Tag: inclusivity

Proper 23

12th October 2025

Reflection with readings below

The Victorian had differing views about the poor. There were the deserving poor – those who by ill chance not fecklessness had become poor and who wed good and honest people who,would make good use of your charity and would be eternally grateful. And there were the undeserving poor – those who had by laziness stupidity made themselves poor, who would squander any charity they received and would never utter a word of thanks. In fact that is an attitude that still exists today. In 2023, Jeremy Hunt, the then chancellor, spoke about ‘strivers and shirkers’.

Poverty arises for very many reasons, key among which are lack of opportunity – usually linked to inequalities of wealth –  a failure to understand specific needs and the systemic failure of society. This week Pope Leo wrote of the “many forms of poverty: the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalised and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty . . . the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom.” 

In today’s gospel we hear how ten lepers came to Jesus seeking healing. Jesus doesn’t question them to see which might be most deserving of his help. He doesn’t assess them to see which might make best use of his healing power. He doesn’t exclude from healing those who are not Jewish. He doesn’t even limit his healing to those who will be truly grateful.

Jesus’s healing is not limited to just some people some of the time, nor is it dependent on their righteousness or even their love of God. God’s love is offered to all without exception. To give, to share love, to desire the healing and wellbeing of all is the essential nature of God. Indeed God so loved the world that she gave her only Son for our salvation. 

When we consider the poor in our own country, when we consider the poor in Gaza and in Israel, when we consider the poor in North Sudan – when we hear their cry – we are called to respond with open hearts and purses, not limiting our love to those who look and think like us, to those we think are deserving of our concern. Indeed if we thought about it, healing just some of the wounds in the world will be to leave ourselves with a damaged world in which we too may then become victims.

The passage from Jeremiah is God’s message to those going into exile. Don’t just be good citizens in your own homes, in your own country, but be good citizens where ever you are. Don’t be good citizens just when you are the ones in power, but whatever your situation, whatever your environment, be good citizens, for only then will you protect the environment that sustains you. 

In the same way, not to care for the poor, is not to care for your own future and wellbeing. Yet so many of our economic and social systems, so many people (those in authority and those who are not) operate on the premise that hearing out for the cry of the poor – and the cry of the Earth – is not important, that spending the needs of the poor is a luxury when there is spare money, and that actually looking after number one is the key to survival. This is certainly not the gospel message! 

To finish, more words from Pope Leo: “The dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow, and the extreme poverty of all those to whom this dignity is denied should constantly weigh upon our consciences. . . Either we regain our moral and spiritual dignity or we fall into a cesspool”.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Psalm 66:1-11

1 Be joyful in God, all you lands; *
sing the glory of his Name;
sing the glory of his praise.

2 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! *
because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.

3 All the earth bows down before you, *
sings to you, sings out your Name.”

4 Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people.

5 He turned the sea into dry land,
so that they went through the water on foot, *
and there we rejoiced in him.

6 In his might he rules for ever;
his eyes keep watch over the nations; *
let no rebel rise up against him.

7 Bless our God, you peoples; *
make the voice of his praise to be heard;

8 Who holds our souls in life, *
and will not allow our feet to slip.

9 For you, O God, have proved us; *
you have tried us just as silver is tried.

10 You brought us into the snare; *
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

11 You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water; *
but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David– that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful–
for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Proper 17, 11th Sunday after Trinity

31st August 2025

Reflection with readings below 

The metaphor of a banquet – especially a wedding banquet with its focus on a blessing and affirming a bond or union of love between partners – is frequently used in the Bible to signify the fulfilment of God’s will in the establishing of the kingdom of God (whether this is understood as the establishing of God’s kingdom here in earth as in heaven, or as the incorporation of all into the kingdom of heaven at the end of time).

The gospel announced by Jesus is that the kingdom of God is at hand, and his teaching demonstrates how that rule can be recognised and incorporated into daily life here on Earth. However amongst those who heard Jesus’s preaching, there was a diversity of opinion as to who would be eligible to be citizens of this kingdom. Some believed that it was only for those were obedient law abiding Jews – for those who matched their own appearance and class. Others believed that there was a pecking order for those who would be citizens of God’s kingdom with the most righteous at the top table. And many believed that those who were ‘other’ than them whether because of racial origin, religious practice, disability, poverty, would be definitely excluded.

So here in today’s gospel we have a teaching from Jesus about the absolute inclusivity of God’s kingdom. Jesus has been invited to a banquet hosted by some Pharisees. The subtext is that the guest list has been exclusive, excluding those considered as sinners by the Pharisees. Further, that this feast is going to be a test of Jesus’s willingness to adhere to the Pharisees position vis a vis their superiority to such sinners. I wonder how far up the table the Pharisees placed Jesus?

Jesus tells them a parable about social embarrassment. What could be worse than being asked to give up your elevated seat at a feast, so as to make way for someone deemed more important? So suggests Jesus, maybe if one were to exercise notably humility by taking a low status seat, one could then enjoy being publicly elevated to a higher seat? But is that to miss the point that no one is more important than anyone else in God’s eyes, for God loves each and everyone of us regardless of gifts or shortcomings!

Jesus continues his teaching that entering God’s kingdom is not only about not about our worthiness. Entry into God’s kingdom is not transactional; it is not about what we can offer, what we can pay back. 

Jesus tells us to pray daily that God’s kingdom will come on Earth – ie come into the here and now. In the here and now, everyone can be party of that kingdom – can take a seat at the wedding feast. It is not for us to judge some people more eligible for God’s love than others. Nor is is not for us to seek rewards when we live – and love – according to God’s kingdom values.

We are called to love and care for everyone regardless of who they are, regardless of their past history, and regardless of whether or not that love will be reciprocated. We are called to love all asylum seekers and migrants and all those seeking safety. We are called to do so regardless of any differences between us. We are called to do so regardless of any cost to ourselves.

Likewise we are called to love all those who are oppressed by violence, who are persecuted, who are inured, who are frightened, who suffer because of a lack of food, health care, or safe accommodation.

But equally we are called to love  – and not to hate but to try and understand – those who cause such violence, who perpetrate hate and oppression. How? By reading and listening and asking questions to discern the truth. Then we can love by speaking the truth, by praying for all, by  generously supporting those in need, and by nonviolently preventing the actions of those who cause hate and injury.

Jesus’s gospel message that the kingdom of God is at hand, still holds true. It is a work in progress as we humans continue to be less than committed to living according to God’s will, but nevertheless God’s love and wisdom is still there to help us along the way of righteousness.

Jeremiah 2:4-13

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:

What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me, 

and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?

They did not say, “Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt, 

who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits, 

in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?” 

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 things that do not profit. 

Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord,
and I accuse your children’s children. 

Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has ever been such a thing. 

Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods? 

But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit. 

Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
be shocked, be utterly desolate,

says the Lord, 

for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, 

the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves, 

cracked cisterns
that can hold no water.

Psalm 81:1, 10-16

1 Sing with joy to God our strength *
and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.

10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *
“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

11 And yet my people did not hear my voice, *
and Israel would not obey me.

12 So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts, *
to follow their own devices.

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me! *
that Israel would walk in my ways!

14 I should soon subdue their enemies *
and turn my hand against their foes.

15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him, *
and their punishment would last for ever.

16 But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat *
and satisfy him with honey from the rock.

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honour by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid. 

What can anyone do to me?”

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Luke 14:1, 7-14

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Proper 27 – and also Remembrance Sunday

10th November 2024

Reflection with readings below

When we talk about the House of Windsor, for example, we are talking about a family – a family that goes back many generations and which we anticipate will continue on for many more generations to come. Our first reading is also about the continuation of  dynastic House, that of the House of David. It is a story of the forebears of David, significant for Jews for whom he is Israel’s greatest king, and significant for Christians for David himself is the forebear of Jesus. But the story is also subversive as Ruth, the mother, is not a member of the one of the tribes of Israel but is a Moabite. 

The character of God is thus highlighted as being one who includes rather than excludes. The House of Israel is not exclusive but inclusive. This inclusivity is also the message of the gospels and of the Pauline letters. In writing to the community in Galatia, Paul reminds them that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female.

Today is Remembrance Sunday when we remember those who gone before us as victims of war. We remember their sacrifice made in the hope of a better future, a future where all people may live together in peace. Naomi says to her daughter-in-law, Ruth, that she wishes to find security for her – and she does this by enabling Ruth to become part of her extended family. The more we can incorporate each other into one family, the greater will be the peace that we can enjoy. 

Another word for house is home, a dwelling place but perhaps more importantly a place of belonging. So we may talk about our home town, or our homeland. In his encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis talks of the earth as being ‘our common home’. This is the one home we all share and for which we must all care, if it is to be a home for generations to come.

Today’s psalm reminds us that unless our deeds and actions are both inspired and guided by God, they will fail. It is God’s first command to us in the Garden of Eden. And the call to care for the earth, to care for the vulnerable and the needy, and to pursue justice for all, is the repeated refrain throughout the Bible. Only by so doing, can our common home, our global family, survive and flourish. 

Next week many people with power and influence will gather in Azerbaijan for the global climate conference – COP29. If our common home is to be a place of safety and well-being, we need those people to act positively, speedily and effectively in cutting the use of fossil fuels, in transitioning to renewable energy, and in ensuring a just sharing of resources  – and finances – for all our brothers and sisters, for all our House.

And then we too need to be willing to change our lifestyles, changing the way we use and share resources, so that together we can tackle the issues of climate change, biodiversity loss and social injustice. Typically we need to consider not flying; driving less and using public transport more; eating less meat and dairy and instead eating more locally produced fruit and vegetables, grains, pulses and nuts; replacing gas with electricity and using that economically; better insulating our homes; reusing and repairing what we already have in preference to the ‘buy, buy’ culture that advertisers promote; and in the words of Christian Aid, living more simply so that others may simply live.

Today’s gospel reading contrasts the different responses that Jesus observed in the ways people followed God’s ways. Some – and it would seem to have been those with wealth and positions of authority – who made token gestures: a biblical equivalent of green washing. Whilst others gave their all, allowing their whole live to be shaped by God’s will. 

Let us pray that both we and those attending COP29 will be be from the second rather than the first camp. Let us pray that the wellbeing of our House, of our common home will be given priority over personal gain; that by allowing our actions to be guided by God, so that our labour will not be in vain. 

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17

Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighbourhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Psalm 127

1 Unless the Lord builds the house, *
their labour is in vain who build it.

2 Unless the Lord watches over the city, *
in vain the watchman keeps his vigil.

3 It is in vain that you rise so early and go to bed so late; *
vain, too, to eat the bread of toil,
for he gives to his beloved sleep.

4 Children are a heritage from the Lord, *
and the fruit of the womb is a gift.

5 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior *
are the children of one’s youth.

6 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them! *
he shall not be put to shame
when he contends with his enemies in the gate.

Hebrews 9:24-28

Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Mark 12:38-44

As Jesus taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Fifth Sunday of Easter

28th April 2024

Reflection with readings below.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Acts 8:26-40

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

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

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

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

Psalm 22:24-30

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 John 4:7-21

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

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

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

John 15:1-8

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

Feast of Candlemas

29th February 2023

Reflection (readings follow on) 

The temple was at the heart of the life of the Jewish people. It represented God’s dwelling place on earth and was the place where the priests day in day out formally worshiped God with prayers and the singing of psalms, sacrifices of animals, the burning of incense, etc. This was the chosen place for Jewish men, women and children to offer worship through prayer and through the gift of animals to be offered as sacrifices. It was where the came to celebrate the festivals of the Jewish year. It was where they came to offer prescribed sacrifices for cleansing. It was where they came to offer donations for the care of the Temple and for the care of poor. It was where lepers came to prove to the priests that they had been healed. It was here that people came to listen to and learn from learned scholars. It was here too the religious courts were daily in operation for those who sought justice. 

The temple had its own staff – priests and levites, scribes and judges, guards, makers of clothes and musical instruments. There were money changers and the sellers of animals for sacrifice. There were those who mended and repaired the buildings. Those who cleaned it.  There were tourists too – Gentiles who could access the outer court and colonnades and take in the grandeur and scale of the site.

As you can imagine from the time it opened each morning until it closed each evening, the temple complex was a crowded place!

In to this busy space comes just one among many families – Mary, Joseph and their 6 week old baby. Who will notice them? What could make them stand out? Yet two people do spot them, do seek them out: Simeon and Anna. Both are prompted or guided to seek out this family and their young child, for it has been revealed to them that this was not just any child but a child that was unique. This child was going to change the world. Both Simeon and Anna declared this to all who will listen.  I would if we would be so attuned to God’s word or so vocal it revealing its truth?

Simeon in his outburst declares that this child, this bringer of salvation, brings salvation not just for the people of Israel but for the gentiles too. This is an all inclusive salvation that God is bringing to pass. Yet at that time the temple was divided into areas where only priests could go, areas restricted to Jewish men, areas where Jewish men and women could go but not gentiles, and then an outer area Jews and gentiles could both congregate. The salvation that Simeon foretold would transform all that. It would be a salvation in which, as Paul put it, ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, nor male and female for all are one in Christ.’

In our  day and age we should challenge ourselves to revisit this all inclusive nature of salvation. There should be neither rich nor poor, neither  powerful nor victimised, neither above the law nor outside the law, neither male nor female, neither homosexual nor heterosexual, neither first world nor third world, for all are one in Christ. I think we should go further, recognising how our relationship with the world around us is now understood – how dependent and interdependent all parts of creation are – to declare that there is neither human nor non human, neither wild nor domesticated, for all of creation is one in Christ.

Malachi 3:1-4

Thus says the Lord, See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight– indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old days and as in former years.

Psalm 84

1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

2 The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.

3 Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will always be praising you.

4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.

5 Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.

6 They will climb from height to height, *
and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.

7 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
hearken, O God of Jacob.

8 Behold our defender, O God; *
and look upon the face of your Anointed.

9 For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, *
and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

10 For the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
he will give grace and glory;

11 No good thing will the Lord withhold *
from those who walk with integrity.

12 O Lord of hosts, *
happy are they who put their trust in you!

Hebrews 2:14-18

Since God’s children share flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Luke 2:22-40

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed– and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

Counting on … day 378

14th November 2022

One of the agenda items today at COP27 is the issue of gender discrimination.


There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 

We pray for all the participants,

the decision-makers and the protestors,

the bureaucrats and the prayerful,

influencers and bankers,

for producers and consumers, 

for girls and women, boys and men, 

transgender and non binary, gay and lesbian,

and those who would rather be free of labels.

May we care for and cherish each other,

supporting, enabling and encouraging all 

to cope with the challenges 

and opportunities of climate change.

Loving and patient God,

may your will be done.

All: Amen.

Love and cherish not some of the earth but all; 

Not just your back yard, but mine too;

Not just your local wood but the rainforests too;

Not just your home town but the favelas too.


Love and cherish not some creatures but all;

Not just pandas and tigers, but the vulture and bat too;

Not just bees but wasps and spiders too;

Not just elephants but slugs and snails too.


Love and cherish not some landscapes but all;

Not just meadows but peat bogs too;

Not just ancient woodlands but hedgerows too

Not just national parks but grass verges too.


Love and cherish not some people but all;

Not just city bankers but street cleaners too;

Not just business leaders but refugees too;

Not just home owners but travellers too.


For if we do not, we are all diminished.

If we do not we shall all suffer

from droughts and floods,

rising sea levels and declining water supplies,

from infectious diseases and resistant bacteria. 


We are one world, one family,

one eco system, one interdependent 

and interwoven creation. 

God, our creator, redeemer and sustainer,

Bring us to our senses! 

Now!