The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most familiar passages in the New Testament, if not in the whole Bible. Mention the Sermon on the Mount and most people think of it as a lovely collection of Jesus’s main teachings. It tends to be seen as a Good Thing. Our Gospel reading this morning is from Matthew, and is a list of circumstances or happenstances known as the Beatitudes. In this passage, Jesus tells his listeners that when certain unpleasant things happen to them, or if they are poor, for instance, they are to consider themselves ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’. We may have heard these words so many times that the disturbing and surprising nature of this teaching washes over us but I doubt that is how the disciples first heard them! Rather, I expect that they were confused and somewhat affronted. What do you mean that we are blessed when people say all kinds of unpleasant things about us? One can only hope that they had the opportunity to talk later with Jesus about his strange teachings and to get him to expand on what he meant. Now we understand that he wanted his followers to understand that whatever happened to them and regardless of their circumstances, if they trusted in him and remained faithful to him, their eternal salvation was assured. But was that all Jesus meant? Was what he said only intended to be about pie in the sky by and by? I believe that at the core of his teachings was the message that by trusting in him, by following his Way of love and forgiveness, they would see and experience everything they were going through with new eyes. If they looked to Jesus in the midst of their troubles, they would begin to see with the eyes of Christ. They would be transformed from within and given the grace and strength to endure. In their own strength the disciples would have known this was impossible. Jesus wasn’t really telling his friends how he wanted them to TRY to react to difficulties. He was telling them that by trusting in him this is how they WOULD react. Revd Christina Rees
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.’ (Psalm 33:22)Hymn: Who are these like stars appearing...2 Esdras 2: 42-48As we celebrate the joy of the saints, let us confess our sins:Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: God of holiness, your glory is proclaimed in every age: as we rejoice in the faith of your saints, inspire us to follow their example with boldness and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Matthew 5:1-12Please see the message from the minister.Let us join in prayer, asking for God’s loving presence to be known to everyone:We pray for the Church, that all people will be drawn together by God’s love;We pray for the world, that compassion and loving kindness will grow in people’s hearts;We pray for our communities as we share God’s love, building relationships;We pray for people who are sick or suffering, that they will know God’s healing presence.We pray for the departed, remembering all who mourn. We especially think today of our own loved ones who have gone before us and all those who have passed away recently.Let us pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught Peter and all of the saints:Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: For all the saints who from their labours rest...May the love of our Lord Jesus draw us to himself, the power of the Lord Jesus strengthen us in his service, the joy of the Lord Jesus fill our hearts: and may the blessing of God Almighty who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon us and remain with us always.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
We are fortunate to have opticians who optimise our eyesight by providing glasses of all persuasions, bifocals, varifocals, tinted lens, contact lens, replacement lens etc.But what about spiritual sight? We all have a blind spot, spiritually as well as physically. The hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ expresses ‘I was blind but now I see’. Being spiritually blind means that we do not see (comprehend) the amazing gift that Jesus’ gives to each one of us in his birth, life and death on the cross to put us right with God and save us from our selfishness and going against God’s ways. Jesus chose to pay the price for all the ways we separate ourselves from God by not living according to his love, mercy and justice. In Mark’s Gospel we hear about Bartimaeus, a blind beggar who shouted out to Jesus to be healed (saved). Jesus asked him ‘what do you want?’ A few verses before this, in the Gospel, Jesus asks the same question ‘what do you want?’ to his disciples James and John when they go to him with a request. Jesus had just spelt out to his disciples that he was on a journey to Jerusalem and his death on the cross.The brothers James and John ask Jesus if they can have a prestigious place in heaven. They do not see (understand) that Jesus came as a servant king. His teaching tells of an upside down kingdom where the first shall be last and the meek will inherit the earth.We learn a lot from Bartimaeus who, unlike the selfish disciples, asked to be healed. The Greek word for healed is saved (sozo). He might not have had his sight but he had insight and used what he did have, his voice. He shouted to be heard, even when others told him to be quiet he shouted all the louder! He teaches us to be our own voice, not that of others and indeed Jesus called him by name as he calls us and told him that it is his faith that healed him.There are times when we need to shout to God. The psalms give us words to shout out our emotions to God. In our reading from Jeremiah we are told to shout out to be saved!This is exactly what Bartimaeus did. He was specific, he knew what he wanted Jesus to do for him. How loudly and clearly do we shout out what we want God to do for us?My daughter, grieving for her son who passed to glory suddenly, frequently prayed to have just one more day with Sunny to say goodbye and tell him how much she loves and misses him. She knew with her head that this was impossible but went on shouting out her specific request to God. Her prayer was answered in the form of a vivid dream in which Sunny returned home for a day. His Mum saw that he was fine and he talked about friends he had made with young men killed during the 1st World War, whom he named. He happily spend the day with his family but knew when it was time to go back and was happy to go. This dream has given much comfort to my daughter.We so often underestimate the power of prayer. What is impossible for us is possible for God. God works through dreams and visions today as he always did. Jeremiah gives us a wonderful vision of God gathering us all home, including the blind and lame as a father gathers his children besides streams of water, on a level path so as not to stumble. Jesus is able to save (heal) us because he is able to stand in our place before God. Through him we come into relationship with God and out of darkness into light. Therefore the most important thing we should want is relationship with him.Angela Stewart (lay minister).
Lord, direct our thoughts, and teach us to pray. Lift up our hearts to worship you in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.‘May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy. Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves. (Psalm 126:5-6)Hymn: Angel voices ever singing...Jeremiah 31: 7-9; Hebrews 7: 23-28‘God is love, and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them.’ 1 John 4:16 Let us pray: Most merciful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are, and direct what we shall be; that we may do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Prayer for the day: Merciful God, teach us to be faithful in change and uncertainty, that trusting in your word and obeying your will we may enter the unfailing joy of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Mark 10: 46-52Please see the message from the minister.Let us join in prayer and ask for God’s empowering love to impact: the Church, that all may know and serve the Lord, to give our all in his good service; the world, that peace will reign and that all people will care and share; our neighbours, families and friends, that relationships will thrive; people who are sick or suffering, for the healing power of the Holy Spirit to be known; those who have been bereaved, that all who mourn will be comforted.Let us pray for the coming of God’s kingdom in the prayer that Jesus taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.Hymn: The day Thou gavest, Lord, is ended...May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all for evermore. Amen.Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ. Amen.
