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Sentence

Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. You will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Luke 6:35

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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Collect  

God of compassion, keep before us the love you have revealed in your Son, who prayed even for his enemies. In our words and deeds help us to be like him, through whom we pray, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen

                                                                                                                                                      

Readings

This Week:

• Genesis 45:3-11, 15
• Psalm 37:1-11, 40-41
• 1 Corinthians 15:35-50
• Luke 6:27-38

• Next Week:

• Exodus 34:29-35
• Psalm 99
• 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
• Luke 9:28-36 (37-43)

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A Thought to Ponder

Epiphany 7 – Luke 6:27-38



“Love your enemies and do good to them, and lend them expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great . . . “Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you . . . ”
Continuing his Sermon on the Plain, Jesus again turns upside down another accepted standard of Jewish morality. The principle of “do to no one what you yourself dislike” (as articulated in Tobit 4: 15) was not enough for those who seek to be God’s holy people. Jesus demands that his disciples “love your enemies.”
The Greek word for love used in this text is agape, a sense of benevolence, kindness and charity towards others. In other words, no matter what a person does to us we will never allow ourselves to seek anything but the highest good for him or her. The radical love of God that is the mark of the Christian is presented clearly and emphatically here. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus calls us not just to passive adherence to the standard of the “Golden Rule,” but to actively seek out the good in everyone, to risk being duped or hurt in our compassion and forgiveness of another. The completeness and limitlessness of God’s own love and mercy for us should be the measure of our love and mercy for one another.
In every relationship, in every set of circumstances, the faithful disciple of Jesus seeks to break the cycle of hatred and distrust by taking that often-formidable first step to love, to seek reconciliation above all else.
Seeing beyond hatreds and differences, borders and boundaries, flags and uniforms, languages and cultures, suspicions and unsettled scores is the cutting edge of the Gospel. The relationship we seek with God we must first seek with one another.

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Sermon

You can read the Pew Sheet here

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Sentence

Blessed are you when people hate you on account of the Son of man. Rejoice and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. Luke 6:23

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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Collect  

Righteous God, you challenge the powers that rule this world and you show favour to the oppressed:
instil in us a true sense of justice, that we may discern the signs of your kingdom and strive for right to prevail; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

                                                                                                                                                      

Readings

This Week:

• Jeremiah 17:5-10
• Psalm 1
• 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
• Luke 6:17-26

• Next Week:

• Genesis 45:3-11, 15
• Psalm 37:1-11, 40-41
• 1 Corinthians 15:35-50
• Luke 6:27-38

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A Thought to Ponder

Epiphany 6 – Luke 6:17-26


“Blessed are you who are poor … but woe to you who are rich…”
In Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of “Beatitudes,” but in Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, Jesus drops a series of bombshells. He takes the accepted standards of the times and turns them upside down: To those who are considered the “haves” of society, Jesus warns “Woe to you!” – wealth and power are not the stuff of the kingdom of God; but to the “have nots,” Jesus says, “Happy and blessed are you” – love, humble selflessness, compassion and generosity are the
treasure of God’s realm.
In Luke’s Gospel, the “blessed” are those who see beyond their own needs and wants in the present moment to work for a better future not only for themselves but for others — but “woe” to those, Jesus warns, who seek their own “fill” now with no concern for the future or for others.
This will be a constant theme throughout Luke’s Gospel: Jesus teaches that wealth and power are not the stuff of the reign of God, but humility, selflessness and compassion are the treasures of God’s kingdom.
In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus challenges us to put aside the “woe” of self-centredness and embrace the “blessedness” that can only be experienced by seeing ourselves not as the centre of the world but as a means for transforming the world for the “blessedness” of all.
Luke’s version of the Beatitudes challenges everything our consumer-oriented society holds dear. While wealth, power and celebrity are the sought-after prizes of our world, the treasures of God’s reign are love, humble selflessness, compassion, and generosity. In freeing ourselves from the pursuit of the things of this world, we liberate ourselves to seek the lasting things of God.

To be among the “blessed” envisioned by Jesus means to put aside our own poverty and hunger and our own positions and reputations to extend the compassion of Jesus to others; to provide, regardless of the cost, safe places for the lost to return, the grieving to mourn, to the wounded to heal.

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Sermon

You can read the Pew Sheet here

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Sentence

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and was buried, and was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and appeared to many. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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Collect  

Most holy God, in whose presence angels serve in awe, and whose glory fills all heaven and earth:
cleanse our unclean lips and transform us by your grace so that your word spoken through us may bring many to your salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

                                                                                                                                                      

Readings

This Week:

• Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
• Psalm 138
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
• Luke 5:1-11

• Next Week:

• Jeremiah 17:5-10
• Psalm 1
• 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
• Luke 6:17-26

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A Thought to Ponder

Epiphany 5 – Luke 5:1-11

After he had finished speaking to the crowds from Simon’s boat, Jesus said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch…
“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
Commercial fishing has always been a hard way to make a living. It is hard work, sometimes with little or no reward; it requires a substantial investment of time and money for boat and gear and their maintenance; it entails considerable risk in leaving the safety of homeport for the open sea; it compels crews to work together to bring in the catch. The work of the prophet/disciple demands that same kind of hard work, risk, personal investment, patience, and sense of community.
The best fishing, Peter and his brothers knew, was done at night; little is caught during the heat of the day. So, Peter’s agreeing to lower his nets at Jesus’ urging was, for a fisherman of Peter’s experience, an act of considerable faith. And as today’s Gospel recounts, Peter’s faith is rewarded abundantly. If the first disciples of Jesus had any special grace at all, it was an openness to Jesus’ call and teaching.

In Luke’s account, Peter’s reaction is somewhat surprising. Upon realising who Jesus is, he cowers away. In the light of Christ’s revelation, Peter recognises his own unworthiness and humbleness in the sight of God. But Jesus assures him he has not come to drive sinners from his presence but to bring them back to God – to catch them in “net” of God’s love.

To be a “catcher of souls” demands possessing enough love to extend ourselves and reach out and “catch” and enough faith that God will give us the grace to make the “grab.”
Jesus challenges us to lower our nets in the “deep water” – to risk our own security and comfort for the sake of the Gospel values of compassion justice and reconciliation.
In the ordinary events of every day we are presented with countless opportunities to uncover the extraordinary love of God in our own times and place.
Many of us suffer from an “inferiority complex” when it comes to God: we are neither saintly enough, nor good enough, nor wise enough in church protocols to consider ourselves “religious.” The reality, however, is God works through men and women who are just like us, however imperfect.

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Sermon

You can read the Pew Sheet here

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Sentence

Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:14

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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Collect  

Living God, in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

                                                                                                                                                      

Readings

This Week:

• Jeremiah 1:4-10
• Psalm 71:1-6
• 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
• Luke 4:21-30

• Next Week:

• Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)
• Psalm 138
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
• Luke 5:1-11

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A Thought to Ponder

Epiphany 4 – Luke 4:21-30


“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.”
There is a cost to being a prophet; to proclaim what is right, just, and good can be a lonely, isolating experience.
Today’s Gospel continues last Sunday’s account of Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue at Nazareth. After proclaiming the fulfilment of Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah (last Sunday’s Gospel), Jesus sits down – the posture assumed by one who is about to teach – and begins by explaining in no uncertain terms that he cannot perform any healings or miracles there because of their lack of faith. He teaches the Messiah does not come for Nazareth alone but for every race, culture and nation of every place and age.
His explanation is met with indignation and anger. Many Jews of the time were so convinced they were God’s own people they despised everyone else. They could not accept Jesus’ idea that others – Gentiles! – were as loved by God as they were. Jesus is forced to leave his hometown.
Standing up for what is right, speaking out for such things as ethics and justice, are the call of the prophet. To speak – and to listen – as prophets demands the courage and conviction to risk isolation, ridicule, and persecution for sake of the justice and mercy of God.
God continues to raise up parents and teachers, preachers and ministers, friends, and classmates to help us realise our own call to be prophets of God’s word, to embrace God’s grace enabling us to transform our own Nazareth into God’s dwelling place.
The core of the Gospel is the revelation that God became what we are so we can better understand what God is and grasp what God is about: love, forgiveness, compassion, justice, peace.

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Sermon

You can read the Pew Sheet here