Tuesday, 8 April

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, / all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, / all you who mourn over her. Isaiah 66:10

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you. Philippians 1:3-4

Both these short readings are about rejoicing  -  the restoration of Jerusalem post exile and a positive experience of a Christian community in Phillippi (in stark contrast to some of Paul’s other experiences).

Paul’s writing to a church community who collectively are the cause of his joy – which begs the question as to what sort of letter he would write to us as a church community or as individuals? Are we a cause of pain or joy?  What is it about our lives and those of the Christian communities we belong to that attract or repel others? 

The words of Isaiah present us with more of a dilemma as we look at that city and region today, with people divided and outright hostility between communities with competing demands over the same land, the same city.  Jesus, we are told, wept over Jerusalem and many still weep today.  In that City there are people in every community who work for justice and peace.  We can rejoice in their witness, place ourselves in solidarity with those who suffer, and add our voices to the cry for justice and peace.

Loving God, we rejoice:

In your love for us

for those who love us and inspire us

with those who work for peace and justice

Loving God, we weep:

For the people of the Holy Land

For those with sadness in their hearts.

We give thanks that you meet us in our joys and in our sorrows.  Amen.

Peter Smith

Manley Park & Chorlton Methodist Church

Monday, 7 April

[God says,] “I brought you from the ends of the earth; I called you from its farthest corners and said to you, ‘You are my servant.’ I did not reject you, but chose you.” Isaiah 41:9

[Jesus said,] “You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.” 

John 15:16

I would encourage you to reach for your Bible and take some time to read these two passages in context. The verse from Isaiah forms part of a larger passage in which God recalls to Israel that He is with them in their past, present and future. The verse from St John’s Gospel can be found within a discourse which begins with Jesus saying that He is the real vine.

Very often, we stereotype and generalise the Old Testament to be the part of the Bible which shows a harsher side to God, and the New Testament to reflect the grace and mercy through Jesus’ death on the Cross. However, these two verses, when read in context, turn around those generalisations.

The words God speaks in the Isaiah passage are assertive and firm and the style is in keeping with an advocate’s address in court (Isaiah 41:2), where God speaks up for and defends His client, the people of Israel. His words affirm God’s ownership and love of Israel: there is no mention of Israel’s deeds. Israel is simply accepted and loved by God.

In the passage from John, Jesus speaks in a metaphor: each and every person/Christian is called to love and to follow Christ’s teaching, in deed as well as in faith. In contrast with the Isaiah passage, Jesus’ words to us are stark: “Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned.” (John 15:6).

God loves us unconditionally, but our response to His love is that we are to love others and to live out our lives in service to others – “to go and bear much fruit”. Lent is a time to reflect and get rid of those dried-up branches in our lives. We are now about two-thirds the way through Lent. In our prayers today, let us ask ourselves before God, how are we doing in our respective Lenten self-disciplines?

Walt Johnson

The Metropolitan Church

Fifth Sunday of Lent, 6 April

To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27

I never liked the word ‘sacrifice’ since the first time I learned how to write it in Chinese. The word ‘sacrifice’ in Chinese is ‘牺牲’ which consists of two characters ——’牺’and’牲’. ‘牺’ originally means ‘animal of a uniform colour for sacrifice’ and ‘牲’ initially meant ‘animal which is sacrificed with its whole body ’. ‘牛’ as one part of both characters actually means ‘cow’. Therefore, every time when I write the word ‘牺牲’ I have this image of a white cow being killed in front of a temple. The contrast of the bright red of the blood and the pure white of the fur is so vivid and harsh.

I still didn’t like the word ‘sacrifice’ when I grew a bit older and started learning history, when I read the story of those heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect the people. I am deeply grateful for their sacrifice for righteousness and justice. However, at the same time, I struggle. I questioned myself again and again: could I sacrifice my life like these heroes? I am ashamed that I don’t have a clear answer. I doubt whether I would be brave enough.

I was amazed by the word ‘living sacrifice’ when I first came to UK and started to recognise God. That was the moment when I realised killing an animal or to sacrifice my own life to achieve righteousness and justice was not what God wanted. Instead, God wants us simply to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep ourselves unstained by the world because a sacrifice has been made for us.

Hengyi Wang

St Clement’s

Saturday, 5 April

I will satisfy the weary, and all who are faint I will replenish.     

Jeremiah 31:25

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

The Old Testament reading sits within a passage rich in thunderous declarations about the building up of God’s people and which also reminds of the promise of having being loved with an everlasting love.

There is comfort instead of sorrow. Mourning becoming gladness. Rebuilding and the levelling of paths. All by the One who also stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar.

And indeed, there is the promise to replenish those who are faint.

How might we make sense of the words of the ancient prophet as we journey through our lives?

Perhaps the scripture best serves us when we think of replenishment, renewal and restoration to us in a very personal and spiritual way. Moreover, how, where and with whom we might be open to God’s promise to do just that.

The theme is picked up by Peter, following on from the earlier verse about casting all our anxieties onto Christ. He speaks of having ‘suffered for a while’ and I suggest we stick with thinking of suffering in a spiritual way too.

Perhaps when our experience is that God is silent, or to use the imagery elsewhere in the Old Testament, the land is parched and there is no fruit on the vine.

But God in his graciousness will bring strength and restoration, just as He has promised.

Lord, may we trust you to renew our spiritual strength, to be built up, restored and replenished during this season of Lent.

John H

St Clement’s

Friday, 4th April

‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan, I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’ Psalm 12:5.

And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement. John 16:8

Being poor is a relative thing for many of us, given the current economic climate most of us will have made some changes to our lives as a result. The writer in the Psalm is not thinking of folk who may be a little less affluent; they speak of God’s attitude and promise to those who find themselves in great hardship and struggling to cope with the basic things in life, food, warmth & shelter. Folk may be tempted to put aside moral or spiritual matters if the basics of survival are a challenge and so God’s Holy Spirit is at work in all of our hearts trying to reveal new insight of the truth of God’s promise and love for us; to support others and not condemn them, to raise folk up and not to judge them, for the Spirit will convict each of us for our actions.

We are challenged to look out for those less fortunate than ourselves, by doing so we become God’s hands at work in the world, we must deny those attitudes that blame the poor for their poverty and help to build a society that does not marginalise the least influential of its citizens.

We pray for those that have suffered injustice because they are poor and for other reasons,

Lord you are the defender of the poor and oppressed, we ask that you will deliver them from oppression and lift them up for your glory, challenge us to care and to connect with practical expressions of love.

Dan Joseph

Metropolitan Church

Thursday, 3 April

 Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished. Proverbs 17:5

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

Luke 14:13-14

Both these readings are challenging. Are we not in this country sneering at or mocking the poor as the division between the prosperous and the rest becomes wider? Is it not mocking that the poor are expected to pay, through reduced benefits, for the excessive borrowings of wealthier people?

Luke’s Gospel in its directness is even more forceful. Can we escape the challenge by saying that we give to Christian Aid or help with a food bank or otherwise challenge the inequalities in society? We might give a coin to the man at the entrance to Morrisons or buy a copy of Big Issue, while worried whether we are supporting drug or alcohol abuse. In what remains of the welfare state, we may argue that we support the state to meet our challenge and campaign for justice for the poor. But that is not the challenge to our own comfortable life with our friends.

But perhaps this is too literal in interpreting the invitation to a meal.   Are we in the church too concerned with our own people and their like in preserving our institution, developing our faith and caring for church members?   Can we do more to share the invitation to the great feast?  

Loving God, break down our caution and strengthen our hospitality.   Enable us to widen our invitation to share your great feast.

George Morton

Wilbraham St Ninian’s

Wednesday, 2 April

 You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin: you shall reprove your neighbour or you will incur guilt yourself. 

Leviticus 19:17

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.”  Matthew 18:15

How often do you reprove your neighbour? If I did, I think I might get a mouthful back, if not a punch in the face. That’s how strange this passage sounds to modern ears. For the Israelites who had received the Law from Moses it probably sounded quite different. Their society was based on the family, the tribe, the nation, distinct from the surrounding tribes. They were to keep themselves holy as their God was holy. So hatred of anyone in the family could lead to diluting the purity and cohesion of that society and make them no better than the Canaanite tribes around them. There are plenty of stories in the Old Testament showing the consequences of family and tribal feuds. What is interesting here is the call to responsibility, not just for one’s own actions, but for those of others within the national family: not just sins of commission but of omission, if they failed to try to bring back the wayward to the fold. A couple of verses later come the words “… you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.”

I do not think it is a coincidence that Jesus speaks the words from Matthew’s gospel between the parable of the lost sheep and his call to keep on forgiving. The parable tells us the extent of God’s love for all his people: every one is precious. He is prepared to keep on searching, keep on trying till he finds that individual and restores him or her, bringing new life, hope and security in the knowledge of that love. Jesus extends the concept of kin beyond national boundaries to all in the community of faith. Rather than bearing grudges, we should quietly sort out disagreements with our fellow Christians, if possible, constructively, not destructively but with under-standing and forgiveness. By so doing, we do not give up on them, but following God’s example, seek to be good shepherds guiding them to him.

Do we do enough to nurture young Christians, to help them develop their faith?

Lord, help us to see you in others. May our lives reflect your love so that others are drawn to you.

                                                                        

Kate Grand

Chorlton Central