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Counting on … Lent 8

14th March 2025

I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after false profits . Jeremiah 2:7-8

Carrying on the text from yesterday, the prophet Jeremiah is sticking to the message that he knows people do not want to hear. The land is being ruined because the people are not following the law of God. Rather they are following rulers who are law breakers, deviant prophets and false gods.

Are we in a similar situation where those who should be leading us are ignoring God’s ways – the ways of the natural world – and instead are we being guided by false prophets in the pursuit of false profits?

Counting on … Lent 7

13th March 2025

“I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land and made My inheritance detestable.” Jeremiah 2:7

Degraded soils create vulnerable habitats for people and animals. Without good soils, plants do not thrive and hunger and starvation follow. Microplastics are now to be found everywhere across the globe. Where they infiltrate the soil, they are polluting the soil and damaging the growth of plants. For the convenience of our lifestyle we are damaging the very thing – the land – that provides us with the means of sustenance.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/10/microplastics-hinder-plant-photosynthesis-study-finds-threatening-millions-with-starvation

Counting on … Lent 6

12th March 2025

“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that Adam should be alone; I will make them a helper as their partner.’ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what they would call them; and whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2: 18,19

Soil degradation is a global problem, resulting largely from intensive farming practices whereby the soil is denuded of essential organic matter. Degraded soils do not support healthy plants – be that wild plants or crops. They does not absorb water leading both to floods and droughts. Humans have caused this degradation of the soil in part because they have not cared for those helpers that live in the soil – such as earthworms. The use of pesticides and herbicides as well as excessive tillage of the soil depleted worm and other soil tending populations.

We sons and daughters of Adam need a greater understanding of our fellow God-given helpers and a better commitment to care for them.

https://www.soilassociation.org/causes-campaigns/save-our-soil/meet-the-unsung-heroes-looking-after-our-soil/why-are-worms-important/

Worming our way towards healthier soils

Counting on … Lent 5

11th March 2025

“The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish together with the earth. The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled, and few people are left.” Isaiah 24:4-6

‘Stepping back from the precipice: Transforming land management to stay within planetary boundaries’, is a UN report that examines land degradation. It underlines that ‘land is the foundation of the Earth’s stability. It regulates climate, preserves biodiversity, maintains freshwater systems and provides life-giving resources including food, water and raw materials.’ https://www.unccd.int/news-stories/press-releases/planetary-boundaries-confronting-global-crisis-land-degradation

The prophets understood that when the land is dried up and withered – when it is degraded – humans should look to their conscience and see where they have broken faith with God, where they have violated God’s laws. We need to better understand the way our actions affect the land, and pursue ways of using the land that are in tune with the laws of nature – ie the laws of God.

Counting on … Lent 4

10th March 2025

“… when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” Genesis 2:5, 6, 9

What can we learn from the way the Earth produces and sustains life?

The story in Genesis understands that it is God who enables the soil to become life sustaining. Today scientists continue to explore and discover how the earth and plant life are interconnected in a symbiotic relationship that begins with the soil. Physiologically active compounds produced by soil organisms and plants work to promote plant development, immunity and growth via reciprocal signal emissions. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0929139317311290

Good – successful – outcomes depend upon cooperation and communication. This holds true for both soil organisms and humans.

First Sunday in Lent

9th March 2025

Reflection with readings below

How do we honour God? What is it to honour someone?

To show respect, to acknowledge worth, to show loyalty. But that sounds too cold, too inadequate a response if we are talking of God. To honour God, is to worship – to show in words and deeds God’s worthiness. To honour God, is to want to do those things that please God, and to strive daily to effect the same. To honour God, is to put God first and foremost in our lives. To honour God, is to reflect God’s love for us and so to love God with all our being, all our mind, all our heart and all our strength. And if we are attempting to mirror God’s love, then we must likewise try to mirror God’s unceasing, limitless love for all that God creates.

To sin is to dishonour God. To sin is swerve away from loving God, to avoid doing that which pleases God, to deliberately not love that which God loves.

Temptation is that which tries to get between us and God. Temptation holds up, as it were, a hoarding that blocks our view of God. Temptation holds up, as it were, a mirror so that we see not God but ourselves. Temptation is that which eats away at and tries to destroy our relationship with God. Temptation offers us alternative ‘gods’ to honour – money, self aggrandisement, fame, power etc. Temptation tells us that not honouring God is perfectly OK, in fact it’s quite normal. Temptation lets apathy – I can’t make a difference so there’s no point trying – and/ or selfishness, become a lifestyle choice.

It feels like temptation is all around us, tied up in the systems in which live. We are encouraged from our earlier years to do well which morphs into be the best, do better than everyone else. Life becomes a competition in the classroom, on the playing field, in the playground – who has the best friends? School becomes part of the competitive trials for employment but it is not just what you learn and how well, but who you know – do you have access to the best contacts?

And work is competitive and sometimes destructive as those with more power oppress those without. And the work environment tells us that success is about money: the more you’re paid the better you are. And work and status say look after number one; don’t get sidetracked by ‘fluffy’ things such as helping others or caring for the environment.

And businesses want to win; to be bigger and better than their competitors. Investors want to win; to play the markets and come out top; to gain the biggest returns; to gamble and win – and usually managing to pass the risk onto someone else. Businesses always follow the profits regardless of any impact on society and/ or the environment.

And political parties want to win; they want to win this election and the next. It becomes a game: what to write in the manifesto to get the votes and what to offer big businesses to get the funds. They want to be popular with those with the most power.

And within these systems it can be very hard not be overcome by the temptation to switch off our focus on God. It is easy to get sucked into the system because playing the games seems the best way to keep up with everyone else. And it is easy to feel swamped – how do we as individuals swim against the tide that is everyday life?

Today’s readings may give some pointers:-

Being thankful and acknowledging that what we have – be that the first of the harvest or our weekly pay – is a gift from God. Without God we would have nothing – in fact without God we would not exist.

Being thankful and acknowledge the times when God has helped us cope with difficult situations or has shown us ways out of a tight place.

Acknowledging that God does not approve of affliction and oppression – and therefore reminding ourselves that we too shouldn’t support affliction and oppression .

Celebrating and sharing with others – including aliens – the bounty of what we do have.

Placing our trust in God.

Believing in – and therefore following the example of – Jesus.

Acknowledging that no one is beyond the loving reach of God, no matter who they are or what they have done.

Knowing and being well read, about the scriptures.

Being patient.

Being faithful.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, *
abides under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 He shall say to the Lord,
“You are my refuge and my stronghold, *
my God in whom I put my trust.”

9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, *
and the Most High your habitation,

10 There shall no evil happen to you, *
neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
to keep you in all your ways.

12 They shall bear you in their hands, *
lest you dash your foot against a stone.

13 You shall tread upon the lion and adder; *
you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.

14 Because he is bound to me in love,
therefore will I deliver him; *
I will protect him, because he knows my Name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *
I am with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him to honour.

16 With long life will I satisfy him, *
and show him my salvation.

Romans 10:8b-13

“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart”

(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Luke 4:1-13

After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.'”

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'”

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’

and

‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'”

Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Litany of repentance

8th March 2025

O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own ground; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord. Ezekiel 37:14

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Ezekiel 11:19-21

I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Response:-

Time and again, Lord God,

we have failed and let you down.

And time and again, Lord God,

you have raised us up and renewed the life within us.

We lay before you our short comings,

our greed for an ever richer lifestyle,

our selflessness in not sharing your gifts equitably,

our blinkered existence that does not see the suffering we cause.

Lord God, have mercy.

We lay before you our misdeeds,

our over consumption of the earth’s resources,

our polluting of the air

and our polluting of the water.

Lord God, have mercy.

We lay before you our sins,

our failure to love our neighbours,

our adulterous love of self interest,

our disregard of the Sabbath rest.

Lord God, have mercy.

Life dealing God,

Restore our hope:

inspire our governments to act decisively and fairly,

and with generosity for all in need.

Rebuild our broken bodies and broken relationships,

inspire investors to fund climate tackling projects,

and inspire lawmakers to establish justice for all.

Replace our hearts of stone.

Inspire us to love whole heartedly our neighbours

– human and creaturely.

Breathe new life into our souls,

that we may have the strength and confidence

to follow your ways, your desires.

Amen.

Counting on … Lent 3

7th March 2025

“Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:11-12

Genesis tells us what science tells us: that the world has the inbuilt capacity to generate life. The world is life giving, life producing. We are part of that created being so we too have the capacity to be life giving. Celebrating and embracing and better appreciating this gift enhances our relationship with God the ultimate creator.

Counting on … Lent 2

6th March 2025

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” John 1:1-3a

There is no existence – no life – that exists outside of the totality that is God. To deepen our relationship with God is to deepen our understanding of life – and therefore nature. This feels like a good starting point to appreciate the loving mercy of God and God’s everlasting commitment to life

Counting on … Lent 1

5th March 2025

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ”

These are the words said when we are marked in ash with the sign of the cross on our foreheads. As we respond to the call to repent – to turn away from our sin – we are marked with something physical that is of creation. The ash is traditionally made from the previous year’s palm crosses – palm crosses we carried as we once again announced that Jesus would be king, would rule in our lives and in our world … which on reflection we have failed to honour.

But the words talk of dust and that reminds us of the Genesis story when God made the first being from the dust of the earth – the soil, the very ground of creation. Studying the natural world, we know that its wellbeing, its liveliness is maintained through cycles that allow materials – atoms and molecules – to enable all that is necessary for life to be reused endlessly. God’s mercy too is endless, constantly holding us in the bonds of love.