Judith Russenberger

Second Sunday before Lent

8th February 2026

Reflection with readings below

There can be a tendency for people to disregard the Old (or rather Hebrew Testament) as irrelevant, too obsessed with pedantry rules, or with too many stories of a vengeful God slaughtering his enemies. How then should one hear Jesus, in today’s gospel, saying ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”?

It seems to me that today’s passage from Isaiah neatly provides the answer.

The people – those of the house of Jacob, ie those who considered themselves to be God’s people – absolutely want to be seen to be doing what is right, to be seen to be following God’s ways, yet Isaiah is told to tell them – to shout out and not to hold back! – that they are rebellious sinners.

Why?

Because they do not engage with God wants, with what is at the heart of God’s teaching. They may fast now and then, and look a bit humble, but they won’t forgo any profit or riches to ensure that their workers are fairly paid. And they won’t humbly pay attention the other’s point of view but instead go straight in, fists flying, and use violence to impose their will.

These people have failed to understand that what God wants is for them to end injustice and oppression, and to be hospitable, providing homes and food and clothing etc for the poor.

It’s not about looking good but doing good! And that is the essence of all the law and the prophets. It is as Paul writes, about following God’s wisdom – however foolish that may seem – rather than the wisdom of the world’s leaders which is doomed to lead to failure.

If we but look around the world, we will see this as truth. How often do we see rich and powerful people making out how benevolent and wise they are, only to find that they have made their wealth by exploiting others? How often do we see rich and powerful people using force of the threat of violence to oppress others? How often do we hear national leaders promising to help the poor and vulnerable at press conferences, only to backtrack when the cameras are looking elsewhere?

Nor must we neglect to look to our own actions. When we buy a cheap cup of coffee, of cheap shirt, or a cheap bag of apples, do consider whether the low price reflects an underpaid barista, or an underpaid factory worker, or an underpaid farmer?

Jesus is telling us is that there is no alternative from following God’s law. If we neglect God’s law we are like salt that has lost its saltiness. Only if we have the singularity of the saltiness of salt, only if we have the integrity of light shining forth, can we hope to welcome the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!

Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.

“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.

Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;

your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

Psalm 112:1-9

1 Hallelujah!
Happy are they who fear the Lord *
and have great delight in his commandments!

2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; *
the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches will be in their house, *
and their righteousness will last for ever.

4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright; *
the righteous are merciful and full of compassion.

5 It is good for them to be generous in lending *
and to manage their affairs with justice.

6 For they will never be shaken; *
the righteous will be kept in everlasting remembrance.

7 They will not be afraid of any evil rumours; *
their heart is right;
they put their trust in the Lord.

8 Their heart is established and will not shrink, *
until they see their desire upon their enemies.

9 They have given freely to the poor, *
and their righteousness stands fast for ever;
they will hold up their head with honour.

1 Corinthians 2:1-12

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.

Matthew 5:13-20

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Love overcomes hate

7th February 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. He gives his 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.

Response

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 Isreal.

In Iran.

In Yemen.

In North Sudan and the Sahel.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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,

and feed them with vigorous determination.

Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Counting on 2026 …. Day 21

6th February

In response to the government’s national security report ‘Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security’ (1) Sustain responded with its reading of the urgency of the situation, making the following recommendations:-

“The Government must now look to planning, nature recovery and food and farming policy to mutually support each other to deliver the wholescale changes in diets and food production that security experts recommend. Farming policy must prioritise global ecosystem recovery, and nature and climate policy include measures to grow more foods that boost our resilience and aren’t heavily reliant on imports. Immediate actions include:

Halting any further expansion of intensive livestock production
Investing in projects like Bridging the Gap, and schemes like Welsh Veg in Schools, to unlock profitable supply chains that increase the production and consumption of organic fruit, vegetables and legumes
A horticulture investment strategy that boosts commercial production of UK vegetables, beans, pulses, legumes and nuts, as well as increasing the UK market for these products
Ending the exploitative practices of large agri-food corporations, and give farmers more power to set prices and market conditions
Funding farmer cooperatives, networks, and mentoring schemes to scale agroecological farming through knowledge sharing, pooling resources and building collective market power “ (2)

It is frustrating that there are so many clear solutions to the crisis we face, but so little willingness on the part of the Government to enact the policies and legislation that would enable these changes to be made – because market forces won’t do this alone and many people whether farmers, retailers or consumers are trapped by unrestrained market forces.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-introduction

(2) https://www.sustainweb.org/news/jan26-national-security-risk-report/

Counting on 2026 …. Day 20

5th February

Sustain’s report (released November 2025), Bridging the Gap: How to fix the food system for everyone, calls for the creation of “just, healthy and sustainable UK food system will require system-wide change alongside strong leadership. Farming of nutritious food with lower inputs, lower greenhouse gas emissions, which restore nature and support decent livelihoods for a diversity of growers must become the mainstream to build nutritional security and domestic resilience against global shocks. Our policy recommendations include ways to significantly increase domestic fruit and veg production in the UK7 and, with this, more jobs (up to 80 jobs per thousand tonnes produced), benefiting local communities.9

“Alongside this we need to double the consumption of fruit, veg and pulses to improve people’s health while securing a market for growers, supporting the transition to climate and nature friendly farming. For this triple bottom line to be possible, good food must be available and affordable in local retail settings and across our schools and hospitals, sourced through ethical, value-based supply chains that provide growers with better and more reliable incomes than what they currently experience via supermarket supply chains.11

“If we are to produce food that is good for people and for the planet, and accessible to everyone regardless of their income, the Government must actively support climate and nature friendly horticulture and lead by example on how our food is bought and sold.” (1)

The report lists three clear policy recommendations:-

1. Fix the supply – Boost British fruit, veg and pulse production

• Introduce cross-departmental horticulture strategies across the nations to support green growth and boost production and consumption of fruit, vegetables and pulses

* Support small-scale and organic farmers through grants, better land access, and training programmes

2. Fix the missing middle – Ensure fair prices and invest in infrastructure

•Invest in local food infrastructure like food hubs, processing and packing facilities (particularly for legumes), and distribution centres to help smaller local producers get produce to market.

•Strengthen supply chain fairness to enforce fair dealing across more of the supply chain.

3. Fix the access – Enable everyone to eat good food

• Use the state’s £5 billion of public food procurement from schools and hospitals to create stable markets for organic and locally produced produce. This will deliver on the Labour Government election manifesto commitment to ensure 50% of publicly procured food is local or to a higher environmental standard.

Run pilots and roll-out schemes to make healthy food more affordable for low-income households and reduce NHS spending, such as vouchers and ‘fruit and veg on prescription’. (1)

The report details 9 different pilot schemes that have been running for the last two years, and the results show clear win-win outcomes for health, climate and environment, local economies, and food security.

Will the government take on these recommendations? Will they be supported by the farming industry, by retailers and by consumers?

https://www.sustainweb.org/assets/bridging-the-gap-how-to-fix-the-food-system-for-everyone-1764673053.pdf

Counting on 2026 … day 19

4th February

To return to yesterday’s astounding statistic that the UK is just 62% self sufficient for all foods, and when looking at indigenous foods (ie those that can be grown in the UK) we are disappointingly only 75% self sufficient. And for fresh fruit we are about 15% self sufficient.

It would seem that all too often imported fruit and vegetables are cheaper – perhaps coming from countries with lower wages or countries like Spain that use cheap seasonal labour from North Africa. (This is in itself a justice issue for these seasonal workers are often abused by their their employers – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/agricultural-workers-rights-almeria).

Do we need to encourage more horticulture in the UK and encourage consumers to buy UK produce? Maybe we need a “Buy British” advertising campaign as we did in the past with eggs.

Equally the government and local authorities could ensure that the Public Food Procurement sector does more to buy locally – encompassing buying British rather than imported produce, and buying from local (often small and medium sized) producers.

However this is not a simple straightforward problem to solve. If buying British means paying a higher price for fruit and vegetables, then the poorer sectors of our society need to receive a higher income – either through improved benefits and/ or improved pay. The proliferation of food banks already shows us that we are failing as a society – and therefore being failed by our government – to ensure everyone has enough money to eat well.

Wages also feed in as a cost factor for the producers of fruit and vegetables. Growing and harvesting is both labour intensive and seasonal. Increased wage costs (due to inflationary pressures and NI costs etc) are eating away at profit margins. This has also been compounded by Brexit which has reduced the supply of seasonal workers from Europe and sometimes crops have gone unharvested severely denting the viability of businesses. We need a better system of ensuring that everyone receives a fair wage as the bedrock of our economy.

The dominance of the supply chain by big supermarkets also needs to be reviewed. Supermarkets dominate the market giving them considerable leverage over prices paid to the producers. Whilst this does drive down costs on some items, it does so at the expense of the producers. A report from 2022 by the Sustainable Farming Campaign highlights the very small profit margin received by food producers as opposed to the profits made elsewhere in the supply chain: “For 1kg of apples purchased in a supermarket (about 6 apples), the apple grower has costs of 76p, yet receives in profit just 1% (3 pence) of a selling price of £2.20”. The same report observed that organic apples sold not by a supermarket but by a not-for profit hub, received : “1kg of organic apples purchased gives the organic apple grower three times -3% (10 pence) of the selling price of £4.00 with costs of 175p.” Ie a 0.06% profit margin as opposed to 0.04%. (1)

Another major costs for the producers of fruit and vegetables is energy. Rising energy prices have, for example, particularly affected crops grow under glass. In part this is because of the UK’s past heavy reliance on fossil fuels and the impact of the war in Ukraine. A concerted shift to renewable energy would bring down energy costs but in terms of a just transition, should grants be made available to enable fruit and vegetable growers to invest in solar panels? At the same time there needs to be urgent investment in the capacity of the grid.

Support with investment in new technologies and infrastructure would also encourage an expansion of UK based production. Relatively speaking, horticulture doesn’t need lots of land vis a vis other crops or livestock, but does need more infrastructure per hectare.

Another factor to be considered in terms of promoting UK grown fruit and vegetables is the growing insecurity of the supply of imported produce. Spain, Italy and North Africa from where much of our imported fruit and vegetables come, are countries that are increasingly the impacts of change – droughts floods etc – and which have already resulted in reduced harvests.

https://www.sustainweb.org/news/nov22-unpicking-food-prices-new/

Background reading

– https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PN-0707/POST-PN-0707.pdf

Counting on 2026 … day 18

3rd February

The availability of food is highlighted as a major concern for the UK in the Government report, Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security. Food insecurity is seen as major national issue.

The UK is just 62% self sufficient for all foods, and when looking at indigenous foods (ie those that can be grown in the UK) we are disappointingly only 75% self sufficient. In other words we are importing up to 25% of foods that could be grown here in the UK!

The Guardian recently produced an article about food security in Finland. (1) Despite a not very amenable climate with a short growing season, Finland is 80% self sufficient for food. Finland is by nature a country where a preparedness mindset is essential in the face of its climate, its geopolitical borders and its own geography.

Finland’s National Emergency Supply Agency (Nesa) ensures that the nation will cope if things go wrong. They maintain a strategic store of grains – wheat, oats, barley and rye – which is rotated to ensure freshness. This reserve helped to reassure people when the war in Ukraine led to grain shortages.

Farms form the backbone of their food system, and they have developed varieties of grain and other staples that are suitable for their short growing season. Alongside the farms, Finland ensures that their food supply chain is also resilient. Emergency fuel reserves are kept for both farm machinery and transport vehicles.

Another key part of Finland’s resilience strategy is in ensuring preparedness at household level too. Finnish households are all encouraged to maintain a sufficient stock of food and other essentials to last 72 hours.

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/16/finland-crisis-food-stockpiles-europe-supply-chains-fuel-reserves?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on 2026 … day 17

2nd February

Food security is a pertinent issue. A recent Government report, Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security, investigates “how global biodiversity loss and the collapse of critical ecosystems could affect the UK’s resilience, security and prosperity.” (1)

At the top of the list of events the poses a high risk for the UK is global ecosystem breakdown: ie the ecosystems on which we depend for fresh water, clean air and food, and for predictable weather patterns, and which protect us from diseases, would cease to function.

Without major interventions, the report states that this is a highly likely outcome based on current trends.

Not only would this impact us locally, the UK would also be impacted by the knock on effects of systems collapse in other countries leading to increased competition for limited resources such as food and water, greater risk of global pandemics, an increase in both armed conflict and mass migration. Partial system collapse is likely by 2030 and a global collapse as early as 2050.

In a repeat of what has been said so widely, measures needed to reduce the likelihood of global ecosystem collapse include:-

Protecting 30% of global land and ocean by 2030 (now just four years away)
30% of global nature to be under rest by 2030
Mobilising finance to close the funding gap of $700bn
Reducing risks from pesticide usage by 50% by 2050
Eliminating or reforming harmful subsidies by $500bn by 2050
Meeting the 1.5C Paris climate agreement target

So why aren’t we – whether as individuals, as industries or as the government – a) doing more to curtail activities that are driving this ecological breakdown, and b) doing more to increase national and global resilience?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-security-assessment-on-global-biodiversity-loss-ecosystem-collapse-and-national-security?internal=true

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

1st February 2026

Reflection with readings below.

Today’s reading from the prophet Micah takes the form of a dialogue. God has a bone to pick – ‘a controversy’ – with his people’. What, says God, have I done to you? How have I wearies you? Why is it, God is asking, are you so disenchanted with me, so uninterested in what I am to you, so disconnected?

And it is down to Micah to answer. In fact there is nothing God has failed to do, no fault that Micah can flag up. Rather Micah knows that it is the people who are at fault; they are the ones that have failed to maintain the relationship. So instead Micah replies by asking what can he – what can the people – give to show how much God really means, to rebuild the relationship. It’s not burnt sacrifices, nor offerings of vast numbers of rams nor gallons of oil, nor even the sacrifice of the first born. No, it is to what God has already asked: do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.

The Psalmist asks pretty much the same question, what does God want of us? To speak truthfully, to show no guile, to do no evil, to not despise our neighbour but rather to honour God, to act honestly and with integrity, to not give money in the hope of gain.

And in Paul’s letter to the community at Corinth, we’re told that being Godly is not about being wise, or rich, or powerful, or of noble birth (and today we might add not being a celebrity).

All this is building up to Jesus’s famous teaching on who are God’s blessed – those who experience an inner joy and contentment that comes from their relationship with God.

All these positive actions, these positive ways of living, are what makes the kingdom of God real here on earth. So in a sense we do know what we need to do to make the world a better place, but maybe the problems arise because so much of what is wrong in the world is structural and as individuals – even as churches – we struggle to find ways of changing those structures. Yet actually God doesn’t expect us to be successful all on our own. God asks that we be faithful, doing that which we can do and for the rest staying alongside God.

The following prayer comes from the Talmud

Do not be daunted

By the enormity

Of the world’s grief.

Do justly, now.

Love mercy, now.

Walk humbly, now.

You are not obligated

To complete the work

But neither are you free

to abandon it.

Micah 6:1-8

Hear what the Lord says:
Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.

Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth;

for the Lord has a controversy with his people,
and he will contend with Israel.

“O my people, what have I done to you?
In what have I wearied you? Answer me!

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and redeemed you from the house of slavery;

and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.

O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
what Balaam son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm 15

1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? *
who may abide upon your holy hill?

2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, *
who speaks the truth from his heart.

3 There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend; *
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbour.

4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, *
but he honours those who fear the Lord.

5 He has sworn to do no wrong *
and does not take back his word.

6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, *
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

7 Whoever does these things *
shall never be overthrown.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Candlemas – where does the light shine?

31st January 2026

“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations. Isaiah 42:6

You Lord are the light of the world:help us to see.

Your word is a light for our path:guide us in all we do.

Whatever we say or do:let it be to the glory of God.

A reading from Luke 2: 29- 35

“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,

as you have promised.

I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.

He is a light to reveal God to the nations,

and he is the glory of your people Israel.”

Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the tops of the mountains where the glaciers are fast disappearing?

Will it follow the rivers that flow down from the mountains?

Will it light upon the people who rely on the river for their livelihoods?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will that light shine?

Will it reach the depths of the earth where conglomerates mine for minerals and riches?

Will it reach the depth of the oceans where conglomerates drill for oil and gas?

Will it follow the flow of money that skips lightly past those who labour,

and fills the ever deepening pockets of the wealthy?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it reach the verdant understory deep within the rainforests?

Or will it find that space already punctured by sugar and soy plantations?

Will it be embraced by a rich biodiverse ecosystem –

or will it search desperately for indigenous lives that are no more?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will it glitter on the vast whiteness of the poles?

Or will it sink into the void that melting ice has left behind?

Will it bring life to the Arctic tern and the walrus?

Will it be a ray of light for the penguin chick and the polar bear cub?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

Where will the light shine?

Will reach inside apartment blocks split open by bombs?

Will it reach inside the ‘temporary’ abodes of the refugee camp?

Will it reach inside those precarious homes where the need for heat

is in a constant battle with the need to eat?

Will it spotlight communities in need of levelling up?

Will it herald a bright future for them or pierce their soul as with a sword?

For the times we have masked your light so that its message is obscured:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refocused your light away from those in need:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have directed your light away from our own shortcomings:

Lord have mercy.

For the times we have refused to see where your light is pointing:

Lord have mercy.

Renew in us your spark that we may be visible agents of your Kingdom and active agents of your purpose.

Amen.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Counting on 2026 … day 16

30th January

This last week the radio programme Farming Today has been reporting on the difficulties livestock farmers have been facing with insufficient supplies of winter feed. Last year’s hot dry summer reduced crop yields meaning there has been a shortage of things such as hay, silage, maize, sunflower seeds, rape seed etc. Farmers have had to buy in extra feed including more imported soya beans. The Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) said that “the UK needs a national protein strategy to safeguard feed security because that impacts food security.”

This bemuses me. Would it not be more logical, if we are wanting to increase national protein security, to focus on growing more plant based proteins that can be fed directly to humans rather than feeding us indirectly via livestock? Gaining our protein needs from livestock rather than plants is much more inefficient in the use of land, water, fertiliser etc and generates far more pollution costs too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002q29g

https://www.agindustries.org.uk/resource/aic-on-bbc-farming-today-programme-uk-feed-security.html