St John 19: 1 – 11

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe.  They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and striking him on the face.  Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.’  So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!’  When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.’  The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.’

Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever.  He entered his headquarters[a] again and asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’ But Jesus gave him no answer.  Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’  Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’

Reflection

“At first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” A quote often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, and more recently incongruously appropriated by Nigel Farage.  As I read the extended account of Jesus’ trial before Pilate in John’s gospel we see this played out in truncated fashion. 

First Pilate does not want to be bothered with such trivial matters. This man was no threat to Rome and his alleged breaking of Jewish law no concern of his.  The soldiers mocked Jesus and the grandiose claims he stands accused of.  They dressed him in a crown and cloak whilst inflicting pain and humiliation.  When these tactics of ignoring Jesus, and then laughing at him, do not diminish him or his resolve, the physical attacks escalate to the threat of death from an increasingly exasperated and impotent Pilate.  Pilate is powerless against Jesus who stands his ground and does not legitimise Rome’s assumed power over him. 

Michelle Obama famously said, ‘when they go low, we go high’. When bullies aim low and punch down. When Empire ignores the disadvantaged, seeks to remove dignity from the sick and disabled, and demonises those with the least, like Jesus, we go high by not meekly accepting that this is simply the way the world is and not bowing to authority which punches down. 

If we look to Jesus’ example and go high then … who wins? 

Prayer

When the world ignores those in need, 
when the world mocks those with the least,
and when the world attacks the most vulnerable, 
may we look to Jesus, and like him, go high. 
Amen. 

Friday 25 July 2025 

St John 18: 28 – 38

Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.  So Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?’  They answered, ‘If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.’  Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.’ The Jews replied, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death.’  (This was to fulfil what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’  Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’  Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’  Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’  Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’  Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?’

Reflection

This is such a familiar passage and yet these verses never cease to have a visceral impact upon re-reading.

In John’s rendering of the trial of Jesus we see the culmination of the way the gospel writer contrasts Jesus’ spiritual realm with the self-serving outlook and grubby dealings of those he meets, including this ultimate encounter with those in authority. Jesus’ focus is upon the sublime aims of the Kingdom of God whilst Jewish and Roman leaders trade negotiation positions on how to unjustly dispatch a clearly innocent man.

What is shocking is that even the words the Jewish authorities themselves use betray the fabricated, utterly false nature of the charges being made. Instead of providing evidence they merely make the tautologous remark: “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” And Pilate’s reaction indicates his awareness of the hollow case against Jesus.  The turning point for Pilate, and indeed for Jesus’ fate, is the statement that the Jewish leaders were not permitted to put anyone to death, raising alarm that this business was of a political insurrectionist nature.

The narrative resonates so much with us because it captures potently how, then and now, innocent lives are at the mercy of the powerful who callously barter untruths and fabrications.  The passage ends with Pilate’s rhetorical question: “What is truth?” This may appear to indicate some profound philosophical musing but, given the squalid context of these kangaroo court dealings, it was more likely expressed as a sneering contemptuous dismissal of Jesus’ proclamation that he came to testify to the truth.

Prayer

Dear Lord,
we pray that
we live Kingdom values;
speak truth to power;
challenge grubby injustice,
and proclaim your Kingdom come,
in all its power and the glory
Amen. 

Wednesday 23 July 2025 

(Prayer by Astronaut Frank Borman,
Commander Apollo 8,
one of the first humans
to see God’s beautiful Earth
from the Moon’s orbit.)

St John 18: 15 – 18

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,  but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in.  The woman said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’  Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

Reflection

The saying ‘fall from grace’ comes to mind when reading this passage.  Only moments before Peter has drawn his sword in defence of Jesus and now he denies even knowing him.  How quickly we can change from standing for the truth to evading it, from being selfless to selfish, from showing kindness to lacking in mercy.

We sometimes see spectacular falls from grace in public figures but, if we are honest, we see them in ourselves also.  We too can go from faithfulness to rejection in record breaking time.

Reading these verses on their own makes for very bleak reading.  There is nothing here that speaks of redemption or offering a glimmer of light.  It’s a bleak passage which shows the harsh truth of Peter’s denial.  It can’t be covered up, it is revealed for what it is.

But reading this after Easter we remember that this is part of a bigger story where later Peter finds himself being offered a new beginning by Jesus.  After the Cross and the Resurrection Jesus comes to Peter by the sea shore and gives Peter the chance of redemption.  It is a moment of great tenderness where Peter is met with the embodiment of grace in Jesus.  Peter accepts Jesus’ love and forgiveness and goes on to boldly proclaim Christ as the church begins to spread.  

Each day is filled with choices and opportunities for us to walk the way of Jesus, in truth and love.

If today we should fail to stand with Jesus when love, mercy, grace and truth are called for all is not lost.  Jesus always offers us another chance to begin again.  Will we, like Peter, embrace God’s forgiveness and make ever new choices to walk in God’s way?

Prayer

I’m sorry, Lord,
when I have been too scared or ashamed
to say that I know you,
let alone love you.
In your tender mercy
raise me up
and set my feet on higher ground
where I am set free to begin again
and share unashamedly my faith in you.
Amen. 

 
Today’s service is led by the Revd Angela Rigby

 
Welcome and Opening Prayer 

Hello and welcome to our worship service.  My name is Rev Angela Rigby.  I’m a URC minister, and I’m currently serving churches in Kent. Let us begin with a word of prayer.  Let us pray.

Holy God, help us to draw close to You today.  Whether we are sitting quietly, doing something with our hands like colouring or crocheting, or stimming and moving about, God, we pray that you would open our hearts and minds to Your living Word that nourishes and inspires.  Amen.  

Call to Worship 

Are you tired of the lying, cheating and scheming running rampant in this world? Are you worn down by the gaslighting and fearmongering?

Can you hear God calling us?  Let us draw near to God and seek nourishment. We are like olive trees, flourishing in the house of God.

We trust in God’s unfailing love for what You have done, God, we will always praise You and hope in You.

Hymn     10,000 Reasons
Matt Redman 10,000 Reasons © 2011 Thankyou Music (PRS) (admin at IntegratedRights.com) OneLicence # A-734713 Sung by members of the City Church, San Francisco.

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul, worship His Holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul, I’ll worship Your Holy name.

The sun comes up it’s a new day dawning,
it’s time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me,
let me be singing when the evening comes.

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul, worship His Holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul, I’ll worship Your Holy name.

You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger.
Your name is great and Your heart is kind.
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing;
ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul, worship His Holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul, I’ll worship Your Holy name.

And on that day when my strength is failing,
the end draws near and my time has come;
still my soul will sing Your praise unending –
ten thousand years and then forevermore!

Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul, worship His Holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul, I’ll worship Your Holy name.

Prayer of Adoration

God, who plays with dust and whose breath gives life, we praise you for your creativity and honesty, for your sincerity and kindness.  We praise you that you are just, righteous, and kind.  

Jesus, our Saviour and friend, the one who set the table, washes feet, and invites us to the meal that he has prepared, we are amazed that the one who defeated the destructive power of sin and death, calls us to dine with him as friends and find rest.

Holy Spirit, who reveals God’s Word, we thank You for forming our character more and more into the likeness of Jesus, so that God’s love is further revealed in our world.

Godhead – three in one – Parent, Son and Holy Spirit – we thank you for drawing close to us.  Amen

Confession and Pardon

God, sometimes we can forget that you are just, righteous and kind.  
Sometimes we choose words that hurt people and divide neighbours.  
We forget your creativity.  We forget we carry your image and your breath. 
We forget that the table is Christ’s and that He is our host.  
We sometimes cling to our friend Jesus and try to form an exclusive clique with people we find easy to get along with. We forget the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, in our churches and in our world.   We get too busy or look for distractions.  We become afraid. God, we are sorry.  

Help us to focus on your breath within us, to respond to the destructive forces in our world with your creative nature and hospitable character.  
Help us to be the ones inviting others to the table of Christ.   Make us quick to make room.  Help us to work with the Holy Spirit already at work around us and through us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Hymn     As it is in Heaven (The Lord’s Prayer)
Matt Maher © 2007, Thankyou Music (PRS) (Kingswaysongs) One Licence # A-734713. Performed by Orchard Enterprises

The rocks are crying out for your glory to come down
and the whole world waits for You.
The people who walk in darkness have seen a light of Your holiness
and the whole world waits for You, for You.
I will sing, sing a new song. I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song to the Lord.

Let Your Kingdom come. Let Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Ev’ry heart proclaim the mercy of Your name on earth as it is in Heaven.

Let it be, let it be,  be done unto me. Let it be, let it,  be done unto me.
Let it be, let it be, be done unto me. Let it be, let it be, be done unto me.

Prayers of the People

God, we pray for people in the hospitality.  We pray for people who work in the kitchens of restaurants and cafes.  We pray for the people who clean rooms and work in the laundry rooms of hotels.  We pray for those who greet us at concerts, sporting events, cinemas, theatres, ice skating rinks, theme parks and other places of entertainment.  We pray for those who clean our church buildings and for those who serve refreshments at our church gatherings.

God, we pray for those who are forgotten.  We pray for victims and survivors of trafficking.  We pray for those fleeing persecution and seeking asylum.  We pray for people who are in prison – adults and young people.  We pray for victims and survivors of crime, especially the crimes that often are underreported.  We pray for people whose homes are not a place of safety.  We pray for those who have no place to call home.  We pray for the ‘quiet ones’ in our local churches and communities who can sometimes be overlooked.

God, we lift up to you those people and situations known to us, who are in need of You at this time.

silence kept for personal prayers

God, we pray that you will draw close to all the people we have been praying for and that the Holy Spirit will work within these situations to bring wholeness and peace.

We offer all the prayers spoken and unspoken to You in the name of Jesus.  Amen
  
Offertory Prayer

God loves us, and we each respond to God’s love in different ways.  We may offer our time, our skills, foodbank donations, or our money.  We may give to a local church or charity.  How ever you give and respond to God’s love, let us offer all these gifts to God in prayer.

Loving God, we bring these our gifts, in thanksgiving for all that you have given us; asking that we may be servants of others and witnesses to your love. In the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen   
  
Hymn     Beauty for Brokenness
Graham Kendrick © 1993 Make Way Music OneLicence # A-734713  BBC Songs of Praise

Beauty for brokenness hope for despair.
Lord, in your suffering world this is our prayer
Bread for the children, justice, joy, peace.
sunrise to sunset Your kingdom increase!

God of the poor friend of the weak,
give us compassion we pray.
Melt our cold hearts, let tears fall like rain.
Come, change our love from a spark to a flame

Lighten our darkness breathe on this flame
until your justice burns brightly again,
until the nations learn of your ways,
seek your salvation and bring you their praise.
 
Reading     Amos 8:1-12
                
This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. He said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’ Then the Lord said to me,

‘The end has come upon my people Israel; 
I will never again pass them by.
The songs of the temple shall become wailings on that day,’
says the Lord God;
‘the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!’

Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
saying, ‘When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
and practise deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals, 
and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’

The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?

On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
and the end of it like a bitter day.

The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.

Reading     St Luke 10:38-42

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’  But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;  there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

Hymn     God of Freedom, God of Justice
Shirley Erena Murray © 1992 Hope Publishing Company sung by members of the Franklin United Methodist Church Massachusetts OneLicence
 
God of freedom, God of justice, you whose love is strong as death,
you who saw the dark of prison, you who knew the price of faith –
touch our world of sad oppression with your Spirit’s healing breath.

Rid the earth of torture’s terror, you whose hands were nailed to wood;
hear the cries of pain and protest, you who shed the tears and blood —
move in us the power of pity restless for the common good.
 
Make in us a captive conscience quick to hear, to act, to plead;
make us truly sisters, brothers of whatever race or creed –
teach us to be fully human, open to each other’s needs.
 
Sermon 

Around the time of Wimbledon tennis, some of the Kent farms open up for people to come and pick their own strawberries.  Sometimes they even hold open-air events featuring folk music.  For two months, if the crops are good and the weather has been kind, there is the picking of guitars and the picking of strawberries.  With the last of the strawberries though, we know that we have one more month of decent weather, before autumn starts to arrive and the outdoor celebrations turn cold.

But quite a few towns in Kent are towns of two haves: the haves and the have nots.  The wealth divide can be quite shocking.  A council estate could be less than a mile away from several homes worth £6 million each.  It’s a reminder that not everyone is able to go pick their own strawberries. 

Our reading from Amos was a warning.  The people of Israel were experiencing a time of relative peace and prosperity, yet instead of using that time to ensure everyone’s needs were met, the divide between the wealthy and the poor was growing.  Despite the peoples’ worship services, the peoples’ worship had gone cold.  Sure, their worship looked the part on the outside, but underneath, God could see what was going on.  Through Amos, God charges the people with several offences, but in today’s reading, God was angry at the merchants for using worship as an opportunity to cheat people, especially the poor and needy.  The result – despite their worship services and wealth – there would be a famine of hearing God’s word.  Although the bellies of the wealthy might be full, because of their lack of compassion on the poor, they will search for God’s word but not find it.

According to the Office of National Statistics for the UK, the wealthiest 10% are estimated to hold around half of all wealth, mostly in the form of private pensions and property.  Whilst on average wealth increases with age, factors such as gender, illness or disability, ethnicity and even sexuality can negatively impact wealth.  During political debates, politicians like to say that people should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, but we are reminded that the Bible encourages people to look out for one another in community, rather than rely on this relatively modern self-reliance motto.

After years of austerity from one brand of government, the recent Spring statement and subsequent announces by another brand of government has left many groups like the Joint Public Issues Team (www.jpit.uk) concerned that the policies being pursued will increase the amount of people experiencing poverty by 250,000, including 50,000 children.  At the time I am writing this, there is hope that the UK Government will be bold and ambitious with its Child Poverty Strategy.  

For local churches and individuals who want to raise their awareness, you can have a look at the Joint Public Issues Team website and newsletters.  On their website you can also find out more information about the Let’s End Poverty campaign.  You may also think about small steps you can make as a church to bring people together in your community, reaching across the usual divides if you can.  Just bringing people together can make a big difference.    

You may be wondering what our gospel reading has to do with justice and wealth inequality.  Isn’t the story about Mary and Martha about the importance of listening to Jesus?  Well, yes and no.  

Hospitality is a big theme throughout the gospel of Luke.  Do we respond to God’s word by making space for one another and welcoming folks often on the margins?  In Luke chapter 10, we read of a lawyer who heard the word of God, but doesn’t know what it means to love their neighbour.  We hear the story of a good Samaritan who demonstrates a correct response to God’s word by putting love in action.  Here – we have two women.  One who is active, providing for their guests.  Another who is listening to Jesus speaking, and not just listening but she is defying her society’s gender roles by taking the position of a Rabbi’s student.  A defiance that Jesus encourages, as he encourages both women to learn as any disciple would.

Jesus is not telling Martha off for being busy in the kitchen.  Rather he is inviting her to do the minimum and then come and spend time with her guest.  In doing so, Jesus sets a precedence on how he and his messengers should be welcomed – prioritise spending time with them over abundantly providing food and drink.  The emphasis is on hearing the word of God.

In Amos’ day, people focussed on the mechanics of worship rather than seeking God’s word and living out God’s justice and kindness.  Here, we see Jesus encouraging his followers not to fall into the same trap of focusing on the mechanics of hospitality at the expense of hearing the word of God through the guests.

Although we didn’t read Genesis 18, there is a well-known story of Abraham and Sarah welcoming three strangers, and in doing so hearing an important, long-awaited message from God.  That story is the reason people often talk about entertaining angels unawares.  To see the potential of a message from God in every person we meet can be quite a challenge, but I wonder if it is a challenge we are meant to accept?

This gospel story of Mary and Martha challenges us to rethink how we welcome people and free them from so called fixed societal roles.  Jesus invitation to Martha is an invitation to us all.  Are we so focused on worship like the people in Amos’ day that we neglect to focus our time and attention on listening to God and living God’s word out?  Can we hear Christ’s invitation to come and find rest?

As I was preparing this service and reflecting on this story, I realised that we don’t actually hear from Mary.  I wondered – what might Mary say to her sister?  So I wrote a poem, trying to put into words what Mary might be wanting to say.

Mary’s Voice

Jesus cleaned house already;
there’s nothing more to do.
Come take your place beside him;
find rest (if you want to)

You could

Come and have a laugh with him
as he tells a joke or two.
Heard the one about the camel?
Missing sheep?  (Right now, that’s you.)

Just come and sit beside him
(with me – I’m already here).
Come listen to his tales of
all our awkwardness, my dear.

Stories of brothers and dads,
of landowners and farmhands,
of fig trees awaiting fruit,
of mustard seeds claiming land,

of the kin-dom of God – that
inside you and me is found.
The kin-dom grows around us,
breaking through the hardest ground.
 
Sister, he feels at home here
with all the things that you do.
One thing’s still missing – the best –
Martha, my sister, that’s you.

So come and sit beside him;
there is nothing more to do.
Jesus cleaned house already.
Come, let him care for you.
 
Friends, may we all respond to Jesus’ invitation to spend time with him today.  Heeding the warnings of Amos, that our time hearing God’s word turns into love in action, seeking justice and a fairer society for all in our community.  Amen.  

Hymn     Let us Build a House
Marty Haugen © 1994, GIA Publications, Inc. OneLicence. Frodsham Methodist Church Cloud Choir accompanied by Andrew Ellams

Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live;
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith & vault of grace.
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
 
All are welcome, all are welcome, 
all are welcome in this place. 
 
Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true, 
where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew. 
Here the Cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace; 
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus: 

All are welcome, all are welcome, 
all are welcome in this place.
 
Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat: 
a banquet hall on holy ground where peace and justice meet. 
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space; 
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us: 

All are welcome, all are welcome, 
all are welcome in this place.
 
Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone 
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and live the Word they’ve known. 
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face; 
let us bring an end to fear and danger:

All are welcome, all are welcome, 
all are welcome in this place.
 
Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard 
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word. 
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace, 
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:

All are welcome, all are welcome, 
all are welcome in this place.
 
Blessing and the Grace 

This week, starting today, may we be found at Christ’s table
May we be quick to make room for all to come to Christ’s feast.
May we be blessed by His living word, His love, and His grace.
Let us share the words of the Grace together.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, evermore.  Amen

St John 18: 1 – 14

After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples.  So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’  They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus replied, ‘I am he.’ Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.  When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he’, they stepped back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’  Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am he.  So if you are looking for me, let these men go.’  This was to fulfil the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.’  Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus.  Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?’ So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him.  First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.  Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

Reflection

Yesterday we heard the words of Jesus to his followers immediately before his arrest, sharing a heartfelt call for unity – that all may be one. At first reading it would appear that today’s passage immediately shatters that desired unity as Judas brings the soldiers and police of the chief priests to arrest Jesus. How can Jesus talk of all being one when one of his closest has betrayed him?

Now it is Peter’s turn to break rank, once again struggling to accept the fate Jesus seems so willing to embrace as he attempts to defend Jesus by the sword. Only to find himself, once again, rebuked by Jesus for attempting to subvert the divine plan. 

It’s here that we can fall into the danger of interpreting the theology of John’s Gospel in ways that make Jesus less than human; believing that he was unable to deviate from his divinely ordained destiny to die on the Cross. This I believe is a mistake. This story of his arrest needs a human Jesus contemplating the options of fight or flee just as anyone would do, yet choosing to stay in bold defiance of the powers which confronted him. This Jesus is no meek and mild character. His apparent surrender is strength personified. A strength of purpose he maintains as he progresses through the ranks of every increasing authority and cruelty – submitting to neither. 

The Passion of John may well lead us to confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God but let it also remind us that Jesus, as human as the rest of us, was a truly remarkable man. He gave of himself, even to the point of death, that all may be one.

Prayer

In our humanness and frailty
may we hear the story of the human Jesus,
neither fleeing nor fighting
neither giving in nor giving up,
and be astounded by the power 
of his quiet defiance,
his love for each one of us,
that all may be one.

St John 17: 20 – 26

Jesus said:  ‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,  so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one,  I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me.  I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

Reflection

Most of my ministry has been in ecumenical settings, so I have used this passage many times. It is a favourite for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. But now, in retirement, I must admit to having had qualms about this application of these profound words. It is surely anachronistic to imagine that Jesus or John was thinking about anything like modern ecumenism. Neither could ever have heard of a ‘denomination’, still less advocating that they unite!

It is, surely, not 21st century Concerns but the final sentence of today’s passage that is key. Asking for his disciples to be at one with each other and with him, as he is one with the Father, Jesus is simply asking that we love him and love one another. That is the oneness of the Gospel – as Paul and the other gospels testify. It is not unity of doctrine or liturgy, certainly not an institutional unity, but the unity which only love can bring about. Not a prissy sentimental love – Jesus elsewhere in John has plenty to say about God’s judgement as a consequence of lack of love – but a deep love that overrides differences of theology, worship or organisation.

We know from experience that the deepest, most hurtful, least loving divisions between Christians happen not between denominations but within them, not between local congregations but within them. A minister noted that one of their most faithful members never received communion. They visited and gently inquired why. “I don’t believe in the resurrection,” said the member. “Why?” asked the minister. “Because I once had to go into the back room where the Elders were gathered before worship, and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. If that is how the Elders treat one another, there cannot be a resurrection.”

Prayer

Loving Father,
 you made yourself known in Jesus
 whose love for you and us extended even to death.
 Forgive me when I fall out of love
 with you and my fellow church members,
 meaning that the world cannot know you.
 Remind me of the love, glory and unity that are your gift.
 Then, in your love, renew my love for you and your disciples,
 that you may be in me and I in you.
 Amen.

St John 17: 6 – 19

Jesus said: ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;  for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.  I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.  All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.  And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.  While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.  They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Reflection

Sometimes we sit with a passage and look for complex theology and meaning. This passage requires no deep thinking; it is a beautiful, perhaps challenging, prayer by Christ on behalf of his disciples.  In these few short verses Jesus demonstrates his love for those he is leaving to continue his work. Jesus is well aware that he has been their protector, teacher, and leader; they are just fledglings. However, Jesus wants them to fly high, to birth and nurture his Church, and to be his voice and presence on earth.

So, he pray a prayer full of expectation, anticipation, hope, and love. A prayer in which Christ reveals God’s name, intention, character, and power. A prayer where the disciples then, and us now,  are given a knowledge of God that leads to, and holds us in, faith.

Jesus asks God to spiritually protect the disciples and leaves, moving in and around us all, the Holy Spirit to be our strength. In our world where war, hatred, greed, and destruction of creation rages the Spirit’s protection is our armour and we should use it wisely and well.

Jesus’ prayers for unity for the sanctification of the disciples; not for them to be taken out of the world rather, to be a full active part of the world in order that they can become leading beacons of light.

This amazing prayer teaches many things while asking for protection in this dangerous world where love has become a dirty word, where neighbour has become a stranger, where compassion for both humanity and creation is looked on as a weakness.  So we pray “God be with us”

Prayer

Creator,
help us to pray, 
to bring all our worries and concerns before you 
in the way our Lord taught us to.
Help us to put our concerns for others before ourselves 
but not to be afraid of asking for your help.
Help us be the beacons of light 
that illuminate the way for all we meet,
to live a life that shines Christ.
In the unity of the Creator, Son and Spirit, 
hear our prayer. Amen.