Tag: Luke

2nd Sunday Before Advent: Risen With Healing

16/11/25
Malachi 4:1-2a
Psalm 98
Luke 21:5-19

You can always tell when we are getting close to the end of the church year – the lectionary readings begin to talk about the end of time. The Wednesday Study Group has been mulling this over for the last few weeks as we study The Book of Revelation.

There are only two weeks left before the start of Advent – scary I know! We should enter this season of waiting, preparing and expectation with an expanded view of God and his coming kingdom. I want us to do this with joy. Joy in our hearts and be sources of joy in the world. The Church of England’s Advent & Christmas campaign this year is around joy.

I do not always pay enough attention to some of the campaigns – but this year I have drunk the kool-aid. I think that the branding is beautiful and the message is so badly needed. We all need joy! The world needs joy.

Jesus’ ‘end of times’ warnings were not his most endearing nor evidently joyful. The disciples did not have the luxury of knowing what would happen. They are still unaware, unclear on the impending crucifixion of Jesus; let alone the resurrection and ascension. We live on the other side of those events. We are still all waiting for the end.

There are versions of Jesus’ warning about the destruction of Jerusalem’s beautiful temple in Matthew and Mark too. This passage occurs in the middle of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. Jesus has been preaching in the temple and has been warning Peter, Andrew, James and John about what is to come.

It is going to be awful. Jesus paints a vivid account of what to expect and reinforces the need for us to be vigilant. We have much in common. In 2025 we need to be reminded and aware of false teaching, lying, deception, war, famine and earthquakes. Some of us will have experienced some of these things on a greater or lesser scale. Jesus ‘ is clear that it will only get worse.

Many of these events happened with little to no warning or time scale; a lack of awareness of time is not a new phenomenon. The prophet Malachi warns of the coming day of destruction and nothing will be left. But, he says, those who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.
Sound familiar? Third verse of the greatest Christmas Carol ever composed.

Hail the Heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings;
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the new-born king”

Despite having advanced technology and advanced knowledge of what, where and when it will happen, our humanness can make the reality of these events incomprehensible until they occur.

Recap: lots of really bad things are going to happen and we do not know when but watch out! Thanks Jesus. Thank God for the third verse.

All good Jews would have had great love for Jerusalem and reverence for the Temple. The disciples had all grown up not far away in Galilee; they too had walked the length and breadth of the city with Jesus. They knew the walls and gates. No Jerusalem and No Temple was inconceivable!

There is a sense of urgency in the questions they ask Jesus – When? What are the signs? No time frame makes this difficult! Jesus did not want the disciples to get overly fixated on either the time [whether it is long or short] or the events themselves. There is a kindness in this.

How do we measure time or response to a situation when there seems as though there is nothing to measure? Jesus’ concern is for preparation. It is Jesus who will protect, give them the words and wisdom that their opponents will not be able to contradict. The disciples though must make up their minds in advance and prepare their defence. We too must prepare ourselves in advance – how do we explain our faith? Are we ready for what is to come?

In Mark’s account, the disciples make comments about the grand size of the temple stones. In Luke’s, it is the beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God that get comment. They are impressed by the externals, but this is not what Jesus is after. Maybe this is why we can get lost in the Christmas stuff? We are attracted to the externals. They certainly are beautiful! I love a gorgeously decorated tree and twinkly lights, the special foods and delicious drinks in the celebratory meals at this time of the year.

I know some people get rather annoyed about all this stuff in the shops so early. This is why we need a prepared defence. To explain to people what this season of Advent is really about! It is about joy; the joy in the little things and treats. The greater joy of being part of something bigger and mysterious. No point is just being huffy about it. We also need to be prepared for what is to come; the end times should neither be fixated nor ignored. As we come close to the season of Advent once again, let us focus on the internals, the preparation that needs to happen in our hearts rather than in the shop windows and store shelves. Joy to the World! Hark the Herald Angels sing!

Bible Sunday: The Surprising Power!

26/10/25
Romans 15:1-6
Luke 4:16-24

A couple of years ago I had an interesting encounter at the Slough Police Station over a Bible. An officer was cleaning out a locker when she found a Bible. She did not know what to do with it. She came into the workroom where I was sitting and asked rather loudly what she should do with it.

Some of the answers are not repeatable in polite company, let alone church! The less offensive answers were ‘bin it – it’s a fairy tale anyway’; ‘take it to a charity shop?’; recycle it?’ One officer said something I shan’t repeat, as he said it, he turned around and saw me sitting there. He was completely shocked; I was looking rather bemused! He quickly tried to backtrack and apologise but then decided not to apologise because he believed what he said. Fair enough. I told him he did not have to apologise to me. I also did not rescue the Bible either as I was not asked for an opinion or to intervene. It sat on a filing cabinet for many months.

What I came out of that situation with was a fresh appreciation that even in a very hard, secular environment such as the Slough police station, the Bible has power. The book itself, just its presence is enough to elicit responses from people.

What do we make of the Bible? Do we just know a few quiz-like facts about it? It is a dust-collector on a bookshelf? Do the contents make us nervous? Are we unsure of how to handle it?

It is in God’s word that we encounter Him, the creator and saviour of the world. So how do we respond to God when we read the Bible? How do we treasure God and his word?

Emmanuel: I looked around the church yesterday when we were setting up for the quiz last night. I noticed something. There are no Bibles around. I am really embarrassed about this.

St Nicholas: We have a few ratty copies of the Good News Bible at the back.

Is this good enough?
I am going to suggest it is not.

I am going to suggest that the PCC’s talk about this at the next meetings.

The Bible was inspired by God for our instruction and encouragement that we might have hope. This was Paul’s explanation to the Romans. How can we know what God wants if we do not read the instructions? How can we be encouraged and have hope if we have no idea what God might be saying to us?

Luke has Jesus returning to Nazareth after being away for an unknown amount of time; maybe months or even years. Jesus returns differently to when He left. Jesus comes back after being baptised and tempted in the wilderness for 40 days and stands at the cusp of his ministry which boldly begins in the synagogue in front of the home side. A bold start that gets even bolder. Jesus is handed the scroll that not coincidentally was Isaiah, the Old Testament book containing more prophecy about him than any other. He is about to begin fulfilling some prophecy.

The congregation in the synagogue was not looking for anything out of the ordinary that day. The Jewish people had long been waiting for the Messiah to come. The good people in the relative backwater of Nazareth were waiting for Messiah too; but not expecting him that day in their midst. Not only that, how could Messiah be from the family of a local poor carpenter?!
But He was and is.

If you replace me in verses 18 and 19 with Jesus, it is difficult to see how anyone else in all of history fills this position.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (Jesus),
Because he has anointed me (Jesus)
To bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me (Jesus) to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

This is Jesus’ chosen description of his mission; this is what He came to do. When Jesus said, ‘today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’, the meaning of ‘fulfilled’ here is ‘to fill a vessel or hollow place’. How many of us know what it is to have that hollow place? He wants to fill it now; not tomorrow or next year or when we feel better or life is back to normal. Jesus means now.

Preach the good news to the poor. This is not referring to the financially poor. These poor are those in ‘utter helplessness, complete destitution, the afflicted and distressed.’ This has wider implications than finances alone. Jesus does not want us only to subsist but thrive. Until we let Him fill our cups daily, we will only subsist.

To heal the broken-hearted. Broken-hearted means ‘to break, strike against something, to break the strength or power of someone’. This is more than a little romance gone wrong or love unrequited. This is a big break; when everything appears to be taken and hope is dwindling.

The Hebrew translation of heal ‘to mend by stitching, repair thoroughly, make whole’. Total breakage needs total healing. One stitch follows another, it takes time and can be painful.

To proclaim freedom for the captives. Notice that Jesus proclaims freedom, he did not impose it. The door of the cell may be opened but we have to walk through it. This is not just people in a physical prison; this is anything: addiction, behaviour, situation that prevents healing and captive to it.

Recovery of sight for the blind. There are many incidents of Jesus physically restoring the sight of many blind people. This is a different kind of blindness, a more serious kind of blindness. Blind here means ‘to envelop with smoke, be unable to see clearly.’ This is about clouded vision; not being able to see the light of gospel or the glory of God. Jesus came to clear our vision so we can see him clearly.

To release the oppressed. To be oppressed is to be treated harshly or unfairly by someone in authority. This release is about breaking the chains of unhealthy attachment.

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. That day in that year and at that time, those gathered in the Nazareth synagogue witnessed the embodiment of the Lord’s favour. His blessed gift of grace and love, Jesus. Year here means ‘any definite time’ and not a calendar year.

These are some of the instructions that we have been left with. They are in the book! We also find encouragement and hope, strength and wisdom to follow them. The question is: Are you curious enough to give reading the Bible a try that you would do something about it?

If we get more bibles in the churches would you take one home and start reading? There is a huge selection of books, apps, daily emails you can subscribe to and other resources to help guide you through. You do not have to do this on your own.

Like the surprised police officers in Slough and the synagogue-goers in Nazareth – there is power in the Word of God. We should want to discover it for ourselves.

Trinity 18: Attitude is Everything


19/10/25
Trinity 18

Psalm 119:97-104
2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8

On Friday evening many of us attended the Farnham Maltings production of All For Your Delight at the Charlwood Village Hall. It is a charming and challenging story of three entertainers (Danny, Jojo and Yaz) on the resort-y, Butlins-y circuit who want to make it to television with their variety show of singing, dancing, games, skits, jokes, etc. Each character shares something of their story on how they got where they are. In the second act, a fourth character (Jude) appeared; a TV executive who held the power to make their dreams come true. Danny pleaded, persisted with Jude, tried to convince him to take this little show and make them stars.

In some ways it reminded me of the Gospel reading this morning, this odd little parable about faithful endurance. We have the judge with all the power and the woman, with no male relative to do her pleading at the bottom of the pecking order. By sheer persistence she gets what she wants. The judge, whose position is to administer justice, does not really care, he only wants her to go away.

Timothy needed a reminder to remain persistent. ‘Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it,’ says Paul.
Timothy has a sincere faith that has been handed down from his grandmother and mother. Yet it seems that Timothy needs a reminder to rekindle that faith that is inside him.

Timothy was to proclaim the message and ‘be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.’ Paul warns Timothy that a time is coming when people will not listen to sound doctrine but will have itching ears. Itchy ears are ears that only want to hear what they want to hear and always lead to trouble and separation. Timothy is to be faithful to the ministry he has been called to.

The thread in these readings is a call to persistence in the situations that we find ourselves. If you Google ‘persistence’ you can find a lot of catchy quotes such as:
‘Energy and persistence conquer all things’ – Benjamin Franklin
‘Persistence can grind an iron beam down into a needle’ – Chinese proverb
‘A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but its persistence’
‘Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent’ – Steve Martin

Persistence sounds like hard work! And it is. It is not always comfortable; it does not feel good or nice much of the time either. Looking around this morning I know that we could all tell our own stories of persistence in various situations. Sometimes when persistence has paid off and sometimes when it has not. What do we do then?

Jesus asks the disciples listening to his parable a question at the very end. What faith will the Son of Man find on earth when he comes? Which sort of attitude will He find among his followers upon his return?

The judge is faithless and only wants a comfortable and convenient life. He does the right thing this time – but what about next time? Jesus told his listeners about their need to pray always and not lose heart. Maybe this judge has lost heart. For those who have experienced this maybe you lost focus, direction, care and attention. Do the least amount required to get to the finish.

Or will we have the attitude of the widow? She is determined that the right thing be done and will not give up until she gets it. She has purpose and clarity, she is alive and aware of her needs and they are urgent. She is not concerned with her low status, she ignores the rules on how to approach the judge, she just goes on and on and on.

What is it going to be? Convenient and lazy or faithfulness and persistence? The choice is ours! Will we remain faithful?

At the end of All For Your Delight, Jude the TV executive does not make Danny, Jojo and Yaz stars. He does not give them what they so dearly desire. Instead, Jude is the one who makes the change. He sees where he has gone wrong. The great executive returns to the stage at the invitation of the others. Attitudes have changed.

Like Timothy, we all need a reminder to be faithful and persist in the work we have been called to do and to remember who is faithful to us. Look back to the early examples of faithfulness. Beware of losing heart and gaining cynicism and disregard. Hang in and hang on your purpose and keep coming to God.

Trinity 11: Watch Where You Sit!

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Peasant Wedding (1567)

31/8/25

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1,7-14

Today is the second anniversary of my move to Charlwood. I cannot quite believe it either! What an honour to be sat in this distinguished place. Thank you for your love, service and prayers over this time. You certainly have mine.

We are continuing with Hebrews and Luke this morning.

Hebrews is something of an oddity in the New Testament. The author has never been confirmed and the audience is unknown. Who were the Hebrews? A new church, a group of people in a city somewhere? Is this a letter or a series of sermons? The letter was likely written between 50-90 AD by someone who knew their audience and circumstances. This was likely a new-ish Christian community who had broken away from Judaism and were trying to establish themselves as a new community.

There are some struggles in the community: they have been persecuted and some members have been imprisoned. They were generous to fellow Christians in need (10:32-34). However, there is something wrong in this community. The writer is telling the Hebrews to imitate its former leaders and get along with the current ones (13:7,17). This suggests they were inclined to go their own way. They were following ‘strange’ teachings (13:9) and had stopped meeting together (10:25).

Worst of all was that they had stopped growing as Christians (5:11-12). The writer accused them of lazy discipleship (6:12). He begs them to persevere (10:36), to hold on to hope (10:23) and to not drift away (2:1) or shrink back (10:37-39) in their faith. The writer provides a list of the ‘heroes of the faith’ for inspiration. The people of the Old Testament who did amazing things for God despite their shortcomings and imperfections. Good news for us then!

In the final chapters, after the writer has warned the Hebrews about the dangers of deafness towards God, he points them to Jesus as the ultimate example of faith in the face of hostility.

Finally, the Hebrews are given a list of ethical instructions on a variety of issues. Let mutual love continue, do not neglect hospitality to strangers, kindness for prisoners, honour marriage, do not love money, be content with what you have.

Most importantly, say with confidence that the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What a world it would and could be if this was taken seriously. What would our lives look like if we took this seriously for ourselves? The Lord is our helper. Sometimes the lessons are hard and the learning takes a long time. We need frequent reminders sometimes.

Jesus’ parable of the guests at a wedding banquet is just such a reminder about where we should place ourselves.

Think for a moment about your favourite place to sit? Are you sitting in ‘your pew’ this morning? Or maybe a time when you were in a seat of honour? Bumped up to first class? What did you do to get yourself there? Adults can sometimes confuse place in society, church with an identity of self-importance and entitlement.

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to jump into Fire One for an emergency call at Gatwick during a fire service visit. This is the command vehicle driven by Incident Commander who makes the decisions about what will happen – if anything does happen.

I was delighted, a little bit excited and terrified all at the same time. We listened to various radio calls between the flight deck and control tower. We made our own speculations and as we watched the plane land safely. Thankfully!

Then drove very fast down the taxiway on blue lights. I reflected after that not everyone gets invited into that seat. If the chaplain was in any way an operational risk or distraction or flappable, she would have been invited to make another cup of tea in the station and await their return.

While the temptation was to think well of myself and abilities; I found myself rather humbled by that experience and the relationships that I am establishing.

From Debie Thomas, ‘So, Jesus warned the dinner guests — be careful where you sit, and what you wish for; it might reveal more about yourself than you think.
He then turned from the guests to the hosts. He commented on what we might call the law of reciprocity. When most of us host a dinner party, we invite people whom we most enjoy, who are pretty much like us, those whose presence in our house might flatter us. In fact, Jesus observed, there’s a decent chance these people will reciprocate and invite you to their party, which is exactly what you hope.
But as he did with the guests, so with the hosts, Jesus turned the tables. Instead of those whom we would most likely invite — “your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors, ” Jesus challenges us to host those whom we are least likely to invite — “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.”
Just as he warned the guests, Jesus warned the hosts: be careful about your invitation list. Like your seating preferences, it says something about your deepest identity.
Jesus warned both guests and hosts, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I think this is a good place to end our summer series as we begin to turn towards the autumn season. This is often a season of fresh starts. Jesus offers us fresh starts everyday. Amen! There are some great takeaways from Hebrews: Run with perseverance the race that is set before us.

Remember those who lived by faith and did not receive what was promised. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. We do not have to have a photo finish, Jesus will run alongside us, cheering us on to the finish line. As Christians need to be clear and honest about the faith we profess. Yes, there is joy in the Christian life. Yes, there is beauty. Yes, there is the promise of love, wholeness, healing, and grace.

Yet the life of faith is also hard and risky. The life of faith does not ever guarantee us health, wealth, prosperity, or safety. To suggest otherwise is to lie, and to make a mockery of the Gospel. Above all, the Lord is our helper, we need not be afraid.

Trinity 9: Peace?

17/8/25 – Trinity 9

Psalm 80:1-2, 14-end
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56

I have said in my last few sermons that we are in a season of teaching as we hear again the parables and stories of Jesus’ life and ministry. This was all well and good until I read this week’s readings. All this talk of fire, hammers, torture, unfulfilled promises, division, superficiality, and uncertainty. It’s August, it’s supposed to be summertime and living is easy!

To ease us in, I came across a story about the great composer Beethoven. He used to sometimes play a trick on polite salon audiences who were not really interested in serious music. Beethoven would perform one of his pieces on the piano, usually a slow movement which would be so gentle and beautiful. The audience would be lulled into thinking that the world was a soft, cosy place and relax into semi-slumber and think beautiful thoughts. Then, just as the final notes were dying away, Beethoven would bring his whole forearm down with a crash across the keyboard. Then laugh at the shock he gave to the assembled company. I think that we have something of a crash in the readings this morning.

“Many great heroes of the faith,” who died gruesome deaths, “did not receive what was promised.” writes the unknown Hebrews author. “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I came to bring division!” Jesus cries as he makes his way towards Jerusalem and death.

Maybe we need a reminder in this summer season that a real Christian faith is not one that is soft or easy, without cost. Maybe a reminder that peace comes with a price and how easily we can mis-read the signs.

There are a few phrases that I want to highlight from the readings this week and what they might have to say to us:

Run with perseverance the race that is set before us

Hebrews chapter eleven is often called the “Faith Hall of Fame,” since it highlights the remarkable lives and achievements of those who lived “by faith” in the Old Testament. Indeed, the achievements of these faith-filled men and women are awe-inspiring.

During their lifetimes, they “administered justice,” “shut the mouths of lions,” “quenched raging fire,” “won strength out of weakness,” and “received their dead by resurrection.” How much more impressive can you get? Yet maybe they feel distant, the persecution they faced as unrealistic to us now and their actions are ancient history; not practical to today. The lions we face are likely to be metaphorical and the foreign armies are over there, somewhere.

What is the race set before us? Many people are tired; we see that in the faces around us. The race feels endless, the finish line is not even a speck on the horizon. Whatever it is – physical, social, psychological or spiritual, look to Jesus. Perseverance takes energy and effort; when we run out of those we need to take a pause to rest, to recover. Simply gritting our teeth and trying harder often leads to less energy, less joy and to exhaustion.

Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. We do not have to have a photo finish, Jesus will run alongside us, cheering us on to the finish line.

“Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised.”

The “Hall of Fame” has a dark side to triumph and victory. Many of God’s faithful were tortured, flogged, mocked, and stoned to death. Many went about “destitute, persecuted, and tormented.”

Many spent their lives wandering in deserts and mountains, in caves and holes in the ground. And all of them — all of them – died without receiving what was promised to them. What does this mean? Well, among other things, it means that God’s timing does not always align with ours.

It means that crisis, feelings of meaninglessness, pain, and horror are part and parcel of human existence, regardless of whether we profess faith in God or not. As Christians need to be clear and honest about the faith we profess and not pretend we are immune. Yes, there is joy in the Christian life. Yes, there is beauty. Yes, there is the promise of love, wholeness, healing, and grace. But the life of faith is also hard and risky. The life of faith does not ever guarantee us health, wealth, prosperity, or safety. To suggest otherwise is to lie, and to make a mockery of the Gospel.

Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? NO, I tell you, but rather division!’

The Gospel of Luke begins with the proclamation that Jesus will “guide our feet into the way of peace.” At Jesus’s birth, an angelic choir sings “Peace on earth!” On numerous occasions during his ministry, Jesus offers men and women words of peace: “Go in peace and sin no more.” “Peace I leave with you.” “My peace I give you.” “I have told you these things, so that in me you might have peace.

Many of us, following Jesus’s example, “share the peace” with each other every Sunday morning: “The peace of the Lord be always with you.” “And also with you.” We assume — the vast majority of us, anyway — that ours is a religion of peace. Of peace-making, peace-loving, and peacekeeping.

It is not Jesus’ desire or purpose to set fathers against sons or mothers against daughters. It is certainly not his will that we stir up conflict for conflicts sake or use his words to justify violence or war. His words are a necessary reminder that the peace Jesus offers us is not the fake peace of denial, dishonesty, and harmful accommodation. He will expose the lies we tell ourselves out of cowardice, laziness, or stubbornness. Jesus will disrupt all dynamics in our relationships with ourselves and with each other that keep us from wholeness and holiness. This is not because Jesus wants us to suffer. It is because he knows that real peace is worth fighting for.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus forced choices from just about everyone he met during his years of ministry. No one met him without feeling compelled to change. He consistently brought people to the point of crisis, tension, movement, or transformation. He consistently led people to decisions their families and communities did not understand. And he still does. When Jesus speaks of divisions in households, he is talking about the division that his message will bring. Families will split up over it, the OT prophets spoke about this happening too.

Jesus did come to bring peace and wants everyone to put their faith in him. The reminder is that this is not easy or to be undertaken lightly. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who are cheering us on so we can run with perseverance. We have been set examples in the heroes of the faith. Like Beethoven’s arm coming down on the keyboard and shocking his polite audience, let’s let the words of the readings this morning grab our attention again.