Daily Scripture “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42) Daily Reflection This teaching of Jesus’ is hard for us to understand. It goes against the grain, runs counter to everything that seems natural to us. If someone wants to hurt you, or take away what is yours, or take you to court, it is surely only right to resist? But the truth is, that we often just end up hurting both ourselves and the other, and nothing changes. Jesus is teaching us “soft power”. The more we stall, and bridle, the more we fight back, the more power the other has over us. As we ‘kill with kindness’, wearing our forbearance lightly and going the extra mile (or two), we are smothering our enemy with love, giving them no purchase on us. And in the process both them and we are transformed. Revd Ylva
Daily ScriptureJesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’ (Mark 4.26-34)Daily ReflectionHaving only come to gardening late in life, it still astonishes me that the tiny seeds I put in the ground and cover with a layer of earth actually come up as carrots and spinach, lettuce and leeks. What an act of faith! And after planting them I have no part in what they become. Nor do I dig them up to see how they are getting on!The seeds of God’s kingdom are planted in many ways, through teaching, through prayer, through seeing God at work in people’s lives. We are not called to coerce or hurry others into faith. Like the farmer in the parable, we get on with our daily life, trusting that if we are faithful planters, he will take care of the timing of the harvest. Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
Please see attached for weekly news. Sunday 13th June- The Second Sunday after TrinityThis Sunday's services:8 am HOLY COMMUNION AT ST GEORGE’S, BENENDEN led by Revd David10 am HOLY COMMUNION AT ST NICHOLAS, SANDHURST led by Revd David
Daily Scripture: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. (Psalm 42 1-2 & 11) Daily Reflection We can all be excused for feeling a little down sometimes, especially in these days of continual uncertainty - it feels as if we will never have our thirst quenched again. What does the psalmist do in such desperate circumstances? He doesn’t give up. He doesn’t give in to despair. He remembers - he thinks back to those many times when God has been very real to him. When God feels very far away, when things aren’t going right for us, when it seems as if everyone is against us, when we are tempted to despair the psalmist encourages us to think back to the times when we knew without doubt that God was with us, and to know that, if we refuse to be defeated, better times will surely come. Lyn Hayes ALM
