Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XXI). The Church Calendar today commemorates Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian, Martyrs at Rome ca 287.
The Jewish festival of Simchat Torah began at sunset yesterday (24 October 2024), and ends after nightfall this evening (25 October 2024).
The Sarawak International Dragon Boat Regatta is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and the 10th Sarawak International Dragon Boat Regatta begins on the Waterfront in Kuching today (25 October) and continues until Sunday (27 October).
But, before the day begins, before having breakfast, I am taking some quiet time early this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 12: 54-59 (NRSVA):
54 He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
57 ‘And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.’
Today’s Reflection:
This morning’s Gospel reading continues on from the difficult images we had yesterday of division and strife, shattering all our expectations of Gospel values that emphasise domestic bliss and harmony.
We heard warnings of fire on earth (verse 49), and of families and households divided and fighting each other to the death (verses 52-53). The verses that follow today include images of people being blown about by the storms and tempests of the day (verses 54-56).
Christ chides those who are listening for not recognising the signs he bears. They know how to forecast the weather, but they cannot forecast, watch for the signs of, the coming Kingdom of God.
There is a fashion in the Church today for ‘fresh expressions of the Church’ that blow where the wind blows. They seek to be fashionable and claim that they are relevant.
Sometimes, you may not know whether you are in a coffee shop or in a church, whether you are in the guiding hands of a barista or of a priest. The old forms of church have been abandoned, and with it we may ask whether they have thrown out the core content too.
I visited one of these churches recently. Yes, there was a rambling sermon of 35 or more minutes. Yes, there was a time of ‘fellowship’ where people turned around their chairs and were chummy with one another, in a clumsy sort of way.
There was one reading, but no Gospel reading. There was no confession and absolution, no Credal statement, no Trinitarian formula in the prayers. The prayers prayed for those present and those like them, but there were no prayers for those outside, no prayers for a world that is divided and suffering, no challenge or judgment for those who have created the plight and sufferings of wars, refugees, racism, homelessness, economic injustice and climate change.
In this smug self-assurance, without any reference to the world outside, there was no challenge to discipleship, to live up to the promises and challenges of Baptism.
And, needless to say, there was no Sacrament, and no hint of there ever being a sacramental ministry.
Content had been abandoned for the sake of form. But the form had become a charade. For the sake of relevance, the church had become irrelevant.
The challenge of our Baptism is a challenge for the Church to be a sign of, a sacrament of, the Kingdom of God.
We can be distracted by the demands and fashions of what pass as ‘fresh expressions of Church’ and never meet the needs of a divided and suffering world.
Or we can be nourished by Word and Sacrament and respond to the demands of our Baptism in a discipleship that seeks to challenge and confront a suffering and divided world with the values and promises of the Kingdom of God.
But it is costly. And in that struggle, like Simeon warns Mary when she brings the Christ Child to the Temple, we may find ‘a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
Today’s Prayers (Friday 25 October 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Persistence in Prayer’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a reflection by Ella Sibley, Regional Manager Europe & Oceania, USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 25 October 2024) invites us to pray:
God of justice, help us to hear those who cry out for justice, particularly those living under oppression in Syria, South Sudan and North Korea. Do not let us refuse them.
The Collect:
Grant, we beseech you, merciful Lord,
to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that they may be cleansed from all their sins
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Father of light,
in whom is no change or shadow of turning,
you give us every good and perfect gift
and have brought us to birth by your word of truth:
may we be a living sign of that kingdom
where your whole creation will be made perfect in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Almighty God,
in whose service lies perfect freedom:
teach us to obey you
with loving hearts and steadfast wills;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
