Today’s service is led by the Revd Dr Susan Durber

 
Introduction 

Hello! I am Susan Durber, a retired United Reformed Church minister, living in Pembrokeshire. I also serve as the World Council of Churches President from Europe.  Among Christians in the West, this Sunday is the first in the season of Lent. While, for many of us, every Sunday has to be ‘a little Easter’, a celebration of the resurrection, some of us are also learning to value the seasons of the Christian year, so that we can live through the Gospel story, through the rhythms of repentance and rejoicing, of emptiness and fulfilment, of dying and new life. In this service, at the beginning of Lent, we are invited not only to think about, but to share, Jesus’ experience of going into a wild place to learn who he was and what his life was for. In our worship God expands our imagination and opens up our lives to a new world, so that we can learn how to live in this one. 

Opening Responses

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.   – Mark 1:35

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  – Psalm 63:1

God says, ‘I will turn the wilderness into pools and dry land into springs of water.’   – Isaiah 41:18b

Hymn     Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us
James Edmeston (1791 – 1867) Public Domain Sung by the choir of St Michael and All Angels, Bassett.
 
Lead us, heavenly Father, lead us
o’er the world’s tempestuous sea;
guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us,
for we have no help but thee;
yet possessing every blessing,
if our God our Father be.

Saviour, breathe forgiveness o’er us:
all our weakness thou dost know;
thou didst tread this earth before us,
thou didst feel its keenest woe;
lone and dreary, faint and weary,
through the desert thou didst go.
 
Spirit of our God, descending,
fill our hearts with heavenly joy,
love with every passion blending,
pleasure that can never cloy:
thus provided, pardoned, guided,
nothing can our peace destroy.

Prayers of Approach and Confession

Eternal God, we are glad to come on this day
to praise you, to listen for your Word,
and to find strength for life in the world.
As we worship, surrounded by your saints,
we open our ears to listen for the Gospel,
our eyes to see the world new
our mouths to sing your praise
and our hearts to receive your love.

Eternal God, at Creation 
you called us into being out of the dust of the earth,
and you stay beside us in every dusty, desert day.
Bless us on a journey into the wilderness,
as we set out on a pilgrimage towards Easter.
May any fasting we do encourage our hunger for justice;
let any of our giving to charity deepen our generosity,
and may extra prayers bring us closer to you.
Let our worship in this service,
be offered in the name of Jesus,
who shares with us the wilderness and the feast,
the ordinary and the holy,
the wonderful everydays of all our lives.  Amen.

God of all mercy and understanding,
we know that we tend to mess things up,
that we cannot tame all that is in us
and that our days are shadowed by regrets. 
Sometimes we find ourselves where we do not want to be,
or in a wilderness where we cannot find
the safe and welcome path. 

Come to us today. Come and find us where we are.
Forgive us, in your love, where we need it
and prepare us for home again.

God is merciful and full of compassion.
Jesus says, ‘Your sins are forgiven’.
With a new heart, set free from wrong and death,
hear the call to abundant life
and live your days in the Kingdom of God.

The Lord’s Prayer

Hymn     O Matchless Beauty of our God
Augustine of Hippo translated by Colin Thompson © used with permission sung by Paul Robinson and used with his kind permission

O matchless beauty of our God
so ancient and so new,
kindle in us your fire of love;
fall on us as the dew!

How late we came to love you, Lord;
how strong the hold of sin!
Your beauty speaks from all that is:
your likeness pleads within.

You called and cried, yet we were deaf;
our stubborn wills you bent;
you shed your fragrance and we caught
a moment of its scent.

You blazed and sparkled, yet our hearts
to lesser glories turned;
your radiance touched us far from home;
your beauty in us burned!

And should our faith grow weak and fall,
tried in the wilderness,
let beauty blossom out of ash
and streams of water bless!

O matchless beauty of our God
so ancient and so new,
enfold in us your fire of love;
anoint us with your dew!

A prayer for illumination

O God, who is beyond all the ways we usually know things, 
we rejoice to meet you in the glories of nature,
in our awe on the mountain top or beside the ocean,
through the love that surges at a new birth
or the beauty of a beloved face. 
Speak to us now from the scriptures,
that we may hear the revelation of your love
through ancient script and spoken word,
made vivid in the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 

Reading     Psalm 25:1-10

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
O my God, in you I trust;
   do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
   let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
   for they have been from of old. 
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
   according to your steadfast love remember me,
   for your goodness’ sake, O Lord! 
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
   for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 

Reading     Mark 1:9-15

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ 

Hymn     Father Hear the Prayer We Offer
Love M. Whitcomb Willis 1824 – 1908 Public Domain BBC Songs of Praise
 
Father, hear the prayer we offer:
not for ease that prayer shall be,
but for strength that we may ever
live our lives courageously.

Not for ever in green pastures
do we ask our way to be;
but the steep and rugged pathway
may we tread rejoicingly.

Not for ever by still waters
would we idly rest and stay;
but would smite the living fountains
from the rocks along our way.

Be our strength in hours of weakness,
in our wanderings be our guide;
through endeavour, failure, danger,
Father, be thou at our side. 

Sermon

I wonder whether you ever come across a verse of the Bible that you hadn’t really noticed before. It wasn’t so long ago that I realised that Mark’s account of Jesus’ time in the wilderness is so different from Matthew’s and Luke’s. There is nothing of those long stories about the temptations, about turning stones into bread or being offered all the kingdoms of the world by the devil – nothing like that. It just says that he was there for 40 days, being tempted. And then it says that he was among the wild beasts and the angels. That’s the bit I hadn’t really noticed properly until a little while ago. But I think that this tiny verse might be really rather important. 

Maybe if Lent is a somehow a time when we follow Jesus into the wilderness then it may help us to face up to an encounter with both wild things and angels. And in that moment we might somehow come to find ourselves closer to God. 

Some sermons come out of reading and reflection and some come out of pretty raw experience. And this sermon, I think, is one of the second of those. Reading about Jesus being in the wilderness always strikes me powerfully, because, like pretty much all of us, I’ve been in some wildernesses of my own. Perhaps what we mean when we talk about going into the wilderness, into a wild place, is not necessarily that it’s a bad place, a place of evil, but more like a place that we cannot tame, that we cannot control, a place that doesn’t belong to us, that isn’t in our power. And sometimes we find that life becomes something that happens to us rather than something that we plan or shape for ourselves. In the wilderness spaces or experiences we find that all our usual strategies for coping and managing things somehow break down, all our usual ways of shaping our lives seem to disappear, and the things we normally hold on to for survival aren’t there. And we find that we meet things and experiences that are unexpected, not what we planned. And we meet there both terrifying things and, and surprisingly, sometimes comforting things. 

Anyone who has been through any kind of loss or bereavement or trauma might hear something of an echo in what I’m saying. But perhaps the time of Covid was a kind of wilderness that we all went into, a time when the world we thought we could control slipped out of our hands. It was frightening suddenly to experience the world as a dangerous place that we could hardly understand, let alone control. We’ve learned that all our enlightenment and ingenuity can be undone by a virus, carried to us by some bats… probably… And climate change has made the world a wilder place than our neat gardens made us think. Suddenly there are wild fires in suburbs and holiday destinations, floods and storms in the home counties, and more lands made desert and more people left famished… And in our own personal lives there are wild things that suddenly erupt; a job loss leaves us wandering through our days with no direction any more, or a relationship break up turns us inside out, or an illness disrupts our plans and hopes, or leaves us anxious, depressed, wild with a kind of madness.  

Sometimes in life can seem like one long Lent, because we find ourselves in a wilderness, our world disrupted, and we are more vulnerable and hungry. But there are also, even in such Lenten days, unexpected blessings. Sometimes when you find yourself in the wilderness, and you get to the point of finally letting go of trying to fix everything and do your duty and keep going, then it can feel amazingly liberating. When you do allow yourself to rest and receive support from others when you need it, it can allow you time to meet with God and to wait to see what will happen next. It can offer a time to reflect on what’s really important in life and what, within the wild, uncontrollable world we all have to inhabit, you might yet be able to contribute. It can be wonderful to see that the wildness of the world, and the uncontrollable grace of God, may not be so scary after all, and that life without the familiar markers can be possible, and even good. Sometimes we discover that a life without some of the things we had hoped to achieve, a life that is perhaps a little bit wilder and freer, might even be better than we thought. And perhaps some of the things we’ve been most scared of might not be so bad after all. 

You may have read a children’s book called Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. It’s won lots of awards. It tells the story of a boy called Max who, after dressing in his wolf costume, makes such a mess in the house that he is sent to bed without any supper. Then his bedroom becomes mysteriously transformed into a jungle, and he sails to an island inhabited by beasts called the ‘wild things’. He manages to become king of the wild things and plays with them. But he starts to feel lonely and he goes home, where he finds a hot supper waiting for him. Children love this book and there are lots of clever theories about why. Psychoanalysts say that Max visits his wild side, but is pulled back to reality by parental love, symbolised in the hot supper. And there is certainly something here about how children, how all of us, can learn how to handle the wildness, the untamed rage and pain, inside each of us. 

Perhaps the story of Jesus in the wilderness and the idea that in Lent we might also go into the wilderness, is another kind of version of the children’s book. Except that it might say that the wilderness, the wildness, the untamed experiences, the bits of human life that we can’t always control, are places where angels also lurk with promises of blessing. We ignore, or think we can ignore, the wilderness, at our peril. It’s better to walk there bravely and wisely and to trust that though there will be challenges and temptations, there will also be angels and blessings. 

It’s fascinating to me that the Christian tradition keeps inviting us to go into the wilderness and encourages us to believe that it may be important not only to embrace it when it comes to us, but even sometimes to seek it out – as we might in Lent. In the very early centuries of the church’s life, when the church was becoming compromised with state power, being tamed by political forces, there were those who were called ‘desert fathers’ and ‘desert mothers’ who left the safer life of the cities to set up communities in the wilderness. They believed that they would find God again in the wild places. There are also Christians today who will tell us that if we want to follow Christ, then we have to ask ‘Where is he likely to be?’ and to recognise that he will be with those very people in our communities who are already facing the wilderness, who are living in bleak and lonely places, who are overwhelmed by life. We are called as Christians to follow Christ into that wilderness and to find the courage to stay there with him and to recognise that he went there for 40 days – which is biblical code for ‘as long as it needed’. Christianity is most definitely not a way of taming life to make it sweet and comfortable, but it is a way of finding the courage to live courageously in the wilderness, trusting that there are angels there too. When we have a physical illness, or a disability, or when grief and loss come, we can hold on no more to the sense that life is ours to shape as we wish, or that we can have anything we want if only we dream hard enough. Human life is to be lived in the wild places, the places we can’t always control, and yet are still places of blessing, where we receive things that we might not have earned for ourselves, but things nonetheless that come from God’s good hand.  

Mark’s Gospel tells us in just two verses what other Gospels dwell on in much greater length – that Jesus went into the wilderness and that he was there for forty days. But it may be that this short verse or two is in its way a more truthful account of what Jesus went through. It was not an empty time, but a time more full than all the years it takes to get a degree or to have a career or to raise a child or whatever it is that has marked the times of your life. 

Jesus stayed there in the desert, in the place of wild things and the angels. He stayed in the place of hunger and boredom, of loneliness and emptiness. He remained with the thin fabric of the real world – refusing the temptations of magic, spectacle and miracle. He was committed to the places where this world feels to be at its hardest and its most ordinary and least spectacular. Jesus is present with us then when the church feels to be most empty and unyielding and lacking in wows and wonders. He’s with us when we don’t know what to say in the face of a sorrow or struggle or illness. He’s with us when life just feels empty and a struggle and unexciting. 

The great promise and hope of this story is that Jesus came out of the desert – not saying ‘Thank God that’s over’ or ‘I’m never going back there again!’ or even ‘You’ll never believe the size of the teeth on those wild beasts!’ He came out of the desert – where he had refused to escape hunger, boredom and beasts – and he said ‘there were angels there!’. Or as Mark puts it, Jesus came out of the desert and said, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ 

May angels accompany through this Lent and through the wild places of all your days. And may you know that Christ is with you, and that the kingdom of God is very near.  Amen. 

Hymn     The Day of the Lord Shall Come
John Bell and Graham Maule The Wild Goose Worship Resource Group © GIA Publications reprinted and podcast in terms of One Licence.  One Licence # A-734713  

The day of the Lord shall come as prophets have told,
when Christ shall make all things new, no matter how old;
and some at the stars may gaze, and some in God’s word,
in vain to predict the time, the day of the Lord.

The desert shall spring to life, the hills shall rejoice;
the lame of the earth shall leap, the dumb shall find voice;
the lamb with the lion shall lie, and the last shall be first;
and nations for war no more shall study or thirst.

The day of the Lord shall come: a thief in the night,
a curse to those in the wrong who think themselves right;
a pleasure for those in pain or with death at the door;
a true liberation for the prisoners and poor.

The desert shall spring to life, the hills shall rejoice;
the lame of the earth shall leap, the dumb shall find voice;
the lamb with the lion shall lie, and the last shall be first;
and nations for war no more shall study or thirst.

The day of the Lord shall come and judgment be known,
as nations, like sheep and goats, come close to the throne.
Then Christ shall reveal himself asking all to draw near,
and see in his face all faces once ignored here.

The desert shall spring to life, the hills shall rejoice;
the lame of the earth shall leap, the dumb shall find voice;
the lamb with the lion shall lie, and the last shall be first;
and nations for war no more shall study or thirst.

The day of the Lord shall come, but now is the time
to subvert earth’s wisdom with Christ’s folly sublime,
by loving the loveless, turning the tide and the cheek,
by walking beneath the cross in step with the weak.

The desert shall spring to life, the hills shall rejoice;
the lame of the earth shall leap, the dumb shall find voice;
the lamb with the lion shall lie, and the last shall be first;
and nations for war no more shall study or thirst.

Affirmation of Faith 

We believe in God,
who finds us in desert places
and who ministers to us in our emptiness.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
who entered the desert 
to bring us new life.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who is with us in the solitary space
of our honest selves.
We believe that God is with us,
and that every desert will blossom    
when God’s day comes. 

Prayers of thanksgiving and of intercession for the world

We come with our thanks for all the good things;
for the beauty of the natural world,
glimpsed in mountains and sunsets, 
and in dandelions and daisies;
for the warmth of human love,
whenever we find it and whoever we are stirred to love;
for the thrill of discovery and curiosity, 
of new things learned and gifts we can share;
for the pleasures of life, known in laughter and company,
in good food and the tiredness of a fulfilling day. 
For all that merits our heartfelt thanks,
we express now our gratitude and joy. 

In sorrow, we recognise that life is not always joy,
and that many; human beings, creatures and all things,
may suffer injury, hurt, and pain.  

We pray for all those who do not ever see much beauty;
those in prison, or working in buildings with little light, 
people deep in depression or those abused by others.

We pray for those who live in the pain of grief, 
or who have suffered such a trauma that they are afraid,
for all whose days feel beyond their control. 

We pray for those for whom hunger is physical and painful,
those made poor by ruthless economies or cruel wars,
all enslaved to hard and relentless labour. 

God of the garden and the desert,
of all pain and every joy,
be with each of us in the wild places
and send your angels to bless us. 

Give us grace and courage too,
to accompany those in any kind of wilderness
and to offer blessings where we can. 

We offer these prayers, in the name of Jesus Christ,
your beloved Son,  Amen. 

Offertory prayer

O God,  we offer to you today
this portion of what we have,
but let it stand for all that we have, all that we are, all that we can do,
to make this earth more like heaven, your people more joyful
and bring peace to all Creation, Amen.

Hymn     Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer
William Williams (1745) translated by 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 sing to you, I will ever sing to you.

Blessing

May God bless you this Lent,
with a generous heart,
a peaceful spirit,
an open mind,
and a deepening faith. 

The blessing of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 
be with you. Amen.

inspiration in your inbox Saturday, 17 February 2024 St Mark 8: 22 – 30 They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.  He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Can you see anything?’  And the man looked up and said, ‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.’  Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.  Then he sent him away to his home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’  Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’  And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’  He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’  And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Reflection Jesus’ encounter with the blind man at Bethsaida serves as a reminder that sometimes we need a second chance to fully grasp what is before us.   Even when we have Jesus’ saliva on our eyes and his hands laid upon us our grasp might be partial – “like trees walking.”  We need to be humble and honest enough to seek ‘a second touch’ to enable us to “[see] everything clearly.”   Our Reformed conviction is that, alongside scripture as “highest authority”, we discern the mind of Christ by listening for and recognising the voice of the Spirit in our meetings.  We may approach our engagement with one another from our limited understanding of things that “look like trees walking” but it is through ‘a second touch’ – the touch of Christ upon our commitment to the pursuit of truth – that we have the potential to “[see] things [more] clearly”.   And very often that ‘second touch’ is enabled by those who see things differently to us.   The humility of seeking that ‘second touch’ can reward us in discovering Christ in and through the unexpected and their insights.   As Fred Kaan put it: We meet you, O Christ, in many a guise;  your image we see in simple and wise. As well as enabling the blind man to see clearly Jesus puts his disciples on the spot and asks them, ‘Who do people say that I am?’   They respond with other people’s answers and he presses them further:  ‘But who do you say that I am?’   Similarly we need to balance the benefit of others’ insights with the call to speak of what we see ourselves.   Sometimes we will be able to use a common script;  at others, in true dissenting spirit, we will need to have the courage to articulate a view that contrasts with what others are saying they see. Prayer Touch the eyes of our minds, O Christ, as many times as it takes for us to grasp more clearly how things look in you.   Enable us to meet you in many a guise that we might see your image in simple and wise.   Grant us the wisdom to know when to endorse the views of others and when we must say what you lay upon our hearts and consciences.   In the name of Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Today’s writer The Rev’d Geoffrey Clarke, Moderator, East Midlands Synod 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.

inspiration in your inbox Friday, 16 February 2024 St Mark 8: 14 – 29 Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’  They said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’  And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?  Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’  Then he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’ Reflection Who hasn’t, when told a parent or authority figure knows something, guiltily confessed only to discover that was not what they were talking about at all?   Jesus and the disciples are talking at cross purposes, and Jesus shows his exasperation – do you really still not get it?  Is it a problem with your mind (thinking), your heart (feeling), your senses (experiencing), your memory? Jesus talks about how a little yeast works its way through the whole batch – once a metaphor for the kingdom of God, now a warning that mindsets of the Pharisees and Herod might infect.  The many recorded conversations between Jesus and the Pharisees highlight  their emphasis on rules and the letter of the Law and his on the Spirit, and on love.  Herod abused his power to imprison and kill John the Baptist to preserve his status and the high opinion of others.  Sadly, the Church has not been immune to either of these types of infecting yeast over its history and is certainly not free of them today. Jesus is warning we need to be on our guard against personal and corporate yeast infections. Miscommunication arises because Jesus is speaking in metaphors whilst the disciples are thinking concretely.  It is a mistake we often make with young children who take things very literally.  So Jesus helps the disciples to tune into their concrete experiences of his miraculous crowd-feeding, when they gathered up the leftovers – they don’t need to worry about enough bread – reconnecting to that experience of abundance. Our challenge is to involve all ages, but particularly those for whom metaphors are confusing, in concrete experiences of life with Jesus so they can make sense of his promise of life in all its fullness and abundance.  Trusting that promise could grow our immunity to the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod, so we become once more the yeast of the Kingdom. Prayer Why are we, your Church, talking about not having enough? Jesus – change our minds and thinking, our hearts and feeling. Help us see and hear where your Spirit is at work. Help us remember your promises. May we name and fight the racism, sexism, ageism  and abuse of power that infects our Church and world. May we be a little yeast used to leaven the world around us. May your kingdom come. Amen.

Today’s writer Dr Sam Richards, serving as Head of Children’s and Youth Work, member of Messy Church Team, Chalgrove. 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.

inspiration in your inbox Thursday, 15 February 2024 St Mark 8: 1 – 13 In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.  If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.’  His disciples replied, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?’  He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’  Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd.  They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed.  They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.  Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.  And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.   The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him.  And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’  And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side. Reflection Jesus summons his disciples. They have a crisis on their hands. The crowd have nothing to eat, they are starving.  Some have come a long distance. They have been with Jesus for three days, marvelling at his healing, absorbed in his teaching – and now they are so weak from lack of food that it is obvious they would collapse if they attempted the journey home. Need has become emergency. The disciples are helpless: Where in the desert would they get enough food for 4,000 people? All they have, they say, are seven loaves of bread, and as an afterthought, some little fish.    What follows is a miracle.  Jesus takes the initiative; orders the crowd to recline expectantly on the ground; gives thanks to God over the bread like a Jewish father at a meal, before blessing the fish for good measure.  The food is distributed by his disciples and those desperately hungry people eat and are filled. With their needs amply met they can now go home without risk.   But there is another important aspect of this story.  It witnesses the breaking down of boundaries between Jews and Gentiles that is rooted in Jesus’s ministry. Whereas the previous feeding miracle (Mark 6.30–44) is set in Jewish Galilee, here, in Gentile territory, Jesus is also feeding Gentiles.  Faced with dire humanitarian need, social and religious boundaries set by food regulations that separated Jews from Gentiles are broken down in the providence of God.    As if a sign on earth weren’t enough, the Pharisees want a sign from heaven. They are blind to the fact that Jesus’s ministry points to God.  But even his disciples do not yet understand what Jesus is doing.  The Gentiles had faith in him.  Do we?   Prayer Gracious God, In the knowledge of your love and power, hasten the day when children, men and women, whatever their race or nationality, shall no longer faint with hunger; when a strong sense of your purpose shall be found in every nation. through Jesus Christ.   Amen

Today’s writer The Rev’d Fleur Houston 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 Mark 7: 31 – 37
Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.  They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.  He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’  And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.  Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.  They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

Reflection
Once upon a time I made a comic book with a guy called Steve. 

“We need a back-up strip, to go along with the main story,” Steve told me. “Ok,” I said. 

“Let’s ask Dean,” he suggested. “Ok,” I said.

Dean is Australian. He draws weird pictures, usually pretty funny ones too.

“I’ll do one of the stories about Jesus,” Dean said. “Ok,” I said.

When the art came through it was classic Dean, colourful, chaotic, and funny. It was the story of Jesus healing the deaf man who couldn’t speak, Dean had taken great delight in illustrating the spitting. 

“This is great,” said Steve. “It’s very different to what we’re doing, a nice contrast.” “Ok,” I  said.

A few years later I got in touch with Dean again, to ask him about another project I was working on. 

“Ah mate,” he said. “I’m not really doing Christian stuff anymore, I’ve kind of left that behind now.” He explained that he had been hurt by unkindness and lack of acceptance.

“I guess the Church has done a number on me,” Dean sighed,  “ah mate, that’s really not ok,” I said.

“Jesus, though, eh?” Dean said. “I know,” I replied.

We talked about the drawing he’d done for Steve and me.

“That was like, ritual magic… in that story, you know? With the spitting, and the magic word? A weird story really.”  

“Very weird,” I said.

“Do you know what I think is really funny? How it starts off with the guy not being able to talk, and Jesus can fix that problem, but then, you know, the people won’t shut up, and Jesus can’t fix that one.”

“Mmmmm,” I said.

“Maybe that’s the thing with a lot of us, we just don’t know when to shut up,” Dean said.

Prayer
God of spit and blood,
God of the stranger and of the strange,
Lead us to know when, and how, to keep our big mouths shut.
Amen. 

St Mark 7: 24 – 29

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.  He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,  but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.  Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’  But she answered him, ‘Sir,  even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’  Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’  So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Reflection

Today’s reading can seem like a bit of a puzzle.  Why should Jesus go to the region of Tyre, and not want anyone to know he was there? Why should he seem to put a woman down, a woman who was pleading for her daughter?
There were times when Jesus went to be on his own, and times when he told the people he was with, such as his disciples, not to tell anyone what they had seen and heard. Perhaps it’s a reminder that, if Jesus needed time on his own, so do we.

However, in Tyre, the news about him soon got out, even into the non-Jewish community. Jesus’ initial reaction to the Syro-Phoenician woman seems unfair – with the implication that the Gospel is firstly for the Jews and that those who are not Jews might be ‘dogs’. The woman argues with him showing even dogs can have the crumbs from under the table.

Then, in this robust exchange between the two, Jesus turns around from what he has said, and says that the demon has left her daughter.  The woman goes home and finds the demon has gone.

Was Jesus being unfair to the woman, or was he testing her about what she thought? 

What’s interesting is that Jesus listens carefully to her and changes what he’s said, so that her daughter might be set free. It’s as a result of her coming to Jesus, even as a stranger, and despite the words she has said contradicting Jesus, that her daughter is healed. The woman’s goal was clear – her concern for her daughter.

It points to the way in which we can have arguments with Jesus, but he will see into our hearts and minds and respond positively to our underlying concerns and needs. And it took someone who was a woman and a stranger to make this point clear.

Prayer

Loving Jesus, 
help us to follow your example in taking the time we need on our own.
We give thanks for the example of the Syro-Phoenician woman.
Give us the strength to speak to you openly 
of what we hold on our hearts and minds.
As you listen to us, help us to listen to others 
who might seem like strangers.
Accept our concerns and our care, 
for our family and for all around us in your world.
Amen.

 

Mark 7: 1 – 22

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.  (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;  and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.  So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’  He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

“This people honours me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
    teaching human precepts as doctrines.”

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ Then he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!  For Moses said, “Honour your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.” But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban” (that is, an offering to God)— then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.’ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’  When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.  He said to them, ‘Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile,  since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he declared all foods clean.)  And he said, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles.  For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder,  adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

Reflection

The 1995 romantic-comedy The American President opens with the US Commander-in-Chief being told that Lewis, his speechwriter, wants to see him. “Well, it wouldn’t be a Monday morning unless Lewis was concerned about something I did Sunday night,” quips the president, before the lift doors open, and Lewis accuses him of cutting a paragraph from a speech.

It’s Monday morning again – are we concerned about anything we said or left unsaid on Sunday night? For some of us, it might be a harsh word spat out in frustration during an awkward conversation at church. For others, it might be an unguarded comment that slipped out after a glass of wine or a pint of beer.

Then there are the things we didn’t say, the paragraphs we cut from our own personal speeches, the words we could feel the Holy Spirit nudging us to share, but which got stuck in our throats.

“Whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile… it is what comes out of a person that defiles,” Jesus said. “For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come.”

Throughout the Gospel, Jesus’s harshest words are reserved for hypocrites: “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

Words matter, perhaps now more than at any other time in the church’s 2,000-year history. Two or three generations have passed since many families engaged with the Church. We now need to reexamine the words we use to help communicate God’s love to the world.

Our focus must shift from teaching human precepts and holding on to human traditions, and instead replace them with words about God’s inclusive and overwhelming doctrine of love.

The words we’ve used in days gone by are now unlikely to be suitable for a poster on the church’s noticeboard or a post on the church’s Facebook page. Finding the right words can be tough, but Jesus gives us a model to follow, by focusing on words of love.
 
Prayer

God of the Word and of the words,
please forgive us when we defile ourselves 
with evil intentions from our hearts, 
when cruel words slip from our lips.
Help us to forgive each other when we cause hurt with our words. 
Instead, please fill us with the words we need to share your love 
with our families and friends, our neighbours and enemies.
In the name of Christ, Amen.

 

 
Today’s service is led by the Revd John Grundy

 
Welcome

Good morning.  My name is John Grundy and I am the Minister of St Andrew’s Brockley and St Michael’s New Cross.  Our two churches here are in fast changing diverse communities in the London Borough of Lewisham.  In many ways, our church families are very reflective of the diversity around us.  Along with my CRCW colleague Simon and the community that we serve, I’m delighted to welcome you today for this Transfiguration Sunday service.

Call to Worship

Come, leave to one side the worries of the day and week; come and meet the living God.  Strong defender lift up our heads! Come, leave to one side all that drags you down, all that exhausts and drains you; come and meeting the living God.  Life-imparting heavenly manna, feed us! Come, leave to one side your doubts and delusions, your despair and desperation; come and meet the living God.  Stricken rock with streaming side, refresh us!

Hymn     Lord Enthroned In Heavenly Splendour
George Hugh Bourne (1874) Public Domain.  Sung by members of the Croydon Minister Choral Foundation and Whitgift School Choristers.

Lord, enthroned in heavenly splendour
first-begotten from the dead,
thou alone, our strong defender,
liftest up thy people’s head.
Alleluia, alleluia,
Jesu, true and living bread.

Here our humblest homage pay we,
here in loving reverence bow;
here for faith’s discernment pray we,
lest we fail to know thee now.
Alleluia, alleluia,
thou art here, we ask not how.

Though the lowliest form doth veil thee
as of old in Bethlehem,
here as there thine angels hail thee,
branch and flower of Jesse’s stem.
Alleluia, alleluia,
we in worship join with them.

Paschal Lamb, thine offering, finished
once for all when thou wast slain,
in its fullness undiminished
shall for evermore remain,
Alleluia, alleluia,
cleansing souls from every stain.
 
Life-imparting heavenly manna,
stricken rock with streaming side,
heaven and earth with loud hosanna
worship thee, the Lamb who died,
Alleluia, alleluia,
risen, ascended, glorified!

Prayers of Approach and Confession

Your light, O Most High,
shines in the darkness, 
guiding the way as a star at night, 
letting us see all that obstructs and occludes,
for the light in our lives we praise you.

Your light, O Christ, can blind us.
The glow of your glory exposes the rags we cling to;
the brilliance of your presence makes us want to hide in the dark.
Our sin and shame overwhelm us, and we turn away.
Forgive us, saving Jesus, 
help us to learn to live in the light of your presence,
to feel your love and not our guilt,
that we may shine with you.

Your light, Most Holy Spirit,
burns away our dross, consumes our darkness,
and shines through us when we show love.
Give us time to change,
time to see you at work in our lives,
that your brilliance will enlighten our world.  Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

Friends, God is faithful and just,
always yearning to welcome us home,
arms held wide in forgiveness
as a mother rejoices in the return of a wayward child.
God forgives you; have the strength to forgive yourselves.  Amen!

Prayer for Illumination

Unveil our eyes and hearts, O God,
that we may see your light, hear your word and know your will
for us, for our church, and for all your people, today and always. Amen.

Reading     2 Corinthians 4:3-6

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Hymn     Transform Us    
Sylvia Dunstan (1955-1993)  © 1993, GIA Publications, Inc.  Printed and podcast in accordance with the terms of OneLicence # A-734713

Transform us as you, transfigured, stood apart on Tabor’s height.
Lead us up our sacred mountains, search us with revealing light.
Lift us from where we have fallen, full of questions, filled with fright.

Transform us as you, transfigured, once spoke with those holy ones.
We, surrounded by the witness of those saints whose work is done,
Live in this world as your Body, chosen daughters, chosen sons.
 
Transform us as you, transfigured, would not stay within a shrine.
Keep us from our great temptation – time and truth we quickly bind.
Lead us down those daily pathways where our love is not confined.

Reading     St Mark 9:2-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Sermon

I think it’s really important that we remind ourselves to not just take the passage we read on Sunday and ignore what’s going on around them.  In the Gospel today we’re very much reminded that this encounter, this experience, was not a random disconnected event because we’re told that the transfiguration happened six days later. 

As we know, quite a lot can happen in one week.  That week Jesus had been doing quite a lot. He’d been ministering with his disciples in the villages around Caesarea Philippi. And as they were going, Jesus was asking his friends, Who do people say I am?  And as we know, lots of theories. John the Baptist, or Elijah, or one of the prophets. 

But Peter makes a Peter changing declaration that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.  You’d think that would be a really good thing to say, wouldn’t you? And that would sort everything out, but maybe not. Because Jesus makes it really clear that not only will Jesus’ life be in danger because of that, But the disciples will be too. 

Much can happen in a week.  And six days later, we get this incredible mountaintop experience. I think there’s something really powerful about a mountain. And getting to the top of it, I think, is half of the experience.  I lived for some years on the Isle of Man. And the highest mountain there is called Snaefell.
And Snaefell has a Victorian tramway which runs to just below the summit from a beautiful coastal village in Laxey.  Now, at the top of the mountain is a really good cafe, and there are views from there across the island, across the Irish Sea, to Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. 

What I loved whenever I went to visit there, though, was the very red faced but very smug expressions of the people who’d walked up some or all of the mountain.  The rest of us who’d travelled up on the tram would look a lot less tired, but we’d be happily sipping our tea waiting. We got to the top,  but some had put in more effort than others. 

This encounter that Jesus shares with some of his friends, on top of a mountain, is unexpected in a lot of ways. And I think for a start, the cast of characters involved is a little bit unexpected. You wouldn’t expect to find Moses and Elijah on top of a mountain.  But Peter gets to meet with these wonderful icons of his own history. 

In the past, I’ve considered Peter to be the most human of all the disciples. Because many of us have similar reactions to him.  There are times when we experience the amazing glory of God in nature, in people, in experience. And instead of rejoicing in the moment, we find ways to be very busy.  That’s often the bind I think we have in church life. 

It becomes too easily a busyness and a business.  Rather than us being an expression of God’s love at work in the world and  what we would really want to be.  Church becomes a bit of a drudge.  I think we need to watch for that.  You know, I’ve always taken before that focus for this reading.  But as I prepared this, I found myself, I found an understanding of this text that’s made me rethink. 

Because it seems there was a Jewish expectation that God would usher in a new age during the Festival of Booths. This was a festival that helped people to remember their wilderness journey from Egypt. And for this festival, Israelite family was supposed to build a booth  to remember.  This festival was when the people thought God would take control of creation and bring in a new age of Shalom. 

So instead of assuming Peter simply didn’t get this, maybe we need to give him credit.  Obviously, Peter thinks this mountaintop encounter is a sign that the end is coming and the festival of booths was happening.  So maybe we shouldn’t judge Peter for not getting this. Maybe we should praise him for generously offering to build a booth for Jesus, for Moses, and for Elijah, so that they wouldn’t have to. 

Maybe we should know that Peter has recognized change is coming, and it was gonna be big. I  mean, he kind of got his timings a bit wrong about stuff,  and in the craziness of all that’s just happened on the mountaintop,  It seems he’d forgotten what happened the week before,  what Jesus had told them.  I think this year, we have to listen to that same voice that they heard on the mountaintop.

We have to be listening for the voice of God. This is my son.  Listen to him.  We need to hear again that what we were told was right. Yes, things are going to change. Yes, things are going to be different.  But in the end, it’s going to be okay.  I think that’s what we need to hear this Transfiguration Sunday. 

Listen to what Jesus is saying to you.  Maybe we could hear this encounter as an invitation to not just look for God in the usual places, but to be open to listening for Jesus where we don’t expect Jesus to be,  and from the people we don’t expect either.  At the core of this passage is Jesus and his friends on the top of a mountain. 
And we might have mountaintop experiences in our lives, but we know that Jesus isn’t confined to the lofty heights. Because we meet Jesus in very different places too.  Walking with those in need. Suffering with those who are hurting. Longing with those who hope for restoration.  With us in all of our pains.

With us in all of our suffering.  And when we struggle, I doubt any of us would think it was a mountaintop experience.  But maybe this is where Jesus does transformation most dramatically. Away from the mountaintops.  Next week we are entering the season of Lent, a time to pause, to wait, to prepare and to reflect on our own journeys with God. 

So as we prepare to journey into Lent this year, starting later this week,  as we find ourselves on mountaintops and in the dark valleys we’re living through,  I pray that we can all say, Lord, it is good for us to be here  and listen to what Jesus is asking of us.  And maybe this can be a time of shalom for us all.  A lot can happen in one week.

Hymn     The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns
John Brownlie (1907) Public Domain.  Sung by Chris Brunelle and used with his kind permission.

The King shall come when morning dawns
and light triumphant breaks,
when beauty gilds the eastern hills
and life to joy awakes.

Not as of old a little child,
to bear, and fight, and die,
but crowned with glory like the sun
that lights the morning sky.

O brighter than the rising morn
when He, victorious, rose
and left the lonesome place of death,
despite the rage of foes.

O brighter than that glorious morn
shall this fair morning be,
when Christ, our King, in beauty comes, 
and we His face shall see.
 
The King shall come when morning dawns, 
and light and beauty brings;
“Hail, Christ the Lord!” Thy people pray, 
come quickly, King of kings!

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God, 
Creator and Sustainer of majestic mountain and gentle valley,
of deep sea and icy glacier, author and summit of all the life 
with which we share this planet.  

We believe in Jesus, our Sovereign and Saviour, 
who shines his love on us 
and who refuses our attempts 
to confine him to shrine and sanctuary.

We believe in the Holy Spirit 
who journeys with us in the highs and lows of life, 
defeating our expectations, surprising us with joy,
enabling us to proclaim God’s great deeds.

We believe in the Church,
one and hidden, holy and broken,
catholic and reformed, apostolic and ever new,
God’s mission to our world,
where we work out our salvation.

Intercessions

Eternal Trinity,
your light shines on our world offering hope, direction, and justice.
We pray now for places and people living in darkness.  

Eternal One
we pray for those living in dark cycles of violence,
repressive governments, terrorists, and those who profit from weapons
that your light might expose their foolishness.
We pray for those living with the dark violence 
of war, terror, and poverty,
that despite the odds, they may turn towards light and 
away from the cycles of despair that perpetuate evil.  

pause

Suffering God,
we pray for those who use law and treaty 
to hide the darkness of their deeds,
for those who wish to shut the borders 
of their hearts and our lands to those in need;
shine O Jesus, your light that we may see things properly,
care for those in need and see you in their faces.

pause

Flame of God’s love,
shine your light on those who are in any kind of pain,
especially for those we know pray….

longer pause

Let us be, O God, lights which bask in your light,
reflections of your glory, and agents of your change.
Inspire us as again we are reminded how to pray as we say Our Father…

Offertory

The Transfiguration reminds of the miraculous.  In the inaccessible light of God’s presence, Jesus’ glory was revealed, ancient prophets came, and the disciples saw a glimpse of glory.  In our lives we have similar glimpses – not on mountain tops and not of prophets but in the simple everyday things of life.  As we show love to those in need, as we listen to someone in trouble, as we offer love and attention to those who struggle we find glimpses of glory.  As we realise that we should use our resources more responsibly we see God’s glory at work in the ordinary things of our lives.  Week after week we give believing that our giving is tied up with our discipleship; now we give thanks for all that has been given – the time, talents, and treasure of God’s people, given in the hope of transfiguration of the world’s pain into light and love.

Generous God,
bless all that is given in this church:
the time, the love, the talents, the laughter,
the ability to share with friend and stranger,
the welcome to the lost and lonely,
the light of love shining here,
the treasures given and found,
that, at the end, we may be transformed.  Amen.

Hymn     Shine Jesus Shine
Graham Kendrick  © 1987 Make Way Music  sung by Justin Stretch of St Lawence’s Church, Chorley, used with their kind permission
Printed and podcast in accordance with the terms of OneLicence # A-734713

Lord, the light of your love is shining
in the midst of the darkness, shining.
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us,
set us free by the truth you now bring us;

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shinefill this land with the Father’s glory!
Blaze, Spirit, blazeset our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flowflood the nations with grace and mercy.
Send forth your wordLord, and let there be light.

Lord, I come to your awesome presence
from the shadows into your radiance.
By the blood I may enter your brightness:
search me, try me, consume all my darkness;

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shinefill this land with the Father’s glory!
Blaze, Spirit, blazeset our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flowflood the nations with grace and mercy.
Send forth your wordLord, and let there be light.

As we gaze on your kingly brightness
so our faces display your likeness;
ever changing from glory to glory
mirrored here may our lives tell your story!

Shine on me, shine on me.

Shine, Jesus, shinefill this land with the Father’s glory!
Blaze, Spirit, blazeset our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flowflood the nations with grace and mercy.
Send forth your wordLord, and let there be light.

Blessing

As we journey between the mountaintops and the plains of life, may the transforming power of God inspire you.  May the challenging and comforting grace of Jesus guide you, and may the companionship of the Holy Spirit walk with you.  Go knowing the love of God within you, today and every day.  Amen.

Friday, 9 February 2024

St Mark 6: 45 – 52

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land.  When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Reflection

Jesus’ walking on the water is perhaps the most challenging of his miracles to understand and many wonder about it.  If taken literally it is outside our experience and so is explained away as Jesus walking in the shallows of the lake or on a rocky shelf just below the water line. 

Reading it this way though, takes something away from the story. What matters is what this miracle teaches us about Jesus. In the first century water was connected with chaos and where evil resided. Sea monsters waited for creep unsuspecting prey.  To travel out on the lake at night was to take risks and to trust in God. That’s what the disciples are doing and why they are terrified. That’s why they cry out in fear mistaking Jesus for a ghost. Fears are allayed only when Jesus reassures them. 

This story takes us back to the very beginning of creation when God brings order out of chaos. The writer of Mark’s gospel is reminding us of who Jesus is, where he’s come from, and where he is leading.  Through Jesus light breaks into the darkness and chaos of our world bringing order and new life.

Sometimes life can feel as if we are out of control and that no matter how hard we try to get a handle on things it feels as if we will sink beneath the waves of chaos.  In such moments it is good to be reminded that God is in control, that God’s Spirit hovers over the waters and the darkness of the deep of our lives, and through Jesus brings order, hope and comfort. 

No matter how hard it is to understand, we can trust and have faith that God will lead us through the messiness of our lives to the new creation he promises to us.

Prayer

Gracious God, 
in the messiness and brokenness of our lives, 
we thank you that you bring order, hope and comfort. 
We thank you that although we don’t always understand, 
we can respond to your call to trust in your plans and purposes for us. 
We commit our worries and concerns into your hands;
help us to take heart and recognise you 
walking alongside us as we face today with hope and confidence. 

Amen.