Tag: God

Counting on … day 122

1st August 2025

The third aim of the Third Order of St Franciscan addresses the issue of wealth, income and advantage so as to focus on living simply.

“The first Christians surrendered completely to our Lord and recklessly gave all that they had, offering the world a new vision of a society in which a fresh attitude was taken towards material possessions. This vision was renewed by Saint Francis when he chose Lady Poverty as his bride, desiring that all barriers set up by privilege based on wealth should be overcome by love. This is the inspiration for the third aim of the Society, to live simply.

“Although we possess property and earn money to support ourselves and our families, we show ourselves to be true followers of Christ and of Saint Francis by our readiness to live simply and to share with others. We recognise that some of our members may be called to a literal following of Saint Francis in a life of extreme simplicity. All of us, however, accept that we avoid luxury and waste, and regard our possessions as being held in trust for God.

Personal spending is limited to what is necessary for our health and well-being and that of our dependents. We aim to stay free from all attachment to wealth, keeping ourselves constantly aware of the poverty in the world and its claim on us. We are concerned more for the generosity that gives all, rather than the value of poverty in itself. In this way we reflect in spirit the acceptance of Jesus’ challenge to sell all, give to the poor, and follow him.” (1)

Living simply is about sharing what we do have, avoiding luxury and attachment to wealth, and using/ spending what we do have in a way that we would happily declare to God, aligning our use of resources according to the will of God – including environmental issues.

  1. https://tssf.org/about-the-third-order/the-principles/

Counting on … Lent 29

14th April 2025 

But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of every human being. Job 12:7-9

There can be no greater wisdom than understanding the world in which we live, and there is much we can learn from our fellow brethren who live along side us. Sometimes it surprises us to see how contented – how lacking in worry – our companions are! I was reminded of this yesterday when watching a pair of otters frolicking in the sun at the London Wetland Centre.

Third Sunday of Lent

23rd March 2023

Reflection with readings below

God does see the suffering that happens in the world and desires that it should not be so, that it should not continue. In the reading from Exodus, Moses is open to a relationship with God and understands God’s desire that the Israelites be brought out of the place where they are suffering and be released from the oppressive power of the Pharaoh. And Moses agrees to do what is necessary to effect this. 

God’s saving work did not stop with the rescue of the Israelites from Egypt, nor was Moses the last person willing to undertake  effect God’s will. Ensuring salvation is an ongoing task as in each generation we humans still fail to truly love one another; we still fail to share the Earth’s riches equitably; we still allow hate and envy and greed to distort relationships; we still fail to be open and receptive to the presence and wisdom of God. 

Last year I was invited to share in a Passover meal. The words we used came from The Legacies of Resistance: an Anti-Zionist Haggadah for a Liberation Seder, which refreshes the traditional words and thinking to reflect new theological understandings. When speaking of Egypt it used the Hebrew word ‘Mitzyrayim’ which translates literally as “a narrow place”. This is seen as “a metaphor for all

which is in opposition to life, justice, connection and sustainability.” Just as the  Passover celebrates how the people of God left Egypt – left the narrow place which confined and imprisoned them – so the Passover celebrates how we all, whether as individuals or as communities, can escape from those narrow places that confine and imprison us. 

Moses was open and receptive to seeking God, and willing to enter into a relationship with God. The psalmist too extols the virtues of seeking a close relationship with God. That is what we need to cultivate – indeed that is the enduring message that runs through the scriptures – if we are to escape the ‘narrow places’.

Today’s Gospel reading has an important message that our politicians should embrace! People who succumb to tragedy, whose lives involve suffering, are not more sinful and no less deserving of loving kindness – which is mercy – than anyone else. Rather says Jesus, those who are suffering, those whose lives do not seem to be flourishing, are all the more deserving of loving care so that they can live fruitful lives. People who are struggling because of disabilities, people who are struggling because of a lack of opportunities, people who are struggling because of because they are victims of an intolerant system, people who are struggling because they lack the physical necessities for daily life – they need to be given care and opportunities and the necessary wherewithal so that they can thrive as children of God. And those who have in abundance should be willing to give to those who do not – whether through self motivated generosity or through a just taxation system. 

We should not be creating systems that constrict and trap people in ‘narrow places’ whether that is in within social and economic systems of the UK or globally.  We need both in just and effective systems that provide aid and development for those who are in need. We need just and effective systems that enable trade and finance to flourish for the equal benefit of all we need just and effective systems that establish and enforce international agreements, ending war and conflict. We also need a culture in which we all act out of generosity, with love and empathy and compassion.  

We must, to quote Micah, “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.”

Exodus 3:1-15

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:

This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.”

Psalm 63:1-8

1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *
my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.

2 Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place, *
that I might behold your power and your glory.

3 For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; *
my lips shall give you praise.

4 So will I bless you as long as I live *
and lift up my hands in your Name.

5 My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips,

6 When I remember you upon my bed, *
and meditate on you in the night watches.

7 For you have been my helper, *
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.

8 My soul clings to you; *
your right hand holds me fast.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.” We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them–do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'”

Counting on … Lent 13

21st  March 2025

“The sprit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners ….They will be called oaks of righteousness , the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.” Isaiah 61: 1 3b

Again we are reminded of God’s calling that we should care for all those in need so as to create a world that in its flourishing reveals the glory of God. And in truth it is that same glory we see when we look at great oak trees, or ancient woodlands or when we see the first green shoots appearing on a local tree – just as it is when the sick are healed, the oppressed released, the broken hearted restored and the whole world sharing in the good news of God’s spirit.

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?

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.

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 … day 45

4th March 2025

Shrove Tuesday is a day for being shriven but what does that word mean? The verb shrive comes from the Old English scrifan “assign, prescribe, ordain, decree; impose penance, hear confession; have regard for, care for,” (and curiously its original meaning was “to write” (strong, past tense scraf, past participle scrifen) – https://www.etymonline.com/word/shrove

As we approach Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent confessing our sins and being prescribed (possibly self-prescribed) an appropriate penance, is probably our best understanding of the word. Shrove Tuesday (or in this day and age, Ash Wednesday) is a good day to reflect how we can clean the slate, make a fresh start, and clear away away what stops us from loving God and loving our neighbour. In reality a process that could take all of Lent and probably a lifetime too  – but Lent is a good place to start. 

During Lent I plan to use the Counting on blog entries to ponder how we can rebuild those relationships through the Book of scripture and the Book of nature – God’s inspired word and God’s inspired activity.

Third Sunday after Epiphany

26th January 2025

Reflection with Readings below

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalm 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

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

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

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

Luke 4:14-21

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

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

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

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

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

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

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