 Welcome, Cheviot churches! We worship together on this 5th Sunday after Pentecost. Notices:
Call to Worship Out of the depths we cry to the Lord. We wait for the Lord and find hope in God’s Word. Hope in the Lord! For with God there is steadfast love. With God there is great power to redeem. So we come to offer our prayers and praise to God in whom we trust. Hymn 124 – Praise to the Lord Prayers of Adoration and Confession Great and holy God, source of our life and all life,your glory is incomprehensible and your majesty infinite. You are the wellspring of new life and the fountain of true freedom.We marvel at your love, beyond all measure;we are challenged by your kindness which reaches further than we can imagine.We worship you in gratitude,offering you our praise with the voices of all creation,and our trust because you have come to close to us in Christ Jesus.Receive our love and loyalty, now and always,offered through the Spirit who prays within us. Great and merciful God, our judge and our hope,We confess we have sinned against you and one another, in the ways we think, the things we say and the things we do.We have been quick to judge others, but less critical of our own actions.We focus on what we lack rather than recognize how blessed we are..In your tender mercy, O God, forgive what we have been, amend what we are, and direct who we shall become, through the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord.Lord’s Prayer Readings – 2 Samuel 1: 17–27 Mark 5:21–43 Hymn 553 – Just as I am Weekly Prayer Merciful God, today's gospel showed the tremendous faith of a sick woman. Help us to learn from this “that we should always pray and not give up” and that if we “ask it will be given to us.” We raise before you now all those who we know who need to touch the hem of Jesus' garments and receive health and healing in their lives. Amen Reflection One of my favourite churches in the Holy Land is not one of the ancient ones, but a new one, which I watched being constructed wile I lived there. It is on the Sea of Galilee, and the communion table is actually in the shape of a fishing boat. It is dedicated to the women of the Gospels, and there is a large mural across one wall of feet. In fact, many feet in sandals and the hems of peoples’ robes, and in the middle a hand is reaching out, as if to touch the hem of a garment. It is of course representing the story we read in the Gospels today. There are three main characters in the story: there is Jairus, the leader of the synagogue – a powerful, influential, probably wealthy man. There is the unnamed woman, who for 12 years had a bleeding complaint, which was distressing enough physically, but which also meant she was unclean. She couldn’t mix with other people, so was cut off, ostracized from her community. The third character is Jairus’ daughter, a 12 year old girl, at the cusp of life, but who was gravely ill. All very different, and all very vulnerable in their own ways. For Jairus, no amount of power or wealth could buy his daughter’s health, and like any parent faced with a grave illness of one of their children, he was desperate. In Samuel we read the lament after the death of Saul and Jonathan in battle. How are the mighty fallen! Saul had everything, riches, prestige, power, but his son Jonathan lay dead on the field, and in defeat Saul falls on his sword. Jairus came as the last resort to Jesus, putting aside any suspicion he might have about the young rabbi, to plead for help, and Jesus responded with compassion and came straight away. BUT as they made their way to Jairus’ house, a crowd of people around them, Jesus suddenly stopped. Someone had touched him, and he had felt power drain from him. It was the woman. She had spent all her money on quacks, and Jesus was her last resort. She was unclean so couldn’t approach him, but felt if she could just touch him, all would be well. It was – but he noticed and called her out, and from being on the fringes, she ended up in centre stage, all eyes on her. But Jesus blessed her with shalom – with the peace that contained all the wholeness she longed for. Not only freedom from her bleeding, but acceptance into her community. Though there is a difference from being accepted and belonging. One disabled woman felt very much included when she went to church; people were very kind. But through the week, she never had any contact and did not quite feel she belonged. It might still take the woman who had had the bleeding time to belong Jairus must have been frustrated by the delay, as Jesus healed the woman – his daughter was desperately ill after all. And his worst fears were realised, when news came that she had died. But Jesus still went and taking her by the hand, he said ‘Rise, my daughter’ – Talitha Kumi in Aramaic. So tender. She got up, healed, and was restored to her parents. In this story touch is so important. The touch of the Jesus’ robe by the woman, Jesus holding the girl’s hand and raising her up. Of course, it is something we can’t do, and even after the 9th August, I am sure we will still be wary about touching others. But Jesus also touched them with his compassion and with God’s love and brought wholeness and well-being. That we can do, for we can embrace God’s way of thinking and bring those on the fringes of our society to centre stage and offer God’s shalom to all. Hymn 718 – We cannot measure Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession Compassionate God, we offer you our gifts with grateful hearts, glad to know you keep reaching out to us and the world you love. Bless what we bring to you, and use us and our gifts to touch the world with your healing grace through Christ, our Saviour and friend. Lord Jesus Christ, You are our source of peace and healing, and we are grateful. Today we pray for each one who faces choices and decisions about their health—for those trying to follow good diets and to exercise enough; for all waiting for appointments or wondering if they should make another; and for all facing pain or anxiety after the months of pandemic… (Pause) Lord Jesus Christ: You are our source of wisdom and generosity, and we are grateful. Today we pray for each one facing choices and decisions about finances-- for those struggling with bills and budgets; for those torn between covering necessities and enjoying a treat; for those who want to be generous and yet feel overwhelmed by all the need. (Pause) Lord Jesus Christ, you are our source of love and forgiveness, and we are grateful. Today we pray for each one facing choices and decisions about their relationships. We pray for people we ought to contact but just haven’t; for those with whom we feel a grievance and have been avoiding; and for those we miss dearly and need to tell how much we cherish them. (Pause) Lord Jesus Christ: you are the source of rest and right relationship for God’s whole creation. We pray for the earth, its many creatures and habitats competing for survival, for its scarce resources and its abundant beauty. Silence Amen Hymn 561 – Blessed Assurance Benediction Go in peace and may the blessing of God, Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit be with you and with all people, now and always. Amen
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 Welcome, Cheviot churches! We worship together on this Sanctuary Sunday, when our focus is on refugees.
Notices:
Call to Worship We are gathered for worship today in the name of God who takes care of every creature as a father and as a mother; Who in Jesus Christ is on the side of the weak; Who in his Holy Spirit gives us the capacity to give solidarity to those who suffer and welcome the vulnerable. We believe that our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth for that we bless His name forever. Hymn 195 – Here to the house of God we come (1,2,4) Prayers of Adoration and Confession Holy and gracious God, We live in a world of wonder, conceived by your divine imagination. The universe is your creation born out of love and generosity. Hallowed by your name. Through centuries of thought and searching, through law and wisdom, insight and experience, your will and purpose were gradually glimpsed until, in Jesus, all that was hidden was revealed, and you let earth be touched by heaven. Hallowed by your name. In the beauty of the earth; in the silence of our hearts; in the community of the church and in our worship we offer, may your name be hallowed. God of Wholeness, we come before you as your children needing your forgiveness and your help. If we have desired comfort more than devotion. Forgive us. If we have worshipped lesser gods and gone for an easier gospel. Forgive us If we have limited our company to those like ourselves and restricted our conversation to matters of no consequence. If we have compromised our integrity. Forgive us and make us whole. You are beloved children of God. There is nothing you can do, no place you can go, where God cannot find you, comfort you, heal and love you. Live in God’s forgiveness and grace. Lord’s Prayer Readings – Job 38: 1-11 Mark 4: 35-41 Hymn 259 – Beauty for brokenness (1,3,5) Weekly Prayer Gracious God, help us to know that the one who calmed the waves on the Sea of Galilee is present with us day by day and that He cares for us and can speak to us out of the storms that engulf our lives from time to time. Help us to trust Him more fully and listen to His voice in the days and weeks ahead. Amen. Reflection A question. What do these people all have in common? Freddie Mercury, Olivia Newton-John, Madeleine Albright, David Miliband, Jesus, Albert Einstein, Ncuti Gatwa, Marlene Dietrich and Victor Hugo? The answer - all of them were refugees or born to refugees. Yet all of them have made an impact on society through politics, literature, the arts – or by redeeming the world in Jesus’ case! Throughout history many people have had to leave their homeland to live in other lands. For some it has been economic reasons, and they have gone to work or because they were in the army. For some it was faith, and so many missionaries went abroad, often realising they would never see their homeland again. Others were forced out. The Highland clearances meant whole communities leaving for North America to make way for sheep – or the potato famine in Ireland led to many sailing the Atlantic. Yet they lamented their forced departure and would keep alive the traditions of the homeland. Today, apparently more than at any other time of history, so many have had to become migrants and refugees. Many forced to leave their homeland for economic reasons or because of climate change – their land is no longer productive. For many, it is because of war or oppression or torture. They fear for their lives, and so they make often hazardous journeys, seeking a safe place. Today is Sanctuary Sunday. A sanctuary is a safe place. The Old Testament has sanctuary cities, places to go if you were in trouble of any kind, and there you would be safe. No-one could touch you. Similarly, churches or monasteries often provided sanctuary, and today in Cairo, when refugees entered the gates of St Andrew’s Church, they felt they were in a safe place away from discrimination and insult. Sanctuary Sunday is a time to reflect on those seeking a safe place away from violence and fear. One of the abiding images of refugees in recent times is of a small boat packed to the gunnels with refugees in orange lifejackets, crossing the Mediterranean - or seeking to cross, as often they did not make it! It is appropriate that our Gospel reading focussed on the storm. Jesus and the disciples had got into a boat to cross to the other side of the Lake, and we are told there were several other boats with them. A flotilla. At least some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen, used to the vagaries of the weather. But even they were worried, when a terrible storm was unleashed. Waves pounding, gales howling. They feared for their lives. But meanwhile, Jesus was asleep. ‘Do you not care that we die’, they asked, as they shook him awake. But Jesus rose and speaking with an amazing authority, he said ‘Be still’, and the wind and waves obeyed him. In our first reading we read how Job wanted an answer to why he had suffered so much, but was put firmly in his place by God, who said, ‘Where were you when I made the earth, when I made the sea and set its bounds?’ Jesus certainly puts the sea in its place and tells it, ‘Here and no further’. Afterwards they continued their journey to the other side and safety. People long for a safe place. One of my friends is Ghiath, who is a Syrian living in Egypt. His mother, brother and sister are still in Damascus, while another brother is in Sudan. His father died last year, and he might not see his mother again, though he speaks to her every day by phone. But he has found a job and a place to live in Cairo, and he has friends there. It is, just now, a safe place. The Bible from beginning to end tells us to welcome the stranger and alien and to offer hospitality. We have to recognise our common humanity and seek to provide places where all caught in the storms of life can feel safe, but also work to make a world where so many are not forced to leave their homes. Litany of Justice Reader: Jesus said,” I was hungry and you gave me food.” Made in the Image of God, All: We see the face of Christ in all. Reader: Jesus said, “I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” Made in the Image of God, All: We see the face of Christ in all. Reader: Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Made in the Image of God, All: We see the face of Christ in all. Reader: Jesus said, “I was naked and you gave me clothing.” Made in the Image of God, All: We see the face of Christ in all. Reader: Jesus said, “I was sick and you took care of me.” Made in the Image of God, All: We see the face of Christ in all. Reader: Jesus said, “I was in prison and you visited me.” Made in the Image of God, All: We see the face of Christ in all. Reader: Jesus said, “In as much as you did to one of those considered to the least important, you did it to me.” Made in the Image of God, All: We see the face of Christ in all. We go from here to see and serve Christ in all. Amen. Hymn 623 – Here in this place (1,2) Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession Gracious and merciful God, we pray for all families and individuals who have left or fled their country, their land, their homes, seeking safer and better lives. We lift up to You their hopes and dreams, their fears and anxieties, and all their needs and necessities, that they may be protected on their journeys, their dignity and rights may be fostered, honoured and upheld, and they may be welcomed with open arms into generous and compassionate communities. God of family, we bring before You the parents who are weeping and lamenting, who are waiting for their children, whose trace is lost in the sea, in the desert, on railway tracks, in shipping containers and uncertainty: men, women and children who had escaped from the war zones, the famine and poverty of this world , with the hope for a better, safer life. God of justice, we bring before You political leaders, advisers and decision-makers who hold the fate of others in their hands. May they be aware of the causes of migration and flight and may their decisions be guided by solidarity and compassion. We remember in prayer today: those whose businesses are sinking... those drowning in debt... those going under with stress... We pray for those embroiled in stormy and violent relationships, among and within nations, communities, and families... those played out on the world's stage... those hidden behind closed doors… Silence Amen Hymn 547 – What a friend (1,3) Benediction May God who is light shine in our darkness. May God who is love be the love between us. May God who is life be our life everlasting. And the blessing of God, Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit be with you and with all people, now and always. Amen.  Welcome, Cheviot churches! We worship together on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost.
Notices
Call to Worship We meet in the name of God, the Holy Trinity of Love who knows our needs, hears our cries, feels our pain, and heals our wounds. God is our light and our salvation. May our hearts be open to you, O God, now and always Hymn 192 – All my hope on God is founded Prayers of Adoration and Confession Living God,from you comes vitality, love and joy.Your peace is our companion, your love is our strength, your Son is our hope.In even our darkest moments, your presence brings comfort.Hidden deep in the soil of life, your Spirit nurtures tiny seeds of purpose and potentialto surprise us with new life.Like the earth beginning to bloom around us, so your kingdom unfolds to surprise us with new possibilities.We bring you our prayers and praise this day and we adore you But we confess that we do not always follow your guidance, we do not always listen to what Jesus told us and we do not use the gifts from the Spirit. We leave our gifts unopened, unexplored, unused because of selfishness and fear. When our thoughts are muddied, help us find the still small voice that is yours so that we can better listen and act. Help us face our fears, so that we can fully utilise the gifts you have bestowed upon us, so that we become more fully the people you have called us to be. Enable us to unpack the gifts so that they and we can benefit the whole of humanity and creation. Forgive us and help us to be more open to you and others. Declaration of Forgiveness The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and of love. God forgives all who humbly repent and trust in God’s Son as Saviour and Lord. God has forgiven us, and we are one in Christ. Lord’s Prayer Readings - 1 Samuel 15:34–16:13 Mark 4:26–34 Hymn 535 – Who would true valour see Weekly Prayer Gracious God, we ask you to lead us into the coming week. Help us to believe that you are close by us, and keep us from making mistakes. May we never disappoint you and may the seeds that are being planted in our Churches each week grow into branches that reach out into every part of our community. Amen Reflection The Galilee Consultant Agency had a thriving business in the 1st Century Capernaum. They could help you find a market for your fish or olives in Rome, find a position for your son in the Temple establishment or even on the tentmaking course the Romans had just introduced. But then a young rabbi came to them, asking them to assess his leadership team and see who had the potential to take over when the time came for him to step aside. When the report came back, it made depressing reading. Matthew had previously been a tax collector collaborating with the Romans, so was unlikely to be popular with the locals. Thomas couldn’t stop asking question and expressed doubts over the vision of the enterprise. James and John were over-ambitious, reliant on their mother and not team-players. Andrew was a good middle man but deferred to his brother too much. Mary Magdalene had too much history and as a woman would not be a popular choice to head such a project. Simon Peter was impulsive and too ready to rush headlong into projects without critical analysis. But there was one name that the Galilee Consultant Agency could recommend. Judas Iscariot had contacts in high places, had good financial acumen and was able to plan ahead. He would make, in their view, an ideal successor to the young rabbi. I think Jesus would have simply filed it away and forgot about it! It is interesting who Jesus chose to be his followers. He could have chosen better, but this ragtag group with all their flaws managed to turn the world upside down. God is certainly a God of surprises. We found that in the Old Testament reading. The Israelites had wanted a king, and Saul had been chosen. But Saul had disappointed, and Samuel the prophet (with God doing the prodding!) went behind his back to anoint someone else. He was playing a dangerous game, as his life wouldn’t be worth living if Saul found out. The sons of Jesse were duly paraded before him, and each time he thought, ‘This must be the one’. Tall, handsome, charismatic, the Galilee Consultant Agency would have snapped them up in an instance. But God said NO. There was still one son out in the fields, young and ruddy. Not the first choice, but that is the very one God chose, and he would go on to make such an impact, he would be the king by whom all other kings would be measured, would be compared. Like the disciples, he was not without his flaws, and he had major ones, but even when this warrior-dancer- lover-psalmist king fell short, God still provided for Israel. God chooses the unexpected. In the Gospels, we read the parable of the mustard seed, the smallest seed of all. Looking at it, you would not expect too much, yet it grew into a bush, where birds would even make their nests. God makes use of the unlikely. In Cornwall the G7 are meeting – and they are not small, not mustard seeds, and the decisions they will take will not be small, but perhaps they will be unexpected. Maybe they will not look inwards, but look outwards. Maybe they will work for a greater global equality. Maybe they will ensure the Covid vaccine is made available to all in the world. Maybe they will lay the groundwork for COP 26 and tackle the effects of climate change in the Global South. And we can be involved to, making small steps, for small steps make bigger journeys. God has a tendency to use the unlikely - youngest sons like Joseph or the Moabite migrant called Ruth or Samaritans or Ethiopian eunuchs to fulfil his purpose. Paul says God takes the weak and foolish to shame the wise. We are all part of that history too. None of us are perfect, but we come just as we are, and God can use us to build the Kingdom. We have to be open to the Spirit’s leading and be surprised by God. Hymn 615 – Holy Spirit, ever living Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession God of small seeds and secret growth, we bring our gifts to you, trusting that you will bless them. Use them as seeds of new life in our community and in your world. Grow results we cannot even imagine—within us, among us, because of us and beyond us, for the sake of Christ, our Living Lord. God of the rich and the poor, of the powerful and the vulnerable, we pray for the leaders of the G7 nations meeting in Cornwall, for the people they govern, for the people of other nations they can support, and for the world they can protect through their decisions. May wisdom be planted, generosity grow, and co-operation flourish. We pray for a growth in resilience, awareness and togetherness across all the nations of the world as they continue to tackle the covid pandemic, as they confront environmental issues. and as they reach out to communities crippled by need, war and natural disasters. May integrity be planted, urgency grow and healing flourish. We pray for the church in this place and around the world as we seek to serve those around us, to reach out to those in trouble, and to share the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. May faith be planted, compassion grow and hope flourish. We bring before you the poor, hungry and neglected, both here in the U.K. and around the world. Prick the consciousness of the privileged and legislators so that they hear the cries and feel compelled to bring about real change. May faith be planted, compassion grow and hope flourish. We hold before you O God, those who are sick, injured and dying. We thank you for giving knowledge to doctors, nurses, medical staff and scientists so that disease and illness can be tackled. We hold before you those who mourn the loss of loved ones. Silence Amen Hymn 352 – O for a thousand tongues to sing Benediction Now go in peace, Go with eyes of faith Go with hearts filled with compassion and love Go with hands ready to help lift up the broken and the blessing of God Almighty, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer be with you, now and forevermore Amen  Welcome, Cheviot churches and also to those joining us from elsewhere. This week's service will be led by Stuart Kelly.
Intimations
Opening words 2 Corinthians 5: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” Collect Almighty and merciful God, you have assured the human family of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Deliver us from the death of sin, and raise us to new life in him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Hymn 519 Love divine, all loves excelling Joy of heaven, to earth come down Fix in us thy humble dwelling All thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, thou are all compassion, Pure, unbounded love thou art; Visit us with thy salvation Enter every trembling heart. Finish then thy new creation Pure and spotless let us be; Let us see they great salvation Perfectly restored in thee, Changed from glory into glory Till in heaven we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before thee, Lost in wonder love and grace. Prayers of Adoration and Confession Lord, we approach you in humility and wonder. You are the creator, the redeemer and the consoler. You are the start and the finish, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. In your creation you have left signs and symbols in the most commonplace ways. We have seen, as we move into summer, the glorious yellow of the dandelion, as it turns its to dying grey of a chimney-sweeper, and as it then is blown as seeds to make creation new once more. You blessed us with creation, and we adore you, though words and images are insufficient. You are mystery and majesty and the amelioration of our meagre lives. Because we are meagre. You are profound and we are shallow. You offered us your love in the Son, and we were amongst the rabble who sent you to death. We are liars, the worshippers of the false idols of wealth and glamour, the fornicators, the sly, the envious and we all know all this. We are not what you meant us to be and for that we offer our true confession. Lord, you have always loved us and we ask this knowing you will not condemn a sinner who is truly repentant. Now, pardoned, we are humble enough to say the prayer that you taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. They kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen Readings 1 Samuel, 8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do." Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." Mark 3. 20-35 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons." So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit." Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." Hymn 87 Lord from the depths to thee I cried. My voice, Lord, do thou hear: Unto my supplication’s voice Give an attentive ear. And plenteous redemption Is ever found in him. And from all their iniquities He Israel shall redeem. Weekly Prayer Almighty God, may your presence be seen clearly in what we do each day. Help us to unite with all those who worship your Son our Saviour as we recall his words “that a house divided against its self cannot stand”. We pray that your joy and your love will flow freely in and through us as we acknowledge his Kingship and follow were you lead us”. Amen. Sermon I do love a theological paradox, so here is one. Does Jesus break the fifth Commandment, to honour thy mother and father, in the Gospel reading we have just heard? It’s an idea I want to come back to, but beforehand, and to put it in context, I want to look at our Old Testament reading. It makes for uneasy reading. The prophet Samuel is in a bit of a quandary, as the Israelites are beseeching for a king. God makes it very clear to them through Samuel: yes, but on your own head be it. They are warned, and the warning comes true. Israel does get a king – the mad and murderous Saul, the adulterous sneak David, the ostentatious and lascivious Solomon and many more. In a strange way there is a parallel in the Old Testament reading with a fable by Aesop which some of you may know: number 44, “The Frogs Who Wanted A King”. In it, the frogs ask Zeus for a king and he sends a log. They are happy at first, but take to jumping on it and mocking it. So they ask for another king, and Zeus sends – the sources vary – either a snake or a heron or a stork who promptly gobbles them up. Martin Luther, writing in 1523, cites this fable. “The frogs need their stork”, he wrote, meaning that when we give up our liberties – and I do not mean singing in church or going to the pub – our democracy becomes tyranny. Imagine if your right to vote, or dissent, or protest were to be taken away by a lecherous buffoon. I am, of course, referring to Charles II. The first thing to note in the passage is that God gives fair warning. The second thing is that Israel asks twice to be “like other nations”. They were not like other nations. They had been blessed and covenanted as an exemplar to the nations. They had a king already – God – but wanted to be like others, and wanted to engage in warfare. But God allows it, as God sees the whole of the future as well. Israel will suffer, and Israel will be redeemed. When we turn to the Gospel reading, we have a strange rhyme. I am sure we all know the end of the passage, where Jesus asks “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Again, it is uneasy reading. Jesus seems almost petulant and dismissive if we skim read it. But we can sometimes forget about the opening. Jesus has shown himself to be not like others, and his family intervenes. I suppose, to use an anachronism, they basically try to have him sectioned under the Mental Health Act. This they did out of love. They were concerned. But they did not understand. As some of you may know I am currently working on a book about the Virgin Mary . I wonder if as she went to try and have her Son restrained she remembered the words of Simeon. “A sword shall pierce your heart too”. Maybe she thought – this is it, this is what I was warned about. Little did she know how tragic a path she would face. But what I want to leave you with is the sense that Jesus does not break the Fifth Commandment. He does not dishonour his Mother, and he always, always honours the Father. Instead we have one of the most moving examples of how extensive is the love of Jesus. Yes, his family is there, but he looks out to the wider crowd and says “And you. And you. And you”. The King does not need a dynasty, but he does need a family; and that family is here and now and forever. When we heard last week the famous words from John at 3:16, it states “God so loved the world”. Not just Israel. Not just Christians. He so loved the world that we are all adopted by him. As much as I love a paradox, I like a challenge. If Jesus invites us to be as his parents or siblings, it means, categorically, that we have a difficult obligation to love. Therefore we must love one another as he loved us. As my hero, G K Chesterton, once wrote “the Bible tells us to love our neighbours, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people”. Hymn 694 Brother, sister, let me serve you Let me be as Christ to you; Pray that I may have the grace to Let you be my servant too. Prayers of intercession Lord, we pray for your world. We have not been dutiful custodians of creation. Give us the courage to do what must be done to stem the corruption and neglect of the world; to ensure that generations yet to be inherit a place of safety and beauty, Lord, we pray for the Church. As we undergo change which will be painful, be always behind us as we face an uncertain future. We commend to you all those who work for the Church in whatever capacity, and ask you to give them strength. Lord, we pray for all those who wield power. Give them wisdom, give them grace, give them the hardness of honesty. We pray also for our Queen, who has been an example of public duty. Lord, we pray for all who are sick, both physically and mentally, that your kindness might be upon them. We pray for all who work in healing, whether in hospitals, general surgeries, care homes or in their own homes, for all those who face what we cannot face. We pray for all who find themselves in need; the poor, the refugee, the scorned, the unloved, the lonely. We pray for the dead, who are with you, and the communion of saints, that they rejoice in your nearer presence. Finally, we pray for every person we dislike. We are fallen creatures, but let us glimpse what we could be rather than what we are. Hymn 399 My song is love unknown, My Saviour’s love to me Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be. Oh, who am I, that for my sake My Lord should take frail flesh and die? Here might I stand and sing: No story so divine; Never was love, dear King, never was grief like thine! This is my Friend, in whose sweet praise I all my days could gladly spend. Benediction Go now in peace to love and serve the Lord, and may the blessing of our Lord God, Father, Son and Spirit, rest with us and remain with us now, and forever. Amen. |
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