Reflection: Sunday 3rd October and for the week ahead:

'Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known,' (Luke 12 v2) …. 'And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.' (Luke 12v8-9)

The tension between the Pharisees and Jesus is escalating. To Jesus, the Pharisees are those who 'talk the talk' but do not 'walk the walk', and he refers to them as hypocrites. The Pharisees, though, are not much different to us, Christian or not! Inside all of us is a deep desire to be liked, to be thought well of by others, to be considered a 'nice person'...I'm sure this was the intention of the majority of the Pharisees too, but Jesus issues a stark warning - everything we do to try and 'look the part' will one day come to nothing. 'Looking the part' is a natural human inclination, but it is false. Looking to please others instead of God is futile. Our maker, who knows us so intimately that he knows how many hairs we have on our head, is the only one that our thoughts and actions should look to please. Instead of asking ' What would he/she think of me if I did that', the only question we need to be asking is 'what would God think of me if I did that'? They may be very different answers!

Vicki Young