Sunday Worship
Everyone is most welcome to join us for our Sunday Eucharist at St Thomas' Church at 11 am or at St Agnes' at 9.15 am. Reverend Chris Steel will be preaching and presiding on the seventeenth Sunday after Trinity at both churches. Some of our Covid precautions remain in place to keep everybody safe, but we'll be singing a couple of hymns and offering refreshments after the service, and Sunday School is now back at St Thomas'.
If you're not able to be with us in person, you can find the Gospel, reflection and prayers below.
Our first hymn today is "Brother, Sister, Let Me Serve You"
Today's Gospel
Mark 9:38-50 Whoever is not against Us is for Us
John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Reflection
As I sit at my computer and prepare to get into a mindset to write a reflection, the starting point is always to look at the prescribed readings and Gospel in the lectionary. Sometimes, there is a sense of writer’s block where it hard to identify that thread from which to build an interesting message, (well hopefully a little bit engaging at least!). On other occasions, like today, there is so much in such a short passage that my mind is bombarded with ideas and it’s hard to think where to start. I have learned that the best way to handle this is to try and focus on one or two aspects rather encapsulate everything – after all there is always another time to bore you with the other thoughts and who wants to read a ten page reflection?
So today, I have made a conscious decision to avoid the hard bit about sin, cutting off limbs and burning in hell. Instead, I’ve chosen to focus on the beginning and end of the Gospel reading.
Jesus said, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” I am sure all you have at some time in your life been part of a club or team of some sort. The scouts or brownies, a football team, swimming team or even a musical group, choir or band. Hopefully, we encourage our children and grandchildren to get involved in groups as well.
There are of course many benefits of belonging to a group, there is that sense of belonging and people look out for each other and encourage members of the group to improve at their chosen activity. I am sure psychiatrists will also tell you that being part of a group is important for developing our social skills, interpersonal skills and emotional awareness. We feel a need to look after one another – it’s a ‘win-win’ scenario. If we are in a competitive team or a league there is of course the drive to be best and win the trophy, to be part of the elite squad.
To some extent we could say that the disciples were in a club – an elite club of twelve people devoted to following Jesus. They must have felt very special being in Jesus’s team; going around the country teaching people about the Kingdom of God, healing people along the way and casting out demons.
However, when they come across other people doing similar things they were affronted, perhaps even offended. Their reaction is to tell them to stop what they doing because the others are not part of their elite group. To make matters worse they were also proud of their actions and thought Jesus would be pleased. Imagine their reaction when Jesus admonishes them saying, “Don't stop people who are doing good things in my name" Jesus said. "No one who is doing good things in my name will then turn around and say bad things about me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.”
The disciples had missed the point, they were so involved in the importance of what their team were doing that they missed the wider significance.
It is great to be part of a group but we should not discourage others from also doing similar things so they too can enjoy the same benefits as we do.
Many of us think about a church as physical building where we come to worship but back in Jesus’s time that wasn’t the case. The teachings and story of Jesus were passed down and spread by people who met together in groups called ‘ekklesia’. They were congregations who were called by God from all nations to do the redeeming work of Christ and to participate in the Kingdom of God. It was not just telling the good news of the Gospel but following in Jesus’s footsteps and humbling themselves to serve others and live his values. It was their actions that made the faith live and spread.
The family of God is huge and there are many groups who make up that family. We have our own particular group of Christianity as part of the Church of England but that does not mean we shouldn’t respect or encourage other groups that follow our Lord, be that Methodist, Roman Catholic, Congregational, Lutheran, Baptist or any of the many other flavours of Christianity.
Being part of any group that follows Jesus is to part of a special group - a wider group that is part of the family of God. We should rejoice and cheer for everyone who is doing good in Jesus’s name.
One final thought - if we are active members of a club and give it our all we will always get more out of it and so will those around us. If we are passive members of the club then we could reasonably ask ourselves why are we still going? Jesus said, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another”
The salt Jesus refers to is his Love. Jesus said: “Get to know your neighbours and those in your community who are different than you. Get involved, using your talents and resources to help those who have need. Be passionate about your faith, learning and loving with all your heart, mind and strength”. If, as part of his club, we do not actively share His love we are just passive members and like salt without taste we add nothing.
Paul
Our Prayers
