30th August 2026
Reflection with readings below.
The overarching theme of today’s readings is that life is not free suffering – even for those who give their allegiance to God. Creation is still a work in progress?
I am reading Eat the Planet Well by Dave Goulson, a scientist who has specialised in bumblebees. He writes about adapting gardens and farmland to restore the lost habitats as a way of boosting the much depleted bumblebee population. He then writes about research he carried out on the effects of neonicotinoids on bees. His findings were clear and stark as to their highly detrimental affect.
But what surprised him more was the reaction of the pesticide industry, which threw vast sums of money at belittling his research – asserting it wasn’t truthful – lobbying politicians about the necessity of pesticides and the need to avoid legislation, bamboozling farmers about the multiple benefits of pesticides. Goulson records that the industry using the same game plan as the tobacco industry did in the 50s and 60s, as the fossil fuel industry has since at least the 1970s, and which both the meat and the plastics industries are also pursuing, falsely validating their product to ensure continued and increasing sales.
These are all industries that generate large profits for their shareholders, which use their size and financial clout to press governments across the world to protect their industries; which exploit the media to promote their product as good for society – Shell claims that they are key operators in ensuring energy security across the globe; which also use the media and think tanks to disabuse other viewpoints; and which have no regard for the damage their industries are causing. And indeed they are never asked to pay for the damage they cause.
Against these, campaigners and activists can feel overwhelmed. Will signing a petition, writing to my MP, joining a march, voting at AGMs, make any impact against mega sized corporations? Yet against the odds, they do continue to campaign.
Some campaigners conversely opt to undertake increasingly extreme actions to try and both raise public awareness and press governments to take action for the common good. Just Stop Oil took many nonviolent actions, such as closing down motorways, which did raise public awareness about the oil versus climate change issue but which also resulted in activists being imprisoned.
Such activists could echo the plaintive cry of Jeremiah. Why, he asks, does he suffer abuse and suffering from those who oppose God’s word? Why does he end up missing the parties and the good times because he is overwhelmed by the dire warnings of God’s? Is he in fact suffering pointlessly as he tries to adhere to God’s will?
God urges him to stay strong and to remain true to his calling, speaking truthfully God’s word and withstanding the forces of those who oppose God’s will. God will be with Jeremiah, God will provide him with resilience, and ensure his deliverance
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples not to turn away from the challenges and potential suffering that can result from following him. It is only by facing these challenges that they will experience life in all its richness. Whilst Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us how we should live – loving and honouring others, being hospitable and generous – and how we should not fall into the trap of behaving like those who oppose God’s word. We should not revile or hate our opponents, nor repay evil with evil.
This is message for activists too. Our actions must bear the hallmark of what we stand for: they must reflect our beliefs. Equally we should not get sucked into responding to those who oppose us with words and actions that mirror theirs. We should continue to respect and be polite and honest in our actions and protests. Indeed we should bear in mind Paul’s words that we should go beyond the tit for tat, and actually minister positively towards those who oppose us when they are in need.
I also think part of the work of the activist, as it was for the prophet Jeremiah, is to bear witness to what is happening in the world around us, highlighting both what is going wrong and what is going aright. The horrendous tragedy unfolding in Nepal and Tibet is, in large part, the consequence of years of ignoring the damage caused by burning fossil fuels. We will not serve well current and future generations if we do not urgently address this issue – and here the ‘we’ has to be us as individuals, us as governments and us as businesses. Action will involve changing the way we live, consuming less, radically redistributing wealth. And so yes it will require us, if not to suffer, then at least to forgo what we see as pleasures and comforts – flying less, eating less meat and dairy, buying fewer electrical and fashion items, switching from gas boilers to electrical heating etc. But we may find life simpler and more enjoyable, and we will be doing all we can to avert further catastrophes that impact the lives of so many.
Jeremiah 15:15-21
O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance do not take me away;
know that on your account I suffer insult.
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart;
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
I did not sit in the company of merrymakers,
nor did I rejoice;
under the weight of your hand I sat alone,
for you had filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail.
Therefore, thus says the Lord:
If you turn back, I will take you back,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall serve as my mouth.
It is they who will turn to you,
not you who will turn to them.
And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
says the Lord.
I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.
Psalm 26:1-8
1 Give judgment for me, O Lord,
for I have lived with integrity; *
I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.
2 Test me, O Lord, and try me; *
examine my heart and my mind.
3 For your love is before my eyes; *
I have walked faithfully with you.
4 I have not sat with the worthless, *
nor do I consort with the deceitful.
5 I have hated the company of evildoers; *
I will not sit down with the wicked.
6 I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, *
that I may go in procession round your altar,
7 Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *
and recounting all your wonderful deeds.
8 Lord, I love the house in which you dwell *
and the place where your glory abides.
Romans 12:9-21
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Matthew 16:21-28
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
The Green Tau 