Gospel Reflection

Trinity 8 - 25 July 2010

Matthew 20:20-28

“…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave…”

Colleagues who treat subordinates with disdain are evident in almost every workplace. Whether it is associates who look down on trainees or partners who look down on associates and treat them accordingly, there are lots of examples of being “dumped on” in the modern working world. For all our attempts at bridging the gap between those in authority and those who sit below, there still exists the attitude of heart which leadership promotes and which puts down the less fortunate for the benefit of the leader’s own position. Sadly, this can be all too evident in our churches, which are increasingly mirroring modern workplaces in terms of working patterns.

Kingdom ministry is shown by Jesus here not to be dictatorial but servile. Jesus Christ is the example to follow, one that all believers are called to imitate and duplicate. The letters of Paul amply demonstrate this principle when he writes (II Cor 4:5) that the band of apostolic travellers are ‘...your slaves for Jesus’ sake...’ Being an apostle doesn’t mean that the person should say ‘Look at me! I’m an apostle! Serve me!’ but  ‘I am a gift to you - let me serve you’.  How different is that from the modern workplace! How many managers or board members would say “let me serve you”?  Let us, as Christians, regain a sense of service, as countercultural as that may be. 

O Dearly beloved Word of God, teach me to be generous, to serve Thee as Thou dost deserve, to give without counting the cost, to fight without fretting at my wounds, to labour without seeking rest, to spend myself without looking for any reward other than that of knowing that I do Thy holy will. Amen.

 

Trinity 7 - 18 July 2010

Luke 10: 38-42

The image that Mary and Martha conjure up in my mind is of a hyperactive individual in contrast to a more passive and reflective partner. I realise that this unfair to Martha and yet the Gospel image does rather reinforce a harassed Martha to a laid back Mary. Add to the mix the words of Jesus, ‘Mary has chosen what is best; it shall not be taken from her’. It’s possible to imagining Martha wanting to scream.

In today’s world it often seems that hyperactivity is the order of the day. People rush from A to B and all too often it seems that people don’t have time to follow in the footsteps of Mary. How often do we hear people say that I don’t have time to read for pleasure or find time for the theatre and music, which can be key elements to healthy lifestyle? Ensuring that we find time to relax and discover the pleasures that make us into holistic beings.

I don’t want to decry the fact that for many of us life is too busy and this cannot be easily changed, but it is important that we find time to balance work and leisure even if we enjoy the work that we are caught up in. If it takes over all of our being, we will lose sight of the many gifts that we have and take for granted, until such time as that may not be available to us.

The Christian message must include a reminder that to arrive at a holistic spirituality we must be willing to be like Mary and find time to relax and reflect. In a busy day it might be reading a book for pleasure on the train or bus, or taking time out at work to sit quietly and allow the world to metaphorically stop for a few minutes. Day dreaming may be seen to be a negative activity by some people but it may also be a release from the tensions that so easily absorb our lives.

In these summer days which may not be ‘hazy or lazy’ we need time to be like Mary and be prepared to avoid the pressure of fussing about all the important things which will not go away even when we find time for the precious moments that lift us to another place. On returning to the busyness of life we will better able to face the tasks that are waiting, because we found the time to be refreshed.

Father we ask that in the midst of the everyday pressures that we face you will gently remind us that it was Mary who chose what is best. Help us to find time to rest and seek the renewal that comes from our being close to you, that we might better face the tasks that need to be addressed.

We ask this in the name of Jesus our friend and saviour. Amen

 

6th Sunday after Trinity - 11 July 2010

Luke 10:25-37 – Parable of the Good Samaritan

This surely would be a strong candidate for number 1 in the top ten of Jesus’ parables. It is so well known that the word ‘Samaritan’ instead of once being a term of abuse is now one of admiration. Think of the wonderful work of the Samaritans who are at the end of the telephone 24/7, always ready to listen to anyone in the depths of despair, and as a result the many lives they must have saved.

It is so familiar and yet can produce surprises despite the many times we’ve heard it before. Jesus told the parable in response to a question a lawyer put to him, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ He clearly knew the two Great Commandments in the Old Testament, the first from Deuteronomy and the second from Leviticus. But there may at the time have been disagreements over the true definition of ‘neighbour.’ Did it mean a fellow Israelite in need, or a ‘stranger living within the gates’ or indeed an enemy? There were special circumstances when they counted as well. But a despised Samaritan, that was surely, going too far! Yet to the amazement of his listeners Jesus declared there were no conditions, their neighbour could be anyone irrespective of race or creed. 

So, having told the parable, Jesus asks the lawyer, ‘Who do you think was neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’ And he’s forced to admit that it was the Samaritan. But even here there’s a twist; the neighbour isn’t simply a person whom we are to help regardless of who they are, but also the one who might come to our aid when we are in trouble. In other words there will be occasions when we’re in need and the person who helps us is the last one we’d personally choose!  

It would be surprising if we got on with all our work colleagues; we might have differences because of personal chemistry, temperament or culture. Yet in another parable, Jesus says, ‘whatever you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.’ So we have to go beyond whether we actually like them or not and though very difficult try to see in them the face of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t mean we will then become friends but it’s possible for relationship to be raised on to a higher plain not least because of our shared humanity whose father is God.     

David Driscoll

 

I am glad you made my neighbour different from me;

a different coloured skin, a different shaped face;

a different response to you.

I need my neighbour to teach me about you:

She knows all the things I don’t know.

 

Monica Furlong (from 1000 World Prayers compiled by Marcus Braybrooke O Books 2003)

 

5th Sunday after Trinity - 4 July 2010

Luke 10. 1-11, 16-20

Cliff Richard once sang that he had no bags of baggage to slow him down, no comb and no toothbrush, nothing at all to haul. He was travelling light because he just couldn’t wait to be with his baby that night. I wonder whether Eugene Peterson had that song in mind when he translated this reading in ‘The Message’, his version of the Bible in contemporary language. His version of Jesus’ charge to the 72 disciples starts like this: “Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.”

Travel light. Jesus was calling the 72 to an itinerant ministry. Their focus was on going ahead of Jesus to prepare people for his coming and his message. So they took nothing unnecessary with them, they weren’t distracted by small talk along the way, they welcomed hospitality when they received it but they simply moved on to the next place and the next person whenever they were not made welcome. No distractions, just a clear focus on their task and their message.

We also need to travel light in our individual lives and our corporate Church life in order that we are focused on our core task of sharing the good news about Jesus in actions and words. But there is a second reason for travelling light which is to do with the footprint that we leave on the world. By sitting light to possessions and by accepting hospitality as it was offered to them they imposed as little as possible on the people, villages and areas through which they travelled. In our society, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we have done anything but. Our footprint has been heavy on our world as we have exploited its resources for our own gain and we are only now beginning to realise the consequences.

John V. Taylor's book, Enough is Enough, kickstarted the simple lifestyle movement. ‘Live more simply that others might simply live’ was their slogan and it is one that Eugene Peterson sees as coming out of the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples before he sent them out on their mission: “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment,” he writes, “Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns – get a modest place and be content there until you leave.” Keep it simple. Travel light. These are the key messages of Jesus’ instructions. Why? To keep us focused on our message and mission and to tread lightly on the earth as we do so.

Prayer (by Gerard Kelly): 

"I wanted to be untouched by my possessions / Instead of being possessed / By what I touch, / To test the taste / of having nothing to call mine, / to hold consumption’s cravings back, / to be content with luck or lack, / to live as well on water as on wine. / I want to spend myself / On those I think might need me, / Not spend / All I think I need on myself. / I want my heart / To be willing to make house calls. / Let those whose rope is at an end / Find in me a faithful friend. / Let me be known as one who rebuilds broken walls." Amen.

Jonathan Evens

The Third Sunday after Trinity - 20 June 2010

 Luke 8: 26-39.

“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you”

If you stand on the shore of the sea of Galilee, and gaze at the stunning beauty of the rolling hills around this inland lake, you can see many high brows that may have been the setting for this story. 

This story is curious on two counts. Firstly there is the potential injustice of Jesus robbing the (innocent?) herdsmen of their livelihoods by driving their herd of swine into the sea. And then there is that abiding sense of fear that looms over the second part of the story. 

They may have been complicit, but from how the story is told the herdsmen looking after the swine are innocent players. And, economically, they are the ones who lose out in the savage destruction of their livelihood. And there are no signs of recompense or re-imbursement. Where is justice in this for them?

Then there are all the crowds who are left in a state of fear. We think we are used to finding stories in the Gospels where people come away with positive experiences having met Jesus. Yet here is a story where lots of people are left feeling afraid. Why? What have they done?

And then there is the man who is healed, the man called “Legion”. The one who finds himself, and a sense of his own place in the world. Of him Jesus says “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you”. But at what cost?

Lord hear our prayers for all your faithful people in this time of economic instability. In the vulnerability of our lives may we find our sense of place and purpose in your service. Amen

Geoff Hammond

 

6 June 2010 - Luke 7:11-17

"When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.'"

When children are distressed, we hold them close and tell them not to cry, it is a very human response in love. That is exactly the response of Jesus as he comforts the widow at Nain. Being a widow is difficult in any age. The woman had lost both her husband as well as her only son. There was no social security in that day and employment opportunities for women were virtually non-existent. In losing her son, this woman had lost everything. Jesus had compassion on her and raised her son.

We do not read anything about this woman’s faith. There is no mention of any entreaty she might have made. She had done nothing to merit a miracle. Instead Jesus took the complete initiative. She had a deep need and Jesus moved to fill that need.

Jesus showed absolute compassion and the widow merited absolutely none of it. Such is the grace of God. Martin Luther stated in a sermon on this passage: “If we believed that everything comes to us from God's grace and mercy, we would daily run and rejoice, our hearts would continually rise and dwell in heaven”. But of course, we do not. We pay lip-service to grace often, and rarely run and rejoice. How many people walking across London Bridge on their way to work in the morning appear to run and rejoice? There is a lack of acknowledging God’s grace in the world. More than ever we need to realise, like the widow of Nain, that we do not deserve what we receive and what we receive in Christ is a very real compassion, “don’t cry!”.

                                                                                                                        Chris Bunce

 

Trinity Sunday May 30th 2010

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come”.

John 16:13

The church's year continues on Trinity Sunday and enters the many weeks of ordinary time, for those who with a memory of life in the Church of England before Common Worship, it was the beginning of what seemed to be the never ending Sundays after Trinity.

The other side of the equation is of course that in reality ordinary time is what most of us take for granted in our everyday lives. We maintain a fairly unchanging way of life that allows for continuity and only the occasional surprise. I suspect that for most of us this is preferable to the possibility of constant change and upheaval.

The first disciples were the subjects in the readings for Pentecost of such an upheaval. They were transformed from being ordinary human beings into disciples who spoke with the power of the Spirit. The changes led them into a new way of life that led to preaching, healing and most of all the building up of a new body of believers.

In today’s reading Jesus prepared his disciples with the promise of the Spirit of truth who when he descended onto the first disciples changed their lives and laid the foundations for the next 2,000 years of the Church's history.

The coming of the Spirit is a welcome reality for all of us who call ourselves disciples, because through the power we are offered we can realise that our call is to something greater than we can ever fully imagine. It means that we may be led into places that we least expect, the ordinary can become the extraordinary and we are given the power to be disciples who in the name of the Trinity can lay claim to sharing the message of hope with the world.

The ordinary time of the Sundays after Trinity can in this light be seen to be more than a steady working through of weeks where very little happens to being days and weeks that can be transformed by the Spirit working through us.

If we are open to the Spirit, it can be a roller coaster ride  that will be exhilarating and challenging. The call to discipleship is for all of us an opportunity to share in whatever God wants of us, the most important factor being the truth that we are being led into new and exciting ways of being disciples.

May the Holy Trinity be our guide and support as we seek to be disciples in the world, open to the Spirit who leads us in to new truths and ways of life. We ask that we may be given the strength to respond with openness and love. Amen

 

Pentecost, 23 May 2010  

John 14:8-17

In a recent reflection I mentioned how the Holy Spirit, as described in John’s Gospel is very rich in meaning. John uses the Greek word, paracletos, which can mean comforter, counsellor, advocate, strengthener, befriender, helper and a lot more besides. And this Sunday we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming to the first believers and resulting in the spectacular beginnings of the Christian Church.

It is characteristic of a good many organisations that they were founded by people with considerable charisma and prophetic insight. Over time, however,   organisations tend to become institutionalised and to lose that initial vitality. Often this leads to decline and in some cases closing down altogether.

The Church has experienced many troughs throughout its 2000 year existence only to be followed by a revival, frequently led by a person of remarkable ability like Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther or John Wesley, and so it goes on. But there’s a vital link between them all, God’s Holy Spirit was working in their lives because she continues to be active in the Church and in the world.

During my three years working for MiLE I have been conscious of a growing number of Christians wanting to apply their faith to daily work and economic life. Admittedly, we are going through a recession, which may be one reason for this, but I think it’s more than that. I believe the Holy Spirit is prompting us to see the inter-connectedness between our faith and the whole of life. Who knows where we go from here? In another passage from John’s Gospel we read of the Holy Spirit like the wind ‘blowing wherever it wishes…’ Let us pray for spiritual discernment to be able to read the ‘signs of the times.’           

David Driscoll 

O Holy Spirit, Giver of light and life, impart to us thoughts higher than our

own thoughts, and prayers better than our own prayers, and powers beyond

our own powers, that we spend and be spent in the ways of love and goodness,

after the perfect image of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.   Amen.  (Anon)

Easter 7 - 16 May 2010

John 17. 20-end

Geoff Mulgan, Director of the Young Foundation, has written that “seeing the connectedness of things is the starting point for understanding a world that otherwise appears baffling” and “the growing connectedness of the world is the most important social and economic fact of our times.”

Mulgan sees connectedness manifested “in the growth of physical links like telecom networks; in rising flows of goods, money, ideas and people; in the interconnectedness of culture and the environment; and in new forms of social organisation. Yet we can see connectedness manifested firstly in the relations within the Godhead as they are revealed to us through this prayer of Jesus which is recorded in John 17 - “you are in me and I am in you.”

We are then drawn into this interconnectivity found at the heart of the Godhead - “may they also be in us” – in order that we participate in an exchange of love which precedes the creation of the world. This is the source of connectedness of things within the world and it is also the starting point for understanding a world that otherwise appears baffling.

Father, Son and Spirit, may I know love as you know love, may I exchange love as you exchange love, may I live love as you live love, you in me and I in you. Amen.

 

Easter 4 - 25 April 2010

John 10.22-30 

I am a city dweller-a real city dweller. In fact I am a Londoner- a real Londoner. More than that I am a South Londoner. I have spent my life in South London and my whole ministry of more than 30 years in the diocese of Southwark. I don’t really understand the country; I need to be no more than a few hundred yards from an all night shop and a tube or train station with at least 10 trains an hour.

And then 10 years ago I acquired a dog-a beautiful terrier cross whose owner had fallen in love with a friend’s son and followed him to the Caribbean. Rosiedog had been brought up on farms and stables and I hadn’t had a dog since childhood so Wimbledon was a shock to her system; and having a dog after 2 years was a shock to my system. But Rosie and I discovered the delights of Wimbledon Common .She settled down to the life of a church dog coming to Mass every Sunday and the regular sort of dog walks that happen in the suburbs

A couple of years later her first owner returned from the Caribbean to get a horse trained for the Badminton horse trials so I took Rosie down to Hampshire for a visit. Rosie leapt out of the car ran over to the field where her first owner was getting the horses ready to box up for the night and she went behind each horse in turn and settled on their hind legs and proceeded to round them up. It turned out she had always done this and never forgot it. I then discovered when I visited a friend who lived close to the Peak District that every time we went walking there she would take one look at the hill sheep and round them up .They looked untidy and she started to shepherd them automatically-apparently another skill she had but which I never realised-why would I she was a terrier not a collie

Watching this dog shepherding was an eye opener for me. Rural images in the Gospels that Jesus uses to illustrate a message of the Kingdom and His role in it which had just been an intellectual exercise for me suddenly came alive for me

And even more interestingly images which seemed from way back when became real here and now. Rosie had learnt to shepherd as part of her life as working dog on a farm. It reminded me of how ancient pastoral images that Jesus uses are in fact images from the work life of his time. Jesus knew the world of work and would uses images from the world of work now if God’s time for incarnation was 2010 CE rather than 30 CE

It also became clear to me that shepherding was a combination of a natural gift and a learnt skill. The call to follow Jesus the shepherd of the sheep in gathering and sustaining Christian community is something Christian people continue to be called to and are given the grace of God to do but also need to be trained and skilled in

Two other things struck me about Rosie when she was shepherding –she was very careful and gentle-but she was also determined and confident in the task and aware that the gathering into the sheepfold was important and valuable.

So those verses in John 10 v 27-29 make much more sense to me now; as followers of Jesus we know the voice of the shepherd and once He has become our shepherd and pastor then we can never be snatched from his care. I learn the truths of the gospel from unexpected places-even from country experiences-now that really is something for a South Londoner!

Andrew Wakefield

Easter 3 - 18 April 2010

John 21:1-19

This third post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to his disciples brims with interesting narrative, dialogue and questions. When the disciples return to fishing, are they doing so as a one-time event now that they are back in Galilee? Or is it a return to their former mode of living? If the latter, do they return to this mode of living as an indication of their desperation or lack of faith, or is it a strong and affirmative move, such as returning to one's work confident that the empowerment promised by Christ would soon come?

This raises some questions about our own work and our own work is something that MiLE is concerned about:  Is work something that we just “do” because we find comfort in the familiar? Can Christ break in to our own work as He did by the lake with the disciples? Can we recognize Christ in our working lives? Why did the disciples fail to recognize Jesus, were they too focused on their nets?  Perhaps distance or poor light prevent them from seeing him clearly. There are many distractions in our working lives that prevent us from seeing Christ in our lives, be it salary, promotion, stress, redundancy, workplace bullying etc. It is worth pausing and thinking about our preoccupations and working routines in light of this passage, so that we may not be blind to Christ’s presence. So, after Easter is it “back to work as usual” like the disciples, or are we people empowered to return to work with hope anew and a greater focus on the Lord? Only then, can we feed the sheep.

                                                                                                Christopher Bunce

Easter 2 - 11 April 2010

 John 19: 29

“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet come to believe”.

The appearance of Jesus in the upper room following the resurrection is a reminder to the reader that the first disciples were in a period of transition, The term shock and awe might be appropriate for they felt, on the one hand, coming to terms with the their grief; and, on the other, discovering the truth that their Lord was risen, shock at the death by crucifixion and awe at the resurrection.

In to the story we have the complication of Thomas who refuses to believe without physical proof and when he’s given this he can only respond ‘my Lord and my God’.  It is easy to be critical of Thomas; he wanted the proof that is so often a key element of contemporary argument. The ‘new atheist’ so called because in recent years s/he has appeared in print and across the media, often mocking the essential beliefs of Christians.

The truth is that one doubts that even if Jesus appeared to them in person they are more than likely to continue to dismiss Christian truth as a fantasy!

The absolute truth for Christians is not found in the physical appearance of Jesus but in the knowledge that our Lord and God is a part of our very being. The call to discipleship is one that is based on a personal response to the knowledge that God calls each one of us in very different ways.

It may be by a sudden blinding flash or a gradual realisation of truth or even a grounding that begins at an early age and deepens over the years. In each and every case we all know that we are called to be disciples even though the call is a very personal experience. It is also true that like the disciples in the upper room we are affirmed in our faith when we come together with other Christians to celebrate the faith that is so central to all our lives.

In the Easter season we are called to celebrate the impossible, in the words of David Jenkins many years ago and often misquoted ‘the resurrection is not a conjuring trick with bones’. The resurrection is God’s sign to the world that death is not the end and that for disciples it is a sign of what is possible for God and impossible for humanity.

We may share the occasional doubt with Thomas, but we are always called back to the hope that is so central to the resurrection and the knowledge that one man died and rose again for the sake of all people down the centuries.

Father, we give thanks for the resurrection of Jesus and ask that we may have the faith of the first disciples and when we share the doubts of Thomas that we may like him find the truth of our Lord and God. Amen

 Easter Day  4 April 2010

 Luke 24 verses 1-12

What I like about the resurrection accounts in the Gospels is that they are all different. This not only adds to their authenticity but also demonstrates how each Gospel account has its own tale to tell. In Luke’s account a group of women come to the tomb with spices to pay their last respects only to find the stone covering the entrance had been rolled away with no sign of Jesus' body. Then they become aware of two men in bright shining clothes standing next to them who say to the women, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for a person who is alive?’ Jesus' words come back to them when he spoke about his betrayal and trial, and how he would be crucified but would rise again on the third day.

And off they go to the disciples to tell them what had happened. However they are hardly ‘reconstructed males’. They are convinced the women are talking nonsense, except for good old Peter. He’s prepared to take them at their word, and so he goes, in fact runs to the tomb to see for himself; perhaps the women are telling the truth. Peter discovers that things are exactly as the women said and he goes home totally amazed. Going fast forward to verse 24 we are told that the risen Jesus also appeared to Peter but, tantalisingly, the actual event isn’t recorded in Luke’s Gospel. Nevertheless, that encounter must have had a lasting effect upon Peter, the disciple who would one day become the rock.

If people were asked for their opinion of Jesus, they might say he was the greatest person that ever lived and his legacy was still important today. Or,   Jesus was the greatest teacher the world had ever known, if only everybody took his teaching seriously. Or perhaps, Jesus was the perfect role model and example for human beings to follow. They are all true, except for one thing. All the statements are in the past tense! So our task as Easter people is to stop looking for Jesus among the dead, and start living in the knowledge he’s very much alive!  

David Driscoll

Eternal God, whose Son Jesus Christ

is the way, the truth and the life:

grant us to walk in his way,

to rejoice in his truth,

and to share his risen life;

who is alive and reigns,

now and for ever.  Amen.

  (From Common Worship)

 

           

 

 

Other reflections and resources:

A Heart for Creation: The Diocese of Lichfield has produced resources for prayer and action centred on the environment. See: http://www.lichfield.anglican.org/lent/lent_ahfc.pdf

See here the Gospel Reflections Lent 2010

See here the Gospel Reflections Christmas to Lent 2010

See here the Gospel Reflections for Advent 2009

See here the Gospel Reflections All Saints to Advent 2009

See here the Gospel Reflections Trinity 2009

See here the Gospel Reflections Lent and Easter 2009

See here the Gospel Reflections Epiphany to Lent 2009

See here the Gospel Reflections Advent 2008

See here the Gospel Reflections Pentecost to Advent 2008

See here the Gospel Reflections for Easter 2008

See here the Gospel Reflections for Lent 2008

Lent 2008: Exploring six major traditions of Christian spirituality, through Radio 4 Sunday worship, daily worship, local BBC radio and internet resources for groups and study: http://www.ctbi.org.uk/CGH/228/

See here the Gospel Reflections for Christmas 2007 

See here the Gospel Reflections for Advent 2007

A prayer for the workplace

Designer of creation,
spark ideas in my mind throughout today
that will develop and progress my tasks at work.
The tasks for which I need your ideas today are …
God in the flesh,
take these ideas and show me how to make them reality
in my work, my life or both together.
Show me how to move from ideas to proposals and on to practice.
Give these ideas flesh and make them live.
Empowering Spirit,
give these practices life and energy
as I work them out in my tasks today.
Give patience for the mundane and routine
and show how these tasks can be enlivened.
Give courage for the radical proposals and changes.
Work rightness and justice into my tasks and approach.
May my ideas, practices and approach reveal you
because you have empowered,
you have incarnated
and you have created
in my life and work today. Amen.

 

A prayer for the workplace Author: Rev Jonathan Evens