Welcome to our Worship on the seventh Sunday after Trinity Sunday. Our Parish Eucharist is at 10 am at St Thomas' Church, and today we're really pleased to have Revd Richard Hawkins to lead our worship. If you can't be with us in person, you'll find everything you need to worship from home here on this page.
Our first hymn this morning is "Be Still, for the Presence of the Lord"
Today's Gospel
Mark 6.30-34, 53-end “And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.”
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
Reflection
In 1966, John Lennon famously remarked that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”. At the height of Beatlemania, the band were hounded by thousands of screaming fans – I wonder if any of you were one of those screaming fans – perhaps not ! News reports likened the adulation of the fans to a religious fervour and in 1965 Lennon had complained that while they were on tour in the United States “people kept bringing blind, crippled and deformed children into our dressing room and this boy’s mother would say, ‘Go on, kiss him, maybe you'll bring back his sight’”. George Harrison later said that the band often locked themselves in their hotel bathroom so they could get some peace. In the end, the crowds became too much, and the Beatles stopped touring to focus on studio recordings before finally disbanding in 1970.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus and the disciples are as popular as the Beatles. The twelve have just returned from their first mission trip, when they called people to repentance, taught anyone willing to listen, cast out demons and healed those who were sick. Now they need a break.
They need some time to catch up with Jesus and have a well-earned rest, but the crowds just will not leave them alone. Even when they get into the boats and head for a nice quiet spot on the other side of the lake, the crowds hotfoot it round to meet them when they land. Despite really needing to spend some time with his disciples, Jesus sees that the people in the crowd are “like sheep without a shepherd”. In biblical times a shepherd would not just protect the flock, he would lead the flock to new pasture, so this probably means the people needed leadership. And so he “began to teach them many things”.
Now you may have noticed that at this point the lectionary has missed out eighteen verses. Why? Well, the missing bit has enough material for several more sermons, including the feeding of the five thousand, but that is a story for another day. Suffice it to say, after everyone had been fed, Jesus sent the disciples off by boat, sent the crowds home, and at last found time to pray quietly. Up on the mountain, on his own with God. Later that evening, as the disciples were making slow progress rowing into a headwind, he strolled across the lake and climbed into the boat before they all landed together at Gennesaret.
At last, Jesus would be able to have a proper conversation with his disciples and find out how their mission trips went. But no. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognised him and rushed to bring their sick out for healing. And so it went on. Wherever Jesus went, “into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed”. Jesus has compassion on the crowds and tries to meet their needs, but he also tries to meet the needs of the disciples and his own need for time with God. As soon as the disciples had collected up the leftovers, he told them to get in the boat and go on ahead. Notice it says “he made his disciples get into the boat”.
We might wonder if they argued about it. Perhaps they thought they should help to send the crowds away, but Jesus saw that they needed to compare notes on their mission trips. Or perhaps they were behaving like the crowds and refusing to give Jesus the space he needed to pray. Most of us are not plagued by screaming fans or followed by crowds begging us to heal sick people. Nonetheless, there are people with many needs in society today. Some need feeding or healing. Others are looking for the direction that a life of faith can provide. And many churches are busy running food banks, providing support and teaching the faith. But Christians also need to spend time together, to reflect on our experiences, to learn from each other and above all to spend time with God.
Richard H..
Our Prayers
Loving Lord Jesus,
You showed compassion to your followers,
that needed you.
Be there for us when we need you too.
Caring Lord,
You led your flock and taught them many things
when they needed your guidance.
We ask you to show us the way forward
That we might also do your bidding.
Understanding Lord,
You recognised the needs of your disciples
to spend time with God and each other.
Help us to find more time in our busy schedules
To reflect on your magnificence
And your presence in our daily lives.
Amen
Our final hymn today is "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind"
