding Christian tension between presence and absence it already contains, and its efficacy in a modern culture which veers unstably between scepticism and enchantment. Her range of reference will be wide, reaching from fantasy genres and virtual reality to Eucharistic theology and the anthropology of ritual. The first two lectures on Tue 11 May, will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel. The last two, on Tue 18 May, will be a hybrid event, in the University Church and livestreamed on our YouTube channel. Register here: https://www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk/content/bampton-lectures

The ‘common good' is a powerful and evocative phrase, drawing us towards those aims and ideals that we share together. We hear politicians and leaders invoke it – and we often pray for it in church. But what the common good might mean is far from straightforward, especially when we know that all human beings are unique and there are many different ideas of what is good and fulfilling. Given this complexity and diversity, how do we find what is common, how can we come to agreement on things that matter to us, but without sacrificing our individuality? And what role can churches play in helping – or hindering – the search for the common good?  This term we will be exploring these issues in a series of podcasts and discussions, starting this Wednesday at 8pm on Zoom and continuing on 24 February and 10 March. This week, I will be joined by Mariëtta van der Tol, who is a constitutional theorist and Alfred Landecker postdoctoral fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government. She was also recently Licensed as a Lay Minister in the Church of England.  To start the series off, Mariëtta and I have recorded a short podcast. In it we talk about approaching the 'common good' through a genuine conversation about the kind of society we want to live in, and we discuss why it's so important to include all members of society in that conversation.

Our second podcast, on ‘Reconciliation and the Common Good' is an interview with Matthew Murphy, a recent history graduate and now an intern to the bishop of Coventry. Coventry cathedral has had a powerful ministry of reconciliation since the end of the Second World War and Matthew explains why this is still important today. We discuss the ways in which practices of reconciliation can contribute to a broader understanding of the common good, and the role of Christianity in this.

The University Church Choir sings Palestrina's Stabat Mater. In this medieval hymn, we contemplate the grief of Mary standing at the foot of the cross. On Good Friday, these words challenge us to reach out in compassion to all those whose hearts are broken.

‘Christ's Seven Last Words' is a production of the University Church in Oxford, featuring Professor Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity, which will be released each evening throughout Holy Week. In this seventh and final episode, Professor Graham Ward reflects on the words, ‘Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. Music sung by the University Church Choir. Sound design by Ana-Maria Niculcea As I said, there is one final step, one final last word. It is not in the Gospel of John, just as the cry of dereliction and abandonment – “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” – is not in John, nor in Luke. Though it is Luke that records the final deliverance from suffering and the final word: “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” This committal is a profoundly Trinitarian act: the Son returning His life to the Father through the Sprit. It shows that all the Godhead is involved in the crucifixion, as all the Godhead was involved in creation and its redemption, the incarnation and the resurrection. We overhear a voiced intra-Trinitarian prayer that reveals the operations of a love that is sacrificial surrender. It is a surrender into silence, for the Word now falls silent. But in that prayer, as in that silence and through that final deliverance, there is a reconciliation. If, citing the psalm, the earlier words of Christ's forsakenness by God invokes the abyssal difference and distance between creation and its uncreated Creator, then with this prayer there is an incomprehensible crossing of that difference and distance. Something is deepened about God being with us, first announced in Emmanuel and the Bethlehem birth. This is not a departure from that presence: God is with us through the whole of Holy Saturday and the silence of the Word. The death of God, here, is not the abandonment of the world to its own wretchedness. It is rather the bringing of the world into the plenitude of that presence. This is the dilation of God for a new birthing. As the resurrected Christ in Matthew's Gospel says, “I am with you always.” He is not with us materially, except in and through the work of the church as the body of Christ, the distributor of the sacraments, the proclaimer of the Word down through the tradition and its continual meditation upon the Scriptures, and its work among the sick, the poor, the imprisoned and the oppressed. Christ enters an eternal rest, which is also our eternal rest. But the labouring of His presence remains, and we are participants in that labouring: the body has to be taken down from the cross, the dead have to be buried, the bereaved have to be comforted, new creatures will be born, new joys registered and the rearing and formation of these children begins. What remains, what will always remain, even on the day of resurrection, is the drama and gravitas of the cross. It remains as a perpetual memory, returning almost like trauma, with every suffering, persecution, betrayal, hostility and domination. It is the meek, Jesus tells us, who will inherit the earth. And meekly He completes that salvation, known in God since the foundation of the world. He bows His head. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” And, according to Matthew, at “that moment the curtain of the Temple was torn from top to bottom. There was an earthquake, the rocks split, and the graves were opened.” This upheaval is a beginning, not an end.

‘Christ's Seven Last Words' is a production of the University Church in Oxford. For more information, visit www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk' In this sixth episode, Professor Graham Ward reflects on the words, ‘It is finished' Music sung by the University Church Choir. Sound design by Ana-Maria Niculcea It is in the silence that we hear Christ's fifth word from the cross: “I thirst”. We know what it is for a human being to thirst, taking even sour wine to moisten parched lips. A physiological account might be given here of a dying man, his arms pinned back on a cross in the heat of the day. But in contemplating the cross on Good Friday we are not trying somehow to get back to an event in the past and feel sorry, either for ourselves or even Jesus. Most especially, in reflecting upon the cross, we are seeking to enter more deeply into the work that Christ came and did on and through His crucifixion. If we grieve for our waywardness and tepid forms of love, then we are moved so we might be formed more deeply by Christ and conform more closely in imitation of Christ, like the beloved disciple. So, what is it for God to thirst? My answer follows from the gathering in that I spoke about with the penitent thief and the birthing of a new community with the interchanges between Christ, his mother and John. God longs to take into Godself, into the body of Christ, the whole of creation. The thirst is for righteousness: to turn the sour wine offered on a sponge into a new eucharistic vintage. This is a strange incorporation of all things into himself, a birthing that takes place by returning all that has been given life into his body. Coming to Jesus at night, Nicodemus asks “How can a man be born when he is old? How can he enter again into his mother's womb?” The great reversal of life and its processes as we know them, begins on the cross as we die with Christ to be born again in Christ into eternal life. Everything in redemption turns upon this incorporation; the satisfaction in God of the thirst that “all may be one even as we are one”, as Jesus prays earlier to the Father. “I in you and you in me.” Nothing but everything can quench this thirst in God for that which came from God out of nothing and its reconciliation. In the quenching of that thirst is the final overthrow and judgement of all violences, hatreds, enmities, jealousies, angers, oppressions, fears – everything that would tear apart the body of Christ, everything that put Christ on the cross from the moment his ministry began; for Luke and Matthew, from the moment Christ was born. God thirsts for our salvation. God longs from the cross for our approach. God in Christ draws us to Himself by being strung up as the crucified one, the one who lays his life down that we might have all our own longings, lustings, thirstings, desirings and lovings reformed by the love and longing of God for us, because, ultimately, what we thirst for is what God thirsts for: that we might be one.

‘Christ's Seven Last Words' is a production of the University Church in Oxford, featuring Professor Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity, which will be released each evening throughout Holy Week. In this fifth episode, Professor Graham Ward reflects on the words, ‘“I thirst' Music sung by the University Church Choir. Sound design by Ana-Maria Niculcea It is in the silence that we hear Christ's fifth word from the cross: “I thirst”. We know what it is for a human being to thirst, taking even sour wine to moisten parched lips. A physiological account might be given here of a dying man, his arms pinned back on a cross in the heat of the day. But in contemplating the cross on Good Friday we are not trying somehow to get back to an event in the past and feel sorry, either for ourselves or even Jesus. Most especially, in reflecting upon the cross, we are seeking to enter more deeply into the work that Christ came and did on and through His crucifixion. If we grieve for our waywardness and tepid forms of love, then we are moved so we might be formed more deeply by Christ and conform more closely in imitation of Christ, like the beloved disciple. So, what is it for God to thirst? My answer follows from the gathering in that I spoke about with the penitent thief and the birthing of a new community with the interchanges between Christ, his mother and John. God longs to take into Godself, into the body of Christ, the whole of creation. The thirst is for righteousness: to turn the sour wine offered on a sponge into a new eucharistic vintage. This is a strange incorporation of all things into himself, a birthing that takes place by returning all that has been given life into his body. Coming to Jesus at night, Nicodemus asks “How can a man be born when he is old? How can he enter again into his mother's womb?” The great reversal of life and its processes as we know them, begins on the cross as we die with Christ to be born again in Christ into eternal life. Everything in redemption turns upon this incorporation; the satisfaction in God of the thirst that “all may be one even as we are one”, as Jesus prays earlier to the Father. “I in you and you in me.” Nothing but everything can quench this thirst in God for that which came from God out of nothing and its reconciliation. In the quenching of that thirst is the final overthrow and judgement of all violences, hatreds, enmities, jealousies, angers, oppressions, fears – everything that would tear apart the body of Christ, everything that put Christ on the cross from the moment his ministry began; for Luke and Matthew, from the moment Christ was born. God thirsts for our salvation. God longs from the cross for our approach. God in Christ draws us to Himself by being strung up as the crucified one, the one who lays his life down that we might have all our own longings, lustings, thirstings, desirings and lovings reformed by the love and longing of God for us, because, ultimately, what we thirst for is what God thirsts for: that we might be one.

‘Christ's Seven Last Words' is a production of the University Church in Oxford, featuring Professor Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity, which will be released each evening throughout Holy Week. In this fourth episode, Professor Graham Ward reflects on the words, ‘“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Music sung by the University Church Choir. Sound design by Ana-Maria Niculcea Nowhere is the solitude of Christ more pronounced than in his fourth words from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You leave the world naked, stripped to the very core of who you are, because our deaths are most poignantly and particularly our own. No one else can experience our deaths; only us. Whatever the stories surrounding Mary's death, whatever the rumours among the early church that John “would not die”, mentioned in the closing pages of the Gospel, they and they alone will experience their isolated deaths. We can watch another person die, hold their hand, close their eyes, but we cannot die for them. Here we leave to memory all our assumed importance, for some even our dignity. As Christ did also. But we die in Christ and, as the words to the penitent thief disclose, we will be with Him - having passed through the termination of our time in the world. But the dereliction remains real. Yes, in this cry from the cross, Christ is citing a psalm, even fulfilling a psalm, but here we are also overhearing an exchange between Father and Son. We are interlopers of an inner Trinitarian address, the meaning of which we cannot grasp. Some unimaginable abyss opens within the Godhead and we can only gasp at its depths. They are incomprehensible and we cannot go there into an exchange far, far more profound than the interchange between Christ as his mother. It is not a matter of gender, though the language is gendered. It is a matter of origin: of the only begotten and the one who begat him (to use language that sounds antiquated, but I know no other). Something is opened for us, some new and awful intimacy in Trinitarian relations, quite different from the prayers to God that Jesus utters as part of the Farewell speeches recording in John's Gospel or the agony in the garden of Gethsemane. Abandonment? How can that be possible? It is something about love's encounter with death that gathers into that cry the cries of all those who must die with words on their tongues and faith in their hearts. A moment of panic? Is that possible? A night descends far darker than any night we can experience on earth, like the night from out of which creation itself was birthed. “Do not go gently into that good night… Rage, rage against the dying of the light”, Dylan Thomas wrote. But here the words of Christ are forked lightning illuminating, momentarily, the vast chasm between God and creation. It is far, far more vast and dark than the suffering of being crucified, mocked, and violated by others – all the consequences of sin. But there is a passage beyond and into being “with me in paradise”. There is a passage through this dark abandonment. Is Christ as mediator going before us, opening some stargate into oblivion? The ‘Why' in this fourth of Christ's seven last words articulates this unanswerable question, while upon its answer lies every possibility of meaning to our lives and for our redemption. We are humbled by it; ashamed by our own ignorance. We are silenced.

‘Christ's Seven Last Words' is a production of the University Church in Oxford, featuring Professor Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity, which will be released each evening throughout Holy Week. In this third episode, Professor Graham Ward reflects on the words, ‘Woman, behold your Son'. Music sung by the University Church Choir. Sound design by Ana-Maria Nicu With Christ's words of a welcome into paradise to the penitent thief, something new begins at the very apex of Christ's suffering: a new gathering. Following the Last supper there is a great fragmentation. The embryonic church receiving the first eucharistic sacrament is scattered, not sent out into the world. But now Christ gathers at the cross, his body upon that cross, a new community. “You will be with me” opens a new inclusion within himself, and new incorporation and shared identity. This is now extended in this third of Christ's words: “Woman, behold your son…behold your mother.” This is a rich few words, dense with mystery for an understanding of church. I can only touch upon what is manifestly manifold here. For, at its heart, it is the birth of the church that is spoken of. In her bereavement and loss, Mary, who gave birth to God with us, is given a new son by her son, and John, as disciple, is grafted into the genealogy of the divine. But there is something further. The disciple interchanges with the Christ. He takes upon himself, though not upon his own authority but through the Word of Christ, an adoptive sonship. He becomes an imitatio Christi, a modelling of Christ in the world, a new birth not of the will of the flesh, but through the love of God. He becomes protector, nurturer. Here is something profound, and by profound I mean something that is to be contemplated over and over that we might understand ourselves as hidden with Christ in God. This profundity is signalled by the repetition ‘behold'. For with ‘behold' comes the command, the demand, to gaze into and reflect upon both the mystery of the incarnation and the mystery of redemption – simultaneously. To the mother of God is revealed the meaning of the incarnation, understood prophetically in the Magnificat: that the Messiah came to redeem through the birthing of a new community. To the beloved disciple is revealed the meaning of redemption: to live as Christ in the world, incorporated into God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And at the very centre of that beholding stands the cross, the suffering of Christ by the world, for the world (all those people, powers, and institutional dominions that put him there). The work of salvation begins, not by taking either Mary or John out of the world, but placing them both within the very brokenness and violence of that world which the crucifixion brings to light. And the means by which this interchange, identification and newly birthed gathering takes place is love: of mother and son, of son and disciple, of son and mother. The identification is not just with the glorified and raised up Christ. The contemplation of ‘behold' is not just an entering into the mystical and beatified body. The identification upon which we are commanded to contemplate is also with the suffering and humiliation of Christ crucified. “From that hour the disciple took the mother into all that was his own” and Christ is left alone.

‘Christ's Seven Last Words' is a production of the University Church in Oxford, featuring Professor Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity, which will be released each evening throughout Holy Week. In this second episode, Professor Graham Ward reflects on the words, ‘This day you will be with me in paradise'. Music sung by the University Church Choir. Sound design by Ana-Maria Niculcea Like the Prodigal Son among the swineherd, all inheritance spent, we are recalled to ourselves by the thief on the Cross and Christ's words to him: “This day you will be with me in paradise.” We know something about what we are, though far less about what we will be, and we don't know what paradise is. We have echoes of a mythic garden in Eden or the city coming down from heaven. We have dreamt ancient dreams and every laid-out and well-tended garden, woodland silence, sunset sea and frosted mountain leaves traces of a delightful beauty. But each culture imagines what is paradisial differently, or reads into the Biblical accounts familiar, though idealised, scenes. It is the transit from one realm and situation to another that speaks from the Cross. The transit from the physical and mental agony of being crucified to some place of eternal delights in which violence and violation cease. We are caught in the very moment of transition, not just between the present and the future, but an axial moment in created time and the eternal. But there is something also about judgement here: the criminal who, on his own account, deserved his punishment and Christ, the just one, the one alone who is without sin. There is a new justice manifest here; a divine justice revealed in the very face of both human injustice (against Christ) and the justified punishment of the thief. And who knows what led the thief to steal? Sin is exposed, even acknowledged and forgiveness comes through an intercession between Christ as Son and the divine Father. We have no understanding of what is involved in that exchange between Father and Son such that eternal forgiveness is possible. The forgiveness is and will always remain a mystery in which the first word from the Cross echoes: “they know not what they do.” For all the decisiveness of human practices of justice and the meeting out of punishment, there is a profound ignorance and only one who can be truly said to be innocent. So many unknowns about our human condition are staged here in the final moments on the Cross: the truth about where we are going and what we have done, the righteousness or unrighteousness of all our acts, singly and collectively. What is certain is the love that forgives and our eternal presence with Christ. Christ with us is paradise. It's as if one day, beyond our deaths, we will awake, open our eyes and have to ask “what was that all about?” We are not the ultimate controllers of our destiny, or the destiny of anybody else either. “This day you will be with me in paradise” – and then we will understand. We will know even as we are known.

‘Christ's Seven Last Words' is a production of the University Church in Oxford, featuring Professor Graham Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity, which will be released each evening throughout Holy Week. In this first episode, Professor Graham Ward reflects on the words, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do'. Music sung by the University Church Choir. Sound design by Ana-Maria Niculcea The first of the seven last words: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” 1. There were many people at the foot of the Cross: believers, non-believers, and functionaries carrying out the execution. Christ speaks from His elevated position to the world below Him, his family, his friends and those who have come to taunt. He is never more exposed as strung up on that cross, and neither is the gospel. And yet, even in this event, most particularly in this event, His work as the Mediator between creation and the Creator is dramatically and painfully revealed. This is who He is: the one who mediates. This is what the gospel is: salvation in and through that mediation that now, as if in some moment of tortured rest, arrives at the final stages of its completion. The inner rhythm of His intercession, to us, to God, to us again and back to God is revealed. It wraps the world in a call and response in which all things are submitted to their final, divinised consummation. But the coronation is by thorns. The Word itself is crucified, and we are left with meditating on this last day in which Christ's suffering and exaltation are inseparable. I like to think I'm one of the disciples. I like to think I would be among the women at the foot of the cross. We all do. But I am not. I am exposed in Christ's exposure, and what are revealed is not the endless repetition of little misdemeanours, but the scars I still bear of my deepest betrayals. And always these are betrayals of love; wounds I inflicted that were not loving and that did not keep faith. We know them, the deep ones, because they are unforgettable. We live with certain levels of selfishness and certain levels of compromise, but our human frailty, its pettiness and even banality, is not what I am talking about. I'm talking about those occasions in which I acted, in which I perpetrated, something I cannot forgive myself for doing. We try to rewrite the story, we might even have the opportunity of saying sorry, but the shame does not go away. It won't go away. On the cross, Christ speaks the first of his seven words: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” But the things of which I speak were not done in ignorance and forgiveness is not a disinfecting wipe that cleans them away. Forgiving is not forgetting. The wounds will remain, remembered, even when forgiveness by Christ has been received. Just as the wounds on Christ's body from the crucifixion are not erased with His resurrection. Forgiveness enables us to live with and through them, that we might understand what salvation is and isn't. If it is a restoring to wholeness, then it is not our human understanding of wholeness. Being healthy, young, fit and well-proportioned is a human projection of wholeness. On the cross, Christ mediates for us a salvation in God that transfigures our human views of mental and physical perfection. We come to the cross bearing what we are, and the wounds are part of that. Through them we too are exalted. In some way. We will never have the security and consolation of closure. But redemption works with that and through that. The cross is the ultimate mediation between creation and our Creator.

The practice of delivering University Sermons dates back to the earliest days of the University. Each year eminent men and women from many different traditions are invited by the Vice-Chancellor to deliver sermons ‘before the University'. The University's motto from Psalm 27, Dominus illuminatio mea (The Lord is my light), captures something of its purpose: an occasion for the illumination of the mind in the context of prayer. Today, these sermons occur at the University Church and in College Chapels across the University. Every year during Hilary Term, an Intercollegiate Service takes place at the University Church as members of different Colleges gather together at St Mary's for a University Sermon. This year, we are unable to gather, but we are very grateful that the Revd Dr Sam Wells, the Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, has recorded his University Sermon, which is presented here as a podcast with recordings from many different Colleges of the University. Introit Vaughan-Williams, The Souls of the Righteous, The Queen's College Welcome The Revd Julia Baldwin, Chaplain Brasenose College Collect The Revd Susannah Reide, Precentor University Church Hymn There's a wideness in God's mercy (t. Corvedale), University Church Choir Reading 1 Cor 15.12-19 read by Aaron James, Christ Church Anthem Tallis, If ye love me, Brasenose College Reading Vassar Miller ‘To Jesus on Easter' read by Constance Everett-Pite Corpus Christi College Reading John 14.1-6, read by The Revd Sarah Farrow, Chaplain Mansfield College Sermon The Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields Anthem Aaron King, Lux Aeterna, Hertford College Prayers Chase Mizzell Harris Manchester College Anthem Shepherd, The Lord's Prayer, Magdalen College Blessing The Revd Dr William Lamb, Vicar University Church Voluntary Bach's Fantasia in G (BWV 572), played by Alastair Stone Pembroke College The anthem 'Lux aeterna' was composed by Aaron King in memory of Rafa Baptista, member of Hertford College Chapel Choir, who died in April 2017. Producer: Ana-Maria Niculcea, Communications, Learning and Outreach Officer

Welcome to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford. We are delighted that you have joined us today for our service of Holy Eucharist. The Revd Susannah Reide is presiding and the Revd Dr William Lamb is preaching.

Meditations on Mark Mark's gospel is almost certainly the earliest of the canonical gospels. It was once regarded as the simplest and most straightforward account of the ministry of Jesus. With its breathless pace, ‘And then Jesus said… and then he went….and immediately….' Mark presents a series of events in quick succession. The order appears to be almost random, and yet on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is a work of considerable literary sophistication. The interpretation of Mark has become the source of fascination to commentators: for some, Mark's focus is Christological, exploring the identity of Jesus Christ; for others, it is eschatological, emphasising the imminence of Jesus' proclamation that 'the Kingdom of God is at hand'; some scholars emphasise the pastoral or missionary accent of the text, while others focus on the way in which the text has been shaped by the politics and social issues of its day. In these podcasts, Will Lamb provides an overview of contemporary scholarship while paying close attention to the exegesis of Mark's text. These meditations are designed to enrich our reading of Mark as we explore the gospel in the course of the liturgical year. 6. What's in an ending? (Mark 16.1-8) In this sixth and final episode, we are invited to meditate on Mark's mysterious ending.

Meditations on Mark Mark's gospel is almost certainly the earliest of the canonical gospels. It was once regarded as the simplest and most straightforward account of the ministry of Jesus. With its breathless pace, ‘And then Jesus said… and then he went….and immediately….' Mark presents a series of events in quick succession. The order appears to be almost random, and yet on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is a work of considerable literary sophistication. The interpretation of Mark has become the source of fascination to commentators: for some, Mark's focus is Christological, exploring the identity of Jesus Christ; for others, it is eschatological, emphasising the imminence of Jesus' proclamation that 'the Kingdom of God is at hand'; some scholars emphasise the pastoral or missionary accent of the text, while others focus on the way in which the text has been shaped by the politics and social issues of its day. In these podcasts, Will Lamb provides an overview of contemporary scholarship while paying close attention to the exegesis of Mark's text. These meditations are designed to enrich our reading of Mark as we explore the gospel in the course of the liturgical year. 5. The place called Golgotha (Mark 15.22-39) In the fifth episode, we reflect on Mark's account of the passion of Christ.

Meditations on Mark Mark's gospel is almost certainly the earliest of the canonical gospels. It was once regarded as the simplest and most straightforward account of the ministry of Jesus. With its breathless pace, ‘And then Jesus said… and then he went….and immediately….' Mark presents a series of events in quick succession. The order appears to be almost random, and yet on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is a work of considerable literary sophistication. The interpretation of Mark has become the source of fascination to commentators: for some, Mark's focus is Christological, exploring the identity of Jesus Christ; for others, it is eschatological, emphasising the imminence of Jesus' proclamation that 'the Kingdom of God is at hand'; some scholars emphasise the pastoral or missionary accent of the text, while others focus on the way in which the text has been shaped by the politics and social issues of its day. In these podcasts, Will Lamb provides an overview of contemporary scholarship while paying close attention to the exegesis of Mark's text. These meditations are designed to enrich our reading of Mark as we explore the gospel in the course of the liturgical year. 4. A Costly Discipleship (Mark 10.32-45) In the fourth episode, we turn from Galilee to face Jerusalem. Jesus predicts his passion three times, and challenges his followers to think about the cost of discipleship.

Meditations on Mark Mark's gospel is almost certainly the earliest of the canonical gospels. It was once regarded as the simplest and most straightforward account of the ministry of Jesus. With its breathless pace, ‘And then Jesus said… and then he went….and immediately….' Mark presents a series of events in quick succession. The order appears to be almost random, and yet on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is a work of considerable literary sophistication. The interpretation of Mark has become the source of fascination to commentators: for some, Mark's focus is Christological, exploring the identity of Jesus Christ; for others, it is eschatological, emphasising the imminence of Jesus' proclamation that 'the Kingdom of God is at hand'; some scholars emphasise the pastoral or missionary accent of the text, while others focus on the way in which the text has been shaped by the politics and social issues of its day. In these podcasts, Will Lamb provides an overview of contemporary scholarship while paying close attention to the exegesis of Mark's text. These meditations are designed to enrich our reading of Mark as we explore the gospel in the course of the liturgical year. 3. The Mystery of the Kingdom (Mark 4.10-20) In the third episode, we examine the tension between concealment and revelation in the gospel, and the way in which Mark uses parables in order to help us to see the extraordinary beyond the ordinary.

Meditations on Mark Mark's gospel is almost certainly the earliest of the canonical gospels. It was once regarded as the simplest and most straightforward account of the ministry of Jesus. With its breathless pace, ‘And then Jesus said… and then he went….and immediately….' Mark presents a series of events in quick succession. The order appears to be almost random, and yet on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is a work of considerable literary sophistication. The interpretation of Mark has become the source of fascination to commentators: for some, Mark's focus is Christological, exploring the identity of Jesus Christ; for others, it is eschatological, emphasising the imminence of Jesus' proclamation that 'the Kingdom of God is at hand'; some scholars emphasise the pastoral or missionary accent of the text, while others focus on the way in which the text has been shaped by the politics and social issues of its day. In these podcasts, Will Lamb provides an overview of contemporary scholarship while paying close attention to the exegesis of Mark's text. These meditations are designed to enrich our reading of Mark as we explore the gospel in the course of the liturgical year. 2. Binding the Strong Man (Mark 3.20-35) In the second episode, we consider the apocalyptic imagery of the gospel, as well as the conflict and controversy which attends Mark's first few chapters.

Meditations on Mark Mark's gospel is almost certainly the earliest of the canonical gospels. It was once regarded as the simplest and most straightforward account of the ministry of Jesus. With its breathless pace, ‘And then Jesus said… and then he went….and immediately….' Mark presents a series of events in quick succession. The order appears to be almost random, and yet on closer inspection, it becomes apparent that this is a work of considerable literary sophistication. The interpretation of Mark has become the source of fascination to commentators: for some, Mark's focus is Christological, exploring the identity of Jesus Christ; for others, it is eschatological, emphasising the imminence of Jesus' proclamation that 'the Kingdom of God is at hand'; some scholars emphasise the pastoral or missionary accent of the text, while others focus on the way in which the text has been shaped by the politics and social issues of its day. In these podcasts, Will Lamb provides an overview of contemporary scholarship while paying close attention to the exegesis of Mark's text. These meditations are designed to enrich our reading of Mark as we explore the gospel in the course of the liturgical year. 1. The Beginning of the Gospel (Mark 1.1-8) In the first episode, we explore the language and imagery of Mark's Prologue and the way in which Mark introduces his challenging and unsettling story.

Jane Benyon, founder of the Oxford Community Emergency Foodbank (CEF), took part in a zoom conversation organised by the Faith in Action Group on 5 August. Referrals during the first three months of the pandemic were nearly three times those in the same period of 2019, she said. In April CEF supported over 500 families with food parcels. In March, when it became clear that a collection service was no longer safe, CEF switched to a delivery service. Within a period of two weeks, they found new volunteers to replace those who were shielding and to pack and deliver food parcels, and set up an electronic referral system. Demand is now easing off, but is expected to rise again in September and October, when people who have been furloughed may find they have lost their jobs.

As we think about spirituality and climate change, the Revd Dr Dave Bookless, the Director of Theology for A Rocha International, talks to the Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker about his role resourcing A Rocha's global family and helping Christians in many nations to think about the environment theologically.

On the Third Sunday after Trinity, we listen to Matthew 10.40-42, which speaks of the ministry of welcome and hospitality. The reflection is offered by the Revd Dr Will Lamb, our Vicar. The podcast is introduced by the Revd Alan Ramsey, Associate Priest. Welcome and Opening Prayer The Revd Alan Ramsey Hymn Come, my Way Reading Matthew 10.40-42 (Sally Duncan) Organ Interlude Sermon The Revd Dr Will Lamb Anthem Phillips, Ave Jesus Christ Prayers Dr Alison Le Cornu Blessing The Revd Alan Ramsey Organ Voluntary

This podcast includes a University Sermon and is the result of a collaboration between Magdalen College and the University Church. Prayers and readings are read by students of the University. The podcast is introduced by the Revd Dr Andrew Bowyer, the Dean of Divinity at Magdalen College, and the Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker, an Associate Priest of St Mary's.  Welcome and Opening Prayer The Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker and the Revd Dr Andrew Bowyer Hymn On this high feast day (sung by the University Church Choir) Reading Luke 1.57-88, 80 (Emma Webber) Anthem Bernard Rose, Lord I have loved the habitation of thy house (Magdalen College Choir) Sermon The Rt Revd Humphrey Southern, Principal, Ripon College Cuddesdon Anthem Edmund Rubbra, There is a spirit (Magdalen College Choir) Prayers Archie Smith and Kathryn King Anthem John Sheppard, Lord's Prayer (Magdalen College Choir) Blessing The Revd Dr Will LambVoluntary, Saint-Saens,  The Swan (Cellist: Minh-Quan Nguyen, Magdalen College).

At St Mary's today we mark the First Sunday after Trinity with a University Sermon. The podcast is introduced by the Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby and the gospel reading is read by Professor Jane Shaw, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Harris Manchester College. We welcome as our preacher Professor Helen King, Professor Emerita, The Open University. Welcome and Opening Prayer The Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby Hymn Love Divine, All Loves Excelling Reading Matthew 7.21-29 (Professor Jane Shaw) Organ Interlude Sermon Professor Helen King Anthem Harris, Faire is the Heaven Prayers Laura Roberts and Anna Dill Blessing The Vicar Organ Voluntary Rheinberger, Monologue no. 2 (Opus 162)

Today the church celebrates Trinity Sunday, which is an invitation to us to contemplate and reflect upon the mystery of the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The podcast is introduced by the Revd Alan Ramsey and the reflection is offered by the Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby, Chaplain and Fellow, Corpus Christi College Welcome and Opening Prayer The Revd Alan Ramsey Hymn How shall I sing that majesty Reading Matthew 28.16-20 (Julia Reece) Organ Interlude Sermon The Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby Anthem Sheppard, Libera nos, salva nos Prayers Lesley Sutton Blessing The Vicar Organ Voluntary Josef Rheinberger, Monologue no.10 (Opus 162)

The Feast of Pentecost is one of the great Feasts of the Christian Year, marking the fiftieth day of Eastertide. The risen Christ leaves us not comfortless – for God gives us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to bring comfort and consolation to a world in all its fragility and need. This podcast arises out of a collaboration between the University Church, the Cathedral and students from many Colleges of the University. The Revd Professor Simon Oliver, the Van Mildert Professor, University of Durham, will give a University Sermon. Welcome The Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy and the Revd Dr William Lamb Opening Prayer Professor Carol Harrison, Lady Margaret Professor Hymn O thou who camest from above (sung by the Cathedral Singers) Reading Acts 2.1-6 (The Revd Mia Smith, Chaplain, Hertford College) Anthem Grayson Ives, Listen, Sweet Dove (sung by the Choir of Magdalen College) Reading John 20.19-23 (Hannah Boron, University Church) Organ Interlude (played by James Brown, University Church) Sermon The Revd Professor Simon Oliver, University of Durham Anthem Grier, My Breath Lies Quiet (sung by the Choir of Christ Church) Prayers The Revd Clare Hayns (Chaplain, Christ Church), Thiago Alves Pinto (St Peter's), Gianni Tam-McMillan (Christ Church), Alannah Burdess (Trinity), Tom Farlow (Oriel) Blessing The Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church Organ Voluntary Duruflé, Choral varie sur le theme du Veni Creator (played by Steven Grahl, Christ Church)

The Seventh Sunday of Easter follows the Feast of the Ascension. Our celebration of Easter takes on an element of anticipation as we look forward to the Feast of Pentecost. The nine days between Ascension and Pentecost have traditionally been a period of prayer. It is from these nine days that the tradition of a ‘novena' comes. During these days we look forward to the Kingdom of God and we seek the gift of the Spirit, who will dwell in our hearts and intercede for us ‘with sighs too deep for words' (Romans 8.26). The podcast is introduced by the Vicar and we welcome the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, the Bishop of Oxford, to offer a reflection. He would have come this Sunday to preside at the Confirmation at the University Church. The prayers are led by two of our Confirmation candidates, Ben Hawkins and Georgiana Samoila.  Welcome The Revd Dr William Lamb Prayer The Collect for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Hymn All praise to thee Reading Acts 1.6-14 (Ana-Maria Niculcea) Reading John 17.1-11 (Ellie Williams) Organ Interlude Sermon The Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, the Bishop of Oxford Anthem Croft, God is gone up Prayers Ben Hawkins and Georgiana Samoila Blessing The Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft Organ Voluntary Lidon, Sonata on the First Tone

This podcast is for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. We are approaching a transitional time in the Christian year as this coming Thursday is Ascension Day, which marks that point when the Risen Christ ascends into heaven. While we may imagine that the ascension accentuates a sense of distance from God, the church offers us a passage from St John's gospel for reflection. Jesus speaks of the need ‘to abide' - to sit tight and wait for the coming of the Advocate at Pentecost. This waiting is not passive but active - as we grow in attentiveness to God's presence in the assurance of the love of the eternal Christ. The podcast is introduced by the Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby and the sermon is by the Revd Alan Ramsey. Welcome and Prayer The Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby, Chaplain, Corpus Christi CollegeHymn There's a wideness in God's mercyReading John 14.15-21 (Victoria Mort)Organ InterludeSermon The Revd Alan Ramsey, Associate PriestAnthem Duruflé, Ubi caritas et amorPrayers The Revd Donald ReeceBlessing The Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby, Chaplain, Corpus Christi CollegeOrgan Voluntary Henry Heron, Cornet Voluntary

University Sermons have been preached at St Mary's since the end of the thirteenth century. Each year preachers from a variety of different traditions are invited by the Vice-Chancellor to deliver sermons before the University of Oxford. This term, in response to the pandemic, the University Council has given permission for these sermons to be delivered as podcasts. These sermons provide an opportunity to hear thinkers from a range of disciplines and perspectives, drawing together the life of learning, spiritual discovery and the quest for truth. This week we will listen to the Commemoration Day Sermon, when the University remembers the generosity of its benefactors. We welcome as our preacher a close friend and neighbour, the Revd Canon Dr Peter Groves. Peter is the Vicar of the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford, and a Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College. The prayers and readings are led by students who worship at the University Church. The podcast is introduced by the Vicar. Welcome The Revd Dr William Lamb, Vicar Prayer The Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Easter Hymn This joyful Eastertide Reading John 14.1-14 (Laura Roberts) Organ Interlude Sermon The Revd Canon Dr Peter Groves Anthem Byrd, Alleluia. Cognoverunt discipuli Prayers Stephen Maughan and Annie Calderbank Blessing The Revd Charlotte Bannister Parker, Associate Priest Organ Voluntary William Boyce, Voluntary in A Minor

On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the gospel reading comes from John 10. This passage describes Jesus as a shepherd. It is an image with Messianic overtones, drawing on Psalm 23 ‘The Lord is my shepherd' and the shepherd ‘who will look after my sheep' in Ezekiel 34. Many of the Easter stories are characterised by confusion, mistaken identity and a failure to recognise the Risen Lord. In this meditation on Christ the good shepherd, John says that the sheep ‘hear his voice' - just as the man born blind in John 9 responds to Jesus' voice and is healed. Lazarus was dead four days but hears Jesus call him by name and comes from his tomb. Mary Magdalene, mourning the death of Jesus, hears Jesus call her name. She recognises his voice. This recognition is characterised by familiarity. It provokes a sense of safety and security. It is the starting point for enabling us to discover life in all its fulness. But this gospel story also provokes in us a question: where do we recognise the authentic voice of God today? In this podcast, we will listen to a reflection by Erica Longfellow, Dean of Divinity and Chaplain of New College. The podcast is introduced by Alan Ramsey, Associate Priest. Welcome The Revd Alan Ramsey Prayer The Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Easter Hymn Now is eternal life Reading John 10.1-10 (Peter McMullin) Organ Interlude Sermon The Revd Dr Erica Longfellow Anthem Lassus, Agnus Dei (Missa Qual Donna) Prayers Mary Lean Blessing The Revd Dr William Lamb Organ Voluntary Stanley, Allegro from Voluntary in G minor (Opus 5 no. 9)

On the Third Sunday of Easter, we continue to engage through the gospels with accounts of the Risen Christ. This Sunday is Luke's long and carefully crafted story of Jesus encounter with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The podcast is introduced by the Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby, Chaplain of Corpus Christi College, and the reflection is offered by the Revd Susannah Reide, Chaplain of Harris Manchester College. Welcome The Revd Dr Judith Maltby Prayer The Collect for the Third Sunday of Easter Hymn Now the green blade riseth Reading Luke 24.13-35 (Anna Dill) Organ Interlude Sermon The Revd Susannah Reide Anthem Byrd, O sacrum convivium Prayers Hugh Conway-Morris Blessing The Revd Dr William Lamb Organ Voluntary Mendelssohn, Prelude no.2 in G major (Opus 37)

The gospel readings during the season of Easter offer us a series of resurrection appearances. On Easter Day, we read John's account of Mary Magdalene's encounter with the risen Lord. Today, it is the turn of Thomas. One commentator has said that 'St John's record of the Resurrection corresponds with his record of the Passion. It is not simply a history, still less an exhaustive history, but a revelation of spiritual truth through outward facts. Writing in the centre of a Christian Church to those who were familiar with the historic groundwork of the Gospel, the Evangelist recounts from his own experience just those incidents which called out in the disciples the fullness of belief triumphant over personal sorrow, and common fear, and individual doubt'. When John speaks of the grief of Mary Magdalene, the fear of the disciples, and the doubt of Thomas, he is making the point that the resurrection transforms every aspect of our lives — our sorrows, our fears and our doubts. In this podcast, we will hear a reflection by the Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker, an Associate Priest of the University Church. Welcome The Revd Dr William Lamb Prayer The Collect for the Second Sunday of Easter Hymn Thine be the Glory Reading John 20.19-31 (Anne Pearsall) Organ Interlude Sermon The Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker Anthem Bairstow, Psalm 114 Prayers Margaret Chaundy Blessing The Revd Dr William Lamb Organ Voluntary Mendelssohn, Fugue no. 3 in D minor (Opus 37) The sound quality may be uneven as participants have recorded the different elements of the podcast themselves.

Easter Day is one of the great celebrations at St Mary's. At the beginning of our Easter Day service, ‘new fire' struck from flint is enkindled and blessed. From this new fire the Paschal Candle will be lit. The marvellous Exsultet is then sung, proclaiming the full meaning of the Easter mystery. Candles are lit. The whole church is filled with light. We celebrate the Eucharist together, ringing bells and clashing cymbals as the Gloria begins, and then our whole celebration of the Eucharist culminates in the singing of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. In this podcast, we listen to the Exsultet, sung by Esther Brazil, and the gospel appointed for Easter Day: John 20.1-18 read by Julia Hollander. Welcome The Revd Dr William Lamb Prayer The Collect for Easter Day (The Revd Alan Ramsey) Hymn Jesus Christ is risen today Reading John 20.1-18 (Julia Hollander) Organ Interlude Sermon The Revd Dr William Lamb Anthem Wood, Easter Carol Prayers Louise Jarvis Blessing The Revd Alan Ramsey Organ Voluntary Mendelssohn, Prelude no. 1 in C minor (Opus 37) The sound quality may be uneven as participants have recorded the different elements of the podcast themselves.

Good Friday is a sombre occasion in the life of the Christian Church, when we recall and relive the events of the day when Christ was tried, tortured, executed on a cross, and buried in a tomb. It is important to remember that Good Friday is not simply the anniversary of a past event. Although we cannot gather in church today for the Stations of the Cross, the Three Hours, and the Liturgy of Good Friday, these prayers, readings and reflections are designed to enable us to enter more deeply into the mystery of what Christ has done for us and continues to do for us. The reflection is provided by the Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby, an Associate Priest of the University Church and the Chaplain of Corpus Christi College. Welcome The Revd Dr William Lamb Prayer The Collect for Good Friday Hymn My Song is Love Unknown Reading Mark 15.25-47 (Janet Greenland) Organ Prelude Poem ‘Holy Week', Vasser Miller (1924-1998) (Tim Glover) Sermon The Revd Canon Dr Judith Maltby Anthem During, O vos omnes Prayers The Revd Dr William Lamb Organ Voluntary J S Bach, Herzlich tut mich verlangen The sound quality may be uneven as participants have recorded the different elements of the podcast themselves.

Maundy Thursday The Gospel reading appointed for Maundy Thursday is John's account of the last Supper, when he records that Jesus washed his disciples' feet and gave to his disciples a new commandment (Mandatum) that they may love one another. This evening, although we cannot share in the Eucharist together, we also pray for those who are called to imitate Christ's loving service: for some, such as healthcare workers, that may involve caring for the sick or offering practical assistance to those who are self-isolating, for others, it may mean social distancing. The Revd Dr Will Lamb will offer a reflection on this story as we are drawn into the Easter mystery. Maundy Thursday makes the beginning of the Triduum, the great three days, when we are drawn into the heart of the Christian faith.  Welcome The Revd Canon Dr Judith MaltbyPrayer Hymn Thee we adoreReading John 13.1-17, 31b-35 (Laura White)Organ PreludeSermon The Revd Dr William LambAnthem Byrd, Ave Verum Corpus  Prayers Matthew HiscockDismissal The Revd Canon Dr Judith MaltbyOrgan Voluntary Leighton, Fantasy on St Columba The sound quality may be uneven as participants have recorded the different elements of the podcast themselves. You can listen to the podcast here or by clicking the link below. If you would like to receive more details about our online pattern of worship, please use our Keeping in Touch form on our website.

Palm Sunday The Gospel reading appointed for Palm Sunday records Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21.1-11). It marks the beginning of Holy Week as we journey with Christ to Calvary. Christ enters his own city to complete his work as our Saviour, to suffer, to die and to rise again. The Revd Alan Ramsey offers a reflection on this story, as we prepare for the Triduum, the period of three days which precedes Easter Day and which will be marked by further podcasts on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day. Welcome The Revd Dr William Lamb, Vicar, including a brief reading by Jenyth Worsley Prayer The Collect for Palm Sunday Hymn All glory, laud and honour Reading Matthew 21.1-11 (Mary Lewis) Organ Prelude Sermon The Revd Alan Ramsey, Associate Priest Anthem Victoria, Pueri Hebraeorum Prayers John Olson Blessing The Revd Dr William Lamb, Vicar Organ Voluntary Kenneth Leighton, Rockingham The sound quality may be uneven as participants have recorded the different elements of the podcast themselves.

The Fifth Sunday of Lent Welcome The Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker Prayer The Collect for the Fifth Sunday of Lent Hymn O sacred head, sore wounded Reading John 11.1-45 Elisabeth Dutton Organ Prelude Sermon The Revd Dr William Lamb Anthem Farrant, Hide not thou thy face Prayers Alice Willington Blessing The Revd Dr William Lamb Organ Voluntary Ode Kenneth Leighton The sound quality may be uneven as participants have recorded the different elements of the podcast themselves.

The Fourth Sunday of Lent The Gospel reading appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Lent is the story of the man born blind in John 9. It is a long reading, but it recounts a series of encounters with characters on and off stage. It is a story which helps us to reflect on distance and presence, on encounter and relationship. The podcast ends with prayers for all those affected by Covid-19 and those seeking to provide care and support. Welcome The Revd Dr William Lamb, Vicar Prayer The Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Lent Anthem Tallis, God, grant with grace Reading John 9 (Dr Sarah Mortimer) Sermon The Revd Dr Judith Maltby, Chaplain, Corpus Christi College Anthem Parsons, Ave Maria Prayers John Olson Organ Voluntary William Boyce, Voluntary No 1 in D The sound quality may be uneven as participants have recorded the different elements of the podcast themselves.