St Luke 20: 20 – 26

So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.  So they asked him, ‘Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth.  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’  But he perceived their craftiness and said to them,  ‘Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?’ They said, ‘The emperor’s.’  He said to them, ‘Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’  And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.

Reflection

Johnny Nash once sang that ‘there are more questions than answers and sometimes that seems true of the Gospels. Jesus often asks searching questions which provoke confusion. In return he is often questioned himself, but the questioners very rarely get the answer which they expected, or even one which makes sense to them. That’s what happens here. To use a sporting metaphor Jesus not only escapes the fiendish snooker set by his opponent, but lays a tricky one of his own in return.

Christians still discuss what this passage means. Is it about the separation of the sacred and profane, the heavenly and the earthly, or a rejection of the power of empire? Perhaps some of this ambiguity has to do with the nature of money itself. Jesus asks for a particular coin, a denarius, which featured an engraving of the Roman Emperor, making a theological and political claim about his divinity. The coins we use today in the UK do the same thing, proclaiming that the monarch rules by the grace of God and is defender of the faith. On all bank notes issued by the Bank of England there’s a puzzling statement – ‘I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of….’ This seems puzzling – doesn’t possessing the note mean you already have that money? But it goes back to days when a bank note represented gold held in a vault, which is where the real value lay. Today money, whether notes and coins or their digital equivalent in our increasingly cashless society, has value because we believe it does. If everyone loses confidence in a currency then it ceases to have that value, and becomes worthless. Is faith the same? By having faith, are we creating a new world, new meanings and new values? Is that how we reach the Kingdom of God?

Prayer

Loving God,
sometimes we find your word hard to understand,
sometimes you challenge us and make us think,
and sometimes we ask for help
and don’t like the answers we hear.
Help us to trust in you and be ready to listen,
help us to hear and recognise your voice when you call,
and help us to put our faith in the values and actions
which bring your Kingdom to our troubled world.
Amen.

St Luke 20: 8 – 19

Jesus began to tell the people this parable: ‘A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed.  And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and threw out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.”  But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, “This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.”  So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’ When they heard this, they said, ‘Heaven forbid!’  But he looked at them and said, ‘What then does this text mean: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.

Reflection

Just imagine if a homeowner let out their home and the tenants allowed all manner of alterations to be carried out. Some awful mistakes can happen when those who are tenants begin acting as if they are the owners. The Jewish leaders asked Jesus about the source of His authority, so he answered their question by telling a parable about some wicked tenants of a vineyard, who had wrongfully assumed ownership of that which was not their own. If God owns the vineyard and Jesus is the Son and rightful heir to it, then He is acting under God’s authority. The religious leaders have wrongfully usurped the authority of God, the rightful owner. 

On hearing this parable, Jesus’ audience would immediately have thought about Isaiah 5:1-7, where the prophet called Israel God’s vineyard and warned that He would lay it to waste because it produced only worthless grapes. Jesus showed that God expects fruit from His vineyard, but emphasized God’s great patience and love in sending many messengers and finally, His beloved Son. If His people produce no fruit and kill His Son, they will face His terrible judgment. But even though they kill His Son, He will triumph by becoming the chief cornerstone.

These things apply not only to ancient Israel, but also to us, whom God has graciously grafted into His vine (Rom. 11:17-24).
 The parable reveals five things about God and those who profess to be His people:

1.     God expects fruit from His people
2.     God’s great patience, seen in His repeated, gracious messengers should motivate us to live accountability to Him.
3.     God’s great love, seen in sending His beloved Son, should motivate us to live accountability to Him.
4.     God’s righteous judgment on those who reject His Son should motivate us to live accountability to Him.
5.     God’s certain, final triumph in Christ should motivate us to live accountability to Him.

Prayer

Let the love of God course through our veins.
Let the goodness of God pulse through our bodies.
Let the power of the Spirit flow through our souls.
And let the wonder of God 
resonate through our minds
 as we seek to serve and live accountability to Him. Amen

inspiration in your inbox Wednesday 26 March 2025   St Luke 20: 1-8 One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, ‘Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?’ He answered them, ‘I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ They discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say, “Why did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ So they answered that they did not know where it came from.  Then Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’ Reflection Jesus is getting close to his death on the cross. Jesus had seen to it that the religious leaders could not ignore his arrival. He has entered the city triumphantly, he has shown authority in clearing the temple court, and now he is dominating the whole temple area to call out the unrighteous practices. If you read the gospels closely, you will see that Jesus is constantly teaching and preaching the gospel to the crowds. The authority of his teaching was the very reason why the people were hanging onto his every word – such as the importance of the Word.  Ultimately, there is no difference between the nature of Jesus’s authority and its source as his reply makes clear. He answers with a counter question, a familiar technique in contemporary literature, not to delay his answer but because it will leave the religious authorities exposed.  In framing their catch question, they assumed no one is entitled to exercise authority unless they have received authorisation through the proper channels.  But here they are mixing authority with power.  Social theorist Max Weber describes power as having a coercive element (I have to do) and authority as having a noncoercive one (I want to do): the difference between the two motives is huge. Jesus has no political clout, no military to command, no prestige or wealth to his name.  He does not make people do what he commands.  Instead, the people have to want what he proposes.    The religious authorities refuse to answer because they cannot admit to their rejection of a John whom the people regard as a prophet. Jesus immediately goes on to tell a parable which will make them uncomfortable. It did not occur to the religious leaders to give him their support and, in doing so, they failed to see that those who sacrifice the most in the way of love end up with the greatest authority.    Prayer   O Lord,  all power is yours to mould and shape, to love and forgive;  all authority is yours to challenge the unjust, to judge the world;  all love is yours to sacrifice yourself on the cross and not count the cost   that we may discover our place in your kingdom. Amen.

Today’s writer The Revd Nicola Furley-Smith, Secretary for Ministries, Purley New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

St Luke 19: 45 – 48

Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there;  and he said, ‘It is written,

“My house shall be a house of prayer”;
    but you have made it a den of robbers.’

Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.

Reflection

I was down in London recently, at a conference (on powerful mediaeval women, should you be curious, however irrelevant here!). With some early Christmas purchases in mind, I strolled along Piccadilly and dropped by St James’s Church, a 17th century Wren building, Lucy Winkett of Radio 4 fame the current rector. (Many years ago I found myself companioning a group from that parish visiting Russia for celebrations of the millennium of Christianity there, so I feel still a tangential connection!), and I am occasionally in the audience for the regular lunchtime concerts it holds).

The connection to today’s Daily Devotions passage, at least in my mind, is that around the building, in the green-space churchyard, are hosted commercial and other stalls, a market for food, crafts, complementary therapy, clothing and collectibles. The church has its own on-site cafe, operated by Redemption Roasters, a speciality coffee company with barista training and potentially employment for prisoners, ex-prisoners, people at risk of offending. Money changes hands!

Veritably, in another sense from Jesus’ words, a “den of robbers” (and other former offenders). Some church folk might be wary of hybrid religious/commercial enterprises; others thankful for any financial share that comes our way.

The institution, and (it would seem increasingly many of its leadership), are focused often on reputation management. There is a companion form called “scandal management”, in the Biblical and conventional usage of the term “scandal”.

What might our Lord have made of it? It is evident that the life and person of Jesus was itself rejected by many, particularly the religious rulers and the respectable, as being disreputable: his teachings, his hanging around with social outcasts, his lifestyle, and (ultimately) his death (“a stumbling block [scandal] to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles”[1 Cor. 1:23, RSV]. And obstacles are risks, and it would seem, to be swerved. It is safer that way, apparently.

Prayer

Jesus, our brother, 
we were taught from our early years, 
to be careful about the company we kept. 
It could blacken our reputations. 
Folk might think ill of us. 
Yet, we cannot avoid the truth 
that this is where we find you, 
eating and drinking and talking and laughing 
with the socially and spiritually marginalised. 
May we open our hearts and our embrace 
to those whom others reject, 
and may we embrace our own outsiderness. Amen.

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it,  saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side.  They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’

Reflection

Jesus is approaching Jerusalem, wildly acclaimed by crowds of disciples.  They are proclaiming peace in heaven, joyfully praising God.  But peace in heaven does not yet mean peace on earth – the inhabitants of Jerusalem have not caught the vision.  So as Jesus draws near, he laments – he sees the devastation that is in store for the city.   Keening in sorrow as if for the dead, he utters an oracle of woe in line with the prophets of Israel. His words to the inhabitants of Jerusalem are charged with emotion and helpless regret.

If only they had recognised that this was “the time of their visitation from God!” On that day, as Jesus approached the city, God was presenting them with the prospect of future well-being and peace.  But they were dull-sighted.   They had a reputation for killing prophets and Jesus, as we know, would face humiliation and judicial murder.  In the spiritual blindness of the city’s inhabitants, God’s offer was wasted – it was now “hidden from their eyes.”

Jesus saw this and he wept.  He could see the days of calamity that were to come. The rejection of “the things that make for peace” would have disastrous consequences.  The days would come when unspecified enemies would besiege, capture and destroy Jerusalem. The city’s inhabitants would be crushed with inexorable cruelty, its buildings razed to the ground. 

We don’t need too much imagination to recognise that such things are happening in our world today.  A world that is in need of the peace God offers; the peace that was proclaimed with joy by the Christmas angels on Jesus’s birth, and fleshed out by Jesus himself in the synagogue in Nazareth.  This is the peace we actively pray for in our own time, a peace that is sealed by the final revelation of God’s love on Easter Day.

Prayer

Merciful God,
your word pierces the blindness of our world,
and signals the dawn of peace and justice;
bring us to know our place
in the unfolding of your purposes,
and instil in our hearts
the wonder of your salvation.
through Jesus Christ your son, our saviour.
Amen

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

 
Welcome

Hello and welcome to our service of worship.  My name is Lance Stone.  I’m a retired United Reformed Church minister.  I’ve served the URC in London and in Cambridge.  I’ve also served the Church of Scotland in Aberdeen and Amsterdam.  Let us begin with a word of prayer, let us pray.

Living God, open our ears and our hearts to your Word, that it may become flesh in our lives, and to the glory of your holy name. Amen,

Call to Worship 

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Hymn     For the Fruit of All Creation
Fred Pratt Green © 1970 Hope Publishing Company OneLicence. Performed by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission.

For the fruits of all creation, thanks be to God;
for the gifts of every nation, thanks be to God;
for the ploughing, sowing, reaping, silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safe-keeping, thanks be to God.

In the just reward of labour, God’s will is done;
in the help we give our neighbour, God’s will is done;
in our world-wide task of caring for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing, God’s will is done.
 
For the harvests of the Spirit, thanks be to God;
for the good we all inherit, thanks be to God;
for the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us, thanks be to God.

Opening Prayer

Holy and gracious God, creator of the world and giver of life we praise and bless your holy name. You are the God who made us,  you are the God who freed your people from slavery in Egypt, the God who fed them in the wilderness. And you are the God who has come among us in Jesus Christ, the bread of life, who feeds our very souls. You nourish us with your word, and you quench our thirst with your Spirit.

Confession and Pardon

O God we come to you, spiritually hungry. We confess that we turn from you, seeking fulfilment elsewhere, spending our money for that which is not bread, and labouring for that which does not satisfy.  We pray together for your grace and your pardon. Forgive in us what has gone wrong, repair is us what is wasted, reveal in us what is good. And nourish us with better food than we could ever purchase: your Word, your love, your daily bread for life’s journey in the company of Jesus Christ our Lord. In his name and in his words we pray together, saying…Our Father…   

Reading     Isaiah 55:1-9

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Hymn     Break Thou the Bread of Life
Mary A. Lathbury (1877) Public Domain Sung by Michael Eldridge acapeldridge.com
 
Break Thou the Bread of Life, dear Lord, to me,
as Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;
beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
my spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word.

Bless Thou the truth, dear Lord, to me, to me,
as Thou didst bless the bread by Galilee;
then shall all bondage cease, all fetters fall,
and I shall find my peace, my All in all.

Thou art the Bread of Life, O Lord, to me, 
Thy holy Word the truth that saveth me;
give me to eat and live with Thee above;
teach me to love Thy truth, for Thou art Love.
 
Reading     1 Corinthians 10:1-13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,  and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,  and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.  Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’  We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.  We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents.  And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.  These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.  So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.  No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Sermon     Rich food.

I don’t know if it is deliberate, but given our setting today in this season of Lent, traditionally a time commemorating Jesus’ time of fasting in the wilderness, it seems very appropriate that our two readings both contain references to food and drink.  And this is a good opportunity for us to consider for a while the topic of diet and how we eat and drink. With the world tottering on the edge of ecological collapse it is clear that the way we eat contributes radically to the wellbeing or otherwise of the planet, and the subject of food is therefore urgent and demands our attention.

So with this is mind we turn first to our reading, from Isaiah 55 which opens with the words:

‘Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost…
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
And your soul will delight in the richest fare.

The image is of a kind of beggars’ banquet, a feast offered to those without money, a rich feast that will satisfy and leave us nourished, where other food leaves us hungry and craving more. Now Isaiah, of course, is not speaking of a literal feast or banquet. Isaiah is talking about salvation, about God’s gift to us of life that comes through knowing God and honouring God and belonging to God. But our relationship with God is depicted over and over again in the Bible by the image of food. So Jesus pictured God’s Kingdom, God’s realm, as a wedding feast. And when we celebrate the Lord’s supper we take bread and wine and they symbolise Jesus’ body broken and his blood shed for our salvation. Salvation is a beggar’s banquet to which all are invited. And this explains Isaiah’s use of this image of food and drink here in this passage.

Isaiah is addressing the Jewish people when they are in captivity, exiled in Babylon. And as exiles they face a dilemma: are they going to stray true to their Jewish faith and identity? Are they going to remain Jews? Or are they going to be seduced into becoming Babylonians, worshipping Babylonian gods and adopting Babylonian customs? And at the end of this chapter there are beautiful verses depicting Israel leaving Babylon and returning home to Jerusalem, leaving exile and captivity:

‘You shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace;
and the mountains and hills before you will burst into song…’

Here is the great return to Jerusalem, the homecoming from Babylon. But the question is, will you come? Will you come out, will you depart and return, or has Babylon become your home? And the temptation to go Babylonian must have been great. After all the first generation of captives might have pined for Jerusalem, for home, but subsequent generations could begin to feel at home in exile. And no doubt there were inducements: no doubt the exiles could benefit from full participation in the life of Babylon and in letting go of their Jewish identity. And Isaiah is pleading with them: ‘don’t sell out!’ Don’t be fooled! Babylon and its gods may have superficial appeal but they cannot satisfy the soul: Babylon is thin gruel. Babylon is junk food – instant gratification but with no real nourishment. So, 

‘Why spend your money on what is not bread,
and your labour on what does not satisfy?’

Stay true to God. Keep the faith and delight in God’s rich feast which is free for all.  And we have in the Bible the story of one Jew in Babylon who was faithful. His name was Daniel and he did very well in Babylon and rose to a high position in the king’s court. But he remained true to the God of Israel. He flourished in Babylon but kept his faith – and how did he demonstrate that? How did he show his loyalty to the living God and to his Jewish identity? Well, he refused to eat the food of the king’s court. He declined the impure, unclean diet of Babylon. He ate only vegetables and drank only water. In other words Daniel demonstrated which God he served by his diet, how he ate.  And so Isaiah takes the image of food to depict the choice that the Jews in Babylon must make:

 ‘Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.’

Given the choice between the junk-food rations of the empire and the abundant bread of life which God offers there is no contest. 

We find similar themes in our reading from Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians. Called to stand out as a contrast to the decadent culture of Corinth,  things were evidently going awry in the church and members were settling back into old ways. Old habits and behaviour were resurfacing. And like the Jews in exile the church in Corinth has a choice, in their case between conformity to Corinth and conformity to Jesus. And just as with Isaiah, that choice is depicted in terms of food and drink. Paul reminds the church of the Israelites in the wilderness eating and drinking, eating manna from heaven and drinking water from the rock, and he recalls the lure of Egypt, the temptation to return back to captivity – and now that was happening again. The church in Corinth was being seduced back to Egypt. And if we had read on we would have found where it was all coming to a head. And where was that? Why, at the Lord’s table! Around food! To Paul’s utter dismay he discovered that at the Lord’s Table the rich were feasting while the poor were going without. It was no longer a beggars’ banquet. It had succumbed to wealth and status and it was  there, around the table, that the choices between Corinth and Jesus, between Egypt and God’s new realm found expression.

You see, it’s all about food. Food becomes a symbol, food becomes an expression of how we live, the choices that we make, the habits that we follow, the gods we serve. And so today it’s vital for us to think about how we eat and what it reveals about us, what it says about the world we live in. At the very simplest level, we are told that one distinct feature of modern living is that families no longer sit down and eat together. Food is consumed more often than not in front of TVs and computer screens in different rooms and at different times. When I ministered in Cambridge I heard of a Cambridge College where students had to be stopped from coming and going during College dinners – apparently the whole idea of sitting down together and ending the meal together was lost on our educational elite. But this is more than about mere table manners. Our eating practices reveal the breakdown in community and our compulsive attachment to our screens. The table becomes a symbol of our whole understanding of human intercourse and community.  

Take another example. My wife and I have for sometime have been doing our best to give up plastic. There has recently been such heightened awareness of the untold damage being done to the planet by plastic, not least its effect on marine life. So we are trying to eliminate plastic from our lives, but the food industry makes it hard. Try buying mushrooms that do not come in a plastic case. Try avoiding plastic in a supermarket! In some cases each and every aubergine, or pepper is individually wrapped in plastic – presumably because we don’t like our fruit and vegetables bruised. But at what price, and are there not other less destructive ways of doing this? The food industry discloses our cavalier attitude to creation and nature which is killing us. And speaking of our relationship to creation and nature, consider the meat industry and its appalling treatment of animals. And we know that the level of meat production required to satisfy demand is a major factor in environmental destruction – think methane gas and global warming, and think of the destruction of rain forests for the growing of soya to feed cattle to produce beef to produce burgers. And we know that the level of meat production required to satisfy demand results in antibiotics being less effective, and is a major cause of swine and avian flu. And our food production of course results in vast food waste – huge quantities of food thrown away, while great swathes of humanity struggle to feed themselves every day. And don’t forget that the great symbol of globalisation, the towering symbol of the great god of capitalism is what? Well, think of that great global image of McDonald’s, looking like golden angels’ wings! Yes, there is hardly a corner of the world where human beings are not gathered under McDonald’s sacred sign. The world unites around fast-food burgers. The spread of capitalism is measured by the spread of McDonald’s. It all comes down to food.
So why do we collude with it all? Why do we spend our money for that which is not bread?’  Why do we do it? Could it be that the way the food industry functions constitutes another Babylon that holds us in captivity? And just as the Jews allegiance to God and their resistance to Babylon was expressed in dietary terms – ‘why spend your money on what is not bread?’ –  so with us. Our commitment to Christ finds expression in the food we eat. I am not trying to make vegetarians or vegans of us all, though a reduction in meat consumption would undoubtedly benefit the planet. But we need to see that food is profoundly symbolic. It discloses to us profound truths about who we are and who we serve. And just as in Isaiah’s day we are tempted to make choices which offer life but which do not satisfy – which in fact destroy us.

This season of Lent is traditionally a time of fasting, but if it is not your practice to fast perhaps it could at least be a time to think about food and the choices we make and what they disclose.

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Amen.

Hymn     As Pants the Hart
Nahum Tate 1696, Public Domain, sung by Maddy Prior
 
As pants the hart for cooling streams
when heated in the chase,
so longs my soul, O God, for Thee,
and Thy refreshing grace.

For Thee, my God, the living God,
my thirsty soul doth pine;
Oh, when shall I behold Thy face,
Thou Majesty Divine?

God of my strength, how long shall I,
like one forgotten, mourn,
forlorn, forsaken, and exposed
to my oppressor’s scorn?

Why restless, why cast down, my soul?
hope still, and thou shalt sing
the praise of Him who is thy God,
thy health’s eternal spring.
 
Prayers of Intercession

O God, you tell us that we do not live by bread alone, for our souls need satisfying as well as our bodies. Yet we need to eat, and food can be one of the great joys of life.

And so today we pray firstly for those who go hungry today, those who are threatened with food shortages and famine – in places like Gaza and Sudan, where food is in short supply because of conflict, or greed, or incompetence. 

O God we pray for fair and wise distribution of the world’s resources. 
And we pray for charities and NGOs that work to bring relief to places where food is short: for the World Food Programme, for Christian Aid, TEAR Fund and Oxfam and others. 

O God bless their work and bring food to those threatened with starvation.

And God, we pray to day for the food industry, for those whose business is to provide our needs. May they act in ways that are responsible, ways that are just, ways that are conducive to the wellbeing of the environment, ways that do not wreak undue pain and suffering on our fellow creatures. Guide the meat industry, we pray, and our participation in it, in ways that are humane and sustainable.

And God we pray once again for peace in our world – and especially in Gaza, and the middle east. And we pray for displaced people, for people who have lost loved ones, who have lost their homes and possessions. 

And God we pray again for your church in the midst of a suffering world – that it might be a light, a place of hope and of humanity. Help us to offer to the world the true living bread, the rich food of the Gospel. And show us we pray, especially in this season of Lent, what it means to live out the feast of the Kingdom.
We ask you now to hear these prayers, for we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Offertory Prayer

For all that blesses and enriches our lives,
not least the food that we enjoy and that gives us strength,
we give you thanks and praise.
Take us and all that you have given us
and use us in the service of your Kingdom. Amen

Hymn     Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer
William Williams (1745) translator Peter Williams (1771) Public Domain, BBC Songs of Praise
 
Guide me, O my great Redeemer, pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but you are mighty; hold me with your powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore.

Open now the crystal fountain, where the healing waters flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer, ever be my strength and shield,
ever be my strength and shield.
 
When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside.
Death of death, and hell’s Destruction, land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises I will ever give to Thee,
I will ever give to Thee.

Blessing

May God be above you and God beside you,
and heaven all around you as you journey on;
and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy spirit, be with you all, today and always.  Amen

St Luke 19: 28 – 40

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.”’ So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying,

‘Blessed is the king
    who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
    and glory in the highest heaven!’

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’

Reflection

I often feel annoyed when I see pictures that the artist claims are of Jesus, He is so often depicted with blue eyes and blond hair wearing a spotless white robe.  Jesus was a Jew, he lived in Israel, He had worked as a carpenter.  He was not the physically weak person that artists like to portray.  I’m sure his clothes were dusty from walking many miles.

This passage reminds me of just how physically strong Jesus was.  Many years ago, I worked for Scripture Union and led a camp for schoolboys and one of the activities was pony trekking.  One day I was asked to walk up a hill and ride a pony back down, riding bareback was extremely uncomfortable but this pony was used to being ridden, Jesus rode a colt that had not been ridden before.  It can’t have been a comfortable ride. 

There are many parts of this passage that show how God was at work.  The owner of the colt was willing to let it be taken.  Would you let a stranger take your car?  It must have been the Holy Spirit who worked to make this person lend his colt to a stranger.

Jesus showed human and spiritual strength as he rode this previously unridden colt.  People recognised that something very special and called Jesus King.

The Pharisees were concerned, maybe they feared retaliation from the Romans if any Jew claimed to be a King.  Jesus was a King who was bringing peace, peace on earth and peace in heaven.  Jesus did not stop the people but reminded them that the very stones would cry out that He is King and Lord of all.  We should remember that Jesus was with His Father when the universe, which includes those stones, was created.

Prayer

Loving God, I thank you for your son, Jesus.
I thank you that He was willing to come and live amongst us.
I thank you for His strength and determination and that He never deviated from the path He had to follow.
Help me to follow His example and be strong despite opposition.
Help me to be like the owner of that colt, willing to give away my possessions if You need them.
Help me to follow Jesus more truly day by day
Amen 

 St Luke 19: 11 – 27

As they were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, “Do business with these until I come back.” But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us.”  When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, “Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.” He said to him, “Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.”  Then the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has made five pounds.”  He said to him, “And you, rule over five cities.”  Then the other came, saying, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth,  for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.”  He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?  Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.”  He said to the bystanders, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.” 2(And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds!”)  “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.  But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.”’

Reflection

Everyone hated Archelaus – but if he cared, he didn’t show it, anyway, he had things to do. In the year 4BCE, as the eldest son and primary heir of the now late king Herod the Great, he set out for Rome to get legal approval for his claim over his father’s throne.

Following rapidly in Archelaus’ wake was ‘that fox’ Antipas and the rest of the Herodian clan, all eager to press their own claims, as well as an embassy of fifty Jews who went to Rome to make sure that everyone knew that Archelaus was a wrong’un. Archelaus was half Samaritan after all, and basically a nasty piece of work. When the matter had been decided, and the kingdom split up – the vindictive Archelaus returned home and, living up to his reputation, made sure to ‘settle the score’ as bloodily as possible.

This story, one of the many scandals surrounding the Herodians at the time of Jesus, forms the starting point of the structure to the parable we’ve read today. “But why,” some ask, perplexed, “would Luke have Jesus use a true story about this horrible Archelaus to talk about himself?” The common assumption is that the parable of the minas, (‘pounds’ in this translation) in Luke, similarly to the parable of the Talents in Matthew, puts the royal figure in the place of ‘the goodie’.

But the parables are more subversive than that. They are stories about the real world and the realities of life, about slavery and oppression. Here we learn that the elite rulers, the despots and puppet kings like the Herods, aren’t about to disappear, and as long as they’re around bad things are going to happen to the people who stand up and speak out. After all the third slave was right, the master really was a harsh man who took what he did not deposit and reaped what he did not sow.

‘It’s not going to suddenly be sunshine and unicorns, you know, there are penalties for doing the right thing,’ Jesus warned the disciples. This remains true today.

Prayer

God of freedom and truth, 
we stand in solidarity 
with all who stand up to oppression:
journalists and opposition politicians, 
comedians and satirists, 
ordinary people who dare speak against 
the rule of tyrants and despots.
Just as others are paying with their lives 
for truth telling, 
so may we be willing to make 
the sort of sacrifices necessary 
to expose the reality of the rotten philosophies
that our way of life is based upon. Amen.

St Luke 19: 1 – 10

He entered Jericho and was passing through it.  A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax-collector and was rich.  He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycomore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.  When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.’  So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.  All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’  Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, ‘Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.’  Then Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’

Reflection

I can’t be the only one who, on reading various narratives in the Bible, would love to know what happened next – and this is one of those stories. Here we have Zacchaeus, a small man, but one known to many as a lackey of the occupying forces, who wasn’t slow to make a bit of profit on the side. He’s interested enough in Jesus to put aside his dignity, and climb a tree.  If that hadn’t been sufficient to get him noticed, Jesus spots him, looks up and invites himself to dinner. 

As usual, complaints are made about Jesus’ decision about who to keep company with, but for Zacchaeus the encounter is life changing, and he makes extravagant promises about giving away his possessions, and repaying those whom he has cheated. Clearly Jesus sees a sincerity in Zacchaeus, and declares that salvation has come to the house. 

But like so many other gospel characters, we hear no more of Zacchaeus. I really want to know whether he really give away half of his possessions? And if so, how did he have enough left to repay fourfold what he had obtained by extortion? In my understanding of economics, it simply doesn’t add up.

The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. Perhaps God’s maths isn’t like our maths either, and there’s a challenge to us all to reflect God’s generosity in our own lives.

Prayer

Generous God,
help us to acknowledge you in the ways in which we deal with our possessions and money.
Give us wisdom in our stewardship, but also the faith to be extravagant in our giving, 
recognising the extravagance of your love for us.
Amen.

St Luke 18: 35 – 42

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening.  They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.’  Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’  Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’  Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him,  ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’  Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

Reflection

Living in London, I regularly see beggars on the streets. Now and then there’s one who is blind. They often call out asking for help. The people I see mostly pass them by.

The blind beggar in today’s reading had heard about Jesus, who he was and what he could offer. He cried out loudly to him. The crowd tried to silence him. I can imagine them thinking – ‘oh no, let’s get this fellow out of the way, don’t let him interrupt what’s going on with our following of Jesus and listen to what he has to say.’

But Jesus saw into his heart. Jesus actually wanted to stop and listen and hear what’s going on with him. He wasn’t just trying to tell him what to do. Instead, he asked ‘what do you want?’ The beggar responds by saying that he wants to see again. And the result is that Jesus opens his eyes.

It is interesting that Jesus didn’t start by telling the beggar what to do. He looked at him with love, and asked what he wanted.

It’s a challenge to know when we are being blind and need to have our eyes opened – to ourselves, to God and to God’s world. But we too can put our trust in God, that God comes to us as we are, that God hears our plea, that God opens our eyes to see God more clearly.

Our trust in God draws us into a personal relationship with God, where we can speak to God of what we need and want, and experience the Spirit’s power lifting us up. Then, as we see God more clearly – in creation, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit – so we can see more clearly the way we’re called to live in God’s loving way in God’s world.

This gift of God’s loving way, in which we’re invited to trust and to walk, is the gift we’re asked to share with God’s suffering world.

Prayer

O God, as you opened the eyes of the blind beggar, open my eyes when they are closed to you and to your world, so that I may see more of your love.

As my eyes are opened, may I come to trust you more fully and learn more deeply of how to live in your way, for each part of your troubled world.
Amen.