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Proper 11 (CWM Sunday) What does Gos require of us?

CWM Sunday    (Isaiah 44: 6-8; Matthew 13: 24-30) Many people are fascinated by family history: the stories of long-gone relatives, the people we are proud of and the ones we’d rather forget, the events that make us glad of our genes and the things that fascinate or appal us.  My dad had two aunts – Annie & Ethel, both school teachers - who decided to explore the Whitehead family tree, until they reached a predecessor who had been transported to Australia for sheep-stealing. Just as I thought it was getting interesting - they decided to stop researching at that point ! Today we are invited to explore something of our Christian family as we celebrate Council for World Mission Sunday. We are reminded that we in the URC belong to a worldwide family of 36 partner churches. But like so many family histories – it’s not straightforward. The beginning of our ‘family life’ is rooted in the evangelical awakening of the 18 th century: the time of John & Charles Wesl...
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Rest, hope and help. (Proper 9)

     Zechariah 9: 9-12, Matthew 11: 25-30   When my grand-daughter Rose was about three we had a family holiday in Suffolk. Suffolk is, famously, rather flat and so on the Sunday morning we decided to walk the short distance to church from the house where we were staying. After about 5 minutes, Rose was flagging and complained “I need to be there now. I only have TINY legs. You need to carry me”.   I’m sure there are times we can all sympathise with Rose. When the journey seems long. When our legs feel tiny. When we need help & we want someone – something – to carry us.   I think that’s why the poem “footprints in the sand” is so popular. In case you haven’t heard it, or you’d like to be reminded of it, it goes like this:   One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belongin...
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Abraham & Isaac - how should we treat young people?

 Genesis 22: 1-14      As the “spare Granny” of two teenagers, I have been following news stories about “our children” with a mixture of interest and horror – and perhaps you have done the same. How much time should your people spend on social media? I heard a young man interviewed who said he spent 14 hours a day on his phone… when does that leave time for talking to other people, or developing his own thoughts and ideas? How do we help children and young people who are subject to abuse? There have been terrible recent stories about the lack of curiosity among medical staff or social workers about children’s injuries. One commentator said “no-one was losing sleep over what was happening in this child’s life”. As followers of Jesus Christ, what do we have to offer into society’s discussion of how to treat young people?     Let’s look closely at the story of Abraham, being told by God to sacrifice Isaac. Perhaps we’ve heard it so ofte...
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God's care for the sparrows & for us

Jeremiah 20: 7-13     Matthew 10: 24-39    Today we celebrate the Chapel Anniversary – 203 years since The foundation stone was laid June 25th,1823. I wonder how you feel about the passing years? It’s good to look back & I hope there are many happy memories. But we might also feel that we’re not what we were – and we’re not really sure where we’re going. And yet we know that the same God has been present for Jesus’ followers and loving them, throughout those 203 years   Today is also Father’s Day. How you feel about that might depend on things like what kind of father you had, or whether you knew your father, or whether you have been a father yourself.   And both the anniversary & Father’s Day might colour how we feel when Jesus calls God ‘Father’, which he does very often in the gospel accounts. What sort of Father does Jesus declare God to be – how can we better understand what Jesus means when he refers to God as ‘your h...
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Proper 7 - worship notes from the URC

As it happens, I have written this Sunday's worship notes for the United Reformed Church. They are available Here    I will also post my own sermon notes, as usual. 
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Proper 6: a reflection on Psalm 100 (& Matthew 9: 35-38)

Praising when our hearts are heavy        At Joyce’s funeral next week we will hear the 23 rd Psalm – the Lord is my shepherd. I read it at the commital for Mary the week before last, too. It contains that amazing phrase..      even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Psalm 23 might be the first psalm we turn to in times of trouble: it is enormously comforting.   We might feel like we need comfort right now – the news has been so unsettling – with attacks in the streets in Northern Ireland following a stabbing incident; yet more attacks on Iran by the US; Israeli strikes against Lebanon; and violent protests against the police in Southampton. In our family and church lives, too, it sometimes feels there is more bad news than good. Life can really feel like a shady valley, in which surely we need the guidance of the Lord, our shepherd.   So I confess that at first my heart sank when I r...
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Friend of tax-collectors & sinners? Matthew 9: 9-13

  With thanks to Susan Durber for the "church meeting minutes from the early church" in this sermon!            When I was growing up in Merthyr we had lovely next door neighbours: Ed & Elma Evans. They made us very welcome when we moved in, had children about the same ages as us lot, and the 2 grandads used to enjoy talking over the wall. So I was baffled to find so many references in the New testament to what a bad person the gentle dad next door, Ed, was – because he worked in the tax office – he was a tax-collector.   There it is in our gospel reading today – the Pharisees ask Jesus’ disciples “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”.   As I grew up, I realised that the tax-collectors of the time of Jesus and the tax-collectors of today are very different. Tax, in Jesus time, was not the money everyone paid to help society run better – it was a charge laid by the Roman authorities on the people of the lan...
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