Collect and Readings for Third Sunday of Epiphany – Isaiah 9.1-4, Psalm 27.1, 4-9, 1 Corinthians 1.10-18, Matthew 4.12 -23
The Prayer for today
Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty
power; 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. Amen.
At the time when Isaiah of Jerusalem spoke of the great light of hope appearing in the darkness, and the yoke of oppression finally being shattered to bring people freedom, the people of Israel were threatened with a takeover bid and exile by Assyria, if they did not sort their values and reconcile themselves to their God. All their dreams as a nation could be wiped away if they were taken captive, under the yoke of their conquerors, away from their own beloved land, their city, and their temple. (And eventually, through the Babylonians, this did happen.)
Any of us who have watched hopes and dreams crash in pieces around us will have some idea of how such an experience takes us on a journey through questioning, self-doubt, anger, guilt, reassessment and eventually, hopefully, into a new maturity born of acceptance greater self-knowledge, forgiveness and the value of encountering human suffering.
In their collective experience, the people are given hope, both in the short term (Jerusalem was indeed saved from the Assyrian threat) and, as we now can see, in the long term, since Jesus startlingly clearly fulfils the prophet’s words as he treads the ground of Galilee, preaching, teaching and healing. The liberation he proclaims is not tied to one generation whose threatened oppression is averted, but, as Paul emphasis in his letter to the church in Corinth, it also applies to every person sensing the liberating power of God’s forgiving love which can set them free to live life to the full.
Some things to reflect on:
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· Find Zebulun and Naphtali on a map. Are there any areas of land (either geographical or spiritual) where we need to invite Jesus to walk?
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· What good news do the people need him to preach there?
God bless
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for The Presentation of Christ in the Temple – Malachi 3.1-9, Psalm 24, Hebrews 2.14-end, Luke 2.22 -40
The Prayer for today
Almighty and ever-living God, clothed in majesty, whose beloved Son was this day presented in
the Temple, in substance of our flesh: grant that we may be presented to you with pure and
clean hearts, by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, forty days after the birth of Jesus, shows us Mary and Joseph who, in obedience to the Mosaic Law, go to the Temple of Jerusalem to offer the Child, as the firstborn, to the Lord, and to ‘redeem’ him through a sacrifice. It is one of the cases in which the liturgical season reflects history because, this week is precisely forty days since Christmas; the light of Christ, which characterised the cycle of Christmas feasts and culminated in Epiphany, is resumed and extended in this week’s feast. In the encounter between old Simeon and the young mother Mary, the Old and New Testament are united in thanksgiving for the gift of Light, which shone in the darkness, preventing the darkness from prevailing. Christ the Lord is the Light to enlighten all peoples and the glory of his people Israel. Simeon and Anna, who find Jesus in the Temple and recognise in Him the long-awaited Messiah and represent the humanity that finds its Lord in the Church. It is a beautiful encounter with God, who comes to save humans in need of salvation.
It is a joyful mystery: Salvation has come, the Saviour has come!
The encounter of Jesus with Simeon and Anne in the temple of Jerusalem appears as the symbol of a much greater and universal reality: humanity finds its God in the Church. We heard from the Prophet Malachi in the first reading who foreshadowed this encounter: “Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.” In the Temple (as illustrated by this week’s gospel reading), Simeon recognised Jesus as the expected Messiah and proclaimed him Saviour and light of the world. He understood that, from now on, the destiny of each person was decided according to the attitude assumed towards him; Jesus will be the cause of the fall and rising of many. Reflecting deeper, we understand that at that moment it is God Himself who presents his Only Begotten Son to people, through the words of old Simeon and the prophetess Anna. In fact, Simeon proclaims Jesus as “Salvation” of humanity, as “Light” of all peoples and “sign of contradiction,” because it will reveal the thoughts of hearts.
The Blessed Virgin Mary prepared her heart, as only she could do, to present her Son to God the Father and to offer herself with Him. In doing so, she renewed her faith and again put her life in the hands of God. Therefore, the liturgy of this feast wants to show, that the life of a Christian is like an offering to the Lord, translated into the procession of lit candles that are consumed little by little, while illuminating. Christ is prophesied as the Light that brings out of the darkness into the world. This visible sign is intended to mean that the Church finds in the faith the One who is “the Light of all people” and welcomes those with faith to bring this “Light” to the world. We are invited to give our Lord, once again, our lives, thoughts, works, our whole being. And we can do it in many ways. We are also called to remember our participation in the mission of Christ, which was given to us in Baptism, is linked to our personal surrender.
Also, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord honours greatly the witness of those persons who have chosen to follow Christ more closely by means of the practice of the evangelical counsels; giving themselves without measure, to burn before God like the candlelight, illuminating those who walk in darkness; and bearing testimony to the life of the gospel – a “life of contradiction.”
Above all, as we recall the Lord’s entrance into His temple today for presentation, may the gates of our hearts (the temples of the Holy Spirit) grow higher and be disposed to always welcome the “Lord of armies,” the mighty, the valiant in war, the King of glory, as today’s psalmist reflects.
God bless
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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Collect and Readings for The Third Sunday before Lent – Isaiah 58.1-12, Psalm 112, 1 Corinthians 2.1-12, Matthew 5.13-20
The Prayer for today
Almighty God, who alone can bring order to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
give your people grace so to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, among the
many changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found;
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. Amen.
Salt and light can both make a great difference. Apart from its wonderful preserving and disinfecting qualities, a pinch of alt brings out the full flavour of other ingredients; light allows everyone in the room to see the shape and texture of all kinds of different objects which were hidden in darkness. And we as Christians are called to be salt and light to the world. We are called to live so that our way of living brings out in other people their full flavour, or potential; we are called to live in such a way that helps people see here they are going, in the room, or context, of eternity.
We have all met people whose attitude and behaviour towards us makes us shrivel up inside, and others in whose company we feel accepted and acceptable, and therefore free to be our true selves. It is reverence for one another that makes the difference, and the Gospels are full of incidents where people noticed this in their encounters with Jesus.
If we behave as the salt of the earth, we will be content to make ourselves available so that others feel free to become more truly themselves, and we shall recognise the need to be there, but not to overwhelm! Too heavy a dose of salt kills off the flavour. If we behave as the light of the world we shall once again be in the role of enablers: we are at the service of the world, quietly enabling it to see more clearly. And again, we recognise the need to provide illumination, but not to blind or dazzle. Dazzling performances of ostentatious ‘religion’, such as those we heard about in the Isaiah reading, are not at all what God had in mind for his people, either then or now. What God wants is for the people in our world to be so impressed with the light we shine round that they want to find out where we get it from. Our shining is to set others off on their way to discover God for themselves.
Of course, we can only behave as salt and light if we are the genuine article, and are prepared to work co-operatively with God. That is where it is so helpful to have our faith ‘earthed ‘in practical living. As Christians we all need to have our feet on the ground; we need to be engaged in the messy, hard work of caring, challenging injustice and offering practical help and support. Only then will our praises mean something, and our worship glorify God.
Some things to reflect on:
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· What do the qualities and usefulness of salt and light tell us about our calling as Christians?
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· What are the values (and dangers) of fasting, and how can we ensure it is Godly fasting?
God bless
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
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