Christmas 2020 Reflection

 Christmas 2020 Reflection

Even though I’m not a great singer, as anybody who has heard me singing on Zoom when I forget to mute can readily attest, I do love singing Christmas carols.  There is something about singing out loud the familiar tunes and words that brings me great pleasure, that fills my heart and soul with joy and helps me to feel that Christmas has truly arrived.

This year is different.  Due to the very sensible Covid-19 regulations around worship we are not allowed to sing those carols as congregations in our church buildings.  Yes, soloists and small socially distanced choirs can sing, but most of us can’t.

I have had the opportunity to sing some of the carols, at our Zoom Circuit Carol Service last Sunday, but even that wasn’t quite the same as singing them together in church.  Most of the time we are just reading the words or a screen whilst the organist is playing, or listening to others singing them, which has brought me a strange and unpredicted benefit…….

For the first time in several years I’m thinking more about the theology behind the words, the complex theology the words convey so simply and beautifully; and I’d like to share some of my thoughts with.  Don’t worry, I’m not going through every line of every carol, just a few highlights.

And don’t be frightened of by the word “theology”.  It just means thinking about God.

I’ll start with a line from my least favourite carol, Away in a Manger, a carol I dislike so much that I never choose it for services.  There is one particular line that really, really irritates me, “but little Lord Jesus no crying he makes”.  I’m sorry, but if a baby, any baby, is woken up by an unexpected noise that baby will cry.  Even the most perfect baby.  I’m assuming the intention of the anonymous writer of that line was to convey the sinless perfection of Jesus of Jesus, but he goes rather too far, elevating Jesus to something more akin to God pretending to be human rather than being fully human as well as fully divine.  Like any other baby Jesus cried, and he fed from his mother’s breast and he had the ancient equivalent of his nappies changed.  Yes Jesus was fully human and fully divine and yes he was perfect, but that fully human bit means the baby Jesus definitely cried.

Moving on alphabetically we come to our second carol, Born In the Night.  The line in this carol that particularly struck me this year was “Hope of the world, Mary’s Child.”  Hope of the world!  What our world needs right now is hope.

There is no denying that this year has been a difficult one for us all.  At the very least we have all been subject to two lockdowns when we have been largely restricted to our homes and we couldn’t gather together here in our building to worship.  Some of us have had Covid-19 and some of us have lost family or friends to the disease.  Some of us have had our Christmas plans to be with loved ones disrupted. Even now we know that all these things may continue into 2021 until enough people have had the vaccination.

We need hope, and not just the hope the vaccination brings, but a hope that will never fail us, a hope that is eternal, the hope of the world, Mary’s child, our Lord Jesus Christ.

O Little Town of Bethlehem has a similar line that conveys the same message, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”.

The circumstances of the birth of Jesus give us the assurance that God cares for all and that God loves all.  Nobody is too insignificant that God doesn’t love them.  Jesus was born to peasant parents, who probably just about had enough food, in the poorest of circumstances; in the common room in the home of a family member in Bethlehem where the animals were sheltered and fed.  His first visitors were shepherds.  They were not really the sort of people that would expect to be invited to be the first to visit the newly born Son of God.  Yet they were invited by angels to visit Jesus.

This hope of God’s care for and love of all was demonstrated throughout Jesus’ earthly life.  His disciples were fishermen and tax collectors and revolutionaries.  He spent most of his time with the ordinary people rather than with the religious leaders.  He ate with prostitutes, tax collectors and other sinners.  It wasn’t that the religious leaders weren’t also important to and loved by God: it was that everybody is loved by God.

There is another line in the carol Born in the Night that is relevant here, and that often hits us hard at Christmas:

  “You tell us God is good;  prove it is true, Mary’s Child,  go to your cross of wood.”

The death of Jesus on the cross is part of the hope that God brings at Christmas time because he loves us.  Jesus went to the cross of his own free will and gave his life for us, so that we can know forgiveness of all our sins, so that we can know God loves us.  Then Jesus rose from death, assuring us that we too will inherit eternal life of we follow him as our Saviour and Lord.

We need hope, and not just the hope the vaccination brings or that anything else on Earth brings, but a hope that will never fail us, a hope that is eternal, the hope of the world, Mary’s child, our Lord Jesus Christ who brings us forgiveness of sins and eternal life.  That is the hope we need and have, not just this year but every year until he comes again.

Which brings us to Hark!  The herald-angels sing, a carol by Charles Wesley and like many of his best hymns absolutely crammed full of stuff about God..  We have the confirmation of Jesus’ fully human and fully divine nature, “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.  Hail, the incarnate Deity!’  More on that later.  We also see confirmation of the hope Jesus brings, “born that man no more may die” which in less gender exclusive language means born that all genders no more may die but be given the life that is never ending.  Hark!  The herald-angels sing is my favourite carol to sing, but it’s not my favourite carol.

My favourite isn’t one that many would choose their favourite, but its mine because of the depth of theology (thinking about God) in its five verses.  The carol is Let earth and heaven combine and the line I want to reflect on is, “our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man”: a good summation of John 1: 1-14:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God;  all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.  He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.

The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.  He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." RSV

This is what Christmas is really all about, “our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.”

The Message version of the Bible gives us some understanding here: “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighbourhood.”  For me this really drives home just what happened on that first Christmas morning.  God himself became flesh and blood.  God became just like us.

As a baby Jesus was just like any other baby, completely helpless and dependent on his earthly parents for everything.  Jesus needed feeding, and in those days that meant breast feeding, a very intimate moment between mother and child.  Jesus needed burping, he needed cuddles and kisses and, yes, he needed his dirty, smelly nappies changing.  This is what incarnation means: God becoming like us in every way.

When we really think about what happened in Jesus, that the eternal Word of God became fully human as well as fully divine, then we begin to appreciate the humility of our God in becoming a helpless baby.

When we think about the babe of Bethlehem we cannot do so without the shadow of the cross intruding.  God, in Jesus, was not born just to die: he was born to show us what a fully lived, loving, self-giving human life really looks like.  He was born to show us what God us truly like and to teach us the truth about real love.

But it was also Jesus destiny to die on a Roman cross and then to rise from the dead so that we can be sure our sins are forgiven and have eternal life.

All this God did for us!

I used to be uncomfortable with any mention of the Crucifixion at Christmas, because to me it spoilt what I had always been taught was a time of great peace and joy:  but we celebrate Christmas only because of the cross and resurrection and they do indeed belong together.  God’s saving work began in Bethlehem, but it finished on the Calvary cross.

Just a few reflections on a few lines in a few of our many carols.  It’s interesting where God, by the Holy Spirit, can lead our thoughts when we think about the meaning of some carol words.

If you have some time this Christmas you might like to spend time thinking about the meaning of the words in some of our carols, about what they tell us about God and just how much God loves us.

I’ll leave you with one or two suggestions to get you started:

“Enter then, O Christ most holy; make a Christmas in my heart”. Cradled in a Manger Meanly

“What can I give him, poor as I am?”  In the Bleak Midwinter

“Love came down at Christmas, love all lovely, love divine”. Love Came Down at Christmas

“cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today”. O Little Town of Bethlehem

I finish with some words from yet another carol:

Jesus is the heart of Christmas,

  give the Lord his rightful place!

  Jesus is the heart of Christmas

  welcome him with love and praise.

May I take this opportunity to pray that you have happy and blessed Christmas and New Year.

A Christian Reflection for Remembrance Sunday

 Micah 4:1-8

Matthew 5:1-12

Reflection 

For many of us Remembrance Sunday is a time of looking back to the past, of remembering those who gave their lives in war, believing that the sacrifice they offered was for the greater good. 

Here in Accrington there are constant and appropriate reminders of those young men called the Accrington Pals: in the name of the health centre, in the name of a café in the market and in other places in the town.  Quite rightly we remember the sacrifice of those brave young men and we mourn their loss.

As a Minister I have, of course, preached before on Remembrance Sunday, and yet my mind goes back to my childhood and three particular memories related to this day. 

My first memory is of the very first time I went to the Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial in Poulton Le Fylde.  I was eight years old and had just joined the Cub Scouts.  In those days cubs had to wear grey shorts as a part of the uniform.  We had to march from our church to the War Memorial, about the same distance as from here to Accrington Cemetery, on a bitterly cold and windy day.  My legs were covered in goose bumps and I was shivering.  As we marched along I heard a little old lady in the crowd watching us march by say, “Isn’t it nice to see little boys in short trousers.”  We’re in church and I’m a Minister so I can’t repeat the thoughts that went through my mind at that moment! 

My second memory is of being a little older and asking my granddad why he never went to the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday.  He had fought in the Second World War and for part of the war was in charge of one of the big guns in the desert.  In all the time I had known him he had never talked about the war and I’d found out what he’d done from my grandma.  When I asked him the question he was quiet for a long time and then he said that he didn’t go because he just wanted to forget about the war, that he found thinking again about the friends he’d lost and the people he’d killed too painful.  He understood why others took part in the Act of Remembrance, but he just didn’t want to. 

My third memory is of a school history trip to Belgium to visit some of the sites and museums associated with the First World War.  I have many memories of that trip, but my abiding memory is visiting one of the WW1 cemeteries and seeing row upon row of simple white headstones, each one representing the life of a man who was brave enough to lay down his life for the freedom of others.  Standing amongst those graves, even as a fifteen year old, gave me a profound respect for the bravery of those who gave their lives in war and an absolute conviction that war is a terrible, terrible thing and that we, the human race, must do all we can to ensure that we have peace in our world and that war, any war, becomes a thing of the past.

As a child I naively thought that wars were something that belonged in the past; that surely human beings were now too civilised to even think that war could ever be an answer.  Then along came the Falklands War and the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan and so many other conflicts.  I now wonder sometimes if it is even possible for human beings to share a planet without going to war with each other.

I wonder that as a human being with all my doubts and fears and yet when I turn to the word of God in Scripture I know that there will indeed come a time when human beings will be able to live together in perfect peace.  I know it as surely as I know anything, because the word of God is true and our faithful God can be completely relied upon to do all He has said He will do. 

In our Old Testament reading the prophet Micah looks forward to the future, to a time when God will rule the world from Jerusalem.  It looks forward to a time when there will be no more war, when, as he poetically writes, “they will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”  This will be a time when “nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore.”  There will no longer be any need for war and conflict because God will “judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.” 

Micah 4:4 gives us a lovely vision of that peace; telling us “every man will sit under his own vine, his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid.”

We know this to be true because Micah tells us, “the Lord Almighty has spoken.”  God only speaks truth.  If God tells us it will happen then it will happen.  The word of God is a cast iron guarantee that we should never, ever doubt. 

This vision in Micah, given to the prophet by God himself, is a vision of the future, of the time predicted when Jesus will return, when heaven and earth will be united, and God will live with his.  This will be an eternity of peace and blessing and war will be forever ended.

This is the eternity described at the end of the Book of Revelation.  In chapter 21 we read, “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.”  This is God’s promise for our future.  There will be no more war because “no more death or mourning or crying or pain”. 

God’s promise to us for the future when God renews heaven and earth.  No more war.  Everlasting peace!  God has promised it.  It will happen 

But what about the time in between now and the promised future of peace to come?  How are we to react as Christians to conflicts in the present age? 

In our Gospel passage we read that Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”  It is important for us to notice that Jesus said ‘peacemakers’ and not ‘peace lovers’.  A peace lover is somebody who will do all they can to maintain the peace and will even allow a dangerous and threatening situation to develop because they do not want to take any action.  Peace makers are those who face situations of conflict and war, whether in personal relationships or between nations; and do all they can to take the action the situation demands.

Peace makers can be soldiers and sailors and airmen.  I am sure that my Granddad would have much rather been at home in Poulton Le Fylde than firing that big gun in the Sahara desert.  He joined the army and went because he believed that the only way there could be a peaceful world at that time was by fighting to oppose the Axis powers.  The Accrington Pals and all those men whose bodies lie under those white headstones in Belgium went to fight in the trenches not because they loved war but because they loved peace and wanted to fight for the restoration of a peace that had been taken from them. 

Peace makers are called ‘children of God’ because they are joining in with the mission of Jesus.  At the heart of all human conflict is sin, a selfish desire to have what we want without putting the needs of others before our own.  Jesus came to our world to show us the ugliness of sin and the beauty of a life of love that is lived in worship of God and service to others.  Jesus knew what it was to be a peacemaker because he came to bring peace between human beings and God and gave his own life on the cross to bring that peace.  When we act as peacemakers, even at the cost of our own life, we are faithfully following Jesus’ example.  

There are still wars in our world today.  There is civil war in Syria and other armed conflicts all over our world.  It is right that we hope for a world where war is no more, it is a Christian hope and it is the will of God expressed in scripture.  At the same time it is right that we remember this day with thankfulness those who have given their lives, both those in the military and civilians, that we might enjoy the relative peace we have now until that time comes when we will live in the peace of God forever.

Home Service Sheet 23rd August 2020

INTRODUCTION

In todays’ service sheet we focus on Peter’s recognition of Jesus as Messiah and ask the question, who do we say that Jesus is?


CALL TO WORSHIP

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
  
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

  let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,
  
and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

    the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

 and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
  
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!


StF 46 “Everlasting God”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjOLDaSfIHQ



Prayer

Almighty and Loving God,

we come before you now,

at different times and indifferent places

to offer you our worship and praise,

to pray to you
And to hear your word for us.

Lord, unite us as sisters and brothers in Christ,

separated by time and place,
But united in our love for you.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.



HYMN:  STF  15 “The Splendour of the King”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKLQ1td3MbE



PRAYERS

Adoration

Gracious and loving God,
we have come together
in all our different places and circumstances
to worship you, to praise you and to adore you.

We worship you as the source of all things.
Without you there would be nothing,
with you there is everything
for you are the ground of all being.

We worship you as Father and Mother,
a divine parent who cares for each of us
as your precious children,
who you nurture, teach and love,
forgiving our mistakes
and giving us eternal life.

We worship you as Christ,

The Lord and Saviour of our world:
God and man, fully divine and full human,
the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life,
the Light of the World, the True Vine,
the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection and the Life.

We worship you as Holy Spirit,
as our Counsellor and Guide,

Dwelling within us and showing us
the way to live and love.

To you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
the ground of all being,
belongs all worship, praise and adoration forever.
Amen.

Confession
Almighty God, loving and forgiving,
we come to make our confession.

We confess all the times our actions or inactions have hurt others.
We confess all the untrue and hurtful words we have spoken.
We confess our unloving and unforgiving thoughts.

Forgive us, loving God,
for the sake of Jesus who died for us,
and hep us to obediently and joyfully serve you,
this day and forever more.  Amen.





READING:  Matthew 16: 13-20

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.


HYMN:  STF 363 “My Jesus, My Saviour”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqSQvoinDE4



SERMON

Most people can point to significant turning points in their lives, to a time or times in their lives when things really changed.

I remember the big turning points in my own life; the day I asked Susan to marry me and she said yes, the day I gave my life to Jesus at Hollybush Farm Christian Fellowship in the Yorkshire Dales and the day I was ordained as a Presbyter in Coventry Central hall.

Our gospel account this morning marks several turning points:

It is a turning point in Matthew’s gospel, the lynch pin of the gospel if you like.  It marks the moment in history when Jesus was first acknowledged by another human being as Christ.

It is a turning point in the life of Jesus.  Before this time he seems to wander around somewhat at random, healing people, teaching large crowds and enjoying good company.  After this Jesus spends much more time alone with just the twelve disciples, teaching them about his suffering and death as he sets off towards Jerusalem.

It is a huge turning point in the life of Peter.  Knowing who Jesus was made a huge difference to him.

So, Jesus asks his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?”  This is one of the most important questions ever asked in whole history of human race.  Jesus asked it of the twelves and asks it of us today.  “Who do you say I am?”

Various answers have been offered by people to that question over the years.  There are hundreds of books published today with ideas about who Jesus was – it nearly is always ‘was’ too, few will admit the truth that Jesus is still alive with God in heaven.

Some say Jesus never existed, but they are in a very small minority.

Some say Jesus just a gifted teacher like the Buddha, or Mohammed.


Some say that Jesus a prophet.  Muslims say he is indeed a prophet second only to Mohammed.

Some say he was a political revolutionary whose main aim was to overthrow Romans, and he was executed as a revolutionary.

I think that there are many ideas and theories about Jesus because truth too uncomfortable for many.  If Jesus was and is who he said, the Son of God who died on the cross for forgiveness of sins, rose from the dead to bring the assurance of eternal life and ascended to heaven then that is the most important thing in the world.  It means we have listen to what he says and live the lives he would have us live, selfless lives full of giving, self-sacrifice and love.  Many don’t want Jesus to be who he really is because he is too challenging, so they come up with all sorts of ideas about who he might have been to avoid the very real and uncomfortable truth; that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose from the dead.

Who do you say Jesus is?

Peter was certain who Jesus was.  In answer to Jesus question he replied, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”   As a result of this Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.”

What did Jesus mean by this, and how does it apply to us today? William Barclay calls these verses “one of the storm centres of New Testament interpretation.”

It is possible to understand this passage as meaning that the rock is the truth that Jesus is the Son of the living God.  The truth that Jesus is the Son of God is indeed the foundation stone of the church’s faith and belief.

Another way to understand these verses is that the rock is Peter’s faith.  It was from that faith that Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, the day the church was born in Jerusalem.

The final way to understand it is that Peter himself is the rock, but in a special sense.  The rock on which the church is founded is, of course, Jesus Christ himself.  Peter, in his first Letter, writes of Jesus in these terms, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner.”  The words of a hymn also come to mind: “The churches one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Peter is the rock in the sense that he is the first person to profess faith in Jesus: the first person to declare that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, the first Christian, in fact!  In that sense the church is built on him.  What Jesus said to Peter was: “Peter, you are the beginning of the new people of the Lord, the new fellowship of those who believe in my name.”

There is something helpful in all these understandings.  Peter’s faith in Jesus is the faith we should all share as Christian believers.  When Jesus asks us “Who do you say I am?” we too should be replying “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”  That statement is the foundation of our faith, the rock on which we should be building our lives; the faith that, like Peter, we should be proclaiming to others in our words and deeds and our very lives!



HYMN:  STF 331 “King of Kings, Majesty”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnuRIdNwiwg



PRAYERS

Please use the suggests headings as areas for your prayers of concerns.

Let us offer our prayer with all God’s people|
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
who ever lives to pray for us.

We pray for the needs of the world….

We pray for your church….

We pray for all in trouble or distress….

We pray for all who make a new beginning today…..

God of compassion and mercy,
listen to our prayer.
May what we ask in Jesus Christ your Son
be done according to his word who said,
 “Ask, and you will receive,
 seek, and you will find,
 knock, and the door will be opened to you,”

To you, merciful God,
through your son,
in the lifegiving Spirit,
be glory and praise forever.  Amen.



HYMN: STF 317 ‘At the Name of Jesus”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4d4UXSJXig



BLESSING

May the love of the Lord rest upon your soul.
May his love dwell in you throughout every day.
May his countenance shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May his Spirit be upon you as you leave this place.
And may the blessing of Almighty God,  Spirit, Son and Father,
be with you all,
this day and for eternity.  Amen.

Home Service Sheet - 16th August 2020

HOME SERVICE SHEET
16th August 2020


INTRODUCTION

Welcome to our Sunday worship.  This mornings service is based around the Lectionary gospel reading outlining Jesus encounter with the Canaanite woman.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
 and make his face to shine upon us,

that your way may be known upon earth,
 your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
 let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
 for you judge the peoples with equity
 and guide the nations upon earth.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
 let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has yielded its increase;
 God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
 let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Click the link below to hear our opening worship song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccTX3djRl44


HYMN:  StF 82 “How Great Thou Art”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GKhDCsLrUg



PRAYERS

Loving God,

we lift our arms in praise to you,
  we lift our hearts in love for you,
  and we raise our eyes to adore you.

You are our God, the only true God,
  the God who created our world;
  the God who called Abraham and Sarah to go to the land you would give him,
  the God who called Moses and Miriam to lead your people to freedom:
  the God who still calls people today.

You are our God, the only true God,
  the God who came to our world in Jesus,
  the God who taught, healed and worked miracles,
  the God who went to the cross so we might know forgiveness,
  the God who rose to new life, assuring us of our eternal life.

You are our God, the only true God,
  the God who comes to live with us,
  the God who is our Counsellor and Guide,
  the God who is our power and our strength.

You are our God, the only true God,
  we lift our arms in praise to you,
  we lift our hearts in love for you,
  and we raise our eyes to adore you.
This day and forever more.  Amen.



HYMN:  StF 421 “Empty, Broken, Here I Stand”

We sing our confession this morning in. the words of this hymn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72204B7fgqU



READING:  Matthew 15: 21-28

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.  Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.



HYMN:  StF 277 “My Song is Love Unknown”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNN9DBobCdw



SERMON

There’s easy no way around it, our gospel passage for this morning is a difficult one to read and a difficult one to hear.

A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus for help because her daughter is possessed by a demon.  The disciples ask Jesus to tell her to go away.  We expect Jesus to help her straight away, but he doesn’t.   Jesus basically says I was only sent to help Jews and goes on, by implication, to call her a dog.  Eventually, because of her faith, Jesus is persuaded to heal her.  On the surface it doesn’t portray Jesus in the best light; but as if often the case with the Scriptures we need to dig beneath the surface.

Jesus was in the district of Tyre and Sidon, a place Jews seldom went to.  We are coming near to the end of Jesus’ life here and the commentaries suggest that he went there with his disciples for a time of quiet; to spend time preparing himself and his disciples for Jerusalem and the cross.  In that region Jesus wouldn’t be bothered by the hostility of the Scribes and Pharisees and he could take a rest from the demands for healings and casting out demons.  Jesus wasn’t running from anything but he sought a time of quiet to prepare himself and his friends for the coming spiritual battle.

But even in Tyre and Sidon Jesus wasn’t left alone.  As he and his disciples were walking along the road the Canaanite woman came to them, persistently shouting, ““Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

The disciple’s reaction is fairly typical of them and where they were in their spiritual development.  ““Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us” was the demand they made of Jesus.  They had little compassion for the woman and her daughter; she was just a nuisance they wanted rid of as quickly as possible.

Do we ever feel that way about people who come to us for help?  That knock on the door from a friend with an urgent problem when we are halfway through a meal.  That late night phone call from somebody who needs us to come out and help them?  The person in the street who asks for help when we are in a hurry to get somewhere?  How do we react to them?  How do we react when we are busy or tired or just want some time to ourselves and somebody needs our help?

And so we come to Jesus; and I have no doubt that he was moved with love, pity and compassion towards the Canaanite woman. But he had a dilemma.  Jesus understanding was that his Father had sent hm to the Jews and that was who he should focus his time and energy on.  Yet here was a Canaanite woman who showed the beginnings of faith in God and had a daughter in need.  How could he not help to bring a true and living faith to her.

So Jesus turned to the woman and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  Now, when this passage is read out in church this sentence is often delivered in stern, judgemental tones; but what if Jesus said it lightly and playfully?

Then Jesus said, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”  We don’t know the tone of voice Jesus used or the expression on his face.  It could have been said lightly and Jesus could have had a smile on his face.  In fact, given what we know about the character of Jesus isn’t this much more likely?  Isn’t it incredibly likely that Jesus was smiling as he said it, urging her to go on?

And the Canaanite woman does.  “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  What a demonstration of faith!  By calling Jesus “Lord” she is equating him with God.  By mentioning the crumbs, she is demonstrating faith that even the smallest bit of his power is enough.

The Canaanite woman has come to the faith that Jesus knows she needs.  We can just see Jesus’ eyes lighting up with joy as she speaks and show such great faith.  We can see the smile on his face and hear his pleasure in the comforting words Jesus speaks, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”

Jesus sees a woman in need.  He doesn’t reject her as his disciples wanted him to do.  But neither does Jesus just heal her.  He does heal her, but he also brings her to faith in him.  Jesus sees both her need for her daughter’s freedom from demon possession and her greater need for faith in him.

How often do we help people both physically and spiritually?  How often do we bring people to faith in Jesus?



HYMN:  StF 685 “In Christ there is No East or West”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNRyGGSOQLQ



PRAYERS OF CONCERN

In peace let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

For the peace that is from above
and for our salvation,
let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

For the peace of the whole earth,
and for life and unity of the Church,
let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

That we may worship God
in spirit and in truth,
let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

For all ministers of the Church
and the whole company of God’s people>
For Rev Louise and the people of Bright Street Methodist Church,
following the recent break in and vandalism.
let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

For the Governments of the nations
that they may seek justice and peace for all people,
let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

For our own country and local community,
let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

For the sick and afflicted,
let us pray to the Lord.

Lord have mercy.

Almighty God,
to whom our needs are known before we ask,
help us to ask only what accords with your will:
and those good things which we dare not
or in our blindness we cannot ask,
grant us for the sake of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who taught us when we pray to say:

The Lord’s Prayer


HYMN:  StF 327 “Jesus is King”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6WnLnaQUes



PRAYER & BLESSING

May the God of love
stir up in us the gifts of his grace
and sustain each of us
in our discipleship and service;
and the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
remain with us forever.  Amen.

Negatively Commenting On the Appearance of Others

 One of the things that has been on my mind lately is the compulsion some people seem to have to comment negatively on the appearance of others; to comment on their clothing choices, to comment on the length and style of their hair, to comment on whether or not they choose to wear makeup...... the list goes on.

My train of thought started with Boris Johnson and his comments a couple of years ago on a minority of Muslim women who choose to wear the niqab.  He disparaging comments were both uncalled for and unnecessary.  If Muslim women choose to wear the niqab or the burka, and it is their own free will choice not forced upon them by anybody else, then surely that is their own business.  There can be no possible reason for commenting on it.

I then moved on to thinking about hair length.  I sometimes have my hair reasonably short, but at other times grow it longer.  I happen to like it longer even though there isn’t a lot of it left on the top, it expresses my personality.  In my previous appointment there were people at one of my churches who would actually tell me it was time to get my hair cut; as if it was actually any of their business.  The length of my hair, or indeed other aspects of my appearance, are completely irrelevant to how I serve as a Church Minister.

Today I read the following on Twitter:

“Doing my makeup on the train this morning and a random man told me he likes a woman to have a more natural look. I told him I like men to have a more silent look.”

Why did this “man” feel the need to comment on a complete stranger putting on her makeup?  What business was it of his?  He is entitled to his opinion, of course, but why did he feel the need to express it?

I have literally lost count of the number of times I have heard people critcise the appearance of another, and sadly it happens in churches too.  A few years before I was ordained I heard a new Minister’s wife being criticised because she turned up for her first Sunday at church in a jumper and jeans, instead of the kind of smarter attire the vast majority of that church’s ladies favoured.  I’m told by reliable people that there was horror amongst some when I turned up to church in my thirties one Sunday without wearing a tie!

How about we all just stop making negative comments about the appearance of others? Seriously.  Just stop!  It doesn’t really achieve anything except to upset and hurt the person about whom the comments are made.  People think that criticising what other people wear is harmless, that they are “just expressing their opinion”, but it can cause emotional and mental damage and see that person repressing their true personality, the personality they are expressing through the way they dress, style their hair, choose their makeup etc.

Some who do this will defend the practice by saying they are just trying to help the person concerned: to help them look better etc..... Look better by whose standards?  In whose opinion?  It’s all subjective.

If you can’t same something nice about another’s appearance , why say it at all?

Bible Month Service for Sunday 21st June 2020

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to our worship for the third Sunday in June.  June is Bible month and so we continue to look at the Old Testament book of Ruth.


PRAYER

Blessèd are you, Lord our God,
Giver of life,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
At the opening of this day
you call us out of darkness
into your marvelous light.
Blessèd are you for ever and ever.  Amen.


HYMN: StF 24 “Come, Now is the Time to Worship”
https://youtu.be/NPWq8eM4lu8


PRAYERS

Adoration
Loving God, ground of all our being,
we come to worship you and adore you;

Very aware of the mystery of your being,
knowing that in so many ways you are beyond our understanding,
because if we could understand you, you wouldn’t be God.
You are beyond our understanding
but You have revealed enough of yourself
for us to know that you are worthy,
worthy of all our praise, all our adoration,
and all our love.

In the universe you made, formed from your Word,
a universe so vast our human minds are stunned by its size
you created billions of blazing stars that last for billions of year,
a variety of different planets and worlds.
You created this planet we inhabit,
this beautiful Earth with its incredible variety of life,
plants, fish, birds, animals,
all formed to be beautiful, expression of your love.
You made us too, in your own image and likeness,
created by you and loved by you as your children.

You are beyond our understanding
but You have revealed enough of yourself
for us to know that you are worthy,
worthy of all our praise, all our adoration,
and all our love.

You became part of your own creation,
walking the dusty roads of Galilee and Judea,
revealing yourself in Jesus,
wonderfully and impossibly both fully human and fully God.

You showed us who you are, in your healing and miracles,
through your actions and by your teaching.
You showed us the true nature of you love and care for us
through your suffering and crucifixion,
and assured us of the reality of eternal life
by your resurrection.

You showed us enough of yourself
so that we can know it is right
to offer our praise, worship and love.

You are beyond our understanding
but You have revealed enough of yourself
for us to know that you are worthy,
worthy of all our praise, all our adoration,
and all our love.

You entered our lives as Spirit,
as our Helper, Counsellor and Guide,
speaking to us through hymns, prayers, Scripture and preaching,
and through that still small voice that we know is you.

You are beyond our understanding
but You have revealed enough of yourself
for us to know that you are worthy,
worthy of all our praise, all our adoration,
and all our love.  Amen.

Confession
Loving and forgiving God,
we ask you that you would help us
to bring to mind those times when
we have failed you and each other.

Silence

We bring to mind those times in our lives when we have failed to love you.

Those times we have gone our own way, rather than yours.
  Those times when we have failed to love others.
  Those times when we have failed to love ourselves.

We have failed to follow the way of Christ
in our thinking, our speaking and our acting or failing to act.

We are truly sorry and ask for the assurance of your forgiveness.

In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Amen.


READING: Ruth 3

One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, ‘My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.  Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing-floor.  Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing-floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.  When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.’

‘I will do whatever you say,’ Ruth answered.  So she went down to the threshing-floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down.  In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned – and there was a woman lying at his feet!

‘Who are you?’ he asked.

‘I am your servant Ruth,’ she said. ‘Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.’

‘The Lord bless you, my daughter,’ he replied. ‘This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.  And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.  Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I.  Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.’

So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognised; and he said, ‘No one must know that a woman came to the threshing-floor.’

He also said, ‘Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.’ When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town.

When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, ‘How did it go, my daughter?’

Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, ‘He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, “Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.”’

Then Naomi said, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.’



HYMN: StF 338 “There is a Redeemer”

https://youtu.be/ldRcFz7rK7w



SERMON

The third chapter of Ruth is often known by preachers as the “difficult chapter”, not because there is any difficult or controversial theology in it, but because, if you understand certain Biblical euphemisms, it’s definitely an adult chapter.

I said at the start of Bible month that the account of Ruth’s life in the book that bears her name is a good story.  It would make a really good TV miniseries.  It begins with tragedy, then there is some hope, a seduction scene and the tension of what will happen next and finally a happy ending.

Our chapter begins and end as chapter two did, with Ruth and Naomi together in the home that they shared. At this point Naomi seems to have fixed on Boaz as the solution to all their problems and basically sends Ruth off to seduce Boaz, who has already shown an attraction towards her.  Noami tells Ruth to “wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes.”  Her intent couldn’t be clearer.

It becomes even more clear when you realise that the threshing floor was a place where, at the end of the harvest, the wine would flow freely, and anything could happen.

In addition to the preparations Naomi instructed Ruth to make, she also told her to “go down to the threshing-floor, but don’t let Boaz know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.  When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

It is here our euphemisms come in. “Uncover his feet” doesn’t mean his feet at all, it means something a bit higher up, and “lie down” is the equivalent of our modern expression “sleeping with somebody”.  It doesn’t just mean sleeping.

Does this make us feel uncomfortable?  It should.  Naomi has basically commanded Ruth to use her body to secure a future with Boaz for them both.  Naomi is using Ruth to secure her own future.

We can easily understand that Naomi treating Ruth in this way was wrong.  But there is another problem; Naomi’s actions demonstrate a lack of faith in God and God’s perfect timing.  God had been quietly and unobtrusively at work in the lives of Naomi and Ruth: first bringing them to Bethlehem as we saw in chapter one and then guiding Ruth into the field of Boaz, who was not only their relative but a potential kinsman redeemer who could give them a secure future.  God had done all that, yet Naomi either couldn’t wait for God’s timing or lost faith that God would indeed secure their future.

Have we ever done the same?  Have we ever lost faith in God’s love for us and God’s perfect timing and tried to move things along ourselves?

As a faithful daughter-in-law Ruth obeyed Naomi’s instructions, or at least she appeared to. A careful reading of our text suggests that Ruth interpreted Naomi’s instructions in such a way that she obeyed yet remained virtuous.

The way Ruth is portrayed throughout the book that bears her name suggests that she wouldn’t use illicit sex to secure a husband and hers and Naomi’s futures.  Throughout the book Ruth behaves in a Godly and honourable way and was not a woman who would break one of the commandments of the God she had committed herself to.  Boaz had been so impressed by Ruth’s conduct and character that he had pronounced God’s blessing upon her.

We are told that Ruth “went down to the threshing-floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.”  This is not the only translation of the original Hebrew.  Other translations have, “she did according to all that her mother-in-law commanded her.”  The line could be understood to mean that Ruth did all that Naomi had commanded but not literally in the way Naomi meant it.

Biblical commentators suggest that Ruth took Naomi’s euphemisms literally, so she lay at Boaz’s actual feet and actually slept.

This is confirmed by Boaz’s reaction when he woke.  He couldn’t see who Ruth was because she was lying at his feet.  All Boaz could see was a woman lying at his feet, which is why he asked, “Who are you?”  If Ruth had been lying closer than his feet, he would have known who she was.

Ruth then identifies herself.  “I am your servant Ruth. Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”

These are very carefully chosen words.  She is basically asking Boaz to marry her, to fulfil his legal obligation as “guardian-redeemer”.  This is further made clear by her use of the phrase “Spread the corner of your garment over me” in which she is not only asking for Boaz’s protection but asking him to be God’s answer to her prayers as the image of wings was often used to talk about God’s protection of his people.

This is also further evidence that Ruth didn’t follow Naomi’s instructions to the letter, because if Boaz and Ruth had slept together then, by the laws of that time, they were already married.

So we see that Ruth has behaved as honourably as she could in the circumstances, caught between her duty to obey her other-in-law Naomi and her faith in God and basic decency and honesty.  Boaz certainly saw nothing in Ruth’s words and deeds that would change his opinion of her: he calls her “a woman of noble character.”  This was very high praise indeed.

Can the same be said of us who claim to be disciples of Jesus.  Do people who know us think of us as men and women of noble character?  Do people who know our words and deeds think of us as Christlike people?  Do we attract people to think about following Jesus themselves?

And so we come to Boaz, the third person in our passage.  Is Boaz faithless and manipulative like Naomi, or is he an honourable man; a man of noble character?

Our passage makes it clear that the impression we gained of Boaz in Ruth 2 is the correct one, he is a godly man, an honourable man of noble character.

Boaz is very much a godly man.  In chapter 2 we saw him greet the harvesters with the words, “The Lord be with you.”  Later we see him give a great blessing to Ruth, “May the Lord repay you for what you have done.  May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Now we see his entirely honourable response to Ruth.  He is happy to marry her, to act as her kinsman-redeemer and indeed acknowledges that she could have run after a younger man, but she didn’t.  He is also entirely honourable in another way: Boaz acknowledges that there is another kinsman-redeemer who is closer than he and has the right to act in that role; even though it’s clear he wants to marry Ruth himself.  Boaz says he must give the closer relative the opportunity to redeem Ruth.  He will do it the very next morning.  He is willing to give up that which he desires, Ruth, because it is the honourable thing to do, because it is the law of God.

This is a challenge to us as Christian disciples.  Are we always willing to do the right thing even when it will mean we deny ourselves?

We think of Jesus in Gethsemane and his words to his Heavenly Father: ‘Abba, Father, everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will”

Sometimes to be faithful disciples of Christ we have to be willing to deny ourselves in order to obey our Lord.  Boaz was willing to deny himself the pleasure of marriage to Ruth if the closer kinsman-redeemer exercised his rights under Israelite law.  Jesus was willing to give his life on the cross in order that God’s will be done.

Are we willing to deny ourselves for the sake of others and of God?

At the beginning of Ruth 3 we see Naomi lacking faith in God and using Ruth, a person who has dedicated herself to Naomi’s welfare and care, in perhaps the worst way one woman can use another.  We see selfishness and a faith in God that has failed.

Then we come to Ruth, a woman of noble character who keeps her promise to obey Naomi but who does it in a way that is honourable and full of faith in God to bring about her redemption through Boaz.

Finally we have Boaz, the honourable godly man who puts the will of God and the laws of God before his own desires; the man who wants to do the right thing even though it might cost him.

Appropriately Boaz and Ruth are direct ancestors of Jesus, whose self-sacrifice brought our redemption.  As Christian disciples it is their example we should follow as we seek to follow Jesus, our Saviour and Lord.

Amen.



HYMN: StF 615 “Let Love be Real”

https://youtu.be/SkBAxZw5NxU



PRAYERS: Intercession

Gracious and loving God,
beyond all time and space,
yet intimately involved in every human life,
we bring our prayers to you now,
trusting in your goodness and mercy.

We pray for our sisters and brothers in Christ,
not only in our own churches but across the world.
We think especially of those who are not able to meet
for worship and fellowship and to share Holy Communion
either because of Covid-19
or because their faith makes it very difficult in their country.

Lord hear us.
Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for the leaders of our world,
faced with difficult decisions about Covid restrictions
about how to revive deteriorating economic conditions
and about how to bring about equality for all,
whatever their race, creed, gender or sexuality.

Lord hear us.
Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for those who are in real personal need at this time:
those who have lost their jobs and income,
those who cannot afford to feed their families,

Those who cannot afford the basic necessities of life.

Lord hear us.
Lord graciously hear us.

We pray for those who are sick,
in body, mind or spirit.
For those at home, in hospital or in care homes.
We pray for those known to us who are poorly at this time……

Lord hear us.
Lord graciously hear us.

We bring all these prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us when we pray to say….

The Lord’s Prayer



HYMN: StF 440 “Amazing Grace”

https://youtu.be/HsCp5LG_zNE


BLESSING

The love of the Father enfold us,
the wisdom of the Son enlighten us,
the fire of the Spirit enflame us;
and the blessing of God, the Three in One,
be upon us and abide with us now and for ever.  Amen.

Bible Month Service for Sunday 14th June 2020

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to our worship for the second Sunday in June. June is Bible moth and so we will be looking at the Old Testament book of Ruth for the next four weeks.

HYMN: StF 364 “O For a Thousand Tongues”

https://youtu.be/i289qFwVGKo

PRAYERS:

‘We will exalt you, our God the King; we will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day we will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever’ A moment of silence Prayer of Adoration Creator God, we glimpse your beauty in setting sun, mountain top, eagle’s wing. We sense your power in thunder crash, lightning flash and ocean’s roar. Creator God we praise you Precious Jesus, we see your love stretched out upon a cruel cross. We stand in awe at your sacrifice, pure love poured out for humankind. Precious Jesus we praise you Holy Spirit, we see your power in lives transformed, hearts on fire. We listen for your still, small voice, comforting, guiding, calling. Holy Spirit we praise you.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

We see your beauty, power and love

Sustaining and transforming

Each and every day.

We worship, praise and adore you

Through the precious name of your Son

Our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayer of Confession Loving God, as we worship you, we marvel at your greatness and are amazed by your goodness.

As we look at you, we look also at ourselves.

In your perfection, we see our imperfection.

In your love, we see our lack of love.

In your generosity, we see our meanness.

In your willingness to forgive and heal, we see the burdens we don’t want to release.

Gracious God, as we pray to you now,

We are mindful of the baggage we carry:

The worries, the fears, the guilt we long to be rid of,

Yet keep clinging on to.

Forgive us, Lord,

That although we try to let go of our burdens,

We all too readily pick them up again,

Thinking our sin is too great for your love.

We lay down before you now those things that weigh us down.

Lord Jesus, we rejoice that you came to seek the imperfect:

The sinners, the lost, the mistaken ones,

People like us.

We ask you now to cut away the burdens that weigh us down;

Cut them completely, Lord,

Let them fall away from us forever.

In your gentleness lift us up again to a new life,

Freed and renewed!

For we pray in Jesus name. Amen

READING: Ruth 2

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.

And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour.’

Naomi said to her, ‘Go ahead, my daughter.’ So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.

Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, ‘The Lord be with you!’

‘The Lord bless you!’ they answered.

Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, ‘Who does that young woman belong to?’

The overseer replied, ‘She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.” She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.’

So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.’

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, ‘Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?’

Boaz replied, ‘I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.’

‘May I continue to find favour in your eyes, my lord,’ she said. ‘You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant – though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.’

At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.’

When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, ‘Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.’

So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

Her mother-in-law asked her, ‘Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!’

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. ‘The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,’ she said.

‘The Lord bless him!’ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. ‘He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.’ She added, ‘That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.’

Then Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He even said to me, “Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.”’

Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.’

So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

HYMN: StF 338 “There is a Redeemer”

https://youtu.be/ldRcFz7rK7w

REFLECTION: (by Rev Christine Leech)

One of my hobbies is reading and I really enjoy detective stories. I like to try and find the solution to the crime by finding and following the clues.I'm not all that good at it but I enjoy the challenge. Quite often the writer leaves it to near the end ofthe story before revealing a clue or secret which is the key which unlocks the solving of the crime.

In today's chapter of the book of Ruth the writer reveals to us as readers in the first sentence something that Ruth is unaware of. The writer tells us about Boaz, a kinsman of Elimelech, Naomi's late husband and that he is a prominent rich man. So when Ruth meets Boaz in what seems to be a purely accidental way we are in the know. We never know when what we see as a chance encounter with someone as we go about our daily lives, that this is God , showing his care and grace to us, through a chance encounter with a stranger.

We have been told that Boaz is a kinsman of Elimalech, a member of the family. In the Old Testament family means a much wider network of relations than our quite often small families today. The family was the basic unit of Israelite society and the ownership of land was also very important. All the land was God's who gave it to families as an inheritance.

Family solidarity was very strong in Israel and members of the family had obligations to help and protect one another. Boaz was wealthy. He was a man of worth, of means, of integrity and influence. All these attributes along with his family connections are important in the role he will play in the continuing story of Ruth. There is a growing relationship between Ruth a poor widowed girl from Moab, a foreigner, and Boaz the influential wealthy man who was related to Elimelech.

Ruth seeks Naomi's permission to go to the harvest field to glean. She obviously knows about the law concerning gleaning. This is explained in Leviticus 19:9-10:

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest, you shall leave them for the poor and the alien."

Enshrined in the law is concern for the needy, the helpless and the foreigner. God is a God who rescues slaves and cares for the poor, helpless and needy and so God's people should behave in the same way, they should reflect the nature of God.

What does that mean for us? To what extent then should we help the underprivileged and poor? Surely this should be a major part of our mission. In our Circuit we have Food Banks to help those in need and the ARC to help the refugees and asylum seekers who come to our country as Ruth came to Israel. But will this be enough in the coming months of hardship and unemployment? Should each church be now thinking and planning how we can help? Helping the needy is not an option it's an obligation, part of belonging to God's family.

Ruth sees the generous provision for the poor but knows this depended on the goodwill of the owner of the field. Here, at this point in the story we have Boaz as a generous provider and Ruth as a needy person who is dependent on another's gracious giving. Ruth's request, Naomi's encouragement, Ruth's choice of field, Boaz's decision to harvest his field at this time all come together and are used by God to demonstrate his care. God uses our choices, our decisions, our responsibilities to bring about his purposes.

Ruth understands herself as a foreigner. Boaz welcomes her as a member of the family of God who has come to seek refuge under the wings of God. Here we see grace is to do with the provision of personal needs. God not only governs his world, he sustains and provides for it. His gracious provision for us often comes through the gracious generosity of others - we have seen and learned of many examples of this during lockdown. Boaz's kind words and deeds possibly showed Ruth that there was light and hope after her pain and suffering.

We need in our Christian life to be accountable to God and care for others, to be open to God's direction and grace and open to the claim on us of the needs of others. Our lives and relationships are meant to mirror God's

Our prayer should be how in this situation we find ourselves in can we as churches and individuals show God's love and care to those in need?

Amen.

HYMN: StF 471 “Lord I Come to You”

https://youtu.be/H9_0jiO5ZRM

PRAYERS OF CONCERN

Lord Jesus Christ,

Whose death and resurrection brought the possibility of healing and wholeness to a broken world;

Hear us now as we pray.

Living Lord Jesus,

Bring healing and wholeness to our broken world.

We pray for the church throughout the world,

thinking particularly of our brothers and sisters who are struggling with not being able to gather physically together for worship, those who are missing sharing in Holy Communion and in fellowship over tea and coffee.

We pray for West Pennine Moors Methodist Circuit, for our Ministers and Local Preachers, that in faith and unity we may be constantly renewed by your Holy Spirit for mission and service.

Living Lord Jesus,

Bring healing and wholeness to our broken world.

We pray for the peoples of the world, for those who are suffering under brutal regimes, for those who have little or nothing to eat, for those who suffer prejudice because of the colour of their skin, their religious convictions, their sexuality or their gender and for those for whom life seems hopeless.

Lord, we pray that all people on this earth would know justice, freedom and peace

Living Lord Jesus,

Bring healing and wholeness to our broken world.

We pray for our own country and for those who have authority and influence. We pray that injustice and suffering in our own country would be addressed and ask that you would guide our leaders to serve us with wisdom, honesty and compassion.

Living Lord Jesus,

Bring healing and wholeness to our broken world.

We pray for those among whom we live and work. We know so many people who do not know you, who do not understand what you did for them on that Calvary cross, who do not know the power of resurrection and the Holy Spirit and of your love in their lives. Help us to use the gifts you have given us to love them and give them a good Christian witness so that the love we have in our lives would draw them to your eternal love.

Living Lord Jesus,

Bring healing and wholeness to our broken world.

We pray for all who are in sorrow, need, anxiety or sickness. This morning we pray especially for Kath Heyworth and her family following the death of her mother Sheila: that in their pain and suffering they may know your comforting and healing presence, and in despair find hope.

Living Lord Jesus,

Bring healing and wholeness to our broken world.

In you, Lord Jesus Christ, we are one family in earth and heaven. We remember in your presence those whose earthly lives are ended and we give you thanks for those who have revealed your love to us.

Help us to follow the example of your saints in light and bring us with them to the fullness of your eternal joy and love.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us when we pray to say….

The Lord’s Prayer

HYMN: H&P “Lord Thy Church on Earth is Seeking”

https://youtu.be/iujyEnur7M4

BLESSING May the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us all, with those we love; and with those who, for the sake of Christ we ought to love. This day and forever more. Amen.