Biblical Invitations

Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you” John 15:4

O God of peace, our hearts are heavy

And our brains can barely keep up with the breaking news.
We don’t know what to say or what to do in a world so wounded.
So we come to you with hearts heavy for
All who sit in the crossfires of violence and acts of war.

O God of peace, be with the people of Ukraine.

With the mothers who carry babies to subway shelters.
With the fathers who hold their heads in their hands.
With the children who absorb the traumas.
Of violent acts of powerful men.

O God of peace, we don’t know the words to pray
For a warring world and all who are vulnerable in it.
We don’t pretend to know the extent of the damages
Or what tomorrow (or today) will bring.
But we know that you are a God of peace
And we can’t bomb our way to shalom.

O God of peace, comfort the crying and heal the hurt.
Tend the aching and soothe the fearful.
Make us instruments of your peace
Creating a sacred symphony where
Rhythms of grace are danced upon
And evil has lost its sting, now and forevermore.
O God of peace, hear our prayer.

It is a lovely image: you, Jesus, as the vine, me as a branch filled with your sap, stretching along the trelliswork, linking with other branches, drawing nourishment from the sun into my leaves, till I am heavy with sweet purple grapes. When I see the fruit, I may be tempted to imagine I did it myself. If in our encounters with others we bring just ourselves and our own ego, we bring them death. When we bring Jesus, we bring life. Abide with me, Lord.

William Willimon, American United Methodist Bishop tells of two men he knew  a barber, who, after a long day of cutting people’s hair for money, goes out to a hospital for the mentally ill and cuts hair there for free. A friend of his is an accountant who after a long day of serving people’s financial interests for money goes out at night to cruise local bars, pick up women for one-night stands, and to enjoy himself as much as possible. ... Both men, the barber and the accountant, are apprentices, people attached to some larger vision of what life is about, why we were put here. One is attached to Jesus; the other is attached to American consumerism and selfish hedonism.”  The difference between these two men: their connection. Do they abide in Christ? Do they let their lives bear fruit to show love to others?

Today we are invited to recognise our close relationship with Jesus, which he compares to the relationship between a vine and the branches that grow on it. What does it mean for our lives that the life of Jesus flows into us? What does it mean for us personally to know that we are as much a part of Jesus as the branch is a part of the vine? Are there things in our lives that would be different if we consciously realised this? What are they? Reflect on these things today.

Dear Lord, you seem to love that little word ‘abide’. You use it eight times in this passage! Let me love it too. Your abiding is steady: you are constantly at home with me. You don’t drift off or grow bored as I do. Teach me this art of abiding. Amen

Biblical Invitations

Lord God,
We ask you to hold the people of Ukraine deep in your heart.
Protect them, we pray;
From violence,
From political gamesmanship,
from being used and abused.
Give, we pray,
the nations of the world the courage
and the wisdom
to stand up for justice
and the courage too,
to dare to care - generously.
Lord in your mercy,
Take from us all,
The tendencies in us
That seek to lord it over others:
Take from us those traits
that see us pursuing our own needs and wants
before those of others.
Teach us how to live in love
And dignity
And respect - following your example.
In your name and for your sake,
Amen

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

“Come” is a familiar word in scripture. “Come back to me; come and see; come follow me.” God continues to invite us, desiring what is best for us. This is the God who leads us to restful waters, who desires that work be service, not slavery. We are promised the help we need by a gentle and humble Lord to walk more lightly in life, knowing that he is with us.

This simple invitation goes straight to the heart and perhaps it is helpful if we spend time letting it echo within us, as we bring to Jesus all our weariness and heavy burdens, one by one.

Is he really saying “learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart.” One of the most popular titles for Jesus in the Gospel was that of Rabbi, teacher. Here he invites us to learn from him: he describes himself as gentle and humble. Were these the two qualities he liked most about himself, where he wants us to be most like him? I pray to be a good student of this unique teacher.

There is a legend that Jesus made the best ox-yokes in all Galilee, and that from all over the country men came to him to buy the best yokes that skill could make. In those days, as now, shops had their signs above the door; and it has been suggested that the sign above the door of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth may well have been: "My yokes fit well." It may well be that Jesus is here using a picture from the carpenter's shop in Nazareth where he had worked throughout the silent years.

Jesus says, "My yoke fits well." What he means is: "The life I give you is not a burden to gall you; your task is made to measure to fit you." Whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly.

Prayer:

In times of weakness and hour of need,

yours is the strength by which we carry on,

the shoulder we rest our head upon.

When our load is heavy and too much to bear,

yours are the arms stretched out to help us

the grace that we depend on.

In times of weakness and hour of need,

your voice is heard,

‘Come… find rest.’

This is grace divine,

the path we tread to wholeness

of body and spirit,

the path that leads to you,

and for which we offer our offering of praise. Amen

Biblical Invitation

God of all,

with alarm and concern we bring before you
the military intervention in Ukraine.

In a world you made for peace and flourishing,
we lament the use of armed force.

We mourn every casualty of this conflict,
every precious life extinguished by war.
We pray comfort for those who grieve
and those who are fearful.

Hear our longing that leaders and nations
will honour the worth of all people
by having the courage
to resolve conflict through dialogue.

May all our human failings be transformed
by your wonderful grace and goodness.

We ask this in the name of Christ,
the author of peace and sustainer of Creation.

Amen.

Today’s Invitation

Peter and the other disciples have returned to fishing. In the morning, as the sun rises, they see a figure on the beach, cooking over a charcoal fire. He graciously invites Peter to breakfast. It is none other than the Lord who presides over this meal. And then the Lord looks into this betrayer’s face and commissions him to “feed my sheep.” The story isn’t over until God says it’s over.

God is like that.

What a wonderful and gentle image we find after the horrors of Crucufixion, “Jesus *said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord.” John 21:12

There is something about the simplicity of a heart felt personal invitation to share a meal. Come and have breakfast’ How simply and sensitively Jesus deals with us! He knows our needs and our hunger. He knows too that we can only manage the revelations of the divine in small portions. I could do well before my daily breakfast to listen to the Lord speaking my name and saying ‘Come and have breakfast.’ Imagine him serving us, if not with bread and fish, perhaps with a muffin and coffee! We begin to notice that through the day he continues to serve us what I need.

Consider how Peter may have felt in this scene? Somewhere in the back of his mind he sensed where that catch of fish had come from. Surely now his heart breaks open in repentant love when he is treated so kindly by the person he had betrayed? Peter is lost, floundering. He feels that he is a failure at what he usually does well. 

Do we identify with him sometimes? Notice that Peter is open to another voice which he dimly recognises, but not quite. He does what is suggested to him, and wonderful results follow.We may well question “Am I open to God’s kindly care which picks me gently up when I have fallen?” Amen

Jesus, you meet me at the water’s edge of my ordinary life. You accept me lovingly, you encourage me, you invite me to abundance. Nourished by the food of your word, warmed by the fire of your unfailing love, may I in turn nourish, heal and love those I meet today. Amen

Biblical Invitations

O Lord Jesus, Servant and Master, Bringer of Peace and Reconciliation, with deep sorrow and concern, we cry out to you for the beginnings of this war now occurring in Ukraine. We long for you to arrest this violence and destruction, to bring this war to a just end, and for your protection for all innocent victims and everyone directly involved in military action, in Ukraine and in Russia. Lord, in your mercy.

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.

With the recent change in law,  it will now be possible to hold a wedding ceremony wherever a couple may choose. There reference to weddings in scripture is quite significant. From the first miracle in Cannan to the Christ’s teachings to the Church being described as the bride of Christ. N.T. Wright claims for example that, “John’s gospel is all about the marriage of heaven and earth in Jesus Christ. That is the final purpose of God in creation – not the separation of heaven and earth but their wonderfully fruitful combining.

I invite you to read the whole passage from Matthew 22:1-14

This passage is once more about God’s generous call, this time to a sumptuous feast. Once again, however, he expects us to accept his invitation. Being invited places on us a real responsibility. Yet it is so easy to take God’s generosity for granted, and we find excuses not to respond, “they made light of it and went away!” What is God inviting me to at this point in my life? Am I as good at finding excuses not to answer his call? Am I the procrastinator, postponing my response to a more suitable moment? Once more I pray not to be deaf to his call, but ready to respond generously, to the best of my ability.

God’s generosity is not blocked by our carelessness or lack of response: he sends his servants to invite those who would not have qualified in the first place. This is another reference to the universality of God’s offer of salvation. It is all God’s gift. I thank God for his goodness to me and my people, and pray for a Church that is always open, seeking others willing to listen to God’s generous offer.

There is no room for complacency in this parable. The Swiss Protestant theologian, Karl Barth, sums it up: “In the last resort, it all boils down to the fact that the invitation is to a feast, and that he who does not obey and come accordingly, and therefore festively, declines and spurns the invitation no less than those who are unwilling to obey and appear at all.”

We are all invited to God’s banquet. However, some do not accept the invitation. Some even attack the messengers that bring the invitation. Let us pray for all God’s messengers.

God, thank you for the invitation to freely come to you and receive.  We confess our greatest need is for you and the living bread that you provide through a relationship with Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Biblical Invitations

Today’s prayer for Ukraine is in the form of a hymn used within the churches of that war-torn land.

Lord, oh the Great and Almighty,
Protect our beloved Ukraine,
Bless her with freedom and light
Of your holy rays.

With learning and knowledge enlighten
Us, your children small,
In love pure and everlasting
Let us, oh Lord, grow.

We pray, oh Lord Almighty,
Protect our beloved Ukraine,
Grant our people and country
All your kindness and grace.

Bless us with freedom, bless us with wisdom,
Guide into kind world,
Bless us, oh Lord, with good fortune
For ever and evermore.

Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table. (Read the whole passage in Luke 11:37-54)

Here we find a second incident where Jesus is invited to lunch by a Pharisee.

In the past two years we have heard endless messages about hand-washing and sanitising whereby cleanliness and hygiene have been continually highlighted due to the prevalence coronavirus. Back in the time when the Gospels were written, ritual washing had a practical element but it became much more than that.The gospel traditions makes clear that part of Jesus' message was a new way of thinking about what was 'holy'. For Jesus, holiness is not a matter of avoiding what is considered ritually impure. Such an attitude can only lead to fear and paralysis, because the boundaries between pure and impure need to be rigorously policed.

When Jesus and his followers eat and drink with those declared sinners and outcasts, God's Kingdom comes about: a moment of liberation. Jews and Gentiles eat together at the same table, without fear of contamination. Who cannot but be moved by the sight of Ukrainian women offering food and drink to the young Russian conscripts captured as part of the ongoing War.   

Pope Francis says that the person receiving communion ought to take on the mentality of Jesus and live for Him and for others. “One who is nourished by the sacrament assimilates the Lord’s very mentality. He is Bread broken for us and those who receive it become in turn broken bread, which is not leavened with pride, but is given to others: they stop living for themselves, for success, to gain something or to become someone, but live for Jesus and like Jesus, that is, for others”.

The invitation to come to the table of the Lord, as Wesley claimed, is a ‘converting ordinance’. In other words it is a table of change, of transformation and renewal. The Taizé community when they share the Eucharist will sing

Refrain: 

Eat this bread; drink this cup.

Come to me and never be hungry.

Eat this bread; drink this cup.

Trust in me and you will not thirst.

May we with Wesley’s first appointed preacher Exeter, John Chenick be also able to sing.

Be present at our table, Lord, 

Be here and ev'ry where adored, 

These mercies bless,  and grant that we 

May feast in Paradise with Thee.

Biblical Invitations

Gracious God, we pray for the people of Ukraine suffering from war. May they be held in your loving care and protection and given the strength to endure their suffering and hardship.

Transform the hearts and minds of those who perpetuate the violence and oppression. Grant wisdom to world leaders in advancing efforts toward peace; may they not be compromised by self-interest and blind indifference.

We ask all this in the name of your Son Jesus the bringer of peace. Amen.

Luke 7:36 “Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.”

Have you noticed how often the subject of invitation appears in the Gospels and particularly those that involve and invitation to spend time around a meal table. Here we find the invite of Simon the Pharisee and we could question whether this invitation to Jesus was one with an ulterior motive; was he trying to trap Jesus, to belittle him and frustrate his mission and ministry.

However, this puzzling episode shows that not all pharisees were hardened opponents of Jesus and that within the pharisaic group there were divisions, and so we here have a pharisee entertaining Jesus. But it is not that simple; for while he entertains Jesus, he omits acts of hospitality and Jesus then contrasts that with the superabundant generosity of the ‘sinner’. The passage can, therefore, be taken as a lesson on what is important, and Jesus makes it clear that generosity trumps legalistic practises.

The women in her humble practical devotion more than makes up for the Pharisees omitted courtesies. 

This passage certainly gives us all a lot to think about today just like the guests at the Pharisee’s table that day. They were eventually led to wonder who Jesus really was when they heard him declare that the woman’s sins were forgiven. And the reason for this: her great love.

She spoke no words. Her actions and her silent tears spoke louder than any words. The words of one French mystic seem appropriate: “some things can only be seen through eyes that have been filled with tears”. Towards the end of the life of St Ignatius of Loyola, his doctors forbade him to say mass as when he did he shed many tears of consolation during the celebration and these tears were ruining his sight! Or, in the presence of Jesus, was he given an inner sight.

One hymn writer put this kind of silent insight this way.

Open my eyes that I may see

Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready, my God, Thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me,

    Spirit Divine!

Suffering Servant

Today’s Prayer for Ukraine

Father, we thank You for our brothers and sisters in the Ukrainian church who are standing in prayer, seeking You in the midst of this crisis and serving others in need around them. Please fill them with the Holy Spirit and strengthen their faith in You as they worship and proclaim the truth of Your Word. In Christ’s name. Amen.

When facing or trying to understand suffering, it is sometimes right to change our position in order to view things from a different perspective. Even in shifting our position in order to see the nature of something can be fraught with difficulty. For example Friedrich Nietzsche claimed that “There are no facts, only interpretations.” Or take  Bertrand Russell who advised that “In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” 

Take the long held view of a conquering Messiah who would come to free the children of Israel held by so many at the time of Jesus earthy ministry. Then contrast this with Christ’s own words, in Luke 18:31-34 “And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.  For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”  But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.’

A change of view point where the victory of the Messiah was seen in one who suffered for all of humanity.  Our change of viewpoint then is a reevaluation of what it means to suffer. Stanley Hauerwas an American theologian, ethicist, and public intellectual and longtime professor at Duke University Divinity School, challenges us with the words, “To see the value of suffering we only have to ask what we would think of anyone who did not have the capacity to suffer (including God). Such a person could not bear grief or misfortune, and thus would in effect give up the capacity to be human (or divine).”

Then we read, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

God of consolation, you have transformed the shame of the cross into a sign of victory. Grant that we may be united around the Cross of your Son to worship him for the mercy offered through his suffering. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes and our hearts, so that we may help those who suffer to experience your closeness; You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen