A Word In Time. Sermons And Addresses.

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What Jesus does subverts such expectations: he finds and sits on a donkey. Jesus would know his own scriptures, including the reference which the gospel writer quotes ( v. 15) of the coming king riding a donkey, which comes from Zechariah ( Zechariah 9:9). But Zechariah’s king comes in humility ( 9:9) and – tellingly – has a global horizon: he comes to ‘command peace to the nations’ ( 9:10), not merely Israel’s vindication. Jesus again – metaphorically – ‘slips away’ from the crowd’s agenda to pursue the paradoxical, costly glory ( John 12:23; 17:1) and all-embracing love that will lead him to his death on the cross. Jesus gradually opens the eyes of his followers to a greater understanding of truth about his mission and purpose. Those of us who know how the story unfolds will realise that even the Crucifixion is not a final statement, but leads into a new chapter that emerges from the Resurrection and the unleashing of the Spirit of God in the world. In ‘normal times’ this is Covenant Sunday, when Methodists say to God "I am no longer my own but yours" as part of the Covenant Prayer. This sits alongside John’s language of becoming "children of God". How can we live as children of God in the world of 2022? The theme is the teaching of Jesus, of which Matthew offers more than the other gospel writers and, importantly, we are introduced to the kingdom of heaven as a central consideration.

The text raises many questions in my mind, because of this. How could one man set himself against all those living around him, and build a craft which is so alien to the land where it is being constructed. We might wonder how he was able to access all the materials he needed to build the ark. Where did he source all the food and how did he collect the animals together? Nevertheless, he presented himself as ready as he had been told. We read that “Noah did all that was commanded from him.” ( v. 22) The second part of the dialogue centres on Jesus’ knowledge that the woman has had five husbands and is now living with a man who is not her husband ( vs 17-18). Commentators differ over the interpretation of this text, but most argue that ancient readers would consider the woman a sinner. In light of this knowledge, the woman recognises Jesus as a prophet and so asks about the right place to worship; is it Jerusalem or ‘this mountain’ (Mount Gerizim) ( vs19 -20)? Jesus explains that while ‘salvation is from the Jews’, a time is coming when God will invite people to worship ‘in Spirit and in truth’ ( vs 21-23). Worship, in other words, will not be confined to particular places, but the Father will seek people from all places to worship him. The woman notes that the Messiah will proclaim the truth when he comes, and Jesus tells her that the Messiah is himself ( v. 26). To Ponder: Prison chaplains probably use the gift of encouragement more than any other gift. In our presence, in our words and in our actions, we offer to prisoners a version of God that says they are valued, loved, and not forgotten. We simply encourage them, and it makes a difference to their outlook on life. At the beginning of another uncertain, anxious year, it would be easy to succumb to the numbness and hopelessness of a cycle of life that leads from creation to destruction, from birth to death. What is the point of coming into being – what is it all for? John’s answer to that is simple: the point of it all is to come into a relationship with the Word, who was, and is, and is to come. He speaks of the ‘witness’, the man sent from God whose name was John, and invites us to accept his testimony and invitation to believe in the eternal Word, eternal Light, so that our transitory being is caught up in his eternity and we become children of God.

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I try to thank my staff weekly as recognising and encouraging them is part of caring for them. I know what it's like to have no encouragement at all; it leaves you questioning whether you are doing a good job and doubting whether what you are doing is right – making you feel no one cares. It’s an awful place to be, one in which you feel undervalued and unappreciated.

Good hospitality would have been essential at the wedding, especially as it would have possibly lasted over several days. To run out of wine would have been a huge problem for the hosts. Perhaps Mary is close to the hosts, she is certainly concerned enough to involve her son, and it is implied in the text that she already has a knowledge of his power. She is confident enough to say to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you” ( v. 5). Looking at climate change and increasing alienation between the nations we see around us, do we see some similarities with what was happening at this time? When I listen to Jewish and Muslim prisoners discuss their faith and to my imam and rabbi prison chaplaincy colleagues, I hear angels mentioned quite often. My Hindu colleague tells me that Hinduism also has a special focus on d evas (celestial beings) with the belief that every living thing is assigned a devas to guard them, although these are not strictly angels as in the Abrahamic traditions. The crowds have been trying to make Jesus king for quite some time now. In the early chapters of John’s Gospel, word of, and enthusiasm for Jesus were spreading to such an extent that, after he had fed a crowd of 5000, they decided to crown him on the spot. “When Jesus realised that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (J ohn 6:14-15). It isn’t clear what the crowd’s agenda is, but the use of coercive force, and Jesus’ withdrawal, suggest it had little to do with the developing picture of his identity and mission as Messiah, God’s ‘anointed’ or chosen one (the translation of ‘Messiah’). John’s Gospel tells us that there was significant expectation that the Messiah would appear. The priests and Levites thought John the Baptist was the Messiah ( 1:20, 25), and Andrew told Peter that he had found the Messiah ( 1:40). But an excited crowd forcing a crown on Jesus only for him to slip away suggests this had more to with their will and purposes than God’s. I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by reminding you that you should remember the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken through your apostles. (vs 1b-2)God reinforces his promise to Abraham when he says "I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore." ( vs 15-17) It's quite a promise, no matter how many centuries you let pass.

In the words of the hymn "Jesus bids us shine" we are each called to do our bit in our own location: "You in your small corner and I in mine." Are there things you and your friends might do to make the world a fairer place?Jesus explains that the disciples too are called to a cross-shaped life. Unlike the other gospel writers, Luke adds that the call was to ‘daily’ take up one’s cross ( v. 23). This means self-denial, laying down one’s life for the sake of the other. Rather than involving the loss of life, such self-denial is the way to really find it. Jesus also warns his disciples against being ashamed of him, as those who are ashamed of Jesus and his words will be ‘shamed’ by the Father at the future judgement ( v. 26). The final verse is perplexing, but perhaps the best interpretation is to see the ‘kingdom of God’ as unveiled in the Transfiguration, an event which follows this saying ( 9:28-36). Today we return to the feeding of the multitude and the discussion about it, which forms the remainder of the chapter and the remainder of our week’s studies. Key concepts today are the origin and the qualities of the bread of heaven. Today's passage from John’s Gospel features an encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. In John's Gospel it takes place a chapter after Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus. While Nicodemus was a respected Jewish religious male, the woman’s presence at the well alone in the heat of the sun probably indicates that, unlike Nicodemus, she was a marginalised figure. Lord God, open our minds and hearts to the possibilities of the beyond, that we may be comforted on our journey through life here on earth. Amen. In today’s passage we move out of the idyllic scenes in the Garden of Eden to a world which will increasingly become more complicated. We read of Adam and Eve beginning their family and the birth of their two sons: Cain followed by Abel. It's good news one would think. They grew to be men and took on the tasks of tilling the ground and looking after the sheep. All seems to be well, and we read ( vs 3-4) that both bring offerings to the Lord from the work they had been undertaking.

Think of a time in your life when someone took an interest and showed they cared by encouraging you to be better or to go further. How did that motivate you? Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. (v. 11)

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Why do you think that Jesus’ teaching on his coming suffering and death were so difficult for his disciples to accept? Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.' (vs 21-22)