Holy Communion for the Sixth Sunday of Trinity: celebrant Revd Tola Badejo.
Junior Church takes place at the same time in the hall.

First reading: 2 Corinthians 12. 2 - 10
Gospel: Mark 6. 1 - 13

Paul's letters to the church at Corinth engage with all sorts of problems that might affect any kind of community, churches not excepted. Particular issues for the Corinthians seem to have included confusion about the doctrine they should follow, a tendency to be attracted by the wrong kind of leader, and an unattractive inclination to question the motives and integrity of anyone who disagreed with them. One particular attribute of the 'super apostles', as Paul calls them, was the habit of boasting about the superiority of their own religious experiences. Reading between the lines, it seems that in the cosmopolitan and prosperous city of Corinth, Christianity had a considerable attraction, but many people tried to accommodate their new-found faith to their existing way of life and the expectations of their society. But does this letter, probably written almost 2000 years ago, perhaps hold up a mirror for ourselves?

Paul's ideas tend to be complex and his arguments rigorous; it takes a degree of effort to work out what he's driving at. The Gospel, characteristically, makes its point through simple illustrations: Jesus himself experiences rejection from the very people we might have expected to trust him the most, to the point where they 'took offence' at him, and then asks his disciples to carry out their mission in a way that makes them vulnerable. Both of these readings are challenging; both underline the truth that God's grace enables us to cope with difficulties, and even to benefit from them, rather than to avoid them.