Praying Together 21st June 2026

So the commandment is a challenge. To love those who betray you. Those who jeer. Those who wield the whips embedded with flint, hammer in the nails, pierce your side.

Collect

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.

Matthew 10: 24-33

24 ‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
26 ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 ‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

Reflection

‘You are of more value than many sparrows.’
Y

es perhaps we are – but that doesn’t mean that sparrows have no value at all. Neither does it mean that we can ignore their wellbeing. They are beautiful creatures created by God, and He cares for them as He cares for all things he has made. And He trusts us to do the same.

Yet everyday we hear of species at risk of extinction because of human greed and careless exploitation of the earth’s natural resources. It’s not as if we aren’t aware of the damage we’re doing – the tragedy is that we are, but we don’t do anything to stop it.

I vividly remember driving to work one day some years ago and listening to local radio. There was a news item that talked about a threat to an already-rare South American tree frog. The presenter made this into a joke – ‘Why should I care? What possible use can a South American tree frog be to me? – to which the answer is ‘You actually don’t know. That’s why.’ I had to stop the car to calm down at such a typically mindless example of human stupidity.

Why should I care about the Brazil rain forest? Why should I worry about destroying the habitat of Polar bears due to Global warming? If a mega-company wants to make a profit by drilling for oil in the remote environment of Alaska, why should that be anything to do with me? To our knowledge 160 species have become extinct in the last ten years (and we don’t know how many more). So what? Not my problem. Look after Number one. That’s my motto.

We interfere with things we don’t understand and we ignore the potential consequences of our neglect – and/or thoughtless actions. As Shakespeare’s Robin Goodfellow said on this day of the year, ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be’

When, perhaps one day, we discover that for example, Sphagnum moss, with its miraculous natural healing properties, has become extinct due to commercial over-harvesting; or that the anthropogenic destruction of pollinators seriously threatens the global food supply, we might go back to the Book of Genesis and think on what God told us was our responsibility.

Humanity might not care about the odd sparrow that falls to the ground – but God does. Just as He cares for the poor, the dispossessed, the abandoned of this broken world. To ignore them is to deny Him. Do we care? Sometimes I wonder.

And whosoever denies me, I also will deny before my Father in heaven’