A short service and reflection for the 8th Sunday after Trinity

You may wish to light a candle at the start of this time of worship.

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect 

Lord God, your Son left the riches of heaven and became poor for our sake: when we prosper save us from pride, when we are needy save us from despair, that we may trust in you alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession

Trusting in his forgiving love, let us make confession to our heavenly Father.

Holy God, hear our prayer: for the mending of our hearts, torn apart by our unkindness; for the healing of our souls, wasting away from the despair around us; for the forgiveness we seek for the sin we have allowed to persist; and for the reconciliation of the world, whose division condemns us. We pray for the courage to admit our fault, the strength to amend our actions, and the hope that your grace awaits us. Through Christ we pray. Amen.

May God our Father deliver us from our sins, heal our hearts, and kindle within them the flame of his love,  for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.

God’s Word

Romans, chapter 9, verses 1 to 5 :-

I am speaking the truth as a Christian; my conscience, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, assures me that I do not lie when I tell you that there is great grief and unceasing sorrow in my heart. I would even pray to be an outcast myself, cut off from Christ, if it would help my brothers, my kinsfolk by natural descent. They are descendants of Israel, chosen to be God’s sons; theirs is the glory of the divine presence, theirs the covenants, the law, the temple worship, and the promises. The patriarchs are theirs, and from them by natural descent came the Messiah. May God, supreme above all, be blessed for ever! Amen.

Matthew, chapter 14 verses 13 to 21 :-

Having heard of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew privately by boat to a remote place; but large numbers of people heard of it, and came after him on foot from the towns. When he came ashore and saw a large crowd, his heart went out to them, and he healed those who were sick. As evening drew on, the disciples came up to him and said, ‘This is a remote place and the day has gone; send the people off to the villages to buy themselves food.’ Jesus answered, ‘There is no need for them to go; give them something to eat yourselves.’ 

‘All we have here’, they said, ‘is five loaves and two fish.’  ‘Bring them to me,’ he replied. 

So he told the people to sit down on the grass; then, taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples; and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied; and twelve baskets were filled with what was left over. Some five thousand men shared in this meal, not counting women and children.

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

Reflection on the Readings

It has felt very strange over the past few months not to have received the bread and wine of communion. Some of my colleagues have continued regularly to celebrate communion at home while churches were closed, but for me it would have felt wrong to do that - not that I would want to criticise those who have. It’s just that for me the fellowship of communion is of overriding importance: not just the closeness to God I feel when receiving the bread and wine, but the fellowship I share with those around me. And so it’s felt wrong to make my own communion (other than in a spiritual sense) while my congregations have been excluded.

I’ve met each week through lockdown with a group of friends for a drink and a chat on Zoom; next week though we’re going to meet up in reality, and to share a meal together. I’m really looking forward to it. Eating together is an important expression of fellowship. The hospitality of the table is part of the joy of friendship, and it’s also a duty of community. For Jesus, not to have offered that hospitality to the people who’d come out to hear him in the wilderness would have been unthinkable, even though he’d really been trying to get some quiet time on his own.

While the feeding of the 5,000 - as this meal has come to be called - is not the Holy Communion, I can’t help but find myself thinking about communion. For both this miraculous meal and the Lord’s Supper share a message that is about God’s grace and abundant provision for his people. God’s generosity, in fact. In God’s grace and generosity we can discover a new fellowship. And in response to God’s grace and generosity we can learn to act with generosity and grace as his people.

And both these stories of meals begin with a need we don’t have the resources to meet. With five loaves and two fish, the disciples had hardly enough for their own needs, let alone a crowd that was actually much more than five thousand people, since it was only the men who were actually counted. “Five loaves and two fish! What are they among so many?” “Even so, bring them to me,” replies Jesus.

Last week we heard the story of the pearl of great price, and the man who sold everything he had to buy it. The message of the parable is that the Kingdom of God has to have first place in our lives. The message here is the same. We may not have very much, but if we offer it all, God is able to do great things with it. Everyone ate well that day, including the disciples who offered the bread and fish in the first place.  Those who gave also received back, and abundantly. But the question that’s left at the end of the story is this: what would have happened without that original offer of five loaves and two fish?

Bread is also divided and shared at the last supper. “Take this and eat it - this is my body,” says Jesus to his surprised and shocked disciples. The need here is starker and deeper than the mere physical hunger of people who’ve trekked round the lake side. It’s dark outside as Jesus shares this supper, and the forces of darkness are closing in. Our much-vaunted independence and freedom mires the world in sin, and, left to ourselves, we can do nothing about it. “The wages of sin are death,” as we heard Paul say in our reading a few weeks back.

And here Jesus offers himself, to take our place, and to bear the weight of our sin, and to lead us to life. At that table that night he shared bread to make his friends part of that story, and to open God’s generous heart to them, and also to us; for every communion service brings us to that same table.

So of course I miss it terribly, and I long to take communion again; and - with care and keeping safe - I hope we may begin to hold communion services again this month or from September. But even if the physical act of Holy Communion is unavailable, the message of communion remains at the heart of my faith: of the generous and hospitable God whose glory and love is revealed in Jesus - who gives more than we can ask or deserve, and who does such amazing and wonderful things when his Church in fellowship discovers a generosity that reflects his love.

Statement of faith 

We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayers 

Pray for peace in our world, and for all who are exploited or abused by others, or treated unjustly. Pray for those who are tempted to misuse the power they hold, and for all who have been forced to live as refugees and displaced people. Continue to pray for strength and unity of purpose as the world faces up to the threat of Covid 19, and for all that is being done to develop treatments and vaccines. 

Pray that the Church everywhere may in its generosity and hospitality reflect the generosity of our God. Pray for Christians in north Africa, and for the new Anglican Province of Alexandria. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for all that is being done in our Diocese to encourage and resource a spirit of outreach and mission in each local church and deanery.

Pray for all who are ill today, especially those whose situations we know, and all who are in hospitals and other places of care. Pray for those whose diagnosis or treatment has been delayed by the Covid crisis, and also for all who are suffering directly as a result of Covid 19 virus infection. Pray for the care and recovery of all who are ill , and the safety of healthcare workers.

Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Give thanks for the new opportunities to see families and friends that the easing of restrictions allows, and pray we may continue to act with responsibility and care, looking out for one another, and keeping safe ourselves.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing 

May the generosity of God support, encourage and strengthen us, and open our hearts to be generous in all we offer and do; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us always.   Amen.

A short service and reflection for Trinity 7

You may wish to light a candle at the start of this time of worship.

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect

Generous God, you give us gifts and make them grow: though our faith is small as mustard seed, make it grow to your glory and the flourishing of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession

Let  us call to mind our sins, and make confession to our heavenly Father.

Have mercy upon us, Lord, as we have hoped in you.
Lord, have mercy.     
Lord, have mercy.
Bring in your justice, and break in us the power of evil.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Hear our prayer, and answer us in your righteousness.
Lord, have mercy. 
Lord, have mercy.

May God our Father deliver us from our sins, heal our hearts, and kindle within them the flame of his love,  for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.

God’s Word - 
Romans, chapter 8, verses 26 to the end :-

The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. We do not even know how we ought to pray, but through our inarticulate groans the Spirit himself is pleading for us, and God who searches our inmost being knows what the Spirit means, because he pleads for God’s people as God himself wills; and in everything, as we know, he co-operates for good with those who love God and are called according to his purpose. For those whom God knew before ever they were, he also ordained to share the likeness of his Son, so that he might be the eldest among a large family of brothers; and those whom he foreordained, he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

With all this in mind, what are we to say? If God is on our side, who is against us? He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all; how can he fail to lavish every other gift upon us? Who will bring a charge against those whom God has chosen? Not God, who acquits! Who will pronounce judgement? Not Christ, who died, or rather rose again; not Christ, who is at God’s right hand and pleads our cause! Then what can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or hardship? Can persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or sword? 

'We are being done to death for your sake all day long,’ as scripture says; ‘we have been treated like sheep for slaughter’ - and yet, throughout it all, overwhelming victory is ours through him who loved us. For I am convinced that there is nothing in death or life, in the realm of spirits or superhuman powers, in the world as it is or the world as it shall be, in the forces of the universe, in heights or depths: nothing in all creation that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew, chapter 13 verses 31 to 33, and 44 to 52 :-

This is another parable Jesus gave them: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Mustard is smaller than any other seed, but when it has grown it is taller than other plants; it becomes a tree, big enough for the birds to come and roost among its branches.’

‘The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure which a man found buried in a field. He buried it again, and in joy went and sold everything he had, and bought the field. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like this. A merchant looking out for fine pearls found one of very special value; so he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

‘Again the kingdom of Heaven is like a net cast into the sea, where it caught fish of every kind. When it was full, it was hauled ashore. Then the men sat down and collected the good fish into baskets and threw the worthless away. That is how it will be at the end of time. The angels will go out, and they will separate the wicked from the good, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

‘Have you understood all this?’ he asked; and they answered, ‘Yes.’ So he said to them, ‘When, therefore, a teacher of the law has become a learner in the kingdom of Heaven, he is like a householder who can produce from his store things new and old.’

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

Reflection on the Reading

What exactly does Jesus mean when he talks about the pearl of great price? Isn’t it an act of extreme foolishness for someone to sell absolutely everything he has in order to buy a single pearl? Unless, I suppose, he had the means and the contacts to sell it on quickly at a decent profit. Then it might just make sense; but somehow I don’t think that’s what the man in the parable was intending to do.

But then again, what if there was something so important in your life that nothing else matters? It can feel a bit like that when you first fall in love, especially I guess when that falling in love is accompanied by the crashing accompaniment of teenage angst and hormones. But people can be equally single minded in pursuit of a career or ambition, I suppose, some of them, anyway.

What this does connect into, as Jesus tells the parable, is something we’re being asked or challenged to do on Tuesday nights at the Zoom bible studies Mark and Ian are doing. In five minutes to tell the story of how I became a Christian. Hmm, that’s interesting, and to be fair we’ve heard some good and challenging testimonies. But I’m not sure I could quite do that. I’m not sure I have become a Christian, or at least I don’t think I could say it happened at this time on this day in this place.
I think I am work in progress, or maybe I should say process. I like the word process. I’m not the finished article, I’m still in the process of being formed and made. I’ve always been “in the church”, from a young child. I may have drifted away in my university days and later years, but somehow I drifted back. But there has never been one moment when I gave my life to Christ, to borrow the evangelical phrase.

So does that mean I’m yet to find the pearl of great price? Yes, maybe. But there have been times along the way, some of them times when I’ve been challenged, maybe when I’ve been hurt, others when I’ve felt blessed, times when in some way the penny has dropped, and I’ve had a deeper awareness of God’s presence and God’s love, God’s call as well. What I’ve heard called “disclosure moments”.

And, of course, even where people have had that one great crashing Damascus Road moment of conversion, that never can be the whole story. There’s always more to learn, further to travel, new challenges to face. The story of faith is different for every person of faith, and it needs to be. The Holy Spirit visits us as rushing wind and tongues of flame, but also as a still small voice in the quiet moments, or a brief time of insight within a busy day. Your story of faith is yours and God’s; don’t be put off by the fact that others tell their story differently.

But the process of faith, however it develops, is always about that pearl - that the love of God individually for you, for me, is worth more than anything else we can have or own or know. It’s the one thing that makes sense of me, of who I am. And as I discover that, I become more and more the person God is calling me to be.

Statement of faith

We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. 
We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. 
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. 
We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayers 

Pray for world leaders in the difficult and often demanding decisions they need to make in these troubled times; pray that all who govern may do so with wisdom and integrity, and with a heart for the poor and needy. As the Covid 19 pandemic continues to gather strength in many parts our world, pray that nations may be able to act decisively and with compassion to protect their citizens. Pray for research, and that a vaccine may be found.

Pray that the Church everywhere may be truly Christ-centred, and that all we do may be according to his will, and designed to affirm the value of our neighbour, whoever he or she may be. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for the communities and churches of the Bromyard Deanery. In the week of Lammas Day (Saturday) pray for farmers and fruit growers within our diocese, and all who work for them to harvest their crops.

Pray for all who are ill or in any kind of need: for those in hospitals and other places of care, and for those at home who may be struggling or anxious. Pray for all suffering directly as a result of Covid 19 virus infection, and for their care, treatment and recovery , and for the safety of all healthcare workers.

Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray that as people return as visitors to our communities that this may be managed safely. May we all act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe ourselves.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing

May the peace of God surround and sustain us in all that we do in his name; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us and with all those we love, today and always.   Amen.

A short service and reflection for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity

You may wish to light a candle at the start of this time of worship.

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect 

Creator God, you made us all in your image: may we discern you in all that we see, and serve you in all that we do; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession

Let  us call to mind our sins, and make confession to our heavenly Father.

God our Father and Creator, we are the work of your hands, and yet we have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We confess that we have sinned against you and against our neighbour. Heal and restore us for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

May the Lord enrich us with his grace, and nourish us with his blessing; may he hear our cry and graciously absolve us from all our offences, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour.  Amen.

God’s Word - 

Romans, chapter 8, verses 12 to 25 :-

My friends, our old nature has no claim on us; we are not obliged to live in that way. If you do so, you must die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the base pursuits of the body, then you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. The Spirit you have received is not a spirit of slavery, leading you back into a life of fear, but a Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit of God affirms to our spirit that we are God’s children; and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ; but we must share his sufferings if we are also to share his glory.

For I reckon that the sufferings we now endure bear no comparison with the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is in store for us. The created universe is waiting with eager expectation for God’s sons to be revealed.

It was made subject to frustration, not of its own choice but by the will of him who subjected it, yet with the hope that the universe itself is to be freed from the shackles of mortality and is to enter upon the glorious liberty of the children of God. Up to the present, as we know, the whole created universe in all its parts groans as if in the pangs of childbirth. What is more, we also, to whom the Spirit is given as the firstfruits of the harvest to come, are groaning inwardly while we look forward eagerly to our adoption, our liberation from mortality. It was with this hope that we were saved. Now to see something is no longer to hope: why hope for what is already seen? But if we hope for something we do not yet see, then we look forward to it eagerly and with patience.

Matthew, chapter 13 verses 24 to 30, and 36 to 43 :-

Here is another parable Jesus gave them: ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like this. A man sowed his field with good seed; but while everyone was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel among the wheat, and made off. When the corn sprouted and began to fill out, the darnel could be seen among it. The farmer’s men went to their master and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? So where has the darnel come from?” “This is an enemy’s doing,” he replied. “Well then,” they said, “shall we go and gather the darnel?” “No,” he answered; “in gathering it you might pull up the wheat at the same time. Let them both grow together till harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ‘Gather the darnel first, and tie it in bundles for burning; then collect the wheat into my barn.’” ’

Then he sent the people away, and went into the house, where his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field.’ He replied, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed stands for the children of the Kingdom, the darnel for the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed the darnel is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and the reapers are angels. As the darnel is gathered up and burnt, so at the end of time the Son of Man will send his angels, who will gather out of his kingdom every cause of sin, and all whose deeds are evil; these will be thrown into the blazing furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears, then hear.

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

Reflection on the Reading

I was reading a very interesting article last week in my wildlife magazine about cornfield weeds, which used to be widespread but now are in many cases all but extinct. The seed we plant these days is so much cleaner, and systemic herbicides can quickly remove what used at one time to be pernicious weeds. Many of those weeds have very attractive flowers - so these days you’re more likely to see them deliberately sown onto a road verge than wild in a cornfield.

Having said that, some weeds are still hard to root out. Tall growing wild grasses of various kinds - wild oats, for example - can’t be removed with systemic herbicides, since what would kill them would kill the crop as well. So the image in today’s Gospel of letting the things you don’t want keep on growing alongside the things you do want hasn’t entirely disappeared, even in modern farming.

In the story Jesus tells, it makes for a good metaphor for how things are. People ask me now and again how I can believe in a good God, when all around we see people who act badly prospering and doing well. I’d begin my answer by saying that I believe God is good not because of what I see in the world around, but because of what I see in Jesus. John tells us that though no-one has ever seen God, Jesus has made him known; and Paul wrote that, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.” And then I might go on to mention that none of us is completely good.

But bad people do prosper, and horrific things can happen to folk who don’t seem to deserve it. The real world is all too often an unfair world. In an ideal world, no-one working to heal the sick would contract Covid 19 themselves. In an ideal world, cheats who exploit the vulnerable would be quickly caught and locked away.

But last week I was hearing a nurse describe to me quite graphically what it had felt like to catch Covid 19 and become desperately ill. Happily, she had pulled through, but it had been pretty rough. “Not something I deserved,” she told me, and I had to agree. And I also heard the story of an elderly lady who’d been rung up and told she owed back tax and was at risk of prison. A cruel scam call, but she’d been incredibly afraid and anxious, though again happily a neighbour had sorted things out for her.

People obviously asked Jesus the same question: “Why do the wicked do well? How does God let that happen?” And that’s why he told this story. Its message is that all of us stand under judgement, and that where wickedness thrives, it does so not because the hand of judgement will never fall, but because it is just for the moment stayed. There will be a time for all of us when we have to account for what we’ve done and what we’ve failed to do. And because none of us can guarantee the span of our lives, our time to turn to God is always now.

In each of us, there’s something of the fruitful crop, and something of the noxious weed. Christian growth is about rooting out the weedy and harmful stuff in our lives, to concentrate our hearts and minds on the fruitful and good: what helps and heals, and is pleasing to God.

Statement of faith

We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayers

Pray for the world: for world leaders that they might have a love of peace and justice, and govern with wisdom and integrity; for those who live in poverty, and the victims of natural disaster or of the violence, injustice or race hatred perpetrated by others; and for the world response to the present pandemic, especially those who are working to find a cure for this disease.

Pray that the Church everywhere may be a place of welcome and acceptance, and of forgiveness. Pray for Christians in the Philippines, and for the Episcopal Church of the Philippines. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for the team of Intergenerational Missioners working around our Diocese. Pray for all our work with families and children, for those who reach out to the broken and lost, and for places of Christian pilgrimage.

Pray for all who are ill or in any kind of need, including those who are anxious, grieving or lonely. Pray for all in hospital or other places of care, especially those infected by the Covid 19 virus, for their care, treatment and recovery , and for the health and safety of those who minister to them.

Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray for all who are anxious about jobs and businesses at this time, and all who feel more vulnerable and fearful as restrictions are eased in the world around us. May we all act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe ourselves.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing -

May God’s love surround us, God’s joy fill our lives, and God’s peace be in our hearts; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, surround and sustain us now and always.   Amen.

Short Service and Reflection for Trinity 5

You may wish to light a candle at the start of this time of worship.

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect 

Almighty God, send down upon your Church the riches of your Spirit, and kindle in all who minister the gospel your countless gifts of grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession

Let  us call to mind our sins, and make confession to our heavenly Father.

You raise the dead to life in the Spirit: Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You bring pardon and peace to the broken in heart: Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
You make one by your Spirit the torn and divided: Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love, in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

God’s Word 
Romans, chapter 8, verses 1 to 11 :-

There is now no condemnation for those who are united with Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus the life-giving law of the Spirit has set you free from the law of sin and death. What the law could not do, because human weakness robbed it of all potency, God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of our sinful nature and to deal with sin, he has passed judgement against sin within that very nature, so that the commandment of the law may find fulfilment in us, whose conduct is no longer controlled by the old nature, but by the Spirit.

Those who live on the level of the old nature have their outlook formed by it, and that spells death; but those who live on the level of the spirit have the spiritual outlook, and that is life and peace. For the outlook of the unspiritual nature is enmity with God; it is not subject to the law of God and indeed it cannot be; those who live under its control cannot please God.

But you do not live like that. You live by the spirit, since God’s Spirit dwells in you; and anyone who does not possess the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then although the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is your life because you have been justified. Moreover, if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then the God who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give new life to your mortal bodies through his indwelling Spirit.

Matthew, chapter 13 verses 1 to 9, and 18 to 23 :-

Jesus went out and sat by the lakeside, where so many people gathered round him that he had to get into a boat. He sat there, and all the people stood on the shore. He told them many things in parables. He said: ‘A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some of the seed fell along the footpath; and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil, and it sprouted quickly because it had no depth of earth; but when the sun rose it was scorched, and as it had no root it withered away.  Some fell among thistles; and the thistles grew up and choked it. And some of the seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. If you have ears, then hear.’

To his disciples, Jesus said, ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word that tells of the Kingdom, but fails to understand it, the evil one comes and carries off what has been sown in his heart; that is the seed sown along the footpath. The seed sown on rocky ground stands for the person who hears the word and accepts it at once with joy; it strikes no root in him and he has no staying-power; when there is trouble or persecution on account of the word he quickly loses faith. The seed sown among thistles represents the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the false glamour of wealth choke it, and it proves barren. But the seed sown on good soil is the person who hears the word and understands it; he does bear fruit and yields a hundredfold, or sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.’

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

A Reflection on the Reading

For some reason, as I read through today’s readings last week, the phrase that came into my head was, “In Spirit and in truth,” words from John’s Gospel, chapter 4, verse 24: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Why should those words pop into my head, I wondered?

A second question. Is the parable of the sower aimed at the seed, or at the sower? In other words, who am I in this story? Is it about whether or not I grow, or whether or not I sow? And a third question: if, as Paul says, those who do not possess the Spirit of Christ do not belong to Christ, what exactly does it mean, to possess the Spirit of Christ?

There is clearly a connection between Spirit and truth, not only in worship but in all aspects of our daily living. One writer puts it this way: “To live a Pentecostal life means no longer hiding anything of myself from God, but letting the light of his love flood through every part of me.” He goes on to contrast this with the picture in Genesis of Adam and Eve hiding from God in the Garden, because they know they have disobeyed him. “It’s not that I am no longer sinful,” he writes. “I still get things wrong, but what’s changed is the relationship I have with the God who longs to forgive me and heal me.”

And this peace of mind gives him the courage to live the Gospel and to share the Gospel with others. Which takes me to my question about the parable - am I the seed or the sower? The short and simple answer is that I’m both, but we do tend to concentrate more on the seed when we read the story. Indeed, the explanation Jesus gives his disciples later - the second part of our reading today, is more about seed than sower, and perhaps designed to speak to a young Church living under persecution, with people falling away from the faith.

Of course, seed is useless unless it’s fruitful, and that’s what we should all aim to be. But is it the seed’s fault if it ends up on the rocks instead of in the soil? In the days before the seed drill, seed was broadcast across the poor land, and not all of it grew. And I see in this story a simple instruction to those who sow the seed, to an apostolic church, a church doing mission. Keep on sowing, and don’t be put off by the fact that not all the seed you sow grows to be fruitful. That’s in the nature of things. But if you don’t sow, then none of the seed can grow.

A good and careful sower will make sure as much of the seed as possible falls into good soil, and he’ll come back and nurture the growing crop, so as much of it as can grows well.  And that takes me to the question about what it means to have the Spirit of Christ within us. It doesn’t just mean that we’re filled with joy, it’s not just about knowing we’re saved, and no longer shackled by sin. It has an intensely practical side. Paul has a lot to say about the fruits of the Spirit - and perhaps the most important thing to say about them is that they’re all things we see in Jesus himself. And at its simplest, to follow Jesus is to be as like him as we can be - the great Shepherd of the sheep, and the great Sower too.

Statement of faith

We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayers 

Pray for the world, and especially for those places in our world where there is trouble and tension, and where people are unsettled, and unsure of their place, their rights or their future. Pray for those places where the resources are lacking to deal with Covid 19 and other urgent problems and threats. Pray for scientific co-operation, both to find a vaccine for Covid and to develop effective treatments and prevention strategies. Continue to pray  for wise and caring leadership in our own and every nation.

Pray that the Church everywhere may live and work and witness in the Spirit of Christ, and for all evangelists and preachers. Pray for Christians in Papua New Guinea, and for the Anglican Church there. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and for the churches and communities of the Bridgnorth Deanery. Pray too for Christian poets, and those who write songs and hymns.

Pray for all in need today: those who are grieving, lonely, worried or anxious, and all who are ill, including those infected by the Covid 19 virus. Pray for the care, treatment and recovery of all who are ill or troubled, and for the health and safety of all who care for them, and for all front line workers. Pray too for all who suffer from forms of mental illness, and those who offer support and care.

Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray for our village shops and for other small businesses in our communities. May we all act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe ourselves.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing

May the God of hope fill us with his Spirit of love and peace; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, surround and sustain us now and always.   Amen.

Short Service and Reflection for Trinity 4, Sunday 5th July

You may wish to light a candle at the start of this time of worship.

May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.

Collect

Gracious Father, by the obedience of Jesus you brought salvation to our wayward world: draw us into harmony with your will, that we may find all things restored in him, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Confession

Let  us call to mind our sins, and make confession to our heavenly Father.

Almighty God, long-suffering and of great goodness, we confess with our whole heart our neglect of your commandments: our wrong doing and thinking, the hurts we have done to others, and the good we have left undone. Forgive us, Lord, and raise us to newness of life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love, in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

God’s Word 
Romans, chapter 7, verses 15 to 25a

I do not even acknowledge my own actions as mine, for what I do is not what I want to do, but what I detest. But if what I do is against my will, then clearly I agree with the law and hold it to be admirable. This means that it is no longer I who perform the action, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me - my unspiritual self, I mean - for though the will to do good is there, the ability to effect it is not. The good which I want to do, I fail to do; but what I do is the wrong which is against my will; and if what I do is against my will, clearly it is no longer I who am the agent, but sin that has its dwelling in me.

I discover this principle, then: that when I want to do right, only wrong is within my reach. In my inmost self I delight in the law of God, but I perceive in my outward actions a different law, fighting against the law that my mind approves,

and making me a prisoner under the law of sin which controls my conduct.  Wretched creature that I am, who is there to rescue me from this state of death? Who but God? Thanks be to him through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Matthew, chapter 11 verses 16 to 19, and 25 to the end

Jesus said, ‘How can I describe this generation? They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to each other, “We piped for you and you would not dance. We lamented, and you would not mourn.” For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and people say, “He is possessed”;  the Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look at him! A glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet God’s wisdom is proved right by its results.’

At that time Jesus spoke these words: ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and wise, and revealing them to the simple. Yes, Father, such was your choice. Everything is entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who are weary and whose load is heavy; I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble-hearted; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to wear, my load is light.’

Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.

A Reflection on the Reading

I do sometimes feel that Paul tends to think too much. When he was on trial in Jerusalem, and speaking in his own defence, Festus, the Roman procurator or governor, interrupted him to say, “Paul, your great learning is making you mad!” Maybe Paul wasn’t always the best at expressing his thoughts in simple terms. But once you clear a way through it, our first reading shows us that Paul, like us, had a perpetual dilemma: knowing what he should be doing, he still doesn’t do it.

When lockdown started, I saw it mostly in terms of “tidy up”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a lot of the stuff I wanted to. But there’s still a great pile of paper in a filing tray that needs to be sorted through and filed or binned or otherwise disposed of. That was supposed to be my very first job, and I still haven’t done it. I am entirely and completely persuaded that I need to get it done; and I’ve had plenty of time to do it; and yet it remains undone.

Jesus described the reaction of the people to his ministry and to John the Baptist by comparing them to children singing in the street. Observation of the two of my grandchildren who happen to be brothers to each other suggests that small boys can be very good at finding, or manufacturing, reasons to fall out with each other. I was trying to talk to my daughter the other day while the two lads were noisily falling out in the background. “Nothing’s ever right for them,” she sighed.

It can feel like that sometimes. The same people who dismissed John the Baptist as a madman because he fasted, condemned Jesus as a glutton because he didn’t. Is that, I wonder, because we want a religion that suits us and approves of us, rather than one that challenges us? I’m reminded of the man who, as he came out of church one Sunday, said, “Good sermon, vicar! Just for once, I thought you didn’t mean me!”

Anyway, Jesus goes on to talk about things denied to the wise and clever people, but understood by those who are humble and simple. And Paul understood it too, for all his great intellect, though it did take being struck down on the road to Damascus to break through. To make him realise that the important thing about religion isn’t knowing lots of things, like exactly how a priest should hold his hands when saying the prayer of consecration, or what colour candle is lit on the Third Sunday of Advent, or how to calculate the date of Good Friday. Nor is it to do with keeping all the rules, getting it all legally correct. No - to be religious is to be in a relationship with God.  With Jesus.

Paul knew that. My life’s a mess, he tells us. I know what to do yet I don’t do it. I know what’s good, and yet I choose what’s bad. I keep on getting stuff wrong. And I don’t seem to be able to do anything about this. Not on my own. But, he goes on to say, with Jesus I can. On my own I’m lost, but with him, I’m found; on our own, we’re destined for death, but in Jesus we have the way to life.

My yoke is easy, says Jesus, and my burden is light. In fact, as one writer on this passage says, what Jesus asks of us is both easy and hard, at the same time. Because of Jesus, we’re no longer shackled to sin, we’re set free. But whenever Jesus says “Follow me,” he’s also saying “And take up your cross to do it.”

A friend of mine has a weakness for cream cakes. “I can’t help myself,” she tells me. And that’s it exactly. That’s what Paul is saying, too. I can’t help myself. The battle to live well is a battle I can’t win. But Jesus has already won it for me. That’s what the cross stands for. And that cross is the sign of our freedom to live thankful lives, to live serving lives, to live lives that will reflect his love.
Statement of faith - We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayers

Pray for the world:  where there is conflict and war may God bring peace; where people are belittled, abused or exploited may he establish justice; and where people are hurt, afraid or in a desperate place, may he enable the hungry to be fed and the hurt and frightened to find solace. Continue to pray for all that is being done to combat Covid 19 and to find a cure, and for wise and caring leadership in our own and every nation.

Pray that the Church everywhere may seek constantly to live in the light and strength of Christ and to be renewed in his image. Pray for Christians in Pakistan and for the United Church of Pakistan. In our own Diocese, pray for Bishop Richard, and that all that we do and plan may be grounded in a joyful and prayerful placing of ourselves under God’s will.

Pray for all in need today: those who are grieving, lonely, worried or anxious, and all who are ill, including those infected by the Covid 19 virus. Pray for the care, treatment and recovery of all who are ill or troubled, and for the health and safety of all who care for them, and for all front line workers.

Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. As society reopens pray this may be done safely and with care and thought for others.  Pray for all who have lost jobs or businesses, and for those who continue to feel vulnerable, and have either chosen or been instructed to self isolate. May we all act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe ourselves.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever.  Amen.

Blessing

May the almighty and eternal God sanctify and govern our hearts and minds in the ways of his commandments; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, surround and sustain us now and always.   Amen.