Category: Sunday Reflections

A weekly reflection on the lectionary readings for Sunday

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.

Sunday between Ascension and Pentecost

12th May 2024

Reflection with readings below

At this stage of the Easter season it can feel as if some of the steam has gone from the lectionary. The readings lack exhilaration! The drama of the resurrection stories seems to have drifted into the past. Can we yet capture the frizzon of Easter – the surprise and amazement and energy? Or is this a Sunday to pause between the mystery and joy of Easter and the power and energy of Pentecost? 

In the episode from Acts, Matthias is chosen to be the named twelfth apostle to take on the ministry of the era of the resurrection. Last week I suggested we might see this ministry as being achieving victory over ‘worldliness’, the bringing in of the kingdom of God on earth. So whilst Matthias was a named apostle tasked with this mission, I think we are all chosen and tasked with this ministry. The writer of the letter of John tells that we have the testimony of God in our hearts. And the writer of John’s gospel tells us that we have been sanctified by God to act according to the truth of God as revealed to us by Jesus.

How does this help us respond to the world? To the war and violence, the prejudice and persecution, sickness and the underfunded health system, poverty and the unequal distribution of resources, greed and apathy and the destruction of the natural environment, short-termism and the failure of leadership? AND to the beauty of creation, of acts of kindness and generosity, of miracles of healing, of moments of joy and humour, and the love shown to us by people and creatures alike?

Firstly we know that the things of harmfulness are not in accordance with God’s kingdom, God’s law or rule. The Magnificat; the manifesto given by Jesus, using the words of Isaiah, in the synagogue; Jesus’s declaration of the two most important commandments – to love God wholeheartedly and to love our neighbour as ourself: all these tell us this. AND we know that the things of joy are witnesses to the presence of God’s kingdom. Many of the psalms give us words that magnify this joy.

Second we have been told by Jesus to take our concerns to God in prayer. Such prayer helps us express and understand, or at least cope with, our own feelings. And I believe it does release a power that can effect change. Prayer can also witness to others the concerns we feel and so increase the capacity for change. I also believe that sharing with God the things that make us joyful, strengthens our faith and the scope of others to see the presence of God’s kingdom on earth.

Third, we have been told by Jesus that words are not enough but must be followed through by actions – remember the parable of the two sons, the parable of the sheep and goats, etc – and by his own examples, Jesus has shown us that we should do all we can to right wrongs, to bring healing to situations, and to respond to people in need with compassion and empathy. And we should do all we can to cherish the beauty of the world, and things of joy. Jesus repeatedly used the natural,world to teach his followers, turned brief encounters into lasting friendships, and made meals into parties.

Fourth, we have the examples of Peter and Paul in the Book of Acts, of John the Baptist, and of Jesus himself, of speaking truth to power – whether that is to religious leaders or business leaders or to financiers or to those in government. 

Thinking practically, two examples: first, the fighting and the suffering in Gaza. We can pray. We can include Gaza in our church intercessions. We can join groups/ services that have a part focus on Gaza – and we may find that through these we gain in understanding of the issues. Keeping abreast of the news will also help us make our prayers more meaningful. We can make sure we are aware of all the different issues involved, the different people on all sides, and how they are being affected.

We can give practical support – at this distance through donations to charities operating in the area. 

We can boycott businesses that are supporting the apartheid regime in Israel and follow that up with letters to the companies. 

We can sign petitions calling for justice.

We can write to our MPs, and the Secretary of State for foreign policy, asking for a cease fire, asking for increased humanitarian aid, asking for an end of arms sales to the region. We can ask for matters to be referred to the International Court of Human Rights.

Second, No Mow May. It may seem like a small thing but this annual invitation to let our lawns grow unrestrained gives us the chance to see and rejoice in flowers and seed heads, insects and birds, that we would otherwise miss – and thus the incentive to pray. It encourages to see understand better the interconnectedness of God’s world and our part in it – and thus to be more caring, to be more concerned to live in harmony with the ways of God’s kingdom. And it gives us the opportunity to talk with others about such things, to share the joys and the opportunities of God’s kingdom. I am already surprised by how many people I have overheard talking about No Mow May this year!

If we can do these things in response to both the grief and the joy we see in the world, then we can make a difference, we can carry out that ministry that is bringing in the kingdom of God. And maybe we will be able to find moments when we feel the frisson on the risen Jesus or the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit or the deep calm of God?

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, “Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus– for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us– one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

Psalm 1

1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

2 Their delight is in the law of the Lord, *
and they meditate on his law day and night.

3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
everything they do shall prosper.

4 It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.

1 John 5:9-13

If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

John 17:6-19

Jesus prayed for his disciples, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Sixth Sunday of Easter

5th May 2024

Reflection – readings follow on below

Psalm 98 extols the victory of God that will extend to the ends of the earth, and which will be celebrated with joy by not just the people but by all creation – plants and animals, and hills and rivers. It is prophetic, encouraging us to look forward and to work towards that future age of glory. And in the fullness of time that victory will be won: God’s kingdom will reign supreme over the whole earth. 

If Christ’s resurrection shows his victory over death, then surely the challenge and the hope now is for Christ’s victory over the world! Here I am using the world to describe that rule, that way of life, in which humans are destructive of the environment, are destructive of the wellbeing of their brethren, are greedy and selfish, and who repel all that is good and loving and of God. To achieve victory over the world will be to establish God’s kingdom, God’s rule firmly and for ever on the earth. This victory will produce peace and wellbeing, justice and compassion for all. It will remove war fare and aggression, persecution and oppression. It will end exploitation and build up the common good. 

This endeavour – the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth –  is one that is ongoing, that is ceaselessly being pursued by Christ through the power of the Holy Sprit. It is an endeavour which Christ shares with us, inviting us to be alongside him. As the gospel of John reminds us, Jesus has appointed us to go forth and bear fruit. We are to establish – plant – God’s commandments and love throughout  all the earth. These commands will achieve victory if we adhere to them and share them, ‘for whatever is born of God conquers the world’. 

This is not to say that the task will be easy. We see in the gospel stories how Jesus’s disciples – even when they were living alongside him – found his example hard to follow. But we are commanded, and must strive, to love our siblings for that is how we love God. So often however – our ego, our self confidence, our self assurance, gets in the way. We doubt that others will behave in like manner towards us leaving us exposed to suffering and loss and ridicule. We fear giving too much love – and too much of what we own – to our siblings for fear they will not reciprocate.

Is that why we come to church, we we form communities, so that we can support and encourage and reassure each other of the importance and the power of loving our siblings?  Maybe we need to remind ourselves and renew our acceptance, of the gift of the Holy Spirit? Jesus does not leave us alone to undertake this endeavour of establishing God’s kingdom on earth. He is with us all the way -just sometimes we look away or ignore him. 

Be bold, be full of love.

Acts 10:44-48

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptising these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

Psalm 98

1 Sing to the Lord a new song, *
for he has done marvellous things.

2 With his right hand and his holy arm *
has he won for himself the victory.

3 The Lord has made known his victory; *
his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.

4 He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

5 Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands; *
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.

6 Sing to the Lord with the harp, *
with the harp and the voice of song.

7 With trumpets and the sound of the horn *
shout with joy before the King, the Lord.

8 Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it, *
the lands and those who dwell therein.

9 Let the rivers clap their hands, *
and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord,
when he comes to judge the earth.

10 In righteousness shall he judge the world *
and the peoples with equity.

1 John 5:1-6

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.

John 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

Fifth Sunday of Easter

28th April 2024

Reflection with readings below.

From today’s psalm: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.” When all on earth recognise God – when all on earth understand the wisdom of living according to God’s will, according to the ways of God’s kingdom – then there will be peace for all, then salvation of the whole earth will be complete.

Earlier this week I took part in a Passover Seder. The words used had been produced by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. It spoke of our universal need to be rescued from a narrow place, a place of constriction: ‘Mitzyrayim’ – which is also the word used to mean Egypt – and of a desire for all to be free,  finishing with the words, ‘Next year in freedom!’ There was a strong emphasis on inclusivity, on this being a meal for any and all to share. One of the items included on the Seder plate was an orange representing the the fruitful contributions  made by women, queer and trans people. 

The story from Acts also tells of the importance of inclusivity. The Ethiopian – who may have been a Jew or a Gentile but we don’t know – would not have been allowed to go beyond the outer public court in the Temple. His status as a eunuch would have prohibited it even if he were Jewish. However much he desired to worship God, he would always have kept behind this barrier. But when Philip unpacks for him what Jesus the messiah has achieved, through his death and resurrection, in terms of a new relationship with God, he asks to be baptised, to become one in this new union. Tellingly, the Eunuch says to Philip, ‘What is to prevent me – what bars me –  from being baptised?’

This new chapter in the relationship between God and humanity that has been established by Jesus is one of inclusivity: it is about salavation for all. 

Jesus, when asked what one must do to be saved, said that there were two key commandments – that we should love God with all our being, and that we should love our neighbour as ourself. Love is the way of salvation, the way of God’s kingdom. The writer of John’s letter explores all the possibilities by which we can understand and be part of God’s love. To love is to love God. To love is to be like God. To love is to love one’s sisters and brothers – if we cannot love them all, then we cannot love God. God’s love is based on inclusivity. 

In John’s gospel Jesus chooses the image of a vine to describe what it is to be part of God’s kingdom. He chooses a plant that grows and adapts, that can regrow and evolve, that multiplies and bears fruit. He doesn’t choose – for example – a military unit or army, nor an industrial production line, nor a country with well guarded borders. He doesn’t even choose a fishing net! There is something organic about God’s kingdom, about it being fruitful and about its need for ongoing care and nurture. It is an image of inclusivity and interconnectedness, in which we and God are joined in a union that grows out of Jesus’s self-offering. We can see that just as sap  flows through a plant bringing life, so love flows through the vine bringing life to God’s kingdom. Just as plants have to allow the sap to flow through their cells, so we have to allow love to flow through us. And as the writer of John’s letter explains, that love cannot exist if it does not involve loving our sisters and brothers. That is the challenge we face. We need to love all our sisters and brothers, human and creaturely, those like us and those who are different. That love comes from God if we allow God to abide in us and we in God. 

Acts 8:26-40

An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptised?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Psalm 22:24-30

24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *
“May your heart live for ever!”

26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; *
he rules over the nations.

28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.

29 My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever.

30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done.

1 John 4:7-21

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Third Sunday of Easter

21st April 2024

Reflection with readings below.

Easter comes to us as the season of eggs (real and chocolate), of fluffy chicks and frolicking lambs, of spring flowers and blossom and all such signs of new life. (I often wonder how it would feel to celebrate Easter when it is a time of autumn leaves, nuts and berries).  And of course new life is what we understand by the resurrection. Yet it seems as if that initial froth and joy of Easter Day is quickly subsumed by the down to earth realities of daily life. 

Two of today’s readings contain sheep and shepherds. And a sheep’s life can seem very humdrum too. Eat and sleep, sleep and eat. Maybe a change of scenery if you are moved to fresh pastures. Yet Psalm 23 reminds us, the shepherd is the sheep’s constant companion, ensuring daily needs are met (even those that seem mundane). A companion who is there when things are not going well, when life is scary and threatening – and when life is going well – for those times of feasting and celebration. 

And isn’t that what we want from God? A daily reassuring presence however mundane our routine, a tower of strength when times are tough, and a cloud of happiness when there’s something to celebrate?

John’s gospel reminds us of the intimacy with which we are known. We are not just part of a crowd, nor a number in the system. And we are invited to reciprocate, to respond to Jesus as someone who knows that they are precious and loved. We may have to attune our ears to hear Jesus, to refocus our eyes to see, to readjust our way of thinking – just as Mary Magdalene had to in the garden that first Easter morning. 

Easter does change things. The story of the resurrection brings new life, new energy, a new sense of purpose. The stories from Acts over the past few Sundays show us how the resurrection changed the way the disciples lived, how they formed a new community with a new relationship with money and resources, new ways of showing their love for each other, new ways of reaching out to those around them – especially those who were sick and in need of healing – but also towards those in authority who had misunderstood God’s word. They demonstrated a new energy, a new power that spoke of  God. 

We know from the stories that sheep can go astray, that they do get lost. And that each time the lost sheep needs to be brought back into its rightful relationship with the shepherd. We too often get lost – lost in the despondency of thinking that nothing changes, that life is merely a humdrum repetition of pointless activities. 

And that is why we need to celebrate Easter each year and go through that process of remembering and re-embracing the resurrection story. The letter of John reminds us that ‘God is greater than our hearts’ – God’s love is more than we can comprehend. This is the love that Jesus demonstrates for us, shares with us and commands us to share. This is the love that makes us alive! This love is power!  Life is not just the same old, same old. Life is not merely humdrum. It is vibrant and expanding. Easter reminds us of that. Easter refreshes us, revitalises us, renews us – for we are part of the resurrection story, we are joined in union with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we sometimes need to make the effort to hear and feel and re-embrace the Easter story – perhaps that is why we have Sundays!

We may nevertheless feel at times that we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, that the world is still a place of aggression and war, persecution and oppression. But we are not walking alone. And there are people of faith who will stand up and protest, who work to feed the hungry and heal the sick, who challenge wrong doing and will not be silenced. 

This week hundreds of people have stood silently outside every single crown court, protesting the importance that our juries make their decision according to their conscience. 

Over the last few months thousands of people have marched through the streets of London calling for a resolution of crisis in Gaza. 

Over the last few years thousands have made donations to food banks to fill the gap where government support has fallen short. Thousands have spoken up over the injustices faced by the poor and the vulnerable. Thousands have campaigned about the need to address the climate crisis that unrestrained human activity is accelerating. 

Easter is so much more than chocolate eggs and fluffy chicks. It is about the ongoing renewal of life that is bringing in the rule of God here on earth as in heaven, that is spreading far and wide the loving power of God demonstrated through the life and resurrection of Jesus.

Acts 4:5-12

The rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is

`the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.’

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

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.

1 John 3:16-24

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us– and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

John 10:11-18

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”