#WatchAndPray Lent reflections - Week 5: Thursday Healing society Week 5: Thursday Reading Mark 5.1-13 They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ Then Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, ‘Send us into the swine; let us enter them.’ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake. Reflection This healing miracle cannot be understood in full without paying attention to the clues in Mark’s text. The name of the man’s demons – “Legion” – is the name for the largest military unit of the Roman army. There was a Roman colonial outpost near Gerasa (or Gadara as Matthew refers to it). The shackling with iron was a particular Roman military method. When we peel back the layers of the text we see Jesus encountering a community under occupation – from oppressive earthly and spiritual forces. Mark leaves us to discover that the society in which both the man and the community reside needs healing. The ‘demon’ here is systemic, hidden and deeply rooted. Systemic evils such as racism, homophobia, misogyny and xenophobia often lie deep and hidden. Jesus offers the kind of healing that operates at the deepest level. Watch Reflect on military conflicts across our world. ...and pray for the cultures and histories of violence to cease. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Day 4—Sunday 21st January 2024 When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. (Luke 10: 31) May we never turn away from those in need. Additional scripture passages Isaiah 58: 4-8a Psalm 34: 15-22 Reflection The priest and the Levite who walked by on the other side may have had religious reasons for not helping. They would have felt justified in what they had done. Yet, on many occasions, Jesus is critical of religious leaders for placing rules ahead of the obligation to do good. The prophet Isaiah gives us the same encouragement, we should do good rather than look good. As Christians, how far are we prepared to go beyond convention? This parable not only challenges us to do good, but also to widen our vision. The Good Samaritan is often the one we do not expect. Light and love are embodied in our enemy too. We pray for St Mary’s Church, Hawkshaw. Holcombe Brook Methodists. Our clergy, ministers and church leaders. World leaders that they show faith and integrity. We pray together Lord Jesus Christ, may our eyes not look away, but be wide open to the world around us. As we travel through life, may we stop and reach out, bind up the wounded and in so doing experience your presence in them. Amen Question Who are the Good Samaritans in your community? Go and do Reflect on your own circle of relationships and their geography. Choose today to walk through another part of town. What do you see and who do you notice?
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Day 3—Saturday 20th January 2024 “Who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10: 29) Lord, open our hearts to those we do not see. Additional scripture passages Romans 13: 8-10 Psalm 119: 57-63 Reflection The teacher of the law wanted to justify himself, hoping that the neighbour he is called to love is one of his own faith and people. This is a natural human instinct. We prefer places of familiarity. This can also be true of our church communities. But Jesus takes the lawyer, and his wider audience, deeper into their own tradition by reminding them of the obligation to welcome and love all, regardless of religion, culture or social status. The Gospel teaches that loving those who are like ourselves is nothing special. Jesus steers us towards a much more radical version of what it means to be human. The parable illustrates in a very visible way what Christ expects from us – to open wide our hearts and walk in his way, loving others as he loves us. In fact, Jesus answers the lawyer with another question: it is not “who is my neighbour?”, but “who was a neighbour to the man in need?” We pray for Greenmount URC. St Paul’s Church, Ramsbottom. Our outreach to the elderly and our local care homes. Those who find it difficult to integrate into society. We pray together God of love, who writes love in our hearts, Instil in us the courage to look beyond ourselves and to be the unexpected neighbour. Amen Question Who are the people who are excluded within your community and why? Go and do Think of a person you have never really thought of as your neighbour? How can you be a neighbour to them in a practical way?
Day 2—Friday 19th January 2024 Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” (Luke 10: 27) Help me, Lord, to receive your love, that I may make you manifest in loving well, both myself and my neighbour. Additional scripture passages Deuteronomy 10: 12-13 Psalm 133 Reflection The answer Jesus draws out of the lawyer, from the well-known commandments of God, appears simple. However, the command to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind will be a constant challenge, requiring a lifelong determination to learn, reflect and seek change in ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit. The instruction to love our neighbours “as ourselves” demands equal consideration. To love and value ourselves as God would wish demands intimate relationship. Is God saying that we cannot love our neighbour fully unless we love ourselves? We do not get to choose our neighbours. Sometimes we must cross difficult barriers to serve them, rather than walking by. Loving means being attentive to their needs, accepting who they are, with humility, encouraging their hopes and aspirations. Let’s learn to celebrate difference in Christ’s unifying life, death and resurrection. We pray for St Philip’s Church, Stubbins. Our neighbours. The lonely and isolated. We pray together Lord, give us the grace to know you deeply, in order to love you entirely. May the gift of the Holy Spirit enable our eyes, ears and minds to receive the unconditional love with which you love us. Purify our hearts that we may always be able to love our neighbour, however different, as ourselves. Amen Question How do you see yourself? How do you think God sees you? Go and do Resolve to get to know a new person in your road and find a loving way to engage with them.
