St Matthew 22: 1 – 14

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.  “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’  “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.  The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.  The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.  “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.  So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’  So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.  He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Reflection

A friend invited me to the Stewards’ Enclosure at Henley Regatta to watch him row for Jesus (The Cambridge College!). Henley is a posh gig. But he didn’t tell me about the dress code. On a boiling hot day, I turned up without a jacket. I was refused entry. It was humiliating and brutal.

There is something brutal about Jesus’ words in this parable. A man strays into the wedding banquet, dressed improperly. He is unceremoniously ejected.

But the parable is about grace isn’t it? Part of a string of Passover pronouncements, when Jesus upends self-righteous morality. Those who initially were not invited to the feast, find themselves attending. Those on the A-list didn’t notice the groom arriving and missed the party.

Jesus is uncompromising about the self-righteous who ignore his dress code. They have no place in the kingdom – unlike the sinners, failures, and outsiders clothing themselves in a righteousness that is not their own. So we need to be very careful about our own goodness.

Grace is seen as soft and comfortable, but this is a tough morality – something uncompromising forcing us to make hard choices: to stand alongside the unlovely. Jesus talks about both the bad and the good coming to the feast. This suggests to me that, in His Kingdom, there will be people that we like and people who are harder to love. But they are also invited and chosen. It seems that some unsavoury characters are entitled to carry the Cross of Jesus. They are our family too.

Jesus’ tough morality goes further. Some moral choices are the province of worldly Caesars and it seems we have to let them have their due. But not with total passivity – we are called to get on with the tough things that are God’s due also.

Prayer

Lord, give us strength
when making difficult decisions that You call us to address.
Give us grace to love all those that You call into Your family,
remembering that we, also, are called by your grace.
Amen.

 
Today’s service is led by the Revd Dr Lance Stone

Introduction  
 
Hello!  My name is Lance Stone; I am a retired minister who has served both the United Reformed Church and the Church of Scotland.  I am currently live in Glasgow.  A very warm welcome to this service.
 
Call to Worship 
 
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
 
While I kept silent, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
 
Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.  
 
Hymn       Jesus Lover of My Soul
Charles Wesley (1707-1788) Public Domain BBC Songs of Praise
 
Jesus, lover of my soul,
let me to thy bosom fly,
while the nearer waters roll,
while the tempest still is high;
hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
till the storm of life is past;
safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last!
 
2 Other refuge have I none,
hangs my helpless soul on thee;
leave, ah, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed,
all my help from thee I bring;
cover my defenceless head
with the shadow of thy wing.

3 Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
let the healing streams abound, make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art; freely let me take of thee;
spring thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity.
 
Opening Prayer of Approach, Confession and Pardon
 
O gracious and holy God, eternal Trinity of glory,
dwelling in love and joy and peace, before time and beyond time
and far above and beyond us;
in Jesus Christ you have laid aside that glory and come amongst us,
become vulnerable, living life in our shoes,
exposed to hunger and pain and to temptation,
feeling our joys and sorrows
and holding fast and faithful to the one who sent you.
We praise and worship you and rejoice in your solidarity with us.
For we live in this troubled world,
where we find it hard to distinguish what we can do
from what we should do;
and in seeking life we make foolish choices
and fall far short of who we truly are.
So we come seeking forgiveness and grace to emend our lives. 
 
Assurance of Pardon
 
Lord Jesus Christ, second Adam come to undo sin’s curse,
assure us that we are beloved and forgiven
and give us grace to walk your way,
for we pray in your name and in your words,
saying together…Our Father…
 
Prayer for Illumination
 
Living God, open our ears and our hearts to your Word,
that we may not live by bread alone
but by every word that proceeds from your mouth. Amen.
 
Reading   Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
 
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’  Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;  but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die;  for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
 
Reading   Romans 5:12-19
                  
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.  And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification.  If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.  or just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
 
Hymn       Seek Ye First
Karen Lafferty (born 1948) © 1972 CCCM Music OneLicence A-734713  
Performed by Joy and Ruth Everingham and used with their kind permission.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Allelu, alleluia.
 
2 Ask and it shall be given unto you,
seek and ye shall find;
knock and the door shall be opened up to you.
Allelu, alleluia.

3 We shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of God. Allelu, alleluia.
 
Reading   St Matthew 4:1-11
 
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’  But he answered, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,  saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you”, and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour; and he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! for it is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
 
Sermon 
 
So it’s the first Sunday of Lent, that season of the Christian year leading up to Easter, when the church focuses on sin, the flesh and the devil. And so what’s different, some sceptics might ask – isn’t that what the church is always on  about? Well, hopefully not, but this Lent season does give us a chance to ponder what the world often prefers to ignore: the dark side of human nature. And as is traditional on this first Sunday of Lent, we turn to the account of Jesus in the wilderness at the start of his ministry – when he was assaulted by this unholy trinity of sin, the flesh and the devil and where he had to hold firm and resist at all costs. 
 
Jesus has just been baptised by John in the River Jordan, where a voice form heaven declares: this is my Son, my beloved…’ This is the great divine disclosure of Jesus’ identity, who Jesus is. But from there he is led into the wilderness and then comes the probing: ‘if you are the Son of God…’; ‘If you are…’; ‘If you are who the voice at your baptism has declared you to be then what? You are famished, the pangs of hunger are gripping you –  see these stones? Well, if you are the Son of God, give in to the flesh and turn them into bread!’ And then, ‘You are vulnerable, at the mercy of a violent world. Well, if you are the Son of God, give into sin by putting God to the test and leaping from the parapet of the temple so that he must dispatch a squadron of God’s angels to catch you!’ And then, lastly, ‘if you are God’s Son, God’s rightful ruler, give into me, the devil, by bowing down and worshipping me and all the world will be yours.’ These are the temptations that come with the revelation of Jesus’ identity as God’s beloved Son. 
 
And we could ponder at length these temptations, but I want to use this opportunity to explore a little bit what we mean by sin and what it is. I wonder how you would define sin. What do you think it is? One answer we might give from the Bible would be breaking God’s Law. Is sin primarily disobedience? The writer Francis Spufford in a book defending Christianity defines sin as the human propensity to mess things up, only that’s a rather sanitised version of what he actually says. So what is sin? Well, there is a verse to be found in the New Testament which tells us that ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’ and it is that idea of sin as falling short that I would like to consider today. Think for a moment of today’s Old Testament reading from the Book of Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God. They, like Jesus, are tempted – tempted by the serpent to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and so become like God. And there are many ways of interpreting this story but traditionally what happens here has been described as ‘the Fall’, and this an appropriate enough description. If we had read on in the story after they have eaten the forbidden fruit we would have found God walking in the garden in the evening, and Adam and Eve hiding from God. They are naked and ashamed and there follows recrimination and blame and estrangement and curses and surely they have indeed fallen here, fallen far short of what they were created to be, fallen far short of the glory of friendship and peace with God and with one another and with their world. Yes, Adam disobeyed God – disobeyed a direct command, as Paul puts it in our Romans reading – but in so doing he is diminished, short-changing himself and God.
 
If today’s reading from Romans invites us to turn back to Adam in order to interpret this story of Jesus’ temptations, there is however another more important Old Testament reference. Think again of Jesus. He has just come through the waters of baptism and now he finds himself in the wilderness, tempted. And what does that remind us of? Why, the people of  Israel of course, in their journey out of Egypt! They too passed through the waters and they too were led into the wilderness and there they too were tested and tempted, only they moaned and complained and longed for food, crying out for the flesh-pots of Egypt: they yearned for the security of captivity. And there too we see sin as falling short. To return to Egypt is to fall far short of God’s purposes for this beloved people, and indeed a whole generation of Israelites never did make it to the Promised Land but perished in the wilderness. They fell short! And now in this chapter Jesus is in a sense Israel once again, coming through the water to be tested and tempted in the desert. Only where his ancestors disobeyed and fell short, he is obedient and goes the distance.
 
And how very subtle the devil is. Jesus’ temptations could be said to be all about means and ends – seeking the right ends but  by the  wrong means. Think of it: feeding famished bodies with bread; demonstrating God’s protective care of his beloved by entrusting himself to |God’s angels; being declared ruler of the nations: all of these are worthy ends but when  sought by the wrong means they fall woefully short of God’s glorious plan for Jesus’ ministry. Giving in to these temptations would have yielded a lesser salvation because it would have by-passed the cross. 
 
The fact is, Jesus’ sights are on something bigger, something higher, something wider. His salvation is so much more than what the devil was offering him. I love the language of that passage we read from Romans this morning contrasting Adam and Christ. It is language that is bursting at the seams in trying to describe what Christ has achieved. Adam represents us as sinners, people who fall far short of God’s purposes for us, people who make foolish, destructive choices which diminish life and bring death to the world. And Jesus comes to do so much more than just undo Adam’s sin. Paul writes, ‘But God’s act of grace is out of all proportion to Adam’s wrongdoing. For if the wrongdoing of that one man brought death upon so many, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.’ Jesus came to expand the horizons of Adam’s shrunken world. Jesus came to open up glorious new vistas and possibilities, where the devil would seek to narrow them and to limit life. To be God’s beloved, God’s delight, is to have his eyes on a bigger prize, a bigger salvation than the devil’s cut-price offering. 
 
I wonder how you react to sin as falling short. What I think is interesting is that the whole notion of falling short lies at the very heart of our culture today – people are constantly being made to feel they are falling short. If you do not have the perfect body – especially if you are a woman – you are falling short. If you are not having great and very frequent sex, you are falling short. If you are ageing and showing it you are falling short and you must resist it at all costs. And capitalism of course feeds on creating a sense of falling short, creating felt needs that can only be met by buying more, consuming more, possessing more for otherwise you are missing out. 
 
Nowadays there is a whole industry of self-help books which suggest that in some way you are under-achieving, falling short, that you could do better. I decided to check them out on Amazon and there are stacks of them – titles like ‘Self Help: this is your chance to change your life’; or ‘Love Better, Feel Better, Live Better’, or ‘Think Faster, Talk Smarter’. And who knows? Maybe a bit of self-help can improve the quality of people’s lives and who would begrudge that? But the trouble is that having diagnosed our sense of falling short, these remedies too often fall short! What the self-improvement industry offers is salvation for a secular age, and  what that often amounts to is more productive lives, more efficient lives, more successful lives – the very terms the devil offered Jesus in the desert. Here is instant, cut-price salvation but not the life in all its fulness of the Gospel.
 
That brings us back to Jesus and back to sin. If I’m honest, I find it hard to imagine what sinlessness would look like. But when I look at Jesus what I do see is a life that did not fall short. Here was a man who loved God and loved people all the way to the edge and beyond. Here was a man who in his ministry revealed the full dimensions of what it means to be human, the true Adam. Here was a man who realised that life bought on the cheap soon wears thin and that eternal life comes with a price-tag.
 
This season of Lent that we have begun this week is a season of self-examination. We are invited to take time to take a long, hard look at ourselves. Before we do that let’s take a long, hard look at Jesus and a life that did not fall short. He knew himself to be God’s beloved and he lived as God’s beloved.  So examine yourselves  and ask where you are you falling short, where the world is short-changing you, and pray for grace to learn from him.  Amen.
 
Hymn       Before The Throne of God Above
Charitie L De Chenez (1841–1923) Tune: © 1997 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) (adm at IntegratedRights.com). Text: © 1997 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) (adm at IntegratedRights.com). OneLicence A-734713
Sung by Michael Lining and used with his kind permission.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
a great High Priest, 
whose name is Love,
who ever lives and 
pleads for me.
My name is graven 
on His hands,
my name is written 
on His heart;
I know that while in 
heaven He stands
no tongue can bid me 
thence depart.
2 When Satan tempts me 
to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look, 
and see Him there
who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless 
Saviour died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
for God, the Just, 
is satisfied
to look on Him 
and pardon me.

3 Behold Him there! the risen Lamb!
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
the great unchangeable I AM, the King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself, I cannot die; my soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high, with Christ, my Saviour and my God.
 
Prayers of Intercession
 
Living God, your love for us, your children, is far beyond our understanding. You have created and fashioned us in love, and set your holy image upon us, and exalted us to  be your Beloved in whom you delight. And yet we have fallen, and continue to fall so far short of what you have made us to be.
 
We think today of all that diminishes and demeans human life: the curse of war that shatters people’s lives; the horror of poverty that leaves people struggling to live; the outrage of injustice that allows the powerful to prey on the powerless; the relentless greed whereby some hoard while others are left to fight for the crumbs from under their tables.
 
O God we pray today for those in positions of power and authority: for rulers and governments, that they might strive for the common good and to create a society where all may flourish. 
 
We pray for those who are held back by their upbringing, or constrained by their circumstances and by forces over which they have no control. We pray for those whose lives are blighted by addiction, who have lost the strength to resist things that destroy them.
 
We pray for your Church throughout the world and especially in our own country, asking you to bring renewal. May your church be a place where people hungry for the bread of life are fed; where people whose lives are diminished find their worth; where those who have fallen short are raised up and find strength to live well.
 
Hear us as in a moment of silence we name before you nay who  are on our hearts today…
 
We pray all these things in the name of the One who came that we might have life, and have it abundantly – Jesus Christ or Lord. Amen.
 
Offertory Prayer
 
For all that blesses and enriches our lives,
we give you thanks.
May our gratitude be expressed 
in lives of trust and obedience:
Take us and all that you have given us
and use us in the service of your Kingdom.  Amen
 
Hymn       Guide me, O thou great Redeemer
Arglwydd arwain drwy’r anialwch William Williams (1717-1791), tr Peter Williams (1727-1796) and William Williams (1717-1791) or John Williams (1754-1828) Public Domain BBC Songs of Praise

Guide me, O thou great Redeemer,
pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty,
hold me with thy powerful hand:
bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore.
 
2 Open now the crystal fountain
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through:
strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield.

3 When I tread the verge of Jordan bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death, and hell’s destruction, land me safe on Canaan’s side:
songs of praises I will ever give to thee.
 
Blessing
 
May God be above you,
and God beside you,
and heaven all around you
as you journey on;
and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy spirit,
be with you all, today and always.  Amen

St Matthew 21: 33 – 46

Jesus said: “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.  When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.  Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’  So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvellous in our eyes’?

“Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.  Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.  They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Reflection

Jesus was a master storyteller and a part of his gift was to draw people into his tales with images that appeared gentle, familiar and attractive but then, being parabolic, they’d curve back to bite. I sometimes think of them as ‘boomerang stories!’

Picture their faces at the end of the story of the man beaten and left at the side of the road when the punchline was that a hated Samaritan was the neighbour! Ouch!

And here, the familiar is there to start with. They all know about vineyards and all the hard work involved in preparing, maintaining and nurturing the crop. But even more cunning is that, somewhere in the back of their minds (especially the religious leaders who were already suspicious of him) was something else familiar? 

And as the story unfolded, the memory of Isaiah’s prophetic image of Judah as God’s beautifully prepared vineyard … and the dreadful judgement that was threatened (and as they understood, later delivered) if they didn’t follow their God’s ways. 

This prophetic Jesus was in the line of wonderful boomerang storytellers indeed – and with no less harsh and threatening a warning being delivered.

And yet, simultaneously Jesus is offering a promise too? That image of a cornerstone is attractive, suggesting that if, instead of rejecting it, there is a foundation stone being proffered, with all the possibilities that come with a new, exciting development, built upon it?

I wonder if we might learn new ways of tapping into the familiar images, memes and/or themes of today to somehow draw in and attract new believers? 

What is the modern equivalent of a vineyard and a cornerstone I wonder, that we can use to entice folk to learn of the wonders that are inherent in being a part of our glorious God’s family?

Prayer

Christ who has indeed done what is marvellous, amazing and apparently impossible, we wonder at the foundation stone that you placed down for us to build our relationship and lives. 
Teach us new ways to log on to your program as we use the password Jesus-the-Cornerstone. Amen

St Matthew 21: 28 – 32

Jesus said: “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.  For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Reflection

I wonder why the second son did not go to work in the vineyard. Did he tell his father that he would go, never intending to go near it? Or did he say ‘yes’, with the intention of going to the vineyard, ‘a bit later’, or ‘when he’d done such and such’ and never quite got there?

Then again, did the second son discover that his brother had said ‘no’, when asked to go to the vineyard, and so decide not to go either, never knowing that his brother had changed his mind?

If ‘time got the better of him’, I wonder how bad he felt at the end of the day, when he hadn’t got anywhere near the vineyard. Did he go to his father to apologise and to promise that he would go there bright and early the next day, and do a full day’s work? Perhaps it’s more likely that he simply shrugged and said to himself, ‘I’ll do it another time’, without making any specific plans. Possibly, he even gave a sigh of relief.

We can be very good at putting things off, until ‘another day’, which never comes.  We also have a tendency to avoid doing what we know we should, because others are shirking. Where would we be if Jesus had done that?

To follow Jesus authentically, we need to be proactive in doing what we are called to do. We also need to pay active attention to our consciences, even though life can be easier when we find plausible reasons to leave things to another day, or to another person.

So whether we’re late to take action or not, let’s be like the first son and do what our father is calling us to do, and not like the second, in putting it off – possibly indefinitely.

Prayer

Living and loving God,
we know that we are your children.
Help us to listen to and for your call to us in the mundane and the exciting.
Open us to admit to ourselves and to others what you are asking of us.
Then give us the strength and determination to follow where you lead.
Thanks be to God,
Amen.

inspiration in your inbox 19 February 2026    St Matthew 21: 23 – 27 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’  But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. Reflection This little clash with the powers that be takes place in a tumultuous week for Jesus. Indeed, just a few verses before this Jesus has been turning tables and upsetting things in the Temple because, as he sees it, “a house of prayer has turned into a den of thieves.” So here come the righteous demanding to know of Jesus, just who does he think he is? Of course, they put it more diplomatically.  They are, after all, the religious leaders and elders – people of standing in this establishment.  They assume an authority of their own so perhaps, as they ask of Jesus on whose authority does he do what he does, they are implying he doesn’t have their permission, so he shouldn’t be doing it! Jesus knows what they’re up to. These are the same leaders and elders who have allowed the Temple to become a safe place for thieves not a place to learn repentance and reform.  Like the wise rabbi he is, he answers their question with one of his own and confronts them with their own hypocrisy.  If they were acting in obedience to God these same leaders and elders would have been applauding Jesus, not trying to stop him. In today’s world there are plenty of people who are prepared to act on their own authority and try to bully and control others who don’t defer to them.  In this age of entitlement, selfishness and greed are constantly at war with Jesus’ values of love of God and love of one another. Jesus demonstrates that staying true to God’s way doesn’t need to be defended, it just needs to be done. Prayer God of love, thank you for showing yourself in Jesus and reminding us that your Way is the best way.  Amen.

Today’s writer The Revd Siân Collins is a retired URC Minister, and member of Christ Church, Weston super Mare New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Singing Psalms

Dear Friends,

As you know we work through the Psalter on Sundays and have used various translations over the years.  Currently we’re working through the Inclusive Language Grail version which comes from the 1980s and used most widely in the Catholic Church, before that we used the Free Church of Scotland’s metrical Psalter Sing Psalms.  When we get to the end of the Psalter in the Autumn we’re going to be using a metrical version written by Anglican priest Dr Adam Carlill, Psalms for the Common Era.  They are both refreshing and set to well known hymn tunes. 

It would be lovely to have a recorded set of these for use on Sundays and for use in the digital services we produce and so I wonder if any of you are good enough singers and musicians with an ability to make good recordings and, if so, if you’d be up to recording some Psalms.  I’d do them in batches and not start with Psalm 119:)  So this would be a slow burn project and, depending on how many volunteers we get, shouldn’t be overwhelming.  

If you’ve got the skills and know how, or are part of a church choir with the skills and know how, please do drop me a line!

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
 

St Matthew 21: 12 – 17

Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Reflection

This passage brings home the full humanity of Jesus. We have a tendency to view Jesus passively – the baby in the manger, at prayer or suffering silently on the Cross. Jesus’ humanity is much more than these images. He is the man of action walking on water, enjoying a feast or the sharp edge of debate.  A man frequently exasperated by the lack of faith shown by the apostles. Think of his strong admonishment to Peter, or his sharp reaction to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees as he heals the man with the withered hand.  As followers of Jesus we too find much hypocrisy in our own world at this time. It is hardly surprising when Jesus saw the poor exploited by the sellers of birds for sacrifice and the wheelers and dealers contaminating his holy place that he reacted with anger. Like many of us at such times, his anger is demonstrated physically as he hurls over the tables! He is very human at this point.

We live in a world where it is difficult to stay calm. A world where governments and powerful corporations push back against scientific knowledge to continue polluting our planet. A world where arms companies refine their weapons and increase their profits while men, women and children die in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and so many other areas of our troubled world. A world where the rich get richer and the poor get left further behind. So like our Saviour we cannot ignore the evil in the world. However, we must also understand that our indignation must be tempered by the other parts of Christ’s message in particular forgiveness and love, even for our enemies.

Martin Luther King said: “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him”, even as he fought for people’s basic human rights.  I know I am prone to anger and hope that I can keep this example in my heart while faced with the injustice of this world.

Let us pray

Our prayer is that you will walk with us
in our flawed humanity.
We ask that you open our eyes to injustice.
So we ask for strength to stand up
against the wrongs in our world,
whatever the cost, 
but we ask too that you give us judgement
to always balance our anger
with understanding and forgiveness.
We ask this in your name, Jesus. Amen

St Mathew 21: 1 – 11

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.  If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion,  ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Reflection

This is a reading normally associated with the start of Holy Week, and yet we are still six weeks away. 

So away from the febrile atmosphere of that day, what does this event tell us about Jesus, about the crowds and the bystanders?

Well Jesus certainly knew his Scriptures – he knew the implications of fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, here was a man riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, could he be the Messiah?

Was this a deliberately provocative act by Jesus?  Was he finally admitting, in a very public way what some had suspected and what he had already admitted to his disciples – he was the Messiah, the one longed for for centuries?

And what were Jesus’ expectations?  Was he expecting this hero’s welcome to continue or was his eye always on the Cross?

As for the crowds I wonder how many of them actually realised what they were doing.  I’m sure some of them must have understood Jesus’ actions, perhaps that’s why they turned so quickly from ‘Hosanna’ to ‘Crucify’, as Jesus did not meet their expectations.  Some perhaps were simply caught up in the festival atmosphere and followed what others were doing.  Others still looking on with scorn, ‘This is no Messiah, just another wannabe’.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the end (although with hindsight it was most certainly not the end), what follows will be exciting and tense, it will cause Jesus’ closest friends to scratch their heads in puzzlement before fear and tears take hold.

I wonder, if we had been there that day, what would we have made of it all?  Would we have gone home elated, knowing we had witnessed history; would there be questions over what happens next, this man put on a good show, but will he follow through?    

Would we too have gone from Hosanna to Crucify?!

Prayer

Through the ups and downs of life,
through the joys and sorrows of following you,
Jesus, King, Messiah, humble servant,
help us always to praise you as we sing,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”  Amen

 
Today’s service is led by the Students from the Scottish College

Welcome and Introduction    The Revd Andy Braunston
 
Hello, and welcome to worship.  It’s good to share in worship with you and, this week, our worship is a little different with contributions from five of our students at the Scottish College where I help out as a volunteer tutor.  
Last September we took the students to visit the Waldensian Church in Italy and this service reflects on the history and ministry of the Waldensians.  There are strong links between the URC and the Waldensian – Methodist Church in Italy (since 1975 they have been united in a federal church structure which keeps their distinctive identities, but where they function as one denomination).  There are also strong historic links between British Protestants and these Italian Protestants yet it is often the case we are surprised to find there are any Protestants in Italy or that the Waldensian church predates the Reformation by over 300 years!   
 
Founded by Peter Waldo who became convinced of a desire to live in apostolic poverty and preach the Gospel they were, at first, welcomed by the Medieval Church authorities as a useful tool in the fight against heresy. Waldo’s refusal, however, to be part of the formal structures of the Church (such as a monastic order) and his insistence one did not need the Church’s authority to preach led to their excommunication.  Waldo’s followers took refuge in largely inaccessible mountainous valleys then in the Duchy of Savoy – now on the border between France and Italy.  They endured centuries of persecution, found an alliance with Calvin’s Geneva and carved out a difficult space to be themselves.  Italian reunification, at first, led to a secular state allowing the Waldensians to flourish and spread throughout Italy but, under the Fascists, they found themselves seen as foreign as they worshipped in the French dialect of Occitan and so changed their worship language to Italian but were still seen as foreign.  Now, in an age of greater tolerance, they are centred in Italy but with vibrant congregations in Argentina and Uruguay – thanks to Italian emigration. They work in partnership with other Protestant Churches and, in particular, with the Methodists with whom they united in 1975.  They are beneficiaries of the 8 in 1000 church tax where Italian citizens can nominate a religious body to receive their 0.8% tax and millions give their money to the Waldensians as they are transparent with their finances and use it only for social service and cultural work.  We use, today, worship resources from the Waldensian church for the Sunday before Lent, and sing, mainly, Psalms which sustained the Waldensians for most of their long history.  Let’s worship God together.  
 
Call to Worship
 
Our help is in the name of God the Father, who created us, 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us, 
and of the Holy Spirit, who renews us. Amen.
 
We sing the first 6 verses of Psalm 31.
 
Hymn       Psalm 31 v 1 – 6
Sing Psalms version © 2003 The Psalmody Committee, The Free Church of Scotland unknown choir recorded by Connor Quigley and used with his kind permission.
 
In you I’ve taken refuge, LORD;
You are my shelter in distress.
O let me never be ashamed,
but save me 
in your righteousness.
 
LORD, turn your ear 
to hear my cry;
come quickly to deliver me,
and be my rock and firm defence,
my stronghold and security.
 
You are my fortress and my rock;
for your name’s sake 
be my sure guide.
Preserve me from 
the trap that’s set;
You are the refuge where I hide.
 
Redeem me, LORD, O God of truth;
my spirit I commit to you.
I hate all those who trust false gods;
I trust the LORD, for he is true.

Prayers of Approach, Confession and Grace
 
Our God, you are our strong rock, our fortress.
Come, defend our weak faith from all that would destroy it. 
Defend the love you have willed to instil in us with your Holy Spirit. Defend the hope that Christ’s resurrection has kindled in us.
We thank you and praise you for the gift of Jesus Christ;
let him always guide us,
He who served you in acts of love and solidarity with human beings, 
He who was obedient to you unto death, even death on a cross. 
He has opened and continues to open the way for us,
He has given us the privilege of serving you 
and the desire to serve our neighbour. 
He has taught us not to stop at appearances, but to love with deeds, 
even if this draws criticism and opposition, that is, the Cross. 
For the life you have made triumphant in Christ Jesus, our salvation, 
we joyfully sing your praises. Amen.
 
We prepare to confess our sin 
by listening to how the Lord wants to be served:
 
Whatever you want people to do to you, do even so to them, 
for this is the Law and the Prophets. 
Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 
But narrow is the gate and difficult is the road that leads to life, 
and few find it.
Matthew 7, 12-14
Faced with God’s will, we confess our sin, 
first in silence, then in common prayer:
 
Silent Confession
 
Let us pray:
 
Lord, how many situations remain blocked 
because we choose the easy way out, 
while the path that leads to peace and justice 
is truly narrow and uncomfortable. 
We too hesitate before this path. 
We too fear losing our privileges.
But when we look to Jesus, the way of your kingdom presents itself to us 
as the way of true communion among human beings.
Our God, grant that we may take this path without hesitation, 
and thus stop wondering how others can be of use to us, 
and instead ask ourselves how we can be of use to others. 
Free us from that calculating mentality that so impedes our journey.
Help us take the first step, as you did towards us. Amen.
 
Let us listen to the announcement of God’s grace: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  
(Romans 8:1-2)
 
Since the Lord gave his life for our salvation, to all of you who seek his forgiveness, we proclaim that your sin is forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
 
Prayer for Illumination
 
Lord, we stand before your Word; 
open our hearts and minds so that we may listen to it with all our heart. You know us, you know our expectations and needs, 
and we are confident that through your Word you will answer us.
Enable us to respond to your expectations; 
remind us all that you invite us to the beautiful adventure of faith, 
which transforms our lives and guides us to the fullness of life. 
Thank you, Lord. Amen.

Waldensian Origins
Introduction
 
There is little in the historical records about Peter Waldo; he was a merchant in the city of Lyons who had a deep conversion experience causing him to provide for his wife and children and then travel to preach the good news and live in simple poverty as Christ and the apostles had done.  He wasn’t alone in this approach; various Church reform movements were wedded to poverty and preaching – the Cathars (a sect that had Gnostic ideas) and also the Franciscans and Dominicans (which were more firmly Christian)  all saw that the wealth of the medieval Church led to corruption and a failure to witness well.  
 
At first the local bishop, and wider Church, warmed to Peter and his followers as they were good at keeping people Christian when otherwise they may have drifted into the heretical Cathar movement. The break with Rome came as Peter and his followers would not agree to be accountable to the Church through, for example, becoming part of a monastic order and through their insistence on preaching without getting permission from the church – probably local clergy who might be more ignorant about the Bible than they were.  So Barbars (uncles) were trained in the Bible and sent on preaching missions.  At first women could do this well but in medieval Europe women who travelled were often seen as prostitutes and it was not safe for them to work as missionaries.  Instead, their role became one of support for the Barbas in housing them at colleges over the winter where they’d learn more of the Bible until their next preaching tour. Yvonne Hamilton, a second-year student at the Scottish College, reflects on this early stage of the Waldensian journey with a reconstructed Barba college behind her.  First, we hear from Psalm 121 which Calvin always used to open worship.
 
Reading   Psalm 121: 1 – 2
 
Psalm 121 is often associated with pilgrimage, faithful perseverance, and the assurance of God’s protection, which connects beautifully with the story of the Waldensians. It speaks of the ongoing call to live and preach the Gospel faithfully, even in the face of difficulty or danger.
 
I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
 
Reflection        Yvonne Hamilton
 
There is a quiet kind of courage that rises when someone chooses to live by faith rather than fear. In the midst of a comfortable life, something stirs. A hunger for truth, a longing for more than status or security. That longing, centuries ago, shaped the journey of a man who gave away his wealth and began to follow the way of Christ with empty hands and an open heart.
 
He wasn’t alone for long, others were drawn to this way of simplicity, Scripture, and shared life. They gathered not to build a new power, but to return to the heart of the Gospel. They wanted to live like Jesus and the first disciples, poor, yes, but rich in love and clarity. They studied together, often in hidden places. They trained not to climb ladders of success, but to carry a message they could not keep silent. And then, they were sent, walking village to village, offering not argument but presence.
 
This movement didn’t need buildings or titles. What they had was fire in their bones, a calling to speak hope into the ordinary. They lived the Word before they ever preached it. And when they did speak, it was not to impress, but to invite. Their voices carried a light into places where religion had grown cold or corrupted by control.
 
And women, so often silenced, found space among these people to teach, serve, and to lead. They too, carried the Gospel in their bodies and voices, not hidden away but woven into the mission. The Spirit was not concerned with rank or gender, but with availability and faithfulness.
 
But freedom always disrupts control. The fear of truth spoken freely stirred resistance. The threat was not violence, it was visibility. And so, the shadow of the Inquisition fell, trying to silence what could not be caged. Many paid a price, not for rebellion, but for obedience to a higher call. 
 
And yet, their witness speaks even now.
 
Today, we live in different times, but the question remains the same. What do we do with truth once it awakens us? How do we live the Gospel when convenience pulls harder than conviction? Are we willing to follow Christ even when it costs us comfort, reputation, or belonging?
 
We may not be called to the same literal poverty, but we are called to a posture of surrender, a poverty of spirit that trusts God more than systems, and Scripture more than status. The challenge is not simply to believe, but to live in a way that reflects the kingdom.
There are still “barbas” among us, those who walk quietly in the margins, who speak not for applause but out of faithfulness. And the Spirit is still raising voices, young and old, men and women, calling them not to power, but to love.
 
And we, too, must choose, in a world that prizes self-promotion, will we dare to walk a different road? In a time when truth is politicised and compassion seen as weakness, will we still carry the Gospel in word and in action?
 
God of the hidden way, You stir in us a longing for more. More truth, more love, more of You. Give us the courage to walk simply, to speak boldly, and to trust you deeply. When we are tempted by ease of silenced fear, remind us of those who came before, who walked with open hands and faithful hearts.  Let their witness become our encouragement. And may we, too, become light in dark places. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
 
We sing a Gospel version of Psalm 121 written by Richard Smallwood.
 
Hymn       Total Praise
                  Richard Smallwood (b 1948) after Psalm 121 © 1996 Universal Music OneLicence No   
# A-734713 Sung by Michael Lining 

Lord, I will lift 
mine eyes to the hills,
knowing my help 
is coming from You.
Your peace you give me 
in time of the storm.
You are the 
source of my strength.
You are the 
strength of my life.
I lift my hands in total praise to you.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen

Becoming Reformed
Introduction
 
The Reformers of the 16th Century were very aware of the Catholic critique that they were inventing a new religion and so were concerned to show that they were going back to the roots of the faith as seen in the Bible and the early Church theologians and thinkers.  At the time it was felt that the Waldensians were a group who had kept the faith pure since apostolic times; it was only much later that historians came to show their 11th Century origins.  The desire to show that Protestantism was a pure return to the early Church led Calvin to explore theology with the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople (the latter being deposed for his rather Reformed outlook) and to the Waldensians in valleys not too far from Geneva.  For the Reformed an alliance with the Waldensians gave them some historical ballast, for the Waldensians persecuted by the Catholic dukes of Savoy an alliance with the Reformed offered them a wider connection with the new religious movement of the Reformation and an alliance with a city which had also thrown off the Savoy duchy.  So a group of persecuted proto-reformers voted to join the wider European reform movement giving it some historical legitimacy and giving them a much needed boost.  They funded the first translation of the Bible into French – they spoke Occitan – but persecution came and John Milton’s poem, 
 
Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughter’d saints,
whose bones Lie scatter’d on the Alpine mountains cold,
Ev’n them who kept thy truth so pure of old,
When all our fathers worshipp’d stocks and stones;
 
speaks of the persecution these newly reformed Waldensian saints faced. Margaret Higton, a final year student at the Scottish College will help our thinking, but first a reading from John’s Gospel.  
 
Reading            St John 1: 1 – 5
 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
 
Reflection        Margaret Higton
 
When we think of the Reformation the first names that come to mind are
the greats of the 16th Century Luther, Calvin, Zwingli.
 
However, long before these great theologians God was already at work, stirring up small groups of believers to look deeper into scripture, literally
to read scripture as it was written, recording the Word of God.
 
One of the most remarkable of these small groups was the Waldensian church. Their story, or rather their lived reality, reminds us that becoming Reformed is not merely about embracing or adopting doctrines. It’s more about living a life of faith transformed by God’s Word and following a life faithful to Christ, even if that means enduring suffering and persecution.
 
As we have heard, the Waldensians began in the latter part of the 12th Century, when the wealthy merchant Waldo encountered the Scriptures in a new and different way. He used his wealth to have the Bible translated into the vernacular language of the people rather than the Latin of the clergy. This had a dramatic effect. For the first time people started to  have a deeper relationship with scripture, a better understanding and specifically Waldo was captured by the simplicity of Christ’s call – “Repent and believe the gospel.”
 
Waldo gave his wealth away and became a wandering preacher of repentance, encouraging others to hear the Word of God. The people who gathered around Waldo shared the same conviction – Scripture is for every believer and not for the exclusivity of the clergy or scholars. This love for the Bible was the beginning, the seed of a Reformed identity, centuries before that point in history we know as ‘the Reformation’.
 
For us today, becoming or being Reformed starts in the very same place, with God’s word. Like the Waldensians, we too must live under the authority of Scripture. Allowing Scripture to shape our lives and our faith. We cannot become Reformed by following human traditions but rather become re-formed through the living Word of God.
 
To be Reformed is to realise and confess that Christ alone is our saviour. We are not saved by our own work, by our churches, by our own human efforts. The Waldensians held dearly to this truth and were persecuted even to death for it. What is our persecution? Is it apathy? 
 
For us to demonstrate our Reformed understanding of Scripture requires us to rise above apathy, to declare and live a faith in the risen and ascended Christ, and to build our lives in Christ alone.
 
The journey the Waldensians took was not easy. They placed Scripture above the authority of the medieval church, were branded heretics, persecuted to death, families killed, homes burnt, driven into exile but they returned to their beloved valleys. They gathered in secret, whispered the scriptures in caves by candlelight and they taught their children the gospel stories. Their motto became Lux Lucet in Tenebris – “The light shines in the darkness”
 
In all of this journey we can see another mark of becoming Reformed, trusting the sovereignty of God even when persecuted. We are reminded, by the Waldensians journey, that living a faithful Christian life may bring hardships. Yet, it also reminds us that God preserves God’s people. The very survival of the Waldensians through centuries of persecution is indeed a testimony of the faithfulness of God.
 
When the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century broke forth the Waldensians found fellowship with others and their Synod officially embraced the theology of the Reformed church. They found clarity in the doctrine of grace and walked their journey with fellow believers who also exalted the glory of God, trusting in God’s Word alone.
 
And so, we must also recognise that to be Reformed is a journey in fellowship with others, this is not only a personal journey but one we must take in community. We are called into fellowship with others who confess Christ, to walk that truth and to be, like the Waldensians, beacons of light in the darkness, lighting up lives which glorify our God.
 
Gracious God, our beacon of light and hope, we thank You for the light of Your Word,  the light that shines in our darkness. Just as You sustained the Waldensians through their persecution,  Keep us faithful to Christ alone. Teach us to love Your Scriptures, to repent our sins,  and to believe with all our hearts and minds in the good news. Guide us to walk in Your ways with courage and faith,  until that day when Christ returns in glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
 
We sing a verse from Psalm 27 with the Taize chant The Lord is My Light.
 
Hymn       The Lord Is My Light, My Light and Salvation (Psalm 27:1)
GIA/Les Presses de Taizé OneLicence No  # A-734713
Sung by the virtual choir of St Francis Church, West Bessacarr, Doncaster
 
The Lord is my light, my light and salvation, in God I trust, in God I trust.
 
The Glorious Return
Introduction
 
After the Reformation and wars of religion the Waldensians made an increasing number of links with European Protestants. In return for assistance in a war against France, the English and Dutch demanded religious freedom for the Waldensians from the Duke of Savoy who then allowed this provided they also fought for him against the French.  This freedom allowed the Waldensians the right to return and live and worship in the valleys and 900 of them returned.  Greater exposure to the European powers led to the growth of Enlightenment thought amongst the educated pastors; a religious revival amongst the laity led to tensions resulting in the adoption of a confession of faith.  Wider exposure to rich Europeans who often visited the valleys when on their grand tours, led to greater awareness of the Waldensians and fund raising in Britian allowed money to be sent for them and their schools.  Sadly, the older laws outlawing much of Waldensian life and culture were reimposed as foreign policy and alliances changed.  We’ll listen to two readings and then hear a reflection from So Young Jung, a first-year student at the Scottish College.
 
Reading   Galatians 6: 6 – 10
 
Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.
 
Reading   Psalm 126
 
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,  we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter,  and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb. May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy,  carrying their sheaves.
 
Reflection        So Young Jung
 
Dear friends, when I first came to the URC, three things truly surprised me.
 
First, it was the women in ministry. The warmth of a mother, combined with a gentle yet strong charisma in their pastoral leadership, was something I had rarely seen in the church tradition I came from. It was a shock, and at the same time it stirred a deep sense of reverence in me.
 
Second, it was the character of the denomination itself. The URC, born out of the union of different traditions, continues even today to wrestle with what true reformation means under Christ. This spirit of honest self examination and prayerful seeking reminded me that the church is alive, and it urged me to pray more deeply for our identity and our future.
 
Third, it was the service of ordinary members. I met people who, though small in number and sometimes frail in body, serve faithfully in their place. I remember elderly women leaning on their sticks, quietly praying for the church with steady faith. Their hidden devotion challenged me profoundly. 
 
Today I want us to reflect on those who were never at the centre of power, yet who faithfully walked the way of the Lord – the Waldensians, and especially the women among them. The Waldensian Church has preached the gospel since 1174. Even before the Reformation they were called pre-reformers. They longed for nothing but Scripture and the will of God. Remarkably, they even appointed women as preachers and evangelists. Though in later centuries the structures of church and society silenced their voices, their passion for the gospel never went out. Even in persecution, they shared the Word in secret, memorised Scripture, and risked everything for God.
 
The apostle Paul writes: “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) God did not forget their tears.
 
In 1689, after years of exile, 900 Waldensian believers crossed the Alps and returned home in what has been remembered as their Glorious Return. It was surely like the confession of Psalm 126: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.” (Psalm 126:1)
 
Dear friends, let me ask you this: Who are you in your homes, in your workplaces, and in the Church? Do you sometimes see yourself as too small, too weak, or too insignificant? Do you hesitate to serve because you fear ridicule, or because you fear failure? Remember this: God has placed you where you are. Small is enough. Weak is enough. Few is enough. This faith is not only for individuals, but also for our churches and for our denomination.
 
The URC, too, faces many challenges today, and yet, like a small but unquenchable flame, it seeks to hold fast to its reforming identity and to live out the kingdom of God in our time. The small offerings we bring – whether as individuals, as congregations, or as a denomination – can become a great light in the hands of God.
 
Let us pray.
 
Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.”  Like the Waldensians, scattered and despised, like the women who kept faith alive in hidden places, Lord, we believe that you will surely use even our smallest offerings today to build your kingdom and bring restoration. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
 
We sing Psalm 126 to the American folk tune Wayfaring Stranger.
 
Hymn       When God First Brought us Back from Exile
Carl P Daw Jr after Psalm 126 © Hope Publishing Co OneLicence No  # A-734713
sung by the St. Cecilia Choir of Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA
 
When God first brought us back from exile,
we were as dazed as those who dream.
Then were our mouths brimming with laughter;
joy from our lips gushed like a stream.
The godless cried in envious wonder,
“Look what the Lord has done for them!”
Indeed our God has greatly blessed us; 
rejoice and sing, Jerusalem!
 
2 Once more, O Lord, restore your people;
come with your saving help again,
as to the brook beds in the desert
you bring the sweet, reviving rain.
Let those who sow with tears and sighing
sing as they reap and joy proclaim;
may those who weep when seed is scattered
gather their sheaves and praise your Name.
 
Freedom
Introduction
 
In 1848 the King of Sardinia, in whose territory the Waldensians now were, legislated for freedom of assembly and a parliamentary monarchy.  Civil rights were given to both Jews and Waldensians.  As a result, various Protestant missions started to evangelise in Italy – notably Methodists and Baptists.  At the same time Italian migration away from Italy led to Waldensian communities forming overseas and, a little later, Italian unification led to missionary cooperation between the Waldensians and other groups, most notably the Methodists.  After a reading, where we hear of freedom granted to Paul and Silas, Eilidh Young, a final year student at the Scottish College reflects on freedom.
 
Reading            Acts 16: 23-34
 
After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.  When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
 
Reflection        Eilidh Young  
 
Through Mel Gibson, William Wallace famously said that our enemies may ‘take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom’. But what is freedom for us as Christians? Throughout history Christians have been persecuted in one way or another for what we believe.
 
It’s not just about freedom for the physical body, but also about intellectual freedom (to decide what and how to believe) and a spiritual freedom that offers an inner release from constraints like ego, fear, sin and guilt.  We seek freedom to be able to believe in the Jesus we recognise and not being dictated to by others about what we should and should not believe – yes there is a place for Christian teaching, but ultimately what we believe comes down to what we, as individuals, understand about Jesus and what he did for us.
 
In our reading, Paul and Silas were in prison – they had been beaten and their bodies physically restrained, but they were spiritually free through their belief in and their relationship with Jesus – how else could they be praying and singing hymns to God? Even after the earthquake offered their physical freedom, they did not leave because Paul saw an opportunity to share the gospel with their jailer!
 
I’m sure Paul shared that true spiritual freedom comes from knowing Jesus and obeying His Word. In John chapter 8, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.    Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free….. If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Freedom from sin and shame is only found in Jesus.
And the jailer responded, seeing a greater freedom than he currently enjoyed. Under Roman law, if his prisoners escaped, the jailer would have had to face their sentence, so any opportunity for ‘freedom’ would have been appealing at that stage. Yet, I’m sure his response was not just face value as he would have seen the persecution of Christians and know that joining them would not necessarily keep him safe.
 
Paul would have been clear that our freedom can only come through Jesus, as the Saviour of the world: and that he came to free the world from sin, and to offer us access to a place where there are no restrictions. A place where we can meet with God in all his or her forms and know that we are chosen and forgiven. That spiritual freedom through Jesus restores our relationship with God, because it breaks the power of sin, and provides an opportunity for lasting peace and purpose.
 
It is likely that Paul went on to explain that our freedom gives us the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love to others through acts of service. This allows us to show how Jesus has changed us. He said:
 
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
 
We can reflect our freedom by our service to others. That is why the Bible so often reminds us to care for the less fortunate because in doing so, we honour God by reflecting God’s love, grace, and kindness to them.  However much God loves you and me, that love is the same for those who find themselves struggling, in need, in despair – they really need to now that God’s love is there for them and our ‘freedom’ demands that we share it! Not because we want a pat on the back from Jesus for doing so, but because we want to share with others, the freedom that God has given us.
 
We are able to love freely because we have received the unconditional love of God – a love that changes us – gives us a security to allow ourselves the freedom to love selflessly – just like Jesus.
 
From what we have learned about the Waldensians, it seems that while they faced significant physical restrictions throughout their existence, they retained a spiritual and intellectual freedom that their enemies did not recognise, or could not quench. They had a thirst for education that allowed them to read the Scriptures and to debate and understand what they taught, with the freedom within their own community to freedom to make up their own minds about their beliefs and not to ever submit to a human authority. They made a choice to accept the physical privations and restrictions because their understanding and belief in God was their driving force.  And they were driven to share God’s love for others clearly addressing Christ’s command to love their neighbour – sharing the gospel and the love of Christ when opportunity came their way.
 
Holy One, we pray that you will help us to understand more clearly 
the freedom that you have given us through Jesus’ sacrifice. 
That we will be able to accept what that freedom really means 
and learn to live in service to you and all those around us.
Give us the confidence to accept that freedom 
and to step out in Jesus’ name to share the gospel 
with all who need to hear it 
and to live our lives in a way that shows others we are different – 
less burdened by this world, with a compassion for others
and a sureness in what we know about you and your love for this world.
We bring this request to you through your Son, Jesus Christ, 
who died so we might know you more fully. Amen
 
We sing some of Isaac Watts’ paraphrase of Psalm 146 to a contemporary tune.
 
Hymn       I’ll Praise My Maker While I’ve Breath
                  Isaac Watts, later altered by John Wesley, after Psalm 146 Public Domain
Sung by the Church of the Resurrection Worship Collective, Church of the Resurrection United Methodist Church, Kansas City, Missouri
 
I’ll praise my maker 
while I have breath, 
and when my voice is gone 
I’ll praise in death, 
praise shall employ my, 
my nobler powers; 
my praise will raise above 
this darkened hour. 
2 The Lord gives eyesight 
to heal the blind;
The Lord supports 
my fading mind;
God helps the stranger 
who’s in distress,
and grants this prisoner 
my sweet release.

3 I’ll praise my maker while I have breath,
and when my voice is gone I’ll praise in death,
praise shall employ my, my nobler powers;
my praise will raise above this darkened hour.
 
The Contemporary Waldensian Church
Introduction
 
The contemporary Waldensian church has much to teach us; it strives for good relations with the Catholic Church despite nearly a millennia of persecution, it rejoices in a secular republic seeing the darker side of religiously founded states, it has a gritty determination for dialogue at its encounter centre Agape up in the mountains which is a place where, over decades, differing groups have come to debate and discern a whole range of social issues.  They were an early adopter of women’s ordination back in the late 1960s and have formed a federal union with the Methodists.  They were early accepters of same sex unions and undertake radical social services using the money from the Church tax to do many wonderful things – in particular using their own experience of persecution and being strangers in strange lands to help migrants.  Each of their churches reserves a seat, dressed with red women’s clothing, to give a visible reminder of the women who are beaten and killed by male violence.  This is a tiny church with a big punch.  Our final reflection comes from first year student Ann Sinclair, but first a reading from Matthew’s Gospel.
 
Reading   St Matthew 13: 24-30; 36-43
 
Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;  but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.  So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.  And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?”  He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?”  But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn…Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,  and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.  Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.  The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,  and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
 
Reflection        Ann Sinclair
 
Throughout world history there have always been hostile power struggles. Ancient stories tell of mighty armies crossing seas and continents to seize lands and capture people and are chronicled through cave paintings, parchments and tablets while in later centuries works of art offer us dramatic visual facsimiles of such power struggles.
 
The Old Testament gives us glimpses of the power struggles the Israelites faced and at times instigated. From escaping years of slavery in Egypt and the pursuing Egyptians to the captivity of the people of Israel and Judah by the Assyrians (2 Kings 15 & 17) and later the Babylonians and the peoples forced displacement. Only a remnant of the people of the Kingdom of Israel were allowed to return to their homelands. (2 Chronicles 32-36). ‘When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem it was like a dream!’ (Psalm 126)
 
Hostile power struggles continued. Alexander the Great led the Greek armies in an invasion of the Middle East followed by the mighty Roman Empire with the Israelites again oppressed and dominated.
 
However, light can be exposed in the dark times of the wider history of the world. For the Israelites and despite their often turning away from the Lord, the Lord guided and protected them with patience and grace. For example, the Lord provided direction to guide them and manna to feed them on their journey to the Promised Land.
 
However, power struggles and evil don’t just relate to nations and armies but also the lives of individuals. In the Battle of Socoh against their formidable enemy the Philistines, the shepherd boy David stepped up to represent the Israelites in their fight and faced the giant Goliath. David carried only his sling and five stones. David faced Goliath saying: ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied.’ (1 Samuel 17: 45) and David killed Goliath. The individual and seemingly almost insignificant against the powerful perhaps raises the argument that it does not always need to be the size of power to succeed in conquering evil.
 
Hostile power struggles continue across the world today. There have always been binary oppositions in life, evil has always and does intertwine with good, the two are interwoven both communally and individually in every facet of life. Faith and belief in God doesn’t always come up with prompt and easy answers. God has and does understand the pain and he suffering through the evil of the world. The people then and now long for God to act  but it is in God’s time.
 
As separating the tares from the wheat takes patience. God is patient and acted in giving His Son Jesus Christ…the light of the world. Followers are called to be patient, to persevere for a slow growth in the spiritual battle through faith and learning.
 
This is the story of the Waldensians that continues in the contemporary Waldensian Church. Their story, just as the parable of the wheat and the tares illustrates, their patience and perseverance throughout their history and actions. The Waldensian Church is a small church however it stands among and collaborates other denominations, in particular with the Methodist and the Evangelical Baptist Christian Union along with wider global institutions…separate churches that work together yet retain their individuality. 
 
On the recent visit to Torre Pellice in Northern Italy there were signs in the Waldensian churches of the peoples’ actions bringing highly emotive symbols of hostile power struggles to the forefront of their worship. In the churches a red jacket, red hat and red shoes were placed on a pew to remind the congregation of the evil inflicted on women abuse and murder and called for prayers and support; in another church the lists of names of those killed in the Gaza Strip in the latest war between Israel and the Hamas Brigades hung around the walls…a shocking sight but one that brought the reality home of the destruction that has been inflicted. The Waldensians’ actions stretch out to all those suffering – welcoming and supporting all refugees; commitment to social care and welfare through children’s centres and for those with disabilities; homes for the elderly and the simple fellowship across language barriers with those we met. It has been said that for a small church the Waldensians pack a punch beyond their weight and they do through their experiences of immense suffering and in faith have put themselves first and foremost at the service of God in the hope of a different world.
 
Loving God, we come humbly into Your presence
knowing You are always with us
no matter what we are going through in joy or sorrow;
open our ears to Your words;
our minds to understanding and patience to follow You
with perseverance on our journey with You.
Loving God, fill us with Your grace and peace.
We offer these prayers in the name of Your Son,
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
 
Our final hymn comes from a slightly earlier tradition than ours, and is Luther’s A Mighty Fortress is Our God.  A hymn that, in these more ecumenical times, appears in Catholic hymnbooks and has been sung by Protestants for centuries to give strength to weary spirits.
 
Hymn       A Mighty Fortress Is Our God  
Martin Luther reflecting on Psalm 46 Public Domain
sung by the group All About Worship Guitar and used with their kind permission.
 
A mighty fortress is our God, 
a bulwark never failing;
our helper He, amid the flood 
of mortal ills prevailing:
for still our ancient foe 
doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and pow’r are great, 
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
 
2 Did we in 
our own strength confide, 
our striving would be losing,
were not the right Man on our side, 
the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? 
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, 
from age to age the same,
and He must win the battle.
 
3 And though this world, 
with devils filled, 
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed 
His truth to triumph through us;
the prince of darkness grim, 
we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, 
for lo, his doom is sure,
one little word shall fell him.
 
4 That word above 
all earthly pow’rs, 
no thanks to them abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts 
are ours through Him 
who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go, 
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill: 
God’s truth abideth still,
His Kingdom is forever.
 
Offertory
 
We have heard today of the faith and suffering of our fellow Christians in the Waldensian church who, time and again, had to decide between their faith or their homes, land, and goods.  Thankfully we don’t have to make such choices today but know of many who do.  The faith that sustained the Waldensians, and sustains our fellow believers and ourselves, is a faith founded on giving – God’s emptying of Himself, Jesus’ giving of Himself over to torture and death, and the Spirit’s continued giving of gifts to the Church.  Such Godly giving elicits in us a response of praise and gratitude.  We give in so many ways, of our time, our talents and also of our treasure.  And so we give thanks for all that is given our churches, and the difference such giving makes.  Let us pray.
 
God of every good gift,
we thank You for Your self-emptying love
which sustained our forebears in faith and sustains us now.
Bless all the gifts given in our churches,
may they be used to alleviate suffering, sustain ministry 
and welcome your coming Kingdom.  Amen.
Intercessions
 
We bring our prayers to God, who knows our needs, inspires us to act, and loves us fiercely.
 
O Most High, we pray for the Church throughout the world.
We ask for strength in places of persecution,
wisdom in places of indifference,
and the humility to see where we need reform 
and where our witness is hindered by wealth, selfishness and scandal.
Give us grace where we work for union,
Where we understand that, together, 
you show how creative difference can be.

pause

Living Lord Jesus, we lift our world before You,
the world for which You lived and died.
We remember women abused and beaten by men;
we remember places of war, persecution, and migration;
we remember those not granted rights nor dignity,
and we ask for Your grace to change;
change for ourselves and our world.
We ask for Your strength to persevere,
and to hold fast to our faith, 
which sustains and encourages us,
as it has sustained and encouraged our forebears.

pause

Most Holy Spirit, You guide the Church 
often in spite of our efforts to go our own way!
Help us to learn from how You lead our sisters and brothers 
in other traditions and other lands.
Continue, we pray to bless our siblings 
in the Waldensian Evangelical Church 
as they continue to discern their mission in an increasingly secular age;
help us to learn from their radical commitment to social service,
to being a prophetic sign in difficult times,
to living a dynamic unity, and to bearing witness to a faith 
that has sustained them through a millennia of persecution.
Help us to see our mission, our church, through your eyes,
that we may hear, understand and obey.

pause

Eternal Trinity of love,
We pray for those we love and worry about…

pause

And we pray for those we struggle to love….

pause

Accept all our prayers, spoken and unspoken,
remind us that we are united with You,
with the Church throughout the world,
with believers down the ages, 
and with those still to come.  Amen.
 
Our final hymn is a contemporary rendering of Psalm 150.
 
Hymn       Sing Praise to the Lord You People of Grace (after Psalm 150)
Martin E Leckebusch © 2006, Kevin Mayhew OneLicence No  # A-734713
Sung by the Resurrection Lutheran Church, Maumee, OH, choir
 
Sing praise to the Lord, 
you people of grace;
fill heaven with the songs 
that sound from this place;
since you are God’s servants 
and meet in his name,
his wonders declare 
and his glory proclaim.
 
Halle! Hallelujah! 
Halle! Halle! Hallelujah!
Halle! Hallelujah! 
Halle! Halle! Hallelujah!
 
2 His greatness exceeds 
what words can explain,
and his is the power 
no force can restrain;
with fanfares of horns 
and crescendos of strings
raise anthems to honour 
the King of all kings. 
 
3 Where music is made, 
let rhythms abound:
let cymbals and drums 
add weight to the sound;
with dance that is graceful 
and words that are clear,
bring joy to the God 
you adore and revere. 
 
4 Yield all that you are to worship the Lord
see life as a psalm, each moment a chord;
let harmonies flourish and melodies soar
let all that has breath praise the Lord evermore.

Blessing
 
The God of peace equip you with every good thing to do the divine will, 
working in you that which is pleasing in God’s sight, through Jesus Christ; 
to God be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 
 

 

 

St Matthew 20: 29 – 34

As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Reflection

Seeing is believing” means that you have to see something before you can accept that it is true. In today’s story, believing led to seeing.  These men were anxious to get close to Jesus and attract his attention.  We can only speculate about where they had got this information from and who had helped them to get into position.  Perhaps family or friends who cared for them?  

So, a plan was hatched. When they heard the bustle and noise of the crowd approaching, they seized their opportunity. Their shouting upset the local crowd who wanted Jesus to be welcomed and his passage through their village to be free from any disturbance. They told the men to be quiet but they persisted with their cry at the top of their voices.

They were well informed about Jesus and his life especially his lineage.  They addressed him as Son of David understanding him to be a leader, a successor of David, the Messiah. How many others in the crowd had realised that?  They were unafraid to make that view public. Jesus heard their cries and asked them what they wanted.  Not surprisingly, they answered; “Give us our sight”.  Jesus reacted to their request with compassion and love by touching their eyes. 

The response was immediate; they were able to see and followed Jesus on his final journey to Jerusalem. In almost all of Jesus’ healing miracles, the cured returned to their local communities but these two men immediately became disciples and followers. They now had the insight and aptitude to be disciples and saw clearly what Jesus wanted of them and where the journey was leading. This was in contrast to some of the “regular” disciples who had been told many times what would happen in Jerusalem but didn’t want to see that.   How many times do we hold a picture in our minds of how we want things to turn out that is not the vision of what God wants?

Prayer

Divine Healer,
we ask you to bless and comfort
all those who are blind or suffering from deteriorating eyesight,
and those who work in clinics and homes
to help and care for them.
We ask that you give us the insight
to see your vision of what you want from us,
and prevent us from distorting or blurring
that vision to suit our own convenience.
Amen