Welcome and Introduction
 
Hello and welcome to worship.  My name is Andy Braunston and I am the United Reformed Church’s Minister for Digital Worship; I live up in Orkney but, when this service is used, I will be on sabbatical and travelling back from France and Italy where I’ll be looking at how faithful disciples have responded to the risen Lord’s call to follow his way, believe his truth and live his life over the last 1,000 years.   As we continue to celebrate Easter today we ponder God’s presence even when things are difficult.  We read of the death of the first martyr, Stephen, who gave witness to God not so much by his preaching but by a death where he was assured of God’s loving kindness.  We sing some verses of a Psalm where the ancient poet was determined that God would eventually bring justice – even if God seemed silent in the face of disaster, defeat, and despondency.  We hear words of comfort to new Christians isolated from family, friends, and community due to their newfound faith but who, the writer assured them, were chosen by God to be living stones and a holy priesthood in a temple of praise and thanksgiving.  And we hear Jesus’ words of comfort even as he told his disciples he’d not be with them for much longer.  As contemporary Christians living between Easter and Jesus’ final coming again we find comfort in these words of assurance as we believe even though we haven’t seen the Lord.  So, with words of comfort and hope, we come to worship.
 
Opening Prayer
 
In you, O Lord, we take refuge, You are our shelter in distress.
Let us never be ashamed, but save us in your righteousness.
O Lord, turn your ear to hear our cries; come quickly to deliver us,
and be our rock and firm defence, our stronghold and security.
You are our fortress and rock; for your name’s sake be our sure guide.
Preserve us from life’s traps; You are the refuge where we hide.
Redeem us, LORD, O God of truth; We commit our spirits to you.
We trust You, LORD, for You are truth.
 
Hymn       Christ Is Alive and the Universe Must Celebrate
Shirley Erena Murray (1931-2020) © 1993 Hope Publishing Company.  OneLicence No. # A-734713 Sung by members of New Faith United Church of Christ, Loomis, California.
 

Christ is alive, and the universe must celebrate,
and the stars and the suns shout on this Easter day!
Christ is alive, and his family must celebrate
in a great alleluia, a great alleluia
to praise the power that made the stone roll away.

2 Here is our hope: 
in the mystery of suffering
is the heartbeat of Love, 
Love that will not let go,
here is our hope, 
that in God we are not separate,
and we sing alleluia, we sing alleluia
to praise the power that made 
the stone roll away.
 
3 Christ Spirit, dance 
through the dullness of humanity
to the music of God, 
God who has set us free!
You are the pulse 
of the new creation’s energy;
with a great alleluia, a great alleluia
we praise the power that made 
the stone roll away.

Prayers of Approach, Confession and Grace
 
We praise You O Most High, in these days of Easter joy;
You are our light, our hope, and our salvation!
For you have chosen us before the ages to be precious in Your sight,
and You build us into a spiritual house, 
a holy priesthood, Your own people. 
 
We praise You, Risen Lord Jesus, in these days of Easter joy;
You are our way, our truth and our life!
But sometimes we prefer our way to Your way, our lies to Your truth, 
our fixation with death and decay to Your life.
Forgive us, good Lord, and give us time to change,
time to feed on your spiritual milk, that we may grow into our salvation.
 
We praise You, Most Holy Spirit, in these days of Easter joy,
You are our inspiration, our guide, and our energy!
Give us the grace to receive Your mercy and forgiveness,
that we might not stumble but stand firm in Christ, 
the cornerstone of our faith, now and evermore, Amen.
 
Prayer for Illumination
 
We come to You now, Most High,
to hear Your word, Jesus Christ, our way, truth and life,
read and proclaimed.
Break open our hearts to let in Your light,
that we may listen, understand and follow.  Amen.
 
Reading   Acts 7:55-60
 
But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.
 
Hymn       Psalm 31: 1-6
Sing Psalms © The Psalmody Committee of the Free Church of Scotland (2003) 
sung by a congregation at Dowanvale Free Church of Scotland
 

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.
 
2 Lord, turn your ear to hear my cry;
Come quickly to deliver me,
And be my rock and firm defence,
My stronghold and security.
 
3 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.
 
4 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.

Reading   1 Peter 2:2-10
 
Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” This honour, then, is for you who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” and “A stone that makes them stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
 
Reading   John 14:1-14
 
Jesus said “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
 
Hymn       Christ is Made the Sure Foundation
7th or 8th Century translated by John M Neale (1818-1866) sung by the choir and people of North Stoneham and Basset Parish Church and used with their kind permission.
 

5 Laud and honour to the Father, laud and honour to the Son,
laud and honour to the Spirit, ever Three and ever One,
consubstantial and co-eternal, while unending ages run.
 
Sermon 
 
I first started to preach in my early 20s.  I’ve preached some awful sermons in my time; probably the worst was when I dried up a paragraph or two in as the congregation stared at the floor looking incredibly bored; to be fair I was probably very boring!  (I like to think I’ve preached some better ones too) but even on my worst preaching visit I’ve not had a church attempt to murder me! Our first reading today is set just after a disastrous sermon that Stephen, the first Christian martyr preached – and a martyr is one who has died because of their witness.  Stephen did a rather poor job of witnessing in his preaching, he gave a summary, a not entirely accurate one at that, of Jewish history which he ended with insults and rebukes.  
 
In chapter 6 Stephen is accused by some folk of blasphemy and they bring him before the council where false witnesses are presented who charge him with saying things both against the Temple and the Jewish Law.  Stephen’s speech is the longest recorded in Acts and recounts many of the stories of Jewish history before majoring on Moses presenting that story in terms of the Jewish people’s continual disobedience.  Stephen, however, doesn’t – like the writer of Nehemiah does – remember God’s mercy and fidelity to the Covenant even as the people disobey Him.  Stephen notes that God turned away from the people in response to their disobedience (an episode recounted in Exodus 32), but omits to mention God turning back to the people.  Stephen claimed that the building of Temple was contrary to God’s will; most Jewish tradition at the time held that, whilst the Temple was a legitimate place to worship, God was universal.  For most of the speech Stephen identifies with the Jewish people “our ancestors” but in v52 separates himself using “your ancestors” when speaking of “stiff necked” people who oppose God.  Stephen also suggests that those who do not accept Jesus have made themselves guilty of his murder and finally gets round to answering the original question at the start of chapter 7 by saying he’s not the guilty of breaking the Law but, rather, those who don’t believe in Jesus are in breach of the Law and continually violate it.  He draws a link between the disobedient people in Moses’ time with his accusers and judges now.  Not surprisingly all this this doesn’t impress the council; I imagine calling one’s congregation “stiff necked disobedient murderers” makes the post service social time a little awkward!  This is the background to today’s passage. Stephen clearly did not have a winning exegetical strategy.  So why do we see him as a martyr  – remember martyrs were seen as witnesses.  In today’s passage we do have today Stephen being a better witness to the faith in his death than in his sermon; his vision of Christ in glory is proclaimed, he prayed that his killers would be forgiven showing that his life had changed by the overwhelming all-powerful love of Christ.  He told them what he knew of Jesus. 
 
In his death Stephen quotes some verses from Psalm 31 which we sung earlier.  The Psalm as a whole is a cry to God for help detailing the Psalmist’s despair and a thanksgiving for deliverance.  The part we sung today focuses on the cry for help and guidance sought in the hope of help.  It’s a fitting echo of Stephen’s words in our first reading.  The Psalm, as a whole, is unusual as it bounces between despair and hope – “woe is me” and “you O God will save me.”  The poet speaks of personal pain and suffering in ways which resonate down the ages; pain is coupled with unshakeable faith in God.  This is a prayer asking for God to step into the poet’s life to bring about justice – both for the good and the bad – as God has been absent (or slow to act) and has not rewarded the righteous or punished the wicked; themes we might see in our world now.  The poet has a  stubborn belief that God will do justice and our task is to have faith: “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.” 
 
The writer of 1 Peter was also seeking to reassure and comfort people in a precarious time for Christians in the Empire.  They were no longer able to be seen as a subset of the, legal, Jewish religion and were a disparaged, and sometimes persecuted, group.  Jews had limited legal toleration but were seen as unpatriotic for their refusal, like the Christians, to take part in the imperial cults.  City gods needed to be appeased through worship and sacrifice in case they sent misfortune; Jewish and Christian refusal to take part in this was seen to endanger the common good.  Like the Jews Christians were seen as taking part in strange rituals, being oversexed (!) and engaging in lewd acts.  As Christianity became distinct from Judaism it could no longer seek the legal protection offered to Jews.   
 
That’s the context for the writer’s words proclaiming a new identity as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people”.  Words to sustain Christians in times of despair and despondency.  Although despised by the Roman world they are the people of God.  However, the Jewish people saw, and see, themselves as “a chosen race…a holy nation, God’s own people.”  Early on the Church saw itself as the new Israel – the people who truly believed in Jesus as Messiah; sadly, that meant it also came to see the Jewish people as the ‘old Israel’ who had lost the covenant.  
The author in today’s passage does not muse on what happens to the “old Israel”. 
 
The writer saw Jesus as a living stone, rejected by humans, elect and honoured by God, and the believers as living stones, rejected by their culture, but elect and honoured by God.  This new people of God are called with a purpose – to bear witness “to the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”  These are words to encourage despondent Christians in times of suffering and persecution.  
 
There’s encouragement too in our Gospel reading which is a ‘farewell discourse’ similar to Old Testament and pagan farewell discourses.  There’s a common literary pattern – an announcement of an imminent departure, consolation to followers, directions for the future and a promise of a return.  In today’s reading we have Jesus speaking of the impact of his death and the promise of a final return.  Jesus promised that the bond of love and faith will survive even death.  
 
The Gospel’s editor uses questions to move the themes along. Jesus talks about the place where he is going; Thomas asks the way and we have the famous, and moving, response from Jesus “I am the way, the truth and the life.”  “I Am” being a divine name.  
 
There are three metaphors packed into this short sentence.  ‘The Way’ is full of Biblical imagery most particularly the Exodus from Egypt and the wandering through the wilderness, but we might also think of the journey of Abraham and Sarah from Ur in the Chaldees to Isreal, or the return of the Jewish people from Exile in Babylon.  Given this Easter context we might also think of Jesus’ long journey to Jerusalem, and beyond, where the disciples walked with him to his impending doom, and of our response to follow that Way as we proclaim the Gospel in our lives and loves.  
 
Jesus is also ‘truth’ which we see from the start of John’s Gospel and in various interactions John portrays between Jesus and the religious authorities in his work.  The entire purpose of Jesus’ mission, for John, was to bring ‘life’ to the world – more, ‘eternal life’ that is participation in God’s own life.   Philip’s question moves the passage on with his “show us the way to the Father” not realising Jesus is that way, is God’s own self embodied: ‘whoever has seen me has seen the father’.  What might living as people committed to Jesus as the way, truth and life mean for us?  What might following Jesus’ narrow way mean in an age committed to having anything we want as soon as possible?  What might telling the truth mean in an age of lies and fake news? What might Jesus’ abundant life offer us in an age addicted to death and decay?  The purpose of the passage is about how to live with faith but without Jesus physical presence; an apt theme in the weeks between Easter and Ascension.  The assurance of an ongoing relationship with Jesus, which won’t be ended by death, is one that gives comfort as we face the mystery of life after death; a mystery where Jesus says he is preparing a place for us.  
 
So in Acts we have an inept sermon followed by a moving martyrdom where an unshakeable faith which finds its inspiration in the Psalmist’s determination to believe despite defeat and disaster.  In 2 Peter we have words drawn from Jewish tradition and ideas turned to sustain Christian believers in the face of social rejection and sporadic state persecution.  In our Gospel passage we have Jesus’ words of reassurance that death does not end love and that following him, our way, truth, and life, is the way to find the faith and determination the Psalmist had – even in the face of despondency, defeat, and disaster.  We walk Jesus’ way, believe in his truthful words, and live the abundant life he offers even though at times it seems as if God is far away.  In these days of Easter we ponder faith despite not seeing the Risen Lord for ourselves but holding, in faith, the power and glory of resurrection life.  Let’s pray
 
Risen Lord, we believe in You, our way, truth, and life;
give us the faith to follow even when live is difficult,
the grace to love others even when they wish us harm,
and the hope that you will, in your own good time, 
put everything right.  Amen.
 
Hymn       Come My Way, My Truth, My Life
George Herbert, Public Domain,  Journey Songs OneLicene No. # A-734713
 

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: 
such a way as gives us breath, 
such a truth as ends all strife, 
such a life as killeth death.
 
2 Come, my Light, my Feast, 
my Strength: 
such a light as shows a feast, 
such a feast as mends in length, 
such a strength as makes his guest.
 
3 Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: 
such a joy as none can move, 
such a love as none can part, 
such a heart as joys in love.

 
Affirmation of Faith
 
In an era of confusion with many competing ideologies,
we believe in Jesus Christ, the Way we follow.
 
In an age of lies, alternative facts, and contested realities
we believe in Jesus Christ, God’s truth for the world.
 
In a culture fascinated by death and decay,
we believe in Jesus Christ, our life and our hope. Amen
 
Offertory
 
Happily not all who follow Christ 
are called to witness to his way, truth and life
through the laying down of their lives as martyrs.
All are called, however, to witness through acts of loving kindness,
giving to others of time, talent and treasure,
and that includes giving to the ministry of the Church.
We give in so many ways, 
spending time listening to another’s pain,
helping in practical ways and, of course, 
through our giving of our treasure whether that’s in little envelopes, direct to the bank or cash on the plate.  
So let’s give thanks for all that is given in this church.
 
We bring You are thanks, Eternal Majesty, 
for all that is given in this place.
Let us use it, Enfleshed Word, in Your service,
that through the power of the Energising Spirit,
You will renew the face of the earth.  Amen.
 
Intercessions
 
O Most High,
we live in a time with such pain and confusion!
Like the Psalmist of old we cry to Your for deliverance,
from the nets set to ensnare us and from the brokenness of our world.
We pray for all who live in pain; 
victims of war and terror
those worried where their next meal is coming from
those homeless and hounded, and all in need.
Help us, who proclaim Your way, 
to respond with love, compassion and wisdom.
 
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.
 
O Risen Lord,
we live in a time when truths compete for attention,
when alternative facts fill our airwaves 
and when it’s hard to know who to trust.
We pray for victims of lying lips:
migrants and asylum seekers demonised for simply seeking safety,
victims of abuse and trafficking not believed due to male power,
scientists highlighting we do to the Earth, our wounded mother.
 
Help us, who proclaim Your truth, 
to respond with love, compassion and wisdom.
 
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.
 
Most Holy Spirit,
we live in an age fascinated by death and decay,
which denies abundant life to the poor and excluded,
yet holds up visions of a wealthy life unattainable to almost everyone;
we pray for those denied fullness of life:
prisoners who are offered no chance at rehabilitation
those sentenced to death
and those deliberately kept poor for evil economic purposes.
 
Help us, who proclaim Your life, 
to respond with love, compassion and wisdom.
 
Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer.
 
Lord Jesus, You who are our way, truth, and life, hear us as we pray as you taught saying, Our Father…
 
Holy Communion
 
Eternal One,
before the ages began, You called us into being. 
You guided our ancestors through fire and cloud, 
and, when we lost our way, You sent Your prophets 
to call us back to Your way of justice.
 
Risen Lord Jesus,
we come to this table as Your muddled and stressed disciples, 
often confused by the competing voices of our age.
In a world of dead ends and false security, You are the Way —
the path of loving subversion that leads us out of our comfort zones.
In a time of “fake news” and exploitation, You are the Truth —
the Word made flesh who exposes our greed 
and challenges the structures that keep the poor in ash heaps.
In the midst of climate rage and wintry despair, you are the Life —
the bringer of life from the places of death, restoring our weary souls.
 
Most Holy Spirit,
melt the hardness of our hearts. 
Hallow these ordinary gifts of bread and wine, 
that they may become for us 
the communion with the body and blood of Christ. 
As we eat and drink, lift us into your presence, 
that we may be transformed to see the world as it really is 
and find the courage to change it.
 
For we remember that on the night he was betrayed, 
while they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and 
after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, 
 
‘Take, eat; this is my body.’
 
Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, 
 
‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, 
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 
I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine 
until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’
 
And so, Lord Jesus,
as we eat and drink in Your presence,
as a mother feeds her young,
feed us with Your very self,
that we may be made whole,
to follow Your way, believe Your truth and live Your life.
 
All this we pray through the power of the Holy Spirit,
to the glory of God’s Eternal Name, 
for ever and ever, Amen.  
The body and blood of Christ, given for you!
 
Music for Communion    I Come With Joy To Meet The Lord
Brian Wren OneLicence  No. # A-734713
sung by the choir of Christ Episcopal Church, Poughkeepsie
 
Post Communion Prayer
 
Loving God, you have fed us with the Bread of Life 
and given us a foretaste of your eternal banquet. 
Send us out now – 
hands strengthened for service and feet ready to follow – 
to be a living witness to your truth and freedom 
in an everyday world.  Amen.
 
Hymn       I Know That My Redeemer Lives, Glory Hallelujah
Samuel Medley 1775 Public Domain sung at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and used with their kind permission.
 
I know that my Redeemer lives, glory, hallelujah!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives, glory, hallelujah!
 
Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground, glory, hallelujah!
The dead’s alive and the lost is found, glory, hallelujah!
 
2 He lives, triumphant from the grave, glory, hallelujah!
he lives, eternally to save! Glory, hallelujah!
 
3 He lives to crush the fiends of hell, glory, hallelujah!
He lives and doth within me dwell, glory, hallelujah!
 
Blessing
 
Lord Jesus Christ, as we go,
do not let us stray from Your path, for You are the Way.
Lord Jesus Christ, as we go,
do not let us distrust Your promises, for you are the truth.
Lord Jesus Christ, as we go,
do not let us rest in anything other than you, for you are our life.
Bless us, good Lord, 
that our lives may reflect Your life,
our truths be always Your truth,
and our way be always Yours.  Amen.

Selected verses from ​Judges 15:1 – 8, 18-20; 16: 1-3 
 
After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a kid. He said, ‘I want to go into my wife’s room.’ But her father would not allow him to go in.  Her father said, ‘I was sure that you had rejected her; so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister prettier than she? Why not take her instead?’  Samson said to them, ‘This time, when I do mischief to the Philistines, I will be without blame.’  So Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took some torches; and he turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.  When he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.  Then the Philistines asked, ‘Who has done this?’ And they said, ‘Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken Samson’s wife and given her to his companion.’ So the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father. Samson said to them, ‘If this is what you do, I swear I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you.’ He struck them down hip and thigh with great slaughter; and he went down and lived in the cleft of the rock of Etam…By then he was very thirsty, and he called on the Lord, saying, ‘You have granted this great victory by the hand of your servant. Am I now to die of thirst, and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?’ So God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came from it. When he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore it was named En-hakkore, which is at Lehi to this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years…Once Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went in to her.  The Gazites were told, ‘Samson has come here.’ So they encircled the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night, thinking, ‘Let us wait until the light of the morning; then we will kill him.’  But Samson lay only until midnight. Then at midnight he rose up, took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.
 
Reflection
 
More unedifying stories about Samson.  He returns to Timnah to reclaim his ‘wife’.  Her father says he’s given her in marriage elsewhere and instead offers him her prettier, younger, sister(!!). Samson reacts by going on a rampage, cruelly abusing animals in the process, destroying the entire Philistine harvest.  The Philistines vent their fury against the hapless woman and her father at the centre of this horrific folktale, burning them to death.  Samson responds in revenge, slaughtering many Philistines.  
 
This isn’t about justice; its barbarism at its worst, showing total disregard for animals, people and the environment.  There is no suggestion that this behaviour aligns with God’s plan to deliver Israel from oppression and bring rest to the land.
 
Verses 9-17 (omitted from our reading) escalate events involving Judah, whose attempts to restrain Samson and hand him over to the Philistines (submitting to their oppressors) result in more carnage.  Samson again displays divinely inspired physical strength to break free and the outcome is interpreted to explain the name of a geographical feature.
 
For the first time (v.18) Samson calls on God; but only to demand that God satisfies his thirst.  This is another place-naming story that concludes by suggesting this period of chaos has lasted 20 years.
 
Chapter 16 begins a new saga of Samson and a prostitute in Gaza, another Philistine city, whose citizens plan to kill him at daybreak, the time they expect him to leave.  He outwits then by leaving at midnight; but the story focuses on the extraordinary physical power Samson displays in destroying and carrying away the entire city-gate structure.  
 
Thus far all the stories of Samson have suggested a mythic, feral, giant of a man, akin to the Greek hero, Hercules, not a nazirite devoted to God.  They’re seldom read in churches; but are part of scriptural tradition.  Does Samson prompt us to acknowledge our baser nature, or personify the things we fear?  Many times Jesus said ‘Do not be afraid’; so let’s humbly put our trust in God.
 
Prayer
 
Transcendent God, 
we believe that you love us and desire to save us 
from ourselves and from our fears.  
Save us from turning mythic, or real-life, hell-raisers 
into heroic figures in our story-telling.
 
Help us increase our trust in you 
and focus on telling your story 
of justice, love and peace, as revealed in Jesus Christ, 
who is truly able to deliver all your people 
from sin and evil. Amen.

Judges 14 
 
Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman. Then he came up, and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a Philistine woman at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.’ But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among your kin, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, because she pleases me.’  His father and mother did not know that this was from the Lord; for he was seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
 
Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When he came to the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion roared at him. The spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one might tear apart a kid. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson.  After a while he returned to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.  He scraped it out into his hands, and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.
 
His father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there as the young men were accustomed to do. When the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. Samson said to them, ‘Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments. But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.’ So they said to him, ‘Ask your riddle; let us hear it.’ He said to them,
 
‘Out of the eater came something to eat.
Out of the strong came something sweet.’
 
But for three days they could not explain the riddle.
 
On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, ‘Coax your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?’ So Samson’s wife wept before him, saying, ‘You hate me; you do not really love me. You have asked a riddle of my people, but you have not explained it to me.’ He said to her, ‘Look, I have not told my father or my mother. Why should I tell you?’ She wept before him for the seven days that their feast lasted; and because she nagged him, on the seventh day he told her. Then she explained the riddle to her people. The men of the town said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,
 
‘What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?’
 
And he said to them,
 
‘If you had not ploughed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.’
 
Then the spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and he went down to Ashkelon. He killed thirty men of the town, took their spoil, and gave the festal garments to those who had explained the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.
 
Reflection
 
We don’t get a flattering picture of Samson from this story!  He shows his parents scant honour (vv.2, 3, 6, 9).  His desire for a Philistine wife ends badly for her and all caught up in the festal marriage celebrations that are prematurely aborted.  He kills 30 men from a neighbouring Philistine town so that he can use their garments to fulfil the promise he made (vv.13,19).  He returns home an angry young man, all because the Philistines outwitted him by solving his riddle (vv.12-14).  He is presented as a self-centred trickster.
 
His visit to the vineyards of Timnah (v.5) and his return there, scraping honey from the lion’s carcass (vv.5-6), raise questions as to whether he is adhering strictly to the conditions of being a nazirite.  The ‘spirit of the Lord’ rushes on Samson twice (vv.6, 19); but solely to equip him with physical strength.  There is no sense of divine guidance being bestowed on Samson, nor any reference to God’s purposes being fulfilled, beyond the narrator’s comment that God was prompting Samson to adopt a pretext to act against the Philistines (v.4).
 
No-one interacts with God in this story.  It is a tale of hot-headed young men, partying and trying to outdo one another; of a young woman, threatened by her own people (v.15), using guile to persuade Samson to reveal the riddle’s answer and then being maligned and deserted by him (vv.18, 20).  
 
It’s a picture of a hedonistic, amoral, society; but it also makes me think about communities today where gang culture thrives, seemingly beyond the control of ordinary, decent, folk.  In such contexts relationships between parents/children often break down; and a lack of respect for others prevails.
 
Our challenge as God’s people, is to find ways to bring God into the forefront of communal life – not as the source of physical might, but as the Almighty who’s present among us as a loving, forgiving God, equipping us to share in the divine work of re-creating a just and peaceful world.
 
Prayer
 
God, most of us don’t know where to start 
when it comes to sharing the good news of Jesus 
in places where gang culture prevails, 
or drug misuse and knife crime 
cause family breakdown and increase community despair.
 
We pray that you will raise up and equip people 
to serve you in such contexts.  
Inspire us all to be faithful in prayer 
and practical support for them, 
as they strive to fulfil your mission of love 
and lead people to you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Judges 13:2 – 25
 
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
 
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.’ Then the woman came and told her husband, ‘A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name;  but he said to me, “You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.”’
 
Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, ‘O Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born.’ God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, ‘The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.’ Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the man and said to him, ‘Are you the man who spoke to this woman?’ And he said, ‘I am.’ Then Manoah said, ‘Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s rule of life; what is he to do?’ The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.’
 
Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you.’  The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt-offering, then offer it to the Lord.’ (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that we may honour you when your words come true?’  But the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful.’
 
So Manoah took the kid with the grain-offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders.  When the flame went up towards heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, for we have seen God.’ But his wife said to him, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt-offering and a grain-offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.’
 
The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him. The spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
 
Reflection
 
This story begins like a deliverer story in which the Philistines are the oppressors and ends with the birth of Samson, whose exploits fill chapters 14-16 but the main focus here is on his father, Manoah, and his unnamed mother, from the tribe of Dan.
 
Manoah is portrayed as a rather stupid man, who fails to recognise God’s presence in the ‘man’ who visits them; and demonstrates a lack of religious awareness throughout the story.  His wife, however, is presented in the tradition of Sarah (Genesis 18), as a barren wife to whom God appears to promise a son.  She immediately appreciates the divine nature of her visitor; but when she reports the encounter to her husband, she adds a reference to the death of their, as yet, unborn son (vv.5,7).  A nazirite vow (see Numbers 6:1-8) is usually entered into by the individual concerned as a temporary commitment.  Here it’s decreed by God to apply to Samson from birth; but the conditions about eating and drinking are also imposed on his mother.  The significance of nazirite status will unfold in the whole Samson narrative.
 
Manoah isn’t satisfied with his wife’s report and asks God to send the man again, to both of them; but the angelic figure appears again only to the woman.  She fetches her husband who asks the ‘man’ to repeat his instructions; but is effectively told ‘support your wife in responding faithfully – she knows what to do’.  Manoah tries again to take control of the situation and still doesn’t understand that it’s a divine encounter until the angel disappears in the flame on the altar (as in 6:21).
 
Even then it’s his wife who has to correct his understanding of what’s happened – she’s the one who displays religious insight at every point in the story; and she gently corrects her husband when he makes foolish statements.
 
At one level this story mocks patriarchy; but it challenges us all to be expectant that God might appear in unconventional ways.
 
Prayer
 
Amazing God, 
break through the conventions of church and society 
by which we live, especially when 
they prevent us from seeing or hearing you though others.  
 
Whenever we discern your guidance, 
help us to be gentle with those who are slower to grasp 
what you are saying or where you are leading us as your people today.  
 
Help us always to build one another up in faith, 
that together we might fulfil your purposes. Amen.

Judges 10:1-5 and 12:7-15 
 
After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim, rose to deliver Israel.  He judged Israel for twenty-three years. Then he died, and was buried at Shamir. After him came Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel for twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead, and are called Havvoth-jair to this day.  Jair died, and was buried in Kamon….Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead. After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.  He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty young women from outside for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years. Then Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem. After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel for ten years. Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.  He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys; he judged Israel for eight years.  Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
 
Reflection
 
Today we consider six brief accounts about individuals known as the ‘minor’ judges.  Jephthah’s inclusion (12:7) is surprising since we have just read an extensive narrative about him; whereas we are given minimal information about the others.  This is presented in a formulaic style, similar to the genealogical material in Genesis 5 and that in ancient king lists (e.g. 1 Kgs 14:31; 15:8, 24-25, 33-34; 16:25-28).
 
The accounts purport to be sequential but their geographical diversity suggests otherwise.  Tola, from Issachar, is linked with Shamir (perhaps = Samaria) in Ephraim.  Jair is from Gilead on the opposite side of the Jordan; likewise Jephthah.  Ibzan from Bethlehem in Judah; Elon from Zebulun in the Galilee region; and finally Abdon from Pirathon, in mid Ephraim where Amalekites also resided.
 
These men are portrayed as clan chieftains exercising leadership in local areas; but reference to God is absent from these stories.  No oppression or enemy from whom Israel needs deliverance is mentioned.  The only event of interest that is recorded is intermarriage between clans arranged by Ibzan  Status is measured in terms of the number of offspring and donkeys each judge possessed, or in Jair’s case towns he controlled, with thirty and forty being symbolic numbers; and the length of their rule ranges from 23 years down to 6.  They all appear to have died peacefully in their home town.
 
In the book of Judges these stories function as brief interludes of calm between the downward spiral of deliverer stories which depict a less and less godly society and increasing discord between tribes and nations.
 
Periods of calm are always welcome after times of conflict or chaos in life; but unless we use them in constructive ways, as opportunities to draw closer to God, to seek God’s guidance about the steps to take into the future, then history may consign them to a few insignificant words on a page, like these stories of the minor judges.
 
Prayer
 
Eternal God, conflict and chaos 
are daily realities for many around the globe; 
but we thank you that we live 
in relatively calm times in this land.
 
We thank you for leaders in local communities 
and pray that they may be open 
to your Spirit’s guidance in all they seek to accomplish.
 
Help us to keep Christ at the centre of our living 
and use this age to make a significant difference 
for good to bring nearer your kingdom.  Amen 

Judges 12:1-6 
 
The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!’ Jephthah said to them, ‘My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand.  When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?’  Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, ‘You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites—in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.’  Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, ‘Let me go over’, the men of Gilead would say to him, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ When he said, ‘No’,  they said to him, ‘Then say Shibboleth’, and he said, ‘Sibboleth’, for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.
 
Reflection
 
The story of Jephthah ends in another conflict, without mention of the land having rest.  The Ephraimites are angry that Jephthah didn’t invite them to join his fight against the Ammonites; he accuses them of failing to assist when asked to help.  Out of nowhere a difference of opinion about who said or did what has escalated out of proportion and sub-tribes become separate factions.
 
Nowadays ‘the king’s English’ or ‘received pronunciation’ has less significance for job-seekers, or would-be media broadcasters, than previously; but the way a person speaks still says a great deal about them.  In a light-hearted sense, how someone says ‘bath’ might lead to comments about ‘northerners’, or being from the ‘home counties’; but someone with a speech impediment can still be subject to cruel taunts in some quarters.
 
No matter how open and accepting we are of different dialects, accents, ways of speaking, speech remains an indicator about a person’s origins, and the environmental influences they’ve absorbed through life.
 
This was equally true among tribal groups in the ancient past.  The difference between Shibboleth and Sibboleth depends on the opening letter (in Hebrew shin or samek) but it means ‘a flowing stream’ in both variants.  We are familiar with variant spellings in American English (e.g. -ize instead of -ise) where the sound is the same; but we also know that many non-native English speakers struggle to pronounce ‘th’ and confuse ‘v’ and ‘w’ sounds.  Evidently the Ephraimites pronounced some words in a distinctive way to those from Gilead; and the linguistic test of those wanting to cross over the ford, led to their mass slaughter!
 
The whole story of Jephthah is intended to show us what can happen when society loses sight of God; when civil structures break down; when leaders become self-serving; when the richness of human diversity becomes something to be feared and eradicated.  Sadly, even today, this kind of story might be reported at a national or local level – will we ever learn?
 
Prayer
 
Holy God, 
we know that your love is all-inclusive, 
reaching out to invite humanity 
into fellowship with you and with one another.
 
Yet our world is too eager to focus 
on differences between people; 
and too ready to create divisions in society 
leading to fear and hatred.  
We acknowledge that political leaders 
often stoke these negative feelings.  
Forgive us all for our complicity in the brokenness of society.
 
Inspire us as Church to witness 
to a loving, all-embracing, way of living 
that offers real hope to the world.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 ​Judges 11:29-40

Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt-offering.’  So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand. He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighbourhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her.  When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’  She said to him, ‘My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.’  And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.’  ‘Go,’ he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.  At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that  for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Reflection

Here we find Jephthah opening his mouth again.  This time, not as a peacemaker but to make a rash vow.  He’s been equipped with the divine spirit; but showing a lack of faith he bargains with God about the coming conflict with the Ammonites, as if the outcome is in doubt.  He promises to sacrifice as a burnt offering to God whomever comes out to greet him if he returns as victor.

The story subsequently reveals that his daughter was his only child.  Given the Old Testament tradition that women led victory celebrations with singing and dancing (e.g. Miriam, Exod.15:20-21, Deborah, Judg.5:1), the first person to come out of his house would most probably be his daughter!

When she welcomes him home, he immediately blames her for causing him trouble because of what he has vowed. She confronts him with the consequences of making a vow to God – it cannot be retracted – and submits, effectively offering herself in self-sacrifice.  It is worth noting that unlike Isaac, Jacob’s son, (Genesis 22) she isn’t redeemed with a ram – she goes faithfully to death (v.39), as did God’s son, Jesus.

This abhorrent story reminds us that there was a time when human sacrifice was practised (2 Kings 21:6; 23:10).  

Verses 35 and 36 emphasise ‘opening one’s mouth’.  Do we ever make promises rashly without thinking through what the consequences might be, or who might have to bear the weight of them?  Do we ever try to wriggle out of responsibility, when we realise the negative consequences, by transferring the blame for a situation onto someone else?  Do we ever make vows (promises) lightly, without thinking whether we will be able to keep them?

Jephthah opened his mouth once too often when he took the Lord’s name in vain; and in so doing brought his blood line to an end.

This is a cautionary tale.  We should think carefully before making promises, whether in God’s name or not; and then we should keep them.

Prayer

Gracious God,
forgive me when I speak without thinking and end up saying hurtful things I regret.  
Forgive me when I fail to keep my word and let someone down.
Forgive me if I ever take your name in vain.
 
Renew me by your Spirit that I may open my mouth to proclaim your good news;
to express words of comfort and hope;
to further your purposes of justice and peace; in Jesus’ name, Amen

Introduction
 
Hello, my name is Nicola Furley-Smith and I am the Deputy General Secretary for Ministries.  Our service today comes from Purley United Reformed Church.
 
Call to Worship
 
Come and worship the living God, whose goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.  Come and worship the living God who gathers us to his side, as a shepherd gently gathers in the flock. In the name of Jesus: come and worship, for all are welcome here!
 
Hymn       The King of Love, my Shepherd Is
Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877) Public Domain sung by the 7pm Choir of St. Francis de Sales Church in Ajax, Ontario, Canada and used with their kind permission
 

The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness fails me never;
I nothing lack if I am His
and He is mine for ever.
 
2 Where streams of 
living water flow
to rest my soul He leads me,
and where the 
verdant pastures grow
with heavenly food He feeds me.
 
3 Perverse and foolish 
I have strayed,
and yet, in love, He sought me,
and on His shoulder gently laid,
and home, rejoicing, brought me.
 
4 In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
with You, dear Lord, beside me;
Your rod and staff my comfort still,
Your cross before to guide me.
 
5 You spread a table in my sight;
Your saving grace bestowing;
and O what joy 
and true delight
from Your pure chalice flowing!
 
6 And so through all 
my length of days
Your goodness fails me never:
Good Shepherd, may 
I sing your praise
within Your house for ever.
 

I will sing the wondrous story
of the Christ who died for me.
How he left the realms of glory
for the Cross on Calvary:
 
Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story
of the Christ who died for me,
sing it with his saints in glory,
gathered by the crystal sea.
 
2 I was lost; but Jesus found me,
found the sheep that went astray,
raised me up, and gently led me
back into the narrow way:
 
3 He will keep me till the river
rolls its waters at my feet;
then he’ll bear me safely over,
where the loved ones I shall meet:

Blessing
 
Go now in the peace of the Shepherd:
gathered in his love, guided by his voice, guarded by his grace.
May Christ, the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls,
lead you into abundant life, and may the blessing of God Almighty
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be amongst us and remain with us
this day and for evermore. Amen.

​Judges 11:1-28 

Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead was the father of Jephthah.  Gilead’s wife also bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him, ‘You shall not inherit anything in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman.’  Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Outlaws collected around Jephthah and went raiding with him. After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. They said to Jephthah, ‘Come and be our commander, so that we may fight with the Ammonites.’  But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father’s house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?’  The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘Nevertheless, we have now turned back to you, so that you may go with us and fight with the Ammonites, and become head over us, over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’  Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘If you bring me home again to fight with the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.’ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘The Lord will be witness between us; we will surely do as you say.’ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah. Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, ‘What is there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?’ The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, ‘Because Israel, on coming from Egypt, took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.’ Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites  and said to him: ‘Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea[a] and came to Kadesh.  Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Let us pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. Then they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, arrived on the eastern side of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Let us pass through your land to our country.” But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.  So now the Lord, the God of Israel, has conquered the Amorites for the benefit of his people Israel. Do you intend to take their place? Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And should we not be the ones to possess everything that the Lord our God has conquered for our benefit? Now are you any better than King Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? It is not I who have sinned against you, but you are the one who does me wrong by making war on me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today for the Israelites or for the Ammonites.’ But the king of the Ammonites did not heed the message that Jephthah sent him.

Reflection

Jephthah’s name derives from the verb ‘he opens’ and in today’s and Monday’s reflections we discover its significance in two different ways. His parentage is presented as being somewhat obscure – ‘Gilead’ implies someone from the town, rather than an identifiable individual; and he is rejected by the townsfolk, becoming an outlaw with a reputation as a warrior.

When the Ammonites attack, the Israelites ask Jephthah to return and lead their troops.  He rightly points out that they’re the ones who drove him out!  They respond by indicating that now they need him; and offer to make him head over the whole community, if he’ll do it.

Jephthah is the one who brings God into the conversation, saying he’ll accept their offer if God gives him victory over the Ammonites.  The Gileadites don’t wait for this outcome – they make him head straightaway.

In verses 12-28 we encounter Jephthah trying a diplomatic approach to resolving the conflict – the ‘warrior’ doesn’t immediately go to war.  He asks the Ammonite king what the problem is; and on hearing his position, Jephthah responds with a lengthy explanation of how the situation appears from Israel’s perspective.  He refers to Chemosh (the Ammonite god) and Israel’s God as both acting on behalf of their respective people during the area’s past history.  He suggests that God be asked to resolve the dispute between the two peoples now; but the Ammonite king rejects Jephthah’s attempt to make peace through dialogue and negotiation.

In this passage Jephthah opens his mouth as a peacemaker.  He’s presented as a faithful man of God who is prepared to speak about God to his own society and a foreign king.  He knows what God has done in the past and is ready to tell the story; and he’s also respectful of the Ammonite’s own faith traditions.

In this passage of text Jephthah is a reminder that we should be wary of prejudging any whom our society rejects; and he sets us a good example.

Prayer

God of all, we know you are impartial 
and that you call individuals 
from every section of society to fulfil your purposes.

Forgive us when we underestimate 
the insights and abilities of those 
whom our world pushes to the sidelines as ‘unacceptable’.  
Help us to listen to their wisdom and faith, 
born out of experience of your love.

Give us the confidence to speak more openly of you 
in all our conversations and inspire us to be peacemakers.  
In the name of Christ, Amen.

​Judges 10: 6-18   

The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, worshipping the Baals and the Astartes, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. Thus they abandoned the Lord, and did not worship him. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites,  and they crushed and oppressed the Israelites that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.  The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was greatly distressed. So the Israelites cried to the Lord, saying, ‘We have sinned against you, because we have abandoned our God and have worshipped the Baals.’ And the Lord said to the Israelites, ‘Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines?  The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you; and you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.  Yet you have abandoned me and worshipped other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.’  And the Israelites said to the Lord, ‘We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you; but deliver us this day!’  So they put away the foreign gods from among them and worshipped the Lord; and he could no longer bear to see Israel suffer. Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead; and the Israelites came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. The commanders of the people of Gilead said to one another, ‘Who will begin the fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’

Reflection

This passage begins like a standard deliverer story but it serves as an introduction (v.7) to both the story of Jephthah and the Ammonites (10:8-12:6); and the stories of Samson and the Philistines (14:1-16:31).   Ammon, lying east of the Jordan alongside the tribal region of Gad, is oppressing Gilead one of the Israelite towns.

When Israel repents of their apostasy and cries out to God (v.10), God effectively responds ‘Enough is enough! Go and ask the gods you’ve been serving to deliver you from your oppressors.’  However, God’s compassion overrules divine anger when the people submit to God’s will, whether that results in deliverance or judgment; and seem sincere in their repentance.

The Ammonites gather and besiege Gilead.  The Israelites gather at the neighbouring town of Mizpah.  Will there be a stand-off?  It is sad to read that it’s God’s people in Gilead who make the decision to initiate a battle – but who should lead them?  It is also sad to read the presumption that such a military commander should also be regarded as the supreme leader over the whole community.

The third sad point to note is that no-one thinks it necessary to involve God in their planning, their decision making, their discernment of someone with skills to lead.  No-one suggests turning to God in prayer or worship.  They may have turned away from other gods; but there is little evidence that they have actually turned to the true God, for guidance, for deliverance, or for anything at all.

It’s easy to be critical of God’s people of old, to claim that because we have learned from Jesus and have the Holy Spirit to guide us, we wouldn’t make the mistakes they did – time and again.  But I fear that we’re self-delusional and may be just as guilty of pushing God to the side-lines and only paying lip service to God in some of our worship in times of stress.

Honest self-examination is just as necessary after Easter as during Lent!  

Prayer

Compassionate God, 
thank you for never giving up on us.  
Give us the honesty to recognise ourselves 
in the ancient stories of scripture; 
and save us from our headstrong tendencies.

Forgive us when we project our ideas 
of how to respond to oppression 
onto you and depict you as violent.

Remind us of your way of suffering love
that leads through the cross to victory over sin and evil 
and to life for the world.  
In Jesus’ name, Amen.