Sharing some thoughts

  Our New Testament readings today (Hebrews 13:1–8, 15–16 & Luke  14:1, 7–14) touch on a number of themes, too many to explore fully this morning. But one thread runs clearly through both - that real love produces real actions. In other words, our relationship with Jesus, if it is a relationship of love, must change us day by day. And one of the ways today’s readings point us toward that change is in how we care for people—especially through our hospitality. In the letter to the Hebrews, we hear that wonderful challenge:  “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”  We’ll come back to that in a few moments.   And in the gospel reading, Jesus speaks about not assuming the highest place at a dinner and then tells a story about inviting people to a great banquet—not friends or relatives or rich neighbours, but instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.   Now, Jesus isn’t...

  This week, many young people received their GCSE results. For some, it was a moment of triumph after long days of study and uncertainty. For others, it may have brought disappointment, confusion, or a fresh wave of anxiety about the future. Life, as we know, is rarely consistent – it tends to be a mix of challenge and uplift, of valleys and mountaintops. And today’s readings reflect that rhythm perfectly. In Luke’s gospel (13:10-17), we meet a woman who had been in pain for 18 years. She didn’t ask for healing, she didn’t cry out, she didn’t even speak. But Jesus saw her and that was enough. He called her forward, laid hands on her, and she was healed. Just like that. No ritual. No preconditions. No theological debate. Just compassion. But this wasn’t just a healing, it was the start of a confrontation. Jesus knew full well that healing on the Sabbath would provoke the synagogue leader. And he did it anyway. He did it because compassion always overrides custom. And grace is never...

  This morning I want to think about the words we heard earlier known as the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). The words are very well known to all who attend evensong as they are included at every service. These are the words of Mary after she has been told that she is to give birth to Jesus.  It’s a remarkable set of words for a young lady, and it’s worth just remembering the position she had found herself in. Here was a girl probably in her early to mid teens who was engaged to be married to a local carpenter who was probably quite a lot older than her, and she received a vision that she was to give birth.  Whilst she may have had little doubt about the reality of that vision and of the virgin birth, she must also have known and feared what people around her would have been thinking. The disgrace and shame she had brought on her family would only have been part of the problem – for her, if she escaped a literal death sentence, life may just as well have been over because she ...

  Today’s Gospel reading from Luke (12:32–40) is part of a powerful stretch of Jesus’ teaching - teaching about the need to get our priorities right. Before the passage we heard, Jesus speaks of a rich man who hoards wealth but dies before he can enjoy it. He urges us not to worry about things, but to lay our fears before him. And just after today’s passage, he warns of the unfaithful servant—someone who wastes the opportunities that God places before them. Jesus wasn’t just speaking empty words or theoretical ideas. He was preparing his followers for a life of real excitement but also potentially real danger—not just the loss of possessions, but the threat of persecution and death simply for bearing his name. They would need hope. This hope couldn’t be the fragile kind that rests on wealth or comfort, but the unshakable kind that is rooted in something eternal. Someone eternal. Even though they didn’t yet understand it, Jesus was equipping them for a mission that would demand tota...