St John 13: 36 – 38

Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterwards.’  Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’  Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

Reflection

I often joke with my friend Jon that eventually we should decide what we’re going to do when we grow up.  (I’m 58, he’s 59 and we’ve been friends for around 35 years).  Between us we’ve had and have rich and varied careers. We both have a range of hobbies and interests and have full lives; of course we have both grown up but often think there’s another adventure awaiting us.  The last time we met we compared the first signs of our bodies not being as resilient as we imagine them to be (are we still middle aged in our late 50s?).  

We wonder where we’re going and, I suspect, like many of our generation we’re not really ready for retirement;  there are still adventures to be had, roads to be travelled, ideas to be explored, and new possibilities to be entertained (though with comfort and at a less robust pace than we might once have imagined!)  

Simon was ready for his next adventure with the Lord but Jesus knew it wasn’t yet his time – and knew that the last adventure would be hard.  Tradition has Peter executed in Rome for daring to be seen as subversive and anti-social.  In today’s passage Simon’s enthusiasm is met with Jesus’ realism.  Simon’s human frailty led to devastating regret and he had to watch the unfolding tragedy of Jesus’ execution and death unfold before him.  Maybe a younger Simon would have leapt in with wild energy; but he, like Jon and I, have less energy and enthusiasm than was once the case.  

So with a seasoned eye to our skills, histories, finances and interests Jon and I still wonder about what’s the next adventure; I pray it won’t involve denial, regret, or sadness for either of us but that, each in our own way the answer to “Lord, where are you going?” involves us each discerning how best to follow.

Prayer

Lord, where are you going?
Can I come with you?
Have you prepared me for the journey?
Have my skills and experience equipped me?
Can I see your footsteps and, in them, plant my own?
Is there another adventure waiting?
Lord, help me to follow.
Amen.

Friday 4 July 2025 
 

St John 13: 31 – 35

St John 13: 21 – 30

After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’  The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking.  One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him;  Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’  Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’  Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.  Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’; or, that he should give something to the poor.  So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Reflection

This is a story of betrayal, a very personal betrayal.  Judas, someone whom Jesus considered to be a friend, was prepared to give him over to the authorities in exchange for money and we can only speculate on his motives.

Many of us may also have been the victims of betrayal by people we considered to be friends, maybe by those we loved.  Not on such a scale perhaps, but certainly we know how Jesus was feeling.  How do we react to betrayal, to being let down by people? 

In the news recently was an interview with the former Archbishop of Canterbury.  Justin Welby caused a stir when he said he forgave abuser John Smythe after the report into safeguarding failures in the Church of England led to Welby’s resignation.  Many have said it was not for Welby to forgive on behalf of the victims of abuse, and that is certainly true, and perhaps to offer forgiveness for what could be described as the Archbishop’s own failures seems rather odd.  Having said that, we pray regularly about asking for and offering forgiveness when we pray the Lord’s Prayer.  Are these just words; are we happy to be forgiven ourselves but struggle with the idea of forgiving others when hurt may run deep?

Offering and accepting forgiveness is never easy but we have the ultimate example of how to do it, and striving to follow and copy Jesus is surely our life’s goal.

Prayer

Loving Lord,
forgive us our sins 
and help us to forgive those who sin against us.  
Amen

St John 13: 1 – 20

Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.  The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper  Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God,  got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’  Jesus answered, ‘You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’  Peter said to him, ‘You will never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.’  Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’  Jesus said to him, ‘One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.’  For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, ‘Not all of you are clean.’

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.  Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.  If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.  I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfil the scripture, “The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.”  I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he.  Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.’

Reflection

The other day my husband and I were on the phone to one of our sons. He was asking some questions about a particular period in his childhood, and in answer to one of them, after a short silence, John and I burst out laughing. Our son commented that he could ‘hear us looking at each other’ just before our laughter started. He was absolutely right – which goes to show just how well he knows us.

Today’s passage has a lot about knowing and being known. Jesus knows that his death is imminent. His decision to act as a servant to his disciples comes in the light of his knowledge of his relationship to his father and the power that he has been given. He knows that Peter doesn’t understand what he is doing, and asks all of them whether they know what he has done. He knows that one of his friends will betray him.

Then he tells those same friends – and us – that we are to follow his example of servanthood. He reminds us that we don’t simply have to know things in our heads, but also to act.

It’s not always comfortable to be known to someone else – it can make us feel very vulnerable. But we, like the first disciples, are known by Jesus. Despite our foibles and weaknesses, he knows and loves us. And he calls us to continue our journey with him; to know him better, to become more like him, and to help others to know him through our words and actions.

Prayer

Loving God,
you know us inside and out
and continue to love us.
Help us to know you better
as you reveal yourself to us.
And help us to reveal your love
to those around us this day.
Amen

Then Jesus cried aloud: ‘Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me.  And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.  I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge,  for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.  And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.’

Reflection

I once saw a suggestion for a sermon theme. It was “Moths or Cockroaches”. The idea was that moths flew to the light while cockroaches crawled into dark corners. The listeners would then be left to decide which they were or wanted to be, a moth or a cockroach, though of course, we are all a mixture of the two.

In the passage we have read, Jesus is saying that he has come as light, in effect to offer people light, though it is a choice. They can, if they wish, stay in darkness. They can crawl away from the slightest flicker of light, into the deepest darkness, if that is their choice. Jesus says he will not judge them for their choice, but the word he has spoken will serve as a judge.

None of us like being judged, though we are often quite happy to judge other people on the flimsiest of evidence! In denying we have fallen short, in refusing to admit, even to God, that we might have got things wrong, we are refusing to accept His unconditional love. Coming into the light involves not just seeing things clearly, but it also means that we and what we do will be seen more clearly by others. Often, we prefer to keep our pride intact or we remain fearful and so remain in our dark corners.

God accepts us as we are, faults and all. We do not earn God’s love first, and are then accepted by Him. Rather, He loves us whatever and then, accepting that love, that light, we try to be more as He wants us to be.

It takes courage to come into the light. It is easier to prefer darkness. But without light we can not see, and if we cannot see we cannot understand, we cannot trust, and we can not accept God’s unconditional love.

Prayer

Father, Your light is in the world,
and we see it in Jesus.
The light makes us aware of our faults and shortcomings.
The wrong we have done stands illuminated in the brightness of Jesus’ example. 
But through the light Jesus came not only to shine into the darkness,
but also to show us your forgiveness.
Help us to accept your light and forgiveness,
and increasingly to live our lives in that light. Amen

St John 12: 37 – 43

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.  Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him.  This was to fulfil the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

‘Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’

And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,

‘He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.’

Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him.  Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;  for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.

Reflection

“After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.”

It’s funny (or maybe strange or confusing) how we take some things from the Holy Scriptures and implement them into our worship and yet ignore others.

Once a month (other traditions are available!) we remember, in worship, Jesus sharing a meal with his friends. It was an important meal, so that’s all well and good and proper. After all, it is mentioned in three of the Gospels and in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. But what have we missed out on simply because it was omitted from the final drafts, deemed unworthy or irrelevant by those early editors?

If it had been recorded in one of the Gospels (not St John, obviously, he is way too serious) that Jesus enjoyed nothing more than a game of Shove Ha’penny well, Shove Shekel, with his mates would that make it into our regular pattern of worship? Maybe instead of a hymn… would our services look any different? Would they be more welcoming? Would they be more inclusive? Would they be more intergenerational? Would they be more FUN? I mean, everyone can play shove ha’penny, can’t they?

So why isn’t a game of Hide and Seek part of our regular worship services or, at least, once in a while?

If it was good enough for Jesus…

Prayer

Playful God
we are sorry when we stifle the joy of worshipping you
remind us that our services can be times of fun and play
and forgive us when they aren’t.
Amen.

Worship Notes for July and August | Slight Delay to August Worship Materials
Prayers of Life & Death

Dear <<First Name>>,

Please forgive one email for three things.

The Worship Notes for July have been available for some weeks and are now joined by those for August.  You can find them here.

There will be a delay to the August downloadable material which we hope to get to you in 10 days’ time.  I’m sorry for this delay.

Finally, Prayers of Life and Death
 
The URC offers these prayers, which can be freely used,  to help congregations navigate issues around Assisted Dying as they are discussed by legislators across these islands:   

• The Isle of Man allows Assisted Dying, Jersey is in the latter stages of legal preparation for this; 
• the Scottish Parliament is working on detailed legislation with a bill passing Stage 1;  
• the House of Commons has passed a bill which would allow Assisted Dying in England and Wales and is now being sent to the House of Lords for scrutiny.   

 The United Reformed Church’s General Assembly last discussed this in 2007,  resolving: 
 
General Assembly affirms the report Assisted Dying, as encapsulated in the following statements:  
 

1. As Christians, we regard all human life as being God given, and therefore precious; we believe that death is not the end and we have faith that there is a more perfect life to follow.  
2. We recognise that there is a time to die and that there are circumstances in which it will be wrong to continue to provide treatment designed to prolong life.  
3. We recognise that some palliative treatment for the terminally ill, makes the patient more comfortable and pain free, but can also hasten death. We believe this to be acceptable, as long as the intention of the treatment is pain relief and comfort of the patient.  
4. We could not support legislation that would empower medical staff to intervene in ways which deliberately seek to assist a patient to die. We would therefore oppose any change in the law to permit voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide.  
5. We believe that a Living Will or Advance Directive which has been prepared by a patient of sound mind, can be helpful for carers and relatives; however, we do not believe such a document should be used to facilitate a person’s death.  
6. We believe that additional resources are needed to provide more uniformly available and more high quality palliative care.  
7. We recognise the valuable contribution made by carers. We express our prayerful support for those who work in, and promote, hospices and others who care, befriend, and provide support for the dying. 

I’m Confused Lord 
 
I’m confused Lord and don’t know what to say; 
I grew up believing in the sanctity of life, 
that You command us not to kill, and that life is always worth living… 
 
…but if I was in pain with little hope of respite, 
or one I loved was living in unimaginable agony, 
I’d want that pain to stop. 
 
I’m confused Lord and don’t know what to say, 
all these difficult choices but they can’t properly fund hospice care, 
there’s always money for bombs though… 
 
…but surely good end-of life care is a prerequisite of a decent society? 
We live our lives as if there’s nothing else to come, 
clinging to it, forgetting it’s possible to have a good death. 
 
I’m confused Lord and don’t know what to say, 
I’d not want to be a burden when my time comes, 
I’d not want to cling on seeking every medical intervention when it was time to go… 
 
…but I’d not want to be despatched more quickly so the will can be read! 
I’d not want to be pressurised to die to save the State money, 
nor be seen as dispensable. 
 
I’m confused Lord and don’t know what to say, 
disabled friends are frightened – fearing their lives will be seen as less worthwhile, 
doctors and nurses are trained to save life not to kill … 
 
…but saying “thou shalt not kill” seems judgy, 
to urge for better palliative care seems unrealistic, 
and to oppose social trends seems hard. 
 
So, help me Lord, in my confusion, 
and give me ears to hear
and words to say. Amen. 
 

A Fuller Life Awaits 
 
Eternal One, 
we pray for our legislators, 
faced with complex lives, situations, and finances, 
and trying to discern right from wrong, 
in the face of high-powered campaigns. 
 
Suffering Lord, 
You walk with us in our pain, bewilderment, and grief, 
give grace to those who approach the end of life, 
wisdom to clinical staff who care for them, 
and time for loving farewells. 
 
Renewing Spirit, 
remind us that death is not the end, 
that a new, fuller, life awaits us, 
where there will be no more death, sorrow,  
mourning or crying. 
Amen 

Perfect Love 
 
Gracious God, 
help us to hold Your truth gracefully, 
proclaim Your love with humility, 
and serve Your people faithfully. 
 
Dying God, 
drive out our fear of death with Your perfect love; 
banish our meanness with a generosity  
which funds proper care for the dying, the ill, and the disabled.  
 
Energising God, 
transform our ideologies, 
that we face both life and death, 
in the safety of Your love 
and the promise of resurrection. 
Amen 

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
 

St John 12: 27 – 36

Jesus said: ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’  The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’  Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.  Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’  He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.  The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’  Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’

Reflection

Before his crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples that the light was with them for a little longer, so they should walk in the light while they had it.

It is very hard for us to remain in the light. We may see some glorious moment of compassion or awe-struck wonder, but for many, holding that moment so that it goes on to lighten our most challenging times of suffering or injustice, is beyond difficult.

Perhaps the task of the Christian and the Church is to reflect and magnify these light-filled moments when we recognise them, so that those who need some light have a greater chance of seeing it. In other words, we are to become ‘children of light’, creating light-bearers.

Part of my role alongside the LGBTQIA+ community in Brighton and Hove is getting involved in as many organisations and groups as I can, listening to stories, exploring amazing questions, hearing great suffering, bearing the sin of the church, and wondering at the resilience and joy in people’s lives.

There are moments when it is my call to be light in the darkness: to remind the often unloved that God loves them. This is no small thing! There are many more moments when I am met with wonderful queer and non-binary children of light, who reflect Christ to me.

As we read and wonder with this passage from John today, I hope we can be brave enough to imagine that the light of Christ can come to us from surprising, often dark places. In these times of darkness in which those who are Trans and non-binary are vilified, might we be open enough to allow an amazing light of wisdom to teach us that God’s human family is much more gloriously varied than we might imagine. What might it mean to walk and grow into this light?
 
Prayer

Gracious God, open our hearts to the light of Christ this day.
Free us to allow that light to meet us from surprising places.
Engage our feet to walk where the light shines.
Move us to reflect and magnify every glimmer of love and hope.
The light of the world calls us.
Amen

St John 12: 20 – 26

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’  Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the ,Father will honour.

Reflection

I am discovering (some) of the joys of gardening.  Here in Orkney gardening is something of hope triumphing over experience.  Long nights of spring and summer give a sustained growing season but the wind, in almost every month of the year, means that plants must be robust.  Trees don’t stand much of a chance unless they have shelter.  We work to find plants that can grow well in a coastal environment.  It’s always a joy (and something of a surprise) to see the plants grow in our garden and, in our stormforce strength polytunnel, we’ve managed to grow a variety of soft fruit alongside apples, nectarines, plums, and cherries.  We’ve also been able to grow a reasonable assortment of vegetables.  This requires patience (happily my husband has enough for both of us) as we wait for seeds to germinate (or die as Jesus puts it in today’s reading) as they break down letting in water and nutrients and then start to put down roots and put up shoots.  Then, after germination, it’s a waiting game to see what nature produces.

Jesus used this image of the seed dying in order to grow to foretell his own death and resurrection.  It’s a process we see in the Church too.   Our old lives have to break down and germinate in order to grow as Christians – and, just as in nature, there’s a process of breaking down, silent growth, bursting forth into bloom and bearing fruit, and then wilting and dying for the cycle to start again.   Clearly in the Western world the Church is in the latter stages of this cycle as we await to see what is germinated as the seed breaks down.  It’s a time of discernment and patience, of faithfulness and hope, of tending to the soil and seeing what God has for us next as our world longs to see Jesus.

Prayer

Remind us, O God, 
of the rhythm of nature,
the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth,
as we contemplate the Church
longing to share faith with the world,
yearning to declare Your love and life,
wanting to a sign of Your light in our gloom.
Amen.

St John 12: 12 – 19

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting,

‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord —  the King of Israel!’

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: ‘Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him.  The Pharisees then said to one another, ‘You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!’

Reflection

Think about a time you have been part of a crowd.

I love going to festivals and have taken part in many a procession.  At Greenbelt, Sunday morning worship outdoors in a huge crowd of people is uplifting and meaningful, whatever the weather throws at us.  A packed church at any time of year with people singing joyful praise is a wonderful experience. Maybe you are more of a sports person, cheering on your team, sharing the emotions of winning or losing.  Or you like to attend big concerts, whatever your preferred music style – listening to classical or dancing in the aisle.

A crowd has a life of its own and individuals in it may lose inhibitions and act in a way that is different from their normal behaviour.  We see that at times if a demonstration or march becomes violent and disruptive.

The crowds around Jesus build up to a crescendo of praise in this reading, in a way we have not seen before in previous Gospel stories. But this is the same people who a few days later may be calling ‘Crucify!’.  Is there a difference between the crowd that had experienced Lazarus’ raising from the dead and the crowd that is in Jerusalem for the festival enjoying a procession with their palm branches?  It would be good to think that even people coming along for the ride experienced the Lord and were challenged to learn more about him.  For those who had followed him loyally for years, it was a memorable experience even if they did not understand it at the time, but it made sense later in the light of the resurrection.

With weekly worship, it’s all too easy to jump from Palm Sunday to Easter. Looking at the Passion Narrative in summer, perhaps we can identify with members of the crowd over the next series of readings.

Prayer

Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!
May the journey through the highs and lows
of the Jesus story touch us all
and lead us into the fullness of his love. 
Amen