Dear All
I hope you are well.
Today we met to celebrate the Eucharist for the last Sunday after Trinity.
The service was followed by our AGM in the hall after coffee. The AGM is always a chance to reflect on the year we have had. Despite the obvious restrictions and challenges of the year St Andrew’s has continued to thrive and I thank all of you for your part in this.
Other notices…….
We still have a vacancy on the Vestry, its not too late to let me know if you would like to join, its an important part of church life, rewarding and fun.
Tuesday 10am Prayer Group in the garden room.
Thursday Holy Communion 10am followed by coffee in Friendship House
Readings for next Sunday – All Saints Day Isaiah 25:6-9 Revelation 21:1-6 John 11:32-44
Further news from the diocese and church plus pictures of the Cake Walk can be found on the St Andrews website. Click on the link below.
https://standrewsmilngavie.church.scot/
Last Sunday after Trinity 2021 St Andrew’s Milngavie
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-end
There is a Scandinavian folktale concerning three trees. I think I may have told you this story before – but I rather like it so bear with me…… It is the story of three young pines growing together on a hill side. Each one of them had a different dream for his life.
The first wanted to be made into a beautiful treasure box, to hold the most valuable jewels in the world. The second wanted to become a wonderful ship and carry the most important people upon the oceans of the world. The third tree had a more simple and he thought a humbler dream: to stay right there in the hillside and grow tall and strong, pointing everyone towards God in heaven.
When the big day for felling these trees came they were all disappointed. The first was made into an animal feeding trough, the second into a small fishing boat, and the third was left just as logs in a small lumber yard. What had happened to their dreams?
But with time all three came to see how they were all caught up into the story of God in very special ways – not of their own making. The first tree became the feeding trough that held the newly born Son of God. The second tree became the fishing boat from where the Son of God stilled the storm. And the third – he became the cross on which Jesus the Messiah was crucified pointing the way to God for all generations.
Our prayers so often reflect our supplications, “please God help me” we pray. And this in a sense is what Bartimaeus is doing in today’s reading when he calls out to Jesus, Son of David, to have mercy on him. Yet this story is also part of the theme of drawing near to Jerusalem – to the entry of the king and then the suffering of the Messiah there.
Jesus’ question to Bartimaeus may seem a little obvious – “what do you want me to do for you?” Clearly, we understand Bartimaeus wants to be healed of blindness. But nothing is quite so straightforward because this healing will bring new responsibilities for Bartimaeus.
Not just as he lives with renewed sight but as he re focuses his life to understand and live out his faith in Jesus. To see God’s kingdom – know God’s will and be remembered as one of the followers of Jesus. For him to follow Jesus at this point was to bring healing and joy to himself. But it also meant to risk suffering and trouble, especially in the light of all that was to happen to the Messiah in Jerusalem.
Bartimaeus’ faith brought him healing, but this faith also was to sustain him as he followed the way of Christ like the three trees in ways that he could never have seen. Bartimaeus’ faith brought him into the service of God and the kingdom.
Today is Bible Sunday. The day when we celebrate the written texts of these holy scriptures. But seeing and reading these texts and even digesting their content on their own and for their own sake is not enough. We need to absorb them into our souls, believe them and even more importantly we need to live them.
The bible is made up of many different books, stories which speak of God’s people. In the reading from the OT the prophet Jeremiah is encouraging his people in exile in Babylon of better times ahead. That Israel will be restored, and the lord will form a new covenant with his people. And so, all the texts point to the one overriding story. The story of God’s Kingdom – manifested and made complete in Christ by his life, death and resurrection.
The giving and receiving of the sacrament, the praise and celebrated word within our churches, the consolation of prayer and enjoyment of fellowship all remind us of God’s love for us and his presence with us. A concept affirmed in the letter to the Hebrews this morning
“Therefore, Christ is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” Hebrews 7:25
And so, we are also reminded as we go out, filled with the Holy Spirit that we are part of God’s ongoing story in this world, and we are to bring glory to God. And perhaps – like the tree – in ways we never thought possible.
Amen