hope – The Green Tau

Green Tau Reflection

Christmas 2025

I find this a fascinating picture, so much detail! It is the work of Bruegel and is his representation of Mary and Joseph finally reaching Bethlehem so that they can be registered. You can easily recognise Joseph as he carries a large saw over his shoulder.

The sun is setting as they arrive. The building to the left seems to be both an inn and the government tax office (note the red plaque with a crown and double headed eagle) where people are being registered. There are people busy with daily tasks – slaughtering a pig, gathering firewood, hauling goods, assembling a timber framed building, warming themselves around a fire, sharing a drink in a temporary tavern – and children playing.

It is also a scene that shows the faults and frailties present in the world. There are men brawling, and soldiers standing-by – are they there to defend or subjugate the people? There is a man emerging from a small shelter – he’s a leper with his warning clapper in his hand. Behind his hut someone is tending – or pilfering – what ever is kept there (are they plants or rabbits?)There is also a broken down wagon, its wheel stuck in the snow. There are a group of people sheltering from the cold in another rudimentary shelter – and the severe cold is clearly something they are all having to contend with. And in the background is a ruined castle – lack of money or the result of a siege? And of course there are the tax collectors.

In Bruegel’s picture, Jesus will be born in a world of poverty and oppression, of men fighting and children playing, a place where people struggle to make life work for them. If we could envisage Bethlehem in the time when Jesus was born, what would that world have looked like? Again it would have featured poverty and oppression, a place controlled by foreign soldiers and a remote king. It would have been full of people some who were rich and some who struggled, some who were rejected and some who were revered. A place where people could be exploited to suit the aims of others.

Contrary to some of our carols and Christmas cards, Jesus was born into a world where things were flawed. God became human in a discordant world where there was evil and wrong doing. Bruegel asserts the same truth in his painting.

And sadly the truth is not much different this year. But somehow this is where I think I find hope. God comes to us, to be alongside us, when we most need that divine love. God doesn’t wait for us to overcome our faults before seeking us out. I think we celebrate Christmas not because we’ve solved all our problems, but because we need the reassurance that God always comes to us in love, and that of all things, love is the most powerful.

Proper 21, 15th Sunday after Trinity

28th September 2025

Reflection with readings below

Jeremiah’s action was made as a visible sign of hope – hope that even though it now looked as if Jerusalem and the land of Judah would be conquered by the Babylonian empire, that this occupation would not be forever. There would be a time in the future when the people would once again know freedom. By buying the field at this most inopportune time – whose land would it be when the Babylonian had invaded – and by burying the title deeds in a jar for their long time safekeeping, that land could be rightly reclaimed by Jeremiah – or more likely his descendants – Jeremiah was saying don’t give up hope there. Even if oir land is taken away from us now, even if we are dispersed to foreign lands, there will at some future date be a restoration and we will return!

Many Palestinians families – both Muslim and Christian – have in their possession keys belonging to the homes from which they were ejected by the Israeli forces in the 1948 Nakba. They hold onto these keys as a sign of hope that one day they will return to their homes. Often images of keys appear on banners and signs to symbolise this hope of returning. The Right of Return is in fact a binding principle under international law, enshrined in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, adopted on December 11, 1948. It affirms that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date. It applies to all who have been made refugees. Surely they are right to hope that their futures will include restoration and restitution.

In today’s Psalm we are told that God is our shelter and stronghold. That God protects us because we are bound to God by love. If we call out, God will hear us. Whatever happens God is our safe place – even when a physical safe place seems an impossibility. It must be that belief that enables so many Palestinians to continue to pray and not give up on the hope of a better future.

The Letter to Timothy reminds us that we didn’t bring anything into this world and will take nothing out, and that we should seek contentment with what we have rather than being sucked into an endless desire to accumulate evermore riches and possessions. The writer is focused here on material goods and wealth, for in fact we come onto this world with the gift of God’s love and we take with us all the love that has grown with us through our lives. Not only that, as we come into in this life so we benefit from God’s gift of a bountiful Earth within lean air to breath, water to drink, all manner of fruits and plants to supply our needs – and with their beauty to bring us joy. And it is our responsibility to ensure that we don’t despoil this through greed or stupidity, but rather ensure that all this magnificent wonder of nature is passed on to our children and our children’s children for their wellbeing too. When we leave the Earth we should not leave it in a worse state than when we entered.

Yet when we look at the destruction of land and property, trees, plants and water supplies that is being carried in what was the Holy Land, we are seeing actions that go against God’s will, that destroy the wellbeing of both current and future generations.

We can see the same thing happening when indigenous people have their land taken away or their forests destroyed.

We can see the same thing happening when people are forced out of their homes because they cannot afford the mortgage payments or rents. And we see this happening to whole communities when their local shops and businesses, their community centres and libraries, are closed because rents are too high, funding to low, and market forces distorted by the monopolistic power of big corporations.

Where today do we see or hear the successors to Jeremiah, Moses and the prophets, calling out what is wrong in our world, drawing our attention to what matters and telling us how we can redeem what is being lost? Surely we as Christians and as church communities that are seeking to following Christ, should be the prophets of this age, calling for righteousness and justice and peace to prevail?

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him.

Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

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.”

3 He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter *
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with his pinions,
and you shall find refuge under his wings; *
his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, *
nor of the arrow that flies by day;

6 Of the plague that stalks in the darkness, *
nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.

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.

1 Timothy 6:6-19

There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time– he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Luke 16:19-31

Jesus said, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, `Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, `Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house– for I have five brothers– that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, `They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, `No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, `If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”

Advent day 4: I was here

I don’t know how long B Simpson spent here, but long enough – or often enough – to carve their name on a rock. In the stories of Genesis wherever the Israelites encountered God, they would set up a rock to mark the place: I was here; God was here. When we are following an unknown route, it can be reassuring to know that someone else has been that way before .

… hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place. Jesus has gone there ahead of us… Hebrew 6:19-20a

Proper 19, 16th Sunday after Trinity

15th September 2024

Being a follower of Jesus today’s gospel tells us, is not a cake walk. It involves carrying a cross – the burden or consequences of following the ways of Jesus, of loving and loving one’s neighbour without reservation – rather than the ways of the ‘world’ where profit and personal success are the objectives.

Likewise being a prophet – the one who hears and passes on God’s words of wisdom – is never easy. Likewise it is not easy to be one of God’s teachers. Nor is it easy to be a climate activist.

When we are called by God, we are called not just to talk the talk, but to walk the talk. That’s what Jesus did – and it took him to the cross.

Although the world is God’s creation, it is a creation that has been given the freedom to pursue both, and/ or, good and evil. Until the point at which God’s rule – God’s kingdom – is fully accepted and acted upon by all, we are living in a world in which bad things happen – and that might be because of someone’s deliberate wrong doing or it could be because the systems within which we live are flawed.

We can talk the talk – explaining how things should be in a perfect world – in the world of God’s kingdom – but walking that talk is not so easy. We are going to come up against the obstacles and hard places caused by individual or systemic wrong doing. Battling against this, going against the easy option of following the crowd, means we end up carrying a cross too.

Yet if we didn’t go against the flow, if we didn’t stand up to do what’s right, things would never change. So we stand outside places of power – the offices of oil companies, the offices of those who insure fossil fuels, outside the Houses of Parliament, outside cathedrals – telling the truth and calling for integrity and justice. So we take the train and the bus and not the ‘cheaper’ speedier plane. We take the single vegan option. We stand up and campaign for the small islands of the Pacific soon to disappear under the sea. We protest outside oil plants, block garages, and walk slowly down roads calling for an end to the injustice that allows fossil fuels to devastate the climate for everyone.

I think what makes it hard is that only a minority walk this walk, so we are constantly going against the stream. We are seen as eccentric or mad – or even bad. At times it can feel hopeless or pointless: will the changes that need to happen in the world, happen in our lifetime or indeed, in time to avert the worst of the devastation the world is facing.

What keeps us going? God’s love and mercy. The example Jesus has set. The strengthening power of the Spirit. The fellowship of other Christians. Yesterday I was part of a small pilgrimage with a couple of others and we walked and talked and listened and prayed. Time out to enjoy the beauty of creation, to be with God and neighbour.

Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens–
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.

The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.

The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.

It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?

Psalm 116:1-8

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.

2 The cords of death entangled me;
the grip of the grave took hold of me; *
I came to grief and sorrow.

3 Then I called upon the Name of the Lord: *
“O Lord, I pray you, save my life.”

4 Gracious is the Lord and righteous; *
our God is full of compassion.

5 The Lord watches over the innocent; *
I was brought very low, and he helped me.

6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul, *
for the Lord has treated you well.

7 For you have rescued my life from death, *
my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.

8 I will walk in the presence of the Lord *
in the land of the living.

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue– a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Mark 8:27-38

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “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, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Day five of the No Faith in Fossil Fuels’ Vigil

18th February 2024

It has rained all night and I hope those outside have stayed warm and reasonably dry

5.40 I dress and pack last things in my bag. Bike lights on. Waterproofs secure. Go. The road is empty and sparkling with the combination of street lights and rain.

Like everywhere else, Parliament Square is sodden but the overnight vigilers are positive! We perform a tricky dance as we swop places, adjust rain clothes, fold and unfold umbrellas. With my ponchos spread like a tent I sit on a small camping stool. Inside a foggy warmth builds up – it keeps me warm if not dry. Waterproofs have a tendency to be less so as the wet persists!

Calm returns and Jonathan and I settle into the composure of vigil.

Jonathan reads a passage by Thomas Merton about rain in which he talks about rhythm and sound of rain. Parliament Square has its own sounds for a wet Sunday morning. There is the swish of car wheels against water. The gentle slap of running shoes – running on a Sunday morning is clearly popular come rain or shine. The illusive sound of wetness that seems to hang in the air.

There are few people walking by. Sunday is not a working day for many. There are no construction vehicles wheeling past, and few delivery vehicles either. Even the police presence is diminished.

The Square has both a daily rhythm and a weekly rhythm and even a yearly rhythm. Sit here long enough and you’ll become part of it.

On the far side of the expanse of flat green grass that fills the Square, a row of London plane trees provides a lacy edge to the sky, whilst in the rain their patterned trunks stand out proudly. In between at head height, way-farer palms trees look oddly out of place in a rain soaked London.

On the grass seagulls stab for food – maybe worms brought up by the rain. Picking up on yesterday’s thoughts, I greet Brother Seagull with a silent “Good morning”. His reply comes back, “Awk….awk…awk!”

The gulls are joined by a pair of Egyptian geese, their feathers glossy in the rain-washed light. “Good morning Mr and Mrs Goose!” Egyptian geese are known for their fidelity.

There are few tourists this morning. Sight seeing is a fair weather pursuit and only a few resilient Japanese walk past following their tour guide.

The rain which has blown both heavier and lighter, dwindles and fades away. Faint patches of blue appear in the sky and ten flags unwrap themselves from their flagpoles.

Wetter weather may well be a consequence of increasing temperatures: warmer air can hold more water. Adapting to wetter winters and drier summers is something we will have to embrace.

A pavement cleaner stops to talk. He’s seen our signs and is from personal experience deeply aware of the effects of the climate crisis and equally convinced that it is unlikely we will make changes to turn the situation around. He is 73 and comes from Bangladesh. Rivers that used to teem with fish – the key part of their diet and a source of income – are lifeless, the waters polluted with pollution from factories and cities. Children can no longer swim there – nor too do the dolphins. He despairs that it will never change – yet he tells us that whilst simply to pray will not achieve anything, to pray and act is a different matter altogether. And he prays all day – and as to working, his name, Abdullah, means slave of Allah. He left us feeling greatly uplifted. Somehow despite the odds, he radiated hope.

4th Sunday after Trinity, Proper 8

2nd July 2024

Reflection (readings follow on below)

‘How long, O Lord?’ How often has that been said or thought? I’m sure it is as much now on our lips as it was when the psalmist was writing. We live in a world which is imperfect, which incorporates suffering in some form into every day life – whether that is the pain of childbirth, or the suffering when nature’s predators are successful, the suffering that accompanies earthquakes and floods, or the suffering caused by war, by oppressive regimes, by uncaring systems that permit starvation etc. Not all suffering can be avoided but a lot can if we have the will and the power. We can with medical intervention reduce pain and suffering. We can with good ecological practices reduce the suffering that arises from climate change. We can with investment and good education reduce wars and conflicts. We can improve the systems that distribute food, create jobs, administer justice, provide loans and grants etc. We can cultivate communities and societies where love and compassion prevail. This maybe what Paul means when he writes ‘present your members to God as instruments of righteousness.’ We can use our lives, the skills and capabilities that we have, to do what is righteous – what is right and true. To do so is to be alive in the truest sense, to be alive to God and to be alive in the way God wishes. To do so brings us joy.

Not all choices we face in life are easy. Sometimes the best option feels as if it is in reality the least worse option. Sometimes the options do not have clear cut outcomes and we may feel that we must start off with hope, not knowing what the final outcome will be. Is this where faith comes into play? Is this how Abraham felt as he climbed Mount Moriah?

How can we as Christians, as churches, help and support those facing difficult or impossible choices? How do we build up hope?How do we embolden faith? How do we strengthen the confidence needed to take the longview?

Every time we come together to pray, every time we come together to share bread and wine, we are reminded that Jesus’s teaching was that strength comes through helping one another, through sharing in fellowship, through union with God.

Genesis 22:1-14

God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Psalm 13

1 How long, O Lord?
will you forget me for ever? *
how long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long shall I have perplexity in my mind,
and grief in my heart, day after day? *
how long shall my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God; *
give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” *
and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.

5 But I put my trust in your mercy; *
my heart is joyful because of your saving help.

6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt with me richly; *
I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High.

Romans 6:12-23

Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.

When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 10:40-42

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple– truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

Proper 6, 2nd Sunday after Trinity

18th June 2023

Reflection (readings are below)

“The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few.”

The harvest – the fruits of our labour – and in terms of my current thoughts, all those good things we could achieve if we create – grow – a sustainable, green, biodiverse-rich world, is immense.

We could restore woodlands and forests, rivers and lakes and oceans – all things that have been achieved on the small scale and which could be scaled up given the will.

We could insulate homes against heat and cold. We could ensure all homes have clean water, sanitation and a supply of renewable energy. We could provide communities with green spaces for relaxation and wellbeing.

We could ensure a healthy diet for everyone with regenerative farming techniques and a shift from animals based to plant based foods.

We could provide efficient and accessible public transport.

We could reuse and recycle the earth’s resources rather than over consuming them.

We could sustain local economies with local jobs, local shops, and local businesses.

The list goes on … The Earth Overshoot project each year assesses the date when we have consumed a year’s worth of the earth’s resources, and this year it is 2nd August. The project sets out solutions too, and their website features 93 case studies for numerous ways – big and small – by which that date can be pushed back to 31st December. You might find the web site a source of hope.

It would all be possible if we had enough people asking for it, if we had enough people challenging governments and businesses to take the ideas seriously, if we had enough people – and companies – willing to commit to changing the way they live and work, if we had enough people – and banks, and pension funds – willing to invest in this change.

The harvest could be very plentiful but so far the labourers are insufficient. Let us then ask the Lord for more labourers – and be willing to be part of the recruitment mission.

Sometimes when we hear predictions about the future – whether they are positive or negative – we can feel that what we are hearing is unbelievable. Can we really believe that human activities – principally the consumption of fossil fuels – could lead to a 4C rise in temperatures?

Can we really believe that climate change could lead to a rise in sea levels of a meter by the end of the century?

Can we really believe that cutting our meat consumption will help save the planet?

Can we really believe that switching from fossil to renewable energy could save the world £10 trillion?

Somethings do sound unbelievable – even when they are backed by facts! So perhaps we can empathise with Abraham and Sarah’s reaction when they are told they will, in their old age, have a son.

Yet if we pause and reflect, we realise that both Abraham and Sarah have a track record of trusting and acting upon what God reveals. They have left their home country, and their extended family, and set out into the unknown, trusting that this is what God has asked of them and that God will always be there with them. When the disciples respond to Jesus’s call, and leave behind jobs, homes and families, they are placing immense trust in him. That is the trust we need to cultivate. Trust that if we follow God’s lead, we can make the good news of the gospel a reality. Trust that we can make the world a green and sustainable and life enhancing place. We can put our faith in the words of the Lord’s Prayer, in asking that God’s ways hold sway here on earth as in heaven, that God’s kingdom will be paramount.

Sticking to that is hard, especially when the result are not instantaneous. Paul reminds us, in his letter to the community in Rome, that in the present state of world suffering is a reality but that enduring suffering does bring its own benefits of endurance and hope and love.

So let us take heart, gird up our loins, and follow God’s lead. Let us be willing messengers of the good news encouraging other too to take heart. Let us be willing labourers so that the harvest will indeed be plentiful.

Genesis 18:1-15

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.”

Psalm 116:1, 10-17

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *
because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.

10 How shall I repay the Lord *
for all the good things he has done for me?

11 I will lift up the cup of salvation *
and call upon the Name of the Lord.

12 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people.

13 Precious in the sight of the Lord *
is the death of his servants.

14 O Lord, I am your servant; *
I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
you have freed me from my bonds.

15 I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and call upon the Name of the Lord.

16 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord *
in the presence of all his people,

17 In the courts of the Lord’S house, *
in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

Romans 5:1-8

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person– though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.’

Counting on … day 1.143

18th June 2023

We can sometimes underestimate the cumulative effect of small steps. The Earth Overshoot Day website notes that If we move the date 6 days each year, humanity can be out of overshoot before 2050.

‘Halving our Ecological Footprint of clothing would move the date of Earth Overshoot Day 5 days …If we can double the lifetime use of our clothes, we can reduce the resource demand by half. Maintaining our existing wardrobe by buying pre-owned, repairing, and upcycling increases the lifespan of clothing.’ https://www.overshootday.org/portfolio/giving-clothing-a-longer-life/

Counting on … day 1.103

17th April 2023

Prayers around the Big One

Hope

God wills that the world should be a place of beauty and peace – and the world is full of signs and stories showing us how we can part of such a world.

All that is holy!

Amongst the woods and forests,

between oaks and cedars,

God’s name is holy.

In the seas and oceans,

with whales and sea urchins,

God’s name is holy.

Across the moors and meadows,

with curlews and plovers,

God’s name is holy.

By riverbanks and streams,

following eels and kingfishers,

God’s name is holy .

High up on mountain peaks and glaciers,

sheltering in cwms and gullies,

God’s name is holy.

Gathered in barns and hives,

buzzing with bees and bats,

God’s name is holy .

Hidden under stones and snuck into crevices,

lying low with lizards and spiders,

God’s name is holy .

In all corners of the world

and where ever life exists,

God’s name is holy!

Amen.

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? Job 12:7-9

Living God,

when we neglect to see the beauty around us,

open our eyes.

When we neglect to hear the music around us,

open our ears.

When we neglect to feel your presence,

awaken our senses.

When we neglect to receive your love,

open our hearts.

Living God,

re-inspire us with your Spirit,

so that in us too your name is holy. Amen.

5th Sunday of Lent

26th March 2023

Reflection (readings follow on below)

The valley full of bones conjures up an image of cowboy western with a vast expanse of bare sand and the scattered bones of long-dead cattle. Except that here it is not animal but human bones – the bones of a whole community, the people of Israel. What has caused this mass death? Ezekiel tells us they had lost hope, they had felt cut off from God – and therefore from life – and their bones had dried up. Whilst Psalm 22 famously begins, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ here it is the people who have forsaken God. Their bones now lie dry and lifeless.

God tells Ezekiel to speak to the bones, to command them to hear the word of God, to hear the message of salvation: that they will be restored to life. Not only will their bones be covered with flesh but God will breathe into them, filling them with his life giving spirit.

This passage has many echoes of the creation story in Genesis 2. There the first Adam is brought to life by God’s breath. And it is from one of Adam’s bones that Eve is created. God settled the two new humans in the land – the Garden of Eden – so that they and the land might flourish. And likewise Ezekiel records God saying, I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil – your own ground – then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act.”

Renewal, beginning again, starting over, resurrection is always possible in God’s story.

But why have the people lost hope, why had they felt so far from God that their very bones had dried up? Psalm 130 acknowledges that if God judged us as we deserve, we would not survive. It seems as if we humans all too easily fall into such a state of sin, that really we should be beyond the pale. But the Psalmist reminds us, God’s nature is forgiveness, God will redeem us! We should therefore always have hope.

What would redemption look like for us in view of the most recent IPCC Report?

It seems as if we, God’s people, have gone so far away from God that not only our bones but our whole ecosystem is threatened. Vast tracts of land at present are fated to becoming scorched and dried up and unable to support life. Scientists suggest that on our current trajectory, all the land south of a line of latitude running through the Normandy Peninsula across the whole of Europe and Asia and on through the Great Lakes in North America will be uninhabitable. Only the tip of South America, parts of Australia, and New Zealand, would join with the northern parts of Europe, Asia and America, as being habitable. In this future world would there be enough food to eat, water to drink, space to inhabit? In this world would there be enough plants to refresh the air, enough insects to pollinate crops, enough sea life to maintain oxygen levels in the oceans?

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in this week’s IPCC report, “our world needs climate action on all fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once.” Redemption might look like the scene depicted by Ezekiel. A renewing of the desiccated human population such that filled with God’s Spirit, we have a new zest for live, are willing to make radical changes to our lifestyles, are ready to cooperate with one another, are ready to be generous in helping others. This regenerated, resurrected, people of God would have hope, knowing, that filled with God’s Spirit, we can be true to God’s calling we should love God with all being, love our neighbour as ourself, and thus tend and protect the earth.

The hope of resurrection is also the underlying theme of today’s gospel. Both Mary and Martha assert their belief in the resurrection but cannot imagine it happening. And I am sure that it wasn’t something that Lazarus could imagine either. Often we are trapped in a world view view that does not let us see clearly God’s will, God’s way. Instead we only understand things from a ‘worldly’ perspective convinced that the way things are – social norms, economic patterns, human habits – are set in stone and cannot change. It is as if we are imprisoned by this world view, shut in a dark tomb from which we can find no way of escape.

Jesus breaks that prison apart, his voice penetrates into the darkness, and he enables both Lazarus and us to live once more as God wills. Let us pray earnestly that in this climate crisis, as the opportunity of reform becomes an ever narrowing window, Jesus will calls us all – individuals, nations, governments and institutions- to come out from the tomb. For it seems as if we are trapped in a dark place where we can’t find our way out of the systems that trap us – the economic systems that make public transport more expensive than driving, that push up,the cost of energy even when the cost of production is static, that a customise us to a meat based diet, that allows us to charge countries for the aid we give them – in a system that says that the more you have the happier you will be. Yet there are other ways of living , of sorting our our priorities and furnishing our needs. It is to find that newness of life to which Jesus called Lazarus, and to which Jesus calls us too.

Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

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 130

De profundis

1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice; *
let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.

2 If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, *
O Lord, who could stand?

3 For there is forgiveness with you; *
therefore you shall be feared.

4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; *
in his word is my hope.

5 My soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning, *
more than watchmen for the morning.

6 O Israel, wait for the Lord, *
for with the Lord there is mercy;

7 With him there is plenteous redemption, *
and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.

Romans 8:6-11

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law– indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

John 11:1-45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.