3rd Sunday before Lent St Andrew’s Milngavie 2022
Today we were delighted to be joined by a few visitors for our Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. Gordon once again treated us to a psalm between the two readings which I must admit for once we sang with gusto!
Yesterday we had a very successful church walk in Mugdock. The Lord smiled favourably on our gallant party of walkers as, despite the forecast, the wind and rain kept away until the very moment we returned to the car park!
We then all adjourned with others to the hall for soup, rolls, cake and biscuits. Thank you, Tim and Jane, for arranging it all and thank you everyone who brought food and supported the event.
We hope to have another one very soon, probably end of March.
Notices for this week:
Tuesday 10am Prayer Group in the Garden Room.
Wednesday 7.30pm Book Group – to be held by Zoom
Thursday 10am Said Holy Communion followed by coffee in Friendship House
Readings for next Sunday – 2nd Sunday before Lent
Genesis 2:4b-9,15-end Revelation 4:1-11 Luke 8:22-25
Further news from the diocese and church can be found on the St Andrews website. Click on the link below.
https://standrewsmilngavie.church.scot/
Jeremiah 17:5-10 1 Corinthians 15:12- 20 Luke 6:17-26
On Thursday Gordon and I spent some time pouring over liturgies, hymn books and music. For those at the sharp end the church year can sometimes seem quite relentless. No sooner have we finished celebrating Epiphany and Candlemas, then we begin to prepare for Lent, Holy Week and the great festival of Easter. But Easter being later this year means we do have a few Sundays before Lent. This results in the chance to hear scripture that we might otherwise miss. Consequently, this morning we have Luke’s rather challenging version of the sermon on the mount in which other years we would be spared. For it is an unsettling piece of text.
But that is the nature of Jesus’ ministry. He challenges everything that people think is normal and turns it upside down to show how things really are from God’s perspective, and from the perspective of his kingdom. The passage has a promising start with Jesus teaching the crowds and healing them of various ills. And then we have the wonderful words of Jesus which are always associated with the Sermon on the Mount.
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” Luke 6:20-22
Imagine how those words would have sounded to those first disciples. How amazing it must have been! Jesus giving real hope and offering compassion to all those people. People who would, in all probability, normally be over looked. But then we hear..
“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort,
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep”. Luke 6:24-26
And how does that make us feel in this 21st century? How does that speak to us in our context today?
Jesus words “Blessed are you who are poor” are sometimes understood to mean that material poverty is a special source of God’s blessings. Certainly, individuals who take vows of poverty in order to serve God often speak of his blessings and care. But material poverty isn’t automatically a higher spiritual state than material wealth. Indeed, poverty is often a curse. Many are poor today because of other people’s greed and violence. Those who are hungry or made homeless through accident, war or corruption can only be blessed if we help them and address whatever oppresses them. Jesus is not necessity commanding us to sell everything and become poor. Rather he is commending a spiritual attitude.
The word poor here means someone who’s at rock bottom, desperate. That may include people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, but it also includes those who feel passionately that life with God at the centre is far richer. They know their need of God. They are hungrier for him than for worldly goods. They mourn deeply the sinfulness that hinders their spiritual growth. When they put God first in their lives they are blessed. The word “blessed” is often translated “how happy” The spiritually poor possess the Kingdom of God. That is, they receive God’s eternal love, care, gifts and power to serve him.
Jesus contrasts them with the so-called rich people who are self-satisfied and who focus their lives on material things. They neglect God or move him to the margins of their lives. As a result, they know nothing of his forgiveness. And see nothing of his purposes. When they need him they may not find him. And those who reckon they are spiritually rich who think their relationship with God is solid may find their spiritual life drying up.
Jesus, remember, was speaking to his disciples. A disciple, by definition, is one who knows there is always more to learn and has an enquiring mind. What Jesus is emphasising here in this short sermon on the plain is our need for God. And more significantly our need for him in whatever our situation we may find ourselves. In good times and bad – harvest and drought, in our lives, our politics, our homes, schools and businesses.
We need our Lord! But our need for our Lord isn’t simply about advocacy in difficult times, a guide through our earthly life. Our dependence on God goes much further and is more complicated than that. Our dependence on God centres on the resurrection. I don’t just mean in the simplistic sense that we can all look forward to going too heaven for everlasting life, but also in the sense that the resurrection of Christ brings renewal of all things. When Jesus rose from the dead, he demonstrated that all things, even death, can be transformed and renewed. Therefore, the resurrection can bring transformation to our lives now and ultimately, in time, at our death.
Without the resurrection the Christian faith makes no sense. The whole Christian hope would be lacking in any foundation. Without the resurrection there is no hope of eternal life and no forgiveness of sins. An eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die attitude would be the only realistic approach. Yet the reality is totally different: Christ has been raised from the dead.
And because Christ is being raised, we will be raised as well. This was a view that Paul held very firmly throughout his ministry. This is exactly what he is saying to the Corinthians in his letter this morning. He uses the term first fruits to refer to Christ’s resurrection. In other words, Christ is the first in the great resurrection harvest, which will include all people. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20
“Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.” Luke 6:21