Collect and Readings for Mothering Sunday - The Fourth Sunday of Lent – Exodus 2:1-10, 1 Samuel 1:20-28, Psalm 34:11-20, Psalm 127:1-4, 2 Corinthians 1.3-7, Colossians 3:12-17 Luke 2:33-35, John 19:25-27
The Prayer for today
God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home
in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in
our daily living that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence to
bind together and to heal; 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. Amen.
Both Moses and Samuel were marked and chosen to be spokesmen of God, and today we see the love their mothers have for them; love that extends to the letting go but is in no way an abandoning or cutting-off.
And in the Gospel, we see another side of motherhood, just as real and recognisable. It is the path of shared suffering which all parents will relate to. However old we or they get, our mothers still suffer our hurts with us. Jesus shows such loving care as he gives Mary and John one another to love and look after.
One of the greatest gifts God gives us in this life is one another. Together we walk through years, learning to listen and scold, to encourage and forgive; learning to give and accept, to protect and let go; learning the responsibility of helping those dependent on us and the humility of enforced and unwelcome dependence on others.
And through all of it God gives the companionship and the joy of humans loving one another. There is a place for mothering in all relationships, including, of course, God’s relationship with us.
Some things to reflect upon:
· What examples in the Bible can you think of which show the mothering nature of our parent God?
· What good can come out of shared suffering?
· What can block this?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for The First Sunday of Lent – Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Psalm 91:1-11, Romans 10:8b-13, Luke 4:1-13,
The Prayer for today Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; 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. Amen.
We often use temptation as an excuse for sin. It is Satan’s whispered lie that when temptation gets too strong, we have no hope of resisting and can somehow plead diminished responsibility. So, it is quite an eye-opener to watch Jesus in action. After all, the temptations are exceedingly powerful, and the stakes are so high. If the powers of darkness can sabotage God’s plan of salvation almost before it has started, then humankind will be gloriously and utterly lost, and God will have failed. Arrogance, as well as deceit, is a hallmark of Satan.
So how does Jesus deal with these temptations, and what can we learn from him to help us when we too are severely tempted one thing Jesus doesn’t do is enter into an argument with Satan. He would lose, because temptations are always cleverly constructed and entirely logical, with enough truth in them to make them appear plausible. What Jesus does is to recognise the motive under the scheming and address this instead, reaching into the secure promises of God and holding firmly on to these.
Using the vulnerability of Jesus’ hunger, Satan subtly grafts this on to a challenge to his role and authority so that we can barely seethe join. Jesus refuses to get drawn into this, and recognises that the fast is making him vulnerable, so he encourages himself with God’s words which affirm what he is doing and its value. In the next temptation Satan attempts to take Jesus’ pondering over his mission and his urgent longing for the coming of the kingdom, and to distort this into the need for a quick and immediate answer, which Satan offers to provide. Jesus recognises Satan’s apparent generosity for what it is and reaches into the firm law of God to deliver another simple one-liner. We are to worship only God. End of story, end of negotiation.
In the final temptation, when Satan again homes in on Jesus’ longing to draw people to recognise God at work among them, the longing is manipulated into the possibility of bypassing the expensive and time- consuming method of salvation by love. Discerning that Satan’s ‘helpful’ suggestions are really about denying God’s sovereignty and total righteousness, Jesus reminds himself as well as Satan of the command not to put God to the test.
All too often we let ourselves get drawn into Satan’s arguments. Think of those times your conscience will whisper that you shouldn’t be doing what you are, and all the justifications pour into your mind. If we take Jesus’ example, we will refuse to listen to these plausible arguments, and reach instead for the deep truths we know of God, recognising that Satan will use our vulnerable areas, and try to distort our noble ones. If we stick firmly with the truths of God, they will reassure and affirm us enough to resist temptation. Contrary to what Satan tells us, temptation can be resisted and overcome.
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for The Second Sunday of Lent – Genesis15.1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3.17-4.1, Luke 13:31- end,
The Prayer for today Almighty God, you show to those who are in error the light of your truth, that they may return to the way of righteousness: grant to all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion, that they may reject those things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
On those occasions when you know the answer on a TV quiz programme and those on the panel don’t, it’s quite likely that you will be calling the answer out to them. The frustrating thing is that of course they insist on taking no notice of you, oblivious to your offers of help.
I sometimes wonder if God must feel the same frustration with us when we so often live oblivious to his offer of help and guidance. Not exactly like the TV panel, who really can’t hear, even if they want to, but more like parents who must watch their child getting deeper involved in an unhealthy relationship which they know will end in misery, while their misgivings are dismissed as nagging, or simply ignored.
Jesus had so often longed to gather up the people of Jerusalem as a hen gathers her chickens to safety under her wings, but there is no way he will force his love or help on anyone, and if people refuse to come, he will always let them go the way they choose.
Yet the benefits from putting our faith in God are so remarkable. Today we see Abram believing God’s promise inspite of its unlikeliness and experiencing the power and greatness of God as the covenant is ratified. Psalm 27 is full of hope despite difficult circumstances because of the psalmist’s trust in the faithful God. Such faith anchors us. It roots us so deeply that we are able to open up and live vulnerably. It enables us to stand firm through all circumstances and be less thrown by whatever life flings at us.
Some things to think about:
• How far is our willingness to put our faith in God determined by our personality and upbringing?
• What are the pros and cons of putting our faith in God?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for The Sunday next before Lent – Exodus 34:29-end, Psalm 99, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-43a,
The Prayer for today Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: give us grace to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Those who are not committed Christians will often express disappointment at the selfish or immoral behaviour of churchgoing Christians. They obviously expect that our faith should make a big difference to the way we look, think, and behave. I find this quite encouraging. Obviously, it needs to be recognised that the Church is a ‘school for sinners’ and for those who know their need of God, rather than for the perfect. But it also suggests that those who make such remarks hang on to a belief in God’s transforming power. And they are right to because God can and does transform his close followers.
Moses, communing as a friend with God, comes away from his meetings with his face radiant and wears a veil to cover it. The veil prevents the people from seeing the glory of God which terrifies them, and Paul sees this as a foreshadowing of the way people cannot or will not discern the glory of God revealed in Jesus. When we recognise Jesus, it is as if the veil is lifted, and as we draw closer to God in this new relationship, the spirit can begin to transform us until our lives begin to shine.
So why don’t they? Sometimes they do and we don’t notice. It is quite likely that if you told someone you had seen God’s love in the way they behaved they would be surprised. It may be that people have seen his radiance in you on occasions. You cannot spend your time regularly in God’s company and work at living his way without it changing you and making you beautiful. But we also have to recognise that half measures are not good enough, Jesus always presents us with this challenge: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ What we reply has a lot to do with recognising the glory shown in the Transfiguration, and that will affect how we decide to spend our time and money choices.
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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