Genesis 18:1-10a. Luke 10:28-42 

In the name of the Living God, loving Father, risen Son and ever present Holy Spirit. Amen

I am going to begin today by reading you a poem. It will be quite familiar when I read it. It is written by WH Davies and is called Leisure. The poet had an interesting life in the late 1800s and early 1900s including a time on the road (as a tramp), both in this country and America! In later life he had a much more settled existence:-

Leisure – WHAT is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?

 No time to stand beneath the boughs, And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can enrich that smile her eyes began?

 A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.

When someone special is coming to your house, we like to make lots of preparations. What kind of things would we do? Make a cake, Do the hoovering. Tidy up a bit. Get out the best china. Brush the cats (and then hoover again). Clean the bathrooms etc. Put on some nice clothes.

I want to tell you a story now that connects to expecting special visitors and listening to each other. It is all about a child called Jo and his family, and if you sitting comfortably I shall begin

It was very noisy and confusing at Jo’s house. His mum was in a flap because her Italian relatives were coming. She was running around the house issuing commands as well as doing lots of stuff simultaneously. jo’s dad was heroically trying to finish all those DIY jobs that he had started but never finished as well as mowing the lawn. The washing machine and dishwasher were on and Jo was being made to tidy his room, have a bath and put on his best set of clothes all at the same time – which was very confusing.

And then the phone rang. But in the noise it was only Jo who heard it. It was his cousin Giovanni phoning to say after a long wait at the airport, their flight had been cancelled. There was a problem with having enough flight crew and they hoped to fly instead tomorrow. He couldn’t speak for long as the call was costing a fortune and they would ring back when they knew more to make new arrangements.

Jo thought for a moment about what to do. First Jo ran downstairs to tell his mum, but she was putting the final touches to her baking, putting the washing away, ironing the tablecloth and setting the table. All at the same time – it was very confusing. She wouldn’t listen to him and told him to go and dust the living room. Jo gave up!

Next Jo tried really hard to tell his dad, but he was too busy trying to hang a picture, trying to fix a leaking tap, trying to get the bathroom door lock to work, mowing the lawn and washing the car. It was all very confusing. And his dad told him to go away too and tell his mother whatever it was. Jo gave up!

Later that day when everyone had finished their chores, the picture was up, the tap was not leaking, the bathroom door locked, the lawn was mowed and the car was gleaming.  The table was laid with magnificent baking in pride of place, and the washing was put away and the dusting was done. Even Jo was squeaky clean, in his best clothes and his room was tidy, they all sat down.

It was then that Jo’s mum remembered that he had been trying to tell her something. What was it you wanted to say Jo? Mum asked. And it was only then that Jo was able to tell her about the phone call

There was lots to regret at that point and lessons learnt about the importance of taking time to listen.

We can make preparations when we know someone special is coming. When someone special turns up unexpectedly. We cannot do all these things. We have to receive them as we are!! And offer them food and drink based on what we have available. In our gospel this morning, Martha and Mary were in this position. Someone VERY VERY special in the shape of Jesus turned up on their door step and they had to cope!!

They had 2 different reactions

• Martha – rushed to get everything ready. She left others to talk with Jesus and tried to make up for all the things that couldn’t have been prepared as they did not know he was coming.

• Mary – sat with Jesus and just listened.

If someone comes unexpectedly – hands up if you are more likely to respond like Martha or Mary. Let’s see.

It can be very confusing what to do. Jesus however is very clear that Mary’s way is best in this situation. That sometimes (like Jo’s parents) we have to stop and listen. Take time to be as that poem I started with encouraged us and not rush about like lemmings OR headless chickens, or making things more confusing by putting pressure on ourselves and making things too complicated. In our world taking time to be does not get the press it deserves. We often prize being too busy, over taking time to listen and think and be. If Jo’s mum and dad had listened to him, they would really have taken the pressure off themselves and all that confusion really wasn’t helping. Though it may have been great to have all those jobs done – they could have taken more time and had time for each other.

The same is true of Martha. Though Martha felt what she was doing was really really important, Jesus didn’t. He felt Martha just being with him would have been more important, as she might have been able to listen and make connections, and found herself more fully in his love and shake off some of her confusions.

Sometimes we use busyness to stop us from facing things we need to face too (if we are honest about it). I am going to finish with someone else’s thoughts – Elizabeth Whitehorn – on this passage

If Jesus suddenly knocked on my front door, how would I react?
I would bid him welcome, invite him to come in and make himself at home – of course I would!
No doubt I would also secretly wish he’d told me in advance, so that I could get ready, make the place tidy and prepare the food, so that I could focus on him, spend time with him.

So when Jesus comes to me in the midst of my everyday busyness, how do I react? when I’m not so preoccupied and hard-pressed?
Do I invite him in and then leave him alone, while I continue with what I was doing before?
Do I stop what I am doing and sit at his feet for a while but then make it clear that I have no more time?
Do I invite him to join me in my tasks and talk to him while we work alongside each other?
Do I keep the conversation polite and formal, fearing difficult personal questions?

If you think about it like this there is another question we might ask – How often do I not hear Jesus’ knocking on my door?

Elizabeth Whitehorn ends her thoughts with a prayer

Ever-present Jesus,
keep me from being too busy or too polite in my relationship with you or even too confused
When I am tempted to hide things away from you, help me to deal with them lovingly.
When I would rather avoid your difficult questions, help me to face them honestly.
When I am too busy to sit at your feet,
speak the quiet word that brings me to stillness. Amen

REFERENCES https://englishverse.com/poems/leisure .  © ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www.rootsontheweb.com) 2002-2022. Reproduced with permission. Story adapted from https://www.rootsontheweb.com/lectionary/2010/48-july-august-2010-c/proper-11/open-the-word/story-too-distracted-to-listen. Reflection from https://www.rootsontheweb.com/lectionary/2004/12-july-august-2004-c/proper-11/explore-respond/reflection-too-busy-or-too-polite

the reflection will be here

St ThomasHabbakuk 2:1-4, John 20:24-29

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

In worship planning, we decided to keep St Thomas’ day today. So let’s think some more about Thomas. Back in the late 1990s, I took a trip to South India. I went to visit a friend who was working with missionaries about 60 miles from Chennai (Madras as was) – Tamil Nadu territory.

Whilst I was there, we did take a trip into Chennai. I remember being pretty frightened by this. We were in a taxi and the rules of the road were reasonably non-existent, with traffic from either direction trying to drive on the best bit of the road! We visited Chennai Cathedral dedicated to St Thomas. There, we viewed the relics of St Thomas who allegedly travelled to India to spread the good news, died and was buried there. We will never know for sure if that is true (or what I was looking at was his very old bones!). It is not in my go to source of the life of the saints (a book called exciting holiness), so I am going to talk mostly today about what we do know with more certainty about Thomas!

Let’s start with Thomas is a significant character in the gospel stories. He is one of Jesus’ original disciples. In John’s gospel where the story we hear today comes from, Thomas first appears in the story of the raising of Lazarus. Thomas is on the sidelines, when Jesus explains to them  that Lazarus has died. Thomas not really understanding what he is saying in all likelihood says ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ It took another 4 days, before Jesus got to where the body of Lazarus was, and raised him.

The second time he appears in John 14, Jesus is teaching his disciples, and part way through a passage we often have at funerals. Jesus is talking about how there are many rooms, dwelling places or mansions in his Father’s house. How he is going to prepare a place for us. Again Thomas interrupts the flow with a question –  ⁵ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’

From both of these we get a sense that Thomas is not afraid to ask questions and to vocalise his fears and that label we most associate with him his doubts….

In this second appearance in the story, Thomas is answered with one of Jesus’ I am sayings ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.The text says it was said directly to Thomas. We have to wonder as to how that may have felt for Thomas. Sounds pretty intense to me! However it felt it was not enough for Thomas to move away from vocalising his fears….

Just to deconstruct that saying a little before we move on. Jesus saying I am “The Way” means – I am giving you a pattern to follow to model your life on. For a while the followers of Jesus were described as ‘The Way’. You will remember our lent course this year, was also called that. Though it was about pilgrims on the camino, it was about their lives and their discipleship too.

Moving on to the truth, Jesus is saying, I am all meaning and purpose for you Thomas.

Jesus is saying What I am is what you really need (and not the trimmings and trappings of life that so often masquerade as valuable when they are not!). This is so much more complicated in our day – and we need to make conscious choices about this frequently.

Then Jesus says I am the life. If the life that the love of God through Jesus brings. Life in this world, and life forever in the heart of God when we die. This is so important – that with God’s love working in us and through us in this life. We have the promise of eternal life in the next life too.

So from that point in John’s gospel, we move to the most famous or really more accurately infamous appearance of Thomas. It is shortly after all the other disciples met the risen Jesus in the evening of the first Easter Day. Thomas was just not there! And despite the protestations of all the other disciples, and Mary Magdalene, Thomas is having none of it!!

Thomas says – ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ Thomas carries on being on the outspoken side of human nature. I have never been sure that doubt actually captures the real source of Thomas’ feeling. This story is here to help us like Thomas with the enormity of Jesus rising from the dead and what it means for us. This something new and different that God has done and we need to live in the light of how epic and ground breaking this is.

Thomas holds his own with his ‘doubts’ for a whole week! Before he too sees Jesus and understands his mistake and just how ground-breaking and inclusive and vast Jesus’ love for us is. From the Bible we know Thomas was in the upper room praying for the Spirit to come in Acts 1, but no more of his story as he doesn’t get in any more mentions. Yet we know from this story a week after the resurrection that as the penny drops that he has understood Jesus’ love for him, expressed in those simple and symbolic words – My Lord and My God!

We know his encounter with Jesus was life-changing, and maybe he did take the good news to South India – We will never know for sure

But for us today in 2022, the message to our hearts is to understand the enormity and power of the love God has for us  through Jesus for ourselves and to share that love with others as only we can. Even if we do find ourselves vocalizing our discontent in all things human like Thomas ourselves, Let’s make sure we never lose sight of that message of love God has for us through Jesus and be dazzled by it day in and day out as Thomas was in the upper room. Making Jesus our Lord and our God forever Amen

The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995

St Peter and St Paul – July 3^rd 2022

Zechariah 4, Matthew 16:13-19

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Our first reading today is the 5th vision of the prophet Zechariah from his book in the Old Testament. Zechariah lived in the times after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Also, after the exile of the Israelites to the Babylonian empire. He was then part of their return to Jerusalem and the Israelite people’s efforts to rebuild the temple the first time.

The temple was hugely important in this tradition, as it was the barometer of how good their relationship with God was. Our understanding of our relationship with God in all this is vastly different from what Zechariah understood! (I am glad it doesn’t depend on the state of our building as we would feel in trouble with God with our roof!)

Back to the Israelites, Zerubbabel (who gets a mention in the reading) and Joshua (not the one who fought the battle of Jericho) were lea ding the rebuilding project and if we want to read how it went – sit down with the book of Ezra in the Old Testament this afternoon!

In the rebuilding of the temple story, there was opposition and big doubts that they were going to be successful. I did some research on the visionary aspects and here is what I think (Health-warning – this is my  interpretation of what is going on here, and I can be wrong). The lampstand, and its lamps – which become its eyes – are about the presence of God amongst us. The two olive trees represent those leading the people – Joshua and Zerubbabel. Embedded in this vision is that success will not depend on physical ability and military might, but the power of the Spirit of God.

I think it is interesting that there are 2 people, one to the left and one to the right. In the midst of this, leading the people of God of this time in the mission God has for them. I suspect we can think of other times in the New Testament when there have been 2 people arranged like this (or on the left and right of Jesus). Moses and Elijah with Jesus at the transfiguration comes to mind. James and John (or their mother) asking to be arranged like this in heaven with Jesus. And for us today obviously, St Peter and St Paul – the foundations of the early Christian church as we know it.

Peter and Paul bring really different things and experiences to the table, but both Peter and Paul in different ways used what they had, and let God work in them through the Holy Spirit to further his kingdom.  For Paul from persecutor of the early church to Apostle – is a huge shift and a real work of the Holy Spirit. But he was educated and learned, and clearly a good communicator from the start (and God used that too).

For Peter, he was a simple fisherman, and a fisherman who repeatedly got in a mess! And yet, despite his failings, God used him richly and gave him the gifts he needed for the role he took on. His failings informed his leadership. He was a better leader because of those experiences, albeit he was still a very unlikely one!

I want us to look at our hands for a moment in the light of Peter and Paul’s experiences.

Look at them. They, as the prayer of St Teresa of Avila would have it, are the hands that God has to work with today, in his mission today. There is little doubt as a church we have some rebuilding to do at the moment, I don’t just mean the roof! As Joshua and Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple in the power of God’s Spirit, Peter and Paul formed the early church in the power of God’s spirit.

We, our hands here, are what God has to rebuild and renew his church here in Wincanton in the power of that Spirit too, and to be God’s people reaching out with God’s love here in Wincanton. Some of the work we are progressing at the moment is literally about building – raising money to get the final stage of essential roof repairs done.

Some of the work is about being a safer church and responding to the increasingly complex and important requirements of safeguarding. We do not want to be a church like those where abuses of power allow the vulnerable to be hurt. We do not want to be the stuff of ghastly headlines (where the recent inquiries have shown up very necessary work the church needs to do).  This stuff really matters.

Some other aspects of work ahead – In the days to come must be towards being the praying heartbeat for our town, warmly welcoming in all and growing younger, and supporting the bereaved, and the lonely. Whilst recovering from the enormous impacts of the COVID pandemic on our  society, our world and how we can be as a church.

The example of Peter and Paul show we do not have to be the same to help with God’s mission – which is good because we are all different. We do not have to be perfect either and have all the answers to help with God’s mission – this is also good because none of us are perfect and none of us know it all and have all the answers! But we do need to roll up our sleeves and engage with what God wants from us for Wincanton in 2022 and the years to come.

And even more importantly we need to engage together in pairs in this vision. Also in threes, fours etc but no-one working alone. Right now we really need another person to add to our safeguarding team. So please pray for that.

Let’s think about the impact of some other pairs or small groups of people too in other areas.

• I am hugely grateful to Roger and Richard, with some help from Sam at our architects and Reverend Hilary working on the roof project – we now have promised funding up to £85,000 and even with inflation impacts we are over halfway there now.

• To Gill and Rosemary sorting out our health and safety policy another essential aspect of safeguarding.

• And of course, most recently Gill and Judy, with Mary and Sylvie are wardens and deputy wardens. There are of course other pairs and groups we could mention!

But I think we really need to pray for our church of St Peter and St Paul, and get stuck in (and particularly about getting our safeguarding sorted). Remember how Jesus also sent his disciples out in pairs in faith and unencumbered by stuff, so they relied on God.

Peter and Paul our patron saints were both in different ways forces to be reckoned with and great conduits of the Holy Spirit. We must pray for us together as a real team effort where everyone plays their unique part, to be filled with the Spirit and forces to be reckoned with in our town and great conduits of the Holy Spirit to all we meet. I am going to finish with the prayer I shared in this week’s newsletter from the Archdeacon’s visitation service I went to on Wednesday.

Gracious and Holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate on you, and a life to proclaim you, through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

References

Word Biblical Commentary Micah – Malachi – Ralph L Smith, Prayer from Archdeacon’s Visitation Service at St John the Baptist Glastonbury 2022, The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995

Trinity 2 – The cost of service

It seems that there is a right and a wrong time for everything.  There are two major similarities between our two readings but each has a different outcome.  We could ask if God’s will changes – or if God himself does.  In fact, we need to remember that what seems to us to be the right time is not always God’s time.

What are you doing here?  A strange question – what would we answer?

Elijah has been through a tough time – he has prophesied several years of drought and famine to king Ahab, who then blamed him when it happened.  He was forced to flee to a different country while the queen, Jezebel tried to kill all the prophets who were faithful to God – we read in an earlier chapter of how 100 of them had to be hidden in caves and fed by Obadiah who was in Ahab’s service in charge of the palace but was faithful to God.  This must have placed him in some personal danger, but sometimes God has placed the right person for a specific job in the right place at the right time, and Obadiah recognised that this was his time.

Elijah then challenged the prophets of Baal and Asherah to prove whose God was real – taking on in total 850 false prophets.  The challenge was to meet on Mount Carmel, prepare an altar and sacrifice, and call to their god and to see which God sent down fire for the offering.  As Elijah put it: ‘The God who answers by fire, He is God’.  After they had called on their gods all morning Elijah begins to taunt them: ‘Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’ Then they cried   aloud…. As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.’ (1 Kings 18: 27-35).

Elijah then rebuilt the altar of God, put the sacrifice on it and then completely drenched the sacrifice and altar with water so that it was completely soaked.  Then he prayed to God – ‘Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt-offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench.’ (1 Kings 18: 38).  The full story is in 1 Kings chapters 17 and 18 and is well worth reading when you have a moment.

Elijah was then warned that Jezebel the queen again wanted to have him killed and so again he fled.  The story of what happened next is a well-known one, but is worth looking at again – ‘He (God) said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?  (I Kings 19: 11-13)’ Twice he is asked the same question – What are you doing here?  It seems that Elijah had been expecting something from God – maybe a pat on the back after his epic time, but God seems to be telling him that this is all in a day’s work – and he needs to get on with the next thing.

There is a well-known saying that there is no such thing as a free lunch.  This is particularly illustrated by both our readings today.  One of the tasks given to Elijah is to find the person God has chosen to be his successor, and he is guided to Elisha.  There is no question from Elisha as to whether he should follow – he simply asks for a bit of time to take leave of his parents, and then gives away to his colleagues what is possibly his most valuable possession – there is always a cost involved.  If you read on, you will find that the succession actually took place some years later as far as we can tell, but Elisha followed his master from then onwards.

This rather raises the question as to why Jesus seemed to have less patience with the people who wanted to follow him and with his disciples who wanted to emulate Elijah and call down fire from heaven.  Possibly it was just not in God’s timeline.  Perhaps the fact that Jesus knew what was to come in Jerusalem also showed to him that the people who wanted to follow him were not prepared for the events that were to come.  I wonder if I would have been either.

There is a cost involved in following God – for Elisha, his family and possessions.  For the would-be disciples, family duties and home life.  Nowadays the cost is more likely to be in the region of the respect of others.  When comedian Frank Skinner ‘outed’ himself as a believing catholic, he said something to the effect that nowadays, to identify with the Christian church is to announce to the world that you are some kind of crank. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1 v18: ‘the preaching of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the wisdom of God’.  Could this be part of the cost for us nowadays – in what is sometimes called the post Christian age?    Are we prepared to stand up and be counted?  Calling down fire from heaven is a much more exciting proposition, but what is God actually asking us to do at this time – in his time?

Copyright acknowledgement: The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995

A Sermon preached by The Revd Ken Masters at Pen Selwood on the 1^st Sunday after Trinity, 19 June 2022.

Readings: Isaiah 65^1-9; Luke 8^26-39

The Gospel passage sounds familiar – at least to me – and yet it’s a reading used only once every three years.  Going back 20 years and more, it was never used in the Alternative Service Book Gospels.  Perhaps its familiarity is because of its strangeness.

The first thing is to put it in context.  The passage that preceded it in Luke’s Gospel is the miracle of the Stilling of the Storm.  Jesus and his disciples were in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee, when a storm arose.  Jesus spoke and the storm subsided.  He spoke and his disciples became calm.

They arrived on the other side of the Sea of Galilee – at a place which Luke (following Mark) calls ‘the country of the Gerasenes’ – or the ‘Gadarenes’ in the King James Bible.  No one seems to know exactly where that was – except that it was on the east bank and therefore not traditional Jewish land, but a pagan area.  A strange man approached Jesus and his disciples.  He was possessed by many demons.  So, here instead of a storm at sea was a mental storm – someone beside himself with delusions and wretchedness.  Jesus immediately tries to cast out the demons – but, as is often the case, the man possessed, having long known no other form of life, beseeched him not to.

Jesus then asks the man’s name, but instead the man replies with a description of his disease.  ‘He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.’  A Legion at that time would have been ‘a body of front line soldiers in the Roman army, generally 6000 strong, and often with the same number of auxiliaries attached.’  [C F Evans, Saint Luke, p.386.]  In other words, the man had so many problems and issues, that they were countless.  And up to then he’d never been able to be free of them; they’d imprisoned and shackled him; he was totally possessed by them.

Being pagan and not Jewish territory, ‘there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding’ – in other words, pigs.  Goodness knows why they asked it, but ‘the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these’.  Their entry into the swine so upset the herd, that it panicked and rushed over the cliff edge and fell into the Lake – there to be extinguished.

I’m not quite sure what we are to make of this Gospel story.  In some ways it seems so foreign to our modern experience of life.  And yet, there are various forms of mental illness that can be likened to possession.  Perhaps, also, it’s not too far from the kind of mass hysteria stirred up by fanatical and totalitarian leaders.  Or perhaps it’s not too far from the extremes that seem to possess conspiracy theorists, or some of the anti-everything-brigade in social media, or some of the exclusive and secretive modern sects.  We may use different language, but there are still individual and social extremes that can be said to have captured and mentally imprisoned some human beings.

The end of the story is rather drawn out, but describes the people of the locality wanting Jesus and his disciples to leave them in peace.  But, on the other hand, the man who had been freed wanted to go with Jesus.  But he was told by Jesus, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’  And the man translated that into ‘proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.’

So, perhaps, there are some hints and pointers we may take from this strange story.  Not to try and get rid of Jesus, nor take our Faith too lightly, so that we may go back to our old ways.  To accept healing which liberates us, even in small ways – and not to try and hang on to the shackles.  And above all, to be aware of what God in Jesus has done for others – and for us – and sensitively to tell others around us of that.  Thanks be to God for this Gospel miracle – and for all that Jesus has done.  Amen.

A Sermon preached by The Revd Ken Masters at Pen Selwood on Trinity Sunday, 12 June 2022

Readings: Proverbs 8^1-4,22-31; John 16^12-15

We come on this Trinity Sunday – you and I – to worship God.  We do so in a form that goes back 20 centuries – but today in modern-ish language, though full of technical, theological words.  To those outside the Church, this may seem very peculiar.  However, this tradition gives us part of our identity as members of the Christian Church – and followers of Christ.  That is one aspect of our identity as persons.

45 or so years ago, I learnt about another aspect of identity in T-groups, sensitivity training, & group dynamics.  We had posters with messages about identity, such as:

 I am afraid to tell you who I am

because you may not like who I am —

and it’s all that I have.

 Another:

I must be able to tell you who I am

before I can know who I am.

 And another:

I can help you to accept and open yourself

mostly by accepting and revealing myself to you.

To read these from the pulpit now seems almost embarrassing.  Yet their message expresses a reality about some of our inner feelings and the ways we relate with each other.

Our identity as persons is partly shaped deep within ourselves – and has partly developed by learning knowledge and acquiring skills.  It’s also modified by the way we relate to the people around us: as we’re born, grow up, play, work, and grow older.  Then there’s that other, higher dimension – in which our identity is partly shaped by what is beyond us – essentially mysterious and personal.  After all, none of us know ourselves completely – even though we know ourselves better than we know anyone else.  Some pretend others are an open book, but of course they’re not – there is an inner mystery about them too.

Another very important part of our identity is our name.  There’s that wonderful story in the book of Exodus, chapter 3, about Moses and the burning bush.  One day, there he was, on the edge of the wilderness, minding his own business so-to-speak – or, more accurately, minding his father-in-law’s sheep.  He was attracted by ‘a fire blazing out from a bush’.  His name was called – ‘Moses!’  He responded ‘Here I am.’  And then Moses had the temerity to ask God for His name.  God answered ‘I AM who I AM’ – which says nothing and yet everything.  The Hebrew consonants of God’s Name are Y-W-H-W, probably pronounced as Yahweh and traditionally read as Jehovah.  The mystery of the divine identity remains, holy and sacred.

Here I am.  Here you are.  Here God may reveal His divine identity as ‘I AM who I AM’.  Each of us being essentially a mystery.  And I’m not trying to explain the mystery.  I simply want to say that our identity depends on all three.  God, other people, and our own self – rely upon and depend upon each other.  That is part of the unity and diversity which is life.

Today being Trinity Sunday, we may think of that unity and diversity as being at the heart of God.  The Church tried to describe that in working out the doctrine of God the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet One God.  This too is a mystery – not in the sense of a Whodunnit – but in a sense of mysteriousness, awe and reverence.  People find this doctrine difficult to understand.  I’d suggest not to think of it as how One can be Three, but in terms of how the belief came about.

Like Jesus himself, his first followers were Jews and shared the basic belief that there is only One God.  A belief, incidentally, which Jews and Christians later shared with Moslems.  The Lord our God is One.  But then after Jesus had died, risen and ascended, his followers found they believed in Jesus as Lord – that He is the Word and revelation of God – and so, in a unique way, the Son of God.  Moreover, they experienced the power of God’s Holy Spirit – as we celebrated last Sunday – which they believed to be the way God reveals Himself in creation, in inspiration, in guidance and within each human soul.  They still believed in only One God – but One God who reveals Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So, this deepens the mystery at the heart of God.  I like to think, though, that it also has parallels with the mystery of human identity.  We are identified as Christians at our baptism in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  At the heart of God and at the heart of each one of us, there is love – both a need and a capacity for love, and both a need and a love for each other and for God.

On this Trinity Sunday we give thanks for the love of God, shown in his Son Jesus Christ, and communicated to all by his Holy Spirit.  So may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore.  Amen.

Platinum Jubilee – June 5^th 2022 – Rev Alison Way

Joshua 1:1-9 and Luke 22:24-30

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen

At the last coffee morning, I wandered around asking the question – What do you most admire about her Majesty the Queen? I got over 40 answers. At one end of the spectrum, I got answers like

• her crown, tiaras and sparkly jewels,

• her outfits and her smile,

• her humanity displayed in evident love of horses and of dogs

• And her love of the countryside

At the other end of the spectrum, people produced a selection of daunting characteristics which we would aspire to model in our lives too.

• Her loyalty (this was the thing most repeatedly said!) and commitment

• Her strength of character and resolve

• Her integrity and steadfastness

• Her devotion to our country and dedicated service

• Her fortitude and resilience

• A number reflected on her longevity and the example she sets after a record breaking 70 years of reigning and now at 96 years old.

In recent days we have been reminded of Queen Elizabeth’s journey to the throne – Up to the age of 10, it was a reasonable distant unlikely outcome, as the child of the second son of King George the fifth. However, the abdication crisis in the mid-nineteen thirties changed all that. It culminated with her father becoming King George the sixth and her destiny with it. Then again later on, her father died at 56, an age we think of as relatively young. It would not have been unreasonable at that point, to think she had somewhere in the region of another 20 plus years before she became our monarch. But it was not to be and with 2 small children Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne of our country at the tender age of 25!

For me (and I know I may well be a bit biased!), but also for some at the coffee morning, the answer to what I most admire about Elizabeth, our Queen is her deep rooted Christian Faith. On this day when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit particularly on the feast of Pentecost, it is fantastic to be giving thanks for someone who has followed her call and sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit so explicitly and implicitly day by day

The documentary shown last week – Elizabeth, the unseen Queen, which if we haven’t watched it yet, I recommend wholeheartedly. (Sadly, I had not realised until I started watching it – that the commentary with it would include the reflections of the Queen herself on the events before us.) As is her way the remarks were brief with much of the footage being shown with accompanying music. But what was said was resonant with her Christian faith – in the way many of her communications are.

As I said – our Queen lives a life that is implicitly guided by her Christian faith, and the presence of God with her through the Holy Spirit. This spills out explicitly in what she says. For example – she said I rely on my own faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. When all your world is torn with grief and strife, think yet. When there seems nothing left to mend, a frail and torn fabric of your life, a golden thread of courage has no end.

The need to lead courageously, inspired by God’s presence with us Is very much the theme of our first reading today. When Joshua is taking on the mantle of leadership from Moses – on the cusp of entry into the promised land. We hear echoes in this of the Queen’s first steps in monarchy after her beloved Father died. And her evident courage over these many years

This passage and particularly where it ends has long been a favourite of mine (and is a reading particularly chosen for platinum jubilee celebrations like this one). God speaking to Joshua, to Elizabeth our Queen and to us – Be strong and courageous, do not be frightened or dismayed, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. A quote I am fond of which makes the point well is from General George Patton who said “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”

Since the Queen’s birth in 1926, our world has changed hugely and our Queen has pretty much seen it all and for many things met the key players.14 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, 14 US presidents Harry Truman (with only 1 she hasn’t met). Just pause and thing about “What events have happened since her birth Or what has been invented and who over the years the Queen has met?”

In all those events and people, and with all that stuff that has been invented – there is lots to be thankful for and to reflect on. One thing has not changed, and as we thought about the vow the Queen made to our country and the commonwealth. We know feels she has been called to serve in this unique way by God.

Our second reading from Luke’s gospel reminds how important it is be among others (as Jesus was) as one who serves. As we give thanks for the life of Elizabeth our Queen, we cannot do that without realising how central her faith in God is  and how that has guided her life of duty and service. There is little doubt it would have all looked very different without this faith and the work of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration in her life,  which has given her the strength she has needed for each step along the way.

We have seen courage in the face of adversity in our Queen and most recently sitting alone at the funeral of her beloved husband is an image we remember.  She does not have the freedom to express herself in the ways that we have. Her ability to stay calm and a role model in all circumstances is admirable!

Our Queen has also been called upon to speak and to find the strength in some of the most difficult of times for our country too. In 2020 she spoke to us in the early days of lockdown. I remember being very struck by what she said at the time, partly prophetic and profoundly reassuring at a very frightening and unsettling time. Towards the end of that speech  she spoke prophetically of the great advances of sciences that enabled  COVID vaccines, and went on We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return.  We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again.

Finally, I want to end with three short quotes from that recent documentary Elizabeth, the unseen Queen, which speak to service, courage and the deeply held Christian faith of our Queen. How the Holy Spirit has guided her over the years. For Elizabeth our Queen, there is more to life, deeper meaning and purpose which flow from these words

We are all visitors to this time, this place -Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love and then we return home.
When people have a challenge, they sometimes talk about taking a deep breath to find courage and strength. In fact the word inspire, simply means to breathe in.

Each day is a new beginning, I know the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right. To take the long view and give of my best in what that day brings and to put my trust in God.
Amen.

References

Queen Elizabeth II Coronavirus Speech Transcript

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0017xv0/elizabeth-the-unseen-queen

The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995

The Servant Queen and the king she serves – produced by CPO – for the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II

https://www.royal.uk/21st-birthday-speech-21-april-1947

Acts 16:16-34, John 17:20-end

May the words of my mouth and meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight amen.

The passage we have heard from Matthew is known as the great commission. Or as we would say, a command or a role given to a person or a group. Interestingly, this important passage is only in Matthew and is not in any other of the gospels. This is surprising as it is such an important passage. The gospel of Matthew has five long speeches by Jesus ending in a sentence like,  “when Jesus finished saying these things” The author is highlighting the idea that Jesus is the new Moses for example, by collecting the teachings into five speeches, parallel to the Torah or Old Testament said to be the teachings of Moses. Matthew is the most Jewish of the Gospels. The great commission is at the climax of Matthews Gospel.

 It is said that Matthew was a Tax Collector and would have been an outcast as they were seen by some Jewish people as dishonest and given to greed. They were said to often skim money out of the taxpayers for personal gain,  in collaboration with the Romans as they were not paid a wage for their work.  But Jesus called him to follow him regardless.

Several years ago, I attended an Exploring Christianity Course where I, and three other students exploring the prospect of ordination, wrestled with this passage, no matter how much I tried to work out alone, what the passage was saying, I kept missing the point. When we came together to study the great commission it started to become clearer and there was so much, we discovered! When it was decided that I was going to talk to you today about this passage I felt a mixture of trepidation and joy as this is now one of my favourite Bible passages.

We are looking in on a scene that occurred between the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to the father. Some of the disciples have seen the risen Christ, some have not. The women who first proclaimed that Jesus had risen to the disciples on Easter Day, were simply not believed by the eleven. Jesus is described a bit later as suddenly meeting with some of the disciples, being with them, with the words “Greetings. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see me.”

The eleven disciples travel from Jerusalem to Galilee. Only eleven of course as Judas as died and has yet to be replaced with Matthias. They do as they are asked. Jesus does not travel with them.  I wonder what conversations there were between them. Were they anxious? Not all the disciples have seen Jesus yet, so I wonder if they think this is a pointless journey? Were they excited at the prospect at seeing Jesus again? What questions did they have?

 They go to the mountain in Galilee. Scholars have argued, which mountain?  but we are not told in the text. We do know however that important events in Jesus’ ministry happen up on the mountain side.  The closest Mountain is the Mount Tabor, the sight of the transfiguration so they could have been sent there.  So, they arrive, and Jesus appears and is with them. Some worship him and others doubted. I wonder why they doubted.  It is of course a very human thing to do but Jesus is standing among them, they can see him. We remember previously in the gospel of John, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, but she does not recognise him. Jesus’ appearance had changed. The doubters could be simply unable to recognise the risen Jesus. The text does not tell us who the doubters were. But I am not surprised that some felt unsure, after all they had just witnessed the crucifixion and burial even if at a distance. This raises the question, How will we recognise Jesus?

Jesus says to them ‘All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me’ This is a very strong statement. In other words.

‘I am here speaking with all the authority of God, who has commanded Me to give you this commission’ The voice Bible.

This is easier to understand. Jesus has won the authority through the victory over sin and death and will now use to take over the world through the disciples. The world the way Jesus wants it. He is now passing this commission to the disciples to fulfil. He then commissions them to Go and make disciples. This commission is ours too. To go out and tell the good news and encourage new believers and those who do not know Jesus Christ and help them come to faith, to go to dark places and shine Christs’ light. To be with people as Jesus was. He tells them to make disciples of all nations, they are being sent far and wide to baptise in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit. According to one scholar who says,

‘Not merely is the truth to be preached; Christ requires a confession of discipleship. He expects his people to be bound together in Church fellowship. ‘(Adeney, 2022)

Baptism is essential.  This is a command to preach the gospels and to baptise from Jesus himself. Then to teach them, this is how the gospel is spread.  Telling them to go out and tell others to baptise. What does this mean for us? How can we do that? It can be as simple as you telling your story of faith, the example of how you live the good works that you do. Planting a small seed in the minds of others for God to nourish.

This is a heavy commission, and should not be done alone, as I discovered on that previous course. The disciples went out in two or groups to teach later in The Acts of the Apostles and they are assured that God is with them. Jesus then gives his reassurance by saying ‘surely, I am with you’. They need reassurance as Jesus will ascend and leave them soon… for good. They needed his reassurance and so do we, to take on this exciting and daunting task. But we remember Jesus left physically but not spiritually.

 In the nativity narrative, at the very beginning of Matthews Gospel, Jesus is called Emmanuel meaning God with us, Matthew now comes full circle to the ultimate end, where that promise is fulfilled with the assurance of an ever-present God, through the power of the holy spirit Jesus left with us, who will be with us to the very end of an age.

 Whoever you are, and wherever you are in your journey, the most important message for me in this passage is the very last line. And surely, I am with you to the end of an age. Whatever we are going through in our lives currently, in the past and in the future, good or bad, God is with us, every single one of us. Even if we have turned away from Christ in the past, we have that beautiful promise, I am with you to the end of an age.

Amen

Adeney, W., 2022. Matthew 28:18 Sermons: Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.. [online] Biblehub.com. Available at: <https://biblehub.com/sermons/matthew/28-18.htm> [Accessed 17 May 2022].

Easter 6 – Rogation – Year C – Acts 16:9-15, Mark 6;26-31

In the name of the Living God: Loving Father, Risen Son and ever present Holy Spirit, Amen

When we gathered on the last of these feasts of the agricultural year- Plough Sunday back in January, I talked about planting the seeds for my vegetable growing in the rectory green house. We talked about seeds of new life and growth in our churches and blessed seeds people had brought with them. Remembering I am not remotely green fingered, I have to say my seed growing has not been entirely successful, but I have nurtured a courgette plant into life and planted it out in the green house this week. (This is a first for me!). Thankfully I have also reaped the benefit of other people’s efforts with tomatoes via last weekend’s plant sales and a squash plant too.

This time our feast of the agricultural year is Rogation. Traditionally, blessing the land and praying for the harvest. Rogation falls on the sixth Sunday of Easter is as a the trigger to start 3 days of prayer called for in the lead up to ascension day on Thursday. The word rogation comes from the latin to ask, and was inspired by the collect for this Sunday in the Book of Common Prayer, which includes whatsoever ye shall ask for in my Name – he will give it you. So we follow this tradition of asking for God’s blessing on the land today for a fruitful harvest in all the different forms this can take.

This is an important focus for us – and one we must not lose sight of. It is easy for many of us with our distance from the production of the food we need, to be a bit insulated from the impacts on those who work the land. Rogation – helps us to remember and link things together and be mindful of God’s good earth and his creation of which we are stewards, which is good for us – and helps us to. Especially as it is important to be conscious of the wonder of God’s creation all around us.

I asked one of the local farmers, what is on the minds of the farming community at the moment. He said sorting out the detail of the farming measures and subsidies to support the environment, which are being replaced following our exit from the EU. Detail is yet to be forthcoming – and this is making life difficult for the farming community and needs sorting out. He also talked about how interrelated we are and the bigger picture in relation to food supply for our whole world. This is something that has been concerning me too. How impacts of poor harvests, or harvests impacted by conflict will send shock waves.

Theoretically, as a world we have enough food to feed everyone, but it is not always where it is needed. Some have too much and some have too little, and some of the things going on at the moment, are going to impact the equilibrium of world food supply in the months ahead too. The Arthur Rank Centre which supports rural communities and ministry have stated that there are hidden depths to our global situation. We have now been praying for peace in Ukraine and an end to the conflict there as weeks have turn into months.

This week there has been a call for access to Odessa’s grain stores to release vital supplies to the people of Ukraine. Ukraine is a fertile country and supplied nine per cent of the world’s grain in 2019. The current situation has wider implications. Clearly, that contribution is under serious threat because of the war. As a world we are much more linked than we often realise. Sadly, humans have been destroying the crops of other humans during wars for a very long time, and as markets become global, the impacts become global. We obviously expect to see food prices rise, along with everything else, but in other areas, which import grain from Ukraine, particularly in Africa, we are sadly likely to expect famine..

It makes praying for peace for justice, and for genuine reconciliation work all the more vital. We need to consider how we can help our brothers and sisters, whose lives have been turned upside down by war, where ever that is. As well as the likely down the road costs to those with the least. Making it all the more important we strive for peace today, tomorrow and beyond and we pray for peace too.

From thinking about blessing the land and the complexities of that, let’s think next about how frequently Jesus uses stories from our natural world to make deeper points about how we should live as stewards on God’s beautiful world and in his kingdom now.

Our gospel today was two parables – stories with deeper meaning – the first part – ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

That is a very idealised view of how a crop really grows and there are a lot of things missing. Apart from sleeping and rising, the farmer does not appear to be doing anything between sowing and harvesting. There is no mention of preparing the ground,  fertilizing, tilling, fighting pests. Nor do we get any influence of the forces of nature essential for growth like sun or rain, and/or the various destructive forces like wind, hail, weeds, pests and drought that at least threaten the seed’s maturation.

The references to time are pretty hazy too. It sounds like growth is pretty instantaneous after sowing – which often is not the case. It takes some time in my experiences for long dormant seeds to germinate. Also there is no mention of the roots of the crop – which have to be there first before the stalk. So what is this story really about!

The commentary I read said views on that were mixed, depending on whether you started from the seed or the farmer’s perspective, and I am not sure we will ever really know what Jesus’s point for his day was. But for our day we can glean that the kingdom of God is in the every day, here and now. In the activities in the world around us – the crops in the fields around this village/town remind us that the kingdom of God is also not under our control. We can do a lot to help increase the yield of crops, but there is nothing we can do to guarantee a good harvest! Forces of nature interact with our endeavours. There is also a sense in the final part of the parable that one cannot escape the sense of an appointed time of the harvest. This is not about the growth or length of time between seedtime and harvest, but the accent on the harvest does affirm a time when all will be brought to its final end, the ripe grain will be harvested. How we interpret that is open to debate – Certainly a call to readiness, alertness to God in our lives now – our present reality and to look for and at harvest differently.

Thankfully the second parable we heard, is a bit easier:- With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? ³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade

Even in the Holy Land the mustard plant is apparently not big enough for the birds to make nests in its branches. So what does that bit mean! In this instance the birds are not what they seem. It is thought that they are a reference to the Old Testament – From Daniel and Ezekiel. Where the birds represented the nations of the world. So this is pointing to the reality that the kingdom of God began with the Jews and the coming of Jesus, but is intended to grow to include all the races and nations of the earth. For me this makes it important we rise to the challenge of being globally minded. Encouraging others to love their neighbours not just those close at hand, but our neighbours in Ukraine and in Africa in the choices we make. Another way of looking at this story is again about the kingdom of God, in us and around us. Our lived reality of God’s presence with us. This can start really small and grow through the most unlikely of places and opportunities and develop and mature in us and around us. This is not about force or conquest, but about organic growth in our hearts and that spreading its influence in our lives. We need to value what is potentially very small but actively growing in our Christian life and development and see opportunities (no matter how unlikely) as ways of growing the kingdom of God in our hearts.

In a way we need to be open to the limitless potential of God’s Spirit to bring life and growth, and open to the signs of God’s kingdom among us and within us. God’s kingdom can’t be counted down on a calendar, nor heralded by grand display. The key to this parable and the previous one is that – God’s kingdom is already among us. And we are living in that Kingdom now. That the place to start is in our hearts and to ask God through the power of his Holy Spirit to guide us and nourish us, to tend and nurture us and to establish in us, his love first and foremost guiding our every thought and action. Bubbling out to encourage others on their walks in God’s kingdom – in our here and now and present reality.

In different ways these 2 parables, tricky as they are, do boil down to our approach to life and starting from the heart, God’s amazing love for us and our loving response to that guiding our hearts.

And I am going to end by reading a reflective heart based prayer – aspects of the natural world thrown in to finish. Sadly I have had this for a while, and I don’t know where I found it.

Let us pray Lord, may my heart be as a spacious barn; a place where the swallows of your peace and gentleness may nest and lay their young; a place where the crops and fruits of your word may be stored, to be brought out and shared in due season; a place where bales of the hay of your comfort and compassion and love are piled high, ready for the winter of loss and discouragement and hardship; a place where prayer soars as an owl and returns blessed by your grace and spirit. a place that is as your kingdom in the midst of us, ever constant, ever changing, ever open, ever inclusive, ever a place of life and love and daring. Amen.

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995. Copyright acknowledgement Some material included in this service is copyright: ©  The Archbishops’ Council 2000-2020 and from the book of Common Prayer

https://arcentre.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/25093547/ARC-Rogation-Sunday-Material-A4-2022-V1.pdf

Source of the prayer at the end unknown.

Acts 11:1-18, John 13:31-35

In the name of the Living God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer Amen

When I was young there were lots of cartoons, featuring a girl and a boy called “love is”. They showed pictures that matched their slogans like

• Love is not asking how much her new dress cost

• Love is having his picture on your desk and having his love in your heart

• Love is letting her take over the bathroom

Social attitudes have changed a bit since the seventies and eighties! What characterises love for us? And if we had to sum it up – how would we? Saying what love actually is – is quite difficult because its lots of things. It makes the world go around. Love is our reason for being! Maybe even love is giving someone your last rolo!! – Not that I am influenced by advertising at all.

In a way Jesus is setting the bar very high this morning in our gospel reading in understanding what love is. We heard he asked us to love each other as he has loved us. We know that Jesus love for us is very deep and remarkable, but it was also very costly. That means our love of other people needs to be deep and can on occasions be very costly too. Ultimately Jesus was willing to die for us as we remembered on Good Friday and we cannot go any further than that! But we can love if we stand in God’s love for us.

We have a number of amazing examples of people who have followed Jesus and paid this price too, Technically, we call these people – martyrs, but I think it might be better to call them heroes, as these are people we really need to look up too! One of these was a chap called Maximillian Kolbe. He was a Polish friar and was sent to Auschwitz in the second world war for helping Jewish refugees. He helped around 2000 of them before he was imprisoned. When in prison in July 1941 one of the prisoners in Kolbe’s block escaped, and as a result, it was the policy if the prisoner was not recaptured to kill ten of the prisoners. Ten men were chosen, among them a young Polish sergeant began to beg for the sake of his wife and children. Maximilian stepped forward. He offered to go in the place of the young Polish soldier and he did.

Also, in the second world war we might remember the story of Corrie Ten Boom, who was also imprisoned and devoted long hours to caring for sick and dying fellow inmates. In her autobiography – which is a difficult but worthwhile read – Corrie says it was only her confidence in God’s love that kept her going.

Most of us are not called out to live out Jesus words to love one another to this extreme, but our lives provide many opportunities to love as Jesus did. I want us to think for a moment about  some of the people that love us now. People alive today or people that have passed into the heart of our loving God. Loving people who love us is super and the people we travel with are a very great gift for us! And we know that all the more when they are with us no longer

However in what Jesus says is also clear that loving only those who love us is not an option to Christians. In our reading from Acts – Peter was also dealing with this over the thorny question of Jesus’ kingdom being for everyone. Peter is explaining to people who were criticising him – why he thought this. And we can see from the end of the story – those people at the end praising God for what Peter had said which is quite a turnaround. Peter had had to have a complete turnaround in his attitude to reach this point. Sometimes we need to do the same. Looking back on things and reflecting – can help us learn for the future. We cannot change what we may have done but we can learn from it and who in this life has never changed their mind about something and then wondered later on why we held the first view we had!

As I said loving those who love us is relatively easy. We all also have people in our lives we need to work harder at loving. I think it is possible to love someone despite of themselves and their actions and the things they may have done to hurt us. In my role, I sadly to often encounter unresolved relationships and family breakdown and often all the more sadly when the opportunity for seeking forgiveness and being forgiven is passed. Forgiveness is fundamental to loving as Jesus loved. He forgave people that did terrible things to him and let him down. We also need to be gracious, humble and forgiving sometimes, and much more than we want to be. Being forgiving is good for us – both seeking to be forgiven and being quick and open-hearted to forgive others. Humble service, gracefulness and generosity are essential ingredients of Jesus loving way as is being forgiving and seeking forgiveness.

I think there are a few circumstances especially in relation to ‘abuse’ where there are some caveats to this and what is realistic to achieve (especially if the abuser involved doesn’t recognise it). But mostly the graceful, humble and generous way is the way to go. When we think about those we need to forgive or work harder at loving we may sometimes think that to love as Jesus loves is impossible for us and in our own strength alone it probably is. But we stand in God’s love for us and if we let it have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us helping us change.

The commandment contains the assurance of Jesus’ love for us. So like the disciples in our doubts, denials and betrayals and failures to understand – we tread a well-worn path – safe in God’s love because we are already loved in all our weaknesses. We can attempt to love those we are given to love day by day through the strength the Holy Spirit gives us. Though we may not always get everything absolutely right all the time (no-one ever does) that does not mean we should not try to live this way. Be open to loving as Jesus did (and not being hollow or shallow!) Let’s get beyond it – and live lovingly every day

I have to say in guiding our actions, sometimes what is the loving thing to do is a good barometer question for selecting what we do. Alongside what will speak of the love and hope of God in our lives?

I read a story about a headteacher in a school where many children have known very little of love. Some are refugees and have witnessed things that we would shudder at. Every day the headteacher chose special helpers to prepare the hall for assembly, collect the registers and help clear up the lunch things. He didn’t choose the obviously good to undertake these tasks. He watched for the child who looked unhappy, the one who kept getting into fights and arguments or the one the teachers say never gave in his homework. The basis of his choice is that these are children who need to be loved and have had very little experience of it. What he said was that in his experience as the children feel the love for themselves we see them slowly change and open up for the good.

Love works. By being loved, the children become loveable and capable of loving themselves. We need to remember that as God’s children, God loves us unconditionally and through that love we too become capable of love and can attempt to fulfil what seems humanly impossible to love as Jesus loved. We can only do this – by standing in God’s love for us – that love divine all love’s excelling

Going to end with a prayer

Lord God, we thank you for those who care for us day by day, and who show us love’s tenderness.
We thank you for those you have given us to love, in our families and among our friends, and who show us love’s gratitude.
We thank you for those who help us when we are unable to help ourselves, and who show us love’s kindness.
We thank you for those who know all our faults, and who show us love’s patience.
We thank you for those we have grieved and hurt, who repeatedly forgive us, and who show us love’s generosity.
We thank you for your love which sustains us, and which shows us that love has no end. Amen.

References:  © ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www.rootsontheweb.com). Reproduced with permission. The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom, https://www.loveiscartoon.com/, The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995