Scripture & Reflection: Sunday 1st June and for the week ahead:Scripture: ‘When [the Romans] had brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.’ The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them... ‘ (Acts of the Apostles 16.20-25)Reflection:While the Gospels recount the earthly life and ministry of Jesus, Acts is all about what his followers did when Jesus was no longer physically present with them. We read that after offending the Romans Paul and Silas, stripped, severely beaten and imprisoned, spent the night ‘praying and singing hymns to God’. No wonder the prisoners were listening to the them. How could they possibly make sense of it? The absolute faith and endurance of the disciples is surely the greatest proof of the reality of the Resurrection. Nobody would endure such suffering if they were not totally certain of the truth of what they proclaimed. Though they no longer saw Jesus they knew his loving and sustaining Spirit with them in every part of their lives. Let us pray that we too may know the presence of the Holy Spirit to give us courage and strength in whatever we are called to endure. Revd Rosemary
Scripture & Reflection: Rogation Sunday - 25th May - and for the week ahead:Scripture:26 He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’(Mark 4: 26-29)Reflection:Today we celebrate Rogation Sunday where we thank God for the land, we bless the seeds that grow on the land and we look forward to the coming harvest. The farmer in this parable can do nothing about the growth once he has sown the seed - he has to wait until harvest time - he has to trust that the seed he has sown will grow in abundance - he has to trust in God.Much of life's biggest lessons and learnings come with patience. Faith, too, grows in the ebbs and flows of the lives of each of us. God is not impatient with our growth. God is the one who creates us from nothing and creates us each day of our lives. God grows love in us, so that our love can shelter and comfort many others.Lyn Hayes ALM
