Collect and Readings for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity – Jeremiah 8.18-9.1, Amos 8.4-7, Psalm 79.1- 9, Psalm 113, 1 Timothy 2.1-7, Luke 16.1-13
The Prayer for today Almighty God, whose only Son has opened for us a new and living way into your presence: give us pure hearts and steadfast wills to worship you in spirit and in truth; 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.
This week’s readings remind us that the way we deal with worldly finances and possessions should be scrupulously honest, fair and wise. It should be directly affected by our spiritual values and reflect our beliefs completely.
The story of the cheating manager and his cunning way of avoiding trouble has the rich man praising him for his cleverness. This does not mean that Jesus is advising us all to follow the manager’s example, of course, but it certainly highlights the zeal given to worldly affairs compared with the laid-back attitude so often given to eternal and spiritual matters. If we were to take the same trouble over our spiritual journey as criminals invest in embezzlement, the results would be dynamic in the extreme.
Jesus also picks up on our need to be responsible with our worldly affairs. It is no good excusing ourselves from such responsibilities on the grounds that we are only interested in spiritual things. Jesus is always practical and realises that the way we manage our weekly budget, our expenses and our life-decisions is important. If we can’t manage these honestly and sensibly, we are likely to be irresponsible about the important things of life as well.
Jeremiah was deeply saddened by his own people using their privileged position as a cover for ungodly behaviour. The closer we get to God’s way of thinking, the more saddened we will be by the lack of integrity we see around us. We are bound to start noticing people’s misdirected ‘worth-ship and longing for a change of direction. This sadness and yearning is all part of walking in step with the God who loves us and desires that sinners should turn and live.
Some things to reflect on:
• Is it possible to live as a Christian in the world of business and competition?
• How can we make sure we take seriously our responsibility to support our leaders in prayer?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity – Jeremiah 18.1-11, Deuteronomy 30.15- end, Psalm 139.1-7,12-18, Psalm 1, Philemon 1-21, Luke 14.25-33
The Prayer for today
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of 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.
No sooner have you missed paying a credit card bill than invitations to get further into borrowing start crashing through your letter box. We live in an age of plastic or electronic money where the planning of our finances is pressurised to include living beyond our means, and many discover too late that they have over-reached themselves and are heavily, and dangerously, in debt. Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel hit home to us very powerfully. It is so easy to start enthusiastically committing yourself financially to a new bathroom, car or double-glazing, and regret your decision once the ‘pay later’ date has arrived.
Although Jesus’ words sound very strict and demanding, they badly need to be taken on board. It is essential that no one is given the impression that following Jesus is all easy and happy, with no real cost involved. Part of spreading the good news is ensuring that people are properly informed of the small print. In fact, Jesus would not have it in small print, but large letters, so that there is no doubt about what is required in the way of commitment. God wants us to make a well-informed, well-considered decision; becoming a Christian, like undertaking marriage, should never be done lightly or carelessly.
Placing God at the very centre of our lives means deliberately placing him at the centre of our thinking and working, our emotions and feelings, our energy and ambitions and in the centre of every relationship, and every decision. Just as when you look at the world through a coloured filter, everything is coloured, so when we take the decision to follow Jesus, everything is coloured by that commitment.
So far, so demanding! Of course, the wonderful, good news is that when we take this step we can trust God to lead us into the very best, most fulfilling life possible. The lovely Psalm 139 celebrates the intimate knowledge God has of us, and every stage of our growing. Never will he demand less of us than we can be. In his strength, give. Never will he push us too fast or overload us too quickly. In partnership with Jesus we can look forward to a lifetime of growing, blossoming and bearing good fruit, in an environment of total security, warm affection and the knowledge of being precious and valuable.
Some things to reflect on:
• Thinking of the image of the potter, squashing a pot which has gone wrong and making a new one with the clay, do you think that Christians are too complacent about being saved by grace and ought to take their responsibilities for their good ‘works’ more seriously?
• How would you justify the costliness of following Jesus?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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HM Queen Elizabeth 1926 – 2022
The Benefice of St John the Evangelist, Chelford with St Peter’s, Lower Withington and All Saints, Marthall
As a Benefice we wish to offer our deepest condolences to HM The King and all the Royal family on the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
We give thanks for her loyal service to her family, this nation, the Commonwealth and the World.
Her example of true Christian service in action and her involvement and interest in the causes held dear to her heart.
We pray that you will all be able to draw comfort knowing the hope of God’s promises, that nothing can separate us from His unconditional love.
Father of all mercies and God of all consolation,
you pursue us with untiring love and dispel the shadow of death with the bright dawn of life.
Give courage to The King and the Royal Family in their loss and sorrow.
Be their refuge and strength, O Lord;
reassure them of your continuing love and lift them from the depths of grief
into the peace and light of your presence.
Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
by dying has destroyed our death,
and by rising, restored our life.
Your Holy Spirit, our comforter,
speaks for us in groans too deep for words.
Come alongside your people,
remind them of your eternal presence
and give them your comfort and strength. Amen.
God bless
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity – Jeremiah 2.4-13, Ecclesiasticus 10.12- 18, Proverbs 25.6-7, Psalm 81.1-end, Psalm 112, Hebrews 13.1-8, 15-16, Luke 14.1, 7-14
The Prayer for today
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.
In the reading from Jeremiah there is a powerful image of a broken, leaking well. God grieves because his people have chosen to reject the life-giving springs of his pure water which never dry up and decided instead to do their own thing and build these wells which are cracked, so any water they collect quickly runs away. The wells of their own making are vastly inferior and they don’t work; yet still the people choose to trust these rather than God’s blatantly superior offer.
Often when people are first converted, they are bursting to tell people about the God they have just discovered and can’t understand how anyone could not want what they have found, even though for years they themselves have also been struggling with leaking wells without realising the reality of God’s alternative. The more Christians there are gossiping the good news among their own contacts in a regular, informed and friendly way, the more chance there is of people hearing about God’s offer at the point when their hearts are ready to listen.
It was as one of the guests at a ‘Sunday dinner’ equivalent, that Jesus brought the conversation round to what people needed to hear, spoken anecdotally and through the after-dinner stories. They described a way of thinking that was quite radical, turning accepted values upside-down and suggesting a way of living which could liberate people and transform them.
The reading from Hebrews provides us with some good, practical guidelines for living God’s way, both as individuals and as a community. All the behaviour described is a natural result of loving one another as brothers and sisters – as ‘family’. We are advised to pray imaginatively for prisoners and all those who suffer – ‘as if you are there with them’. There is a great sense of the importance of community again, and recognition that in God’s way of living, individuals have a calling and a responsibility to be members of a corporate unit of loving: the Church of God.
Some things to reflect on:
• What attitudes and behaviour of our church, our society and our families could be described as constructing wells that leak?
• How do the practical hints for Godly living in Hebrews help our spiritual development and prayer life?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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