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 Amy-Elizabeth will be preaching and presiding on the nineteenth 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 "Blest are the Pure in Heart"
Today's Gospel
Mark 10:17-31 The Rich Young Man
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”
Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age —houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions — and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Reflection
As I read this week’s Gospel, I thought about the parallels with the Harvest Gospel (Matthew 6: V25 -34), which we heard last week. In it Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" He goes on to explain how God provides for the birds in the air and clothes the lilies in the field. He asks why do we worry about money and belongings when we should first and foremost strive for the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
I would argue that in today’s Gospel Jesus takes that one stage further as not only do we need to trust in God to provide for us but we also need to consider what we should do in order to enter in his kingdom. The answer Jesus gives is perhaps surprising and as his disciples found, not an easy message to hear.
We do not know much about the man who ran up to Jesus in respect to his age, occupation, lifestyle, or family circumstances. However, we are given sufficient information to conclude that he is law abiding and we assume honest as he has always followed the commandments. Given his deference in the way he approached Jesus and addressed him ‘good teacher’, we know that he is a respectful person. Finally, we also know that he is fairly wealthy as we are told that he has many possessions.
So, all in all, he is described as a good, well to do individual – perhaps the sort of person we would like think we are like. Yet, for all his fortune and good behaviour he knows deep in his heart something is lacking. He is spiritually challenged and knows there has to be something else he can do in order to please God and be assured of a place in heaven when he dies.
For ourselves, it is common for us to worry about finances and our future even though we are arguably amongst the most privileged in the world. When we are young, we worry about providing for ourselves and our children, their education, putting a roof over their heads, and paying the mortgage. As we get older, we worry about having enough money for retirement and enjoying the sunset years of our life. We may not be millionaires but we also long for money to enjoy ourselves and buy luxuries such as bigger TVs, the latest i-phone or a better car even though our existing one is perfectly fine. While we indulge ourselves, there are many in our community who can only focus on where the next meal is coming from and people who are literally starving in Africa.
The news this week is full of doom and gloom about the ‘the cost of living’ Gas prices and food prices going up, spaces on supermarket shelves, inflation rising. However, what is most stark is the fact that there is so much disparity and lack of equity in our world. I listened with incredulity as I heard someone on the radio bemoan the fact that the food shortage meant he couldn’t get fresh strawberries when minutes earlier another person had been deeply worried about the choice of whether they could afford to ‘eat or heat’.
To some the abundance of material belongings is seen as a blessing from God. It’s almost as if we believe we are being personally rewarded by God for being good and working hard. The wealthy man in todays Gospel knows he has something missing in his life - something money can’t buy. He is seeking life abundant but cannot reconcile himself to the fact that to achieve this he must dispose of some of the abundance in his life. So, he goes away unhappy. In his mind he believes that what he has earned is all his, the fruits of his labour. Whilst wealth is sometimes seen as a measure of success or greatness, there are many in the poorest parts of the world and indeed in our own communities who consider themselves more blessed than those who have plenty. As the saying goes – “money can’t buy happiness”!
During the pandemic many people have given up things in life which they wouldn’t previously have considered doing - going on holiday, meals out, drinks in the pub or Starbucks coffee. Some of us may even feel better off financially and also feel healthier as we are now going out walking or cycling instead of spending money on going out for entertainment. Does it make you wonder if we should resume spending money on all these things again – or is there perhaps a message we need to take on board in all of this?
The acquisition of wealth is not a means to an end in itself. In fact, as Jesus makes clear, the pursuit of wealth and the worship of money before God is a sin. Those who see themselves as most blessed in their lives on earth will face a bigger challenge entering the kingdom of God. The way to eternal life and bliss starts when we follow Jesus. When we give up some of the things that we think are important to us and spend more time with Jesus. Of course, doing good things and obeying the law is righteous and proper but we need to do more. We need to follow Jesus with our heart for He knows what is in our heart. We need to make time and space for Jesus for as long as we live on earth.
Our prayers
