Category: Call to Prayer & Reflections

Genesis 18:1-15; Matthew 9:35-10:8

Whatever you do don’t laugh! Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you know you’re not supposed to laugh but you just can’t help it? In a scene reminiscent of countless school assemblies where the headteacher calls out the names of people who are laughing, Sarah denies she was laughing. “It wasn’t me!” “Oh, yes it was,” comes the reply.

It was funny, but like school humour can be, also cruel. Promising Sarah a baby when she and Abraham are ‘old, advanced in age.’ Something Sarah had been longing for. The idea was ridiculous even when she shouldn’t have been listening in. It must have seen an impossibility for Sarah, and I wonder if the disciple/apostles offered a similar response when Jesus said to them: ‘Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.’ Yeah right, Jesus. Matthew does not record the disciples’ response but at the very least they must have wondered whether such a thing was possible for them. Fine for Jesus, but for them?

With Sarah the birth didn’t happen immediately – it took, I assume, nine months. Matthew’s record of Jesus talking to the disciples is a remembering set down for the early church (We hear Judas listed as one of the 12 apostles and described as the one who betrayed him – the ‘audience’ of the gospel already know the story). Perhaps then this account from Matthew is a remembering that sets out something like a manifesto for the early church. They are to carry on the mission of Christ. They are to proclaim the kingdom is present (at hand/near/within). Like Sarah, this takes time and the seemingly impossible is not accomplished overnight.

Worshipping together in a church building, singing hymns is an impossibility for us at the present time but that will change – even if it takes 9 months. The impossible, unlikely might seem laughable or even cruel at times. Yet God sits in the midst of all of this. The mission of the church has grown – starting out with the lost sheep of the house of Israel – the mission, our understanding and context has grown and changed. We are still called to point out the kingdom, to be healers, challengers of evil, and to do so freely with hope recognising the grace and hope we have received in Christ.

The blessing of a child for Abraham and Sarah comes after their generous hospitality to the strangers. One of the consequences of the global pandemic is that we have all been chucked out of our church buildings, but we are finding different ways to meet, to be church. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is nudging us. We have tended to think of mission in terms of getting people (especially young people) to come to ‘our church.’ We can’t do that. This is an opportunity to ask about our calling. Rather than asking questions like ‘what are the barriers that stop people coming to church’ perhaps we need to be asking questions like ‘what are the barriers to the mission of the church?’ Consider where Jesus spends his time and focus. It is those on the ‘outside’, those in need.

We need to learn from the ‘black lives matter’ movement. The kingdom is at hand amongst those who are experiencing oppression, those who are beset by the evils of racism rooted in our structures, those who are struggling to put food on the table because of the way society is organised. For the church to be truly church, we need to seek out the help of such people, to listen and act. The barriers that exist in our society not only bar people from fair access to education, healthcare, jobs, justice etc but are also barriers to the ‘privileged’ joining in the kingdom – look where Jesus meets conflict in the gospels. In churches we have often seen ourselves as the host inviting others in, but in Christ we see the kingdom revealed in those whoare on the ‘margins’ and perhaps we need to think of ourselves as guests amongst those on the margins. In so doing we begin to discover the kingdom afresh, pointing it out, and will be enriched.

Freely offered hospitality, free giving shapes the church and in our suffering of not being able to meet together there is an opportunity to remember our calling. We cannot go back from here, only forward. There is a huge task ahead for the church – impossible? I don’t mind if you laugh because I certainly do, but do also remember God’s response ‘Is anything to wonderful for the Lord?’

Peace be with you

With love, Nick

Trinity Sunday (Genesis 1:1-2:4, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20)

George Floyd was a human being, not perfect, but human, like you and me. Part of God’s creation. His unjust, untimely death has once again caused anger, sadness, questions about individuals and society. There is something here that feels so fundamentally wrong; yet, perhaps we feel somewhat distant from it all. We are not. Bias, perceptions, assumptions rest within all of us. Like an iceberg much of this is hidden even from ourselves. Jesus was excellent at sifting through and highlighting assumptions and bias. The privileged who sought to keep others at arms length, the assumption that somehow others were different, less human. Jesus met this head on and paid with his life.

In Christ, God plunges headlong into this messy, broken world not to condemn the world but that all might have life and have it in abundance. Jesus shows us what it is to be truly human. Through the Spirit we are gifted the invitation and opportunity to join in with this divine humanity, to live in Christ.

In the Church’s calendar it is Trinity Sunday. The idea of Trinity can lead us into the convulsions of Greek philosophy and vain attempts to illustrate what we mean – not easy when we are trying to say something about infinite mystery! Living in Scotland I have now discovered the ideal phrase that is a suitable response to the entanglement of Greek philosophers: ‘Dinnae fash yersel!’

Having said that I note another helpful phrase contained in the Methodist Worship Book: ‘In faith let us pray to God our Father, in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.’ These are the opening words for the prayers of intercession (Holy Communion, third order, ordinary seasons). In the preceding service we use the phrase ‘God our Father and our Mother’ in the prayer of thanksgiving before sharing the bread and wine. Addressing God as Father and Mother is something, as Methodists, we affirm.

We are praying to God who is infinite, beyond our understanding, creator. We address God in terms of a relationship (Mother/Father) which draws deeper into God – the trinity is relationship. We pray in the name of his son (relationship), Jesus Christ. Jesus is the tangible, the knowable, the example, the beginning and end. Through the gospels we can see Jesus and get to know him even as we are fully known. This becomes the lens through which we relate to God, scripture, the world, one another, ourselves. When we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, we are immersing ourselves in the Jesus story, in the life of Christ. We are able to pray (and live and move and have our being) through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the life of God breathing within us and all people, all creation.

We don’t need to be able to explain but simply in faith, pray. As we pray, we immerse ourselves in relationship with God, with one another (church), with the world, with those in particular need. In the grace of this relationship we are able to face our own shortcomings and challenge the privilege, the assumptions that seek to work against creation. The police officer who kneeled on the neck of George Floyd for 9 minutes somehow thought that was ok (as did the others watching). Such actions and the attitudes that underlie them must be called out as Jesus did in his day. There is a righteous anger that is appalled that such a thing has happened (again!), anger at an attitude that allows the dehumanising of one by another because of the colour of skin. But we cannot allow our anger to become hatred recognising the Police Officers are also human beings, imperfect like you and me, part of God’s creation. It is immensely sad that in perceiving another as somehow less human, it is actually the police officers who, in their destruction, attack their own humanity. Justice is necessary, redemption is possible.

We have been created in the image of a beautiful God. When that creation is attacked and destroyed, Jesus shows us the way, demanding justice tempered by mercy. The gracious act of resurrection offers new life and hope. Flowing from that, God breathes in our lives and the life of the world strengthening us to confront ourselves and our communities as we seek divine humanity for all.

May the blessing of God disturb and encourage us, the justice and mercy of Christ reign in our hearts, and the power of the Holy Spirit send us out with energy and peace to live and work in the world.

With love, Nick

CALL TO PRAYER: SUNDAY 7th June (Trinity Sunday) Prayer @ 7pm

Print version

We are familiar with the words of Scripture that remind us that ‘now we see in a mirror dimly’ and we might think that these words are especially applicable to our present times. As our society continues in the journey out of Lockdown, there are many things that we know only in part. We trust that greater clarity will be given in times to come. That said, there are some things that are clear and which our faith affirms to be so. In the Gospel of Matthew (28: 16-20), the disciples gather in the presence of the Risen Lord who assures them that in all they now face: ‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age’. The Gospel affirms that the life of God has been shared with us in the revelation of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and that our lives are to be lived out in the enduring presence of God.

Knowing this to be so, we pray:

God whose name is Love,
You make yourself known to us
As the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sustain us in the knowledge of your love through the times in which we live.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God whose love endures,
May we hear the words of your Son
That echo down the ages:
I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God whose love is generous,
You gift to us your Holy Spirit,
The very giver of Life.
Renew our lives and the life of the community in which we share.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God whose love is steadfast,
You know us as we are for you have made us.
In your compassion, be with all who struggle and grieve at this time.
Remember them and hold them safe in your keeping.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God whose love is from everlasting to everlasting,
Give strength to the weary and power to the weak,
That we might renew our strength
And soar on wings like eagles.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

God whose love inspires,
May we love you with all that we are
And love our neighbour in response to your love.
Through our service of others, may your love be revealed.

Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Signed by:

•  Rt. Rev. Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland
•  Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church
•  Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church
•  Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland
•  Rev. Dr David Pickering, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)
•  Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland
•  Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)
•  Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland
•  Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army
•  Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
•  Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene
•  Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God
•  Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)
•  Rev Fred Drummond, Director, Evangelical Alliance (Scotland)

(Readings: Acts 1:6-14 & John 17:1-11)

As I came to the end of my training for ministry, I went to visit an isolated farm in the North Pennines to arrange a baptism. I parked the car on the road and walked down the track to the gate of the farmyard. A large dog ran up, barking, put its paws on the top rung of the gate and looked me in the eye. I’m ok with dogs, tentatively reached out and the dog was fine. I opened the gate and went in. I then got to the entrance to the garden, through which was the path to the farmhouse door. Unfortunately standing in the entrance was the biggest black and white pig I had ever seen. Nothing in my training had prepared me for this new situation! I tried calling it, patting it, shooing it but it wouldn’t budge. It was a bit of an impasse and a time before mobile phones. In the end the farmer’s wife saw me from the window and came out to rescue me. She just called it’s name (Gilbert!) and off it trotted. I learnt early on that life as a minister was going to be full of the unexpected for which I was unprepared.

A few months ago the phrase ‘the new normal’ would not have meant much to any of us. Having said that any of us who have ever experienced a major life changing event might recognise the sense of a ‘new normal’. We adapt to new ways of living and routines whether we want to or not. The ‘new normal’ has now entered our vocabulary as we start thinking about how things are going to be in the weeks, months and years to come. It applies to society, communities, churches, families, shopping, cafes, etc. We will be working out new routines, practices etc. Is this what any of us were expecting at the start of 2020? I expect not!

This experience, however, puts us in good company alongside the disciples. The ascension of Jesus draws a line in the Jesus story. It marks a big change for the disciples. Jesus was no longer going to be around in the way he had been. Everything changed. The whole world and the lives of the disciples had changed. Is that what they wanted? Is it what they had been expecting even a few months before – I expect not! They were facing a ‘new normal’ with no ‘ladybird’ guide as to what to expect, what to do and no doubt feeling somewhat unprepared.

The story of the ascension as recorded in Acts 1:6-14 is a hinge point in Luke’s telling of the gospel story. The gospel written by Luke is Volume 1 and the Acts of the Apostles is volume 2. The ascension marks a transition of disciples to apostles. From learners/followers to those who are sent. Of course, they continue to be disciples and they had already been identified as apostles earlier by Luke (6.13). But there is a significant change in their understanding, their reality at this point. A change that encompasses the whole of creation as Jesus identified in that passage from the gospel (John 17:1-11).

Jesus ‘finished the work’ revealing the Father’s glory which was there before the world began. Christ is more than a world changing event, Christ is creation changing event, everything is transformed. This is the new creation, a new normal and this is the world the apostles (and we) now inhabit. But the disciple apostles know that in this changed world they are not alone. There may not be a ‘ladybird’ guide but there are the words and actions of Jesus inhabiting the scriptures. This is to be their guide not simply as something they have learnt but as something that is alive within them. A lived reality – a new normal. This was what John Wesley discovered when he felt his heart strangely warmed in Aldersgate Street on 24 May 1738. In this new creation God’s words are in us, but even more than that God’s Word is in us: All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them (17:10). And what do the disciples do immediately after seeing Jesus being lifted up? They locked themselves away and devoted themselves to prayer. As we prepare for what lies ahead prayer is a good place to start recognising the words and Word of God within.

Peace be with you.

With love, Nick