Thirteenth Sunday after TrinityJeremiah 15.15–21 Romans 12.9–end Matthew 16.21–endSometimes what we read in the Bible can be a struggle to understand. Some passages seem to defy logic, and today’s gospel reading is one instance where this is appearing to happen. How does losing one’s life gain one’s life?In this expression we are looking at two things. On the one hand we are looking at finality, an ending. This is something that we all can appreciate and understand. On the other hand we are looking at creation, a beginning, again this is something that we all understand. But, when used in the same sentence here is where we are likely to hit problems.It is all well and good living a life with all of the trimmings, with every conceivable luxury at your side, where at the flick of your fingers aides come running to fulfil your every wish and will. Yes, you have absolutely everything and want for nothing. Really! Is it likely that, yes, there is still something missing? At first glance you may be forgiven for thinking not. Everything is there, whatever could be missing.Let us move to one side in our thinking. Surrounded by every imaginable physical desire it is easy to have your sight blinded to other things in life. But, leaving all that behind we can see a whole new world comprising of all manner of situations. These could be ranging from homelessness to hunger, from uncertainty to all manner of conditions and circumstances. With each of these quite often all that is needed is someone to step forward and say, ‘Can I help?’ by making such an offer you are stepping into another world. Quite literally you are leaving behind all of your possessions to step into another world where you are giving of yourself.Here is the teaching of Jesus. He is encouraging us to turn to God and leave behind all of that which clutters our life. God is our provider. He gives all that we need. If we look about us we see his gifts given in plenty. And, as we look about we will see other people in their various states of life.If we leave behind all of our trappings to go to assist or help where it is needed, we are leaving behind one life and entering another. The physical dimension of our being is nice to pamper with all manner of goodies, but none of them are of any use to us when we come face to face with Our Lord. These he will not look at or take into consideration. He will look into our soul.What will he find there? Will it be a love of all of the property that we have surrounded ourselves with, the items of luxury, those things that enabled us to just lie back and let the world go past? If that is the case then the records of our life, when examined, will not count for much in the heavenly kingdom.If, however, we cast to one side all of those distractions and devote our life to caring for our neighbour and helping where we are able then we are adopting those same qualities as Jesus showed. Turning to Jesus and doing his will all go towards losing your life to Jesus.This is what he means. In all that we do we should try to emulate Jesus. Look at how he would approach a situation. Are we in a position to do something similar? Jesus tells us that if we want to follow him we have to deny ourselves. Examine our very nature and see where we fall down. In doing this we may discover just what lies in front of us as an obstacle making it hard for us to follow Jesus. This obstacle, our cross, we have to take up for ourselves for it is a part of us. Once acknowledged then we can cast it off to Jesus who promised, “Come unto me, all that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you”, words we hear in the Book of Common Prayer Communion Service taken from Matthew’s Gospel.Collect for the Thirteenth Sunday after TrinityAlmighty God,who called your Church to bear witnessthat you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:help us to proclaim the good news of your love,that all who hear it may be drawn to you;through him who was lifted up on the cross,and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
The Tenth Sunday after Trinity1 Kings 19.9–18 Romans 10.5–15 Matthew 14.22–33In the military, surely it is the aim of everyone serving to hear and obey the orders given to them by their superior officers. This is all driven by the belief that their superior officers have knowledge and experience governing the task that they are asking the junior ratings to perform, experience gathered over time and service.It will not necessarily involve taxing the physical or mental endurance of the troops, but more a case of them following orders through faith in the one who is delivering them.Today we hear of a series of circumstances leading to a disciple being put to the test. Like all of us Jesus needed to find time to recharge, to refresh and more importantly to speak with God his Father. Here Jesus goes to a hillside familiar to him. Alone he prayer to God knowing that the time of his greatest moment is not too far away.Not far from the lake he becomes aware of a storm brewing up. On the lake are his disciples and they are fearful of the coming storm. As it overtakes them they cry out. Jesus ends his time praying with God and makes his way to the lake. Seeing the fear in the disciples he makes his way to them by walking on the water.Intending to calm their fears it instead prompted Peter to call out to Jesus that he might walk on the water himself to greet him. At first, following the command from Jesus all went well. But, when Peter realised what was happening, that he was also walking on water, his courage failed him and he began to sink. He felt weak and cried out in alarm and reached out to Jesus who reassuringly caught him and brought him safely back to the boat. Jesus was recognised as the Son of God.There are times when we go through life and have that feeling that we might be alone. There may be people all about us. We may be in the middle of a crowd, but we are not communicating with them. We have no link, no bond. We are one with them yet not one of them. In the midst of all of this humanity we are just one, all alone. It is at these times that we are at our lowest ebb. We can sink no further into the loneliness of that shell around us.We can be like Peter and raise our eyes to see Jesus. In a time of trouble Peter saw Jesus and saw him as the source of hope. In Jesus lay their salvation. Hemmed in by the milling crown around us it might seem almost impossible to pinpoint, to recognise a face known to us. But if we look we will see Jesus there reaching out to us. Whilst we are in the lowest point of our life, when we can sink no lower, in the deepest depths of despair, he gives us courage and leads us onwards raising us up from the abyss that we had found ourselves.Placing our faith in Jesus and his love leads away from the path that we have strayed along. He will take us by the hand and bring us back to that path that has been laid out before us. He will take us away from the world of confusion, of terror, of wandering aimlessly, to that path of joy and freedom. Jesus is the way to our salvation. He will bring us out of danger to safety in his arms.Peter saw Jesus walking on the water towards him. He recognised that in Jesus lay salvation. In reaching out to Jesus as his faith weakened, he was saved. The same is possible for us. Turn away from the bottle, or whatever else we seek to sustain us in our depths. Instead spend a few moments calling on Jesus for he is there at our side just waiting.Calm settled on the boat as the wind and waves died down. So too will the storm fighting away in our heart and soul melt away as we become enfolded in the love of Jesus.Collect for the Tenth Sunday after TrinityLet your merciful ears, O Lord,be open to the prayers of your humble servants;and that they may obtain their petitionsmake them to ask such things as shall please you;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Ninth Sunday after TrinityIsaiah 55.1–5 Romans 9.1–5 Matthew 14.13–21You have had a busy day. Everything has been piled upon you. The pressure has been relentless with barely time for a cup of tea. The traffic on the drive home was slow with road works. All you want to do is get home, sit down, and relax for a short while.But life is not always fair. As you park the car you see that the lawn needs cutting as it is standing out from your neighbours. You walk through the door and the children demand time from you. Your partner is standing in the corner waiting to be acknowledged. Things continue to pile up on your shoulders.At time like these we find those adverts on the television offering you the chance to escape and get away from it all for ridiculously cheap prices. Sail away to exotic locations or fly to the sun, all promising you relaxation and rest.Jesus was in Galilee, a very densely crowded area. In size it was about twice the size of the Isle of Wight yet contained 204 towns none of which had a population of less that 15,000 people. Not a place to escape from the crowds and that is just what Jesus wished to do. He needed rest, just as we all do, and he needed to avoid danger lest he should end up as John the Baptist did. The Cross was ahead of him, coming nearer, and he knew that he must meet up with God before he faced men. Rest for his body and soil were important. Refreshment could be sought on the other side of the lake.People saw his boat sail and it would not be difficult to work out to where he was going. They raced around the lake ready to meet him as he landed on the far shore. Tired and exhausted it would have been quite natural for someone else to tell the crowd to return back to their homes. But Jesus showed them his true compassion. He continued to heal the sick and, before sending them back home around the lake he fed them.We have a message here. In the actions of Jesus we see how God cares. It is a message that we, as Christians, can show to the world. Jesus, in all of the business of his life still found time to care for the people clamouring around him. There is an important point here. If we are so busy that we cannot spare just a few moments to a person who is asking for a short period of our time than there is a reasonably good chance that the person will not try again and we will have lost them.If, as a Christian, someone asks us a question about our faith, or about the Church, or asks us if we can do something that would be a good neighbourly thing to do (remember that we should love our neighbour as ourselves), and we turn round and say that we do not have the time, or send them away, then we will have lost that person. They may have been using us to be a way forward to beginning a relationship with God. We will have lost them. We will have turned away from God one of his children.To live life with one eye on the nice comfortable armchair in front of the television, or with that eye watching the clock as it races around the clock face, neither is the best way to spend our time. To show others that we are anxious to send them on their way is not the best way to set an example of the compassion that Our Lord had. But Jesus went one step further than healing the crowd, even though he was exhausted. He fed them.Gathering all the food that the crowd had, five loaves and two fish, he gave thanks to God and gave the food to the disciples to feed the crowd. They were fed and satisfied. In doing this Jesus showed that it is God’s gifts which he brings to mankind. More so he showed that it is through his disciples that the miracle was worked.Today, again as Christians, we are the disciples of Jesus. It is through us that Jesus continues to work. As he gave his disciples the bread and fish to feed the crowd so he gives us his teaching to go out and deliver to all people. He needs people like us to go out and to act, to be the medium through which he can speak. It is through us that he can draw others to himself.Collect for the Ninth Sunday after TrinityAlmighty God,who sent your Holy Spiritto be the life and light of your Church:open our hearts to the riches of your grace,that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spiritin love and joy and peace;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
First Sunday after TrinityHosea 5.15—6.6 Psalm 50.7–15 Romans 4.13–end Matthew 9.9–13, 18–26In cities, towns and villages all up and down this land we can find places of worship. They may be cathedrals, churches and chapels, or house groups. People are gathering together to worship God.But what is this worship that we offer? Whatever it is it can take one of many forms. Our worship of God it multifaceted. We may sing hymns, possibly one of the first things people think of when they speak of churches, or we may spend our worship time in contemplative silence or reading. The hymns that we sing are often in the form of a prayer set to music. Over the years we have accumulated hundreds of hymns of different types. Some are joyful which, as we sing them, almost make us wish to jump and dance with glee, whilst others are of a more gentle nature with words which reflect upon life.The worship that we offer also comprises of prayer. This is our opportunity to speak with God and tell him of our want and needs, to give him our thanks for his goodness, to praise him for all that we have and for who we are. As Christians we also look further afield than just ourselves. We see about us situations that are beyond our control, events happening in distant lands. Our hearts pour out to those who are enduring suffering, those in situations from which they have no escape.Singing and praying may be the basis of our worship and of our love of God. But more is required of us to fulfil our title of being a Christian. In the gospel reading Jesus says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Just what is this that Jesus is desiring?All about him he could see the scribes and pharisees going about being pious. They were doing what they thought was their duty to God by being holy, or even more holy than thou, in their attitudes. Dressing up in fine robes and carrying themselves in such ways as to draw attention to themselves. ‘Look at me. I am a holy man. You should look up to me.’ Such attitudes do little in the way of active worship of God. They strutted about so much that there was little room for any practical help. This is just what Jesus meant when he used that expression, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”Someone may go through all of the motions of doing what is deemed right and proper in the way that they go about their life, but if there is no room to help where help is needed then they are not really fulfilling their religious duties. Those duties include the requirement to help a neighbour in distress, to give aid and help where it is needed.It is all well and good going through life stretching out ones hand and arm in prayer, offering all kinds of petitions to God, heaping upon him all kinds of praise and thanks, if at the same time the person in need is being ignored.It can be so convenient to sit back and read good works, to be with God in prayer all to the exclusion of the world about us. Yes, God does want us to broaden our knowledge of him by reading and studying, learning from what those who are learned in theology have to teach us. But he also wants us to go out into the world and help where help is needed, to be like the Good Samaritan, to nurture the fallen, all these if we are able.But we live in the real world. Not all of this is possible. For those who just cannot go out and be a charity worker in distant lands, for instance, there are other options. Yes, we can spend much time in prayer offering to God those situations where there is deprivation, where there are people going out there to help where they can. We, through our prayer, support them. They, in their turn, can feel buoyed up knowing that they are bring prayed for. Prayer is indeed a powerful tool. Much has been achieved through prayer. Prayer alone is a good thing, but, when possible, prayer plus action can be just as powerful.Collect for the First Sunday after TrinityO God,the strength of all those who put their trust in you,mercifully accept our prayersand, because through the weakness of our mortal naturewe can do no good thing without you,grant us the help of your grace,that in the keeping of your commandmentswe may please you both in will and deed;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
