Reflection for Bible Sunday and the week ahead: Scripture:Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15.3-4)Reflection: The shared prayers between the Pope and King Charles last week were a welcome marker of progress in Christian acceptance of differences. Before and after Jesus the interpretation of the words of sacred scriptures has been controversial. The Reformation was a particularly seismic moment but arguments about just how to apply the Bible to our lives are as lively and potentially divisive as ever.St Paul pleaded with the first Christians in Rome to be tolerant with one another, and to respect the views of those who seemed to be compromising the message of freedom from rules. ‘The scriptures’, he writes, exist to encourage in us ‘steadfastness’ and ‘hope’ . He quotes from Psalm 69 to remind us what Jesus himself put up with in the hope of saving us from despair and darkness.David Harmsworth
Reflection: Sunday 19th October and for the week ahead:Scripture:Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” 4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.”’[b] 6 And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ (Luke 18.1-8)Reflection: Jesus isn’t telling this parable to amuse or shock his disciples, or to denigrate the judges of his day, but to illustrate how readily our God hears prayer, how we must persist in prayer, and how swiftly He responds to the prayers of the faithful. When we pray, are we prepared to persevere like the widow did? Are we prepared to do what she does, and keep ‘bothering’ God? Maybe here is the true meaning of the derogative term ‘God-botherer’? Are you a God-botherer? Am I?Or do we lose heart and give up? What if those who have prayed and prayed for peace between Israel and Gaza had given up? And what if there are further setbacks? Should we throw in the towel and just not pray for that or other desperate and need filled situations anymore? Or do we carry on, convinced that God both hears us and responds to our prayer. Revd Ylva
Reflection: Sunday 5th October and for the week ahead:Scripture:As they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’ (Luke 17:14b-19)Reflection: This is a story of Jesus healing ten people of leprosy, but only one of them coming back to thank him. All ten heard Jesus words, and his instruction to go and show themselves to the priests. All ten of them did as Jesus said; they went. And in doing as Jesus instructed, they were all healed. But only one of them recognised the healing power of Jesus and came back to say, “thank you”. Only one of them came back and praised God with a loud voice.It raises a number of questions for each of us: Do we listen to Jesus? Do we then do what he asks? Do we stop to thank Jesus? Do we acknowledge and praise God?We shouldn’t be ashamed of knowing God in our lives and loving him. We need to be like the one who came back, not like the other nine who did not recognise God’s healing in their lives. Know and own your faith; proclaim it; and live it. That is the message from today’s scripture.Revd David
