Judith Russenberger

Counting on … day 18

27th January 2025

Last September the UN Climate Change News reported that “In 2022, a staggering 1.05 billion tons of food were wasted, while 783 million people went hungry and a third of the global population faced food insecurity…Food loss and waste account for 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions – nearly five times the total emissions from the aviation sector – and contribute to substantial biodiversity loss, using up almost a third of the world’s agricultural land.” (1)

Reducing food waste is something we can all do that will help address the climate and biodiversity crises and improve global food security.

Useful advice can be found here – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/climate-action-10-steps-reduce-food-waste

Third Sunday after Epiphany

26th January 2025

Reflection with Readings below

We are still in the season of Epiphany – a word that means to reveal or make manifest. In today’s passage from the Hebrew Testament we hear that Ezra, having called together all the people of God, reads to them the Law of Moses. This is a community of those who have returned from exile to rebuild Jerusalem – maybe it is the first time they have heard these words spoke in this holy city. They are overwhelmed by what these words reveals to them about God – God’s glory and God’s wisdom. It is an epiphany moment for them.

In today’s psalm it is creation that is revelling in and revealing the glory of God. And as in the words read by Ezra, it is the wonder of God’s law that is celebrated. Maybe creation is more consistent in praising God than we fickle humans.

Echoing the reading from the Hebrew Testament, the gospel tells of Jesus standing up to read the scripture to the people. It is a passage that reveals Jesus’ mission – his calling – that he is the fulfilment of God’s will, that he is the one who will reveal to us the good news of God’s favour, not just through words but through action. Was this also an epiphany moment for his listeners?

If we were to read on we would hear how the people in the synagogue were amazed but also puzzled: wasn’t Jesus Joseph’s son yet here he was saying he was the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophesy? And they try and kill him. Is the truth too overwhelming for them to accept? Is it too impossible for them to believe that one of them – the carpenter’s son – is the messiah?

Is that puzzlement, that unwillingness to accept what is revealed, what lies at the heart of Paul’s parable? Maybe some of the people in the church at Corinth find it hard to accept that a slave or a gentile – or a woman? – can be just as important, just as special as themselves. Or maybe some of the people in the church in Corinth find it hard to accept that they – be they a slave or a gentile or a woman – are just as important, just as special as all the others in that community.

In this season of Epiphany, it is a good time to be reminded that not just humans but nature too can recognise and rejoice in God’s glorious creativity and wisdom. It is a good time to be reminded that no one is more important – nor less important – than anyone else. And extending the parallel, to be reminded that humans are not more important than – nor less important – than the rest of creation. We have all been created for and are valued by God. God’s law that we should love our neighbour includes not just people like ourselves, but people of all backgrounds and places, and not just humans, but all beings that share this God-given existence.

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

All the people of Israel gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, *
and the firmament shows his handiwork.

2 One day tells its tale to another, *
and one night imparts knowledge to another.

3 Although they have no words or language, *
and their voices are not heard,

4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, *
and their message to the ends of the world.

5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *
it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;
it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens
and runs about to the end of it again; *
nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and revives the soul; *
the testimony of the Lord is sure
and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8 The statutes of the Lord are just
and rejoice the heart; *
the commandment of the Lord is clear
and gives light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the Lord is clean
and endures for ever; *
the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, *
sweeter far than honey,
than honey in the comb.

11 By them also is your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can tell how often he offends? *
cleanse me from my secret faults.

13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;
let them not get dominion over me; *
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offence.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, *
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts.

Luke 4:14-21

Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Thanksgiving for food and meals

25th January 2025

Trust in the Lord and be doing good; dwell in the land and be nourished with truth.
Let your delight be in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass. Psalm 37:3-5

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our meat is to do the Father’s will.

guide us in all we do

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of God.

Reading Mark 6: 38-44 ( from The Message)

But he was quite serious. “How many loaves of bread do you have? Take an inventory.”

That didn’t take long. “Five,” they said, “plus two fish.”

Jesus got them all to sit down in groups of fifty or a hundred—they looked like a patchwork quilt of wildflowers spread out on the green grass! He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples, and the disciples in turn gave it to the people. He did the same with the fish. They all ate their fill. The disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. More than five thousand were at the supper.

Table Piece

Around the table, smallest to largest,

youngest to oldest – comfortable and companionable.

Bread, first mixed and kneaded,

shared together at the table.

Wisdom, debated and pondered,

gathered from around the table.

Gentle chiding, loving acceptance, laughter –

differences reconciled at the table.

Thanks given, prayers said, hands clasped

a place of worship at the table.

Kith and kin, friends – all welcome: love

a community built around the table.

Prayers

We give thanks O Lord, for the food we have to eat,

for the opportunities we have to eat together,

for the times we gather to share and learn,

and for the joy of worshipping at your table.

We pray Lord, for all who struggle to get food to eat,

all who lack the companionship of friends and family,

all who are exploited and all who are fall prey to disinformation,

and for all who have yet to feel included at you table.

Stir us Lord, to respond with generosity and determination

to feed the hungry,

to transform the inequalities of society,

to reach out to those starved of love,

and to nourish all with your word.

Amen.

Counting on … day 17

23rd January 2025

Following on from yesterday, another approach would be to buy less. We probably think we have more stuff than we need so rather than buying something new, maybe question whether you actually need it or whether you have something already that would do. I recently needed some flip flops to walk along the path to the outdoor swimming pool – it’s about 50m of cold concrete – and then it occurred to me to use the old pair of sandals whose soles are wearing out.

Equally we are often tempted by advertising to buy things we don’t need.

Counting on … day 15

21st January 2025

We can avoid waste by making use of second hand shops, charity shops, pre-loved web sites. If we have something we no longer need/ want that is more than likely someone else who would like it. These outlets enable us to pass the thing on rather than discarding it as waste.

And by the same token, if we need something we can visit these outlets to buy what we need there rather than buying new – and thus avoiding using up more of the Earth’s limited resources.

Counting on … day 14

20th January 2025

One way of reducing waste, is to repair things. Darning a sock saves a pair going into landfill. Stitching up a hem or a seem to get some more wear out of a skirt or shirt. Sewing a patch on the knee or elbow will add more wear to a pair of trousers of jumper. Sewing a sheet sides to middle will do likewise.

Re-heeling or soleing shoes where that is possible – sadly the design of many pairs of shoes don’t this as an option.

Repair Cafes and repair shops can mend household items such as kettles and toasters. Do ensure that electrical repairs are done by someone appropriately qualified.

Other repairs might simply involve glue, ‘Sugru’ a mouldable silicone substance that can mend a hole in a pot, refix a pan handle or strengthen that weak point on a recharging cable. Gaffer tape mends a hundred things! Be imaginative. Be creative! Give things you use and love an extra lifespan.

About

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/climate-action-how-increase-repairing-upcycling-buying-second-hand

https://greentau.org/tag/repairs/

Second Sunday After Epiphany

19th January 2025

Reflection with readings below

In the Hebrew Testament there are many references and passages that describe the covenant relationship between God and the people as being like a marriage. Sometimes, as in the writings of the prophet Hosea, God’s people are liken to an adulterous woman who has strayed after other lovers – for which read alien gods and idols (or maybe profit and power). And yet that is not the end but just a phase in the story, for God, the spurned husband, goes out of his way to win back the love of his life. Hosea’s prophetic writing is of restoration and salvation.

In today’s passage from Isaiah the message is of restoration and marriage and delight. And in chapter 61, Isaiah talks of God clothing us like a marriage partner with robes, garlands and jewels.

The idea of God and God’s people being marriage partners is repeated in the Book of Revelation with the marriage of the Lamb and the Bride, celebrated by a great wedding feast. Feasts in both testaments can also point to the heavenly banquet that awaits us all. Again from Isaiah (this time chapter 25) ‘On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear’.

Weddings and covenants and feasts are times of celebration and new beginnings. And this is surely why John’s Gospel includes this story of the wedding at Cana so early on. The old ways – the past – is represented by the six stone water jars, but for all their ritual they have not enliven this wedding. Jesus’s presence and action transforms the wedding into one of unimaginable delight. This relationship – the covenant – between bride and groom is to be of a different calibre to what has gone before. This is an Epiphany moment – as the Gospel of John makes clear, this was the first sign that revealed Jesus’s Glory.

In the next chapter, John the Baptist describes Jesus as the Bridegroom. Who is the Bride? Who is the marriage partner? Amazingly, surprisingly, it is us! We are the Beloved. The wedding feast is our communion feast and Jesus does not hold back in offering us the best wine! It is a timeless feast – or rather it is a feast that exists outside time and extends throughout all time. In John’s Gospel the Eucharist is not described at the last supper but features in vignettes throughout the gospel. Here at the wedding feast we are invited to share the new wine of the kingdom, to join in union with Jesus, to celebrate our new covenant relationship of love.

Isaiah 62:1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,

until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
and her salvation like a burning torch.

The nations shall see your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;

and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;

but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;

for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.

For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,

and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

Psalm 36:5-10

5 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, *
and your faithfulness to the clouds.

6 Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
your justice like the great deep; *
you save both man and beast, O Lord.

7 How priceless is your love, O God! *
your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast upon the abundance of your house; *
you give them drink from the river of your delights.

9 For with you is the well of life, *
and in your light we see light.

10 Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you, *
and your favour to those who are true of heart.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Prayers for the outpouring of God’s Spirit

18th January 2025

I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. Genesis 17:17

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 Deuteronomy 8:6-9

Therefore keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper.

As at the beginning, Lord God,

you made us in your image

and wrought with us a special bond,

an everlasting covenant of faith and love.

Continue to breathe your Spirit

into our hearts

that we may truly return that love.

As at the beginning, Lord God,

you have provided us good rich land,

overflowing with the good things of creation –

plants for food, water to drink.

Continue to breathe your Spirit

into our hearts

that we may be truly grateful.

As at the beginning, Lord God,

you created all manner of creatures

– our kith and kin –

for companionship and teamwork.

Continue to breathe your Spirit

into our hearts

that we may be faithful friends.

As from the beginning, Lord God,

you have filled the world with signs

and words of wisdom

so that we may learn and live well.

Continue to breathe your Spirit

into our hearts

that we may be attentive to your instruction.

As from the beginning, Lord God,

you have created a world of harmony

and flourishing

that all may live lives of fulfilment.

Continue to breathe your Spirit

into our hearts

that we may be at one with all creation.

As from the beginning, Lord God,

you have a created your world

as a place for joy and love to thrive

and where happiness will abound.

Continue to breathe your Spirit

into our hearts

that we may ever rejoice and praise your glory.

Amen.

Counting on … day 13

17th January 2025

It is not just businesses that need to change, government also needs to use its power to change the system. “We need the Government to stop tinkering with measures that create tiny insignificant changes and tackle single use waste in the way they finally tackled smoking, helping to make our public spaces litter free as well as smoke free. That requires putting in place systems which significantly disincentivise single-use and makes reuse a convenient and viable option for both businesses and consumers.” (1)

https://www.refill.org.uk/about/what-is-reuse/