St Matthew 15: 1 – 20

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,  “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?  For God said, ‘Honour your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’  they are not to ‘honour their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 
“‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”

Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 

He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.  Leave them; they are blind guides.  If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 

Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”  

“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?  But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

Reflection

The Pharisees were speaking of ritual washing; the disciples respected this purity law and pointed out to Jesus that he had offended the Pharisees. Jesus replied by pointing out that the Pharisees themselves broke their laws by failing to take care of their own parents following made-up human rules.

We have rules and laws to help create an ordered society and promote peace and harmony. But, as Jesus points out, some rules do not serve the people or are not relevant to every situation.  Some rules become outdated or obsolete.  Some rules are unjust, for example, the practice that prevented a woman from working in a professional job when she married. Some rules just don’t make sense.

The disciples were worried that Jesus had upset the Pharisees who they had respect for and wished to honour. But it was Jesus’ way to repeatedly question the laws that the Pharisees taught. There are many examples of his questioning the purity laws concerning the sick, the Gentiles, and the rules of the Sabbath by performing healings, and now with ritual washing.  More than challenging the law, Jesus told the disciples to look deeper past the facade of authority and power and examine the intent of the words being used.  Jesus asked ‘Are the words spoken and the rules made with love, understanding and concern for others or are they spoken and composed with selfishness and a lust for power over others?’ The words we speak, whoever we are, from the most powerful lawmaker to the humblest person, reveal what sort of person we are.

Jesus saw through the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The question he leaves us is ‘ Do we also create a facade to hide behind so as not to reveal who we really are or our intentions?’

Prayer

Loving God 
we know how we want to be 
but sometimes it is so difficult.
We create all sorts of facades to hide behind.
We believe we are right 
and fail to see ourselves as others see us
Let us re-examine our hearts and minds today, 
be honest with ourselves, 
and try once more to see through all the rules 
and traditions that we create 
and become better followers of Jesus.
Amen

Wednesday, 21 January 2026. 

St Matthew 14: 22 – 36

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.  Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Reflection

Peter climbed out of the boat onto the water.  He left the relative safety of the vessel and the company and support of his colleagues and stepped out into the waves.  That doesn’t seem like the best idea in the world.  If you have ever travelled by ferry or had a cruising holiday you will realise that leaving the comfort and protection of a ship in full sail is an action of last resort especially if the sea is rough.  But then perhaps staying aboard didn’t seem a particularly attractive option to Peter.  After all, there was a storm blowing and maybe the boat was at risk of capsizing or sinking. Also his friends were panicking and behaving like headless chickens.  

So, was Peter brave, or was he foolish?  Or was it a rational decision made when it was clear that there was a better alternative to simply staying put?

Sometimes we have to get out of the boat.  Sometimes we have to travel a different way.  Sometimes doing the same old same old with the same old folk just isn’t going to cut it.  Sometimes we have to be decisive and take a risk and step out into the unknown  … in faith.  

Peter wasn’t being entirely reckless.  He had heard Jesus call and started to walk towards him.  But he was distracted by the wind, took his eyes off Jesus and stopped walking.  And that’s when he got into trouble. 

Sometimes when Jesus calls us, we have to take an unorthodox route.  The way may not be easy but the trick is to focus on Him and to keep walking steadily towards Him in faith.  
“Fear not.” Those words from Jesus have echoed down the ages.

Prayer

Lord Jesus
help me avoid being distracted by the storms around me
and keep my eyes focussed on you.
Give me courage when you call me to be willing to travel a different
path
and the faith to reach out to your guiding hand.

Amen

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said.  And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.  The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Reflection

Following the death of John the Baptist, Jesus left Herod’s jurisdiction and went by boat to a solitary place.  But crowds were already there when he landed;  Jesus “had compassion on them and healed their sick”.  Later, His disciples were concerned for the physical welfare of the people, and they were told that they were to feed everyone.  Jesus miraculously multiplied the tiny quantity of food available so that everyone was well fed, and there were twelve baskets of leftovers.  Jesus used the disciples and the boy to bless others, which should remind us that God uses us to bless others as well. 

Our fellowship, like many others, has a café open to all, through which we also work with rough sleepers and others in need, particularly those with limited access to food and other necessities.

Matthew, Mark and Luke do not record any reaction from the crowd to this miracle of feeding so many with so little (John says they recognised it as a sign and wanted to make Jesus king).  The lack of reaction seems odd to me – after all, if we experienced such a miracle, wouldn’t we tell everyone about it?

 Or would we?  I think back twenty years, to when I was a leader with a group of unchurched 14-16 year olds.  We met on the church premises;  they would arrive straight from school and stay for several hours, so we leaders would prepare an evening meal.  We rarely knew in advance how many would come, but noticed that there was always the right amount of food;  never leftovers (not with hungry teens!), but always enough so that we “all ate and were satisfied”.  I still have no rational explanation for how it was possible to serve from a casserole more food than was put into it.

 And yet even my closest friends reading this will be surprised, because I have told so few people.

Prayer

Loving God
thank You for your generous provision for us, 
for our “daily bread”. 
Thank You for those people and organisations 
who seek to feed the hungry,
and to help the poor to develop the means to produce food. 
We pray for those who are hungry today, 
asking that You will stir up Your people to feed all who are in need.
May this be for Your glory. 

(Tomb Stone in St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall (C) Andy Braunston)

Psalm 146

ALLELUIA!
 
My soul, give praise to the Lord;
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live.
 
Put no trust in rulers,
in mortals in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to clay
and their plans that day come to nothing.
 
Happy are those who are helped by Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the Lord our God,
who alone made heaven and earth,
the seas and all they contain.
 
It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is the Lord who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,
 
the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
 
It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.

The Psalms: The Grail Translation, Inclusive Language Version, Collins, 2009.

Psalm 116 
 
Alleluia
 
I love the Lord for he has heard
the cry of my appeal;
for he turned his ear to me
in the day when I called him.
 
They surrounded me, the snares of death,
with the anguish of the tomb;
they caught me, sorrow and distress.
I called on the Lord’s name.
 
O Lord, my God, deliver me!
 
How gracious is the Lord, and just;
our God has compassion.
The Lord protects the simple hearts;
I was helpless so he saved me.
 
Turn back, my soul, to your rest
for the Lord has been good;
he has kept my soul from death,
(my eyes from tears)
and my feet from stumbling.
 
I will walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living.
 
I trusted, even when I said:
“I am sorely afflicted,”
and when I said in my alarm:
“There is no one I can trust.”
 
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
 
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
 
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
 
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
 
Reflection
 
The Psalm begins with a declaration of love for the Lord. The poet is giving thanks to God, for responding to prayer. These opening lines give the Psalm its classification as an ‘Individual Thanksgiving’.
 
The Psalm moves from thanksgiving into lament and deliverance. The poet shares their troubles, they suffer anguish, sorrow and distress. The poet is at death’s door. The poet calls upon God and is delivered. The poet speaks of a gracious, just, compassionate protecting God, and at the heart of the Psalm we read: ‘I was helpless so he saved me’.
 
The Psalm reiterates how God has protected the poet from death, and now in the Lord’s presence they walk in the land of the living.
 
The poet may have gone through a time of anguish, there may be no one that they can trust, but they can see things in the new light, and they can raise the cup of salvation to the Lord’s name. The cup of salvation is a metaphor for thanksgiving and seems to refer to a drink offering of wine in worship.
 
The vows of thanksgiving will be fulfilled in presence of the Temple worshippers.
 
The psalm is a thanksgiving of an individual for God’s deliverance from a time of anguish and it invites the community of worshippers to enter into this experience.
 
Psalm 116 is one of a group of psalms (Psalms 113-118) known as the ‘Egyptian Hallel’ related to the term Hallelujah. The Hallel psalms are used at the Passover, linked with deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
 
In Christian Worship, Psalm 116 is perhaps best known for its use on Maundy Thursday where it draws upon the idea of the ‘cup of salvation’.
 
Psalm 116 is readily used in communal worship, but it also provides a prayer for someone who seeks to thank God, for the way God has helped through deeply troubled times. We love God, and God loves us, supporting us through troubled times.
 
 Prayer
 
Gracious God,
we thank you for the Psalmists,
who provide words,
to draw us in,
and inspire our worship.
 
Who provide words,
that we can use in our own prayers.
 
We thank you,
that like the Psalmist,
we may call upon your name,
and in times of helplessness,
find rescue.
Amen

St Matthew 13: 53 – 58
 
When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.  Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.  “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?  Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”  And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town and in his own home.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
 
Reflection
 
Jesus, the carpenter’s boy
 
How often do we look at people in positions of power and think: “Well, they must know what they’re doing — after all, they’re in charge for a reason”?
 
Jesus’ authority did not rest on the usual foundations of power. He wasn’t trained in rabbinic schools, nor sanctioned by Temple authorities, nor born into elite circles. He’s the son of Mary, the carpenter’s boy, who comes from the countryside. I guess today we would call him working class.  He is dismissed by the people who supposedly know him because he comes from the margins of his own community. Think of those in power today: CEOs of multinationals, kings, politicians. The vast majority of the time the elite come from the elite. Outsiders are often silenced or ignored. Jesus disrupts this.
 
The people of Nazareth could only see Jesus as ‘the carpenter’s son.’ How on earth could God’s liberating reign be announced through someone poor and ordinary? Yet God often works through those on the margins. The upside-down kingdom that we work towards is about flipping the domination of authorities – maybe it’s about supporting Palestine Action, or the flotillas trying to break the siege of Gaza. 
 
And Jesus didn’t do many deeds of power there – is this a weakness, or a refusal? The Kingdom cannot be coerced, forced through with violence, manipulation or oppression that we see in Christian Nationalism. It emerges through openness. How often is the church quick to dismiss outsider radical voices? How often do we hear the preacher with a middle-class voice and think, “they must know what they are talking about”? 
 
Jesus came from the margins to show us the promise of God’s reign. Let’s not ignore those who offer much but are rarely heard.
 
Prayer
 
God of the margins,
You choose the ordinary to speak your truth.
Forgive us when we trust the powerful and ignore the prophets in our midst.
Open our ears to voices long silenced,
our eyes to your kingdom breaking in where we least expect it,
and our hearts to stand in solidarity with the oppressed.
Through Jesus, the carpenter’s son, our Liberator.
Amen.

St Matthew 13: 47 – 52
 
“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.  When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked. “Yes,” they replied. He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
 
Reflection

This dreadful warning follows such beautiful verses.  Yesterday we heard how knowledge of God surpasses all other attainments.  It is like the prize of a choice pearl or hidden treasure in a field.  To seek this richest of blessings is our life’s work.

Now comes the image of an enormous fishing net*, sweeping through the depths.  It picks up all manner of fish.  Some are already rotten, every bit as bad as inedible fruit.

Newly caught fish putrid?!  Surely a fisherman would toss rejects into a bin, or return them to the lake.  But no.  Matthew describes their fate with terrible finality.  God’s angels know what to do next. Jesus warns of what will happen to those opposing God.

The final sorting of ‘good’ from ‘bad’ is a dominant theme in Christian faith.  This reassures some.  Yet today’s passage has chilling undertones.

Why?  Rather too often fervent people have cited such gospel texts, confident that they alone have found the one true path.  They are sure that any variation is seriously wrong, even deserving of eternal punishment.  In an instant my security in God is pricked with stinging anxiety.  A fellow human is fixated on who might be on the dark side.  They are even having a go at me!  
Teaching the stark choice between good and evil so easily slips into toxic spiritual abuse.

Elsewhere in the New Testament we hear that perfect love casts out all fear.

God is holy, sovereign, the source of all wisdom, love and beauty, one who invites every creature into a wonderful symphony. 

Whatever drowns the music, whatever stinks, God will deal with.

All I need day by day is to ask God to search my soul, to open me as a channel of his very own Peace, Love, Light and Hope.  That is sufficient.

*This imagery is also found in Jeremiah 16:16, Habakkuk 1:14-15 and in Qumran thanksgiving hymn 1QH13, see Vermes, Geza (2003), The authentic gospel of Jesus, p. 2-3, penguin books.
 

Prayer
 
Holy One, we wait in quietness.
We open ourselves to your presence.
May we rest in the assurance that your judgement is just.
Bring us into clear knowledge of your loving purposes,
rid us of anxiety and keep our integrity deep.
Grant us lightness, grace and gentle intentionality
as we draw others towards your life-giving Way.
Yours be the glory.  Amen

St Matthew 13: 44 – 46
 
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
 
Reflection
I can imagine the excitement and joy of detectoring – discovering a Roman or mediaeval coin. And you begin to imagine what else might be there. Or will it be just some mediaeval Coke tin! It’s a bit like childhood fishing. You sit there for hours and the fish are (wisely) deliberately ignoring you. Then one takes the bait. Yes!! What do you do then? Put it back in the river – and go home? Of course not, you stay there. You’re bound to catch more…

This is what Kingdom discoveries are like. It’s when you’re not expecting it that the wonder and joy and treasure of the Kingdom breaks into your life, releasing unexpected possibilities. What do we do when this happens? Do we say: “At last! I’ve found faith. I’m content now.” Or do we say, ‘God has more truth and light to break forth from God’s word’. And we continue searching and exploring, trying to detect the treasure and pearl of God’s Kingdom at work, in Jesus, through the creator Spirit, bringing flashes of discovery and wonder into our life of faith, inspiring, encouraging and motivating us and others to keep going when the going gets tough.

Our life among the people of faith, and listening to murmurings of the Spirit in the wider community, are ultimately all about providing these opportunities, these moments – for ourselves and for those who unexpectedly join us – for new discoveries, for wonder, and to be ‘surprised by joy’.
Listen to J.S. Bach’s cantata, Jesu, meine Freude, (‘Jesus, priceless treasure’) to capture some of this wonder. It’s what R.S.Thomas’ wonderful poem celebrates: ‘I have seen the sun break through/ to illuminate a small field/ for a while, and gone my way/ and forgotten it. /But that was the pearl/ of great price, the one field that had/ treasure in it. I realize now/ that I must give all that I have/ to possess it…’

Prayer

Spirit of God,
in moments of searching and exploring,
keep my senses alert
to find, in all around me, newness of joy and wonder
in the love of Jesus, my priceless treasure.
Wisdom of God, may pearls of insight, truth and grace in Jesus
capture my heart and my imagination anew
so that my faith may be enlarged,
my perspective on your work in the cosmos sharpened
and my commitment to follow Jesus deepened. Amen.
 

Wednesday 14 January 2026