Tag: Wisdom

Fifth Sunday in Lent

22nd March 2026

Reflection with readings below 

We often talk about ‘breathing life’ back into a building or a community. It is as if we can sense that it is not just the physical structures – the bricks and mortar – that makes something real, but that essential ‘something else” that makes them alive. There needs to be a presence of spirit: the spirit of the place, the community spirit. 

Ezekiel realises this is what is needed by the exiled community of God’s people. To be who they are, they need to be filled with God’s spirit – perhaps most importantly they need to be open to receiving that spirit. Openness to God’s spirit comes through prayer and worship, through maintaining a daily pattern of life that is focused on God and the community of God’s people. 

Refugees – and foreigners – in a new land have to find a balance between maintaining customs and practices that maintain their identity, and between adapting to, and living, within the customs and practices of their new home. 

That balance of maintaining traditions and adapting to the new, also applies to each generation. We can’t just stick with the old, traditional ways, just replicating the way things have always been done – refusing to embrace new ideas, new methods, new science. But nor should we disregard traditional practices just because they’re not modern, nor discard old wisdom just because it’s old. We have to consider the needs of the next generation and the generations to com. We need to find the balance that that keeps our communities alive, ensuring that they are lively spaces – not just bare bones.

In John’s Gospel Jesus is trying to present to the people a vision – an understanding – of a new way of living, one that shines through and through with God’s glory. This is a way of living – a kingdom – where it is the best wine that is enjoyed, where all water is life giving, where the blind (physically and spiritually) see, where the hungry (physically and spirituality) are fed and there’s food to spare, where the dead (physically and spirituality) are rejuvenated by God’s spirit.

It is in this aliveness that God’s glory is revealed. 

Jesus’s vision – his gospel – is something that still needs to be shared and spread. It needs to declared in our streets and churches, in our places of government and of business, in our farms and in places of commerce. For a different way of life is possible and to be desired. At the moment for too many people life is unjust and unkind, cruel and fearful. At the moment too many of the things we do sap the life out of the natural world, creating places of desertion and hopelessness and death. 

The disastrous war in the Middle East is wreaking havoc on a global scale. Is this conflict the result of our global failure to address issues of food and water poverty? Issues of energy monopolies that disadvantage the poor and pollute the environment? Issues of distrust and prejudice towards people who are different? A lack of information and learning that informs us of the truth rather than sowing disinformation and lies? A lack of a desire to seek the common good, to agree and stick to rules and policies that would ensure social and environmental wellbeing across the world? 

So many institutions and governments and way of thinking have become stale and introverted. We need to be open to receiving a fresh breath of life, a new inspiration of God’s Spirit, to resurrect life on earth – to establish God’s kingdom here on earth as in heaven.

Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord. 

Psalm 130

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Romans 8:6-11

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

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

John 11:1-45

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prayers for the ecosystems of South America 

7th March 2026

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like the crocus Isaiah 35:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to cherish and protect your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A Reading: Daniel 4: 10-12

Upon my bed this is what I saw; there was a tree at the centre of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew great and strong, its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth. Its foliage was beautiful, its fruit abundant, and it provided food for all. The animals of the field found shade under it, the birds of the air nested in its branches, and from it all living beings were fed.

During Lent these prayers  focus on a different continent; this week South America. 

South America, the fourth-largest continent, extends from the Gulf of Darién in the northwest to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego in the south. South America can be divided into three physical regions: mountains and highlands, river basins, and coastal plains. Mountains and coastal plains generally run in a north-south direction, while highlands and river basins generally run in an east-west direction.
South America’s extreme geographic variation contributes to the continent’s large number of biomes. A biome is a community of animals and plants that spreads over an area with a relatively uniform climate.  Within a few hundred kilometres, South America’s coastal plains’ dry desert biome rises to the rugged alpine biome of the Andes mountains. One of the continent’s river basins (the Amazon) is defined by dense, tropical rain forest, while the other (Paraná) is made up of vast grasslands.
The diversity of animal life in the Amazon rain forest is unsurpassed in the rest of the world. There can be as many as 100 different tree species on a single acre. The rain forest is perfectly suited for arboreal, or tree-living, animals. More than 2 million species of insects are native to the region, including hundreds of spiders and butterflies. Primates are abundant—howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and capuchin monkeys—along with sloths, snakes, and iguanas. Thousands of native birds include brightly coloured macaws, parrots, toucans, and parakeets. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/south-america-physical-geography/

Glory to God 

Creator of rivers and oceans:

We praise you for the Amazon, 1725 miles long!

Glory to God, 

Creator of mountains and valleys:

We praise you for the Amazon Basin, all 2.7 million squares miles.

Glory to God, 

 Creator of trees and plants:

We praise you for the 40,000 plants species of the Amazon.

We praise you for biome that supports 350 millions tonnes of life per square kilometre.

Glory to God, 

Creator of all that crawls and swims and flies.

We praise you for wildlife of the Amazon – 

2 million species of insect, 2000 birds and mammals, 800 amphibians and reptiles.

Merciful God,

Creator of human kind, 

Forgive us for the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest,  18% lost and counting.

Forgive our greed that replaces trees with cattle ranches and fields of soy for their fodder.

Forgive our greed that replaces trees with sugar cane, for sweetmeats and bio fuel.

Merciful God,

Creator of air and space, 

Forgive our foolishness in destroying the source of 20% of the world’s oxygen.

Forgive our greed that gobbles up the living space of others, endangering  the survival of jaguars and blue macaws, poison dart frogs and river dolphins.

Merciful God

Creator of climates and seasons,

Forgive our foolishness that creates droughts and heat waves.

Forgive our greed that fills the air with carbon dioxide and destroys carbon sinks.

Guiding God,

Source  of all wisdom, 

Transform our hearts and minds, turn the direction of our hands and feet 

so that with alacrity and commitment we may reform our lives 

and live only in harmony with your creation. 

Amen.

The Grace

First Sunday of Lent

22nd February 2026

Reflection with readings below 

Life is full of choices: whether to get up or lie in a bit longer; what to have for breakfast; which coffee to have – the skinny decaf latte or the oat flat white; whether to be vegan or vegetarian; to drive or take the bus; which bank to bank with. Most choices are innocuous and inconsequential. But it is surprising how even when the choice is between a safe bet and a dead cert risk, we can still make the wrong choice. That certainly was the case in the story of Adam and Eve. They had all the food they needed but they chose to eat the one fruit destined to kill them!

Yes they were tempted. The snake fed them a slippery line one that as not quite truthless but definitely flawed. Perhaps that snake was a budding marketing executive or maybe a spin doctor.

Would we have been so gullible? So foolish?

Yet for 30 plus years we have know that putting excessive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere causes global warming – causing extreme weather conditions, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity etc  – and yet we have carried on not just putting CO2 into the atmosphere, but increasing the amount we put in! 

Have we been duped? Yes. Big businesses – the fossil fuel industry, the meat industry, the plastics industry, the tech industry etc – have all been encouraging us to buy, buy and buy. They have argued against restraint. They have green washed the truth. They have fought and bought themselves the freedoms that they want.

Have we been trapped? Yes. Big business has created a vast network of systems that overshadows the freedom of the individual. We are dependent on transport networks to provide roads and trains. We are dependent on electricity grids and energy companies to heat our homes and power our computers. We are dependent on software updates and mobile signals. We are dependent on supermarkets and their supply chains for our weekly shopping. We’re dependent on investment funds to build homes and schools, hospitals and prisons. And we’re dependent on governments to create workable rules that will constrain the worst of the risks.

The writers of the scriptures knew the compromised state of the world – hence this story today of Adam and Eve. They also knew that the world wasn’t in the state desired by God – both creation stories present a picture goodness and harmony of God’s original making. Yet God doesn’t abandon or give up the world. If we read on we hear that God speaks with Adam and Eve, draws out from them sufficient wisdom that they see their error and can accept forgiveness. God re-equips them to live in the world as it now was. Once more humanity is willing to work with God (and almost as a footnote we hear that God replaces their scanty leaf attire with something more robust).

Jesus too experiences the temptation of being human.  He is tempted to do things the human way that ignores God and relies on hearsay and half truths. But Jesus stay true to the word and the wisdom of God. And Jesus – both there in the wilderness – and back on the roads and in the towns, challenges the systems that distort God’s word, that disregard God’s wisdom. Systems that fail. Systems that fail the vulnerable, that do not help the weakest, that do not protect the environment, that do not result in love for our neighbour.

What makes temptation tricky is that it can seem so plausible. That as systems become more complex it is harder to see the truth, to understand where the good lies, to find the path that helps our neighbour. 

Last week, starting on Ash Wednesday, Christian Climate Action held a 24 hour vigil outside St Paul’s cathedral, calling on the Church as an institution to speak out prophetically against the suffering of the world, against injustice, and against our tacit crucifying of creation. As each hour past, we prayed for different areas of the world, which within just the first six weeks of 2026, had suffered from the impacts of the climate crisis. Places as far afield as Patagonia and Albania, as Morocco and the UK.

It was a cold, tiring 24 hours, and at times wet! Yet we maintained our quiet presence and continued to pray.  But no one, no one from the cathedral, from the institutional church that is seen as a leader of faith in this country, came out to pray with us or even talk with us. Who is going to challenge the systems that distort truth, that aggravate the climate crisis, that persist in rewarding the rich and penalising the poor? The temptation perhaps is to do nothing!

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Psalm 32 

1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *
and whose sin is put away!

2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *
and in whose spirit there is no guile!

3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *
because of my groaning all day long.

4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *
my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *
and did not conceal my guilt.

6 I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” *
Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.

7 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of trouble; *
when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.

8 You are my hiding-place;
you preserve me from trouble; *
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

9 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go; *
I will guide you with my eye.

10 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *
who must be fitted with bit and bridle,
or else they will not stay near you.”

11 Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *
but mercy embraces those who trust in the Lord.

12 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; *
shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

Romans 5:12-19

As sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned– sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, 

‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 

‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, 

so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 

‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’” 

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. 

The Joys and Sorrows of Civilisation 

14th February 2026

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading:  So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: ‘You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors ….. he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.” Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Saviour, Jesus, as he promised. Acts 13: 16, 17a, 22b,23

Reflection 

Roots secure us to the past, ensure that we are part of the continuity of creation; shoots  and branches  take our lives forward into the as yet unformed future. Without the next generation there will be no ongoing continuity. The gospels of Luke and Matthew both locate Jesus within a human family tree;  the prologue of John’s gospel locates him as co existent with the beginning of all creation. Later in John’s  gospel, Jesus affirms his coexistence with the Father and the ongoing coexistence, through him, of all believers, all God’s children. 

For gifts of past generations:

We thank you God.

For the gift of fire for cooking and heating

For the gift of clean water and sewers:

We thank you God.

For the domestication of cattle and horses,

Cats and dogs, sheep and pigs, 

Hens and geese:

We thank you God.

For the gift of gardening and arable cultivation,

sowing and reaping, 

growing and harvesting:

We thank you God.

For the gift of healing and caring, 

of medicine and surgery

For the understanding of the intricacies of mind and body:

We thank you God.

For the gift of story telling and drama, 

of art and observation 

means of sharing grief and joy:

We thank you God.

For the gift of learning and research, 

of teaching and sharing:

We thank you God.

For the gift of exploration and endeavour, 

of travel and communication:

We thank you God.

For the gift of worship, 

of self realisation 

and of the knowledge of God:

We thank you God.

But what shall we pass on to generations to come?

Do we offer gifts or burdens?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Clean air or choking smog?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Living water or dying oceans?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Renewables or fossil fuels?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Biodiversity or widespread extinction?

 Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Fertile soils or inhospitable dust?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Balmy summers or wild fires?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Snow capped mountains or drowned coastlines?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

Homes for all  or camps for migrants?

Merciful God forgive and inspire us.

May we be wise guardians of what we have received 

Skilful custodians of what we consume

Generous donors of what we hand on

That the future of creation will be bright and beautiful, 

fair and just.

Amen

Second Sunday before Lent

8th February 2026

Reflection with readings below

There can be a tendency for people to disregard the Old (or rather Hebrew Testament) as irrelevant, too obsessed with pedantry rules, or with too many stories of a vengeful God slaughtering his enemies. How then should one hear Jesus, in today’s gospel, saying ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”?

It seems to me that today’s passage from Isaiah neatly provides the answer. 

The people – those of the house of Jacob, ie those who considered themselves to be God’s people – absolutely want to be seen to be doing what is right, to be seen to be following God’s ways, yet Isaiah is told to tell them – to shout out and not to hold back! – that they are rebellious sinners. 

Why? 

Because  they do not engage with God wants, with what is at the heart of God’s teaching. They may fast now and then, and look a bit humble, but they won’t forgo any profit or riches to ensure that their workers are fairly paid. And they won’t humbly pay attention the other’s point of view but instead go straight in, fists flying, and use violence to impose their will. 

These people have failed to understand that what God wants is for them to end injustice and oppression, and to be hospitable, providing homes and food and clothing etc for the poor.

It’s not about looking good but doing good! And that is the essence of all the law and the prophets.  It is as Paul writes, about following God’s wisdom –  however foolish that may seem – rather than the wisdom of the world’s leaders which is doomed to lead to failure.

If we but look around the world, we will see this as truth. How often do we see rich and powerful people  making out how benevolent and wise they are, only to find that they have made their wealth by exploiting others? How often do we see rich and powerful people using force of the threat of violence  to oppress others? How often do we hear national leaders promising to help the poor and vulnerable at press conferences, only to backtrack when the cameras are looking elsewhere? 

Nor must we neglect to look to our own actions. When we buy a cheap cup of coffee, of cheap shirt, or a cheap bag of apples, do consider whether the low price reflects an underpaid barista, or an underpaid factory worker, or an underpaid farmer?

Jesus is telling us is that there is no alternative from following God’s law. If we neglect God’s law we are like salt that has lost its saltiness. Only if we have the singularity of the saltiness of salt, only  if we have the integrity of light shining forth, can we hope to welcome the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!

Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.

“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.

Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.

Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;

your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

Psalm 112:1-9 

1 Hallelujah!
Happy are they who fear the Lord *
and have great delight in his commandments!

2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; *
the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches will be in their house, *
and their righteousness will last for ever.

4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright; *
the righteous are merciful and full of compassion.

5 It is good for them to be generous in lending *
and to manage their affairs with justice.

6 For they will never be shaken; *
the righteous will be kept in everlasting remembrance.

7 They will not be afraid of any evil rumours; *
their heart is right;
they put their trust in the Lord.

8 Their heart is established and will not shrink, *
until they see their desire upon their enemies.

9 They have given freely to the poor, *
and their righteousness stands fast for ever;
they will hold up their head with honour.

1 Corinthians 2:1-12

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, 

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived, 

what God has prepared for those who love him”— 

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 

Matthew 5:13-20

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Psalm 19 – where we fall short

19th January 2026

And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 61:1b

Lord you created the world in love:

Glory to you.

Lord you sustain the world through love:

Glory to you.

Lord you invite us to share that love: 

Glory to you .

A reading from Psalm 19:1-5

The heavens are telling the glory of God;
    and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours forth speech,
    and night to night declares knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words;
    their voice is not heard;

yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,

which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
    and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

Response 

Is  it in the coal pits and oil fields 

that we see God’s glory?

Or is  it in the wind, the sun and the sea?

Is it in the soya plantation and the chicken factory 

that we see God’s glory?

Or is it in in the vegetable plot and the meadow?

Is it  in the fumes of the combustion engine 

or in the exhaust from the coal-fired power station 

that we see God’s glory?

Or is it in the uphill slog and the down hill rush of the cycle wheel?

Is it in the land cleared of people to make way for luxury flats and runways 

that we see God’s glory?

Or is it in the primeval forest and the indigenous village.

Is it in the spoil heap and stagnant stream 

that we see God’s glory?

Or is it in the free running caribou and the eager beaver?

Is it in the slave to the workplace and the gig economy conscript 

that we see God’s glory? 

Or is it in the community of friends and neighbours? 

Heavenly God, 

Help us strip away the blinkers and disguises 

that prevent us and others from seeing your glory.

Help us clear away the rules and expectations 

that separate us from your glory.

Help us break down the indebtedness and inequalities 

that so weigh us down that we cannot look up. 

In simplicity let us know you.

In freedom let us follow you.

In joy let us celebrate your glory.

Amen.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Prayers for the New Year

3rd January 2026

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading – Ecclesiastes 3:1-4,8

For everything there is a season, 

and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Creator God,

As one year follows another, 

open our hearts and minds 

to hear your word and know your will.

There is a time wait and a time to act:

Give us patience when we must wait 

and courage when we must act.

There is a time to buy and a time to make do:

Help us buy wisely thinking of the welfare of others, 

and not be snared by the wiles of advertising.

There is a time to mend and a time to recycle:

Enable our hands to mend with dexterity 

and to recycle with equal care.

There is a time to invest and a time to divest:

May our money support renewable resourcing, 

and not damage the environment. 

There is a time to grow and time to leave fallow:

 May our use of the land follow the seasons, 

enabling regeneration and new growth.

There is a time renew and a time to replace:

Give us the humility to dismantle systems that are harmful,

and the wisdom to create anew those that are beneficial. 

There is a time to restore and a time to rewild:

Help us to be generous in sharing both land and water, 

making space for the natural world with whom we are as one.

There is a time for fighting and a time for making peace:

Strengthen us to be fight for justice 

and equip us to be peace makers.

Creator God,

As one year follows another, 

open our hearts and minds 

to hear your word and know your will.

Amen.

And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. Genesis 1:14-15

Prayers for New Year’s Eve

31st December 2025

The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:6,11

Let’s seek God with all our heart
Amen. Christ be our still-point.
Let’s seek God with all our soul
Amen. Christ be our vision.
Let’s seek God with all our mind
Amen. Christ be our wisdom.
Let’s seek God with all our strength
Amen. Christ be our souls’ companion.

(Adapted from Our Common Prayer)

A reading from Daniel 7:9-10

While I was looking, thrones were put in place. One who had been living forever sat down on one of the thrones. His clothes were white as snow, and his hair was like pure wool. His throne, mounted on fiery wheels, was blazing with fire, and a stream of fire was pouring out from it. There were many thousands of people there to serve him, and millions of people stood before him. The court began its session, and the books were opened. 

Year’s End

As the old year turns to the new, 

as days past give way to days to come 

there is time for remembering and for hoping, 

for forgiving and for planning.

It is a time of reckoning, 

a time to open the books 

and review the record.

Has the year past profited the poor?

Have the rich relinquished their wealth?

Have the young been uplifted 

– and the old respected?

Have strangers been welcomes

– and outsiders embraced?

Have resources been equitably garnered

– and shared?

Have soils been replenished 

– and water supplies restored?

Has the number of endangered species reduced 

– and the number of wild habitats increased?

How will future generations judge us?

How will the earth reward us 

  • or punish us?

Is there time for amendment? 

Is there yet time 

to rebalance the accounts?

God of all time and space, God of eternity and mercy, 

draw a line under what has happened – 

and yet show us, again, how to start over, 

to make good what we have destroyed,

 to replenish the world with love, 

 to live wisely, in harmony, in unity 

with one another and with you.


Pause to reflect


As one year ends, let us give thanks for all that has been good:

For the establishing of a Just Transition Work Programme at COP30, 

For the coming together of the National Emergency Briefing,

For the activists who have made the well-being of the planet a world priority;

For conservation and re-wilding projects that restore life to the earth;

For the individuals who have switched to more sustainable lifestyles; 

For businesses who have focus on ethics above profits;

For churches and faith communities who celebrated creation-tide.

As a new year begins, we pray for renewed commitment by

Leaders and peoples,

Activists and individuals 

Conservationists and farmers

Businesses and investors 

Churches and faith communities.

As we make new year resolutions, 

we ask for vision and strength that we may determined

to live and work together, 

to cherish the earth, 

to protect its flora and fauna, 

and ensure an equal sharing of opportunities and resources.

The Grace

The Word – God in creation

 23rd December 2025

Let’s seek God with all our heart
Amen. Christ be our still-point.
Let’s seek God with all our soul
Amen. Christ be our vision.
Let’s seek God with all our mind
Amen. Christ be our wisdom.
Let’s seek God with all our strength
Amen. Christ be our souls’ companion.

Adapted from Our Common Prayer

A reading John 1:1-5, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Response:

God is nowhere 

if not in creation. 

God’s breath over the void 

drew forth light and dark, land and sea.

God’s will caused water to flow 

and plants to sprout.

God’s breath inspired life a human form  

and God’s imagining inspired creatures, 

companions all in an ecological union.

God’s vision of a perfect world 

displayed in a garden.

God is nowhere

if not with creation.

But human tenacity is short lived, 

promises forgotten and undertakings overlooked.

Never quite getting a grip 

on the need for teamwork, 

side-lining others in the interests of self.

Wilfully ignorant 

of the inter connected relationships 

of plant and animal life, 

failing to see the human role is in – 

not over- creation.


God is nowhere 

if not in human form –

conceived in flesh and blood,

born in time and space, 

occupying our human limitations, 

sharing our divine inspiration. 

True to his calling, 

working in union, 

disciplined to God’s will,

humbling self to love the other, 

following God’s vision of a world 

displayed in perfect humanity. 


Let us pray:

Rejoicing in the miracle of God’s Word present in creation from the beginning,

may we honour all that has life,

cherishing trees and plants, birds and animals, insect life and sea life so that their life is not extinguished by our thoughtless actions.

Rejoicing in the miracle of the Word that brings light to the world,

may we learn from the light. 

Help us overcome our pride, to acknowledge our ignorance, and to live in harmony with all creation.

Rejoicing in the miracle of God born in human flesh, may we be inspired to follow Christ’s example,

humbling ourselves to better love one another,

humbling ourselves to better love the world around us,

humbling ourselves to know our place in and not above creation.

Amen

Feast of All Saints

2nd November 2025

Reflection with readings below

All Saints tide is a time for celebrating what it is to be a holy community, a community shaped by God. It is a community that stretches back to the beginning of time when God first created living beings. It is a community that encompasses both past generations and the generations to come.

Each generation has in turn taken from and given back to the earth with the intention of passing on a better future for the generations to come.  Each generation has been guided by sages and prophets – by those who have learnt from the past,  by those who can see into the future and by those in tune with the wisdom of God. Not every generation has succeeded in passing on a better life to their offspring, but overtime we can see how life has improved for many people.

However now in the first few decades of the 21st century, human greed and folly – and to an extent – human ignorance, look set to hand onto our children and our children’s children, a much more depleted, more polluted, more damaged world than our parents handed onto us. 

Of the nine planetary boundaries that ensure a comfortable and sustainable existence, seven have been exceeded. In terms of climate change we are now heading for 2C of heating and ever increasing extreme weather events. In terms of the oceans, acidity levels and rising temperatures are already causing the bleaching of coral reefs. In terms of water systems, over extraction of ground water, shifting rainfall patterns and loss of glaciers is already leading to water shortages. Many parts of the world had seen significant losses of biodiversity which is leading to the collapse of ecosystems that maintain soil fertility, ensure clean air and water, pollinate crops etc. Of the various novel chemicals we have introduced, plastic nano particles are now to be found in very part of the planet from the icecaps of mountains to the bottom of ocean trenches, and even in the cells in our bodies. And all this is due to human activity. 

What is perhaps more distressing is that most people are either unaware or unconcerned about this! 

The Letter to the Ephesians talks about the inheritance we have received in Christ. The gospel that Jesus taught, the power of healing that he brought, the gifts of wisdom that he shared, weren’t just for that generation but for all generations. The gospel message is even today the hope of salvation, the hope that we can turn things around and hand on to the next generations a world that is being healed and restored. And we must make sure that that message is heard, that that wisdom is relearnt, and that the damage we have caused is healed. 

The words of today’s Gospel – the Beatitudes – is a reminder how far apart God’s ways and humanity’s ways have become. And how radically we must change direction. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” 

How can we find ways of putting these directions into practice? How can we find ways – with stories and parables, with positive actions – to enthuse others to hear and respond? How can we transform a whole generation? The church,  as Jesus’s agents of change, has a lot of work to do! 

Let’s sing praises to God as we celebrate All Saints Tide, as we celebrate all who have gone before us. And let’s pray for God’s blessing as we determine to pass on a goodly inheritance to the generations to come.

Daniel 7:1-3,15-18

In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 

As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: “As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.”

Psalm 149

1 Hallelujah!
Sing to the Lord a new song; *
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.

2 Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; *
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3 Let them praise his Name in the dance; *
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people *
and adorns the poor with victory.

5 Let the faithful rejoice in triumph; *
let them be joyful on their beds.

6 Let the praises of God be in their throat *
and a two-edged sword in their hand;

7 To wreak vengeance on the nations *
and punishment on the peoples;

8 To bind their kings in chains *
and their nobles with links of iron;

9 To inflict on them the judgment decreed; *
this is glory for all his faithful people.
Hallelujah!

Ephesians 1:11-23

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.

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Luke 6:20-31

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled. 

“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh. 

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.” 

“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation. 

“Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry. 

“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep. 

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.