Friday 8th November at 7.30pm 6 glasses of different wines and cheeses Do our wine experts know their Merlot from their Mozzarella ? Come as a team (6) or make up on the night. £25.00 per person (advance booking) Gill 462156 or ddh.gmjubb@gmail.com
Reflection for 13th October 2024The Twentieth Sunday After TrinityAmos 5.6–7,10–15, Hebrews 4.12–16, Mark 10: 17-31Have you ever sat down to think about the nature, structure, and purpose of the church? Perhaps you’ve thought about why you're here. What prompted you to be part of this gathered community? This church's nature is Anglican, as we are part of the Church of England. What led you to join an Anglican congregation instead of a Baptist or Methodist one? Perhaps you were part of another denomination but chose to be here instead.Perhaps the CofE's structure, with its parishes, laity, bishops, dioceses, priests, and connections to the state, resonates with you. We are a broad church, with worship styles ranging from high Anglo-Catholic to low evangelical, and everything in between.Perhaps the church's purpose drew you in. I understand the church's purpose is to encourage and support one another in faith, but perhaps more importantly, to worship together the living God and seek His guidance in the wider world.When we gather to worship God, there is a sense of community beyond the normal everyday experience of other gatherings such as coffee mornings or gardening clubs. We worship alongside previous worshippers and heaven's host. As a contemplative nun from the 14th century once said, the cloud of the unknowing envelops us. Keeping this in mind, we elevate ourselves, honouring God in the entirety of His enigma.Worship allows space to be vulnerable, real, and open to God's ministry. The passage from Hebrews reminds us that "the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword... able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Jesus is here, both in word and sacrament. Nothing can evade his scrutiny; he sees right into hearts and minds. As the NRSV Bible puts it, “all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.” Although we may fool ourselves and others, we cannot fool Jesus. However challenging and embracing these words from Hebrews are, they are also comforting. Through accepting Jesus as our saviour, we can “approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Despite knowing who we are, God still loves and welcomes us.The rich young ruler approaches Jesus with boldness. In the young man, we see someone who is trying to follow God. He, rather proudly, states he’s followed all the laws since he was a boy. Surely, he thinks, this is enough to qualify him for eternal life. However, Jesus directly addresses the core issue in verse 18. No one is good—except God alone. This implies that humans cannot save themselves; only God can save. Following all the rules and doing all the outward things that Christians do, like going to church and helping and loving others, are part of the journey with Christ, but without God's grace, they are useless to our salvation. Without faith, we cannot work our way into God’s good books. Jesus tells the young man to give up his wealth and follow him. During Jesus' time, Jews believed that possessing great wealth signified divine blessings. Therefore, Jesus' statement confused the disciples and saddened the young man. Jesus was testing the young man to see what he worshipped more, namely, his wealth or God. When great wealth becomes an idol and is worshipped more than God, it puts a potential disciple at risk of damnation. The man’s pride in his wealth prevented his shallow relationship with God from deepening any further than just following the rules.Jesus responds to the disciples' question, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; with God all things are possible." God knows we are fallen, broken creatures incapable of following His rules without His support. God provided us with His son, whose life-giving and liberating deeds on the cross, along with His subsequent resurrection, led to our salvation.This is the good news that the rich young ruler was deprived of. He missed out on responding to the saving word of God. For us, the question arises: Are we also missing out? Do we know anyone who is not living their lives in responsive faithfulness to God? If that's the case, what steps will we take to address this issue?When we live in responsive faithfulness, we find our lives energized by God's presence, goodness, and love. The needs of our surrounding communities draw our attention beyond our personal concerns and small gatherings.Together, as a community of believers, we learn to persistently pursue God's will, unencumbered by past assumptions and patterns, but by moving forward with prayer. Together we discover the reality and strength of generous, open, and honest relationships. Through becoming family, we support one another in our gifts and callings. As a generous family, we welcome others and actively invite them to become part of the life of the gathered church.To live in responsive faithfulness, we must take responsibility for our personal growth as disciples of Christ and be accountable for our relationship with God. The most crucial aspect of discipleship involves prayer, particularly fervent prayer. This type of prayer extends beyond simply expressing our desires, but rather involves asking God to transform us, shape us, and infuse us with His love, causing us to grow in holiness and ignite our passion for Christ. By intentionally working on our relationship with God through worship, prayer, and action, we will encounter more of God's presence in our lives, as well as that of our church and community. Ask God today for your purpose within our gathered fellowship and in the lives of others. Blessings and prayers, Emma
Reflection for 4th August 2024The Tenth Sunday After TrinityExodus 16.2-4, 9-15, Ephesians 4.1-16, John 6.24-35I was in a shop the other day when I heard a little girl shout at her mother, “But I NEED it! I WANT it NOW!" The mother, slightly embarrassed, said, “You’ll have to wait for your birthday next week." Unsurprisingly, this did not go down with the little girl, who proceeded to cry as if her whole world had just crumbled down. Each of us has probably seen or experienced scenes like this. We can all understand the pain of a child demanding something they want but can’t have right away. We also understand that the child will hopefully learn to distinguish between need and want as they grow up. Such awareness develops through discipline and experience with how life works. However, there is a spiritual yearning in all of us for something we need and want, but for some, we may not be able to articulate or even accept it.Need and want are both themes that run through the readings. In Exodus, the people wander through the desert while fleeing from Egypt. The crowd is in a state of crisis because of their hunger, to the point where they are literally starving. Like all groups of people, they start complaining bitterly to their leaders, Moses and Aaron, that they have been brought out here to die. I always wonder at this point: Where is the people’s faith in God? They had not long ago had their thirst quenched by water flowing miraculously from a boulder struck by Moses. Why were they grumbling again? Had they forgotten God’s care for them so quickly? Despite their lack of faith, God does hear the cries of His children and promises to provide bread from heaven. Quails are strangely migrating across their path. However, verse 4 reminds us that with the gifts comes a test. God will see if the people will obey God's instructions or not, which include the command to only gather as much as they need to eat (verse 16) and not leave any for the next day (verses 19–20). Of course, they do not obey, and their lack of obedience tests the patience of both Moses and God. It appears, however, that the disobedience is not solely due to stubbornness or defiance; they simply do not know God enough to trust Him.John's reading further explores this lack of sufficient knowledge to trust God. In this passage, a crowd of people has chased down Jesus because they want to see more godly signs and want Jesus to become their king. Although they need Jesus as king, their reasons are wrong. They wanted a political king who would free them from their oppressors, just like Moses did in the Exodus. Jesus, however, wanted to open up their understanding of the fact that the new Passover, the new Exodus, was taking place right in front of them, and that He was leading it. This is why Jesus' rebukes appeared almost churlish, as the crowd was on the verge of crowning him king. When people referred to Moses leading the Jews in the Exodus, they meant a journey from oppressive governments to political liberation. Jesus points out that during the Exodus, God provided not only physical nourishment by dropping bread from the sky but also spiritual nourishment, which kept alive their faith and hope. However, Jesus would provide something far greater and deeper than political freedom or spiritual sustenance. In contrast to what the crowds expected, Jesus will rule in a different way. The crowd was unaware that they had just witnessed the feeding of the five thousand, which was a prelude to the true nourishment they would receive from the Son of Man, Jesus himself. We know that Jesus would go on to offer His life for all on the cross, bringing them freedom from sin and into true relationship with God. Jesus is the true bread from heaven, the food they and we really need and should want.The crowd did not realize that who Jesus is was more important than what he could do for them. In verse 27, Jesus is the one for whom "God the Father has set his seal." Like a goldsmith with a hallmark or like a king with his great seal, God has stamped Jesus with a mark that declares not only where he comes from but that he carries his authority. Jesus bears the marks of what he is doing by providing care, preaching the coming of God’s kingdom, and healing the sick—actions that say this is the kind of thing that, in Israel’s scriptures, God himself does. Verse 35, the climactic conclusion of the passage, reveals this point with the first of the famous 'I am' sayings in John's gospel, "I am the bread of life." Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." God is imposing a demand on both the people and us: while we may feed them with bread and fish until they recognize who Jesus truly is, a deep hunger within them remains unsatisfied.Believing in Jesus requires a change of heart away from what we think we want or need. This requires a yearning heart that is open to discipline, obedience, and acceptance of who Jesus truly is—the saviour and true king of our lives. Although faith in Jesus will never remain untested, God assures us that even in the midst of seemingly meaningless troubles and trials, there are deep purposes for Him at work, and He calls us to faith obedience. He invites us to actively offer the little we have, for He will provide the resources we need because God chooses to work through and with us. Are you ready to face the true nature of Jesus in a fresh perspective? This will help you understand what he can do for you. Make verse 34 your prayer: "Sir, give us this bread always" to meet your deepest needs. Blessings and prayers, Emma
