Reflection: Sunday 15th May and for the week ahead:From the Collect for this weekAlmighty God ...grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires,so by your continual help we may bring them to good effectReflection:For weeks - perhaps months, if she’s honest - she’d been meaning to phone her old friend, but had been rather busy. Finally she got round to doing so, only to hear that her friend had been taken to hospital the previous day, and had died that same night.So often we put off things we fully intend to do: a visit, a phone call, a donation to a cause we care about. The ‘good desires’ are there, but if we don’t act on them it is all too easy to wait too long, or simply to forget. But this is not just about checking off a ‘To Do’ list! It’s about the direction of our lives. If we humbly follow up the good desires planted in us by God, He will help and guide us in bringing them to fruition. Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
Scripture & Reflection: Sunday 8th May and for the week ahead:Scripture:The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (John 10 v 24-27)Reflection:Some people see God in many places - in the dawn of a new day, a forgiving word, the birth of a child, an act of self-sacrifice or being in love. Others experience the very same things but see no evidence that God exists at all.A similar dynamic is found here when Jesus is asked to say plainly if he is the Messiah. He has already claimed to be the light of the world, the good shepherd and the bread of life. Jesus has given sight to the blind, fed five thousand people and healed the son of a royal official. If they do not believe his words, he says, then surely his works speak for themselves. How could he have spoken and acted more plainly?The accusers of Jesus may not want to see who he is, perhaps because he does not live up to their expectations of who the Messiah should be or what he should do. What expectations may blind us to seeing God plainly in our lives today? Lyn Hayes, ALM
