Reflection on the readings for the 28th June, the 4th Sunday after Trinity: 10.30 Service
- Jul 2
- 8 min read
Readings: Jeremiah 28:5-6; Matthew 10:40-end
This reflection is by retired Vicar, Brian Lipscombe.
We are delighted to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Jonathan’s Ordination. We want to praise God particularly for his faithful Ministry here at St James and in the wider Diocese. We thank God for both Jonathan and Rebecca in their shared ministry, and for the support of all the family, Jonathan’s mum and the lads Nick, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, and Arthur's wife Holly, who have taken us to their hearts.
Imagine my surprise when Jonathan asked me to preach on this Anniversary as he did for my 60th ordination Anniversary. But what to preach! As I thought and prayed, I was reminded of the hymn which he chose for his Institution as Vicar 7 years ago. It was new, to me at least. It had a haunting refrain: All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome, in this place. It was featured in a recent BBC Songs of Praise, and was sung again here, when Cal interviewed Majid from Iran. Let us look at this hymn and see what God wants for his people at St James.
Let us build a house: where love can dwell and all can safely live.
A place where Saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive,
built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions…. All are welcome.
Where prophets speak and words are strong and true.
Where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew;
Here the cross shall stand as witness and symbol of God’s grace.
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus. All are welcome.
Where love is found in water, wine and wheat,
A banquet hall on Holy ground, where peace and justice meet;
Here the love of God through Jesus is revealed in time and space,
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us. All are welcome.
Where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone,
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach and live the Word they’ve known;
Here the outcast and stranger bear the image of God’s face.
Let us bring an end to fear and danger. All are welcome.
Where all are named, their songs and visions heard,
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed, as words within the Word;
built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith, song of grace
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter.
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
It seems to sum up what Jonathan’s ministry is all about. Our recent Annual Report highlighted this as we remembered: the work of the Shed, the provision of the Food Pantry, Ministry to the Ducklings, to Broadgate Primary School, Open the Book and Rewind in local schools, Kids’ church, Messy Church, Bethlehem Groups, countless users of the Hall, other events like the Easter Egg Hunt, Community Choirs, Green Belt performers etc, as well as Ministry to all seeking Baptism, Confirmation, Weddings, and comfort for the bereaved. In all these ways Jonathan encourages us to Welcome All, to experience God’s love wherever they are in their Faith journeys. He also engages fully in the Community, supporting Duncan Stow and others in Horsforth Churches Together, John Swales and the work of The Lighthouse. In the wider Diocese he serves on The Board of Finance and as a member of the Cathedral Chapter of Hon. Canons.
On a more personal note, thank you Jonathan for welcoming me as a colleague in a very gracious way and for your wise counsel to Yvonne and myself.
We are all called to show God’s welcoming love to everyone who comes through our doors; future PCC Agendas are focussing on ways to make our building more user friendly.
All this is simply the story of the Bible from day One, when God created the heavens and the earth and every living creature, culminating in the creation of humankind, male and female, to work with him to co-create and rule in God’s world, providing space for everyone to live together and share God’s plenty; sadly, sin came in and spoiled it and the Old Testament shows God’s dealing with a disobedient people, yet always waiting to welcome them back, like the Waiting Father in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. – all were still welcome.
God commanded His people Israel to welcome the alien and the stranger; He promised Abraham that through his seed all peoples and nations would be blessed. This was fulfilled in Jesus, the seed of Abraham when He came into our world, by His teaching and healing and His redeeming Love for all by His death on the Cross and Resurrection.
We see how Jesus Himself welcomed everyone, especially those unwelcome by the religious leaders e.g. He chose as one of his twelve, Matthew, a despised Roman Collaborator, a tax collector; he ministered to a Samaritan woman with a messy personal life, who then brought her whole village to Jesus; He touched unclean lepers and healed them; he blessed little children and ministered to women and gave them dignity. Jesus also included Judas his betrayer when he washed the disciples’ feet. Jesus welcomed all.
The apostles Peter and Paul taught the same need to welcome all; at first, Peter and the Church at Jerusalem struggled with this; God showed him that he should not call anyone profane or unclean; “I truly understand that God is no respecter of persons; in every Nation anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to Him” The apostle Paul also writes to believers in Rome and Galatia; “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, male or female, slave or free, all are one in Christ Jesus; the same Lord is Lord of all and generous to all who call on Him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit enabled all the Disciples to praise God in other languages; Peter said that God was pouring our His Spirit on all flesh and they were sent into all the world as witnesses to the Risen Christ.
The Bible ends with a vision of God’s new heaven and new earth, with a vast crowd from every Nation, Tribe, people, language worshipping God; this was always God’s plan for His creation, to sum up all things in Jesus. So the Bible shouts out loud and clear: God welcomes everybody and every living thing in His creation; how the world needs to hear this in a time when people are not all welcome, especially if they come from certain countries; even the world of sport shows this when a top African referee from Somalia was refused entry to officiate in the World Cup, and some delegates are treated like second class citizens. We want to celebrate this Gospel truth as a witness to the world.
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place, but equally important is the truth that all are needed in this place.
I was struck by the apostle Paul’s final, 16th chapter of Romans, an amazing list of thankyous and personal greetings to and from those who work with him in his missionary endeavours, it was a real team effort: eg he commends Phoebe, a deacon at Cenchrae, a benefactor to many in the church including Paul; also Priscilla and Aquila who work with Paul and risked their lives for him, fellow prisoners Andronicus and Junia, Rufus and his mother, a mother to him also; Erastus the city treasurer, and Tertius, who wrote the letter. It shows how all were needed in his ministry including others like Timothy, Titus, Silas; it reads a bit like our Annual Report where, along with pastors, teachers, wardens and PCC members, a whole list of over 40 volunteers were mentioned, all involved, some unseen, enabling the church here to function well, alongside Jonathan as Vicar. All are needed in this place; above all the need for faithful prayers to undergird the work, asking God to open minds and hearts to his Holy Spirit.
We remember the apostle Paul’s illustration of the Church as the Body of Christ. He writes “we were all baptised into one Body by the One Spirit”; he uses vivid language: eg – in a body the eye cannot say to the ear, I don’t need you! This is shown in Acts 18 where Luke tells us of Apollos, a gifted Jewish Christian who boldly preaches in the synagogues, but he needed to be put right in his teaching; God used a lovely couple Priscilla and Aquila to quietly explain to him the way of God – he needed them! Paul also shows how the believers supported each other; on his travels he always collected funds for other believers; in Asia and Macedonia, Gentile believers wanted to show their solidarity with their sisters and brothers in Jerusalem, suffering from severe famine; poor themselves, yet they begged to be allowed to give to the fund.
The call comes to us to show our solidarity with our sisters and brothers worldwide, facing hunger and disease, as well as many displaced in huge refugee camps in Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan, and S. Sudan and elsewhere, through agencies like Christian Aid, Tearfund, Water Aid etc. We want to show that all are needed and valued as part of the Body of Christ.
Paul adds another aspect of the Body of Christ in his letter to Ephesus; he writes: “When Christ ascended he gave gifts to each one, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to enable the Body to function well, to grow to mature faith, learning to speak the truth to each other in love”. This means that we too are given gifts from the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus. That is why we need each other in this place. I like the way Jonathan showed us a new way of sharing the peace with each other (thankyou for being here today it wouldn’t be the same without you!) I was Curate to a very saintly Vicar called Cecil Butlin, who used to say: “The Lord’s people should be in the Lord’s house, on the Lord’s Day around the Lord’s table”: He meant, if we were absent, then not only we would miss out, but other worshippers would also miss out on God’s blessing – just by being here today means a blessing to all of us! All are needed in this place.
Each of us needs to try to discern what God’s gift(s) are to me and to others here. Maybe God is calling us to do something new today at St James or in the wider Church. Let us ask ourselves what do you want me to do today Lord?
So two very simple but vital important truths to take on board today.
All are welcome in this place
All are needed in this place
Let us re-commit ourselves to help enable our Church family to be a truly welcoming place for all who come through our doors, and our local community; let us learn to value each other as members of Christ Body and use our gifts for the good of the whole Body of Christ.
Let us end with a short hymn that sums up what we may feel as we thank God for Jonathan’s ministry here and our supportive ministry as well
How good is the God we adore
Our faithful, unchangeable friend;
His love is as great as His Power
And knows neither measure nor end
For Christ is the first and the last;
His Spirit will guide us safe home;
We’ll praise him for all that is past
And trust him for all that’s to come.
To put it in a nutshell, some words from Dag Hammerschold, onetime General Secretary of the United Nations who said at the end of his time:
For all that has been – thanks
For all that is yet to be – Yes!
Lord, write these truths on our hearts and minds and give us grace to be all that you want us to be here at St James’. We ask it in Jesus’ precious name.
Amen
