Today’s service is led by the Revd The Revd Jenny Mills
 

Introduction
 
Hello.  My name is the Revd Jenny Mills and I am the Deputy General Secretary for Faith in Action. My team and I oversee the work of Discipleship and Mission in the Offices of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church. We serve the synods and local churches, seeking to inspire and resource them as they share the love of God through worship, word and action. It is good to be with you in worship today. God calls us to worship in community and bring our thanks and praise. Siblings in Christ, let us worship!
 
Call to Worship 
 
‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!’ We come to worship you, Lord of all.  We bring before you:  our thanks and praise, our hopes and fears, our joys and sadness.  ‘I wait for the Lord; my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.’ As we join together in worship we offer all we are to you.  Through song, prayer, music, reflection, and silence.  We come just as we are, knowing that you meet us here. Knowing that we are loved, precious, unique, and special in your eyes.  Bless us as we join together. May we worship with our whole being  and find hope, strength and love to empower, inspire and enable us 
as we journey on.  ‘O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.’ Let us sing!
 
Hymn       Jesus Calls Us Here To Meet Him
John L Bell (born 1949) and Graham Maule (1958-2019) © 1989, 1998 WGRG, c/o Iona Community OneLicence No. # A-734713 Performed by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission.
 

2 We are learners; we are teachers;
we are pilgrims on the way.
We are seekers; we are givers;
we are vessels made of clay.
By our gentle, loving actions,
we would show that Christ is light.
In a humble, list’ning Spirit,
we would live to God’s delight.
 
3 As a green bud in the springtime
is a sign of life renewed,
so may we be signs of oneness
‘mid earth’s peoples, many hued.
As a rainbow lights the heavens 
when a storm is past and gone, 
may our lives reflect the radiance 
of God’s new and glorious dawn.

A Prayer for Illumination
 
Loving God, as we encounter your word in Scripture may we find challenge and comfort. Through the texts and through our musings and reflections, may we come closer to you and learn more about your love in the world. Open our eyes and hearts to your presence. Amen. 
 
Reading   Ezekiel 37: 1-14
 
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.  He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.”  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.  I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them.  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’  Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people.  I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”
 
Reading   St John 11: 1-45
 
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill.  So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”  But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather, it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”  The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?”  Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble because they see the light of this world.  But those who walk at night stumble because the light is not in them.”  After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.”  The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.”  Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep.  Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.  For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”  Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away,  and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home.  Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”  Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live,  and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.  He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”  Jesus began to weep.  So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”  But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.”  Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”  So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did believed in him.
 
Hymn       I Danced In The Morning
Sydney Carter (1915-2004) © 1963 Stainer & Bell Ltd
OneLicence No. # A-734713 Sung by the Beyond the Walls Choir
 

I danced in the morning
when the world was begun,
and I danced in the moon
and the stars and the sun,
and I came down from heaven
and I danced on the earth,
at Bethlehem I had my birth.
 
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
and I’ll lead you all,
 wherever you may be,
and I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.
 
2 I danced for the scribe
and the pharisee,
but they would not dance 
and they wouldn’t follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
for James and John –
they came with me
and the Dance went on.
 
3 I danced on the Sabbath
and I cured the lame;
the holy people
said it was a shame.
they whipped and they stripped
and they hung me on high,
and they left me there
on a Cross to die.
 
4 I danced on a Friday
when the sky turned black –
it’s hard to dance
with the devil on your back.
They buried my body
and they thought I’d gone,
but I am the Dance, and I still go on.
 
5 They cut me down
and I leapt up high;
I am the life
that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you
if you’ll live in me –
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Sermon
 
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. 
The book of Ezekiel is set in Babylon, beginning in the fifth year of the Babylonian exile (593BCE). Following the capture of Jerusalem in 597BCE it is thought that Ezekiel was brought to Babylon with the first group of exiles. He is identified as a priest of some importance and in the exile was highly regarded and consulted by the exiled elders. As modern-day readers we find some of his words and behaviours bizarre and today’s reading, a vision experienced by Ezekiel, is one such well-known prophecy. As a prophet Ezekiel is called to look out and warn Israel about their behaviour, turning from God’s ways; but he also promises a future renewal and restoration. Today’s text offers us a hope-filled image that has been the inspiration for songs focusing on the vision in the Valley of the Dry Bones. The idea of dry bones coming to life is fascinating and haunting. It powerfully illustrates God’s desire for humanity: that we should have life in all abundance- and that is what we hear in Chapter 10 of the Gospel according to John, in verse 10 Jesus says he came to give people life, and have it to the full, an abundant life. The Ezekiel image of God breathing life into the dry bones- resurrecting new life from what appeared dead demonstrates God’s desire for us to not be dry bones but to have breath, wellness, to flourish and thrive. Ezekiel is speaking to the people in exile to turn from their sinful ways and trust that God will revive and sustain them. 
And we hear, in John’s story of resurrection, heralding what is to come for Jesus, but also illustrating the importance of relationship, community, faithfulness. In this story we could wonder whether it happened as recorded, and agonise over the details and challenge each other over the specifics, and struggle with it. Or we can listen and reflect and ask: what does this mean? This seventh and last sign from the Gospel according to John, what is it telling us? 
 
The stark difference in the two stories for me is the fact that Ezekiel is alone and Jesus is surrounded by people, constantly, in this story: followers, disciples, friends, doubters. This tricky story contains so much that one sermon cannot do justice to it. But it clearly speaks of God’s desire for us to be in relationship with others, to find community, friendship and ‘our tribe’, our people, a sense of belonging, fostered, blessed, and enabled by God’s love shown in Jesus and inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. And once in community to seek the wellbeing of others, to help those around us (known and unknown) to thrive and flourish. In the John reading we see Jesus’ foretelling of his death and resurrection, showing the ultimate hope that lies in a relationship with the living God, meaning eternal life, life lived surrounded by love and enabling flourishing. By raising Lazarus from the dead he is demonstrating that new life in him is for all. 
 
What we also see in both stories is God’s desire for humankind to be reconciled to God.
 
That reconciliation has two main emphases: Personal faith or salvation; and community faith. God, in Jesus, calls us to follow him. To offer who we are to God, to respond to God’s love in our lives: through a vertical response of faith between us and the divine. This relationship is one that is life giving, life changing and demands a response from us. And the response leads us into a horizontal relationship with others. We are called into community with all of creation including humanity. These ‘upwards’ and ‘all around’ relationships are complementary and critical for our faith to grow. God calls us to love, to worship, to learn and grow as followers (disciples), to study, discuss and develop, to respond to God’s love with our lives but also then to look beyond ourselves and our relationship with the Divine to react and respond in the world. God’s love is so precious, life altering and powerful that we cannot keep it to ourselves and we are called to share it, through our relationships, our worship, actions, words and ways. This is so others may know the possibility and hope offered through God, in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit- and respond. But not only to grow the church congregation or increase the numbers of people who believe, but to be bringers of God’s kingdom, to enable God to work through humanity to transform the world. To challenge unjust systems and unfair structures; to show that there is another way to live. To show that the Jesus way of sharing love and seeking abundant life for all is open to all; and that by this radical way of being as individuals and in communities, God’s world will change and God’s kingdom continue to grow. 
 
And this is what the Church (universal) has been doing for centuries and what we are still called to be doing today. Along with all the faithful saints from years gone by, from people whose lives reflected the love of God, we have seen God’s kingdom grow and flourish. Church around the world can be different, has different ways of seeing issues, differences over communion and baptism, differing theological standpoints, and different ways of worshipping. And yet, the church is the visual image of God in the world that people can relate to and respond to. However, the church is the people, not the buildings, not the structures, not the rules or expectations. 
God calls us as people of faith to be the living embodiment of love. We are called into community, into relationship to preach, love, serve, care, share, and offer an awareness of God’s love to those around us. Jesus’ life and ministry show us the vitality and importance of relationship. 
 
God’s grace, an unmerited gift open to all that offers us life in all abundance, is something none of us deserve and yet is a gift waiting for us to open our hearts to receive. How can we not want to share that with others? 
 
New life, lived in the knowledge of this amazing grace, is something that has been appealing ever since Jesus walked on this earth and its wonder continues to bless people’s lives. 
 
We may not experience dramatic stories of resurrection, like the two we have heard today, but we can all recall stories of new life, resurrection hope, and possibility in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Our two stories today remind us that there is always hope, that joy, peace and love will triumph over hate, hurt, harm, and prejudice. 
 
As we look around us, at our churches and our communities, we may see decline or sadness, struggles or tiredness, but Ezekiel reminds us that God wants to breathe life into the dry bones, that Jesus’ life reviving teachings can still inspire and enable new ways for God’s grace to become visible in our spaces.
 
I am privileged to visit many local churches as I preach and to hear stories of hope and welcome, of encouragement and blessing. I experienced the URC Extraordinary General Assembly in November 2025 that voted for the changes that arose from the Church Life Review that offer possibility and support for local congregations and encourages us to grow new worshipping communities. I see the churches welcoming refugees and speaking out about discrimination; I know of mission projects that have transformed communities; and community workers that worked with others to grow spaces of safety and acceptance; so much going on. God is still resurrecting, breathing new life, reviving those who are struggling, and blessing lives. 
 
We, as followers of Jesus, are the ones who can work with God, as co-creators to be kingdom bringers and community changers. We do this through prayer; discipleship development (Bible study, discussion groups, Stepwise, other ways that help us grow in our understanding of, and encounter with, God); through worship; through intentional conversations and actions that allow others to glimpse God. And we do this together. As the whole church, as synods, as local congregations.
 
To enable flourishing, thriving, life in all abundance, and hope. 
In God’s name. Amen
 
Hymn       Beauty for Brokenness
Graham Kendrick (born 1950) © 1993 Make Way Music OneLicence No. # A-734713  
Frodsham Methodist Church Cloud Choir used with their kind permission.
 

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!
 
2 Shelter for fragile lives,
cures for their ills,
work for the craftsmen,
trade for their skills;
land for the dispossessed,
rights for the weak,
voices to plead the cause
of those who can’t speak

 
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.
 

3 Refuge from cruel wars,
havens from fear,
cities for sanctuary,
freedoms to share.
Peace to the killing-fields,
scorched earth to green,
Christ for the bitterness,
his cross for the pain.
 
4 Rest for the ravaged earth,
oceans and streams
plundered and poisoned –
our future, our dreams.
Lord, end our madness,
carelessness, greed;
make us content with
the things that we need.

God of the poor….
 
5 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.
 
God of the poor…
 
Prayers of Intercessions 
 
Gracious God, we bring our prayers to you. We begin with prayers for our hurting and broken world. For the situations around the world that cry out for peace and safety. For all people affected by climate change, natural disasters, and the consequences of humankind’s selfishness. We also give thanks for the helpers, the rescuers, the carers and peacemakers, for people speaking up and stepping out to offer solidarity and hope. 
 
silence
 
Jesus, remember me, 
when you come into your kingdom.
 
We hold before God those we love and care for, those known to us, our local community. 
 
Silence
 
Jesus, remember me,
when you come into your kingdom.
 
We name the political situation at home and abroad. For governments and leaders. For those in power praying that they will lead with wisdom, integrity and compassion. 
 
Silence
 
Jesus, remember me,
when you come into your kingdom.
 
For the coming week in our church, community, country, and world. We bring to God the pressures, situations, opportunities and concerns we have. 
 
Silence
 
Jesus, remember me,
when you come into your kingdom.
 
Finally we pray for ourselves, that we may find peace and love and find ways of being both vulnerable and authentic in relationships and in community. 
 
Silence
 
Jesus, remember me,
when you come into your kingdom.
 
All these prayers we offer in Jesus’ name. Amen. 
 
Offertory 
 
God calls us to think about how we use all we have. So, we come as people of faith, bringers of God’s kin-dom, called to share with others that which we have received. Through our giving God’s love can be more clearly seen, known and experienced.  Come, let us pray:
 
Gracious God, we are fortunate to have 
shelter, warmth, food and freedom 
and to know your love in our lives, transforming and empowering us. 
As you give to us, so we respond, with our lives, our time, our hearts. 
We offer our gifts, talents, money, and time 
to be used for your purposes in your world. 
May all we offer bring light and love as it is shared. 
May all we offer be a force for good. May all we offer be a blessing. 
In your world, for your people, until your kingdom come.  Amen. 
 
Hymn       Longing for Light We Wait in Darkness
© 1994 Bernadette Farrell (born 1957) published by OCP Publications 
OneLicence No. A-734713 Frodsham Methodist Church Cloud Choir accompanied by Andrew Ellams and used with their kind permission.
 

 
Blessing
 
Our service has ended but our service in the world has just begun. 
Go out into the world to know and be love.
Go out into the world knowing God goes with you, just as you are.
Go out into the world seeking to be the person God wants you to be.
Go out into the world seeking to bring justice, peace and hope. 
Go out into the world and live the abundant life God wills for all. 
Go out into the world to sow seeds of love. 
And the blessing of God Almighty, Creator, Son and Sustainer,
be with you and those you love, now and always. Amen.

Saturday, 21 March 2026 

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’  And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’  Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour?  Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’  Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’  Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.  So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words.  Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,

“I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”

But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.’  Peter said to him, ‘Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.’  Peter said to him, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And so said all the disciples.

Reflection

‘Love hurts, love scars’, so crooned the Everly Brothers in the 1960’s and many artists in their wake.

This reading seems to capture the hurts and the scars of love between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus knew that the disciples would desert him, that his band of disciples would be scattered, that his work over the past three years would appear to be all for nothing. How painful must that have been to bear?

The disciples are mortified that Jesus could even think it. They had no intention of abandoning their leader. They sincerely believed that they would stand by him. It must have hurt to hear Jesus make this pronouncement.

It hurts because of love; Jesus’ love for his disciples and their love for him.

Julian of Norwich meditated on the love of Jesus. In her writings she said, ‘And I, seeing all this through his grace, saw that the love he has for our soul is so strong that he sought our soul with great longing and willingly suffered for it – and paid for it in full.’ (1)

Although the disciples would be scattered Jesus gives them assurance that they would be drawn back together, that he would go ahead of them. That same love would bring them back together, as surely as the cock crows, as surely as the sun rises.

1:Upjohn, Sheila. The Way of Julian of Norwich:
A Prayer Journey Through Lent . SPCK. Kindle Edition.

Prayer

Lord, You know that we love You;
You know our thoughts and intentions,
Know the depth of devotion
Found in our lives today.
If our love has weakened, if our fervour has waned,
Turn us, Lord, by Your Spirit,
Let us love with love unfeigned. 
Lord, You know that we love You!
Help that love to be true;
Fill our lives with Your Spirit’s power,
Lord of love, make us strong –
We who to Christ belong.

Words and Music: Howard Davies, Salvation Army  Song Book, 2015 Edition

It can be heard here.

https://youtu.be/LOrzHRq4R3I?si=TDjqjV_9sK2JT5nm

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the[d] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Reflection

Yesterday, I was chatting with a minister of a Methodist/URC Local Ecumenical Partnership and the conversation veered to how Holy Communion is celebrated in various traditions. We wondered if anyone really understood what is happening as we eat and drink the elements together. 

Whether we might view the sacrament as entirely symbolic, an encounter with the Real Presence of Christ, or something in between, there remains a deep mystery that suggested, to us at least, that if you think you understand what is happening in the Eucharist, you probably don’t understand what is happening in the Eucharist. 

I strongly suspect that Jesus’ friends, hearing these words uttered for the very first time, gathered around him in that upper room, didn’t understand either – but it didn’t prevent them from participating anyway.

This passage, and its parallel in Mark 14:26, are the only times in the gospel texts that we read of Jesus singing! The ‘Hallel’ psalms (113-118), are still sung around the Passover meal today in many Jewish gatherings. In my church, we sing a metrical version of Psalm 118 during our Maundy Thursday service, reflecting on the final words that Jesus and his friends would have sung from memory before they went out into the night.

What words and phrases do you have ringing in your mind in times of testing and trial? Scripture verses learned at a young age? Perhaps a line of a hymn or worship song that pops into your thoughts when you were least expecting it? Or is it the unkind and callous words of others, wounding like a knife and replayed over and over?

For my part, I make a conscious choice to fill my mind with words of life, from scripture, poetry and songs, and try to let those be my meditation. Somehow, this spiritual food helps to sustain me even when all around seems bleak and hopeless: it’s as much a mystery for me as bread broken and wine outpoured. What sustains you today?

Prayer

God who sings,
the song of creation and re-creation,
of lamentation and deliverance,
sing over me now your song of love.
As I take captive my thoughts,
fill up my life with praise,
to silence the accuser 
in holy defiance
of the challenges before me this day.
May the song of my heart
and the melodies of my life
harmonise with the song of heaven,
and keep in step with the dance of the Divine
today and always.  Amen.
 

On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, “The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.”’ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve;  and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’  He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’  Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’

Reflection

As I write this reflection I am struck by how real and natural the disciples’ response is.  How many of us, when we hear a general accusation, immediately feel guilty, even when we know we haven’t done anything wrong?  Or is it just me?

I remember once at school having to wait a long time outside a classroom.  The teacher was delayed for some reason, and the class were getting restless.  When the teacher finally arrived and saw people fooling around, we were given a collective punishment.  While feeling hard done to, as I hadn’t deserved the punishment, I accepted it and spent the evening writing lines.  I took the paper in the following day, to find that I was the only one who had taken the teacher seriously.  How often does that happen?

And so, perhaps it’s no surprise that the disciples turn to Jesus and ask that question – ‘Surely not I, Lord?’   One of them, Judas, has betrayed Jesus, and yet he is the last one to speak, as the others wonder if they have, inadvertently, said or done something wrong.  In their distress, they feel the collective guilt, and the collective pain of what is about to happen.  Perhaps, as Judas leaves the room, they are wondering if they could have said or done something to stop him.

How would you have responded to Jesus’ statement?  What would you have said?  Would you have felt that collective guilt?  Do you feel that collective guilt?  Do we feel that guilt every time we betray Jesus by failing to live out our calling to be His people, and share His love with the world, or as we stand by and watch as others betray Him?

Feelings of guilt can either help or hinder – they can hold us back or help us to move forward – to be more certain of what and who we believe in, and to be true to that in the way we live our lives.

Prayer

Loving God,
we can only imagine the distress of the disciples 
as they heard those words, 
‘One of you will betray me,’ 
and responded with cries of ‘Surely not I, Lord?
May the guilt we feel 
as we join in those cries be positive and encouraging,
drawing us into a closer relationship with you,
as we live out our faith in the world around us,
in Lent, at Easter, and always. Amen.

Daily Devotions, Housekeeping, and a Sabbatical

Dear <<First Name>>,

The URC blesses its ministers with a 12 week sabbatical every 7 years to encourage rest, research, and renewal believing this helps refresh both minister and the congregations and posts they serve.  At the end of this week I will start a sabbatical, and some annual leave, where I will be looking at three medieval Church reform movements (the Cathars, Waldensians, and Franciscans) and explore what the contemporary Church might learn from them.  I hope to produce a Daily Devotion series in the autumn looking at these themes.  I return to my desk on 29th June.

I am very grateful for a wonderful team of writers who agreed to write series over the Summer so that the period of time when I am off, and the months immediately following, are covered.  More, I am very grateful they got their material into me very early to allow other volunteers (thanks again!) to record and load the devotions into the email programme we use.  

We finish our read through of Matthew just after Easter and then start a four week series from the Revd Dr Janet Tollington working our way through the Book of Judges.  The Revd Neil Thorogood leads a week’s worth of reflections looking at Scripture, Art, and Faith – all the art he looks at was created by women.  Two interns working with the Joint Public Issues Team, Thomas Niblett and Erica Lees-Smith, help us explore how to seek justice in our lives and faith.  After Pentecost the Revd Dr Seoyoung Kim, a minister in the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea will spend two weeks reflecting on water and theology.  Retired minister, the Revd Gethin Rhys, will help us explore the relationship with Church and State.  The Revd Professor Stephen Orchard offers a week’s worth of reflections on hymns.  I am delighted that a group of students ending their first year’s training, some of their tutors, some final year students about to be ordained and a minister three years in have all collaborated to produce a lovely set of reflections on vocation – I hope it will help you reflect more on what God calls you to. Retired minister the Revd Adrian Bulley will explore the Biblical ideas behind our desire to transform conflict.   Two more retired ministers (Paul Holmes from the URC and Simon Betteridge from the Church of England) explore what it might mean to be a compassionate community with a week’s worth of Devotions.   The Revd David Cornick, a former URC General Secretary, explores what comprises Reformed Spirituality.  The Revd Dr Romilly Micklem offers us a week’s worth of reflections on money and then Gethin Rhys returns with a week’s reflections arising from the Covid enquiries.  This series of specially commissioned work concludes with two weeks’ reflections from the Cascades of Grace network.  This is a group of global majority women in the URC.  

During my sabbatical I will, of course, not be checking emails (though I have queued up introductions to each theme to go out).  If you find you no longer receive your Daily Devotions please do check your spam/junk folders; most often they are there!  Please do add this email address to your contacts (that trains your email programme these emails aren’t spam!).  If you wish to change your email address please use the link at the bottom of this email and every Daily Devotion.  If you do have a problem please email as usual and Amy Boon, our Digital Content Assistant, will try and help.  

With every good wish

Andy

The Rev’d Andy Braunston
Minister for Digital Worship
 

St Matthew 26: 6 – 13

Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, ‘Why this waste?  For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me.  For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.  By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial.  Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’

Reflection

Many years ago I attended a clergy women’s retreat and someone (it might have been one of you!) focused on this unnamed woman.  They highlighted these words, ‘What she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’  Through the centuries this unnamed woman has been remembered.  

So many women’s stories are lost to history.  So many women go unnamed, even in our scripture.  Though Matthew doesn’t name her, we remember her.  

What is it Jesus wants us to remember about her?  Is it that she anointed him?  Is it that she recognised him as God’s Son?  Is it that she spent all her money on expensive perfume?  Is it that she courageously entered the house of a leper?  Is it that she was bold enough to interrupt the men’s meal?  Are any of these things what Jesus wants us to remember and emulate?

I suspect no one of these is what we are to remember.  I wonder whether what he wants us to remember is simply this -she acted.  She didn’t just listen.  She didn’t wonder too long about whether she should act.  Instead, she heard a call to respond in love to Jesus and she acted.  

We are so good as church at sending everything through elders and Church Meeting, at sending it back to another group that by the time we are ready to act we have lost the impetus to do anything.  She was brave.  She acted.  Because she was brave and acted, imagine what people said about her later.  (In John’s version of this story she is a ‘sinner’; that may indicate some of what was said about her later!)

Perhaps Jesus says we will remember her because he us to hear his call and act too.  We know who he is.  Be brave and act.  We do this in remembrance of her.

Prayer

God, may the actions of all those unnamed people  
who have served you 
inspire us to live Jesus’ values in our communities.  
May their work give us hope and guidance.  
Help us bravely act 
and in so doing may we birth love and peace.
Amen.  

 
Today’s service is led by Emma Howarth
 

Introduction
 
Hello, and welcome to the service for Sunday 15^th March 2026 for the United Reformed Church.  My name is Emma Howarth.  I am the Training and Development officer for Mersey Synod and I am so glad to welcome you this morning.  I hope you enjoy the service
 
Greeting 
 
The grace and peace of Christ be with you. And also with you.
Let us worship God.
 
Call to Worship
 
Come everybody, gather to worship. Everybody’s welcome, God is here!   Come if you’re weary, hungry or thirsty.  Everybody’s welcome, God is here!  Bring your rejoicing, dancing and singing.  Everybody’s welcome, God is here!  Bring all your failures, questions and sorrows.  Everybody’s welcome, God is here!  All shapes and sizes, faces and backgrounds.  Everybody’s welcome, God is here!  All to the glory of Jesus our saviour.  Everybody’s welcome, God is here! Everybody’s welcome, God is here!  Everybody’s welcome, God is here! This is your day and we shall praise you!  This is your day and we shall declare your name! This is your day, and we shall worship a risen Saviour and our King! 
 
Hymn       Christ Be Our Light
Bernadette Farrell (born 1957) © 1994 Bernadette Farrell OCP Publications OneLicense 
No. A-734713 Sung by Chris Brunelle and used with his kind permission.
 

Longing for light, 
we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, 
we turn to you.
Make us your own, 
your holy people,
light for the world to see.
 
Christ be our light! 
Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ be our light!
Shine in your Church 
gathered today.
 
2 Longing for peace, 
our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone 
has pow’r to save us.
Make us your living voice. 

3 Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others, shared until all are fed.

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

Reading   Ephesians 5:8-14
 
For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.  Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them.  For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly, but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
 
Reading   St John 9:1-41
 
As Jesus  walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the he.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out. Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
 
Hymn       We Cannot Measure How You Heal
John L Bell (born 1949) and Graham Maule (1958-2019) © 1989, 1996 WGRG, Iona Community,  OneLicence No. # A-734713 performed by Ruth and Joy Everingham and used with their kind permission.
 

Lord of life, we come to you
Lord of all, our Saviour be;
come to bless and to heal,
with the light of your love.
 
Through the days of doubt and toil,
in our joy and in our pain,
guide our steps in your way,
make us one in your love.  

Christ is the world’s true Light,
its Captain of salvation,
the Daystar clear and bright
desire of every nation;
New life, new hope awakes,
for all who own his sway:
freedom her bondage breaks,
and night is turned to day.
 
2 In Christ all races meet,
their ancient feuds forgetting,
the whole round world complete,
from sunrise to its setting:
when Christ is known as Lord,
all shall forsake their fear,
to ploughshare beat the sword,
to pruning-hook the spear.

3 One Lord, in one great name unite us all who own thee;
cast out our pride and shame that hinder to enthrone thee;
the world has waited long, has travailed long in pain;
to heal its ancient wrong, come, Prince of Peace, and reign.
 
Blessing
 
May our Gracious God go out with us into the world.  
May we be the head, heart and hands of God.  
And may the blessing of God; 
Father, Son and Holy Spirit 
rest upon us, those we love 
and those that we find it difficult to love, 
now and until we meet again.
Amen.
 
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ, Amen.

St Matthew 26: 1 – 5

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.  But they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’

Reflection

For most of us, the anticipated approach of significant times in our lives prompts a flurry of activity; whether it’s getting out the Christmas decorations, packing up to move house, or completing pieces of work before taking a holiday or leaving a job.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus had now reached the point of turning aside from the busyness, friendships and teaching that had filled his days of ministry, to focus on those things he must do alone.  He knew that in a very short time he would be called to fulfil his final destiny.

The chief priests and elders also knew his end was near. Without being in any hurry, they were now prepared and ready to seize Jesus at a time and place of their choosing.    They thought to be as quietly secretive as possible as they arrested him. They thought to limit the danger and difficulty to themselves by waiting till after the Passover festival.  They still thought they held power over Jesus and could control what happened to him. It never crossed their minds that Jesus himself would control all the events of the coming days: the times, the places, the participants, the witnesses; that all authority lay in the palms of the hands which would soon be fastened to a cross.

Absorbed by the  minutiae of our own lives, focussed on the things we want to achieve and the necessary plans and preparations, it is all too easy to lose sight of our context.  Jesus knows everything about us, our past, present and future, and holds each of our minutes and all of our years in those same hands.  And if, like the chief priests and the elders of the people, things do not work out in quite the way we mean they should, we may be simultaneously reassured and surprised that they will happen as they need to, for Jesus’s sake.

Prayer

Eternally gracious and patient Lord Jesus: 
in the well-meaning busyness of our days, 
may we never forget your presence with us, 
your love for us, 
and your hand guiding, shielding and shepherding us. 
Help us to recognise and accept that our ways 
are not always your ways, 
but your ways are infinitely better, in every way.   Amen

St Matthew 25: 31 – 46

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,  and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.  Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;  for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”  Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?  And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”  And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”  Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;  for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.”  Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?”  Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

Reflection

I once found myself standing in a queue at a soup kitchen amongst some of the poorest people, in the richest country in the world.  It was raining, I had no coat and was soaked through.  My inner thoughts were wrestling with the fact that I didn’t actually need to be there because I was privileged to have a safe place to stay and there was plenty of food there; but my mission, (and I chose to accept it), was to live for 12 hours as a person with no resources and stand in solidarity with the people Jesus’ calls ‘the least.’  One of the other people in the queue spotted my discomfort and called me over.  He opened his bag, the one containing everything he owned, and pulled out a clean, dry T-shirt and gave it to me.  No questions, no judgement, no expectation of receiving anything in return.  He saw my need and responded to it.

This, I realized, is exactly the sort of thing Jesus is talking about in this passage.  

Now, I am not Jesus and, if anyone is in this story it’s my generous friend; the one who had so much less than I but was prepared to give the little he had because I needed it.

Jesus was speaking out into a world where strength was power and power was often cruel and oppressive.  The way to combat such ideas, he says, is to respond with non-violent acts of service.

These verses were on a poster on a wall where I was staying at the time and they came alive for me when I saw them lived out on the rain-soaked streets of Atlanta.

Prayer

God of love, you call us to serve you by serving one another.  
Grant us a generosity of spirit 
and give us loving hearts that we may always be prepared 
to meet the needs of others. Amen.