Judith Russenberger

Fourth Sunday After Trinity, Proper 10

13th July 2025

Reflection with readings below

“As we seek to… be faithful to our baptism, let us reflect on what challenges to our faithfulness and integrity the coming hours may bring, and pause respectfully before the many unknowns of our future.” – from the book of Uncommon Prayer.

Today’s gospel has the famous story of the Good Samaritan but the story begins not with the Samaritan but with a lawyer who wants to a) outwit Jesus, and b) to demonstrate his own righteousness. The conversation proceeds – and in this Gospel’s telling of the story, it is Jesus’s protagonist who declares that the Law – the means to eternal life – is summed up in the two commandments that you should love God with all your being and love your neighbour as yourself. The lawyer (perhaps because he is a lawyer) wants to tease out the scope of these commands and so asks ‘Who is my neighbour?’

But Jesus, rather than answering the question, invites the young man to consider what it is to be a good neighbour. For what the lawyer must do to be a good neighbour is of more importance that who or who not should merit his love. In the Kingdom of God, ‘everyone is my neighbour’.

To be a good neighbour is to show mercy – ie loving kindness – to those in need.

This brings is to the questions raised by the above prayer: how might our faithfulness and integrity be challenged by the coming hours?

The first reading from Amos is all about measuring faithfulness and integrity. A plumb line is a length of string to which twine end is attached a weight. By holding the top and letting the string hang, weighed down by the weight, you have a perfectly vertical line with which you can judge whether a wall has been built true to the vertical. And if it hasn’t, then like the house built on sand in Jesus’s parable, it is going to fall down! In this passage, Amos is being asked by God to challenge the northern kingdom of Israel as to their faithfulness and integrity in building their nation in accordance with God’s ways, for God has found them to have fallen short. This failure to build properly will lead to the terminal breakdown of the nation with destruction and loss of land and buildings, and death and exile of its people.

As many protesters (modern prophets calling out the lack on integrity and action re the genocide in Gaza, the illegal settlement of Palestinian lands, climate crisis and the injustice which it highlights, biodiversity loss and the misuse of the Earth’s resources…) today know, their’s are voices that those in authority wish to silence, their’s are the causes people want to ignore, they are the individuals wrongly imprisoned, and in some countries, the ones who will be brutally murdered.

So let us pause and reflect whether we will be good neighbours today. And if we feel timid or ill-prepared, let us pray for the empowerment of God’s Spirit and the guidance of Jesus’s example.

Let us pause and reflect whether the institutions we belong to – including the church – will act with integrity. Let us pause and reflect whether our government, our nation, will act with integrity. Let us pause and reflect whether international companies and organisations will act with integrity.

And if not let us be prophet and call out the injustices we see.

Postscript

Practical ways of expressing our faith and integrity re the awful crisis affecting Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank

Pray
Become better informed about the history of Palestine
Fast in solidarity with Palestinians
Support campaign groups such as Sabeel-Kairos, Christians for Palestine, Christian Aid etc
Writing to your MP, ask for action such as banning the export of any arms to Israel, and the recognition of the Palestinian State
Boycott companies linked to the Israeli state and human rights abuses.
Donate to one of the many organisations providing aid for Palestinians, including planting olive trees
Buy Palestinian products, eg from Zaytoun

https://www.sabeel-kairos.org.uk/category/about-israelpalestine/

https://embraceme.org/fast-for-gaza

https://balfourproject.eaction.org.uk/RecognisePalestine

https://www.sabeel-kairos.org.uk/

https://www.christianaid.ie/our-work/where-we-work/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territory-iopt

https://www.facebook.com/p/Christians-for-Palestine-UK-61555041637853/

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethical-campaigns-boycotts/palestine-boycott-list

Experience the great taste of palestine

Amos 7:7-17

This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;

the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,

`Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.'”

And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, `Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

“Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.

You say, `Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

Therefore thus says the Lord:

`Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be parcelled out by line;

you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'”

Psalm 82

1 God takes his stand in the council of heaven; *
he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:

2 “How long will you judge unjustly, *
and show favour to the wicked?

3 Save the weak and the orphan; *
defend the humble and needy;

4 Rescue the weak and the poor; *
deliver them from the power of the wicked.

5 They do not know, neither do they understand;
they go about in darkness; *
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 Now I say to you, ‘You are gods, *
and all of you children of the Most High;

7 Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, *
and fall like any prince.'”

8 Arise, O God, and rule the earth, *
for you shall take all nations for your own.

Colossians 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 10:25-37

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, `Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Protest! Speak truth to power! Thanks be to God!

12th July 2025

Let there be no hate in your heart for your neighbour; but make protest to your neighbours, so that they may be stopped from doing evil. Leviticus 19:17

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to love every neighbour as ourself:

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 Luke 3: 7 – 14, 18 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptised by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’

And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptised, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’

So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

A response that we too may proclaim the good news, speaking truth to power:

Heavenly God, mother and father of all,

Hear our prayers of grief and puzzlement

as we see a world filled with hate and suffering,

a world where speaking truth is condemned,

a world where money and profit hold sway.

In your mercy hear our prayer

and let those in positions of power hear our cry

Heavenly God, mother and father of all,

Soften the hearts of those who inflict evil on their neighbours,

those who withhold food from the hungry,

who withhold water from the thirsty,

who withhold shelter from the homeless,

who withhold medical aid from the injured.

In your mercy hear our prayer

and let those in positions of power hear our cry

Heavenly God, mother and father of all,

Soften the hearts of those who support wrong doing,

those who license armaments that kill and maim,

those who finance military operations that target civilians,

those who facilitate operations that terrorise and displace local populations.

In your mercy hear our prayer

and let those in positions of power hear our cry

Heavenly God, mother and father of us all,

Break down the walls that divide

the world of commerce from the world of life,

that separate the pursuit of profit from the pursuit of wellbeing,

that separate the experiences of those who have from those who do not,

that separate expediency from moral imperatives.

In your mercy hear our prayer

and let those in positions of power hear our cry

Heavenly God, mother and father of all,

Enflame the hearts of those who turn away,

who choose not to see the horror,

who ignore the suffering of their fellow human and creaturely beings,

who disregard the cries for help.

In your mercy hear our prayer

and let those in positions of comfort to hear our cry

Heavenly God, mother and father of all,

Empower our hearts and minds

so that we may always pronounce the good news,

that we may always speak truth to power,

that we may always protest for the rights of the poor and forgotten,

that we may always act out of love and compassion.

Amen.

Counting on … day 107

11th July 2025

Once the jam – or peanut butter/ marmite/ olives etc – has been eat, is that the end of the road for the empty jar?

If nothing else it can be recycled. Glass is readily recycled time and time again – but there is an energy cost involved in melting and reforming the glass. Reusing the jar is a better outcome. In our kitchen jam jars are filled and emptied in a rotating cycle as jam/ marmalade/ peanut butter/ bottled fruit/ chutney/ pickles are eaten and refilled. Peanut butter comes from the refill shop; marmalade is made in January when Seville oranges are in the shops; jams, chutneys etc are made as fruits are picked in the garden or bought when gluts appear in the shops.

In an ideal world jam jars like milk bottles would be collected and reused – a better use of a ‘waste’ item.

Counting on … day 106

10th July 2025

Using waste water. Is rain water from the roof waste water or a valuable resource? Collected in a rainwater butt it is ideal for watering plants. Rainwater butts are also useful in terms of preventing flood because the flow of storm water is delayed before it enters the drainage system and therefore helps the system cope with peaks.

Mains water coming into our homes is drinking water quality. We don’t need that same quality of water with which to flush toilets. ‘Grey water’ – ie water that has been used to wash hands or shower, launder clothes, etc – is perfectly adequate for flushing toilets. Grey water is waste water that can be reused. We have a small bowl under the taps in the wash basins to collect hand wash water and a jug to empty it into. This jug of grey water is used for flushing the toilet (unless a bigger flush is needed). We also collect water in a larger bowl from the shower when waiting for the hot water.

A jug by the kitchen sink collects water from cleaning or boiling vegetables, rinsing plates etc and goes to water the garden.

Households are asked to keep a 2-3 day supply of drinking water on hand in case of emergencies. Not wanting to stock up on bottled water – which will in time have to be replaced – I keep two demijohn jars full of drinking water. I empty one (into the pond) and refill it each day so that that our emergency stock of water is constantly fresh without wasting the water.

Counting on … day 105

9th July 2025

Mend, darn and repair clothes. Ideally clothes and household fabrics will give us years of use and pleasure. And even as they wear out, they can still be of use.

Initially we can avoid waste by looking after our clothes and household fabrics will – ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ is a reminder that the sooner we restitch a broken hem or seem, or mind a tear, or darn a hole, the smaller will be the necessary repair. It can be tempting not to repair an item if it’s replacement is cheap – eg holes in socks, but we should consider not just the cost of replacement but the cost of discarding the sock. On that basis darning a hole makes even more sense. (1)

We have moved from a society that would turn collars and replace cuffs rather than buy a new shirt (2), or that would cut old sheets in half and resew, sides to the middle, to get maximum use from the sheet (3)

You can also patch clothes, sheets and even towels (4) but eventually you may get to the stage where the item is no longer useable in its present form. Then rather than being throw away waste, maybe the item can be repurposed. An old sheets and even might be transformed into a pillow slip or a pile of handkerchiefs. A towel might become a set of flannels or cleaning clothes. Old socks make good dusters or shoe polishing cloths. A t-shirt might become a duster or a pair of pants. (5)

(1) https://www.woolovers.com/page/how-to-darn-a-sock

(2) https://mathomhouse.typepad.com/bluestocking/2016/11/turning-shirt-collars.html

(3) https://forum.lettucecraft.com/t/turning-a-sheet-sides-to-middle-saving-the-planet-one-mend-at-a-time/22619

(4) https://designmom.com/living-well-4-secrets-to-patching-clothes/

(5) https://www.redhandledscissors.com/2010/06/17/t-shirt-to-underpants-upcycling/

Counting on … day 104

8th July 2025

Waste paper – not all waste paper needs to go into the recycling bin. Much can be reused.

Writing paper that has been used on one side only, can be used in the printer – including business letters which are often printed on really good quality paper. (But use discretion if you are sharing print-outs that you don’t accidentally share private information).

Christmas cards can be cut up for gift tags (but how many do you need?) or alternatively cut up into useful sizes for shopping lists, memos and phone messages.

You can cut the picture from a greeting card and reuse it as a post card. Oxfam even prints postcard outlines on the box of their cards. And if you are hand delivering a card, write on the envelope in pencil – and don’t stick down the flap – so that it can easily be reused. Reusing envelopes is generally another idea.

Wrapping paper too can be reused if carefully folded and kept after use. Using string or ribbon – or elastic bands – instead of sticky tape is good practice.

Old paper bags or sheets of newspaper can be used to line kitchen compost buckets.

Counting on … day 103

7th July 2025

Making good use of ‘waste’ food. Food waste is a sizeable problem in terms of food that could be eaten by people who struggle to afford food, in terms of the ‘waste’ of water and other resources used in producing wasted food, and in the unnecessary contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

In our household situations we can avoid wasting food by not buying more than we need /can store; not cooking more than we will eat – portion control; reusing left over food such as making bread pudding with stale bread, making salads with left over potatoes; making jams and pickles with excess fruits and vegetables; making compost using teabags, outer leaves of cabbages etc; making vinegar with apple cores.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/stale_bread_recipes

Vegan bread pudding – https://www.wandercooks.com/chester-squares-gur-cake/#recipe

Jam, chutney and pickles – https://greentau.org/2021/08/23/preserving-fruit-and-vegetables/

Cider vinegar – https://greentau.org/2021/10/07/count-down-75/

– https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/discover/gardening-tips/how-to-make-your-own-compost

3rd Sunday after Trinity, Proper 9

6th July 2025

Reflection with readings below

The Isaiah prophetic writings cover the period before, during and after the exile to Babylon. The northern Kingdom of Israel and and its people had already been conquered and exiled by the Assyrians – the previous regionally dominant empire. Small states like Israel and Judah were routinely offered the choice of becoming a tribute-paying vassal state or of being invaded and destroyed – or exiled – by the dominant power. Judah, the southern kingdom was caught between two such powers – Egypt to the south west and first Assyria, then Babylon, to the north and east. Those ruling Judah vacillated between the options and were eventually overrun by the Babylonian army.

The prophets of the time, sought to discern God’s will in all that was happening. Were the people being punished by God for their sins? For their failure to love God, to keep God’s commands, or even simply to trust in God’s love for them? The prophets continued to wrestle with this in exile and also to seek to discern how God wanted them to behave. What laws could they follow when they no longer had a temple? How could they appropriately worship God without a temple? Would – and if so how – would God restore the people? Would they return to their homeland? Would they rebuild the temple? Would they have a king again? Would they be blessed, would they prosper and flourish? Such thoughts shape the writings and topics covered in the Book of Isaiah.

Not all the people from Judah were exiled to Babylon; the Babylonian empire took captive the wealthier, more influential people (those who could otherwise cause unrest and who had skills the administration could utilise) but had left behind many of the peasant and labouring people – they were of more value if they remained on the land, ensuring it produced food, wealth and taxes for the Babylonian empire.

70 plus years later, with a new dominant empire – that of the Persians after they had routed the Babylonians – those who had been exiled were permitted to return to their homelands. However, many of the Jewish people choose to remain in Babylon. They had made homes there, had set up businesses, had developed ways of worshipping God and of being Jewish that did not depend upon a temple in Jerusalem. Up until the 20th century there were many Jewish communities in places such as Iraq and Iran.

Here in today’s reading, the prophet’s writings extol the virtues of Jerusalem, the restoration of her wealth and prosperity, and in parallel how Jerusalem reflects the love God shows to the people. The people are encouraged to rejoice in their new home, to find salvation there and to renew their identity as God’s people. (NB isn’t it wonderful to hear of God described in feminine terms!)

But was the passage just to be heard by those returning exiles? What about the people who had never left Judah, or the people who,had stayed behind on Babylon?

Is it perhaps to be heard by all who are making a return – physical, metaphorical or spiritual – all who are embarking on a new life in which they intend to live in accordance with the teachings, the ways of life, the way of God?

Is Jerusalem in this reading to be understood only as the 5th century capital of a small vassal state or is a metaphor for the kingdom of God? Certainly this Jerusalem is not to be understood as being the Jerusalem that the current Israeli Government dominates!

Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer we say ‘may your kingdom come, your will be done’. With these words we are undertaking to be subject to God’s rule, to live within the reign of God. So maybe we should hear these words as addressed also to us, to envisage in this image of Jerusalem, the character and capacity of the kingdom of God that could be present here on Earth.

Every time we pray ‘may your kingdom come, your will be done’ we are committing ourselves to living not according to former ways (which St Paul in writing to the Galatians terms ‘according to the flesh’) but in the new ways shown to us by Jesus – or as St Paul describes, ‘according to the Sprit’.

Today’s Gospel reading reminds is that the way Jesus taught was not a mere ‘easy-going, do what you want’ way being, but a way of living that both challenged and transformed people’s lives. Indeed it is a way of living that brings the Kingdom of God ever closer. So let’s be inspired and encouraged to be optimistic and expansive in our imagining of the kingdom of God, and to be radical and energetic in pursing the way of life that Jesus opens up to us.

Isaiah 66:10-14

Thus says the Lord:

“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;

rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her–

that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;

that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom.

For thus says the Lord:

I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,
and dandled on her knees.

As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bodies shall flourish like the grass;

and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants,
and his indignation is against his enemies.”

Psalm 66:1-8

1 Be joyful in God, all you lands; *
sing the glory of his Name;
sing the glory of his praise.

2 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! *
because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.

3 All the earth bows down before you, *
sings to you, sings out your Name.”

4 Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people.

5 He turned the sea into dry land,
so that they went through the water on foot, *
and there we rejoiced in him.

6 In his might he rules for ever;
his eyes keep watch over the nations; *
let no rebel rise up against him.

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.

Galatians 6: 7-16

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised– only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule– peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, `Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’

“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

A lament in times of drought

5th July 2025

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. Proverbs 3:5

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 lament:-

Dried up grass, withered leaves, parched earth: