Paying it forward

Romans 3:28-30; 5:1-11

No, not at all, but through the law of faith. We consider that a person is treated as righteous by faith, apart from what is accomplished under the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t God the God of Gentiles also? Yes, God is also the God of Gentiles. 30 Since God is one, then the one who makes the circumcised righteous by faith will also make the one who isn’t circumcised righteous through faith. 

Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness,[a] we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

6 While we were still weak, at the right moment, Christ died for ungodly people. 7 It isn’t often that someone will die for a righteous person, though maybe someone might dare to die for a good person. 8 But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 9 So, now that we have been made righteous by his blood, we can be even more certain that we will be saved from God’s wrath through him. 10 If we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son while we were still enemies, now that we have been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by his life? 11 And not only that: we even take pride in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the one through whom we now have a restored relationship with God.

Our Scripture passage today is the kind of preaching I grew up with - preaching filled with big, theological words that I had little clue about. Even though the preachers using those words, straight from Scripture went to great lengths to explain them - and took great lengths of time to do so! I still didn’t really grasp them.

And, I have to say, after years of theological study, I’d still be hard pressed to explain them or to help others understand which doctrines they are part of and how they fit together and what great mysteries they unpack for us today.

And yet...

There is one phrase in the midst of it all that even as a child, I was able to understand very clearly.

And that is: Christ died for ungodly people. 

I got the message that Christ died for ungodly people. 

Even as a child, surrounded by all these big words and theological mysteries, that message shone through - that Christ died for me, not because I was a good person, not because I might have potential and I might be of some use in the kingdom of God - all that didn’t matter to the loving action of God so long ago that Christ died for ungodly people. 

And, as a child, hearing that preached week in, week out, and being surrounded by folk who lived in God’s love and who lived out God’s love, I was not only enabled to hear that and see it lived out, I was able to believe it for myself. Christ died for ungodly people. 

So, instead of trying, and failing, to explain all these theological terms and theories this morning, I want to get to the heart of the matter - that Christ, knowing humanity, would think us - you and I worth going to the cross for.

And so he carried on speaking of love.

He went on encouraging peaceful opposition to corrupt governments.

He continued noising up the occupying forces by gathering crowds to listen to his teaching on subversive love, love that makes a difference.

And he persisted in demonstrating that there was - and is - an alternative way to live, a way that challenges oppression and injustice wherever they are found.

That’s what got him crucified.

The powerful forces of the day - church and state- knew he was onto something and had to silence him before it was too late.

And we are here today to celebrate the life that came out of death because it was already too late.

Jesus lived and died for ungodly people and rose again to walk among us as we live out the love that he taught.

We celebrate life today.

We celebrate love.

And, as we continue to look for ways to follow, it’s not simply about Jesus post resurrection appearances or about the things we learn from the early church as they struggled to work out how to be Christians in an often hostile environment.

It’s not just about the peace Christ gives.

Or the imploring of Christ to “Feed my sheep”

It’s also about Christ’s call to “Follow me”

A call issued to folk at the beginning of his ministry

Follow me.

What does that look like?

What might it look like today?

It looks like the life Jesus lived throughout his ministry.

Follow me - eating with tax collectors, noticing those on the edge...

Follow me - seeing those who simply wanted to be noticed along with those crying out for healing...

Follow me - feeding hungry crowds and spending time alone with God.

Follow me - upending the tables of those who separate others from God

Follow me - sharing a meal around a table - even with those he knows will betray him and deny him.

Follow me - It looks like the very things that got Christ crucified.

As some of you may know, this week, as the Church of Scotland met in General Assembly, our theme has been, Follow me.

How do we do that in all our different communities and contexts today?

How do we do that in our sometimes hostile environments, in a post Christian culture?

How do we do that as we scatter in all directions?

How do we try to be obedient to Christ’s call: Follow me.

In v 10 of our passage in Romans 5, we read:

Now that we have been reconciled, how much more certain is it that we will be saved by his life?

Our passage this morning makes it clear - that it is by following the example of Christ. 

We, whom Christ loves, we who have been reconciled, see in Christ a model for living.

Christ showed us how to live and how to love.

Christ showed us how to live for those who today would be considered ungodly.

How?

It is by following Christ into all the unlikely places he went.

By following Christ in the company of the unlikely people he met and spent time with.

Following Christ, knowing that ungodly as we are, Christ loved us enough to die for us.

And in knowing ourselves so deeply loved, we are freed to follow.

Freed to follow and freed to hope.

With the kind of hope we read of in the passage:

This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Hope that doesn’t put us to shame.

Hope that doesn’t disappoint.

Hope that brings life in the midst of death.

As I mentioned at the beginning, even when I didn’t understand all the theological words being spoken and being preached on, yet still I was able to grasp the message that God loved me.

Why?

Because the people around me showed that love.

And that’s the challenge for us as followers of Christ today.

How are we being called to show the love of God?

Where are we being called to live out that love?

With whom are we being called to share that love?

Christ loved us enough to continue to protest, to continue to live at the edge, to continue to upset those in power enough to die for us.

But that is only the beginning.

Knowing ourselves loved, even with all our faults and failings, we are challenged to take that love into the world we inhabit every day.

Because that love is not a limited commodity.

It won’t run out.

It is given to be shared!

Part of the role I now play in the Church of Scotland is encouraging folks to rekindle the spark they once had, or to find that spark for the first time, to recognise that we are loved, but to go further than that.

And find the calling of Christ on our lives, individually and in community.

To know that Christ’s love isn’t just about us and our salvation.

It’s not just about us realising how blessed we are.

It’s about paying it forward.

So I invite you this morning, to think for a moment, how or when did you realise you were loved by God?

Is it something you have always known?

Is it something you learned at home, with family?

Is it something you experienced at school, at Youth Camp, in Scouts or BB?

Was it at one of the evangelical rallies?

Or a wee mission hall?

Was it right here in this place?

Take a moment to ponder - how or when did you realise you were loved by God?

And now, ask yourself - who are you making that possible for today?

Where are you sharing the incredible news that God loves even those considered ungodly?

With whom are you sharing God’s love today?

And, looking to the week that lies ahead...

Where are you being called to follow Jesus?

Where are you being called to share that unconditional love?

Where are you being called to share hope that does not disappoint?

And let me share with you three forms of commission today:

In the words of St Paul : 

We take pride in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the one through whom we now have a restored relationship with God.

In the words of Jesus:

Follow me

And in words often used as a benediction:

You are blessed to be a blessing

Go and serve in love.

For the glory of God

Amen

Breakfast on the beach

John 21:1-19

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus and Peter

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

At this time of year, I appreciate that the Lectionary Readings encourage us to stay with Easter, to keep on reading those texts that tell us where and how Jesus appeared after the Resurrection.

Because by the time we’ve slogged through Lent, with whatever disciplines we’ve chosen to embrace and then contemplated Jesus in Holy Week noising up the crowds and the authorities, by the time we’ve done the tenderness of Maundy Thursday and the brutality of Good Friday and then waited out Easter Saturday, we can often arrive at Easter Sunday absolutely exhausted, washed out, ready to proclaim He is Risen - and take a nap!

And while Resurrection changes everything, while it defines who we are and what we believe as followers of Christ, while it infuses our very being, this time of year, this season of Easter, where we sit with these texts, gives us a new opportunity to let the resurrection stories sink in and become part of us once more, re-shaping who we are and what we do as followers of the Risen Christ.

This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

I love the intimacy and gentleness with which Jesus appears after the resurrection.

From all the various accounts in different gospels, we can’t help but pick up on Jesus focus on individuals, the way he seeks to reassure and comfort, and the way he restores their calling and purpose.

There’s Mary in the garden - Jesus calls her by name, and sends her to spread the news.

Then there are the disciples, huddled away behind locked doors. Jesus appears, breathing peace into them - and even comes back for Thomas who missed out first time around. And, as he breathes peace into them, he tells them: “As the father has sent me, so I send you.”

And, in this encounter, in today’s gospel, Jesus appears on the beach, teaching them how to fish, cooking breakfast for them, commissioning them corporately and individually.

Intimacy, gentleness and, more than that, inclusion.

Jesus took care to ensure that all who encountered his risen presence would know themselves included in his resurrection life and purpose.

Come and have breakfast.

What a beautiful, gentle, intimate invitation.

Come and have breakfast.

I want to pause there for a moment and ask:

When did you last have breakfast with the Risen Christ?

When did you last haul your boat up onto the shore, leave your work behind, and have breakfast with Jesus.

There something really quite intimate about breakfast, isn’t there?

Something vulnerable.

Even for those who are morning people, breakfast tends to be a meal that is quieter than other meals, a meal that we don’t often share with lots of people. It may even be a meal that we miss out on.

Come and have breakfast.

How would it feel to have breakfast with the Risen Christ?

To leave behind the trappings of our work...

To leave behind the poise and assurance that we often don later in the day...

To be intimate and vulnerable.

Come and have breakfast.

The Risen Christ gently enters the spaces we inhabit, even before we are ready for the day ahead, with the invitation;

Come and have breakfast.

 Maybe that’s all you need from this text today - to hear, again, the invitation from Christ, who enters our spaces before we can ever be ready: Come and have breakfast.

But there’s more.

I want to drag you on from that invitation, beautiful as it is, to see what happened next.

When Jesus encounters Peter.

Peter, the impulsive disciple, always away ahead of the rest, always trying to sort and organise and defend... until the night of Jesus’ arrest... when he denied his Lord. 

That night, in the garden, when the soldiers came for Jesus, Peter stepped in with his sword.

Jesus said to him then: “Put your sword back in its sheath.”

Maybe it was at that moment that Peter lost his bravado.

Because here was the man that Peter thought he knew refusing to fight back as he was arrested.

And Peter, who knew only the language of the sword, could no longer fathom out what was going on. If this was not a time for insurrection, a time to rise up and fight, when would be?

Maybe that’s why we find Peter, skulking around the High Priests courtyard, where they’d taken Jesus, denying that he ever knew him.

But in John’s gospel, unlike the other gospels, there’s an added sting in the tail of Peter’s denial.

Peter doesn’t simply deny that he knew Jesus.

He denies that he is one of Jesus disciples.

When asked: Are you also one of his disciples, Peter replied: “I am not”.

Not just denying Jesus but denying his own identity as a disciple of Jesus.

“I am not.”

There are few things that hurt more or are more confusing than losing your identity.

Jesus knows that.

I imagine Jesus asking Peter to take a walk with him on that beach.

And Peter, thinking, ah...here it comes.... time to face the music....time to pay.

How confused must he have been when, what Jesus asks is: Do you love me?

I wonder if Peter thought: what game is he playing?

And then, when Jesus asks him again, not once, but twice: Do you love me?

Maybe he was still waiting for the axe to fall, for the words of condemnation to come.

Instead, Jesus was giving Peter what Jesus knew he need most.

He was giving him his identity back.

He was restoring him as a beloved disciple of the Risen Christ.

And commissioning him to Feed my sheep.

What a come back.

What a restoration.

Jesus restored and renewed Peter’s identity as a beloved disciple and handed him back the keys of the kingdom by charging him: Feed my sheep

So what is it you need from the Risen Christ today?

What is your desire as Christ invites you to “Come and have breakfast” ?

Is it forgiveness you seek.

Hear Christ’s words of absolution.

Is it purpose you seek?

Hear Christ’s words of commission: Feed my sheep.

Is it identity you seek?

Hear Christ call you a beloved disciple.

Beloved, called, forgiven child of God - “Come and have breakfast” 

With love...

Genesis 32:22-32

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.

Luke 18:1-8

The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Along with some others from St Ninian's this week, I went to Largs on Wednesday evening to hear Brian McLaren talk about his new book.

Brian is one of the great spiritual writers of our time - able to put his finger on many Spiritual truths in which we need to hear the voice of God.

Just one of the themes he talked about was the violence we find throughout the threads of the Old Testament - and especially the stories of a violent, vengeful God.

He spoke of how we need to transform that message of violence into a message of love.

How our world is crying out for a God who is not remote and angry but intimately involved with Creation, making a difference to the everyday.

I was fortunate enough, as I was growing up to be told the stories of the Old Testament as stories of mystery and adventure, of intrigue and love.

I can remember being excited, through the week, waiting for the next episode to be revealed at Sunday School, waiting to hear how things turned out for the characters in the various stories.

Characters like Abraham and Isaac, like Joseph and David, like Samuel and Saul, like Jonah and Jeremiah. All of their stories were brought to life for me week by week by folks who knew the power of story telling.

And so, even with stories of deceit and violence, and war and intrigue, I always knew that, in the end, the love of God would weave its way in and around the drama and the justice of God would prevail

And, in the years that I've studied those texts, in depth, for myself, I'm still assured, that underlying all the many horrific stories, is a God who wants to connect in love with all people, to bring about justice.

In our Old Testament reading today, we read an episode of the Jacob- Esau drama.

Jacob, who, with the help of his mother, cheated his elder brother out of his birthright - and then went on the run.

In the text today, we find him about to be reunited with his brother.

Of course he is nervous.

He doesn't know whether his brother is out for revenge.

And so Jacob does everything he can to protect himself and his loved ones.

He sends gifts ahead.

He places distance between his family and Esau's people.

He plans his escape route, just in case it all goes badly.

And, he stays up all night, wrestling with God.

But this story makes me sad.

Because, even though Jacob has encountered God.

Even though God even changes his name, from Jacob to Israel, and gives him a blessing.

And even though Esau, his brother is not out for revenge but for reconciliation, still Jacob (or Israel)    persists in his way of deceit.

Reading on in the story, even once he receives his brothers forgiveness, Jacob lies to his brother about where he is going and takes his family and all his worldly goods off in a different direction. And yet, Jacob is the one who goes on to be known as father of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Weaving in and out of the lies and deceit and bloodshed is the slender thread of the love and patience, the forgiveness and faithfulness of God.

A God worth wrestling with in all that keeps us awake at night.

I spent the week before last, wrestling, alongside other ministers, with Spiritual Discipline. 

Ensuring that we are firmly rooted in God so that we can be equipped and sustained for all the challenges of serving God today.

One of my favourite spiritual disciplines is the examen.

A time to take some quiet and look back on the day - and see where God was at work.

A time to discern, not only where we saw God, but listen to what God was trying to tell us in the events of the day.

Often, that, for me, is a wrestling with God, looking, not just for blessing, but for signs of God who dances with us through all the rhythms of life.

As I approached our second reading this week, the parable that Jesus told of the persistent woman and the unjust judge, I approached it like the Examen - and looked to see the signs of God in the story Jesus told.

 Then Jesus told them a parable....

Jesus, as he told parables, embedded truth, embedded hard lessons in a story.

A story with layers that are ours to discover.

Where is God in this story?

And how does God speak to us through the story?

What I saw as I wrestled with the text this week, was not, perhaps, the most obvious sign of God- in the unjust Judge who is persuaded by persistence.

I simply don't see God as unjust.

God's will-  for good - for all God's children does not, thankfully, depend on our persistence.

Though we have gifted prayer partners here, whose efforts really do make a difference, the God to whom we pray doesn't need persuaded to show love - it's ours for the asking.

But where I saw God in this story that Jesus told, was in the persistent widow.

Who never gave up, who was there morning and night, crying out for justice.

I saw God in that woman who, day in, day out, confronted injustice and cried out for change.

And I thought of all the places we see that same picture of God today:

In Aleppo and Syria, in Sarajevo and Somalia, in the United States and the U.K., in Calais and in Samos.

In all the places where people cry out for justice.

God is right there, crying with them.

Crying out for change.

Crying out for peace.

Crying out for love,

Crying out to us who are complicit in withholding justice.

As I drove home from a meeting yesterday, I heard a couple of snippets of the  First Minsters speech at the Party Conference.

She was talking about the rising number of displaced people being, not a crisis of migration but a humanitarian crisis.

And talking about the important I word today as being "Inclusion".

Whatever your party politics, those are the kind of passionate and compassionate words we need to be hearing from our politicians today.

But not just words - action too.

You and I are being prevailed upon by God - to stop being ruled by fear, to take a stand, to make a difference, to see justice upheld - to see love win the day.

And that brings me back to Brian McLaren.

Brian was encouraging us to challenge the injustice that is in our world today, to speak up when we see oppression and lies taking hold.

But to speak and to act in love.

Not with aggression.

Not with pride or self righteousness.

But with love.

In our daily contacts, face to face and in social media, we can join God in persistently calling out all that diminishes those whom God calls beloved.

And we can do so in love.

For the glory of God.

Amen.

Serving and changing

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”

But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;

for you shall go to all to whom I send you,

and you shall speak whatever I command you.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

says the Lord.”

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.

See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to pull down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

Luke 13:10-17

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

There are two things going on in our readings this week:

A call to serve - and a call to change.

Jeremiah is a really interesting character. A reluctant prophet - as were most prophets called out by God.

Because, really, who would want to serve God as a prophet - bringing an uncomfortable message that, inevitably, is going to make folk squirm.

Who would want to serve God as a prophet when the messages God gives to share are the last things folk want to hear - or are so incredible that ridicule is bound to ensue?

Who would want to serve God as a prophet?

Jeremiah voices his reluctance by claiming "I am only a boy."

God dismisses Jeremiah's reluctance, telling him:

for you shall go to all to whom I send you,

and you shall speak whatever I command you.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.

See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to pull down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

Jeremiah, for all,his reluctance, went on to serve God, just as he was called.

Some of the things he got up to were quite bizarre as, time and again, God used Jeremiah to reveal the truth.

But, once Jeremiah responded to the call that God had on his life, there was no looking back.

Jeremiah constantly confronted God's people with the consequences of their actions.

And, when the people refused to turn around and mend their ways, when the disaster of which Jeremiah warned, befell them, Jeremiah was there to help them pick up the pieces and find their way back to God.

When the people were forced out of their land and found themselves in exile, Jeremiah was the one who encouraged them to return to the faith of their ancestors, to find comfort in the ancient paths even in a strange land.

And so, even in dire straits, God's people were able to turn their lives around.

Jeremiah was a man living out, in obedience, a call from God.

Caring for God's people and helping them recover faith.

Rarely is God's call on our lives simple or straightforward.

There will always be obstacles to overcome, struggles with doubt and feelings of inadequacy - fears not unfounded.

But God not only calls but equips us for service.

God calls us today to faithful service, to discover for ourselves and to share with others those ancient paths that lead us home to the God who loved us before we were born, who loves us now and whose love beckons us forward in faith.

In our gospel reading today, we find Jesus demonstrating that love by healing the woman unable to stand up straight for many years.

And using that healing as a teaching opportunity.

I've always felt uncomfortable about Jesus speaking of this woman"being bound by Satan".

But people believed then that illness was due to evil spirits or to past wrong doing.

And Jesus, as he is wont to do, uses that common belief and sets the healing he has performed against that backdrop.

Just as Jesus told stories about things with which people of the day were familiar - sowers,lost sheep, the road to Jericho - so he also sets his healing in a context with which folk would be familiar:

So you think this woman has been bound by Satan all these years? Well, I choose to release her - on the Sabbath of all days.

Jesus used what people know to show how things could be different.

Against the forces of love, nothing will prevail.

Even the most unlikely situations can be changed by the power of love to set things free.

Love is no respecter of customs and traditions.

Love breaks through barriers that may have been in place a long time.

Love brings about change.

Jesus, in healing the woman on the Sabbath shows how love can turn things around, how change is possible when we allow God space to work.

Let me share with you a reflection on how life might have looked for that woman:

Shuffling along always looking down

unable to stand up straight

Noticing all the traffic on the street:

Feet striding past

shod in boots and shoes and sandals

Some stepping out briskly, some dragging along

skipping or tripping

disturbing the litter strewn on the ground

lifted and laid by the breeze

avoiding the cracks in the stone slabs

and the gum ground in by other feet

Observing the cigarette ends -

those with lipstick

those smoked down to the very last gasp

and those tossed down still reeking

their rancid fumes.

Looking down for eighteen long years

Looking down

but catching, in all the greyness

the vibrancy and colour

that rushes past

The reflections in the shiny surfaces

the clouds and rainbows in the puddles.

Flashes of glory in eyes cast down.

Glimpses of God in the detritus of the street.

Healing becomes possible when God stoops down

and looks into the eyes

of a woman weighed down by life.

In healing that woman on the Sabbath, Jesus demonstrated the ability of God to bring change.

To bring change into customs and practices.

To bring change into hearts hardened by sticking to the rules.

Jesus demonstrated the ability of God to turn things around, bit by bit - to raise questions, to soften attitudes, to invoke compassion, thawing closed hearts and minds enough for love to penetrate until it gets a hold and causes change.

Two things going on in our readings today - a call to serve and a call to change.

Choosing one means choosing both.

To serve God means changing the world around us, not least the church in which we serve.

Not all at once.

But bit by bit, as attitudes and customs are changed.

As love prevails.

And as all of us are freed from whatever holds us back from responding wholeheartedly to God's call on our lives - a call to love and service.

For the glory of God 

Amen.

The time is now

Genesis 18:1-10

A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.

Colossians 1:15-28

The Supremacy of Christ

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

Paul’s Interest in the Colossians

I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Luke 10:38-42

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Sometimes one of the biggest challenges in preaching is to find a link between the readings of the day. And I have to confess that, on occasion, I give up and just concentrate on one text and ignore the others. But, today, praise God, not only do these texts, speak into one another - they speak powerfully into the world in which we live, the world splashed across our TV screens and in our newspapers today  - a world of hatred and of conflict, a world of racism and white supremacy, a world of hierarchy and oppression, a world where people hanker after things that do not satisfy, taking things they do not own and denying others the status bestowed on them by the God of all creation, the status of beloved children, created in the image of God.

All of this breaks God's heart.

And we, the people of God, are called to engage with, to speak into and to live out the good news wherever God's heart is broken today.

To speak good news into violence and racism.

To speak good news into Xenophobia.

To speak good news into extremism and terrorism.

To speak good news. 

Our texts today, I believe, give us some clues as to how we might do that:

Beginning with Abraham.

Abraham who, at the age of 75 set off on a journey with God.

Becoming a stranger in the land to which God has called him.

But Abraham was open to hospitality.

A stranger himself, he welcomes three strangers who seem set to pass by. And goes all out to ensure that they are fed and watered before they continue their journey.

Abraham - on the lookout for strangers, not to detain them, but to bless them.

And, as we read, it was Abraham who was blessed - blessed with the unlikely prophecy that Sarah would bear a son. That even at their advanced age, they were going to fulfil the promise of God and become parents to a great nation.

Abraham welcomed the strangers and knew God's blessing in offering hospitality.

I love the old Celtic Rune that says:

“I saw a stranger last night. I put food in the eating place, drink in the drinking place, music in the listening place, and in the sacred name of the Triune, he blessed myself and my house and my cattle and my dear ones. And the lark said in her song, ‘Often, often, often goes the Christ in the stranger’s guise.’     

Hospitality for the stranger brings hope for our world in all its brokenness.

And then the letter to the Colossians reminds us of the Supremacy of Christ.

Reminds us that, in Christ, all things are held together.

Supremacy - a word and a status so often abused and used to oppress finds a new meaning when viewed from the perspective of Jesus.

Jesus, the true image of God, in whom all things were made, by whom all are brought back to God, showed his supremacy  - by living in service to others.

And that's why the story of Martha and Mary has always rankled  a bit with me.

Because it doesn't seem to fit with that image of Jesus who came to serve.

Why would Jesus the servant not unreservedly honour one who served.

 This story has so often been read in isolation.

And taken out of context as an admonishment not to be so caught up in doing stuff that we forget to sit at Jesus feet and listen.

How often have you heard it preached that way?

But even a cursory read through Luke's gospel tells us that Jesus does not undervalue service.

Jesus encourages hospitality and service.

So why does it seem in this passage that he is critical of Martha for wanting to be a good host?

I want to suggest that it's to do with timing.

That there are times, however well brought up we are, however programmed to serve we are - there are times, when we should let go of our notion of how we should behave.

Times when we have to reassess priorities and demands.

Some of my clergy colleagues in the states are caught up just now in speaking good news into complex race struggles.

Black Lives Matter has become a slogan for a cause in the face of overt discrimination, intimidation and murder of people of colour.

But it's more than a slogan or a hash tag.

It's a call to bring about the justice of God.

And there are always folk who take exception to justice - especially when it threatens a livelihood and a way of life built on injustice.

Some people have tried to dilute Black Lives Matter by proclaiming that all lives matter.

Of course all lives matter.

But, at this time in history, more than ever before, God demands justice for those oppressed by centuries of injustice.

Black Lives Matter - is not saying that all lives don't matter, but, for this season, at this time in history, in order to address years of systemic racial violence, it is important to affirm that Yes, black lives matter.

And it is possible to affirm one thing without denigrating everything else.

Without in any way reducing the importance of the Black Lives Matter campaign, I think that over the years, this gospel passage has undergone the same divisive treatment.

People have interpreted Jesus words as saying that sitting at Jesus feet takes precedence over practising good hospitality.

Jesus is commending Mary's listening, not condemning Martha's service.

Even a cursory reading of Luke's gospel demonstrates how Jesus values service.

But Jesus always spoke, uncompromisingly into whatever he saw, whatever was right for the season.

Seeing the poor, Jesus said: Blessed are the poor - not to condemn the rich per se but to highlight the plight of the poor and encourage a response of giving and serving.

So it is here.

Jesus does not condemn Martha for wanting things to be perfect, for wanting to practice exemplary hospitality but speaks into the moment and the reality of time.

Jesus has already set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Time is running out.

The opportunity to sit at his feet is limited.

For that moment, Jesus' company was a rare gift to be cherished.

Mary recognised that while Martha didn't.

Jesus' words spoke into that moment.

As he speaks into our every moment today.

Is it time to serve?

Is it time to listen?

How does Jesus speak into our lives today?

To what does Jesus call us?

I believe we are still called to hospitality, to welcome the stranger in our midst.

We are still called to justice, to act for those being oppressed.

In the UK

In the USA

In Nice

In Istanbul

In Israel

In Palestine

In the Sudan and in all the places not even on our radar.

We are called to compassion.

We are called to speak and we are called to listen.

And, informed by that listening, we are called to serve.

Amidst all the change - global, national and local, we are called to bring good news into all that breaks God's heart today.

Martha and Mary

Sisters who welcomed Jesus

Martha by offering hospitality

Working tirelessly to ensure he had everything he needed

Martha - Distracted by all her tasks, the text tells us.

Yet wasn't it Mary who was the distracted one?

Distracted from all that she'd been brought up to do

by what the hour demanded.

Mary distracted by seeing before her

a man with angst and passion written all over him

A man whose course was steering him inexorably

into the hands of the authorities

who were already out to get him

Authorities, violent and corrupt

who couldn't risk Jesus

being let loose any longer.

Martha did what she knew.

Mary did what she saw

and took the opportunity

to cherish him

and be cherished by him

while there was still time.

And perhaps today

we are called

from what we know

from what is socially acceptable

to do what is right for this time -

To fly in the face of convention

To welcome the stranger

To speak up for the oppressed 

To act irrationally in our compassion 

And to bring about

the justice of God.