30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Total and dynamic

“’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’”

Matthew 22. 37b-40

There is nothing unique in Jesus’ responses to the Pharisees’ question, ‘Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ They form part of the prayer that every devout Jew prays to this day. What is unique is how Jesus asks us to respond in the way we live our lives.

There is no vague sentimentality in the way we should love God and love those around us. The love which Jesus demonstrated and expects of us is total and dynamic. But how ever much the religious leaders of Jesus time spoke and prayed these two great commandments, it was only superficially that they honoured them. Jesus requires a complete renewal of our innermost being that demonstrate total love of God and all who are created in God’s image.

First comes love of God second comes love of neighbour. One cannot exist without the other. Without love of God we cannot truly love those around us. Without love of neighbour we have failed in our love of God.

I don’t believe, even with this knowledge, that we fully comprehend how hard this is. We may live our whole lives seeking to live in the grace and love of God and yet, so often, we are aware that there are dark corners of our lives where the light of love has not yet reached. We are not so different from the Pharisees if we fail to acknowledge this.

We really need to see is the bigger picture that is revealed in the mission, death and resurrection of Jesus. In his mission, we have the flawless example of a life lived for the love of others. In his death, we see his love of God revealed in perfect obedience as he died for the sin of the world. In his resurrection, we see the message of new life in total commitment to God and dynamic service to all.

In Jesus, these are not commands but an invitation and a promise to a new way of life. If we persist, he will bring light to the dark corners of lives and total and dynamic love will rule.

Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesu, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.

Come, almighty to deliver,
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.

Finish then thy new creation,
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation,
perfectly restored in thee:
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise!

John Wesley (1707-88)

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The things that are God’s

"Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Matthew 22.21

It is with wisdom that Jesus answers the trick question put to him by this unholy alliance of Pharisee and Herodian. To pay or not to pay taxes to Rome; to answer one way would be to promote insurrection a capital offence; to answer the other way would be to face the ridicule and resentment of those who were looking for a Kingdom of God revolution. The answer Jesus gives, at one and the same time, answers the question put and provides no answer at all. What are we to make of this?

Taxation throughout history was more about subjugating a people and the coinage used to pay that tax, a means by which to show who was in charge. The Romans would march into a country, tell the locals that they were now subjects of Rome and tax them for the privilege. It is no wonder that they were hated. What is more, the coin in which they were required to pay the tax bore the emperor’s head and an inscription that announced his deity. No Jew could stomach that. It was idolatry of the worst kind.

Jesus acknowledges that he knows what the unholy alliance is up to by calling them out as hypocrites. He knows they are seeking to trap him. But his answer to their question is ambiguous, probably deliberately so.

Does he place duty to the governing authority on the same footing as duty to God or is he dismissing the hated coin and placing duty to God on a higher level. So, does Jesus mean ‘do your duty to Caesar by paying the tax and do your duty to God by living obediently to his word’ or does he mean ‘you has better give Caesar back in his own coin and God back in his own coin’, which sounds more revolutionary.

Because we are citizens of the world in which we live, we have a duty to those we live with to share the responsibility of organising our society and meeting the cost according to our ability. To do otherwise would be a selfish failure in our Christian duty.

But we are also citizens of God’s kingdom on earth and this means giving our whole lives to the one true living God: the currency of the kingdom of God is the way we live our lives. We face hundreds of decisions about the way we live every single day; good family relationships, ethical business dealing, concern for the environment,  challenging prejudice and racism, global awareness of poverty, conflict and corruption and more. Are we always as generous with our kingdom currency as we should be? Do we invite God’s guidance in making the choices that shape the little and the big things in our lives?

But we can go further than this, if we are to be truly revolutionary in a world where Caesar is no longer the ruler who would be a deity. The idols of the worldly gods of money, possessions, fame, influence and power are worshipped to the exclusion of the one true God. This currency is as bankrupt as the tribute paid to Caesar. So, we had better give this new Caesar back in his own coin and reject him.

We can be truly revolutionary by actively living and working among those who are searching for something greater, but have not yet discovered Christ; those who face a religious and moral vacuum following the collapse of the certainties of current and previous generations. To share the things that are God’s with the people who do not know them. To share the Christian currency.

What idols are worshipped, what lives wasted, and kingdom opportunities missed when we keep our kingdom currency to ourselves.    

Our task is to give back to God the Christian currency of obedience, right living and sharing the things that are God’s with the people who do not know them. That surely is tax that we would be willing to pay.

Lord, in the strength of grace, with a glad heart and true, myself, my residue of days, I consecrate to you.

Your ransomed servant, I restore to you your own; and, from this moment, live or die to serve my God alone.

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - But the few

 

"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Matthew 22:2-14

You’ve had the invitation. You’ve arrived but are you among the few who have turned up in the right clothes?

This parable, at first hearing, is harsh and uncompromising, but parables are meant to challenge and change us as we consider the truths that are revealed in the story.

Jesus is referring to God who makes the invitation and it is himself who is the reason that the feast takes place. God invites us to a heavenly feast that is every bit as joyous as a wedding. The invitation is to joy. Christianity is never a gloomy giving up of everything that brings happiness. Don’t misunderstand the nature of the invitation. It is to joy that we are invited; it is joy that we miss if we refuse the invitation.

The invitation that we receive is given through God’s grace. In the parable, those who were gathered from the streets didn’t deserve and never expected the invitation. It came from the king’s generosity who wanted them to share his joy. It was grace that gathered them in. Jesus points out that these are like the outcast and Gentiles who never expected to receive an invitation to God’s kingdom.

Are we prepared to drop everything that is wrong in our lives and join him at his invitation?

The people that king invites first to his feast are like the religious authorities. They were God’s chosen people, through whom he wanted to bring about the reconciliation of humankind, but they let him down. Yet not all the people who refuse the invitation, in the parable, did so on unreasonable grounds. They were ordering their business life. It is so easy for any of us to be so busy with the time pressures of this life that we forget that we have an eternal perspective to consider; to be so preoccupied that we cannot hear the soft invitation of the voice of Christ.

Are we prepared to give up the pleasures and duties of this life to find life eternal?

These days we are a little more relaxed about what we wear to church. What is more important is that we approach worship in the right spirit. God offers an open door for us to come into his presence but, when we come in, we must bring a life which matches the love that has been shown us because we cannot continue to live our old sinful life. If we enter a sinner, we must prepare ourselves to become a saint. Our new clothes must be integrity, right living, decency and kindness.

Too often we arrive in church unprepared to worship; too occupied with the troubles of the week, the latest gossip, our own grumbles and groans. If we prepare with a little prayer, a little thought and a little self-examination, then worship would be worship indeed. 

Are we prepared to put on these new clothes that honour and respect our heavenly Father?

All are invited, but few choose to come. All may come in, but few are prepared to change. All are called, but few are chosen. God does not withhold his grace; the choice – whether to change or not – rests with the us. Make sure you find yourselves among the few who came and were prepared to change.

1.   Come, sinners, to the gospel feast, let every soul be Jesu’s guest; you need not one be left behind, for God has called all humankind.    2.   Sent by my Lord, on you I call,          he invitation is to all;          come, all the world and witness how          all things in Christ are ready now.

3.  Come, all you souls by sin oppressed,        you restless wanderers after rest,        you poor, and maimed, and sick and blind,        in Christ a hearty welcome find.   4. This is the time; no more delay!        This is the Lord's accepted day;        come in, this moment, at his call,        and live for him who died for all. Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - No Condemnation

 "Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.’  Matthew 21.33-43

Parables are stories that always have a twist in the tale, and I love a twist.

Here the twist comes when Jesus turns the tale over to the people with a question that is designed to rebuke them with their own words. They are the tenants who will meet the fate that is due to them and the God, the landlord, will find other tenants who can fulfil the task that was set them.

Parables should also raise questions for us. They should raise the challenge of God’s judgement and the need for repentance. These passages question the very basis of our existence as God’s people.

From the very beginning Jesus’ call was for everyone to start living differently, to repent. This was not just a challenge to people to give up their sinful ways and start living justly and faithfully. He never nagged the people he met; that wasn’t his tactic. Instead, whenever he stopped to meet people, he would inspire them with stories of what life could really be like; he showed them God’s way.

So it should be with us. The church has been particularly good at pointing out where people have gone wrong and putting them off. We have not delivered to God the harvest that is due to Him. Jesus way of showing people how to repent and lead the lives that God has planned for them was encouragement not condemnation.

Where do you see yourself? Are you actively disobeying God’s wishes while maintaining the veneer of respectability? Are you one of those who maintain a faithful life within the church but ignore what is going on around you? Or do you see yourself active within the church and world, encouraging others into God’s kingdom?

Many of us who think we live morally upright and faithful lives are deluding ourselves. It is not respectability that God wants of us; it is right and just living, inspire others with our words and by our example.

We will all need help and guidance and in that we have in Christ, the capstone, who is both the way by which we should live our lives and the strength and support in all we do.

God bless us as his will becomes our own.

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Saviour's blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain?
For me, who him to death pursued?
Amazing love!  How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ,            my own.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Buttering Parsnips

 

What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the 1st and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard’. ‘I will not’, he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, Sir’, but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?

Matthew 21.28 – 31

What do you think? Which child are you most like? You might think that the one who obeyed his father in the end is preferable but, to be frank, neither wins ‘favourite child’ status in their father’s eye. We probably feel that we are a little of both at times but that is no recommendation either. There must be another way.

I imagine that we all know to whom Jesus was referring when he told this parable. The first are those who live self-indulgent, disobedient lifestyles ignoring God but then repenting and following Jesus; the prostitutes, gluttons, and tax-gatherers are representative sinners. The second are those who are self-righteous, smug and who profess piety but cynically fail in their obedience to God; the Jewish religious and secular leaders of Jesus’ time, still representative sinners.

The point of this parable is that neither is perfect, even if the first is obedient in the end. It teaches us that a promise is never a replacement for obedient service; we are not buttering parsnips here. On the other hand, service is marred by lack of grace and enthusiasm.

The ideal, the Christian way, is to serve our heavenly Father obediently with respect, good grace, and enthusiasm.

So, do we butter our faith with fine words or are we ‘push comes to shove’ Christians or are we ready to please our Father by saying ‘yes’ and meaning ‘yes’ in perfect obedience.

Come, sinners, to the gospel feast,
let every soul be Jesu’s guest;
you need not one be left behind,
or God has called all humankind.

Sent by my Lord, on you I call,
the invitation is to all;
come, all the world and witness how
all things in Christ are ready now.

His love is mighty to compel;
his conquering love consent to feel;
yield to his love's resistless power,
and fight against your God no more.

This is the time; no more delay!
This is the Lord's accepted day;
come in, this moment, at his call,
and live for him who died for all.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Mustn’t Grumble

 

‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning the went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, “You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay whatever is right.” So they went. He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, “Why have you been standing here all day long?” “Because no one here has hired us,” they answered. He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going to the first.” The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last only worked one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work in the heat of the day.” But he answered one of them. “I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agreed to work for a denarius?” Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Our are you envious of because I am generous.”

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Matthew 20.1-16

Jesus does not tell this parable to encourage social justice or equality. Here, instead, is a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven and the generosity of God’s grace. It is a story of hope but also of warning.

It is unlikely that this story has an origin in a real situation. Surely a successful landowner would only pay his workers for their productivity. But here we have a landowner who is identified with God and his approach is different. A denarius was the sum needed for a worker to support his family for one day; any less and the family starved. The landowner is paying what the worker needs and that is how we receive God’s loving grace, all that we need.

Of course, all that we need, as we serve God and his kingdom, is neither wage nor reward. Our relationship with God is not contractual, one in which we are rewarded for the service that we render. Ours is God’s promise that we are saved from sin’s oppression to joyfully become part of his kingdom of life and love. We do not deserve it and there is nothing we can do to earn it. God’s grace is not quantifiable; there is not a time when we need much of it and another when we need less. God’s gift of grace is freely given out of his abundant generosity. We respond to God’s bounty in offering him all that we have.

It is of great comfort to know that we may come to know God in Christ early in our lives or at the eleventh hour and, whenever our faith journey starts, we are equally welcomed into his presence. We may not all have worked for long in his service or have contributed in the same way but all that we do is of equal value to our generous God. What really matters is not the service we give but the love and joy in which it is given.

This leads to the warning; it is easy for us to become envious because of God’s generosity, especially among established members of the church. There is no preferred status in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus warned his disciples that those who consider themselves favoured because they arrived first will be last if reward is their primary concern. God is out there seeking those that everyone else rejected and offering an equal place in his kingdom. It seems unfair, but that is the mystery of God’s grace; it is a gift made equally to all irrespective of service.

The disciples needed to learn that lesson and it is something of which we need to be regularly reminded. We mustn’t grumble when God is generous.

Take my life, and let it be
              consecrated, Lord, to thee;
              take my moments and my days,
              let them flow in ceaseless praise.

              Take my love; my Lord, I pour
              at thy feet its treasure-store;
              take myself, and I will be
              ever, only, all for thee.

Frances Ridley Havergal (1836–1879)

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Stop Counting

 

'Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times”.’

Matthew 18.21

Let us get our wrongdoings into perspective. The distance between what we perceive as our minor misdemeanours and the wickedness perpetrated by the vilest tyrant is the distance from your front door to the bottom of the road, when seen from a GPS Satellite; we might say a drop in the ocean. But this doesn’t mean that we should ignore the rifts caused by sinfulness and brush matters under the carpet. They need to be resolved and forgiveness is the key.

The point Jesus is making in this pronouncement, and the ‘Parable of the Unmerciful Servant’ that follows, is that we should never give up seeking forgiveness and reconciliation even in the most harrowing of circumstances. We must forgive and forgive and keep on forgiving.

Love and forgiveness are central to the Gospel message. At the centre of the Lord’s Prayer we ask a merciful God to forgive us just as we are forgiving those who have wronged us. The first is dependent upon the second. We will not be granted God’s forgiveness unless we are prepared to forgive and forgive and keep on forgiving. At first that seems at odds with the God who is love but that is to misunderstand the nature of that love. God does not stop loving us nor does he stop forgiving. Rather, it concerns our being receptive to very nature of forgiveness; if we cannot forgive others the tiniest of injustices, it will never be possible for us to accept God’s unmerited forgiveness for the immeasurable wrong we have done to him.

If you are keeping a tally of the times you have forgiven someone who has sinned against you, you are not really forgiving them, you are just postponing your retribution. If God’s absolution is granted for the greatest of humankind’s atrocities, we can offer nothing less. We must forgive and forgive and keep on forgiving.

The Lord’s Prayer (modern form)

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours,
now and forever.
Amen.

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Reconciliation

‘If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that “every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”. If thy still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; if they refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.’ Matthew 18.15-17 & 20

If you believe that reconciliation is achieved by overlooking an offence or a papering-over-the-cracks approach to forgiveness, then you are sadly mistaken. You only need to look at unresolved disputes at a societal or personal level, to know that not confronting the real evil at the heart of the matter will only result in resentment, division, and further dispute. This is heart-breaking especially when it occurs in Christian communities.

The three-point plan that Jesus advocates is crucial to genuine reconciliation that needs courage, humility, and prayer.

1.      Face to face – words spoken generously and listened to sympathetically have the potential to repair a broken relationship whereas the written word may lead to misunderstanding. There is joy in a brother or sister rediscovered.

2.      Trusted companions provide an independent assessment and who give witness will ensure a balanced approach to the issues raised.

3.      It is in the atmosphere of a prayerful, loving Christian fellowship that personal relationships can be put right.

In the end, if reconciliation is not possible, the next step is not exclusion. Treating someone as a ‘pagan’ or ‘tax collector’ as Jesus would does not mean abandonment but a challenge to win them over with love that can touch the hardest heart. Jesus does not set limits on forgiveness and neither should we.

We are enjoined to pray together as we meet this challenge. However, praying in Jesus name not only comes with the promise that we will be heard and answered but a warning that he will be aware of the truth that lies at the centre of all our hearts.

Engaging in lasting reconciliation will involve great sacrifice but has the potential for real hope and boundless joy.

All praise to our redeeming Lord, who joins us by his grace, and bids us, each to each restored, together seek his face.	And if our fellowship below in Jesus be so sweet, what heights of rapture shall we know when round this throne we meet!
He bids us build each other up; and, gathered into one, to our high calling’s glorious hope we hand in hand go on.	Charles Wesley (1707 – 88)

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Who do you think I am?

'

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”. They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 

Matthew 16.13-16

I rather like the TV programme ‘Who do you think you are?’ I enjoy the journey of the subject celebrity as they explore their family tree. But, in looking at their ancestors, do they find out who they are as people?

This is much like the situation we have with Jesus as he attempts to find out if his mission to fulfil God’s promise to reconcile humankind to himself will have any life beyond his own. ‘Who do people say the son of man is?’ The disciples answer Elijah, Jeremiah and John the Baptist. These are all significant prophets, fearless and devout who boldly spoke out against the wicked leaders of the nation. God’s chosen challenged injustice, immorality and corruption.

Jesus was much more than these and it is Peter’s reply to Jesus’ second question, ‘Who do you say I am?’ that gives him the assurance he needs to head before journeying to Jerusalem and the cross that awaits him.He was not just God’s mouthpiece; he was God’s Messiah. Not just challenging the religious elite but supplanting them as God’s king. He is the one true king; the one Israel had been waiting for; the one of whom the Psalms and the prophets had spoken.

This was risky. It was likely to attract attention, condemnation and, no doubt, hostility from the religious and secular authorities. It is no less risky now to challenge those who rule by injustice, cruelty, prejudice, hypocrisy, greed, self-interest and might.

This passage teaches us, that to truly know Jesus, we must embark upon a journey of personal discovery. When he asks you, ‘Who do you think I am?’, nobody can tell you what to answer, none of us cannot rely upon second-hand experience. We must discover Jesus for ourselves. We might know everything there is to know about Jesus and still not be a Christian. Being a Christian is not knowing about Christ but knowing Christ in our lives.

He asks all of us, ‘Who do you think I am?’ What answer will you give? Will Jesus know that his work is safe when you provide your response?

Messiah, joy of every heart,

Thou, thou the King of Glory art!

The Father’s everlasting Son!

Thee it delights Thy Church to own;

For all our hopes on Thee depend,

Whose glorious mercies never end.

                        Charles Wesley (1707 – 88)

 

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Facing the Future

 

‘A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon possessed and suffering terribly.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Woman you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.’ Matthew 15. 22-28 (edited)

It comes as a shock to hear Jesus apparently refusing to help someone in need because she is from the wrong race. So, we must ask ourselves, ‘What is going on here?’

Jesus’ Gospel message was aimed at the Hebrew nation first. His message and new life where to be brought to the world by the people God had chosen, the promise bearers. It is too our shame, that many Christians, even today, have forgotten this. Jesus limited his mission almost entirely to the Jewish people to be sure that God’s kingdom would flourish.

But the future has an uncanny knack of breaking into the present. It caught him on the hop. The nascent Kingdom mission was not yet ready for the outside world yet, that lay in the future and beyond the cross.

Jesus responds to the love and faith expressed in the woman’s demands. Does he mean to be offensive by using a word that the Jews would use to insult Gentiles? I don’t think so! Jesus is trying to reveal the potential of her faith. She calls him ‘Son of David’ and ‘Master’ and understands his authority. She worships and petitions him.

Jesus recognises that she has great love, a strong faith, indomitable persistence and a cheerful outlook. She gave a forthright riposte when she reminds him that, although the heavenly banquet was prepared for God’s children, there would be enough scraps remaining for Gentile ‘dogs’ to enjoy. The future was breaking in. Perhaps Jesus was not ready for the cross, but the woman insisted upon Easter now.

Being a Christian in the world today often means patiently waiting for the unfolding of God’s plan. Yet there are those whose faith would still badger and harry God in prayer for the future to be brought to the here and now. William Wilberforce fought hard to end the slave trade when others would dely. That is the persistent faith that Jesus praised in the Canaanite woman.

The Black Lives Matter campaign has reminded us that our society remains damaged while prejudice, injustice and fear persist. We need the faith of the Canaanite woman to badger and harry God in prayer and to be persistent in action to drive this out. While one life remains trapped in the slavery of past misdeeds, our work in God’s kingdom is incomplete. Be persistent in mission, be persistent in faith, be persistent in prayer.

In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.

John Oxenham, pseud.   (1852–1941)

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Outstretched Hand

'But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 

“Lord, if it is you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 

Matthew 14.27-31

Learning to swim involves a lot of trust. Water is dangerous. You must trust the person teaching you. But, why is it that we cannot put that same trust in God?

The storm reflects Peter’s inner turmoil. He had no doubt that he could walk on water to meet Jesus but, realising the destructive potential of the storm, he lost all his courage. But, Jesus reached out calmly and saved him.

This story reveals that God in Christ can be trusted to lead us out of danger and onto the right path to his kingdom.

We find it hard to trust in God; even though he is all powerful. We would prefer to rely upon ourselves, even though we are weak and fallible. The clamour of the storm about us, the chaos of modern living, the background of conflict, disaster, pandemic and economic crisis manifests itself in the inner turmoil in our lives. Often, we find it difficult to hear God's still, small voice telling us what we need to do or to see Jesus reaching out to lift us up.

It is only when we truly trust in God that we discover how trustworthy God is. Commitment to God is about taking risks. Nothing was ever achieved without taking a risk for his sake. Taking that risk truly shows that we are prepared to place our trust in God. Christ is here to guide us and hold out a helping hand when life’s storms threaten to overwhelm us.

Not in the storm but in the moment of silent prayer, in the quiet contemplation of the Bible, in the barely heard whisper you will find God speaking and we need to grasp the opportunity he offers with both hands.

Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm doth bind the restless                                     wave, who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep: O Saviour, whose almighty word the winds and waves submissive                                     heard, who walked upon the foaming deep, and calm amid its rage didst sleep:       O hear us when we cry to thee     or those in peril on the sea.

O sacred Spirit, who dost brood upon the chaos dark and rude, who made its angry tumult cease, and gavest light and life and peace: O Trinity of love and powershield all who sail in danger’s hour; from rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them wheresoe'er they go:   and ever let there rise to thee   glad hymns of praise from land                                       and sea. William Whiting (1825–1878)

 

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk