Patrick Comerford
We are in the last two weeks of Lent, and this week began with the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Lent V), sometimes still known as Passion Sunday. The Church Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers the life and witness of William Law (1686-1761), priest and spiritual writer; and William of Ockham (1347), friar, philosopher and teacher of the faith.
I have an appointment early this morning for my regular B12 injection. But, as the day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading 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.
John 8: 51-58 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 51 ‘Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’ 52 The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ 54 Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, 55 though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ 57 Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ 58 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
Today’s Reflection:
The conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem continues in the Gospel reading at the Eucharist (John 8: 51-58) today. Today’s reading opens with Jesus promising that ‘whoever keeps my word will never see death’ (verse 51), but ends with him being threatened with death himself as his interlocutors picked up stones to throw at him (verse 59), threatening him with the very same form of execution that faced the woman who had been caught in adultery and was brought before Jesus by scribes and Pharisees at the beginning of this chapter (John 8: 1-11), which we read about on Monday (7 April 2025).
That woman escaped being stoned to death when Jesus challenged her accusers, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her’, and then wrote on the ground (verse 7-8).
Jesus escapes death this time, hiding himself and going out of the temple (verse 59). But we know his death is inevitable, and we shall focus on his passion and his death, not by stoning but on the Rock of Golgotha, next week throughout Holy Week.
How we understand the life, death and resurrection of Christ, and live out the consequences of that understand, is one of the primary concerns of the writings of William Law (1686-1761), who is commemorated in the Church Calendar today (10 April).
Law was born in King’s Cliffe, Northamptonshire, and educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After ordination as a deacon, he became a fellow of Emmanuel College in 1711. When George I came to the throne in 1714, Law declined to take the Oath of Allegiance. He became a non-juror and lost his fellowship, but was ordained priest in 1728.
Barred from the pulpit and the lecture hall, Law preached through his books. These include Christian Perfection, The Spirit of Love, The Spirit of Prayer, and best-known of all, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728). His writings stress the moral virtues, a personal prayer life and asceticism, and strongly influenced people such as Samuel Johnson and John and Charles Wesley.
Law returned to King’s Cliffe in 1740, where he led a life of devotion and simplicity and caring for the poor. He remained there for the rest of his life and died on 10 April 1761.
According to Law’s theology, God is an ‘infinity of mere love.’ God is love and love is God. Therefore, nothing in God’s character can be contrary to love. Although as humans we cannot see God’s essence, that God exists is self-evident because we bear the stamp of divine nature. Any positive ability or quality we have in ourselves is a reflection of God’s essence. We form our idea of God by ‘adding Infinite to every perfection that we have any knowledge of.’
The love of God is the basic premise upon which Law’s theology is based. Because God is total love, e his completely good. God’s desire to communicate God’s love and goodness is the ultimate purpose behind creation. Consequently, it is the perfect will of God that humans experience his love and goodness.
We are all in the image of God, and, according to Law, Christ entered the human race, participating with us in our human nature in order that through his life, death and resurrection, he could restore the fallen faculties of human nature to the state God intended. In short, for Law the atonement is simply the reclaiming of human nature.
Today’s Prayers (Thursday 10 April 2025):
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 ‘Healthcare in Bangladesh.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Suvojit Mondal, Programme Director for the Church of Bangladesh Community Healthcare Programme in Dhaka.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Thursday 10 April 2025) invites us to pray:
Pray for the ongoing provision of resources, partnerships, and support that will enable the programme to expand its services to reach more villages and communities in need.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
who called your servant William Law
to a devout and holy life:
grant that by your spirit of love
and through faithfulness in prayer
we may find the way to divine knowledge
and so come to see the hidden things of God;
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:
God of truth,
whose Wisdom set her table
and invited us to eat the bread and drink the wine
of the kingdom:
help us to lay aside all foolishness
and to live and walk in the way of insight,
that we may come with William Law to the eternal feast of heaven;
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
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