May the grace, mercy and love of God be with us all. Amen.
Collect
God of constant mercy, who sent your Son to save us: remind us of your goodness, increase your grace within us, that our thankfulness may grow, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confession
We come before God’s gracious mercy, in sorrow for our sins, and seeking his help and strength.
O Lord our God, we confess before you the sins by which we have displeased you: the wrong things we have done, and the good we have failed to do. Help us and comfort us, cleanse us from our sins and renew us in your service, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
May almighty God free us from our sin and from all that may harm us, and make us worthy of the kingdom of his glory. Amen.
God’s Word
Romans, chapter 12, verses 9 to the end :-
Love in all sincerity, loathing evil and holding fast to the good. Let love of the Christian community show itself in mutual affection. Esteem others more highly than yourself.
With unflagging zeal, aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Let hope keep you joyful; in trouble stand firm; persist in prayer; contribute to the needs of God’s people, and practise hospitality. Call down blessings on your persecutors - blessings, not curses. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in agreement with one another. Do not be proud, but be ready to mix with humble people. Do not keep thinking how wise you are.
Never pay back evil for evil. Let your aims be such as all count honourable. If possible, so far as it lies with you, live at peace with all. My dear friends, do not seek revenge, but leave a place for divine retribution; for there is a text which reads, ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay.’ But there is another text: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; by doing this you will heap live coals on his head.’ Do not let evil conquer you, but use good to conquer evil.
Matthew, chapter 16, verses 21 to the end :-
From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem, and endure great suffering at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes; to be put to death, and to be raised again on the third day. At this Peter took hold of him and began to rebuke him: ‘Heaven forbid!’ he said. ‘No, Lord, this shall never happen to you.’ Then Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Out of my sight, Satan; you are a stumbling block to me. You think as men think, not as God thinks.’
Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Anyone who wishes to be a follower of mine must renounce self; he must take up his cross and follow me. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What will anyone gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his life? Or what can he give to buy his life back? For the Son of Man is to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will give everyone his due reward. Truly I tell you: there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they have seen the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
Reflection on the Readings
“He hasn’t made much of a success of his life, I suppose, but he always seems happy enough.” So said a friend to me the other day about someone we both know, a man of great talent and skill who could probably have been very successful in worldly terms, but chose not to be. I found myself not quite at ease with this analysis.
It was the implication that he wasn’t successful that I found difficult, I think. Because he hadn’t built up his business into something worth millions (and perhaps he could have done), and because he hadn’t made a name for himself that the world would recognise (and again, he probably could have). But he was a kind and pleasant person, good to be with, and, above all, happy. Isn’t that “being successful”?
Paul, writing to the Church in Rome, gives his readers a list of ethical imperatives that can be summed up in the last words of the chapter: “Use good to conquer evil.” Paul writes about making space with others in mind, living with sympathy and empathy, and being prepared to mix with all sorts, to be hospitable to everyone, and to call down blessings even on those who treat you badly.
I recall a friend many years ago who chose to escape the rat race by setting up his own small business; and at the time he said to me, “I’m happy to climb as high as you want in the world, but I’ll not do it by trampling over other people.” I think Paul would have recognised and approved of that philosophy. “Never pay back evil for evil,” says Paul, “Live at peace with others if you possibly can.”
But where I find him a bit more difficult is when he goes on to talk about “heaping live coals on your enemy’s head.” OK, you’re doing it by being nice to him - feeding him when he’s hungry, giving him a drink when he’s thirsty - but it still comes across as somehow doing those things with bad intent. My friend, after all, had chosen not to trample on anyone - not the good guys, but not the bad guys either.
But I think what Paul is really saying is something Jesus also said: “Don’t set yourself up as judge; leave that to God - leave it to God to be the arbiter of what is good and what is evil.” Maybe also a bit about not coming down to your enemy’s level. And behind all of that we need to be aware of the high priority given to hospitality in the world of those days - so that not to give food and drink to someone who needed it, whoever they were, would in itself be a deliberately bad and neglectful action.
Perhaps your kind and charitable response to the person who deals with you badly may change and convert them. If that happens, you’ll very obviously have overcome evil with good. But often it won’t, and people may think of you as weak, and take advantage of you. Within yourself, though, you will still have overcome evil with good, and your heavenly Father knows that. And if your enemy does persist in repaying your kindness with malice, really it won’t be you heaping up the burning coals on his head . . . he’ll doing that to himself.
The same word in Greek, the language of the New Testament, means both happy and blessed: makarios. Happy are they who are content within themselves, rather than always striving to take on the world; and blessed are they also.
All this I think is what Jesus is talking about when he tells us we must take up our cross, in order to follow him. Though they find it hard to accept and understand, he’s started to talk to his disciples about how he will die. The way of the cross isn’t just about suffering, but it is always about sacrifice: living with others, caring for others, moving aside from the “me, me, me” of modern culture. Living as God calls us to live, carefully, practically, kindly, rather than dancing to the world’s tune.
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 for those in places of leadership and power, in our own nation and across the world. Pray they may have vision and understanding, a desire for peace, and a concern especially for the poorest and most vulnerable among us. Continue to pray for co-operation and mutual support as we face up to the continued threat of Covid 19, and that the search for a safe and effective vaccine will be entirely successful. On the International Day of the Disappeared, pray for all who are imprisoned unjustly and without cause.
Pray for the Church worldwide to bear the marks of kindness and concern, and to be united in both mission and service. Pray for Christians in India, and especially for the United Church of South India. Pray for our own Diocese - for Bishop Richard, and for the care, conservation and creative use of our church buildings.
Pray for all who are ill or troubled, and for their healing and health; pray for those infected with Covid 19, wherever in the world they may be. Pray too for the health, safety and protection of health care workers.
Pray for families and friends, and the life of our communities. Pray for the safety and health of people at work, and also for those whose jobs have been lost or are insecure. Pray we may continue to act with responsibility and care, looking out for each other, 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 keep us steadfast in faith, joyful in hope and constant in love; and may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be with us always. Amen.
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