Our first hymn this morning is "Amazing Grace"
John 3:14-21
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
It was in the Sinai desert about three and a half thousand years ago that Moses had one of his many problems with the people he was leading across the wilderness into the promised land. When the people had been unfaithful, God sent snakes into their camp, many people were bitten and some died.
The people turned on Moses and Moses prayed. God’s answer must seem a strange one to us today. Moses was to make a model snake and when the people looked at it they were made well. I think that the whole reason for this event was seen when Jesus came. He said that He, Himself would be ‘lifted up’ on the cross so that the sin of people could be forgiven by God.
I am a sinner!... and so are you. As one preacher said, “There are skeletons in every cupboard!” I do not need to convince you of this as every honest person realises it! We would all be devastated if all our sins became publicly known. Yet they are known to our perfect Lord, and sin is an offense to Him. What can we do about it? How can we be accepted by our Lord God Can we do enough good things to win Him over? The wonderful answer is that we do not need to! God did all that was needed through Jesus. Jesus lived for us. He was the only one who lived a perfect life. He was the Son of God yet He knew all about the temptations that He could face. As our reading says:
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (John 3:16, probably the best known verse in the Bible.)
Living faith in Jesus is all that is required! I am convinced that many people have this faith but not the joy that goes with it because they still think that they need to do something about it! The answer is to believe God’s word and rest in it. That does not mean we should happily carry on sinning because when we appreciate Jesus’ love and sacrifice we will not want to sin. Forgiveness is complete!
Recent readings have looked at the temptations of Jesus. He refused the temptations to easy living, popularity and power. Many of our temptations stem from these three roots. At the cross Jesus was to face more of the great temptations. He must have been sorely tempted to hate his persecutors. He was tempted to let the fear of death overcome Him. He had the temptations to hate God and hate others, all made worse by the extremes of pain that he was suffering. Did Jesus fall to these temptations? No! He proved that by what He said to people and to His Heavenly Father. (“Father, forgive them”… “Woman, (Mary) this is your son (John)”… “Father, into Your hands I commend my Spirit”.)
We give thanks to Jesus for His amazing love for us. His love is not emotional feelings or frilly words. He proved that so clearly in His life, death and resurrection.
The desire of the Lord is that all may be saved, but we also read:
Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18)
That verse prompts us to pray. Let us pray for ourselves, that we are not just saved but have the peace that goes with it.
Let us pray for people around us, that the things we say and do will attract others into the joyful faith of Jesus.
Let us pray for the world. May the people who are preoccupied with the horror of Covid realise the love of God and the new life it can bring to those who trust.
May God be with you all in your life today and into the future whatever the future brings.
A Mothering Sunday Reflection from Bishop Mark
Our Prayers
Merciful Lord,
absolve your people from their offences,
that through your bountiful goodness
we may all be delivered from the chains of those sins
which by our frailty we have committed;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for Jesus Christ’s sake, our blessed Lord and Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Our final hymn for today is "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"
