Judith Russenberger

Seventh Sunday of Easter

17th May 2026

Reflection with readings below

“Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom” ask the disciples. It is a question I’m sure we are often tempted to ask, as we look around the world and despair. Couldn’t Jesus just wave wand or blow a trumpet, and with a flash and a bang establish instantly God’s kingdom here on Earth?

But it’s not like that. The kingdom of God has been edging its way in slowly and steadily, little by little. Prophets, like Isaiah and John the Baptist, have been calling on us to be part of process. Jesus himself announces that the kingdom is at hand, and throughout his ministry we see it emerging as the sick are healed, the possessed are freed, the hungry fed, the mournful comforted, the outcast empowered, the selfish challenged, the self righteous exposed, the greedy reformed. Act by act, step by step, we see the kingdom of God growing here in Earth. Like creation, it is an ongoing process.

This week we had the State Opening of Parliament when the King read out a speech outlining what the Government will do in this term of Parliament to ensure the wellbeing of the kingdom of Britain. Achieving that wellbeing – typically measured in GDP which is not really a measure of how well we are as individuals or as a society- is likewise an ongoing process. Whether all that is proposed will happen, is a moot point, and equally it is questionable whether all that is proposed is what is needed to ensure the common good of us all rather than the just a few. Since the King’s speech was made on Wednesday other alternatives have been put forward by, among others, Lord Blunkett and Kemi Badenoch. I’m not sure that any of these speeches and manifestos match with the bringing in of the kingdom of God.

For a manifesto for that kingdom we have, in the gospels, the Magnificat and the Beatitudes- and from more contemporary sources we have such as R S Thomas’s poem The Kingdom

It’s a long way off but inside it

There are quite different things going on:

Festivals at which the poor man

Is king and the consumptive is

Healed; mirrors in which the blind look

At themselves and love looks at them

Back; and industry is for mending

The bent bones and the minds fractured

By life. It’s a long way off, but to get

There takes no time and admission

Is free, if you will purge yourself

Of desire, and present yourself with

Your need only and the simple offering

Of your faith, green as a leaf.

Or in the writings of John Ruskin. Just today a friend sent me these words summarising his outline for the wellbeing of ‘the Workmen and Labourers of Great Britain’

to turn wasteland into food-producing plots
to protect wildlife
to educate all people in schools according to their specific needs
to open public libraries and galleries as a ‘national cultural store’ for all people.

Maybe the Church should issue its take on the King’s speech, for we as Christians are called by Jesus to be kingdom builders and to this end, are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Welcome the refugee and the migrant, ensure they become part of society and are able to make their contribution to our shared wellbeing
End the sale of weapons to the State of Israel and other states that abuse their power
Ensure all church investment, including banking, is proactively aligned with the values of the kingdom of God
Continue to promote net zero by 2030 and press the government to do likewise
To promote food security and biodiversity through example and teaching and press the Government to do likewise
Continue to redistribute wealth within the church and press the government to do likewise across society
Continue to provide and advocate for the needs of people within our local communities and across the globe, and press the government to do likewise, so that everyone’s needs are met before the wants of a few
Continue to worship and learn from the source of all true wisdom.

Acts 1:6-14

When the apostles had come together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36

1 Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; *
let those who hate him flee before him.

2 Let them vanish like smoke when the wind drives it away; *
as the wax melts at the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3 But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; *
let them also be merry and joyful.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his Name;
exalt him who rides upon the heavens; *
YAHWEH is his Name, rejoice before him!

5 Father of orphans, defender of widows, *
God in his holy habitation!

6 God gives the solitary a home and brings forth prisoners into freedom; *
but the rebels shall live in dry places.

7 O God, when you went forth before your people, *
when you marched through the wilderness,

8 The earth shook, and the skies poured down rain,
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, *
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9 You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; *
you refreshed the land when it was weary.

10 Your people found their home in it; *
in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor.

33 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; *
sing praises to the Lord.

34 He rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; *
he sends forth his voice, his mighty voice.

35 Ascribe power to God; *
his majesty is over Israel;
his strength is in the skies.

36 How wonderful is God in his holy places! *
the God of Israel giving strength and power to his people!
Blessed be God!

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

John 17:1-11

Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”

After the king’s speech

16th May 2026

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our nourishment is to do God’s will;

guide us in all we do

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of the kingdom of God.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 23:22

A reading from Luke 1: 49-53

The Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

Her mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

She has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

She has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

She has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

A response based on verses from Psalm 68

Sing to God, sing praises to the one

who has ascended to Heaven.

Rejoice aloud!

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

To the orphaned, be as good parents.

To the widowed, be as loving siblings.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

For the homeless, provide a place of safety,

For the prisoner, a place of freedom.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

Where rain is scarce, ensure live-giving water,

Where the soil is depleted, refresh its wellbeing.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of our King:

For the poor, provide positions of value,

For the hungry, provide a place at the table .

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Hear the words of the King:

For all who seek wisdom, make known the Gospel

For all who seek peace, make known the love of God.

May your kingdom come

on Earth as in Heaven.

Amen.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 43

15th May

Living simply can sometimes be demanding!

For me living simply is about making my own bread, cakes and biscuits, growing food in the garden, preserving the harvest for use during the rest of the year – making jam, chutney and pickles, bottling and drying fruit, making vinegar and maintaining a sour dough starter. In this way I hope to be closer related to the Earth, to reduce my ecological footprint, to eat more healthily, and be more resilient in the face of disruption.

I have been encouraged by further words from the Hazelnut Community:-

“When a group of people gathers to make something from what the earth provides, they are participating in the ongoing life of creation. They are receiving from the earth, working with its processes, and redistributing what is made within the community.

“Making food, preparing remedies, and preserving what has been grown are not simply functional acts. They are ways of participating in the life of a world that is held within God.” (1)

https://substack.com/home/post/p-190602804

Counting on 2026 …. Day 42

14th May

Simplicity ‘is to begin the slow work of learning how to live within limits that are not only necessary, but life-giving.’ (1)

Living simply I choose to buy less things. It is not because I seek a life of poverty but that I want to,love a life that doesn’t unnecessarily take from the Earth’s resources. For when that is done without regard and excess, the life is diminished, even destroyed – that would be poverty.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Counting on 2026 …. Day 41

12th May

‘To simplify life in a time of disruption is not to withdraw from the world. It is to re-engage it more truthfully. It is to recognise that accumulation and control, while promising security, can leave us disoriented and disconnected. It is to begin the slow work of learning how to live within limits that are not only necessary, but life-giving.’ (1)

As children we have to learn that whilst chocolate is nice, eating a pound at a time is not: it makes us feel sick. And the effect is pretty immediate. It is the same with material consumption. Buying/ owning/ stock-piling things we want – or even things the world tells us we want – in ever increasing quantities does not make us feel better. In fact in can make us sick – although the effect may not be immediate and we can loose touch with the feeling of happiness that things first gave us. We also loose touch with non consumerist pleasures – having time to talk with the people we meet; not having to rush to be first in the queue; having time to stand and stare; spending time with family; needing to spend less time cleaning and caring for our large home/ car/ portfolio; enjoying the anticipation of the first strawberry of the season; taking a siesta in the hot months; going to bed early in winter with a good book…. It is to reconnect with the seasons, with our local community, with a gentle pace of life.

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Mindful Sauntering: Embracing the moment

There is a suggestion that a saunterer is a person walking to the Holy Land, coming from the French ‘à la sainte-terre’. So let’s consider sauntering to be a form of holy or blessed walking.

The scriptures give God many names as people try to describe their encounter with the presence of holiness. Such names – or descriptions – include beloved, father, mother, midwife and shepherd; or rock, tower, shield, light and sun of righteousness. In our prayers we may talk of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit or alternatively as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

I wonder if we have our own particular name that describes our experience of the presence of holiness.

i thank You God by e e cummings

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvellous display of his craftsmanship. Day and night they keep on telling about God. Without a sound or word, silent in the skies, their message reaches out to all the world. Psalm 19:1-4a (Living Bible)

‘To pray is to walk in the full light of God, and to say simply, without holding back, ‘I am human and you are God’. Henri Nouwen

Mindful Sauntering: Pentecost

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” Cynthia Occelli

Pentecost was in origin an agricultural festival celebrating the harvest of the abundance that each grain, sown in the spring, had produced. Today, at Pentecost, we celebrate the abundant riches of the Holy Spirit.

God’s Grandeur by Gerald Manley Hopkins

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;

It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil

Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?

Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;

And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;

And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil

Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;

There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;

And though the last lights off the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.

Reaper with wheat field and sun (part thereof) by Vincent Van Gogh

As we walk under the sky and on the earth, may God the Holy Spirit enfold us. Amen.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 40

11th May

‘Simplifying life is not a one-time decision, but an ongoing practice. It requires discernment, honesty and, often, a willingness to live differently from the dominant patterns around us. It also requires community. These shifts are difficult to sustain alone.’ (1)

Living any counterculture lifestyle can, by definition, be lonely. If only living simply were not counter cultural but the norm! This is where finding your community – Green Christian/ Christian Climate Action/ Hazelnut Community etc – helps

(1) https://hazelnutcommunity.substack.com/p/the-life-we-miss-while-wanting-more?r=1r0y9l

Sixth Sunday of Easter

10th May 2026

Reflection with readings below

Earlier in the discourse that is recorded in John’s Gospel (chapter 13:4) Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment that they love one another, and this is presumably why Jesus is referring to in today’s reading when he says, ‘If you love me, keep my commandments.’

We are called to love Jesus who is God, and we are called to love one another – and if we hear the words of Paul in Acts, one another becomes not just the person next to me, nor just fellow human beings, but all of creation. For in all that has been created, dwells God. If we love God, we cannot but love all God has created and in whom we have our being.

To love is surely the totality of Christianity.

Yet we seem to live in a world full of hate. And if I am honest, loving everyone all the time is a hard challenge. In the letter of Peter we hear that baptism is not about washing away dirt – sins – but about creating within us a good conscience, a reminder – an alarm system even – that will prompt us to do what it right, to inhabit love. I guess like all alarm systems, we can ignore it. We can with practice, blank it out and not hear it. But conversely we can practice paying attention to our conscience so that inhabiting love becomes the norm. And we don’t do this alone. We have the Holy Spirit as our advocate – the one who can help us see the problem, can help us choose the best response, can strengthen our actions.

Equally we should not forget that far outweighing our efforts to love, is God’s love for us. That love encompasses all that exists. That love cares deeply for every single being including those of us who still have hate within us. And God’s love will always far exceeds what we need for its is endless and eternal.

Acts 17:22-31

Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,

‘For we too are his offspring.’

Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Psalm 66:7-18

7 Bless our God, you peoples; *
make the voice of his praise to be heard;

8 Who holds our souls in life, *
and will not allow our feet to slip.

9 For you, O God, have proved us; *
you have tried us just as silver is tried.

10 You brought us into the snare; *
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

11 You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water; *
but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

12 I will enter your house with burnt-offerings
and will pay you my vows, *
which I promised with my lips
and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble.

13 I will offer you sacrifices of fat beasts
with the smoke of rams; *
I will give you oxen and goats.

14 Come and listen, all you who fear God, *
and I will tell you what he has done for me.

15 I called out to him with my mouth, *
and his praise was on my tongue.

16 If I had found evil in my heart, *
the Lord would not have heard me;

17 But in truth God has heard me; *
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

18 Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, *
nor withheld his love from me.

1 Peter 3:13-22

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you– not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

John 14:15-21

Jesus said, ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”

Love overcomes hate

9th May 2026

Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:8

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Matthew 5:43-47 (The Message)

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. She gives her best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

Hate or love?

Hate smoulders and burns.

It reduces cheer to ash and clinker..

Love soothes the flaming rage,

And untangles twisted thoughts.

Hate rides roughshod over compassion.

It disregards the truth.

Love reads between the lines,

And hears the hidden words of hope..

Hate erects rigid boundaries.

It ring-fences every option.

Love sees beyond the corner,

And stretches out new horizons.

Hate casts an evil guise over every action.

It masks every sign of joy.

Love lifts the veil,

And finds the hidden virtue.

Hate feeds on anger.

Its rapacious appetite knows no limit.

Love expands with humility,

And grows with easy care.

Hate is all consuming –

Till nothing true remains.

Love is all consuming –

Till only truth remains.

Prayers

Holy God of love,

Heal the wounds where hate festers.

Renew our trust in one another.

Holy God of love,

Remove the log that blinds the eye.

Restore our vision of the world aright.

Holy God of love,

Open the ears that are stopped.

Retune our understanding of forgiveness.

Holy God of love,

Cut through warfare and vengeance –

In streets and cities in the UK.

In Palestine and in Isreal.

In Lebanon.

In Iran and in the USA.

In North Sudan.

In Ukraine and in Russia.

Cut through war and vengeance –

wherever it is found.

Replant the seeds of peace,

Water them with love,

with compassion,

sustain them with justice,

and feed them with vigorous determination.

The Lord’s Prayer