Reflection: Sunday 29th May and for the week ahead:Scripture:'A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.' (Ezekiel 36:26-28)Reflection:A heart of stone. An evocative picture, explaining in a few words a condition from which many suffer; a lack of empathy and love. A lack of care. It also sounds jolly uncomfortable.God promises to remove this our heart of stone and replace it with a real, living heart, beating and bleeding, full of feeling. This can be no less uncomfortable, but it will be discomfort for a purpose, like when one goes through pain to give birth to children. When God gets to work on us, we feel the constant pressure of our heart expanding to encompass ever more of the world’s needs, of others’ pain, of care for the whole of creation. But it mustn’t end there. God’s Spirit compels us to act, to be hands, feet and heart for ‘the Living One’, reaching out to others on God’s behalf. When we do, we will be ‘God’s people’ and at home with the Lord, just like our Queen is and always has been. We praise God for her and give thanks for the example of service she has set throughout her reign!Revd Ylva
Reflection: Sunday 22nd May and for the week ahead:Scripture:The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:26-27)Reflection:Jesus says to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” Easier said than done – for us human beings who let our minds wander and dream up all sorts of scenarios to be worried about! Maybe that’s why Jesus said this….because he knows each of us so well. To give us continued reassurance he promises that God will send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will “teach you everything”; the Holy Spirit will “remind you of all that I have said”.And what was at the centre of Jesus’ teaching? “Love the Lord your God; and love your neighbour as yourself.” Not a bad thing to be reminded of by Jesus and by the Holy Spirit this coming week. Not only will you experience peace as you remember and practice this, you will also share that peace with others.Revd David
Reflection: Sunday 15th May and for the week ahead:From the Collect for this weekAlmighty God ...grant that, as by your grace going before us you put into our minds good desires,so by your continual help we may bring them to good effectReflection:For weeks - perhaps months, if she’s honest - she’d been meaning to phone her old friend, but had been rather busy. Finally she got round to doing so, only to hear that her friend had been taken to hospital the previous day, and had died that same night.So often we put off things we fully intend to do: a visit, a phone call, a donation to a cause we care about. The ‘good desires’ are there, but if we don’t act on them it is all too easy to wait too long, or simply to forget. But this is not just about checking off a ‘To Do’ list! It’s about the direction of our lives. If we humbly follow up the good desires planted in us by God, He will help and guide us in bringing them to fruition. Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
