Will we ever be able to hug each other and share from the same cup again? As COVID 19 continues to work its way across the world and people are still dying here in the United Kingdom, it doesn’t look as if we will be getting back to normal soon. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin are death. Many have suffered and died because of the sins and mistakes of others. Prolonged isolation and fear is the price many are paying because others have failed to observe restrictions.Hugs or more formal handshakes for those we don’t know well are needed more than ever. Those who have been isolated for more than three months now, need the reassuring, comforting touch of those who love and care for them. It has been hard avoiding hugging those who have lost loved ones recently as they have endured Spartan funerals. Hugs bring healing and happiness. They make us feel good, reducing stress and showing support. They reduce our fear and pain and enable us to communicate more effectively. It has been said that we need four hugs a day for survival.When we hug, we open our arms wide in welcome and love and draw others into the circle of our love and warmth.In our present health crisis, however, touch has been banned. Hugs and handshakes can injure or kill. Because of the risk of infection, we must learn to show our welcome differently. Even now, with lockdown coming to an end, we are only able to provide a bubble with another householdWe’re expected to keep a 2 m distance, treat others as lepers and cover our faces with masksWe are not allowed to eat with neighbours and as Christians are not able to partake of Holy Communion together, worship at the same table and receive the welcome Christ gives to us in the form of bread and wine.Welcoming one another into our homes, into our church and into our lives is important. It enables us to know that we are accepted unconditionally, valued and not aloneWelcome is an act of grace. We give hospitality even though we may receive nothing in return in this life. I am blessed because I don’t live alone. The present situation must be horrendous for our elderly, mainly widows or widowers, particularly as many are unable to access zoom and do not have an internet connection.Although we are now able to access are church building for private prayer, it is not the welcoming place it once was. We have to sign a book to show we are there and sanitize our hands on the way in and the way out, just in case we are carrying something that might infect others.The soft furnishings and toy box has been removed, along with Bibles and hymn books.We cannot light a candle for ourselves to remember our loved ones. We have to wait for the person on duty to light it for us.Sometime during this month, when the Bishop’s guidance on how we are to proceed has been received, we will reopen for public worship on Sunday mornings. We will not be able to sing or receive Holy Communion but a service of Morning Prayer with social distancing will be possible. It will take some of you back to the times when Holy Communion was not the main service of the day and an occasional monthly tag on. Our zoom services are encouraging but hardly inclusive as those without the relevant technology, (often the elderly and poorer members of our community) cannot join us. We cannot give an open invitation as interlopers are signing into zoom services to destroy them. I am happy, however, for you to invite your friends and families and give them the means to participate.Jesus tells us in Matthew 10 that when we welcome followers of Jesus, particularly those who have been rejected or are outsiders, we are welcoming him and his heavenly Father who sent him. Hebrews 13:2 tells us that when we entertain strangers we may be entertaining angels without knowing it. Jesus continues by saying that when we receive the message of a preacher of truth, we receive a prophet’s reward. When we welcome a righteous person in the name of a righteous person, in other words, when we are right with our Lord Jesus Christ ourselves and they are right and we do right together, we receive the reward of the righteous. Even giving someone a cup of cold water like Jesus did receives a reward.Welcoming is costly. We know we are unlikely to receive financial reward in this lifetime. When we welcome others, however, we become rich in love, often getting to know others at a deep level. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Jesus shows his welcome to us by setting us free from all that has been sinful in our lives and giving us the gift of eternal life. We can welcome others as he welcomes us through welcoming unreservedly, and being willing to bear the costs. So how do we welcome others when the hugs and hospitality we would normally give can kill?A greeting in the street, a thumbs up, and a telephone call helps. Being trapped in gives us a chance to get our near neighbours over the garden hedge if we are blessed in having one.Telling our nearest and dearest that we love them by whatever means are at our disposal raises both our spirits and theirs.We can use our imaginations and memories to remind us of the welcomes and hugs we have enjoyed in our past, reliving them in our hearts and be thankfulSince we are unable to entertain in our homes or church hall, we can give generously to food banks and charities. We can continue to remind ourselves and others of Christ’s welcome which transcends the boundaries imposed upon us. We can invite him into our hearts and minds, thank him for his love and use our imagination as we spend time with him, receiving the warmth of his welcoming hug and his gift of life.Let’s continue to remember each other our prayers, find new ways to connect with others and keep other people’s interests uppermost in our mind.Whether you come back to our church building for Sunday worship or continue to meet with others on zoom, I am always delighted to see or hear from you. Hugging physically is the wrong thing to do for the moment, but be reassured that you are welcomed from the heart.God our saviour,look on this wounded worldin pity and in power;hold us fast to your promises of peacewon for us by your Son,our Saviour Jesus Christ.
We are not yet allowed to have services in church or lead public prayers. Our worship as a church community takes place on Thursdays at 7.00 pm on zoom. If you would like an invitation to join us, please contact JaneWe have done everything we can to make the space inside church safeBy cleaning all surfaces and door knobs between use By removing all the soft furnishings, the toy box, the hymn books, service books and Bibles.If you came hoping to light a candle, please stand a 2 metre distance from the sand tray and the person on duty will light one for you.We are asking you to:Use hand sanitizer provided as you enter and leave church Keep the 2 metre rule and socially distanceSit in the designated seatsAccess written prayers via your smart phone either from the common worship or Church of England sites or your own Bible
As a church we are considering how we can reopen our building in a safe way so that it canbe visited for individual prayer.We are not allowed to meet as a community Soft furnishing will be removed and vistors will be expected to observe the2 metre rule and use the hand gel provided . When we reopen, possibly next week, it will be on a Sunday between 10.30 and 12.30.
Jesus pleads with us to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into the harvest, before it becomes too late and the harvest rots in the field. Jesus was working very hard, travelling through cities and villages proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, and curing diseases and sicknesses. When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them. The word “compassion” in scripture is used to describe what it means to be moved in our guts, in the depths of our being with overwhelming anger, passion and grief. Jesus was filled with emotion because his fellow Jews were “harassed and helpless.” They didn’t have proper leadership. They were like sheep without a shepherd.In this text it is not the suffering bodies which move Jesus. According to the text he healed all those who came to him. It is the institutional oppression and poverty his people are suffering under Roman rule that made him angry.Part of the reason there was so much poverty and sickness was because of the injustice Jews suffered as a subjugated race. There was no equality or dignity for the Jew and uprisings were dealt with harshly. Local leaders were the puppets of the Roman state and the people had little choice other than to kowtow to leaders who didn’t care about them. Their leaders were only concerned with lining their own pockets and personal survival.Sickness within our bodies is painful, but the crushing of our souls is worse. When someone is bullied they feel helpless and harassed and are in danger of losing hope.Many of us have felt oppressed and crushed at work or in the home as a result of domestic abuse. Unjust working conditions, racism, sexism, ageism and oppression as a result of sexuality dehumanises and diminishes the soul.The explosion of anger on our streets and across the world during last week and the pulling down of statues happened both because black citizens in the USA and here in the UK people felt helpless and harassed and because of poor leadership.When pictures of the arrest and killing of George Floyd were seen across America, not just the injustices of the present day, but the injustices they had suffered throughout history, including slavery and segregation came back with a passion and anger. The police officer who killed George Floyd by placing his knee on his neck for a full nine minutes epitomised oppression of the black community by the white community.What happened was unjust, possibly racist and made worse by President Trump’s use of tear gas to clear the streets so he could pose Bible in hand in front of a Church. The Black Community felt like sheep without a shepherd. Who cared for them? Black Lives Matter! Here in our country the event triggered violent anger, particularly against the police. Clashes between the far right organisations and those pulling down historic emblems were inevitable. Anarchy cannot and mustn’t be allowed to last for long. The rule of law must prevail and it must be seen to be both just and compassionate.Power gained through riots and chaos oppresses other poor communities. In reality, many who live in poor neighbourhoods, the unemployed, refugees, disabled, single mothers and modern day slaves whether black or white experience powerlessness and feel they have no voice.Jesus recognised and challenged the dark, institutional powers that ruled in his day. Before he healed sick bodies, he proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God. God’s rule is just and loving. He doesn’t tear down the vulnerable, he brings healing. Jesus had not come to start a movement that competed with worldly power for money, fame and power. Even though in worldly terms, both he and his friends were poor, he came to give his life away in the service of others. His work must have been tiring and he knew his ministry would not last long. He needed helpers who would follow him and do what he did, so he chose twelve ordinary men to be apostles or “sent out ones,” one of whom would deny him and another of whom would betray him.They were to minister specifically within the boundaries of Israel. The power and authority they were given was to do as Jesus did, to proclaim and show what God’s Kingdom was like by curing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and casting out demons. Jesus want to heal us from all that is causing us to suffer, whether it is oppression as a result of evil, mental illness, bodily illness or sickness as a result of being treated like an outcast. Jesus’ friends were to give themselves away freely without payment because what they had received from the Lord had been freely givenRomans lists the gifts we freely receive through our Lord Jesus Christ: Peace with God, access into his presence, grace, hope and God’s love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who he has given to us.Christ loves us so much that he died for us. He feely shed his blood so that even though we were sinners we might be made right with him.Because we have been given so much we have much to give. There is still a plentiful harvest to reap.Because of the COVID crisis, Jesus is unlikely in the present time to send us out to proclaim his Kingdom either across our nation or to be missionaries in other countries. British missionaries have been accused of being imperialists, colonialists and oppressors in the past. When applied to our context, Jesus’ plea for labourers in the harvest sounds more like an advertisement for the 70000 seasonal workers that we need in this country this year to pick our fruit and veg than a request for followers to be his disciples and proclaim the Kingdom of God.We need fruit and veg to keep healthy. It is sad that Eastern European workers have been imported in this present crisis to do jobs that not enough British will do. Volunteering to feed others shows care and a servant heart. Jesus still calls us to proclaim his Kingdom and his salvation by word and action where we are. Instead of expressing righteous anger on our streets, let us sow love and healing through our prayers, through our phone calls and messages on social media and through our service of others and our giving.
