The Green Tau

Proper 18, 12th Sunday after Trinity

7th September 2025

Reflection with readings below

Today’s gospel has a hard hitting message: “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple… So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

What does it mean?

We know from the Book of Acts that for the first Christians it was about sharing what they had in common so that no one in their community went with out. It meant meeting regularly for prayer. It meant healing those who were sick, taking care of the widows – and all those who were particularly vulnerable. It meant preaching the same message that Jesus had preached: honour God and love your neighbour with all your being; release those held captive, free those who are oppressed; don’t hoard your wealth for gain; put your trust in God – share what you have with those in need; challenge those in authority when they make life hard for the vulnerable, when they make doing the right thing impossible; be prepared to put yourself in the firing line when those in authority or those with vested interests, fight back.

Time and again, the Book of Acts tells us how the disciples did challenge those in authority when they tried to disrupt the gospel message; that the disciples did end up in prison because they would not stop speaking God’s truth; that some of them were rounded up and persecuted; that some of them were killed for the sake of the gospel. But at the same time that Book of Acts tells us that thousands and thousands were drawn to become followers of Jesus because of the gospel message being preached by word and deed. People spoke in admiration of the love and care being demonstrated by the new Christian communities; of their willingness share their resources and hold things in common; that through their actions people were healed and restored to life. The Letters of St Paul reveal to us the growth of new Christian communities across the Mediterranean region, communities that were marked out by their inclusivity; communities that regularly met for worship and to share meals, that sought to learn more about the gospel of Jesus – what it meant and how to put it into practice; communities that prayed for each other and shared their resources, aiding far distant communities when their brethren faced hardships.

When we are asked to take up our cross, Is it a calling to sell up everything? To go and work for a refugee charity or a homeless charity? To put our bodies on the line by walking into a conflict zone? To devote our lives to walking the length and breadth of the country preaching the gospel? For some of us, yes.

Is it a calling to live counter culturally, to resist buying the next status accessory, to resist flying or driving an SUV, to avoid companies that exploit their employees or their supply chains, that disregard care for the environment, that recklessly emit greenhouse gases? Yes!

Is it a calling to resist judging people according to their race or faith or wealth or gender or age? To not to joke about or disparage such differences? But rather to welcome and affirm everyone as beloved by God? Yes!

Is it to inform ourselves about the ways in which we can replace unjust systems with ones that care and protect the environment, that care and protect the vulnerable? Yes!

Is it a calling to speak out against injustice, to challenge those in authority, to speak truth to power? Yes!

Is it a calling to step outside of our comfort zone and take action to support those who are persecuted, the vulnerable and the marginalised? Yes!

Taking up the cross is letting go of all that constrains us or ties us into a state of inaction. Taking up the cross is resisting popularist culture that derides and negates God’s will. Taking up the cross means repeatedly reassessing our thoughts and actions – ‘Are they aligned with God’s will?’ and seeking strength and insight through a prayerful relationship with God. Taking up the cross is to be part of a loving, lively, joyful company of fellow followers of Christ. It is to be part of a loving, caring and nurturing community. It is a calling that offers moments of deep peace.

Earlier this week Christian Climate Action published a vision document calling on the Church to recover its original charisma. Entitled “Stop Crucifying Creation” it is a “call to the Church to exemplify radical and transformative Christian living in the face of climate collapse.” It is a call to take up the cross!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iDHUJW1RXQmbX1ik_YvkgqowHTnrwqkw/view?usp=drivesdk

Jeremiah 18:1-11

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17

1 Lord, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.

2 You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.

3 Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O Lord, know it altogether.

4 You press upon me behind and before *
and lay your hand upon me.

5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *
it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

12 For you yourself created my inmost parts; *
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

13 I will thank you because I am marvellously made; *
your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

14 My body was not hidden from you, *
while I was being made in secret
and woven in the depths of the earth.

15 Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book; *
they were fashioned day by day,
when as yet there was none of them.

16 How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *
how great is the sum of them!

17 If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand; *
to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

Philemon 1-21

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love– and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother– especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Luke 14:25-33

Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”

Forgive our oily sins

6th September 2025

“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.” John 11:25-26

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 from Deuteronomy 30: 15-29

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live

A response –

When oil is pumped from the ground

it leaves a sticky trail

that reappears

as polluted soil, polluted water and polluted air.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When seeds are sown in the ground,

the energy of the sun is absorbed

and reappears as waving heads of corn.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Praise to you for the generosity that gives life.

When oil becomes petrol it powers the car

but then reappears

as an exhaust that pollutes the air and pollutes our lungs.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When the corn is cut the grain is milled

and the straw reappears as mulch,

and the grain reappears as bread.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Praise to you for the generosity that gives life.

When oil becomes plastic it can become anything –

but then reappears

as pollution in the rivers and pollution in the seas,

it reappears

as micro particles in the air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat –

it even reappears in our blood!

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Forgive our sinful ways and restore life.

When the bread is shared and the people fed,

the energy reappears

as hearts that love,

as hands that heal and as minds that learn,

as feet that walk alongside and as shoulders that share the load.

It never becomes nothing.

Living God,

Praise to you for the generosity that gives life.

The Grace.

Counting on … day 137

5th September 2025

Loss and Damage Fund

Mitigation and adaption funds may help countries minimise the impact of climate change but they do not per se cover the cost of making good damage caused by climate change. Mitigation and adaption funds may be used to limit flooding for example, but do not pay for replacing buildings and infrastructure damaged by floods, nor pay compensation for loss of income and livelihoods.

For many years poorer, vulnerable countries have been campaigning for the establishment of a Loss and Damage fund whereby the richer countries would contribute towards the cost of climate induced disasters. Finally at in 2022 at COP 27, there was agreement to set up such a Loss and Damage Fund.

What has not yet been agreed is:

Who will be able to access the Fund: richer nations want this limited to the most vulnerable nations
What costs will be covered
Who will pay into the Fund and how much.

As of April 2025 a total of USD $768.40 million has been pledged to the Fund by 27 contributors including the UK who contributed $52 million (1)

A study by the World Economic Forum in 2023 found that over the previous 20 years, extreme weather events globally, like hurricanes, floods and heat waves, had cost the global economy an estimated $2.8 trillion. (2) Whilst that sum would include developed and developing countries alike, it does point to the pitiful size of the Loss and Damage Fund.

(1) https://unfccc.int/topics/climate-finance/funds-entities-bodies/fund-for-responding-to-loss-and-damage/pledges-to-the-fund-for-responding-to-loss-and-damage

(2) https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/10/climate-loss-and-damage-cost-16-million-per-hour/

Counting on … day 135

4th September 2025

“Debt-for-Climate Swaps (DFCS) are an agreement between a sovereign and its creditors that reallocates a portion of ongoing debt obligations toward investments in climate action. Such transactions provide opportunities for countries to enhance both fiscal stability and climate resilience, mobilising critical investment in areas such as renewable energy, urban infrastructure, sustainable agriculture and water security, forest conservation and restoration”. (1)

The biggest such scheme has been undertaken by Ecuador: “The Galapagos conversion … exchanged $1.628 billion in Ecuadorian government bonds for a $656 million impact loan*. The transaction will generate savings to the Ecuadorian fiscus of $1.126 billion through 2041. In return, Ecuador will direct savings of $323 million by 2041 to the conservation of the Galapagos and establish a new endowment fund maturing to $227 million to finance their preservation thereafter.” (2)

*Ecuador obtained a loan of to buy back $1.6 billion US bonds (face value) now valued at $656million because of the decline in Ecuador’s economy. Then Ecuador was provided with a ‘blue loan’ of $656million. Blue Loans are designed such that some of the money will positively improve marine biodiversity so helping to mitigate for climate change; by making such loans, the lender can improve their green credentials. In this instance Ecuador agreed to provide $17.5 million a year to protect the marine protected areas surrounding the Galapagos Islands. (3)

Blue loans – also known as blue bonds – are probably better described as Debt For Nature Swaps (DFNS). There are also Green loans or bonds which can finance Green Loans protecting land based biodiversity. So far they have been more DFNS than infrastructure focused DFCS.

(1) –https://www.greenclimate.fund/document/debt-climate-swaps-exploring-avenues-and-opportunities

(2) https://climatefundmanagers.com/2023/05/09/climate-fund-managers-announces-largest-debt-for-climate-conversion-in-history-to-protect-the-galapagos-islands/

(3) https://www.cffacape.org/publications-blog/galapagos-debt-swap-these-deals-are-being-used-to-privatize-the-management-of-strategic-areas-without-the-consent-of-those-who-inhabit-these-territories

Counting on … day 134

3rd September 2025

Vulnerable countries weighed down by debt are often ‘encouraged’ to exploit oil and gas reserves as a way of financing their obligations. Uganda, for example, took a $1 billion loan from the IMF in 2021, using some of the money to build the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). Whilst Uganda and its neighbour Tanzania, will eventually get some return from this project, the bulk of the profits (70%) will accrue to Total (62%) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (8%).(2) At the same time farmers have been displaced from their land, villagers evicted, migration routes for wild animals have been blocked, and vast tracts of the Murchison Falls National Park are at risk from damage and pollution. And the burning of the oil extracted (which will not benefit local people as it will be sold on the international market) will generate over 34 million tons of CO2 emissions per year.

You can support the campaign against this oil pipeline and its climate destroying effects here – https://www.stopeacop.net/

Green Tau: issue 114

2nd September 2025

The IMF and Carbon Debt

The rising temperatures we are now witnessing cone not just from the CO2 currently being emitted but also the accumulation of CO2 over the centuries. Carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for anywhere between 300 and 1000 years, constantly acting as a blanket keeping in the sun’s warmth. For humans and the environment that best suits us, the ideal amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is between 280 and 350 parts per million (ppm). That was the level prior to the industrial revolution when we began significantly increasing the emission of carbon dioxide beyond the Earth systems capacity to absorb the extra CO2. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere now stand at 425 ppm, reflecting the continued and increasing emission of CO2.

Countries that industrialised first have been contributing to this problem for some 175+ years. Newly industrialised countries for a shorter time span. The amount produced by countries in both scenarios varies reflecting degrees of heavy industry, levels of consumer consumption, dependency on fossil as opposed to alternative fuels etc. Each country can be judged to have a ‘climate debt’ according to how much carbon dioxide it has cumulatively contributed towards global warming since industrialisation. The debt can be costed in terms of what proportion of the negative costs of climate change – its adverse effects on health, the cost of adverse weather events, etc.

According to the IMF’s report, Settling the Climate Debt (2023) “It can be argued that each global citizen has an equal right to an environment unaffected by climate change. This implies that countries with high climate debt because of their high emissions should compensate countries that have caused less damage to the environment.” (1) And clearly if countries fail to curb their emissions, that debt will be constantly increasing.

The report also attempts to put figures to show the scale of the debt. “Climate debt can be estimated based on actual and projected emissions and the social cost of carbon, which measures the economic damage per ton of CO2 emissions. We find climate debt to be extremely large—some $59 trillion over 1959–2018 (Chart 1)—and projected to increase by another $80 trillion during 2019–35. The size of each country’s climate debt reflects both the size of its economy (which is positively correlated with emissions) and how intensively it uses fossil fuels (thus generating emissions) for every dollar of economic output. The composition of energy use (for example, heavy use of coal) has an impact as well. As of 2018, the largest contributors were the United States ($14 trillion), China ($10 trillion), and Russia ($5 trillion). Beginning in 2018, developing economies will account for a larger share of climate debt, given their relatively higher economic growth.”

These figures are large. The report notes “Climate debt is substantial relative to government debt; in G20 countries, it is about 81 percent of GDP, compared with average general government debt of 88 percent of GDP in 2020.” Perhaps for this reason, the report does not suggest ways in which this debt might realistically be repaid to those who have suffered the impact of climate change – and perhaps that was not the purpose of the report.

Rather the report goes onto explore how countries through their Nationally Determined Contributions, mandated by the Paris Agreement, are in fact reducing their emissions and thus reducing the ongoing rate at which their climate debt is accumulating. The IMF feels hesitant about asking countries both to reduce their emissions (which does come with a cost implication in the short term at least) and asking them to repay their climate debt. The report surmised that “Instead, advanced economies may need to focus on reducing emissions over a longer time period or aggressively compensating developing economies for the damage caused by climate change, including through more generous climate financing.”

However the report does conclude: “Climate debt from CO2 emissions is large and unevenly spread across the world’s economies. The size of the debt—and its disparity among countries—portends contentious discussions on countries’ fair burden in slowing climate change and the level of assistance to developing economies to compensate for these differences.

“Climate debt per capita is projected to be much higher in advanced than in developing economies, even under full implementation of NDCs by G20 countries. This implies that advanced economies may need to make additional efforts to achieve fair burden sharing in the fight against climate change.”

So whilst there is no clear strategy as to how the climate debt should be repaid – and continue to be paid as the impact of our emissions continues – at least there is the acknowledgement that the current situation between those who contributed most to the climate crisis and those who suffer the most, is unfair.

(1) https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2023/09/settling-the-climate-debt-clements-gupta-liu

Counting on … day 133

2nd September 2025

Debt Justice (formerly Drop the Debt which organised the Jubilee Debt Campaign in 2000) has this year (another Jubilee Year) launched the Cancel Debt, Choose Hope campaign.(1) The ask is, sadly, still the same: calling on the richest nations to cancel the debts of the poorest – the most vulnerable. Research shows that lower-income country debt payments have TREBLED over the last decade, and right now fifty-four countries are in crisis. (2)

The injustice of this debt crisis means that interest payments to the rich are made at the expense of the poor. As Bernard Anaba in Ghana recently explained:“Public services are in crisis – pupils aren’t getting exercise books and some schools don’t even have chairs or desks for the children. Food prices have sky-rocketed and in hospitals, patients are asked to pay for medication that is meant to be free.”(3)

You can sign their petition here – https://act.debtjustice.org.uk/canceldebt?utm_medium=impactstack&utm_source=website&utm_campaign=Global_south_debt&utm_content=jub25&_gl=1*1g79pn*_ga*NzQxMTM1NzU5LjE3NTQ1NjIyNzk.*_ga_NTSKCLSS55*czE3NTY3OTgwMDkkbzIkZzEkdDE3NTY3OTg2NjEkajU1JGwwJGgw*_ga_PH0J1TDVZM*czE3NTY3OTgwMTEkbzIkZzEkdDE3NTY3OTg2NjAkajU3JGwwJGgw

Or take further action here – https://debtjustice.org.uk/get-involved

https://debtjustice.org.uk/

(2) https://debtjustice.org.uk/news/2025-the-year-we-cancel-debt-choose-hope

(3) ditto

Counting on … day 132

1st September 2025

Climate change adaptation and mitigation can be expensive in terms of upfront investment. Overtime that investment will protect life and well being, enabling communities and economies to survive and flourish. Such expenditure will also be far less than the costs that would be incurred if no action were taken and the climate crisis were allowed to spiral out of control.

Unless governments and international organisations take responsibility for this, the poor and most vulnerable are going to suffer the most. In the UK the poorest members of our population are typically those with poorly insulated homes, those least able to replace household equipment with low energy models, those with least access to cooling green spaces, those least able to afford food as prices accelerate etc.

Globally it is the poorest and least developed counties who are suffering the harshest impact of climate change, and they are the least able to afford the costs of mitigation and adaptation. Often these countries are heavily indebted to richer countries or institutions and spend far more of their annual budgets on interest on these loans than they can on improving living standards through public health infrastructure, eduction, and medical care.

This is why many charitable organisations are calling for both debt relief and debt cancellation for these countries and for substantial grants from the wealthier nations to enable these vulnerable countries both to adapt and mitigate vis a vis climate change and, as needed, to pay for reconstruction when extreme weather events and other climate events have inflicted disaster on these countries.

Falling in Love Again

1st September 2025

This is the first of a series of reflections I wrote for creation-tide a couple of years ago. Following the link should lead you to each of the daily reflections .

The world around us is full of curious, beautiful and amazing things. As small children our curiosity and our amazement knew no bounds. Every day would produce novelties- things to see, things to chew or eat, things to grab and hold, things to poke and explore.

As we have grow older we have often lost that sense of wonder. Things that were new have become mundane. In the rush to be busy, small things flop below the radar. Decorum dictates that we shouldn’t prod or lick things and, unless we’re wine tasters, swirling stuff around our mouth and spitting are frowned upon. Stopping suddenly just to look is discouraged – it interrupts the flow of traffic. Daily routines take over.

And our love for the world wains and falters.

Today begins the season of creation-tide which runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.

Snails may be slimy, commonplace and the bane of gardeners but look again ! They are beautiful, with muted colours, a fluid muscular body and a wonderful spiralling shell. This is a white lipped snail, one of many which has occupied our garden this year.

Falling in Love Again

Proper 17, 11th Sunday after Trinity

31st August 2025

Reflection with readings below

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeremiah 2:4-13

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

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

and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?

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

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

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

I brought you into a plentiful land
to eat its fruits and its good things.

But when you entered you defiled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.

The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”
Those who handle the law did not know me;

the rulers transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit.

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

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

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

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

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

says the Lord,

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

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

cracked cisterns
that can hold no water.

Psalm 81:1, 10-16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

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

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

What can anyone do to me?”

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

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

Luke 14:1, 7-14

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

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

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