When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him  and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, in terrible distress.’  And he said to him, ‘I will come and cure him.’  The centurion answered, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’  When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.  I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,  while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.

Reflection

Here we have a Centurion, an officer of the Empire which Jesus’ disciples and followers expected the Messiah to overthrow. This powerful member of this occupier empire is asking someone of the occupied land for healing for the occupier’s servant.  This powerful person says to Jesus – of all people – that the Centurion is not worthy of Jesus’ presence in his house. He sees that Jesus, one of the occupied citizens, has the astonishing power to bring wholeness, exercising power greater than that of the Centurion and his employer empire. Jesus is blown away.  Jesus notes that his Jewish friends and followers are struggling with seeing who he is and should not be surprised to be disregarded for that lack of faith.  This empire officer does see who Jesus is. Incredible.

Matthew’s author places this story after the healing of the Leper, now restored to his faith community because the disease left him. In today’s section with the Centurion, is there a pointer to the restoration of relationship between the occupied and the occupier?  Is this an upturning of imperial power?  The multiple healings after this section show restoration of all kinds of relationships, freeing people from what held them back so that they could focus on each other.  Miracles may be hard to accept, yet in this section of this Gospel, the healings are the alignment of our Divine’s powerful love and our Divine’s intention that there be loving relationships across any boundary which humans receive or create.  

That’s something to note in these shocking days where occupiers and occupied struggle across our earth. Our God of overwhelming love, present in each tragedy and healing, urges us to not give up our hope. Restoration everywhere is possible. Let it be so.

Prayer

God of all time
You know what we do, and can do to each other.
You know if we are silent, collude or wield our power.
You know if we share, listen or serve.
Open our hearts to what each restoration moment requires of us.
Fill us with your energy to act.
Restore our Hope.
Amen and amen.

 
Today’s service is led by the Revd Andy Braunston 

 
Welcome

Hello and welcome to worship.  Today we mark the festival of Christ the King; a fairly recent festival but one which has Biblical resonances; Gabriel’s greeting to Mary noted that Jesus would have the throne of his father David, would rule over Jacob forever and would have a kingdom without end.  The Book of Revelation declares that the Lamb that was slain is “king of kings and Lord of lords.”  Images from the 4th Century show Jesus as Ruler of All – often seated on a rainbow.  

In 1925 Pope Pius XI published an encyclical Quas primas noting that Jesus’ kingship was given to him by the Father and was not a dominion seized by violence or usurped from another.  Pius XI instituted the practice of having one Sunday in the year to reflect on Jesus’ kingship.  Pius’ words should be reflected on with the reality that the papacy was still smarting from the seizure of the papal states (which included most of Italy) during the process which united Italy into one nation.  Those lands had been taken in 1870 – just 45 years before Pius’ words.  This led the Church to refuse to deal with the Italian government until it made an agreement with Mussolini in 1929.  Pius contrasted God’s kingdom with the passing kingdoms of the world.  

In our own lifetimes we’ve seen kingdoms and nations rise and fall; many of us grew up with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, with the nations of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia – to name just some European countries which no longer exist.  In more recent years East Timor achieved independence, Sudan and South Sudan have come into existence, and, very recently, Palestine has been recognised as a state by most of the world’s countries though the recognition hasn’t changed much for the people of Gaza.  

Today we reflect on the type of king Jesus is as we compare and contrast Him with the rulers of our world.  My name is Andy Braunston and I am the URC’s Minister for Digital Worship; I live in Orkney – an island chain which is now part of Scotland but was, for many years, part of the Norwegian empire.  Nations rise and fall but we worship the One who is forever steadfast.  

Call to Worship

What kind of king is this?   
A king who acts as a shepherd, a king who seeks out the lost, 
a king who is a gentle guide.  A king who raises up lowly,
A careful shepherd to nurture the flock. This is our king!

What kind of king is this?  
A king who is a refuge in times of trouble, 
a king who shelters us from fear, 
a king who sustains us in good times and bad.  
A king who ceases war, shatters the spear, 
breaks the bow and burns the shield. This is our king!

What kind of a king is this?  
A king who forgave his executioners, 
a king who promised paradise to a thief, 
a king who reached through his agony to offer hope.
This is our king! 
Jesus Christ, in whom we live and move 
and have our being.

Hymn     All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
Edward Perronet (1726-92) alt. John Rippon (1751-1836) and others Public Domain.  Sharada Shaffter, Organist Dr Arul Siromoney Recorded live at St Andrew’s Kirk, Chenai in 2008.
 
All hail the power of Jesus’ name let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed of the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all.

Sinners whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
go, spread your trophies at his feet, and crown him Lord of all.

Let every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball,
to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all.
 
O that with yonder sacred throng we at his feet may fall,
join in the everlasting song, and crown him Lord of all.

Prayer of Approach & Confession

O Most High,
before the ages began
You loved and wanted the best for us,
throughout our lives You have held us in the palm of Your hands,
watching over us as a shepherd guards the sheep,
nurturing us as a loving parent protects a child,
You are our guide. You are our light.

We, however, prefer to stumble in the dark.
We seek to create You in our own image – 
failing to see Your subversive power,
seeking to make You bless 
our notions of kingship, leadership, and authority.
    
We consecrate power ignoring humility.
We hand over our lives to the markets, devoid of humanity.
We seek shelter in worldly policies and politics
ignoring Your eternal realm.

We turned away from Your message and nailed Jesus to the Cross,
seeking to pin him down and silence Him; 
yet you disrupted our sin and our plans. 
You raised Him on high.  
Forgive us, good Shepherd, give us time to change,
that we may challenge and change the powers of our age
and sing your praises forever.  

Words of Assurance

Here are words we can trust:
God is rich in mercy, powerful in love, and tender in compassion.
God strengthens us in our weakness
and believes in our potential.
We are forgiven and called to forgive – even ourselves

Prayer of Illumination

Open the power of your Word to us, O Most High,
that we may hear and ponder Your gracious love, 
Your fierce tenderness, and Your insistent call 
to recognise the powers of our age are overthrown,
that we may acclaim Jesus, our crucified God,
as our subversive yet victorious king. Amen.

Reading     Jeremiah 23: 1-6 

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD.  Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,  concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD.  Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall no longer fear or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”

Hymn     Christ of God Unseen the Image  (based on Colossians 1: 15-20)
The Revd Leith Fisher © Panel on Worship of the Church of Scotland, Edinburgh University Singers, Ian McCrorie (Conductor) John Kitchen (Organ)
 
Christ, of God unseen the image, born before creation’s birth;
through whom all things were created, all that lives in heaven and earth – 
realms and rulers, thrones, dominions, powers great and forces small
through and for him made and fashioned he is in and over all.

Christ the first born of creation, Christ in whom all things cohere,
all things’ Maker, seen and unseen, low and lofty, far and near.
Christ the head of his dear body, of his Church the living core,
risen from the dead before us – him we gladly now adore.

Christ in whom the very fullness of the living God is found,
Christ who reconciles creation turning earth to holy ground,
Christ the home of God’s good pleasure through whose blood is made our peace,
in whose cross, beyond all measure is our freedom and release.

Reading     St Luke 23: 33-38

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” 

Reflection

What kind of King are you Lord?  We’ve got a king again now; and we’ve known of kings for years.  Kings wear crowns, have retainers and flunkeys, command armies, live in unimaginable wealth, have stories fed to the press to keep the positive news flowing – though that doesn’t always work of course.  Kings have families who we are taught to honour and respect.  Kings have security – discrete agents, hidden weapons, and security vetting.

Yet none of that seems to be accurate for you.  You were born in a stable, not a palace.  Your first years were spent in exile not private school.  You didn’t wear a crown – you seemed to own nothing except your clothes.  When you were crowned it was with thorns as a cruel mockery of your reign.  You had disciples not flunkeys – and some of them weren’t very reliable.  You had no armies to command, no weapons to rely on.  No press in your day of course but I can’t imagine you having stories planted on the sly.  You had heaven’s armies to protect you – but they didn’t do a good job now did they? What type of king are you Lord?

What type of priest are you Lord?  We know about priests – though we have lots of different names for them – ministers, vicars, pastors, presbyters – but the job’s the same.  They have to look holy, often wear odd clothing, tell of God’s actions, be a bit distant, mix with the right people – marry the type of person who is acceptable in a range of settings.  They have to balance being radical with being careful, navigate a plethora of difficult people with tact and, often, seem to follow establishment lines.  They have to be creative in liturgy honouring both tradition and change.  

Yet none of that seems to be accurate for you.  We don’t know where you trained but your command of the Bible and its teachings is second to none.  You didn’t seem to look that holy, you didn’t keep that professional distance that ministers are supposed to have.  You really mixed with the wrong people – sex workers, collaborators, and dirty gentiles.  Your marital status would have led to some questions at a ministry interview – close to John and Mary; that would have raised some eyebrows.  And what about tact?  You really can’t call people “whitewashed tombs” and get away with it!  You can’t call the king a “fox”! (See my earlier comments, Lord, about kings.)   I learned very early on in my ministry not to call the church members “morons” – yet you always seemed to be doing that.  You called the religious people “snakes and vipers” and implied some people are pigs.  All I can say is it’s good you didn’t have a difficult Eldership to work with! You’d not have lasted long.  And your preaching….not very focused on the Establishment was it?  You seemed to sit fast and loose with tradition – stretching laws to breaking points, reinventing liturgy, bringing new meanings and offering mystery not explanation.  What type of priest are you, Lord?

What type of leader are you Lord?  Leaders have to be slick; they need mission statements and visions for the future.  They have focus groups quietly working out what’s the best way to get a hearing.  Leaders now avoid saying what they really think but want, instead, to please their base.  Leaders offer cheap tricks where they blame outsiders for the ills of the world and build themselves up.  Leaders need to be popular – don’t you know that Lord?

Yet none of this seems to be accurate for you.  That nice rich guy who wanted to follow you – you told him to give away all that he had!  Come on, wouldn’t a nice donation have been good enough?  Your message is memorable, I’ll give you that, but would it get through a focus group.  Turn the other cheek? Love your enemies? If asked for our coat we have to give our shirt as well!  See you in the poor and naked and hungry and imprisoned!  And then there’s all that stuff on money.  You just wouldn’t get a hearing now Lord.  Couldn’t you offer a bit of cheap grace now and again – Your Church often does after all!  You didn’t seem to please your base either – you were nasty to the Pharisees and often told Jewish people that gentiles were more righteous than them.  You didn’t find a scapegoat for social problems did you Lord?  Look where that ended you up.  What type of leader are you Lord?

What type of victory did you win Lord?  Victory is, well victorious Lord.  It involves, often, bloodshed, stunning military or political tactics, the vanquished foe being left to slither away, or being put on trial for their crimes.  Victory is about triumph, noise, joy, pomp, marches, celebrations.

Yet none of this seems to be accurate for you.  You let yourself be captured.  You let Judas, of all people, betray you.  You were rude to the High Priests and so wilful to Pilate.  You could have summoned the angels and have had a bit of smiting there.  That would have been a victory; that would have unseated the might of Rome – imagine the songs your mum would have sung then!  Instead, you let them release the insurgent and drag you off to Calvary.  You let them strip you naked – where’s the victory there?  Where’s the dignity?  You let them nail you to the Cross and then be left to slowly suffocate.  That’s not victorious!  You let them mock you, hang a sarcastic sign over your head, torment you with temptation to summon High Heaven’s Host – that would have shown them if you’d done that!  Imagine their faces if Michael had been let loose there on Calvary; imagine if Gabriel had done his thing with the Chief Priests!  That would have been victorious.  Yet you forgave the centurion and his guard.  You promised paradise to a good for nothing thief – you didn’t even check he believed the right things.  

And then you cried with anger, pain, and desolation, turning the ancient Psalm back on God, knowing you’d been forsaken.  That’s not victory. 

What type of victory is that?  

Hymn     How Shall I Sing That Majesty
John Mason, public domain, BBC Songs of Praise

How shall I sing that majesty which angels do admire?
Let dust in dust and silence lie; sing, sing, ye heavenly choir.
Thousands of thousands stand around thy throne, O God most high;
ten thousand times ten thousand sound thy praise; but who am I?
 
Thy brightness unto them appears, whilst I thy footsteps trace;
a sound of God comes to my ears, but they behold thy face.
They sing, because thou art their Sun; Lord, send a beam on me;
for where heaven is but once begun there alleluias be.

How great a being, Lord, is thine, which doth all beings keep!
Thy knowledge is the only line to sound so vast a deep.
Thou art a sea without a shore, a sun without a sphere;
thy time is now and evermore, thy place is everywhere.

Affirmation of Faith

We believe in God, the Eternal Majesty,
source of all light and love, 
in whom we live, move, and have our being.

We believe in God, En-fleshed Word,
who proclaimed the coming Kingdom, 
preached good news to the poor 
and release to the captives.
He healed the sick, 
bound up the broken hearted,
ate with outcasts, 
forgave sinners, 
and called all to repent and believe.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was tortured, crucified, and made to suffer unimaginable pain.
On the Cross Jesus 
defeated the powers of evil that seek to rule our world.
God, the Eternal Majesty, raised Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his crucified victory.

We believe in God, Abiding Spirit,
who calls us to be Church,
who binds us together in the waters of baptism,
and who sustains us through the Lord’s Supper.
We pray and work for the coming Kingdom,
and know, at the last, 
that God is our ultimate comfort 
in life and in death.  Amen.

Offering

Today we think of the paradox of money.  Judas could not live with the reward for this treachery, and the priests could not easily use blood money; yet money as a means of exchange is necessary in our society.  We know that the notes in our pocket have been used to pay for weapons, people, drugs, and misery yet also are used to relieve pain, bring joy and abundant life.  Through giving we wean ourselves off our fear of having no money and give to causes greater than ourselves.  Let us pray:

Eternal One, we ask you to bless our gifts,
of time, talent, and treasure, that we may use them wisely,
and that we may be freed from our need to worry,
and come to trust You, who counts every hair on our heads.  Amen.

Intercessions

As we learn how to serve,
we pray for a world at war
a world facing economic and environmental crisis,
and we beg for the turmoil of the world to cease.
Sitting in a sheep fold, we ask our Shepherd to lead us and guide us.
So, let us pray.

O Most High, 
scatter the bad shepherds of your people;
    those whose leadership brings harm,
    those whose policies lead to oppression and torture,
    and those whose ideologies cause poverty and division.
    
Raise up, O Gentle Shepherd, 
leaders who will act as shepherds,
rulers who will serve,
and politicians who will seek the common good.

pause

O Jesus, our crucified King, we remember before You
    all who are imprisoned and tortured,
    all who seek to cling to life and love despite poor leadership,
    and all who live in grinding poverty to stoke the engines of capital.

Inspire your people, O Christ,
    to resist evil, usurp unjust power,
    and find, in Your Cross, our redemption.

pause

O Gracious Spirit, in You we take refuge,
even though the earth shakes,
even though we live in troubled times,
and even though we live with fear and uncertainty.

Give us hope, Holy Spirit,
    hope that evil and destruction do not have the last word,
    hope that pain and evil will be transformed through 
the Cross-Throne of Christ,
    and hope that you will never leave us.

pause
    
We remember now, Eternal One, those we love and worry about     

pause
        
those who have died whom we have loved         

pause

those we pass in the street and see on the news
    
pause

those using our buildings every day 

pause

lead us to serve, lead us to welcome, lead us, as we follow you,
and pray as you taught us, Our Father….

Hymn     Christ Triumphant, Ever Reigning
Michael Saward (born 1932) © Michael Saward/Jubilate Hymns OneLicence # A-734713. Frodsham Methodist Church Cloud Choir. Accompanied by Andrew Ellams and produced by Andrew Emison. Used with their kind permission.

Christ triumphant, ever reigning, Saviour, Master, King!
Lord of heaven, our lives sustaining, hear us as we sing:

Yours the glory and the crown, the high renown, the eternal name.

Word incarnate, truth revealing, Son of Man on earth!
power and majesty concealing by your humble birth:

Yours the glory and the crown, the high renown, the eternal name.

Suffering servant, scorned, ill-treated, victim crucified!
death is through the Cross defeated, sinners justified:

Yours the glory and the crown, the high renown, the eternal name.

Priestly king, enthroned for ever high in heaven above!
sin and death and hell shall never stifle hymns of love:

Yours the glory and the crown, the high renown, the eternal name.

So, our hearts and voices raising through the ages long,
ceaselessly upon you gazing, this shall be our song:
 
Yours the glory and the crown, the high renown, the eternal name.

Blessing

As we have watched our wounded lover 
suffer betrayal and unjust trial,
all for the love’s sake,
be ready to defend the cause of justice in the face of tyranny.

As we have seen our wounded healer 
be nailed to the Cross by human hatred,
be ready to love, even in the face of hate.

As we have seen our broken victor 
die a death of ignoble nobility,
be prepared to live valiantly.

And the blessing of our almighty, yet crucified, God:

Father, Son            
and Holy Spirit,            
be with you all, now and always, Amen.

St Matthew 8: 1 – 4

When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him;  and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.’  He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’

Reflection

Jesus had been busy talking to a large crowd who followed Him down from the mountain.  A leper came to Jesus.  Not a particularly nice way to describe this man.  A man suffering from leprosy would be a better way to describe him.  

How do we judge people?  Do we talk about “the disabled”, “the insane”, “the coloured” or do we talk about a “person with a disability”, “a person with mental illness”, “a person with brown skin”.  It is easy to be judgmental.  The news often reports very judgemental comments about people who flee to the UK seeking somewhere safe to live.  We should think of verses such as Colossians 3:11 “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers”.  

This man who suffered from Leprosy would almost certainly have been marked and disfigured by the disease.  I worked with a painter in Jerusalem who had been treated for leprosy and modern medicine had completely cured him.  He had spent months in hospital, and his face and arms were still badly marked as a legacy of the disease. 

In today’s passage, the man approached Jesus with a simple statement that showed his faith, “if you choose, you can make me clean”.  He had no doubt in the ability of Jesus to heal him; he just wanted Jesus to be willing.  Jesus responded by touching him, he was unclean, one of the untouchables, but Jesus touched him and made him clean.  I believe this would be a perfect cleansing and the man would not show any scars or disfigurement after Jesus said he was clean. 

We need to be open to Jesus reaching into our lives, touching us spiritually and transforming us into people cleansed from all our past sins and free to live a new life rejoicing in the love that Jesus has shown to us. 

Prayer

Loving God, thank you for your love,
let me feel your closeness to me as I travel through life.
Let me follow Jesus and share love with those people I meet.
Thank you Jesus for your willingness to touch me with Your love.
Help me to live a life that is true to You
Amen

St Matthew 7: 24 – 29

Jesus said:  ‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’ Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,  for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Reflection

This is well-known parable about houses on firm and insecure foundations has an obvious meaning: proper foundations are necessary.  It is unwise to build on sand, because the foundation will be unsteady and the building will eventually suffer some kind of damage. It will waste resources, and all the time and work put into building will have been for nothing. In contrast, it is wise to build on a sure foundation; anchoring to bedrock makes a building withstand testing times.

But Jesus’ sermon was not concerned with house construction or building code violations. We find the spiritual meaning of the parable in the very first verse: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  We are each building a life where the proper foundation is Jesus’ words – not just the hearing of them, but the doing of them, too.

It seems at times that everything in the world is set up to make us turn away from God’s words.  Often, our own feelings pull us toward doing the exact opposite of what the Bible says. But the wise will follow the words of God despite these pressures because they trust God.
As we follow the Lord, learning to trust and obey Him, and finding security in Him, we receive a reward: our “house” is steady and solid, unshaken by circumstances. The wise are the believers whose lives are built upon the rock of Christ; in this world they have faith and hope, and in the next everlasting life and love.

Is your life built on the rock of Christ making your foundations sure?

Prayer

Dear God
You are a wise and clever God,
please help us to hear your voice, feel your love
and guide us in your ways of wisdom 
as we build our faith on a strong foundation.
Give us wisdom to know the difference
between the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit
and the noisy foolishness of our own minds and hearts.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

St Matthew 7: 21 – 23

‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?”  Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

Reflection

Mr Trump recently caused (another) stir by musing on his prospects of getting into Heaven when he dies.  Some commentators wondered if he’d had a health scare, some pondered his prospects of eternal bliss with more than a little skepticism. Mr Trump, it seems, is trying to end conflicts around the world so as to gain favour with the Almighty; results thus far might not indicate the President has secured his heavenly place.  Interestingly, given Mr Trump’s support amongst evangelical Christians, little has been reported suggesting that salvation is about faith not works.

Jesus’ words in today’s reading are a salutary reminder that salvation is always rather more complex than we imagine.  In the Reformation era, in a response to a medieval Church which seemed, to the Reformers at least, of pushing too far towards the importance of works to secure one’s place in heaven, an earlier emphasis on faith was reaffirmed.  Of course faith needed to go hand in hand with a lifestyle which spoke of salvation.  Famously, Martin Luther disagreed with the theology in the Epistle of James which pushed works along with faith; a propaganda gift for Catholics who joked about Luther’s supposedly high view of Scripture.  Calvin thought that our actions should reflect the salvation we hoped for rather than be seen as a way to that salvation.

Jesus speaks of those who believe themselves to be saved but who never knew him.  Perhaps he meant those who had faith but never truly lived as Christians.  These words follow yesterday’s warnings about false prophets and tomorrow’s about secure foundations and remind us that the free gift of salvation is ours to receive not earn. Salvation is a gift, but one which demands a response from both pauper and president.

Prayer

Eternal God,
we thank You for the gifts You give us,
for setting us free from all that would drag us down.
Help us, O God, to have thankful hearts,
grateful lives, and loving actions
that our works may reflect Your great work of salvation
and our faith may reflect Your faithfulness.
Amen.

St Matthew 7: 15 – 20

Jesus said: ‘Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.

Reflection

When I was growing up, if there was something I really wanted to do, it was drive a car!

I remember when preparing for my driving test I studied the Highway Code avidly! I recalled learning all the road signs in case I was asked about them. The triangular shaped signs as drivers know are the “warning” signs.

In this part of Matthew’s gospel, coming at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offered three warnings to his listeners. Today’s reading is a warning about false prophets. Jesus wants to prepare his listeners for the journey of discipleship they are embarking on. I fear that we are sometimes reticent or resistant in churches to grapple with texts such as these. Jesus offers a stark warning here about those who might sound wise but actually aren’t. Those who sometimes want to actively control the direction in which a church feels God is leading. Jesus warns those who follow him that we need to be mindful of such people.

If we wonder how we recognise these people, Jesus suggests that we will know them by the fruit of their lives. Jesus uses a helpful analogy of a garden. When we moved into our current manse we did so in early December. I was told at the time that we have raspberries growing in the garden come Spring. When the fruit came on the fruit bushes, I noticed the raspberries were yellow not the usual colour. I had never seen yellow raspberries before. They looked and tasted the same as the red ones. Some plants produce berries that look lovely and very appealing but actually taste awful! And no amount of sugar will make them taste any different.

It appears from what Jesus says that this can also occur within the Church. We need to be people of prayer asking that Jesus will lead us in the way he wants us to go following him and being nourished by him.

Prayer

Loving God,
may we recognise the way
we are called to go as individuals and as churches.
May we follow Christ obediently,
recognising the warning signs
that you place in front of us
when we are travelling in the wrong direction.
May those in leadership be wise and discerning
in leading your people
so that your Church and Kingdom may grow
through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen.   

St Matthew 7: 13 – 14

Jesus said: ‘Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Reflection – The Narrow Road

When we lived in Devon, Google Maps would often send us down tiny farm tracks to shave two minutes off the journey. Sometimes those “shortcuts” felt like adventures; other times they were a nerve-wracking crawl between hedgerows with the prospect of a tractor or horse around each corner.

This summer, driving around the top of Scotland, we met a different kind of narrow road –  single-track roads with passing places, which take on a special edge when you’re towing a caravan and your reversing skills aren’t exactly Olympic standard. I loved it. I like being off the beaten track, where each bend might reveal a loch, a deer, or a view you’d miss from the main road.  Lythan much prefers the safety and predictability of a six-lane motorway, where you know what’s coming and can relax into the drive and do your crochet (not while driving!)

When Jesus spoke of the “narrow gate” and “narrow road” in Matthew 7:13–14, he wasn’t talking about literal roads, but about the way of life that leads to fullness. The broad road is easy, fast, and full of company. The narrow road takes deliberate choice, patience, and sometimes a bit of humility when you have to reverse to let someone else through.

Following Christ can feel like those single-track roads –  not as quick, not as comfortable, and certainly not as popular. But you notice more along the way: the beauty of small moments, the joy of unexpected encounters, the satisfaction of knowing you’re on a path few choose, but one worth travelling. You learn that speed is overrated, and that depth often comes from detours.

Perhaps the question isn’t whether we prefer motorways or farm tracks, but whether we’re willing to take the route that Jesus points out –  the one that asks for trust, attentiveness, and a willingness to let go of hurry. That’s the road that leads to life.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You call us to follow you along paths that aren’t always easy or wide.
Give us courage when the way feels slow,
patience when it is narrow,
and joy in the journey you share with us.
Keep our eyes on you,
so that we may walk faithfully to the end,
and find life in all its fullness.
Amen.

17 November 2025
 

Psalm 107 
 
“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever.”
 
Let them say this, the Lord’s redeemed,
whom he redeemed from the hand of the foe
and gathered from far-off lands,
from east and west, north and south.
 
Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,
finding no way to a city they could dwell in.
Hungry they were and thirsty;
their soul was fainting within them.
 
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress
and he led them along the right way,
to reach a city they could dwell in.
 
Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for his people:
for he satisfies the thirsty soul;
he fills the hungry with good things.
 
Some lay in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and chains,
having defied the words of God
and spurned the counsels of the Most High.
He crushed their spirit with toil;
they stumbled; there was no one to help.
 
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
He led them forth from darkness and gloom
and broke their chains to pieces.
 
Let them thank the Lord for his goodness,
for the wonders he does for his people:
for he bursts the gates of bronze
and shatters the iron bars.
 
Some were sick on account of their sins
and afflicted on account of their guilt.
They had a loathing for every food;
they came close to the gates of death.
 
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
He sent forth his word to heal them
and saved their life from the grave.
 
Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does his people.
Let them offer a sacrifice of thanks
and tell of his deeds with rejoicing.
 
Some sailed to the sea in ships
to trade on the mighty waters.
These have seen the Lord’s deeds,
the wonders he does in the deep.
 
For he spoke; he summoned the gale,
tossing the waves of the sea
up to heaven and back into the deep;
their souls melted away in their distress.
 
They staggered, reeled like drunkards,
for all their skill was gone.
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
 
He stilled the storm to a whisper:
all the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced because of the calm
and he led them to the haven they desired.
 
Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for his people.
Let them exalt him in the gathering of the people
and praise him in the meeting of the elders.
 
He changes streams into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
fruitful land into a salty waste,
for the wickedness of those who live there.
 
But he changes desert into streams,
thirsty ground into springs of water.
There he settles the hungry
and they build a city to dwell in.
 
They sow fields and plant their vines;
these yield crops for the harvest.
He blesses them; they grow in numbers.
He does not let their herds decrease.
 
He pours contempt upon rulers,
makes them wander in trackless wastes.
They diminish, are reduced to nothing
by oppression, evil and sorrow.
 
But he raises the needy from distress;
makes families numerous as a flock.
The upright see it and rejoice
but all who do wrong are silenced.
 
Whoever is wise, let them heed these things.
And consider the love of the Lord.
 
Reflection

I remember encountering this Psalm as a young person, and being struck by the description ‘up to heaven and back into the deep’.  I lived by the sea, and loved the power of the waves.  I lived with a parent with bi-polar, and feared the swings from manic ‘ups’ to deep depressions.  It was the first time I found worship words that resonated with my lived experience, felt held, and felt God’s love extended into the world of those living with mental health issues.
As I grew up and supported friends and family through eating disorders, post-natal depression, life-limiting injuries and long-term medical conditions, many of the physical descriptions of tough places in this psalm have resonated with the emotional worlds they have inhabited.  A psalm of comfort to the extent that these human conditions are known and understood, included within the story of God’s saving grace – however far beyond that people may believe themselves to be as they suffer.
The Psalmist makes a simplistic link between sin and affliction, calling out to God and rescue.  My experience is much less straightforward – I could not say that anyone ‘deserved’ mental or physical ill health; and I can testify to many, many prayers for relief that appear unanswered.  Rather I wonder if such individual suffering is a symptom of collective failings, and if our response to it too often is a symptom of our deep-seated individualism.  We are called to be the body of Christ such that when one part suffers, all suffer; and when one part is honoured, all rejoice in that honouring.
Psalms are for sharing in worship – and together we can say “O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his love endures for ever” for this is our faith community experience. We are called to live this out through offering such enduring love to those who suffer in body, mind or spirit – and rediscovering God’s love anew and deeply in the midst of that. 

Prayer

We pray for all who are hungry and thirsty,
in darkness and gloom,
in misery and chains,
whose spirits are crushed;
those sick or loathing food,
those tossed up to heaven and back into the deep,
whose souls melt away:
 
whoever is wise, let them heed these things.
and consider the love of the Lord.
 
“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever.”
Amen

St Matthew 7: 7 – 11
 
Jesus said: ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.  For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone?  Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
 
Reflection
 
I love this short passage from Jesus because, in many ways, it is so simple; ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. Jesus is not hiding the message here in these three phrases. It is as clear a message as we can receive and yet there is a subversiveness to it.  How many places in life generally do we find, that if we do these things, that it is this simple? 
 
We must remember that this passage is still part of the Sermon On The Mount triptych of chapters, which are all focused on the subversive social justice of God’s upside-down kin-dom.  In this kin-dom people can live in a new radical way where freedom, hope, and joy are the focus rather than an enslaved life of sin, darkness, and death. Jesus is not forcing us to follow or believe, he is not threatening or coercing people. He is telling them that they have free will and that they have the power to make a choice; to follow: ask, search, knock or to disbelieve everything he is saying and walk away. That is radical! 
 
Jesus is reminding people that the choice is always theirs, the power is theirs to take hold of, and do something with life.  That applies today as much as it did when Jesus was standing on that mountain preaching. We have been given that power to choose, so the question is what will you choose?
 
Prayer
 
Parent God
Thank you for giving us free will to choose you.
Thank you for the open invitation 
to ask, search and knock,
so that we are able to become 
children of the radical upside-down kin-dom 
that you are building with us and through us.
Thank you for the relationships we have with you 
that enables each of us to know our worth in you.
Amen