RCL Readings Sunday 3 October 2010
Lamentations 1:1-6
Psalm 137
2 Timothy 1:1-14
Luke 17:5-10

The Old Testament readings (Lamentations 1:1-6 & Psalm 137) are incredibly painful laments from the hearts of the people in exile. Jerusalem has fallen to the Babylonians and the writer compares the city to a widow (Lam. 1.1) and as you read the passage you feel the pain of grief with “no one to comfort her”. Even her friends have turned against her. The loneliness is palpable and unrelieved. In our world there are many communities and peoples who feel exactly like this and cry out in grief. In our prayers this week, with the aid of this passage, we can cry out with them, pray for them, and take some action to express our solidarity (see Christian Aid or Amnesty web sites or write to your MP – it only takes a few minutes!).

The Lamentations reading gives us a glimpse into grief and in our prayers we can hold those who are grieving and our own grief. Again consider taking some action so that those who grieve don’t feel that even their friends have abandoned them.

Psalm 137 contains expressions of enormous pain and anger. The community in exile is taunted by their captors to sing their songs – their songs of the faith, the songs they would sing as they went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the great festivals of their faith. The rawness of the feelings expressed in this Psalm may come across as shocking – read verses 8 & 9. But before you dismiss this Psalm as being ‘unsuitable’ or ‘sub-Christian’ remember two things: firstly, that people do feel these things and do cry out for revenge; and secondly, that this raw anger is expressed to God – this Psalm ‘legitimises’ telling God how it really feels. It is a Psalm that gives voice to the experience of those who have been subject to unbelievable atrocities and thereby provides us with a window into their experience. To “dash” the heads of the children of oppressors “against the rock”, while not being an appropriate action, it is the heartfelt feeling of those who suffer and if we can at least see that then we will not dismiss their suffering as insignificant and we might seek to address the root causes of such atrocities. Also let this Psalm ‘give you permission’ to express the rawer feeling you may sometimes have to God.

When we move to the reading from 2 Timothy 1:1-14 you couldn’t get a greater contrast of mood! Paul writes full of thanksgiving, although note that it is written from a context of personal suffering (2 Tim. 1:8 & 12a). There are a number of things that can feed our prayers this week from this passage:

• The role of others in Timothy’s faith – his mother and grandmother and Paul himself. Who are the people you give thanks for in your journey of faith? Who do you encourage in their journey of faith?
• The recognition that God is actively involved in us and in others. Seek to recognise and give thanks for the signs of God’s activity and presence.
• Pray for courage for yourself and others in holding to the faith. Remember young people who have recently left home to study at college and university.
• Pray for those who teach the faith: Junior Church leaders, House Group leaders, preachers.
• Who are you called to remember “constantly in your prayers night and day” (v.3b)?

Finally be “grateful to God” (v.3a).

RCL Readings Sunday 26 September 2010
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31

All of our readings for the coming Sunday, with the exception of the Psalm, have something to do with money, wealth, or property and eternity. They offer an uncomfortable challenge for our prayers and reflection. Actually it is quite striking how much of the Bible addresses the subject that we are so reticent to look at.

The Gospel reading (Luke 16:19-31) of the Rich Man & Lazarus is stark. The rich man is not portrayed as bad or abusive or even arrogant but rather as just not noticing. He is blind to what is happening at his own gate. He even appears, once he sees and understands, to be caring about his brothers and asks that they may be warned so that they don’t fail to see as he has (v.28). Unawareness is no excuse, the revelation of God’s ways is there for all to see and hear. Throughout the prophets, and for us the Gospels, is the clear message of God’s priority for the poor and that the true health and wellbeing of a person, a community and society (big or small!) is measured not by their asset balance but by the condition and treatment of the poor. Where is our ‘gate’ and who is our ‘Lazarus’? For me our gate is both the immediate vicinity in which I live and also the gateway of the news media and agencies like Christian Aid and Amnesty. Few people are bad or abusive of others but I suspect many, if not most, are like the rich man and blind to what is at their gate. Pray for an opening of your eyes.

1 Timothy 6:6-19 examines the effect of money upon the individual. The writer states “there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it” (v.6-7). Contentment is not easy to feel in a society like ours. A lack of contentment leads to “temptation” and “senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” There is something within most of us that knows this to be true but finds it incredibly difficult to act upon as it cuts across the prevailing culture. The “love of money” takes the focus off of God, Timothy is urged to in verses 11-16 to focus on Christ Jesus and all that he has done, and this ends in what amounts to an act of adoration (v.15-16). Having money is not automatically a barrier, it is the love of money which is the problem, and the writer offers guidance (v.17-19) to those who have money which leads to “a good foundation for the future” and “life that really is life” (v.19). Prayerfully consider how you might achieve “contentment” and how you might use what you have in line with v.18.

The story in Jeremiah 32 is a powerfully prophetic action. With Jerusalem under siege and the future looking incredibly bleak Jeremiah is told to buy the field at Anathoth. His financial advisors would be pulling their hair out. Humanly speaking it really doesn’t make sense but Jeremiah chooses to “invest his money in the divine promise” and “the outlandish conviction that God is faithful” (as one commentator puts it). We are called as churches and as individuals to act prophetically and to place our trust in God, a theme picked up in today’s Psalm (Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16). What prophetic actions are you/we called to take? Much to think and pray about this week!

RCL Readings Sunday 19 September 2010
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
Psalm 79:1-9
1 Timothy 2:1-7
Luke 16:1-13

This coming Sunday's readings are a real challenge to comment upon! The Old Testament readings and the Epistle all have something to say about prayer, so let’s start with them. Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 and Psalm 79:1-9 come out of the anguish of identifying with God’s faithless people. Because of their faithlessness they have brought about a situation of alienation and isolation such that the ‘enemies’ of God seem to triumph and mock the people of God. God’s prophet and the psalmist cry out to God from the midst of this terrible place that God’s people find themselves in as a result of their own faithlessness. God is not disinterested, the cry of the prophet and the psalmist is an echo of God’s own heart! What might we learn and how might we pray in the light of these two passages?

Faithlessness leads to a sense of alienation and isolation so how might we be more faithful, not to our own preconceived ideas of God, but to God’s self-revelation in Christ? Integrity of belief, attitude and action is called for – a revealing test is to ask ourselves “what would others think we believed if all they had to go on was what they saw and heard in us?”

Secondly, neither Jeremiah nor the psalmist abandoned love for the people of God despite their faithlessness. That’s not easy! It is easy to abandon them and look elsewhere for a more faithful people. I am reminded of Moses after the people’s sin and rebellion in making the golden calf when he pleads with God for their forgiveness and concludes “if you will only forgive their sin – but if not blot me out of the book that you have written” (Exodus 32:32). To pray for God’s people is to share God’s pain for his people and to cry out in hope and longing.

1 Timothy 2:1-7 casts the net wide for the subjects of our prayers, prayer should be “made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions” and the aim of such prayer should be “peaceable life in all godliness and dignity”. Such wide ranging prayer seems a daunting task, so in order not to be totally paralysed by the task, each day pick two stories from the news – one focused on an individual or group of people and the other on a leader or group of leaders and pray for them.

The Gospel is a real tricky one this week. Luke 16:1-13 has caused the commentators endless headaches and debates and having wrestled with it I’m still puzzled! Was the manager guilty of corruption or mismanagement? Was the owner praising dodgy practice or being incredibly generous (as the father towards the younger son in the previous parable)? Was the halving of other people’s debts done at the owner’s expense (therefore criminal) or the commission of the manager (therefore generosity but motivated by self-interest)? Is verse 9 ironic? True friendship involves community, commonality and equality, not indebtedness. This passage would make an interesting discussion for a Bible study group but what are we to pray for in the light of it? I suggest we pray for business and business practice; for owners, managers and employees; for customers and consumers; for fair trade; and, picking up a phrase from the Timothy reading, pray for “peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” for all wherever on the line from owner to customer they sit.

RCL Readings Sunday 12 September 2010
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Psalm 14
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10

The reading from Jeremiah (4:11-12, 22-28) describes a bleak and barren land, a wasteland of the people’s own making. It is a picture with little hope. A picture replicated at different levels within our world – consider some of the current news stories from around the world; also communities in Britain where there is a breakdown in community cohesion; and in the lives of some individuals. A potential picture for many places if we continue to misuse the environment as we appear to be doing. Two prayer responses emerge for us. Repentance involving facing the reality, acknowledging our complicity, expressing our remorse, and a change of direction – the latter being sign that validates the reality of the earlier steps. Secondly, intercession – praying for the ‘wasteland’ places and situations and again seeking how we might be involved.

Psalm 14 is headed in my Bible as a “Denunciation of Godlessness”. By considering what God denounces we can glimpse what God requires. God looks for an acknowledgement of God’s presence, a seeking after divine wisdom, and a doing of good. The acid test of whether a people manifest these requirements is how do the poor fair and how do the powerful exercise their power? We need to acknowledge God’s presence and seek to recognise the signs, we need to pray for divine wisdom in the exercising of power and in the way we live, and the doing of good needs to reflect our understanding of God.

The Gospel reading (Luke 15:1-10) is two very well known parables – the lost sheep and the lost coin. These parables are prompted by the grumbling of the religious folk because Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” I invite you to consider the following in the light of these two parables:

·       Often grumbling comes because either someone doesn’t do things in the way we expect and to our liking or because they ignore the accepted norms and protocols. What are the things you grumble about and what parable/story might Jesus tell?

·       These are parables that show us what God is like. God is like a shepherd (a class of labourers held in very low esteem in the culture of the day) who has lost a sheep. God is like a woman (the least powerful group in their culture) who has lost a coin. This raises an uncomfortable question: Why do we tend to focus on God as shepherd and not on God as woman?

·       God the shepherd we are told “goes after the one that is lost until he finds it” and God the woman “searches carefully until she finds it”. God shepherd like and woman like doesn’t give up on the lost one. The importance of the individual in the economy of God and the persistence at the heart of God – key words are ‘the one’ and ‘until’.

·       God risks and God parties. God risks the 99 to seek the one and God parties to an extent that in human terms is disproportionate to the amount of money that was lost and found. The enormous value that God places on the finding of the lost.

·       A final point to reflect upon. Are not the grumblers lost too!

Allow these parables to reshape your understanding of God and the ways of God and because the third parable in this sequence (Luke 15:11-31) is missed out in the lectionary reading of Luke remember that both the younger and the older son needed to come home for the Father’s celebration and joy to be complete. Pray for the ‘lost’ and pray for/about your own ‘lostness’. But don’t forget to join in heaven’s celebration.

RCL Readings Sunday 29 August 2010
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Psalm 81:1, 10-16
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1, 7-14

Having had two daughters get married this summer I know all about the complexities of seating plans and the stress they cause! The Gospel story is one of those ouch moments (Luke 14:1, 7-14). You can feel the discomfort of being asked to let someone else sit where you have sat. The first part (v.7-11) is a strange story and doesn’t quite seem right. Human nature is just as likely to turn the instruction about humility into a new strategy for self-exaltation – “I’ll  take the lowest seat so that I get asked to take a higher one and therefore made to look good in front of others!” Jesus knows that and that is not the way of the Kingdom of God, which is a complete reversal of human ways of thinking and behaving, so he says: “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (v.11). We live in a society that is fixated about status – Alain De Botton’s book title Status Anxiety sums up our society perfectly. Prayerfully reflect upon what are the things about yourself that you are anxious over. Some people are anxious and pushy to ensure they get the very best for themselves and their families – in a sense it is quite understandable, it’s human, but Jesus says the Kingdom isn’t like that - it's not easy to be Kingdom People! Many people though have a low self-image and wouldn’t even think of taking the best – if that’s you, hear Jesus saying to you “Come, sit here with me.”

Verses 12–14 also cut across our normal patterns of behaviour. We see here the topsy-turvey hospitality of the Kingdom. The invitation to the banquet is to those on the margins, those not normally invited, those who in Jesus’ society would have been considered ‘unclean’ and undesirable. Prayerfully consider those in society who are normally excluded, who are those that YOU exclude? How might we develop an even greater sense of hospitality? Also give thanks for those times and places when we and others do find an open welcome and feel at home.

The reading from Hebrews (13:1-8,15-16) builds on the Gospel passage. It begins with an injunction “Let mutual love continue” – this love for one another is there, but don’t take it for granted, continue to work at it. Verse 2 is one of my favourites “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Even in the Church we can be strangers to one another and perhaps here is a challenge to show hospitality and through that to get to know those we don’t know, and be prepared for the surprise of “entertaining angels”. The circle of that hospitality though needs to be ever enlarging for it is often in the outer ripples that the “angels” are to be found! Popular perception sees angels as some kind of strange, mythical, heavenly being where as the literal meaning of the word, as born out by this context, is messenger. Angels are messengers from God and our passage reminds us that often such messengers come in the guise of the stranger. Give thanks for those times when you have felt ‘visited’ by God through another person. Remember too that there will be others who God visited through you!

The Hebrews reading gives us a number of areas for shaping our prayers this week. It’s an interesting list: prisoners, those who are tortured, marriage, then an injunction to keep our lives free from the love of money, Church leaders and preachers – i invite you to focus your prayers on these things this week. Finally remember that in the midst of all “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever” (v.8) – hold on to that and practice verse 15 and 16.

Through him (Jesus), then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

RCL Readings Sunday 11 July 2010
Amos 7:7-17
Psalm 82
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37

You would think that a message of living lovingly and compassionately would always be a welcome message. We all want others to show us love and compassion, yet showing love and compassion is personally costly and often involves taking a strong stand against injustice and hypocrisy.

Amos has a vision of the Lord standing by a wall with a plumb-line in his hand (Amos 7:7-17), a stark image of God in the midst of his people ‘measuring’ them against his ways and finding them wanting. It is an uncomfortable message that Amos delivers and the priest at Bethel seeks to persuade him to take his message elsewhere. How do we measure up to the divine plumb-line? Do we think the uncomfortable message always applies elsewhere and for others rather than a challenge to us? Do we prefer to ignore the challenge or are we prepared to live in ways that reflect the Kingdom of God? I think confession is called for and the mark of true confession is the willingness to live differently. Are we also willing to be the Amos’ and not be persuaded to take the message elsewhere but to challenge a society that in so many ways accepts attitudes and policies that don’t build relationships that enable community?

The Gospel reading (Luke 10:25-37 – the Good Samaritan) is so familiar that there is a real danger of thinking we know what it is all about. We see ourselves as being the Good Samaritan, but are we? This is a subversive story told against the religious leaders and those who thought themselves to be godly people. By holding up a Samaritan as being the truly godly person in the story Jesus is challenging national stereotyping. There is a great danger today in the current national and international crises that confront our society to fall into the trap stereotyping – it is always the ‘bad’ stories and examples that lodge in the mind. Where are the ‘good’ stories and examples, who are the ‘Good Samaritans’? What would it mean for you to be a ‘Good Samaritan’?

Our reading from Colossians (1:1-14) is a model for our prayer. Thanksgiving for all signs of faithfulness to Christ (v.3); sharing and delighting in the testimony of faithful discipleship (v.4); recognising and rejoicing in the fruit of God’s Spirit at work in the world and within the Church (v.6). Take time to look for and recognise these things within the life of the Church – they are there and we should rejoice in them. Then pray for the Church using verses 9-12 as the words of your prayer and as you do so visualise yourself and members of the Church.

“For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.”

RCL Readings Sunday 4 July 2010
2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Galatians 6:1-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Last week’s reading from 2 Kings 2 saw Elisha picking up the mantle of the prophet Elijah; the readings from 2 Kings now jumps to chapter 5 and the healing of Naaman. Elisha is a prophet in Israel and Naaman is the commander of the king of Aram’s army (Syria) – these two kingdoms had existed with an uneasy peace for some years and a number of skirmishes. On one such raid a young girl had been captured and she was now the servant of Naaman’s wife. Naaman has leprosy and it is the foreign servant girl who has the courage to speak of the prophet Elisha. As the incident unfolds there are some interesting pointers to human nature! The king of Israel thinks that his neighbour is picking a fight (2 Kings 5:7) – he suspects the motives behind the generous gesture and request. When Elisha sends a message out to Naaman to wash in the Jordan Naaman takes offence, expecting special treatment befitting his status (v.11&12). Again it is ‘lowly’ servants that speak the challenging word (v.13). In this incident Naaman’s servants and his wife’s servant girl are just as much prophetic voices as Elisha. In the light of this some pointers for reflection and prayer:

• do we – as individuals & as a nation – jump to wrong conclusions, suspicious of other’s motives? Pray for a willingness to see the best in others/other nations, a generosity of spirit to seek & accept help from others;
• do we listen to the voice of the outsider and the ‘lowly’?
• do we expect certain things because of our perceived position & status, or are we willing to see all as equal in the eyes of God?

Paul, concluding his letter to the Galatians (6:1-16), speaks of the care they are to show for one another – a care especially for the community of faith but not limited to that community (v.10). A care that is willing to seek to restore those in error (v.1), share the burdens of others (v.2), do right (v.9) and “work for the good of all” (v.10). This is to be marked by a spirit of gentleness (v.1), humility (v.3) and perseverance (v.9).  Pray for the pastoral work of the Church – for those who have particular responsibilities within it and also for your role in caring for others. How might we all “work for the good of all”? Pray for those who have a prime role as a carer for others – how might we/you support them, share their load, and enable them not to become weary?

The Gospel reading (Luke 10:1-11, 16-20) records the ‘mission of the seventy’. There is a sense of urgency and focus about this mission which echoes last Sunday’s Gospel where, when Jesus encountered ‘closed doors’, he “went on to another village” (9:56). In today’s reading the seventy are to work where there is an open welcome and to move on where there is not (10:10). This may seem harsh but there is a big task and few labourers (10:2). What are the priorities for the Church’s mission today? Pray for the Church, at national & local level, as it seeks to discern priorities and use resources effectively. Pray that we may hear the prophetic voices (as in the 2 Kings passage), that we may have the characteristics mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Galatians, and that we may be focused and use our resources effectively as in the Gospel.