Sunday 25th June 2017 ~ Matthew 10:26-33

Even The Hairs of Your Head Are Counted!

Today’s Gospel is an affirmation for all those who feel persecuted in anyway because of their beliefs or because people are speaking badly about them, or those who feel alienated from their community, their family or even from God. During such times it can be extremely lonely to the point where one can lose their sense of purpose in this world. While we might not want to shout from the rooftops, as Jesus suggests, there is a message here to speak out, to talk it out. Today, spend time on the beautiful words of Jesus in this Gospel – “Even the hairs of your head are all counted, so do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows!” The sparrow, one of the smallest of birds, is cared for and loved by God. This is a reminder that no matter how insignificant we might feel or how challenging the circumstances get, God is with us, each of us. Once again, we are being told how sacred each and every person is and how much we are loved by God. In His eyes, each of us are precious. Today, recall the times or places where you felt God’s supporting presence.

“When we travel through those wilderness places of our lives where we feel lost, insecure, lonely, frustrated, discouraged, or overcome by busyness: Help us to trust in You, God of the journey. When we catch glimpses of the tremendous love you have for us and experience a deep, loving connection with others: Help us to trust in You, God of the journey.” – Joyce Rupp

Jesus the Bread of Life ~ June 18th 2017

John 6:51-58

Jesus gives His whole self to us and invites us to a deep union with Him. We often imagine God up in the clouds in heaven looking down at us, maybe distant, maybe disconnected. The Eucharist shows us that God is involved in the messiness of human life, present to us in Jesus’s body and blood. Bread is nourishing, bread is for life, bread is food for the journey. Jesus is all of these things for us. His blood is a reminder of his death, of the brokenness of this world, of the struggles of people’s lives. Christ invites people to connect their own sufferings with His.

Jesus, present with us in all of life, invites us into a deep union with Himself. Flesh and blood means the whole person; ‘the living bread’ invites us to an even deeper intimacy. It can be a difficult passage to understand, but perhaps today you might reflect on times you felt sustained by God, strengthened by God through joyful times and sorrowful times. You might also reflect on who has been Jesus for you? Where have you seen Christ in this world, in flesh and blood?

Trinity Sunday 2017 ~John 3:16-18

God in today’s Gospel is described to us as One that is very close, as One that loves the world so deeply that He was willing to give everything to it. It is hard to comprehend these statements. Why would someone love in such a way? Why would someone sacrifice in such a way? John’s Gospel today tells us that it is because we are loved so deeply and so that we would come to know this love which brings life. It is not a one-off event; it is continuous and ongoing in each of our lives. Neither is it to make us feel guilty, we are told that this outpouring of God’s love is not to condemn us in any way. This giving from the Father is so that we might be free from our own brokenness, that we might know how infinitely loved we are and so live a life that is full and everlasting. God rescues us from our own brokenness and offers a life that is a fuller and deeper experience.

Trinity Sunday invites us to reflect on the impossible; on the utterly mysterious. Yet we can know something of what it means to experience God’s love in our lives; to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ and to feel God’s Spirit dwelling within ourselves. We can experience that same Spirit in each person that we meet, that Spirit of God indwelling in all of Creation. The Trinity speaks to us of relationship, community, of fully giving and receiving.

“God has fallen in love with us – quite literally. God has come down to earth, and opened Godself to all the raw brutality, as well as the warm tenderness, of human life.” – Margaret Silf

Pentecost Sunday June 4th 2017

John 20:19-23 “Shalom”

The disciples in today’s Gospel are locked away, living in fear. There are many situations in our own lives which cause us to batten down the hatches. We can often imprison ourselves.  

Jesus appears amongst them bringing peace, Shalom, and overcoming their defences. Christ is always present to us regardless of the walls we might put up; He offers peace, joy and reconciliation. The word ‘Shalom’ is more than a wish for a good evening; it means that your wish for the person is a peace of body, mind and spirit. It is a holistic peace. Jesus gives this peace to the disciples and breathes His Spirit upon them. This enables them; this gives them courage; this sends them out. Jesus still bears the wounds of the crucifixion, reminding us that our wounds are part of who we are; we carry them with us.

We might ask ourselves today who it is that we need to be reconciled with? What fears do we need liberating from? Into what situations do we send Christ’s peace? Jesus is asking the disciples to be an unending witness to God’s love. They (and we) must be for others what Jesus has been for them.

“When we understand the essential unity of all that is, we discover the possibility of ‘peace’ – the king of peace that in Hebrew is called, Shalom, which is infinitely more than an absence of strife; it is the wholeness of the web of life itself and of every creature in it, held in the wholeness of the one God.” Margaret Silf.