Prophets – The Green Tau

Proper 8, 4th Sunday after Trinity

28th June 2026

Reflection with readings below

Today’s reading comes towards the end of the Book of Jeremiah. At the time that Jeremiah lived, there were two competing world powers – Babylon to the east and Egypt to the southwest with Judah in between. For small nations like Judah, but also such as Edom and Moab, the easiest option was to become a vassal state, paying tribute, to which ever world power they felt was strongest. Nowadays we might see this with small nations establishing trade agreements with one or other of the powerful nations of the world. Judah was -maybe temporarily and subject to review – paying tribute to Babylon.

Jeremiah was of the opinion that Judah should knuckle down under the power of Babylon – in fact he symbolically fastens a yoke of straps and bars around his neck – as he senses that this is God’s will, and that by submitting to God’s will they will ultimately be restored to full nationhood by God. Jeremiah sees Judah’s subjugation by Babylon as the deserved consequences for failing to adhere to God’s laws.

Judah has already suffered one defeat at the hands of the Babylonians which had led to both vessel from the Temple and senior figures being taken away to Babylon. Now an uneasy settlement existed between Judah and Babylon in which some favoured the status quo whilst others favoured rebellion and the option of siding in favour with Egypt. This latter was a popular view in the Judean ruling circles, with many prophesying that anytime soon the tables would be turned on Babylon and all Judah’s wealth including the Temple vessels would be restored to Jerusalem.

One of these prophets was Hananiah, who in the verses preceding today’s readings says “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, says the Lord, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon”. To make his point, Hananiah breaks the wooden yoke from around Jeremiah’s neck.

Jeremiah’s response to Hananiah as we heard in today’s reading, is somewhat in the vein of ‘the proof of the pudding will be in the eating!’ Jeremiah persists with his less favourable viewpoint and later, in verse 13, we hear the Lord tell Jeremiah to replace the wooden yoke with one of iron bars, for such it will be to serve the king of Babylon. Being a truthful prophet can be very uncomfortable.

Today the greatest crisis the world faces is that of unrestrained climate change – the discomforts of which we have been feeling this last week. I do not for a moment think that God has created climate change to punish us. But I do think climate change is a natural consequence of human action in burning excessive amounts of carbon fuels. As in the days of Jeremiah there are strong voices on either side of the divide between those who say climate change is not caused by human activities (only this week the so-called Alliance of Responsible Citizens held their annual meeting in London with speakers expounding this view) and those who say the reverse; and between those who say we should address the issue by urgently and at scale cutting emissions to zero, and those who contend that we should worry more about ensuring the economic growth that fossil fuels have so far generated.

Today’s psalm – in line with the message of the entire Bible – reminds us that we only thrive and flourish as God intends when we adhere to God’s wisdom. To ignore or obstruct the ways of God’s wisdom is to sin. And as Paul reminds us, to sin is to be as one who is dead. To seek forgiveness is to be raised to new life and to be bound – enslaved – to the ways of righteousness.

Our gospel reading brings us back to the role of the prophet in speaking of God’s truth. It is a worthy calling. As disciples of Christ we are called to speak the truth, to advocate for God’s wisdom and to embrace fully the ways of righteousness.

For our current generation I believe that our prophetic role is to call for the rapid curb in the production and use of fossil fuels, as well as a call for a just and fair sharing of the Earth’s resources that reflects the needs of everyone – humans and creaturely beings alike.

Jeremiah 28:5-9

The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfil the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

Psalm 89:1-4,15-18

1 Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing; *
from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

2 For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever; *
you have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.

3 “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; *
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:

4 ‘I will establish your line for ever, *
and preserve your throne for all generations.'”

15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout! *
they walk, O Lord, in the light of your presence.

16 They rejoice daily in your Name; *
they are jubilant in your righteousness.

17 For you are the glory of their strength, *
and by your favour our might is exalted.

18 Truly, the Lord is our ruler; *
the Holy One of Israel is our King.

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 7, third Sunday after Trinity

21st June 2026

Reflection with readings below

I struggle – not I think unreasonably – with today’s words from Matthew’s Gospel. Maybe they reflect the situation that prevailed in 1st century Christian communities. Maybe they were struggling with division and conflict between those who believed and those who didn’t; those eager to speak out and those who preferred discretion; those who felt it was more important to survive as a community within their society and those who felt it was more important to stand apart from the prevailing society. If so, then it seems a if the writer of Matthew’s gospel wants to reassure those whose faith pits them at odds with their families, with their community, with society.

On the other hand, it is important to consider that for some people their Christian faith – or maybe their understanding of that faith – does put them at odds with family, with friends, with work colleagues, with governments. Only last week we saw 4 young people imprisoned because their views on the outrageous actions carried out by the State of Israel against Palestinians, put them at odds with our government. They felt that that those manufacturing arms to supply the Israeli Defence Force should be stopped where as the government did not.

In the Church Times one can read letters and articles that highlight the differing views of Christians on the rights of transpeople, or about the conflicting views about national identity and Christian identities.

Perhaps what we can learn from today’s gospel is the importance of listening to other people’s viewpoint (even if we don’t agree) and in seeking to understand the situations that lead to conflict, as well as the importance of trying to establish the truth. Today’s gospel also encourages to be willing to let go of long held views when these prevent us living more truthfully as followers of Jesus.

The passage from Jeremiah also makes for a challenging read. To serve God does not guarantee a life of roses. God understands that life is not always straightforward, is not always easy, and that to counter what is going awry can demand vulnerability. It is not everyone’s vocation to be a prophet, but for those who are, it is a challenging role. Jeremiah’s words express how it can feel to present a counter story or a counter argument to the accepted way of a society. How it feels to be mocked and here’s. How it feels to be the one – apparently – out on a limb. Yet when prophets speak and act in truth for God, they can find consolation in knowing that God understands and values what they are going through.

Paul knew well from his own experience how it felt to be persecuted, to be mocked and derided. He knew how hard it is to stand in opposition to those with whom you have grown up, in opposition with those with whom you had previously shared common beliefs, and how hard it was to strike out on a different path. He also knew how hard it was to challenge – and be challenged by – your fellow believers when points of conflict arise. But I think Paul saw that leaving behind past practices, past ties, was akin to leaving behind an old self, an old body. It was as he describes in the letter to the Romans, a dying to sin. And that conversely stepping away from the old ways and previously held beliefs, to follow the new of Jesus, was – and is! – a form of rebirth. In Christ we enlivened by new life that is without compare.

A few weeks ago we heard from Matthew’s gospel, the Pharisees complaining that Jesus was mixing with tax collectors and sinners – with those they deemed as undesirables. But Jesus sees it as his mission to drink and eat – to socialise – with them. Then he reminds the Pharisees that it is the sick who need a doctor. Do the Pharisees, I wonder, pause to think whether it is the tax collectors and sinners or they, the Pharisees, who are the ones in need of a doctor?

So let’s not be distracted by today’s gospel from following the example of Jesus of mixing and socialising and talking and listening to one and all.

Jeremiah 20:7-13

O Lord, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;

you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.

I have become a laughingstock all day long;
everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”

For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.

If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”

then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;

I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.

For I hear many whispering:
“Terror is all around!

Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.

“Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him.”

But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.

They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.

Their eternal dishonour
will never be forgotten.

O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;

let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.

Psalm 69: 8-20

8 Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, *
and shame has covered my face.

9 I have become a stranger to my own kindred, *
an alien to my mother’s children.

10 Zeal for your house has eaten me up; *
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.

11 I humbled myself with fasting, *
but that was turned to my reproach.

12 I put on sack-cloth also, *
and became a byword among them.

13 Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, *
and the drunkards make songs about me.

14 But as for me, this is my prayer to you, *
at the time you have set, O Lord:

15 “In your great mercy, O God, *
answer me with your unfailing help.

16 Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *
let me be rescued from those who hate me
and out of the deep waters.

17 Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
neither let the deep swallow me up; *
do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.

18 Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind; *
in your great compassion, turn to me.’

19 “Hide not your face from your servant; *
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.

20 Draw near to me and redeem me; *
because of my enemies deliver me.

Romans 6:1b-11

Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Counting on … 167

17th October 2025

CNN described Pope Francis as “the fiercest climate and environment advocate in the church’s history.”

His 2015 encyclical Laudato Si connected the care of the environment with social justice, and was a radical challenge not just to the church world wide but to all humanity, that now is the time to recognise that we share a common home, and that only together, by radically changing the way we live can we hope to secure a safe future for generations to come.

“The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish.”

“Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last 200 years.”

“We are not God. The Earth was here before us and was given to us.”

“The idea of infinite or unlimited growth, which proves so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology … is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry at every limit.”

“Yet all is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start.”

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Counting on … 166

16th October 2025

Vanessa Nakate also began her journey as a prophet as a solo protestor standing with a placard outside the Ugandan Parliament in Kampala. From here she has inspired a whole youth movement, drawing support from across Africa. Addressing the delegates at the pre-COP26 Youth Summit, she highlighted some uncomfortable truths: “In the past few years, I have seen more and more of how the climate crisis is affecting the African continent. Which is ironic given that Africa is the lowest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions of all continents, except for Antarctica… Many Africans are losing their lives, while countless more are losing their livelihoods.”

In 2022 she addressed Africa’s People’s AGM on EACOP. “It is evident that there is no future in the fossil fuel industry. In regards to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, many people think this is a way of [creating] jobs and economic development. But we know the impacts on our food. We know the impacts on our water. We know the impacts on our livelihood.”

“The International Energy Agency has made it very clear that if we want to [limit global warming] to 1.5 degrees Celsius, then we cannot have any new fossil fuel development. But even at 1.2 degrees, we already seeing the effects of the climate crisis on the African continent … the latest IPCC report projects that 700 million people in Africa will be displaced because of drought.”

Many of Vanessa’s contemporaries have been arrested and imprisoned for taking nonviolent direct action in opposition to the building of the pipeline. (You can read more in this Guardian article – https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jun/12/uganda-oil-eacop-pipeline-protester-stephen-kwikiriza?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other)

To be a prophet is not necessarily to be respected or applauded: people do not like hearing uncomfortable messages – especially when they are truthful.

“Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals. But the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels. Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.” UN secretary general, António Guterres, April 2022

Proper 22 16th Sunday after Trinity

5th October 2025

Reflection with readings below

Habakkuk faces a world in which everything seems to be going awry. All he sees is violence and wrong doing, destruction and the failure of justice. He cries out to God and it seems as if God is not listening. How true does that feel today? Do we not feel like giving up? Giving up on the world where everything seems to be set against doing what is right? Giving up in a world where God seems absent? Can we nevertheless be like Habakkuk and stay in post, keeping up the watch, and wait on God’s word?

How did Habakkuk manage to stay strong? Because he had faith. He had a faith that came out of the close relationship he had with God – “the righteous live by their faith”.

Habakkuk and the Psalmist must have had great patience. They seem to be able accept that they must wait for justice to prevail without any idea of the timescale involved; that they must maintain this patient waiting without not get angry or frustrated! I don’t think we even know if Habakkuk saw the return of peace to the land. He wrote in the period between the conquest of Nineveh which presaged the end of the Assyrian Empire and before the final conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Certainly he couldn’t have lived to see the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

So how the do we respond to the words of Jesus in the Gospel: “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”?

What is faith and where does it come from? Synonyms for faith include trust, confidence, credence, conviction, hope, belief, expectation, hopefulness, optimism and assurance. The word faith has a strong connection with religious or spiritual belief although it is also used to describe the relationship a servant and their master, between a knight and their Lord, between a partisan and their political leader – or political creed. Faith it would seem is about relationships. For Habakkuk it was the relationship between the righteous and God. For Christians, faith is, I think, our relationship with God that has developed through our relationship with Jesus.

Where does it come from? It’s certainly not something you can buy! Nor is it something you just stumble across. Rather I think it is something that we all have as a gift from God. We understand God to be the creator – the source point – of all that lives. And we understand that God blessed all that she created, and I would suggest that in both creating and blessing us, God has placed in each of us a seed of faith – one that can never die. On the other hand we each have in our own ways the capacity to enable that seed to flourish enabling our relationship with God to depend and expand – or we can suppress and hide it and try and ignore any relationship with God. (Last week I spoke about the close relationship that prophets have with God).

I’m not sure about faith that can uproot a tree and plant it in the sea but that maybe a hyperbole challenging us to be amazed at what faith can achieve.

Yesterday was the feast of St Francis. During one of the crusades, Francis through his deep faith and his belief that war was contri to God’s will, set out for Damietta where the Crusaders and the Muslims forces were battling with one another in an attempt to secure control of the Holy Land. With only one companion Francis set off on foot for the Sultan’a camp, crossing no-man’s land, with the hope of speaking with the Sultan and finding a basis for peace. His faith – a faith that says continue against the odds because God is with you – took him right to the Sultan’s tent. Whether because of his humility, or his determination or maybe because of his poor and bedraggle appearance, Sultan spoke with Francis. Whilst the outcome wasn’t peace, the Sultan acquired a new respect for this small Christian figure and granted him safe passage back home.

This week a flotilla of little sailing boats reached the waters off Gaza. These boats were crewed by volunteers from around the world who had faith that what ever one does, doing what is right is more important than doing what is safe or tactful, and who had determined to address the painfully acute shortages being faced by the people on Gaza by taking medicines and baby milk and other essentials supplies across the Mediterranean and into Gaza, regardless of the Israeli blockade and the attacks they received on the way (also likely from Israeli forces). They arrived off the coast of Gaza on Thursday morning to be blasted by water canon and surrounded by Israeli vessels who then boarded the boats and arrested all the crew.

As yet we don’t know what the long term impact of the flotilla will be but it has sparked many voices of protest and outrage across the world at what the Israeli government is continuing to do in terrorising the people of Gaza.

Over the last ten days 6 people have been on trial for climbing on motorway gantries in 2023 which they did to highlight the climate crisis and the lack of an adequate response by those in authority. They too have a faith that, what ever one does, doing what is right is more important than doing what is safe or what is popular. In the knowledge that the current trajectory of the world is for at least 2, and possibly more, degrees of warming – which will cause even more suffering with increased risks of floods, droughts, wild fires, crop failures and heat waves – they were not willing to sit back and do nothing while more and more people risk loss of homes and livelihoods and death. At the outset the judge ruled that there were no legal defences that they could use – not even the defence of necessity in the face of a greater threat. All six spoken eloquently and from the heart, remaining faithful to the cause of what is right. All six were found guilty.

As Mother Theresa said, we “aren’t called to be successful; we’re called to be faithful”.

Like Habakkuk we cannot not remain faithful even when things are going awry, when the future looks impossible, nor even when our chances of ‘success’ are pitiful. We can’t always see the bigger picture. We can’t always see what lies ahead of us. But we do know we can always faithfully do that which is asked of us: to love mercy, to seek justice and to walk humbly with God.

The Book of Habakkuk ends with these verses:

Though the fig tree does not blossom,

and no fruit is on the vines;

though the produce of the olive fails

and the fields yield no food;

though the flock is cut off from the fold

and there is no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord;

I will exult in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

and makes me tread upon the heights. Habakkuk 3:17-19

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?

Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?

Why do you make me see wrong-doing
and look at trouble?

Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.

So the law becomes slack
and justice never prevails.

The wicked surround the righteous–
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.

I will stand at my watchpost,
and station myself on the rampart;

I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he will answer concerning my complaint.

Then the Lord answered me and said:

Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.

For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.

If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.

Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faith.

Psalm 37:1-10

1 Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.

2 For they shall soon wither like the grass, *
and like the green grass fade away.

3 Put your trust in the Lord and do good; *
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.

4 Take delight in the Lord, *
and he shall give you your heart’s desire.

5 Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, *
and he will bring it to pass.

6 He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *
and your just dealing as the noonday.

7 Be still before the Lord *
and wait patiently for him.

8 Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *
the one who succeeds in evil schemes.

9 Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *
do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.

10 For evildoers shall be cut off, *
but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land.

2 Timothy 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God– whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did– when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

Luke 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

“Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, `Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'”

Proper 20 14th Sunday after Trinity

21st September 2025

Reflection with readings below

This passages from Jeremiah seems to express both the grief and frustration of God and of Jeremiah – and it is not always clear to the listener which of the two is speaking. But that shouldn’t be surprising as a prophet is someone who is tuned into what God feels and desires, and what God is saying. The closeness of the relationship is both a joy and a stress: joy from sharing in God’s presence; stress from knowing God’s grief over the waywardness of humans. For both God and prophet it is not black and white. It is not as simple as God hating and dispensing with the one who sins, nor as God loving and rewarding the one who is righteous.

In last week’s gospel we noticed that the sinner rescued by God was no different from the ones who didn’t need rescuing. They were all sheep of which one had gone astray. They were all coins of which one had been lost. Nor is either sheep or coin discarded: both are retrieved and loved with an overriding passion. We should not then be surprised to read in Letter to Timothy that Jesus ‘gave himself a ransom for all’. Salvation is salvation for all – not just a few, not just most – but for all.

Knowing that salvation – healing – for all has always been God’s desire. Again from the Letter to Timothy ‘God our Saviour … desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’

All and everyone is more than just humankind, but envelopes all that God has created. We should not imagine that salvation in just for humans and that other creatures, other living beings – and even ecosystems – are not part of God’s vision of healing and restoration. Indeed if only humans were rescued, life would be very bleak. What delights would we have to eat? What fresh waters would be there for us to drink? What flowers and trees would be there to delight our eyes? What sounds of bird song would enchant our ear?

And yet we humans often live as though all the other parts of creation were of no value and can be ignored, wasted and discarded with no repercussions. We seek to consume ever increasing amounts of the Earth’s resources as if there were no limits to supply. We seek to discard what we don’t want as if the Earth could endlessly absorb our waste and are surprised when that waste returns to pollute our rivers and coasts! We seek to take more and more land away from wildlife and still expect our fields, hedgerows and gardens to be abounding with wildlife. We seek to fill the atmosphere with more and more carbon dioxide and yet are surprised when this upsets the Earth’s natural balance, triggering rising temperatures and extreme weather events.

Not only that, we also seek to live as if we were the only ones that mattered. That our actions will not affect the lives of others. Bizarrely we seem to believe that if those who are rich get richer, that growing wealth will not make others poorer. Bizarrely we seem to believe that if the rich get to buy more and bigger houses, more and bigger cars, that that will not mean fewer and smaller houses, and fewer transport options for those who are poorer. Bizarrely we seem to believe that if larger companies take bigger and bigger profits, that smaller companies will not struggle to earn a fair share. Bizarrely we seem to think that if the rich can pay to lobby governments and authorities to shape the world to suit their wants, that those of us who can’t afford to pay lobbyists, will not find their needs excluded from decision making processes.

Yet everything could be so different.

This week saw the CEO of Barclays calling on the government to curb public sector pay and resist calls to increase taxes in banking profits – this the same Venkatakrishnan, who can ‘earn’ a maximum annual package worth £14.3m, up from £9.8m previously. The average UK income was, in 2024, £37,430 although research suggests that a comfortable income for a family of two adults and one child is around £60,000.

Would it not be more equitable for everyone to have a sufficiently generous income?

A report by the Guardian last week revealed that through the privatisation of publication services – such as water, buses, mail, rail and energy – around £200bn has been paid to shareholders, diverting wealth from the common society to a private elite. In effect privatisation has cost £250 per household per year.

Would it not be better for public services to be owned by and run for the benefit of society as a whole?

We need to use wisdom and discernment, honesty and compassion, if we are to live equally good lives one with another. Truly it is because of God’s wisdom that we are told to love our neighbours as ourselves. Unless we can act with generosity towards one other – both human and non human beings, unless we can work cooperatively with one another, unless we can live within the limits of the Earth’s resources, we are not to find salvation. To live in this way is to truly love God.

This past week the daily reflections from the Centre for Action and Contemplation have been on the theme of love: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-work-of-grief-and-love/

Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

My joy is gone, grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.

Hark, the cry of my poor people
from far and wide in the land:

“Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”

(“Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their foreign idols?”)

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”

For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.

Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?

Why then has the health of my poor people
not been restored?

O that my head were a spring of water,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,

so that I might weep day and night
for the slain of my poor people!

Psalm 79:1-9

1 O God, the heathen have come into your inheritance;
they have profaned your holy temple; *
they have made Jerusalem a heap of rubble.

2 They have given the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the air, *
and the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the field.

3 They have shed their blood like water on every side of Jerusalem, *
and there was no one to bury them.

4 We have become a reproach to our neighbours, *
an object of scorn and derision to those around us.

5 How long will you be angry, O Lord? *
will your fury blaze like fire for ever?

6 Pour out your wrath upon the heathen who have not known you *
and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your Name.

7 For they have devoured Jacob *
and made his dwelling a ruin.

8 Remember not our past sins;
let your compassion be swift to meet us; *
for we have been brought very low.

9 Help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of your Name; *
deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your Name’s sake.

1 Timothy 2:1-7

First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For

there is one God;
there is also one mediator between God and humankind,

Christ Jesus, himself human,
who gave himself a ransom for all

— this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Luke 16:1-13

Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, `What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, `A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, `And how much do you owe?’ He replied, `A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, `Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

Counting on … Lent 8

14th March 2025

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

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

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

Advent 22: unofficial signs

Not all street signs are official – in the sense of being installed by the local or highway authority. Often these unofficial signs advertised local events. Sometimes they concern lost cats and dogs, or keys that have been found (and not usually the other way round). This one here is providing a counter message to the prevailing media message that the ULEZ expansion was an intolerable inconvenience for the average motorist. Instead this sign is celebrating the positive, life enhancing benefits of the traffic scheme.

Prophets often have to shout out about the benefits of God’s ways to counter the ‘me, me, me’ message of society. That too must be our calling.

Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed.
Zephaniah 1:11

If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.
Proverbs 14:31

Proper 10, 7th after Trinity

14th July 2024

Reflection – readings follow on

A plumb line is a string with a weight hung from the bottom. It is held from the top allowing the weight to hold the line straight, and thus is used to measure the true line – the straightness – of a wall. If the wall is not true there is a risk it will fall.

In the reading from Amos, it is clear that God has held a plumb line against the nation of Israel and found it to be crooked – not fit for purpose. It is a message those in authority do not want to hear. It is a message they dispute and vilify.

How would we feel if God were to hold up a plumb line against our own national? Would our systems, our society, be found wanting, not fit for purpose? Certainly it does seem strange to live in a country where top restaurants serve £200+ meals whilst other people have to rely on food banks. A country where some people have two or more homes whilst others sleep on the streets. A wealthy country where prisons are overcrowded, where schools lack sufficient teachers, where hospitals lack the capacity to treat all their patients. A country where top 1% of earners take home at least £180,000 a year whilst the bottom 1% receive a mere £8000 a year and where asylum seekers are spurned because they are a drain on resources.

Surely what our county needs are systems – be that for education, employment, housing, food security, healthcare etc – where mercy and truth come together? If we knew the truth, of those in power knew the truth, would we not act to change things? For truth is, as is written in the letter to the Ephesians, the gospel of salvation. But how do we know what the truth is? How do we hear the truth?

Often we will look to scientists to give us truth, and we will hear statements such as, ‘The science says…’. Scientific study is certainly important, and we should encourage and pursue scientific learning – but we should also be aware that scientific learning is both constantly evolving, and can be presented to us in slanted ways that favour a particular view point. So we also need people who an understand and explain the science to us, and people who can help us make moral judgements about how we use science. This is where we need teachers and prophets -people who are in tune with God.

Neither role is easy but is perhaps those who take on the prophetic role who face the most animosity.

This week we have seen a court case in which (yet again) climate activists were not allowed to explain their motivations for the actions they had taken. Climate activists are often the prophets of our current age, standing up to forewarn us of the dangers we face if we continue with our current ecologically damaging lifestyles. They are telling us that the scientific findings show that the way we have built and now live our lives is out of true, is crooked, is destined to bring – indeed is already bringing – disaster upon our globe. They are telling us how real and imminent these risks are and are urging us of the need to taking action now to prevent widespread disruption and loss of life. Yet, as with Amos, there are others saying that these risks are not real, are over exaggerated, and that those who spread such messages should be shut down and sent away. And so it is that in our courts where we expect the truth to be sought out and heard, where we expect the whole truth to be told, the validity of acts of public protests are being judged without reference to what scientific and moral issues lie behind those actions.

We all need to seek out the truth about the climate crisis, to discern the facts and the morality of the different ways we humans can respond. We need the scientists and the teachers and the prophets so that we can respond with love and wisdom and insight into the matters which so threaten life and salvation. We need to demand that the truth be told, and then be acted upon the truth so that God’s kingdom will come – will prevail – on earth as in heaven.

We also told to seek out and promote mercy. What is mercy? It is the gift of care and protection and forgiveness. God is overflowing with mercy towards us. As well as accepting God’s mercy with thankfulness, we need to respond likewise showing care and protection and forgiveness to others – and especially to those who are most vulnerable.

Pursuing truth will enable us to live the lives God wishes, to be part of the rule of the kingdom of God. Showing mercy, being merciful, will enable us to make good the damage we have already caused to our environment and to those within our societies. Together truth and mercy are the gospel of salvation.

Amos 7:7-15

This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

“See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;

the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very centre of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,

‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.’ “

And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”

Psalm 85:8-13

8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *
for he is speaking peace to his faithful people
and to those who turn their hearts to him.

9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *
that his glory may dwell in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met together; *
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *
and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *
and our land will yield its increase.

13 Righteousness shall go before him, *
and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.

Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Mark 6:14-29

King Herod heard of Jesus and his disciples, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were saying, “John the baptiser has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him.” But others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.” And he solemnly swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the baptiser.” Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

Proper 9, 6th Sunday after Trinity

7th July 2024

Reflection with readings below.

Do people in our generation know that there had been prophets amongst us?

Who are prophets? Prophets are people who speak up for God’s desire for social justice both in our own communities and globally, and for God’s call that we should care for and ensure the flourishing of the earth’s environment. I would include in this category of prophets groups like Extinction Rebellion, Christian Climate Action, Greenpeace and Just Stop Oil. But like Ezekiel, I think people often choose not to hear what the prophets are saying – the truth can be uncomfortable.

Whether we are a prophets or not, we still need, I think, to ‘look with the eyes of a servant’ – that is to look with focused attention – to see what God wants us to do and to know how God wants us to live. For this we need to a patient, trusting relationship with God. One in which we read the scriptures, look at nature (the second book of scripture), listen in our hearts, and look at the state of the world around us. We should do this with humility and openness, not assuming that we know the answers nor assuming that our discerning will make us rich and powerful. If we thus pay attention, we will learn what it is that God wants and hopes for us, both as individuals and as communities.

I firmly believe God asks us to honour all that is divine by honouring and respecting all creation, and to care for and enable the flourishing of all creation – and that that includes the people in our own families and communities, the people in our own country, and the people in all other parts of the world. And further that God calls us to honour and care not just for our fellow human beings but everything that lives – birds and insects, fish and mammals, trees and plants, rivers and oceans, and even things like glaciers and icecaps.

And this is something we are patently not doing. 10 people died as a result of floods in the Alps this last fortnight. 100s of pilgrims undertaking the Haj in Mecca have died from excess heat. 10,000s of people have died in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.Many more are dying unnoticed in the intertribal conflict in Sudan. Many are starving in the refugee camps in Chad. Entire islands have been overwhelmed by hurricane Beryl in the Carribean.

Record temperatures are again being recorded in the southern Mediterranean, the Indian sub continent and across North America. Drought and excess heat are devastating wildlife as well as livestock and crops. Rising temperatures and receding glaciers are decimating native alpine plants. Increased use of pesticides and herbicides and diminishing natural habitats are depleting the numbers of songbirds and insects. Ocean bed trawling and pollution are contributing to the sharp decline in fish stocks and sea birds.

The continued expansion of oil and gas production is accelerating climate breakdown. The continued widespread production and consumption of beef, chicken and other animal based food, is likewise contributing to climate breakdown, deforestation and biodiversity decline – as well as diverting large tracts of land to feed the rich few at the expense of the greater proportion of the global population. We eat our western meat based diet at the expense of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who suffer hunger and malnutrition.

Such observations are disconcerting, unsettling and frequently ignored. We do not lift our eyes to God, to see what God sees. We do not open our ears to hear what God hears. We do not open our hearts to love as God loves. Yet often the problems we would encounter are not the fault of individuals but of the cultures and systems of which we are a part.

Should we then, as a church, call on our communities to repent of the systems and cultures and the ways of living, that are causing social injustice and climate change and biodiversity loss? As well as calling for repentance, do we also need to share a vision for how we can ensure social justice – both making up for past injustices and creating a just society going forwards? A vision of how we can tackle climate breakdown, living different lifestyles that cause less pollution and sharing resources more equitably? A vision of how we can make good the loss of biodiversity and ensure the flourishing of the natural environment of which we humans are a part?

Yes, I think we do. Just as Jesus commissioned his disciples to be prophetic – calling for repentance and preaching the good news – and to share the reality of the kingdom of God – healing the sick and casting aside all that destroys wellbeing. And to do this through the power and wisdom of God.

As individuals and as the church we need to pay attention and learn about the state of the environment locally and globally, about the well being – or not – of wildlife and about the wellbeing – or not – of humankind, bearing in mind that there should be justice for all. In honouring God, we need to envisage what changes and what work God requires to firmly establish God’s rule – God’s way of living – here on earth. In repenting, we need to heal the wounds and injustices we humans have caused, and to lead new, reformed lives, changing the culture in which we live.

Let’s start today!

Ezekiel 2:1-5

The Lord said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, “Thus says the Lord God.” Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

Psalm 123

1 To you I lift up my eyes, *
to you enthroned in the heavens.

2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, *
and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

3 So our eyes look to the Lord our God, *
until he show us his mercy.

4 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy, *
for we have had more than enough of contempt,

5 Too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, *
and of the derision of the proud.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Mark 6:1-13

Jesus came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.