Paul was a tent maker by day and devoted his evenings and the Sabbath to worship and teaching. But then he had a vision, in which he saw a man of Macedonia calling to him and this experience convinced him that he was being called by God to go straight to Macedonia to continue his ministry. Who knows what he expected to find - I doubt flogging and a spell in jail was on his agenda. And that’s the problem, if we follow God, we don’t know where we’re being led or what we’re in for. We just have to trust in Jesus. Carl Jung said, ‘Bidden or not bidden, God is present, but not always active in ways we desire or understand. Faith is to embrace the unknown and welcome the unfolding of truth, which is sometimes disturbing'. In other words being a follower of Christ isn’t always the easiest of options.And discerning the will of God as opposed to going our own way is one of the toughest issues we face. Making the 'right' decision can often feel like a shot in the dark. We need to be prayerful and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. And sometimes we need to mull things over with a trustworthy friend or spiritual director. And this is where the Society of St Luke comes in - as being a community of prayer we offer spiritual guidance or help. And our Quiet Mornings and Bible Study afternoons have the potential to help deepen our relationship with Jesus - something that is so necessary because he trusts us with his message. After all, we represent him in our ordinary lives and our day to day encounters - and we are called to reach everyone - including the complacent and indifferent. In other words God’s kingdom is for everyone. But how do we pass on this message? Well, definitely not by confrontation or trying to ram the 'good news' down peoples throats - there’s no bigger turn off. The answer is we are called to be loving people. To care for others, to look out for our neighbours and be compassionate. The simple truth is, if we put Christ at the centre of our lives - something will rub off - others will see something and they’ll want a bit of it. Amen.The Revd Mother Julie Wiseman SSL
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.‘Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre.’ (Psalm 147)Hymn: The King of Love my Shepherd is...Acts 16:6-12a; 2 Timothy 4:5-17‘God is love, and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them.’ 1 John 4:16Let 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: Almighty God, you called Luke the physician, whose praise is in the gospel, to be an evangelist and physician of the soul: by the grace of the Spirit and through the wholesome medicine of the gospel, give your Church the same love and power 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.Luke 10:1-9Please 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 St Peter’s Church and the Church throughout the world, that people will be drawn together by God’s love. We pray for the world, for compassion and loving kindness to grow in people’s hearts so that all will flourish, conflict will end, and the healing of the nations will be in evidence.We pray for our friends, families and neighbours as we continue to share God’s love.We pray for people who are sick or suffering, and especially those on our hearts and minds today, that they will know God’s healing presence.We pray for the departed, remembering all who mourn.‘He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.’ (Psalm 147)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: Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer...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.
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.‘Lord, you have been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.’ (Psalm 90:1-2)Hymn: Immortal, invisible, God only wise...Amos 5: 6-7, 10-15; Hebrews 4: 12-16‘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: God, our light and our salvation: illuminate our lives, that we may see your goodness in the land of the living, and looking on your beauty may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Mark 10: 17-31Please 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: O Thou who camest from above...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.
One of my favourite possessions is a rather odd one. Should you ever walk into our home, you’ll find two very large, rather aggressive-looking, white wooden chickens flanking the fireplace. My somewhat eccentric, beloved and sadly late Great Aunt bought them many years ago. She loved all sorts of dust-collecting objects – huge bouquets of silk flowers, arrangements of wax fruits, a vast china Dalmatian and all kinds of flowery furniture that were far too big for her home.She loved spending money on things. Especially when moving house or flitting, as she would’ve put it. At the age of 90, she decided she wanted to move back home to Glasgow – so she did. She gifted me the chickens, which I remember her having in her house in the 90’s in Auchterarder. Since being given them, they’ve always had pride of place in my home. After she died in 2020, they've become something to make me smile and think of and remember her.I’m sure I could talk at length about the little background stories of items and objects that take up space in the house. I’m sure each of us here could do the same. The items we surround ourselves with help us show our identities, tell our stories, or remind us of key moments of importance.Perhaps the rich man in the Gospel reading today felt the same about his ‘many possessions’. Yet there are a few cultural and historical points that we need to bear in mind with this reading – firstly, this was written before the age of mass production and consumerism. People at the time of Jesus did not have many items in their homes. To our standards, their homes would have appeared very minimalist at best. To them, our homes would display an ostentatious array of wealth. Goodness only knows what they would make of my Great Aunt’s home, which my wife once described as a treasure trove!Secondly, the cultural perception at the time was that anyone who could afford many possessions had to be rich. For many “rich” people were automatically considered “thieves or heirs of thieves”. To be rich was to be greedy.The rich man in the Gospel reading today boasts of how justly he follows the commandments, but his question to Jesus betrays part of his outlook. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”. He isn’t asking how we might inherit eternal life, only himself. He seems to view the process as a transaction; I will be rewarded if I do these things.So, Jesus tells him to get rid of all his possessions. The man is saddened and leaves grieving. I don’t really blame him. How many of us could follow such a commandment? Could you part with everything you own? I know I couldn’t. I doubt any of us would be able to.Despite the words we hear, we are not being called to take Jesus literally. Jesus is making a different point. He is talking about a pursuit of wealth, a love of financial gain, and material wealth over and above love for God and your fellow humans.The world today shows even greater levels of income disparity than ever before. A recent study funded by Oxfam shows that the richest 1% of people gathered nearly two-thirds of all the wealth created in the world since 2020.While billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos spend vast sums to race to the stars in rather suggestive-looking rockets, roughly one in ten people on Earth are hungry. The majority of whom are women and girls, often eating the least and eating last.It is the same further down the chain. How many of our clothes were made in sweatshops on the other side of the world? What of the Nepalese Sherpas who are put at risk or even die helping tourists who feel they should have the right to climb Mt Everest, furthering the disruption to a fragile ecosystem and culture?Or look at coffee cultivation—an industry where child labour is widespread. During harvest season, up to 40% of the workforce in Honduras consists of children. In 2016, two major coffee companies acknowledged slave labour as a risk in their Brazilian supply chain.All of this to feed our insatiable demand for coffee. Our constant need to consume.Our entire culture has become like the rich man. Yes, we might follow the commandments: no murder, theft, not bearing false witness, etc. But what has become of our care for one another? Where is our compassion for the faceless people on the other side of the world?That compassion is in Christ Jesus. Think again of the Gospel reading; the rich man boasts about following the commandments. In response, we are told that Jesus “looking at him, loved him”, just as Jesus looks at each of us and all people around the world with love.Ultimately, it is Christ’s love for this man that will save him, not any actions that he will undertake to secure his place. And unlike in this earthly life, his wealth will not place him ahead of anyone else. This world's unequal advantages and disadvantages will be replaced with the divine love of Christ for everyone.The major sin of Adam and Eve wasn’t their disobeying of God but their willingness to condemn each other. Some Jewish scholars have surmised that the breakdown of human society in Genesis was about humanity forgetting compassion and care for one another and ultimately focusing only on themselves. To a dreadful effect that we can all picture just by looking at the news today.To follow Christ, therefore, is to aspire to live as Christ lived and love one another.So, when we, as disciples of Christ, hear His words to abandon our worldly goods, we are not being called to literally sell all our possessions. We are not being called to leave ourselves destitute or struggling but to act compassionately. To live the commandments and the Gospel in our daily lives. To demonstrate Christ’s love for us through our love and compassion for one another. I don’t imagine we can compete in a billionaire's space race. Yet, we can show human solidarity and love in our choices.How much of what we consume gets produced in working conditions, we would never accept for ourselves? Have we looked at where some of our goods come from? Are our choices based on improving our financial situation or improving life for as many people as possible?Don’t put yourselves at risk or take up a martyr’s yoke of constant self-denial. But think, always, about the impact of your choices. That extra cup of coffee in town might be good, but how much better could it be to give its value to a charity?Could you look at microloans to support a small business half the world over? Can you switch brands to make more ethical choices? Could you even, dare I say it, look again at the parish giving scheme?Perhaps there is somewhere where our relative wealth, especially compared with others worldwide, could be used to help others. We need to show our understanding of Christ’s teachings and demonstrate that those who profess Jesus as Lord understand that God’s never-ending gift to us all is boundless love. Love that we can, should and will share with one another.Amen.The Revd. Iain Grant, Assistant Curate
