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Serving God and Sharing Good News |
Weekly Bible Notes Ordinary 13
Year C, Colour = Green
Ordinary 13 Year C
Introduction
Jesus said some very dramatic things. He once said that if a part of our
body causes us to sin we should cut it off. he could not have meant us to
take this teaching literally, if we did then there would be people all over
the place missing parts of their bodies! But this dramatic language did make
the point to his hearers - take sin seriously.
The same use of language by Jesus takes place in our reading today. Jesus
tells people that they should not be concerned with saying good bye to their
families, they should not even turn back to bury a dead parent. Surely
burying a dead father was a most important thing to do and I would not
expect for one minute that Jesus would have us take the language literally.
But the point is seriously made. If we wish to be followers of Jesus then we
must get our priorities right. It is no use trying to follow Jesus if our
heart really isn't in it. Don't keep looking elsewhere, just look at Jesus
and follow him.
Opening Verse of Scripture
Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray
Lord of heaven and earth, you sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and power of your Church. Sow in our hearts the seeds of your grace that we may bear the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Methodist Worship
Merciful God, out of the depths we cry to you and you hear our prayer. Make us attentive to the voice of your Son that we may rise from the death of sin and take our place in the new creation. We make our prayers through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. Methodist Worship
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not our hold on things eternal; grant this, heavenly Father, for our Lord, Jesus Christ's sake, who is alive and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Common Worship
Gracious Father, by the obedience of Jesus you brought salvation to our wayward world: draw us into harmony with your will, that we may find all things restored in him, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Common Worship
First Bible Reading
2 Kings Chapter 2:1-2,6-14 Verses 1-2When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
Verses 3-5
The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do
you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I
know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to
Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I
will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him,
"Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."
Verses 6-14
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not
leave you." So the two of them walked on. Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance,
facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan.
Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The
water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over
on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for
you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your
spirit," Elisha replied "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when
I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not." As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of
fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah
went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and
horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his
own clothes and tore them apart.He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and
stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with
it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the
water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The
spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed
to the ground before him. "Look," they said, "we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and
look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and
set him down on some mountain or in some valley." "No," Elisha replied, "do
not send them."
Second Reading Galatians Chapter 5:1,13-25
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not
let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate
themselves! You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your
freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love. The
entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbour as
yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or
you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you
will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature
desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to
the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not
do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and
debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and
the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by
the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (This is the word of the
Lord -- Thanks be to God)
Gospel Reading Luke 9:51 -62
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely
set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a
Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not
welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James
and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from
heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to
another village. As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I
will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds
of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He
said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me
go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own
dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I
will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my
family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks
back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (This is the word of the
Lord -- Thanks be to God)
Post Communion Prayer
Eternal God, comfort of the afflicted and healer of the broken, you have fed
us at the table of life and hope; teach us ways of gentleness and peace,
that all the world may acknowledge the kingdom of your Son Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Commentary
Luke speaks about the time when Jesus will be
taken up, a theme which echoes the reading from Kings. Those who know the
Gospel, understand that Luke is referring to the ascension, but as Luke
tells the story this event is still in the future, to be preceded by the
Crucifixion and Resurrection. The focus for these events is Jerusalem and
Jesus now sets his face to travel there and face what lies ahead. The
Samaritans were unlikely to have welcomed Jewish people especially those
heading for the rival sanctuary at Jerusalem. Jesus, despite his disciples
encouragement, does not wish to bring about their destruction. People are
free to accept or reject Jesus and it is not for Christians to respond in
anger when people choose to reject him. As we know, accepting Jesus as Lord
brings its own demands, for Jesus accepts suffering in the way of the cross
and the disciple of Jesus must be prepared to suffer with Jesus and see that
the hard demands of discipleship have priority over even the most pressing
of family ties. For the Early Church, it was not always easy to maintain
ties with family once they had accepted Jesus, Christians often had to make
hard choices. These hard choices often between family and Christ, have
continued to cause discomfort and hardship even to this day. Perhaps what is necessary is the ability to strike the right balance between the demands of discipleship and commitment to one's family. When a Christian devotes more time to the needs of people outside the family or generally invests more energy to working life than home life, then this can cause resentment and family breakdown may result. It is utterly essential that all people take their family responsibilities seriously and ensure that adequate time is given to partners and children and wider contacts. To achieve this right balance is a task that must be shared by all, from the individual Christian to the Local Church, to the National Churches at all levels. This involves support and a desire to see justice hand in hand with love and commitment to Christ. Perhaps it also calls into question many of the current practices and structures in our Churches.
In thinking about suffering for Christ, in many parts of the world Christians are imprisoned and killed for their faith. Thank God we do not suffer in this way. Let us not underestimate the cost of discipleship for many Christians and let us determine to support one another as we too seek to be faithful disciples of Christ. Neil Bramble-Chapman
Meditation
2,00 years ago in Rome there was a large demand for statues for the houses
and gardens of the rich. People would often have a statue carved of
themselves made from marble or stone. As a consequence, the availability of
good quality marble began to dwindle. Statues took hours to make and a
mistake with a chisel could be costly. So unscrupulous suppliers and carvers
would sometimes patch up and disguise defects in lower grades of the
material with a kind of wax polish. In the sculptor’s shop, the customer
would not be able to see the wax without looking very closely. However the
warmth of a house, sunshine, or rain might wear the wax away to reveal the
underlying blemishes. Smarter purchasers therefore started to demand that
the goods were provided with a signed certificate guaranteeing that they had
not been ameliorated or, in other words, were sold ‘without wax’.
A genuine statue would be without wax. The Latin words for “without wax” are
“sine cera” - giving us the English word “sincere”. A statue that was “the
real thing”, genuine, would be “without wax” - sincere. If we say that a
person is not “sincere”, then they are false, not the real thing, not
genuine: pretending to be what they are not. Charles Royden
Lord, each of us projects an image of ourselves by the way we dress, speak,
behave. Help us to conduct ourselves sincerely in the life which you would
have us live. Amen.
Hymns
- As the deer pants for the water
- Jesus we celebrate
- God of grace (Rhuddlan)
- Be thou my vision
- Take my life and let it be (Nottingham)
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
- "Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian.
- If it is well cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die."
-
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service, that we and all creation may be brought to the glorious liberty of the children of God; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
O Lord God, since you have put within me the great desire to devote
myself to the needs of others, grant me the strength of your grace. In the
midst of my work let me not lose sight of your great purposes. Let me not
snatch the management of your world from your hands, lest I faint and fall
in the presence of your wisdom; this I beg for Jesu’s sake. Amen Florence
Nightingale, 1820-1910
A song of St Anselm (St Anselm 1033-1109)
Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you; you are gentle with us
as a mother with her children. Often you weep over our sins and our pride,
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement. You comfort us in sorrow and
bind up our wounds, in sickness you nurse us and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life; by your anguish and labour we
come forth in joy. Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness;
through your gentleness, we find comfort in fear. Your warmth gives life to
the dead, your touch makes sinners righteous Jesus, in your mercy heal us;
In your love and tenderness remake us. In your compassion bring grace and
forgiveness, for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.
Additional Resources
Meditation
A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing. Martin Luther
Commentary
Readings: Galatians 5:1, 13-25, Luke 9: 51-62.
The epistle reading from Galatians 5 unpacks the meaning of Christian freedom by contrasting the works of the flesh (verses 19-21) with the fruit of the Spirit (verse 22). Paul knew that it was just possible for Christian people, as for anyone else, to maltreat each other in a whole variety of ways. Such attributes of human nature are the stuff of soap operas on TV!
But the Gospel reading reveals how the nicest of people can become trapped by history into an ossified relationship of official hostility out of which they cannot break. The Samaritans had refused hospitality to Jesus and his disciples, and then in righteous indignation James and John proposed an appropriate hostile response. Out of the highest religious motives, the works of the flesh are given the fullest reign! How can we all escape from actions of this type? The example comes from Jesus' behaviour: he simply passes through them, quietly absorbing the hatred and accepts the homelessness (verse 58). Jesus thus has displayed at least five segments of the fruit of the Spirit!
In the sayings which follow, Jesus turned the incident into a pattern of discipleship. Behind 'the works of the flesh' was the desire to possess, to be seen as right, to have status and power. The disciples were to be ready to accept all this, and were to expect to have to accept homelessness with their Lord. Jesus demanded of them, just as he does of us, a loyalty which is greater than that to our closest and dearest relatives (verse 60).
Did Jesus mean all this literally? After all, elsewhere Jesus criticises people who fail to carry out their responsibilities to their parents (e.g. Mark 7:9-13). Sayings such as Luke 9:60 are known as 'focal instances' and are where Jesus' radical demand on us, as his disciples, is focused by showing what it could mean. Following Jesus is even more important than having a home and caring for elderly parents. Of course, Jesus may permit us to have possessions, and may command us to care for elderly parents, but this central command overrides all else: go and proclaim the Kingdom of God, in and through all you do!
In one of the Old Testament readings set for today, from 1 Kings 19, which is about the call of Elisha, and this brings out the significance of proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Just as Elijah appointed Elisha to follow him as prophet, so Jesus appointed his followers to a prophetic ministry before the world: 'Proclaim the Kingdom!' Elisha instinctively knew what the call meant. Without hesitation, he sacrificed his most prized possession, the twelve yoke of oxen for which he was doubtlessly a local celebrity, and thus dramatically severed his connection with his past life.
The fruit of the Spirit can be very costly to produce. To pursue the horticultural analogy, the tree needs to be well manured by burying under all those possessions, ambitions and desires which might otherwise produce very different works. Paul told us, in Galatians 5:24, that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with all its passions and desires. The challenge of these readings for us at the start of the 21st Century is very clear: if Christ calls us, are we ready to sacrifice everything for him? The Reverend Peter Littleford
Prayer
Keep us, O God, from all pettiness. Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with faultfinding and leave off all self-seeking. May we put away all pretence and meet each other face to face, without self-pity and without prejudice. May we never be hasty in judgement, and always be generous. Let us always take time for all things, and make us grow calm, serene and gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses, to be straightforward and unafraid. Grant that we may realise that it is the little things of life that create differences, that in the big things of life we are as one. And, O Lord God, let us not forget to be kind! Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland (1542-1587)
Grant us this day, O Lord, Peace within ourselves, that our inner tensions may be resolved; Peace with those around us, that we may not disturb others by our hasty words; Peace with you, that the assurance of your eternal love may remove our fear; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Lord of our world, we acknowledge with shame and sorrow all the sin, hatred and injustice which have led and still lead to war. Grant us your forgiveness and your peace. It is the peace which the world cannot give, but which we could give to the world. Lord, give us grace to be peacemakers, in the name of Jesus, the Prince of peace.
Heavenly Father, you have taught us that our life on earth is a pilgrimage from this world to that which is to come. Guide us on our journey; defend us from the perils of the way; and save us from going astray into by-path meadow. May ours be a pilgrim's progress; and as we press on our way may it be with a song of praise in our hearts; and by your grace may we endure faithfully till we reach the Celestial City and receive your welcome home. Based on Pilgrims Progress
Hymns (Hymns and Psalms)
(1). Ye servants of God 784, (2). I want to walk 302, (3). I the Lord of sea and sky, on service sheet (4). Who would > valour see 224 , (5). Thou whose almighty word 699