Meditation for Sunday 27th July

Collect

Merciful God, you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as pass our understanding:
Pour into our hearts such love toward you
that we, loving you above all things,
may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gospel Reading – Luke 11: 1 – 13

11 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’
2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

Father,* hallowed be your name.

   Your kingdom come.*

3   Give us each day our daily bread.*

4   And forgive us our sins,

     for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

   And do not bring us to the time of trial.’*

5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” 7 And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.” 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for* a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit* to those who ask him!’

The Lord’s Prayer — sung in Aramaic

The introduction is in Spanish but the prayer is sung in Aramaic.

The Lord’s Prayer — sung in English

Meditation for Sunday 20th July

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:1)

Collect

Gospel Reading – Luke 10: 38 – 42

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ 41 But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing.* Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

‘… you are you are worried and distracted by many things…’

Being busy is a sort of cultural value among us—and rightly. “If you want something done, ask a busy person.” But, of course, the question of balance arises. There are indeed other needs and other hungers. These include simple human things like time for friends. Even hospitality—which is always work—can get in the way of really meeting. Something similar can be said of time for reflection, meditation and prayer. Time is not really the issue—after all, we manage to find time to waste on TV, tablets etc. It is more a question of our own insight, choice and decision, lest we overlook and even lose “the better part.”

As is well known, this delightful scene the gospel of today, which touches on the balance of work and prayer depicts is found only in Luke’s Gospel.
Luke’s presents Jesus to us in three dimensions which are relevant here. The scene is a setting of food and hospitality: with more than one hundred references in Luke and Acts food and hospitality are important themes. Jesus spent time eating with friends, even at the risk of accusation, he uses meals as places of encounter, of mission, of breaking with tradition, of feeding many and of the Lord’s Supper.

And indeed, hospitality is important in many religions and cultures. Yet many people misunderstand hospitality. They worry and fret about decorating the house and preparing abundant food. But beside all those efforts it is something else that is needed to make people feel at home, namely, to sit with guests and to listen to them speaking. What has been our experience of being a cherished guest and when have we been able to make others feel welcome and at home?

Secondly Luke likes stories in which there are two contrasting characters, as here, busy Martha, who is stressed by preparing all the foods, distracted, and quite impolitely complaining about it, and listening Mary, who has chosen the better part.
At times it can be difficult to balance the contemplative and active aspects of life. Often we hear about work life balance. Are we allowing time for prayer, listening and receiving God in our busy, active lives? And how can we do this? Does one exclude the other, or can we express prayer in and during our actions?

Thirdly, Luke, as he does frequently in his Gospel, places Jesus with female named characters to make his point. Women play a more important role in Jesus’ ministry than one would expect, given he was living and teaching in a male dominated environment at his time. Jesus gives them the place that is intended in God’s Kingdom, as he does with all who may be marginalised and excluded from society. Would we give the same attention in receiving someone who comes to us? Jesus comes to us in many ways and with many faces. Are we aware we may ‘entertain Angels without knowing it?
And he wants to be welcomed by all in their lives, he trusts all are worthy and able to have their hearts and minds opened to receive him. Do we have faith that if we open our place and heart with attention and love to the Lord and to what he wants to tell us, we will be worthy and ‘good enough’ for him, and trust his love for us?

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Meditation for Trinity 4 2025

Collect for Trinity 4

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide, we may pass through the things of this world and gain the eternal things: Grant this, heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our Lord.

Luke 10: 25-37

A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’

I suspect that the parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the widest known of all.

It takes place on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, approximately 17 miles long. It was a difficult journey, dropping around 1000 metres through rugged sometimes narrow terrain with lots of possible hiding places for bandits and robbers. It has history – David, Joshua and others in the OT are travellers upon it, but it was also a winter resort for rulers and rich people.

We don’t know why the man was travelling – but we do know he was robbed, badly beaten and left for dead – his body wasn’t even hidden, just left in the middle of the road so that people would have to step over it to get past.

The Priest does nothing – he knows the law, and doesn’t want to be tainted by touching a person who might be dead, which would involve him in a prolonged period of cleansing. He justifies his inaction on the basis that he wouldn’t be able to do his job properly. There’s a Levite coming along – he’s not as important as the Priest. He will be better equipped to help.

The Levite doesn’t do anything either. He says it’s not his job and anyway the traveller deserves what he got. Shouldn’t have been walking alone. Anyway, it could be a trap to get him to stop. There will be plenty of others who will help.

These are examples of what is called the ‘Bystander Effect’ – people are reluctant to help if they think there are others who are present.

The Samaritan – half Jew and half Gentile, mutually estranged and opposed to both. But he sees a need, and is moved in compassion to do something about it, despite the potential consequences and cost to himself.

The innkeeper takes responsibility for sanctuary, but only when assured of payment.

We know that Jesus’ lesson is about unconditional service of our neighbours, whoever they might be.

But what if it was set today?

A man and his young family, threatened by his political or religious beliefs, try to escape persecution at home. On his journey, they face violence and hardship. When they get within sight of safety, they are rejected by both government and existing population and sent to a country who accepts payment with no guarantee of ongoing support. Just asking…

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Meditation for Trinity 3 2025

Collect for Trinity 3

Almighty God, you have broken the tyranny of sin and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts whereby we call you Father: Give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20

The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag,  no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”

‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’…

…The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

“You can take your toothbrush, but that’s about it. No money or comfortable shoes, no small talk on the road – you need to be totally focussed on your task. Don’t try to provide for yourselves – you will be living only on charity, so accept whatever food you are given and be grateful. In return for what is provided, you are to bless and proclaim the coming Kingdom”

You can almost hear the muttering of the newly-commissioned team of apostles as they discuss what Jesus has told them about the work they have to do. How will we live?, they are asking themselves. What if people refuse to accept us? What if no-one will listen? What if we don’t say the right things? What if I ‘m not up to the task? What if we fail?

I guess those sort of questions aren’t only restricted to the seventy – they’re pretty common to everyone who has been given a job of work they don’t feel qualified to do, or a responsibility on which the lives of others depend. That’s when we have to trust that the person who gave us the task knew what they were doing and believed in us – even though we perhaps didn’t!

The seventy had faith in Jesus, and so off they went – much to the discomfort of the demons who they would cast out in His name. They went out in trepidation – they came back in triumph.

And so we ask ourselves what task Jesus has for us, trusting that He has given us the capacity to perform it. It might be daunting – but we can imagine his smiling greeting when we return with news of our ‘success’.

p.s. Always remember that ‘success’ is simply doing His will – it’s not necessarily achieving the outcome we would ourselves consider to be ‘successful’. Leave that definition with Him.

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