Advent Challenge Day 7

Luke 7

Chapter seven starts with one of the greatest examples of faith in the Gospels – and it came from a Roman centurion. Having come to Jesus for his sick slave, he proclaims himself unworthy of having Jesus in his house, but simply asks Jesus to proclaim him well and it would be done! What a brilliant act of faith, building upon Jesus’ words (as we heard in the previous chapter), and saving his slaves life!

Next, we have a miraculous healing of a dead man, the only son of a widow, and in turn gives his mother back hope for a future too. Jesus’ fame is spread wide and broad throughout the land.

Jesus’ praise of his cousin John is nothing less than amazing – v28, “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John”. In praising John’s faithfulness to his God-given calling, he criticises the religious leaders of the day for their rejection of God’s call.

Finally in this chapter, we have the story of Jesus visiting a Pharisee’s house for a meal. A lady of the town (a sinner) attends and anoints Jesus with a jar of perfume. Please note that there is no suggestion that this woman is a prostitute, in spite of the traditional opinion – and the Pharisee is amazed that Jesus is allowing any woman to touch him. In the Jewish society, women were not allowed to approach or touch a man who wasn’t her husband – so this is a clear breach of protocol, no matter who the woman was! Jesus defends her actions and proclaims her forgiven of her sins – again a clear antagonism to the Pharisees around the table. “Go in peace” Jesus told the woman – what would he say to us? How would we react in Simon's situation? Would we be ashamed and affronted, or would we see a lady worshipping her Lord in the best way she knew how? Would we be guilty of judging her, or loving her as Jesus clearly did?

Comments

AccessNI Check process

Hi folks Please see the following pages for the process of getting our AccessNI accreditation for our Sunday School and GFS leaders and helpers. You will need to print out the pages and keep a special note of the long number provided to you by email and let me know as soon as possible. We require an Enhanced check for everyone - and use the PIN number 918066 as detailed on the first page. The second page details the forms of identification you will need to provide - one from the first group, and two from the second group. The quicker we can all get the checks completed, the sooner we can get everything back to normal and put this whole process behind us for another three years! If you can photograph yourself (by smartphone or tablet) and email (revdjohnny@gmail.com) or WhatsApp (07488371680) them to me, that'd be great. I will also be available at the Parish Hall on Monday evening from 7pm to 8pm to help you with anything you would like assistance with! If you need any help at all

Pray for Peace

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9 The Holy Land, the place sanctified by the presence of prophets, poets, and priests, crying out for justice, urging on towards hope, and seeking after peace, has been, and continues to be a place sacred to millions of people around the world. We have watched with horror the appalling violence that has been unleashed over the last few days around this sacred place. We have seen families devastated, communities shattered, and countless lives lost. We, as followers of Jesus are called in this time to pray. Pray for the end of hostilities, pray for the protection of the most vulnerable on both sides in Israel and Gaza, and pray for a recommitment to a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We also pray that God might grant comfort to the afflicted, healing to the broken, strength to the weak, and courage to those in authority to lay down the instruments of violence and destruction and stud

Back to the BCP!!

Hi folks It’s been a long time since the pandemic started and the lockdowns - and Covid hasn’t really gone away! I had the dubious honour of getting Covid for the second time just before Holy Week, giving me the chance to think about ministry direction, both my own and in the parish. One of the original responses to the pandemic was to limit our use of the hymn books and our Prayer Books. At the beginning I produced a service sheet with all the relevant liturgy - which we used in the car park and when we returned to the church. Our “temporary measure” lasted almost three years - and it’s time to move on! Our Book of Common Prayer contains our unique identity - in fact the word “Common” doesn’t mean ordinary but that it shows our unity - the liturgy we hold in “common”. We will be returning to our BCPs from this weekend, the Second Sunday of Easter. We will be using Morning Prayer Two - and we will guide us through the service. We look forward to seeing you in church or online via Fb

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