Meditation for Trinity 8 2025

Collect

‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

‘But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

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!’

Reflection

Prayer is part of faith life in many religions. People ask each other for prayers in times of difficulty and challenge, and often people offer prayers. Aren’t messages like ‘sending love and prayers’ or ‘prayers, please’ familiar? Prayer and praying are understood and used by people in different ways. And – not only – for people of no faith or who are new to it, praying can be somehow alien and awkward.

So how should we pray as Christians? Even the disciples in our Gospel reading don’t seem to be sure, and they ask: ‘Lord, teach us to pray’. It is important to recognize, the do not ask: ‘Lord, teach us a prayer.’

In Luke’s Gospel prayer is often mentioned, and it also gives us the account of Jesus’ instruction we are reflecting on here. Matthew 6:9-13 and  Didache 8 contain further versions of the Lord’s Prayer.

‘Father’… it opens with in Luke’s gospel. Jesus instructs that prayer begins with a turning or returning to God, who is like a good father to his beloved children. By addressing him directly, we enter in his presence. For some, who have experienced absent or hurtful fathers in their own lives, the idea of a nice and caring Father might be difficult to use. Though deep in us, there is an idea of and a longing for a good, caring, loving and trustworthy father. And in prayer we can interact with him. We also remember that we are created and in our whole existence depending. He was there before us. Without father no child.

‘Hallowed be your name’…we are asked to say. For God is the Holy One, the only God to worship and to seek.

‘Your Kingdom come’…is our statement of faith, hope, our aim, what we work for, God’s reign. We trust God, what he brings is good.

‘Give us each day our daily bread’… yes, we acknowledge our need, our daily returning need and dependency. We need food, in a physical and spiritual sense, and we need it again and again and again. God provides, we receive, and once only won’t do. We are reminded to ask and ask again. Just as the man in the gospel reading, who needs to knock and persist asking.

‘And forgive us our sins’… this connects with ‘and’ to the prior line ‘Give us each day…’ . Yes, we learn about ourselves that we are sinners, make mistakes and fail in many ways. It is a matter of humbleness to realise our condition. And it is not by certain rituals or by paying some fee, no, we need to ask, we are invited to ask. God offers forgiveness, and just like bread, we need his forgiveness again and again and again in our striving to become better people. And he wants us to practice this through a personal, living relationship with him.

‘For we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us’… whereby this is not optional, and it does not say we are to think tit for tat. No, with these words we state that we forgive others. Everyone who has forgiven another and vice versa, knows of the resulting feelings of relief and renewal.

 ‘And do not bring us to the time of trial’…we might be more familiar with the wording  ‘and do not lead us into temptation’, which raises even more questions. How could God lead into temptation or trial, would he do that? The translation in our reading helps to clarify this. Jesus is talking about the trial in which we might get weak (or tempted) and renounce our faith. Let us stay strong in our faith in you, Father.

So Jesus did not teach ‘a prayer’, or magic words to make our wishes be fulfilled. He taught a way to pray, a way of faithful life, a lifestyle formula so to speak.

It is interesting to acknowledge that at the liturgy during worship we are at prayer from the very start: the prayer of gathering in God’s presence, the prayer forgiveness and absolution, the prayer of praise in the Gloria and, in the holy readings, the prayer of listening and receiving his word. The liturgy continues with the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, for we depend on God’s provision, the Lord’s Supper, where we draw even closer to him, the Lord’s Prayer itself, which charges our life and worship, and Holy Communion. In a word, it is all prayer, a rich sequence, choreographed in different moments of gathering, praise, listening and communion.

Now let us use the pattern of the Lord’s prayer like a droning sound, beat or rhythm also in our daily lives walking with our Father, through him and in 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

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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.’

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.’

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.’

Meditation for Trinity 2 2025

Collect for Trinity 2

Luke 9:51-62

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

The dog ate my homework…

Human beings are inventive when it comes to making excuses. The Bible is full of them.

Genesis 3:12 Adam: Eve made me do it. 3:13 Eve: The serpent made me do it. (We can imagine the serpent saying – what did they expect? I’m a snake. That’s what snakes do.)

Exodus 4:10: “Moses said “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

Jeremiah 1:6: “Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am too young”

Jonah 4:2 “I told you so! You should have listened to me!”

Judges 6:15: Gideon – “Excuse me, sir! How can I rescue Israel? Look at my whole family. It’s the weakest one in Manasseh. And me? I’m the least important member of my family.”

There are many more examples – including the excuses made to avoid Jesus’ invitation to follow Him:

Luke 9:57-62:
I will follow you wherever you go – by the way, which hotel are we staying at

Follow me, said Jesus. Give me a minute, said the man – I’ve got important things to do first then I’ll catch you up.

I will probably follow you, said another, but I’m not altogether sure, so I’d like to make sure I’d be welcome back home if it doesn’t work out.

Jesus is looking for commitment. Absolute, unconditional, commitment. When I think of what that means, I’m always minded of Martina Navratilova’s remark: “The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.”

Follow Him. Or do not follow Him. Your choice – but don’t make excuses for your refusal to choose.

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