Scripture‘Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.’ Mark 3:1-5Reflection Like the people watching Jesus, we are often hamstrung by our own rules. We have accepted a set of standards for behaviour which we do not seem able to break out of, even when it would be the kinder, more humane thing to do. We judge the other, and the situation, without stepping back and seeing the bigger picture. ‘He’ is dirty, ‘she’ hasn’t got very good parenting skills, ‘they’ are spending their money unwisely. And so they don’t deserve our compassion, our help or even our attention. We can safely ignore them. But that is not the Jesus Way. He sees the person behind the rule, beyond the prejudice. He sees the real need and brings real healing at the right time. He even sees and loves us, willing us to do better, to be the kinder, bigger people we were created to be. Lord, soften our hearts and open our eyes to see as you do! Revd Ylva
Scripture"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19&20)Reflection:The word Trinity is quite straightforward to breakdown: “Tri”, meaning Three, and “Unity”, meaning One. Tri-Unity…..“Trinity”. Simple! “Three AND One” in one word…… not so simple! And when it comes to explaining the “Triune God” in a few words….good luck!But that is what Christians proclaim in The Creed; “We believe in: One God, the Father, the Almighty; in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God; in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.”No one may be able to fully understand or explain the Holy Trinity – “One God, Three persons” - but the Trinity is central to the Christian faith. There is a quotation that says, “If you try to explain the Trinity you will lose your mind. But if you deny it, you will lose your soul.”The Trinity is important!The bottom line is: God wants to be known. We each encounter God from our own unique perspective; and God meets each of us there. So relax and enjoy knowing God; enjoy knowing that God knows you, and loves you. (“One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit”.) Simple! Revd David Commander
ScriptureWhen the day of Pentecost had come, [the disciples] were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Acts 2.1-21 †) Reflection:Jerusalem was teeming with Jews from far and wide, come to celebrate the great feast of Pentecost (Shavuot). There would be speakers of Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic in the crowd, but also Arabic, Egyptian and various local dialects, yet all of them heard and understood the disciples’ joyful outburst in their own language.How could that possibly be true? The disciples were not learned men, fluent in all these languages. The message was not in the words spoken, but in what the crowds heard, translated for each individual by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.We are all different, but God communicates with each of us in ways that we can understand, whether in words, pictures, events or experiences, directly or through other people. Are we listening?Lord, open our ears to your words and our hearts to your love. Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
