Category: Sunday Reflections

A weekly reflection on the lectionary readings for Sunday

Proper 16, 13th Sunday after Trinity

25th August 2024

Reflection with readings below

Many fashion chains that originally began by selling women’s clothes, have gone on to sell men’s and children’s wear, and household goods. They aim to sell you a whole Life Style look. You can be a Next household, an M and S household, a Zara household. Next month Oxfam has its Second Hand September promotion, so maybe you could also be a second hand household – now there’s a challenge that could reduce our environmental footprint. 

When I was church warden I worked through the Ecclesiastical Insurance health and safety proforma to create a health and safety policy for our church. The policy focused on the simple principle of accessing and then mitigating risks. It is an approach that has become for me second nature: I need a jar a from the top shelf. Can the stool take my weight? Is the floor flat and the stool stable? Is there a support I can hold into? Risks assessed and minimised: jar safely retrieved.

What else can shape our lifestyle choices? Our politics. Our culture. Our religious faith.
So it is in the first of today’s readings we hear Joshua asking the people if they will choose to follow the God of Israel. This has to be a very clear and definite choice. To follow the God of Israel has to be an absolute commitment – a surrendering of all aspects of their lifestyle choices to that one God. There is no option for a ‘yes but also’ approach, no option for a ‘pick and mix’ approach. On the other hand it is a commitment that is undergirded by their experience that God is the God who cares for them, stands by and protects them. 

Jesus is laying out the same challenge, the same invitation in his address to the people in the synagogue. But it is an invitation that offers an even deeper connection with God. It is not just to live a life absolutely committed to do things God’s way, but to live a life in which one internalises God, in which you live eat and breathe God through Jesus, the living – the eternal – word of God. 

If we live, breathe and ‘eat’ Jesus, then our lives – our lifestyle – will be shaped completely by that relationship. But that is not to say that we won’t be challenged by alternative or competing  choices – by rulers, authorities and cosmic forces as the letter to the Ephesians describes them. We might talk about these distractions as the lure of money, of popularity, of fashion, or as feelings of failure, inadequacy or despondency. Prayer, study, worship, learning, community and fellowship, are in opposition to these, all important ways of maintaining a visceral relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  

From psalm 86: 11 “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; knit my heart to you, that I may fear your name.”

Post script – I write about what I believe to be true but I find it hard to act upon it. 

Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:

“Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

Psalm 34:15-22

15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, *
and his ears are open to their cry.

16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, *
to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them *
and delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted *
and will save those whose spirits are crushed.

19 Many are the troubles of the righteous, *
but the Lord will deliver him out of them all.

20 He will keep safe all his bones; *
not one of them shall be broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked, *
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

22 The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, *
and none will be punished who trust in him.

Ephesians 6:10-20

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

John 6:56-69

Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Proper 15, 12th Sunday after Trinity

Reflection with readings below

It is with Wisdom that God created world. Wisdom is following God’s commandments. It is with Wisdom that people gain understanding. But Wisdom is still about choice. We are not automatically filled with Wisdom, we are not programmed to unvaryingly follow Wisdom. There is always the opposite figure, that of Folly which we may pursue. Indeed later in chapter 9 of Proverbs, we come across Golly inviting people to step aside into her house!

Throughout the Bible there is alway choice. The choice to follow God or ignore God. To do what is right or to do what is wrong. To choose what is life giving or what is life-defeating. Adam and Eve make choices. Noah makes a choice. Abraham makes a choice. The people of Israel make a choice. Those who hear the cry of John the Baptist make a choice. Those who believe in Jesus make a choice. Yet the choices we make are not unalterable. If we find we have made a bad choice, we can repent, turn round and make a better choice – as the parable of the prodigal son so colourfully explains. 

In today’s first reading we have a dinner invitation. The description of Wisdom preparing the meal, and sending out her invitation to would-be guests sounds very similar to a couple of Jesus’s parables about people preparing sumptuous feasts and then sending out the invitations to the guests. How one receives the invitation becomes the process of judgement. Those who seek a good life, who seek peace and happiness – who seek God’s kingdom – are the ones who accept the invitation positively. Those who turn aside to enter Wisdom’s house have made the right choice; by eating and drinking the meal she has prepared, they internalise Wisdom. 

The psalmist also reminds us to make the right choice: “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” And suggests that our approach to God should be one of fear – or as we might phrase it – one of awe. Both awe and fear can sharpen our senses, prompting us to seek out and make the right choices – and not to be lackadaisical. The writer to the Ephesians suggests ways in which we can live our lives wisely and fully –  singing songs and praises, giving thanks for everything in the name of Jesus. In other words responding positively to all that God offers us – and thus we will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It all sounds so  very simple and yet we can find it such a hard discipline to stick to. Is being wise simple or complicated? Is shaping our lives according to God’s will straightforward or difficult? Is becoming one with Jesus easy or ever so tricky?

If we look back over John’s Gospel we see that for some people the decision to follow Jesus was so simple. Andrew realises straight away that Jesus is the Messiah. Philip too follows him without any hesitation, and when Nathaniel meets him, he straightway recognises him as the Son of God. But then we have people like Nicodemus, teacher and leader of the Jews. He cannot get his intellectual mind around who Jesus is and how one might enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus cannot understand how things can be both earthly and heavenly, how there might be such a fluid interconnection between heaven and earth. 

Spiritual food cannot be separated from physical food. Physical food cannot be set aside from spiritual food. We cannot just be satisfied by eating physical bread – we need to understand it spiritually. There is nothing we eat that does not ultimately come from God who is the creator of all things. We need to acknowledge that in giving thanks to God. But neither will we be satisfied with just an intangible spirituality. When we seek the spiritual we need the groundedness of things physical. Baptism comes in the medium of water and the spirit. The Eucharist comes in the medium of bread and wine as well the medium of Christ’s flesh and blood. 

And we can chose to accept Jesus’s invitation to share the bread that is his body and the wine that is his blood, as a simple gift – or we can choose to convert it into a complicated conundrum, one which then allows us to create barriers and exclude others. 

As we prepare to eat and drink the gift of Jesus, we will remember that all that we have – both physical and spiritual – is a gift from God and that is is only with what God gives us, that we can return our thanks. And this perhaps brings is back to where we began – with Wisdom. Through choosing that invitation, by entering that house and following that way of life, we can live the way God wishes – Wisdom that calls us to care for the earth, for all that God has created, to use and share it wisely with one another, to live simply so that all may simply live.

Let us take that wisdom into every aspect of our lives this week and see how it changes the way we treat others, the way we buy and sell, make and take, give and share, teach and listen, sing and give thanks – to the glory of God the Father and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He 

Proverbs 9:1-6

Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
“You that are simple, turn in here!”
To those without sense she says,
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”

Psalm 34:9-14

9 Fear the Lord, you that are his saints, *
for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, *
but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good.

11 Come, children, and listen to me; *
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 Who among you loves life *
and desires long life to enjoy prosperity?

13 Keep your tongue from evil-speaking *
and your lips from lying words.

14 Turn from evil and do good; *
seek peace and pursue it.

Ephesians 5:15-20

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 6:51-58

Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Proper 14 11th Sunday after Trinity

11th  August 2024 

Reflection with readings below

Elijah has been so courageous. He has challenged the authority of the priests of Baal and by so doing, the authority of the king himself. He has kept up his challenge all day long and finally risked all by  placing all his trust in God as he asked God to bring down fire from heaven to burn up his soaking wet pyre. There must have been there a moment of fear when he doubted whether God would respond and confound all expectations. Then on top of that, he kills the 450 priests of Baal. This is not an action we would in anyway countenance but would surely have been an action that required immense physical strength and endurance. 

Elijah has committed everything in his service to God and yet now he is fleeing for his life. He doubts now whether his efforts have achieved anything. How exhausted and drained he must have felt? It is no wonder that he asks to die where he is lies under the broom tree. 

God hears Elijah’s cry for help and sends him food and water. God understands that what Elijah needs first is physical sustenance and then rest. Only then will Elijah be ready to be revived spiritually. And in the next part of the story, Elijah will encounter God in the silence of stillness.

In today’s gospel, Jesus is still talking with the people who had been overwhelmed by the feeding of the 5000. They cannot move on from that experience of being fed their full of bread and fish. They can only understand this as a physical action by Jesus and not as a part of the mission he has from God to share the good news of salvation. For Jesus the physical and the spiritual are intertwined. People are healed physically and spiritually. Temple worship is to be reformed physically and spiritually. People are born both of the flesh and the spirit for such is the will of God. 

So now Jesus is trying to explain to the people that just eating the bread he provides but not feeding on the spiritual food he offers – ie his teachings – will not bring them the salvation, the peace of mind and union with God, that they seek. 

Earth and heaven are interwoven. You can’t engage in spiritual tasks without also engaging with the physical realities of life. You can’t go out on a mission for God without first eating and sleeping. But equally you cannot be fully the human God intends if you only partake of physical food and do not also seek the spiritual nourishment that comes from being in communion with what is of heaven.

St Francis lived a life in which he was constantly torn between wanting to spend all his time in a silent isolation focused on contemplative prayer, and wanting to spend time out and about sharing the gospel with everyone – and that not limited to just humans. He was pulled back and forth between things spiritual and things physical. In reality he could not have done either without the other. 

He famously had a fear – an utter revulsion – of lepers. In his youth, he like his contemporaries, would steer clear of any lepers, for fear of infection and fear of the way in which the disease destroyed once appearance and led to social isolation. But as Francis grew in his spiritual life, he found one day the Spirit prompting him to reach out and touch and hug the leper before him. And in that moment he found himself overwhelmed with love for the other, and kissed him, all fear and revulsion gone.

This week we have seen horrendous scenes of anger and hatred – often based on ill-founded  and misinformed fears. We have also seen outpourings of compassion and courage in the face of danger. At one point a Muslim leader in Liverpool reached and hugged one of the protestors. Elsewhere people on both sides of the conflict sat outside a cafe as they listen to what the other feared.  

If we want peace we need to be able view everyone with compassion. We need to be able to reach out with an openness that will allow us to hear, and hopefully understand, where the other person is coming from – what it is that troubles them. 

We have  seen people coming together to clear the streets, to clean things up. We have seen people fund raise to enable others to replace damaged property. I hope we will see the government come forward with funds and policies that will properly address the loss of living standards that so many have endured over the last 15 or so years. Only by ensuring justice for all, can peace be found. 

As Christians and faith communities we can draw on spiritual strengths that come from God, and we can be inspired the vision of God’s kingdom being  established in earth. And we can use our physical resources of property, money and influence, to ensure that such justice is pursued. For truly things spiritual and physical, heavenly and earthly, are entwined and together will glorify God.

1 Kings 19:4-8

Elijah went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Psalm 34:1-8

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; *
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.

2 I will glory in the Lord; *
let the humble hear and rejoice.

3 Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord; *
let us exalt his Name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me *
and delivered me out of all my terror.

5 Look upon him and be radiant, *
and let not your faces be ashamed.

6 I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me *
and saved me from all my troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him, *
and he will deliver them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; *
happy are they who trust in him!

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

John 6:35, 41-51

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Proper 13 10th after trinity 

Interconnectedness of heaven and earth, of things spiritual and physical.

4th August 2024

Reflection with readings below

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that God’s kingdom (or reign or rule) and God’s will be done on earth as in heaven – a request that assumes that the rules that are followed in heaven can equally be followed on earth; that what happens in heaven can happen on earth; that the way things are done in heaven as are equally the way things can be done on earth; that what is true in heaven can be true on earth. It is a request that presumes connection and communication – that we can know, can learn, what happens in heaven and can expect to apply that knowledge to the way we live on earth.

Our readings today in different ways show this certainty. 

The story from Exodus reveals that God’s desire to satisfy people’s hunger crosses over between the heavenly and earthly domains, such that God rains down bread from heaven for them to eat. Whether in heaven or on earth, it is God’s wish that all are fed. Here on earth that wish is sadly often waylaid by human greed and folly not because there isn’t enough food but because we don’t distribute fairly what is produced, because we allow some people to indulge in unsustainable diets, and because we fail to nurture the soil. 

The passage from the Letter to the Ephesians reveals how heavenly shaped gifts have been bestowed on us through our relationship with Jesus, how this flow of gifts from heaven to earth-bound beings has created a body that transcends boundaries and forming us into the one body we name as Christ. These gifts – humility, gentleness, patience, love, peace – are often overlooked or spurned by we the recipients. Often we are either too sure that we know better or too scared to risk using these gifts, that we are reluctant to pray the Lord’s Prayer in earnest. The world could be a radically different place if our behaviour was radically different. 

The reading from John’s Gospel equally tells us that it is through our oneness with Jesus – following his example, following his teaching – and feeding on what he gives us, that what can happen in heaven can happen on earth. 

It is hard to always take this on board, to live this way – to live this gospel. It is often hard to see how life on earth can become heavenly in character, that our human capacity to destroy the earth could be the capacity to heal the earth, to enable things to happen on earth as in heaven. But that is the gospel message which is our hope.

Exodus 16.2-4,9-15

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’“ And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’“

In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.”

Psalm 78:23-29

23 So he commanded the clouds above *
and opened the doors of heaven.

24 He rained down manna upon them to eat *
and gave them grain from heaven.

25 So mortals ate the bread of angels; *
he provided for them food enough.

26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens *
and led out the south wind by his might.

27 He rained down flesh upon them like dust *
and winged birds like the sand of the sea.

28 He let it fall in the midst of their camp *
and round about their dwellings.

29 So they ate and were well filled, *
for he gave them what they craved.

Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people.”

(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

John 6:24-35

The next day, when the people who remained after the feeding of the five thousand saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Proper 12,  9th Sunday after Trinity

28th July 2024

Reflection with readings below

Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus feared that the people wanted to make him king – and to do so by force! So Jesus quietly absents himself. 

The first Book of Samuel tells how in the time of Samuel, the people of Israel asked God for a king to rule over them – so that they would be like their neighbours. For generations they had been governed by judges – judges who if they channeled the spirit of God, were able to guide the people In living lives of peace and prosperity, but conversely if the judges allowed the people to ignore the ways of God and  follow false idols instead, suffered lives of war and oppression. God counsels against this, telling the people that a king will tax them, take over their land, take their daughters as handmaids etc, their sons as soldiers, and generally divert their wealth to his own coffers. In other words such kings are not good for your wellbeing.

In last week’s reading from Jeremiah God’s message is that where the people’s leaders act like poor shepherds allowing the sheep to scatter and having no regard for their wellbeing, then God will intervene. God, having remove the failed shepherds, will save the people, gathering them into one fold and raising up good shepherds to tend them. The passage concludes with a prophecy concerning the raising of a descendant of David who will be “as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.””

There are two sorts of kings: those that seem popular because they are rich and exude grandeur although in reality all their wealth is ‘stolen’ from their people, and those that are not concerned about popularity but rather about addressing the needs of their people.  

It would seem that the people following Jesus thought they wanted a king of the former type – which was not Jesus’s calling. Rather Jesus felt called to be the second type – ie the sort of king that God wanted – a king who would be as the good shepherd for the people. 

Jesus’s ministry shows us that he was able to guide the people into the ways of God, of being in a good relationship with God. He was able to heal them. He challenged their priorities as regards wealth and debt. He challenged their understanding about whose – and which -needs should take priority. And, when seeing the need, sought to provide them with food  – which is one of our most basic needs. In the feeding of the 5000 everyone is fed. Bread is not given just to the most wealthy, or the most important- nor even just to the most hungry but to everyone without discrimination. And they receive not just enough food but a generous abundance of food. 

Jesus as a king, is the sort of king who ensures that everyone is fed rather than a king who diverts wealth into his own coffers. He is the sort of king who channels the spirit of God, who points people towards God, towards the one who is the ultimate source of all we have – and of all we need. 

In today’s brief OT story, we hear of a man who brings the first fruits of the harvest as a thank offering to God. The story both acknowledges that all that we possess has ultimately comes to us a gift from God, and that we are therefore duty bound to thank and honour God. The story goes further and shows that the way we thank and honour God is in fact to imitate God and share with others as generously as God gives to us. 

So when we stand back and look at our world today, should we not be deeply saddened that there are people who daily go hungry whilst others corner more and more wealth for their own aggrandisement?  Whether that is in the UK where 3% of people used a food bank, whilst the top 1% earn £180,000 and more per year.

Or whether it is globally where one in eleven people live with hunger whilst Oxfam reports that “95 food and energy corporations … more than doubled their profits in 2022. They made $306 billion in windfall profits, and paid out $257 billion (84 percent) of that to rich shareholders”.

Those in positions of power – be they kings or leaders with other titles – do not seem to be able to meet even the most needs of the people in their care. But is it just the leaders and those in positions of power who have a responsibility to care? Or do we all as followers of Christ have a calling to be Christ like in the way we respond to those in need? Can our Christian faith help us?

The letter to the Ephesians reminds us that we -indeed all people – have the same Heavenly Father. We are all family – hopefully a family that is bound together by love, care and mutual responsibility. We are reminded that God’s Spirit – of which we are recipients – is a source of strength that can empower us. And we are reminded that through the indwelling of Christ, we are rooted and grounded in love. Thus we have within us the capacity to be channels by which God’s power can accomplish more than we can imagine. So let us use our lives and our resources to end hunger, and to create a fair  and just society.

Fine words, you may say but what about practicalities?

There are many organisations we can support that address lack of food as a real time issue. For example there are food banks which happily receive donations in kind as well as financial, including the nationally organised Trussel Trust which also campaigns on the issue. Charities such as Christian Aid, Oxfam, Practical Action, as well as smaller charities working with communities in developing countries, all help provide food and the means for growing food. And there is the United Nations’ World Food Programme.

There are charities such as Transform Trade and the Fair Trade movement which seek to ensure the least well paid receive fair price for what they produce. In the UK we have the Living Wage Foundation which campaigns for providing everyone with a wage that meets the actual costs of daily living. Business paying such wages can sport the Living Wage Employer’s badge. We can actively seek out goods and services that ensure are Fair Trade and/ or Living Wage concerns. Conversely we can avoid those companies that we know do not pay their workers enough to live on – such as Amazon, Deliveroo etc. 

As well as using our purchasing power, our abilities to donate, we can also use our power to campaign. Addressing hunger and inequality often needs more than just the short term fix of free food, and rather needs a change in the system that allows people to end up in situations when they cannot get food. Oxfam and Christian Aid both campaign to change the system and we can support them by signing petitions, hosting events to raise awareness of the issues more widely, and by joining marches. If we are particularly concerned about systems in the UK that force people into food shortages and poverty, we can support campaign groups such as the Trussel Trust, the Rowntree Foundation and CAP UK – Christians Against Poverty.

We can be active as individuals  but there is often great merit in addressing these issues as a church community too. 

A prayer from Christian Aid –

Loving and almighty God,
We pray for all who are working to combat the growing food crisis:
For international aid agencies and local community organisations.
And in particular we pray for those in positions of power.
May the leaders of the nations act with wisdom and compassion
Bringing relief to those who suffer now
And moving us towards a world without hunger.

We pray for our sisters and brothers caught up in a cycle of drought and hunger:
for parents struggling to find food and seeing their children go hungry,
for farmers seeing their crops fail and livestock die.

We pray for ourselves:
May we share generously from the abundance that you have given us
and join our voices with those who call for an end to poverty,
that lives may be saved and rebuilt with hope for the future.
May we act in your name Lord and be an instrument of your grace.

Amen.

2 Kings 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Psalm 145:10-19

10 All your works praise you, O Lord, *
and your faithful servants bless you.

11 They make known the glory of your kingdom *
and speak of your power;

12 That the peoples may know of your power *
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; *
your dominion endures throughout all ages.

14 The Lord is faithful in all his words *
and merciful in all his deeds.

15 The Lord upholds all those who fall; *
he lifts up those who are bowed down.

16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, *
and you give them their food in due season.

17 You open wide your hand *
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.

18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways *
and loving in all his works.

19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him, *
to all who call upon him faithfully.

Ephesians 3:14-21

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

John 6:1-21

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.”

When Jesus realised that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.

Proper 11, 10th Sunday after Trinity

21st July 2024

Reflection with readings below

In the letter to the Ephesians, we are told Jesus has  ‘broken down the dividing wall’. The writer describes how, in the new era of Christ, there is no difference between those who are Jewish followers – the circumcised – and those who are gentile followers – the uncircumcised. The dividing wall in the letter is a metaphor for the separation and animosity with which each group had viewed the other. But today in our modern world there are real walls that have been deliberately and purposefully built to separate one group of people from another.

In Israel the government has – and still is – building walls that separate the Palestinian people from the Israeli people; walls that demarcate roads which Israelis can drive along and roads which Palestinians can travel on; walls that mark out where Israelis may build homes and farms and and where Palestinians may try and make a scratch a living. 

In this country we have gated estates where walls – and locked gates – separate houses for the rich from those who can not afford such luxury lifestyles. We have walled gardens and swimming pools where the wealthy owners of exclusive apartments  can relax and their children play, but where those who live in the ‘affordable’ flats may not go.

And we have prison walls – the unclimbable, high outer walls that stop us seeing who is inside, and the internal walls that corral prisoners into overcrowded cells – sometimes for 23 hours of the day.

For the writer of Ephesians it is obvious that the saving grace of Jesus, by breaking down the walls and  barriers that divide people, enables the reach of God’s commonwealth or rule – to be universal: to be accessible to, and beneficial for, all. And the converse is true: in so far as barriers and walls remain, in so far as people are divided into those on the inside and those on the outside, into those who are valued and those who are despised, there will be no universal peace, no universal realm of God’s commonwealth. 

The other readings we have today all share the common theme of the shepherd – of good shepherds and bad shepherds, and the needs of those who lack a shepherd.

Sheep are herd animals; they rely on having a leader, someone who keeps them safe and together as a flock. Without a leader – without a shepherd – they get lost, fall over cliffs, are attacked by lions, incur injuries and catch diseases, and they may even fail to find the basic necessities of food and water. So too with human society. We do need someone to give direction, to coordinate our efforts, to give us an overview  of what’s happening in the world both near and far. We need good leaders, leaders who are concerned for the whole flock and not just themselves. Leaders who ensure that everyone has food and water, places to rest. Leaders who are wise and compassionate. Leaders who will risk their own safety for their flock. Leaders who see danger before it comes, and take action to avert the risk. 

Leaders cannot do this if they separate people into those who are deserving and those who are undeserving. Into those who are included and those who are excluded. Leaders cannot be good leaders if they build walls that divide and separate. 

Peace will not be possible in the Holy Land if rules and practices and walls separate the people into those who are favoured and those who are persecuted. 

Happy and healthy communities will not be possible if the distribution of wealth and access to opportunities favour some and not others. 

Honest and robust public debate will not be possible if truth tellers are persecuted and imprisoned whilst those who peddle half truths and lies are welcomed. 

This week five climate activists were sentenced to four years, and for one five years, in prison for planning a campaign to highlight the disruption that the climate crisis will cause for us all. And not only have they been imprisoned for wanting to alert everyone to the danger, they were not free to explain to the jury the truth that motivated their actions. Big oil and gas companies on the other hand, are free to bend the ears of those in government, to lobby for the continuation of subsidies for their industry, to promote new ways of using their products, whilst all the time knowing of the destruction that their industry is causing to the climate and to the environment. 

Where are the good shepherds, who will care for and protect their flocks from the dangers of climate change? Where are the leaders who are willing to tell people about the scale of crisis and the actions needed to avert disaster? Where are the leaders willing to challenge industries – fossil fuels, beef and dairy, construction, aviation – whose businesses are contributing to the crisis? Where are the leaders willing to shift subsidies from those products to those of the green economy? Where are the leaders willing to insulate homes, promote plant based diets, encourage active travel and public transport? Where are the leaders willing to invest in adapting our built and natural environments so that we can cope better with the effects of climate change?

Perhaps that is where the baton passes to us. As followers of Christ can we see ourselves as called to be active citizens of God’s commonwealth, doing all we can to build healthy relationships rather than walls that divide, seeking out and supporting good leaders, and challenging those who fall short, loving our neighbours – seeking their well being as well as ours – and pursuing those actions that will safeguard the natural environment? In this we have – as the writer to the Ephesians tells us – Jesus as both corner stone and structure.

So let us keep abreast of what is happening to God’s creation, to what needs nurture and protection. Let us seek out and support good leaders. Let us write and email and tell the truth to those leaders who are failing. Let us be Christ’s disciples sharing the good news that God’s commonwealth welcomes all, overcoming the barriers that divide, and cares for all.

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; *
I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *
and leads me beside still waters.

3 He revives my soul *
and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.

4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil; *
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; *
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.

6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Ephesians 2:11-22

Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision” —a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognised them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognised him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Proper 10, 7th after Trinity

14th July 2024

Reflection – readings follow on

A plumb line is a string with a weight hung from the bottom. It is held from the top allowing the weight to hold the line straight, and thus is used to measure the true line – the straightness –  of a wall. If the wall is not true there is a risk it will fall. 

In the reading from Amos, it is clear that God has held a plumb line against the nation of Israel and found it to be crooked – not fit for purpose. It is a message those in authority do not want to hear. It is a message they dispute and vilify.

How would we feel if God were to hold up a plumb line against our own national? Would our systems, our society, be found wanting, not fit for purpose? Certainly it does seem strange to live in a country where top restaurants serve £200+ meals whilst other people have to rely on food banks. A country where some people have two or more homes whilst others sleep on the streets. A wealthy country where prisons are overcrowded, where schools lack sufficient teachers, where hospitals lack the capacity to treat all their patients. A country where top 1% of earners take home at least  £180,000 a year whilst the bottom 1% receive a mere £8000 a year and where asylum seekers are spurned because they are a drain on resources. 

Surely what our county needs are systems – be that for education, employment, housing, food security, healthcare etc – where mercy and truth come together? If we knew the truth, of those in power knew the truth, would we not act to change things? For truth is, as is written in the letter to the Ephesians, the gospel of salvation. But how do we know what the truth is? How do we hear the truth?

Often we will look to scientists to give us truth, and we will hear statements such as, ‘The science says…’. Scientific study is certainly important, and we should encourage and pursue scientific learning – but we should also be aware that scientific learning is both constantly evolving, and can be presented to us in slanted ways that favour a particular view point. So we also need people who an understand and explain the science to us, and people who can help us make moral judgements about how we use science. This is where we need teachers and prophets -people who are in tune with God.

Neither role is easy but is perhaps those who take on the prophetic role who face the most animosity. 

This week we have seen a court case in which (yet again) climate activists were not allowed to explain their motivations for the actions they had taken. Climate activists are often the prophets of our current age, standing up to forewarn us of the dangers we face if we continue with our current ecologically damaging lifestyles. They are telling us that the scientific findings show that the way we have built and now live our lives is out of true, is crooked, is destined to bring – indeed is already bringing – disaster upon our globe. They are telling us how real and imminent these risks are and are urging us of the need to taking action now to prevent widespread disruption and loss of life. Yet, as with Amos, there are others saying that these risks are not real, are over exaggerated, and that those who spread such messages should be shut down and sent away. And so it is that in our courts where we expect the truth to be sought out and heard, where we expect the whole truth to be told, the validity of acts of public protests are being judged without reference to what scientific and moral issues lie behind those actions.

We all need to seek out the truth about the climate crisis, to discern the facts and the morality of the different ways we humans can respond. We need the scientists and the teachers and the prophets so that we can respond with love and wisdom and insight into the matters which so threaten life and salvation. We need to demand that the truth be told, and then be acted upon the truth so that God’s kingdom will come – will prevail – on earth as in heaven. 

We also told to seek out and promote mercy. What is mercy? It is the gift of care and protection and forgiveness. God is overflowing with mercy towards us. As well as accepting God’s mercy with thankfulness, we need to respond likewise showing care and protection and forgiveness to others – and especially to those who are most vulnerable. 

Pursuing truth will enable us to live the lives God wishes, to be part of the rule of the kingdom of God. Showing mercy, being merciful, will enable us to make good the damage we have already caused to our environment and to those within our societies.  Together truth and mercy are the gospel of salvation. 

Amos 7:7-15

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.’”

Psalm 85:8-13

8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Mark 6:14-29

King Herod heard of Jesus and his disciples, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptiser has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptiser.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Proper 9, 6th Sunday after Trinity

7th July 2024

Reflection with readings below.

Do people in our generation know that there had been prophets amongst us?

Who are prophets? Prophets are people  who speak up for God’s desire for social justice both in our own communities and globally, and for God’s call that we should care for and ensure the flourishing of the earth’s environment. I would include in this category of prophets groups like Extinction Rebellion, Christian Climate Action, Greenpeace and Just Stop Oil. But like Ezekiel, I think people often choose not to hear what the prophets are saying – the truth can be uncomfortable. 

Whether we are a prophets or not, we still need, I think, to ‘look with the eyes of a servant’ – that is to look with focused attention – to see what God wants us to do and to know how God wants us to live. For this we need to a patient, trusting relationship with God. One in which we read the scriptures, look at nature (the second book of scripture), listen in our hearts, and look at the state of the world around us. We should do this with humility and openness, not assuming that we know the answers nor assuming that our discerning will make us rich and powerful. If we thus pay attention, we will learn what it is that God wants and hopes for us, both as individuals and as communities.

I firmly believe God asks us to honour all that is divine by honouring and respecting all creation, and to care for and enable the flourishing of all creation – and that that includes the people in our own families and communities, the people in our own country, and the people in all other parts of the world. And further that God calls us to honour and care not just for our fellow human beings but everything that lives – birds and insects, fish and mammals, trees and plants, rivers and oceans, and even things like glaciers and icecaps. 

And this is something we are patently not doing. 10 people died as a result of floods in the Alps this last fortnight. 100s of pilgrims undertaking the Haj in Mecca have died from excess heat. 10,000s of people have died in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.Many more are dying unnoticed in the intertribal conflict in Sudan. Many are starving in the refugee camps in Chad. Entire islands have been overwhelmed by hurricane Beryl in the Carribean.

Record temperatures are again being recorded in the southern Mediterranean, the Indian sub continent and across North America. Drought and excess heat are devastating wildlife as well as livestock and crops. Rising temperatures and receding glaciers are decimating native alpine plants. Increased use of pesticides and herbicides and diminishing natural habitats are depleting the numbers of songbirds and insects. Ocean bed trawling and pollution are contributing to the sharp decline in fish stocks and  sea birds. 

The continued expansion of oil and gas production is accelerating climate breakdown. The continued widespread production and consumption of beef, chicken and other animal based food, is likewise contributing to climate breakdown, deforestation and biodiversity decline – as well as diverting large tracts of land to feed the rich few at the expense of the greater proportion of the global population. We eat our western meat based diet at the expense of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who suffer hunger and malnutrition. 

Such observations are disconcerting, unsettling and frequently ignored. We do not lift our eyes to God,  to see what God sees. We do not open our ears to hear what God hears. We do not open our hearts to love as God loves. Yet often the problems we would encounter are not the fault of individuals but of the cultures and systems of which we are a part. 

Should we then, as a church, call on our communities to repent of the systems and cultures  and the ways of living, that are causing social injustice and climate change and biodiversity loss? As well as calling for repentance, do we also need to share a vision for how we can ensure social justice – both making up for past injustices and creating a just society going forwards? A vision of how  we can tackle climate breakdown, living different lifestyles that cause less pollution and sharing resources more equitably? A vision of how we can make good the loss of biodiversity and ensure the flourishing of the natural environment of which we humans are a part?

Yes, I think we do. Just as Jesus commissioned his disciples to be prophetic – calling for repentance and preaching the good news – and to share the reality of the kingdom of God – healing the sick and casting aside all that destroys wellbeing. And to do this through the power and wisdom of God.

As individuals and as the church we need to pay attention and learn about the state of the environment locally and globally, about the well being – or not – of wildlife and about the wellbeing – or not – of humankind, bearing in mind that there should be  justice for all. In honouring God, we need to envisage what changes and what work God requires to firmly establish God’s rule – God’s way of living – here on earth. In repenting, we need to heal the wounds and injustices we humans have caused, and to lead new, reformed lives, changing the culture in  which we live. 

Let’s start today!

Ezekiel 2:1-5

The Lord said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

Psalm 123

1 To you I lift up my eyes, *
to you enthroned in the heavens.

2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, *
and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

3 So our eyes look to the Lord our God, *
until he show us his mercy.

4 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy, *
for we have had more than enough of contempt,

5 Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, *
and of the derision of the proud.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Mark 6:1-13

Jesus came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Trinity Sunday

26th May 2024

Reflection with readings below

Rublev’s icon of the Holy Trinity is perhaps one of the most iconic images of the Trinity. The three figures – visitors who arrived at Abraham’s tent by the oaks of Mamre – represent the three persons of the Trinity. Each is individual but related and all form a circle about the chalice at the centre of the table. The colours of their robes and the positioning of their hands and faces suggests the different characteristics they bring to their united existence and how their patterns of behaviour interrelate.


(There are plenty of web sites that explore the theology of this icon – eg https://sacredheartpullman.org/documents/2017/8/Trinityicon.pdf)

At the time the icon was painted, the Holy Trinity was understood as being the embodiment of unity of spirit, peace, harmony, mutual love and humility.

The interrelated and interdependent and mutually enhancing character of the Holy Trinity is also to be found in the natural world that is the Trinity’s creation. All parts of creation are interrelated and interdependent and when working together, enhance the whole. 

For example when the weather warms  in the spring, butterfly eggs hatch into caterpillars, which grow fat on new green plant shoots. At the same time butterflies that have hibernated overwinter, wake and begin a new round of egg laying. The superfluity of caterpillars provides food for newly hatched blue tit chicks, ensuring the next generation. Feeding caterpillars to the young chicks additionally prevents the complete loss of the new spring plant growth! Birds, insects, plants and the seasonal changes in temperature and rainfall work in harmony for the thriving of the ecosystem. This beautiful dance reflects the nature of our trinitarian God. 

We humans are as dependent on the smooth progress of this dance as any other creature. Without insects to pollinate crops, we would have a severely restricted diet – no fruit, no peas and beans, courgettes or tomatoes. Without the right amounts of sun and rain in due season, we face hunger as crops sown will not flourish and indeed may fail altogether – something we are seeing in the UK this year cereal crops.

Yet we humans are deliberately damaging our environment. We are pouring pollution into the seas and water ways. We are spraying crops with insecticides that wantonly kill of all manner of creatures – birds as well as insects. We are burning carbon fuels and releasing more and mo greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, warming the atmosphere at a disastrous rate. We are taking the goodness out of the soil reducing its fertility. We’re cutting down forests and replacing natural biodiversity with monocultures of crops and livestock, exacerbating the loss of ground water and nutrients and accelerating climate change. 

We fail to see ourselves as part of creation. We are not living in harmony with all our brothers and sisters of creation – and that means we are not living in harmony with the will of God. 

We have sinned and fallen short. We need to cry out to God, who is both our parent and the parent of all creation, asking for healing and mercy. We need to ask forgiveness of all our brothers and sisters in creation and be willing to likewise offer forgiveness to all who have harmed our shared life. We need to hang onto the truth that Jesus came not to condemn but to save the world. And like Isaiah, we must be ready to speak the truth and to act in accordance with the will and desire of the Trinity, following their example of living in unity of spirit, peace, harmony, mutual love and humility.

This is not just an airy-fairy spiritual dream for our hour in church. It is a real demand and challenge that comes from God and which can find a genuine response in practical action. Here in the UK we are facing a general election. We can enquire of our candidates what their policies are vis a vis the environment, the climate, and human-made pollution. We can ask for a commitment that we see laws and policies being implemented that will ensure an economic system that respects and works in harmony with creation. Green Christian has put together a package of ideas, questions and templates in response to the general election. The Zero Hour website has details and plans for a Climate and Nature Bill addressing these issues about the care of the environment, and practical resources to help communities in every constituency engage with prospective candidates so that this Bill can become a reality in the next Parliament. 

Ascribe to the divine Trinity the glory due their Name; worship their divine nature in the beauty of holiness.

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, you gods, *
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his Name; *
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders; *
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.

4 The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; *
the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendour.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; *
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; *
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

8 The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe *
and strips the forests bare.

9 And in the temple of the Lord *
all are crying, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood; *
the Lord sits enthroned as King for evermore.

11 The Lord shall give strength to his people; *
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Romans 8:12-17

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ– if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3:1-17

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Pentecost

19th May 2024

Reflection with readings below.

Last week was Christian Aid Week, and in the middle of the same week, London hosted the Africa Energy Summit when members from the fossil fuel industry get together to facilitate/ promote the further development of – primarily – oil and gas in Africa. The former a western aid organisation fund raising to alleviate suffering and poverty in Africa (and other parts of the world). The latter largely western organisations seeking to make more profits by extracting more resources from the Africa, to the detriment of the indigenous populations. 

By way of example, one proposed project is the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) which will extract oil from under and around Lake Albert in the Murchison Falls National Park, in the west of Uganda. From there it will be sent via a 870 mile heated (keeps the crude oil fluid) pipeline to a port on the coast of Tanzania for export by sea. The bulk of the project is owned by  the French company, Total with 65% whilst Uganda and Tanzania’s own oil companies having each a 15%  stake, and a Chinese oil company has the last 5%. In other words the large bulk of the profit will not even stay in the countries of origin, whilst the cost of the scheme in terms of pollution, destruction of the natural environment and climate change will be heavily felt locally. 

Today’s main story as told in the Book of Acts, witnesses to the role of the first Christians in reaching out in love and compassion to peoples from all points of the compass equally. The gospel is good news for everyone! 

I wonder how we think about what the good news means for the people of Africa – as well as other parts of the world – today? Is it a message of justice and love, of compassion and equality? Or is it tinged with a sense that they can have the left overs? That they will have to find their own way of catching up with more fortunate parts of the global economy? That their wars and civil conflicts – such as the ongoing civil war in Darfur – are not newsworthy?

Maybe the first thing we need to do, is to listen to what the people themselves are saying. What do they think their good news should look like? We can do this through reading the news, looking out for channels that pick up less popular stories, through accessing resources from charities that work in the region – that could be larger ones like Christian Aid and Oxfam, or smaller ones like Friends of Freetown which works with a local school, orphanage and medical centre in Freetown. And having listened, we can pray, and provide practical support through donations. 

This is analogous to the way Peter and his comrades had to find the right language if they were going to spread the good news to those beyond their own experience. The gift of languages must have felt like an amazing super power for the disciples that ‘first’ Pentecost!

I wonder what super power you would chose? How would it help you spread the gospel? How would it help bring in the rule – and thus the kingdom – of God?

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.

Psalm 104:25-35, 37

25 O Lord, how manifold are your works! *
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

26 Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number, *
creatures both small and great.

27 There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan, *
which you have made for the sport of it.

28 All of them look to you *
to give them their food in due season.

29 You give it to them; they gather it; *
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.

30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; *
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.

31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *
and so you renew the face of the earth.

32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; *
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.

33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; *
he touches the mountains and they smoke.

34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; *
I will praise my God while I have my being.

35 May these words of mine please him; *
I will rejoice in the Lord.

37 Bless the Lord, O my soul. *
Hallelujah!

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs– in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

`In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.

And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ “

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Jesus said to his disciples, ”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.