The Bishop of Southwark’s LENT “Let the little children ... · Holy Land and Kaduna L’Arche,...

Walking Welcoming Growing

Reflections and readings for the season

But Jesus said,“Let the little children come

to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these

that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” Matthew 19.14

LENT CALL 2020

The Bishop of Southwark’s

3Walking Welcoming Growing

Foreword by the Bishop of Southwark 4

The Bishop’s Lent Call projects 5

Reflections for the week of Ash Wednesday 8

Reflections for the First Week of Lent 12

Reflections for the Second Week of Lent 20

Reflections for the Third Week of Lent 28

Reflections for the Fourth Week of Lent 35

Reflections for the Fifth Week of Lent 42

Reflections for Holy Week 50

Contents

4 Walking Welcoming Growing

Foreword

My Episcopal colleagues join me in commending this year’s Lent Call to you. I invite you to journey prayerfully and reflectively through Lent and, as part of your Lenten discipline, to consider how you might best support the projects that we are featuring this year. As well as encouraging support for our four Link Dioceses in Zimbabwe at a time of great difficulty and hardship for the whole nation, we have also identified a number of exciting projects for support at home and overseas.

This year, for the first time, we are including a book of reflections in the Bishop’s Lent Call pack which we hope will be helpful to you as you journey. One of the objectives of our Southwark Vision is that we should increase the number of ordained vocations by 50% by 2020. We are so delighted that we have already far exceeded our objectives and we now have 56 ordinands at colleges and on courses around the country.

So we have asked some of our ordinands to share their thoughts on the passages for the Eucharist day by day during Lent. We invited them to provide words, pictures or material from family members who also wanted to share a thought for Lent.

So, I am delighted to be able to share this booklet with you as part of the Bishop’s Lent Call pack this year and hope that you will find it a useful aid to reflecting upon all that God has done and continues to do for us all.

The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark


Bishop’s Lent Call projectsHoly Land and Kaduna

L’Arche, BethlehemMa’am lil-Hayat, which means Together for Life, is the L’Arche community in Bethlehem. It is a member of the International Federation of L’Arche Communities, created in 1964 in France by Jean Vanier, and it brings together approximately 50 people in two locations (Bethlehem and Dar Salah). Of these, 36 are core members with learning disabilities and the remaining members are known as assistants. Ma’am lil-Hayat is the only community project in Palestine which brings these groups of people together to engage in creative activity and share daily life.

The Kaduna Centre for Christian-Muslim RelationsResearch shows that almost 90% of Nigerians working in the field of conflict prevention and resolution have no knowledge at all about the religious beliefs of the ‘other’ and very little of their own religion. The Kaduna Centre focuses on religious education with the aim of producing well-informed Nigerian Christians and Muslims with basic general education in both Christianity and Islam at post-secondary level.

The Centre’s classrooms are currently based at the family home of the former Archbishop of Kaduna but the Board of Trustees now believes it needs a permanent home as there is increasing demand for its courses.

Bishop’s Lent Call projectsLocal projects

Croydon Episcopal Area — SparkFishSparkFish helps young people at schools in Reigate, Redhill and Merstham at times of change and challenge in their lives through mentoring, workshops and counselling as well as offering opportunities for reflection. SparkFish works with 22 local schools engaging with about 5,000 children and young people.

The three main strands to SparkFish’s work are Learn: RE and collective worship, Think: A special space in the curriculum for reflection, wonder and prayer, and Hope: Support at times of transition and challenge, through lessons, mentoring, courses and clubs.

Kingston Episcopal Area — The Nicholas Stewart ProjectThe Nicholas Stewart Project is based in Earlsfield and aims to support and empower young people, providing them with a framework to become successful contributing members of their local communities. The Project has arranged an annual Funday on the Henry Prince Estate in Earlsfield since it was set up and has also run workshops on youth violence, well-being and healthy eating. It has worked with local schools to raise awareness of the effects of youth violence and has run a mentoring programme for primary school pupils who are vulnerable.

Woolwich Episcopal Area — SuperkidzSuperkidz started in 2000 as a joint project between Eltham Green Community Church and St James, Kidbrooke and is now a registered charity managed by a Church Army worker based at St Saviour’s Eltham. It works on four estates in the area, serving communities that are among the most deprived in the country helping children and young people whose lives have been scarred by domestic violence, abuse and neglect.

Bishop’s Lent Call projectsZimbabwe

The Diocese of Southwark is linked with four of the five Dioceses in Zimbabwe: Central Zimbabwe is linked with the Croydon Episcopal Area, Manicaland with the Woolwich Area, Matabeleland with the Kingston Area and Masvingo with Southwark Cathedral.

The Diocese has Link Groups who work with the people of Zimbabwe, sharing information and needs and praying for each other.

The Diocese of Central ZimbabweCentral Zimbabwe Diocese needs money to run feeding programmes because of the food insecurity being experienced in all areas of the Diocese. In addition, they tell us that the issue of internally displaced people is causing concern. The Diocese’s service arm is overwhelmed by the size of the task of working with displaced people.

The Diocese of MatabelelandThe Diocese of Matabeleland is seeking funding to help to train priests in the Diocese. Matabeleland has all the same problems as the other Dioceses in Zimbabwe, and the lack of money makes training priests even harder.

The Diocese of MasvingoMasvingo Diocese needs money to provide water for schools. The effects of climate change can be seen in many of the schools in the Shurgwi Rural District. Here, lack of water means that schools are less able to provide for the educational and physical needs of the pupils and staff.

The Diocese of ManicalandThe Diocese of Manicaland was badly affected by Cyclone Idai and many remain without proper shelter. Food insecurity is a problem because of floods in some areas and drought in others. There are plans to build houses for some of the homeless and the Diocese is also concerned about support for those who are now finding it hard to pay fees for education as they have lost livelihoods as well as homes.


OT: Joel 2.1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58.1-12Psalm: 51.1-18NT: 2 Corinthians 5.20b-6.10 or Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21Gospel: John 8.1-11

During Lent the Church begins to prepare for Easter. In this penitential period many decide to give things up or undertake some other Lenten discipline as a sign of their desire to turn to God. Today, Ash Wednesday, many will attend church services where they will be signed with the sign of the cross in ash on their forehead as a sign of their sinfulness. The ash is usually made by burning some of the palm crosses from the previous year and mixing them with oil. As the cross is administered, the priest will say, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ”. This powerful reminder of our need to seek forgiveness is an echo of the words from today’s Gospel reading from John in which Jesus deals with the woman caught in adultery and those who were stoning her. He says to her accusers: ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Those in the crowds all left and no one remained to condemn her. They all knew that they were sinful, just as we are, and in need of repentance.

As we journey through Lent I encourage you to take time to reflect on Jesus’ words and the words of the Ash Wednesday service. Then prepare in your hearts, and in the way that you live, to enter the Triduum prepared to suffer with Christ and finally rejoice with the disciples as we remember Jesus’ suffering and death; we wait with those who were overwhelmed by grief but went on to be overpowered by joy at his resurrection.

May you have a blessed Lent.Bishop Christopher

Ash Wednesday


OT: Deuteronomy 30.15-endPsalm: 1Gospel: Luke 9.22-25

Below were the words I thought of as a response to the reading. I also had in mind the question: how do I react before the crosses of life?• Journey • Change, transition, patience• Hope, fears, sacrifice • Acceptance • Joy, love, freedom, peace • Cost • Pilgrim

Shavaun ShodeindeCollege of the Resurrection, Mirfield

Thursday after Ash Wednesday


OT: Isaiah 58.1-9aPsalm: 51.1-5, 17-18Gospel: Matthew 9.14-15

PenitenceDuring Lent, we may choose to give up something that we enjoy, as an act of devotion. But today’s readings encourage us to look beyond the act of self-denial (in this case fasting). The fast itself is not really the point. ‘Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.’ Isaiah 58:4

The Lord expects action from us:‘Share your bread with the hungry,and bring the homeless poor into your house.’ Isaiah 58:7

However, we may aim to do the right thing but we know we often fail, for all sorts of reasons. Whatever we may or may not have chosen to give up this Lent, perhaps today we could take a moment to reflect. How wonderful it is that, despite our weaknesses and failings, God graciously pours his love and forgiveness onto us in Christ. A proper offering to the Lord is not the fast itself — it is a penitent spirit.‘The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.’ Psalm 51:17

And there is hope:‘Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.’ Isaiah 58:9a

Helga Zunde-BakerSt Augustine's College of Theology

Friday after Ash Wednesday


OT: Isaiah 58.9b-endPsalm: 86.1-7Gospel: Luke 5.27-32

‘Hear me, Lord… Hear my prayer, Lord…’ Psalm 86 At times it might seem like we are alone in our cry to God.

In Isaiah 58, we are reminded to have faith that when we call the Lord in these moments alone, he will answer. But Isaiah also reminds us of the people who surround us as individuals and the communities of which we are a part: ‘if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted…Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt.’

By seeking to nourish others (in listening, in serving, in giving) we might find the nourishment that we ourselves have been seeking. Perhaps this week we can look for others who may be calling out and call with them. Together in strength we can become ‘like a spring of water, whose waters never fail…the Repairer…the Restorer’.

Ben VertannesWestcott House

Saturday after Ash Wednesday


OT: Genesis 2.15-17; 3.1-7Psalm: 32NT: Romans 5.12-19Gospel: Matthew 4.1-11

‘If you were to do it again, what would you do differently?’ This question often comes up in work and school-related self-evaluation forms, but it is also one that can haunt us at a profound level. We all have regrets and memories that make us say, ‘If I only I had the chance, I would avoid making those mistakes and do it differently’. The second century Church father Ireneaus recognised that this is true, not only at an individual level but at the level of the whole human story.

Drawing upon some of the texts in today’s readings, he recognised a rupture in the relationship between humans and God. He argued that whilst none of us could go back and ‘undo’ this rupture ourselves, God sent his Son to relive the human story, to do it again and do it differently. Romans 5 presents Jesus as a ‘second Adam’, undoing the mistakes of the first. Matthew 4 presents Jesus as a ‘second Israel’, obeying God in the wilderness where the first had not. Irenaus saw this coming to a climax at the cross, where ‘by the obedience wherewith he obeyed even unto death, hanging on the tree, he put away the old disobedience which was wrought in the tree’1.

Today, let us reflect and thank God for giving us his Son, and let us pray especially that those who feel the burden of regret and shame would find hope and relief in him.

Jack O'GradyWycliffe Hall

First Week of LentSunday in the First Week of Lent

J. Stevenson, A New Eusebius: Documents illustrating the history of the Church to AD 337 (London: SPCK, 1987)

p120


OT: Leviticus 19.1-2, 11-18Psalm: 19.7-endGospel: Matthew 25.31-end

In Psalm 19, David asks God both to reveal his hidden faults and to save him from intentional sins (verses 12 and 13). David knew that he lacked self-awareness, just as we do.

One way of visualising our self-understanding, including our sins and weaknesses, is the ‘Johari window’, named after its developers Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingram.

Known to self Not known to self

Known to others Arena Blind spot

Not known to others Facade Not known to any human

Some of our weaknesses are out in the ‘arena’, obvious to us and everyone around us; others are hidden behind a ‘facade’, only visible to ourselves. Our ‘blind spots’ may be visible to others, although some are ‘unknown’ and only visible to God, who knows everything.

Today’s readings each tell us of God’s standards, either of moral behaviour or in how we respond to human need. We all fall short of divine perfection, but God wants to change us step-by-step, towards his likeness. Will we allow God to show us those areas that he wants to transform as we journey with him?

PrayerAsk God today to show you any area in your life where he wants change. Perhaps it is to stop doing something that falls short of his standards. Or perhaps it is to respond practically to someone in need. Pray also for those preparing to travel on pilgrimage with the Bishop tomorrow that God will open their hearts, ready to be transformed.

Francesca PerlmanSt Augustine's College of Theology

First Week of LentMonday in the First Week of Lent


OT: Isaiah 55.10-11Psalm: 34.4-6, 21-22 Gospel: Matthew 6.7-15

He stopped and smiledRound and round he ran on an aimless track; Out from the concrete shadows into sand. No one destination nor turning back;Over hill over vale, town and moorland.

The Lord haltered his pace, his shield and sword;Invited him to stay, to stay and pray.This poor soul cried and was heard by the Lord, Saved from every trouble and taught to pray.

Round and round he ran searching for the end,Then started to listen, the Lord proclaimed: On this pilgrimage life, I’ll lead you friend,So your faces shall never be ashamed.

He stopped and smiled.

Simon AllattWestcott House

First Week of LentTuesday in the First Week of Lent


OT: Jonah 3Psalm: 51.1-5, 17-18Gospel: Luke 11.29-32

Jonah 3When God initially asked Jonah to preach to the city of Nineveh, Jonah ran away because he did not believe Nineveh to be deserving of God’s mercy and did not want its people to hear God's message, repent and be saved. By running away, Jonah not only disobeyed God, but caused fear and devastation along the way resulting in an entire ship losing its cargo. However, God in his mercy gave Jonah time to reflect for three days, allowing him to realise and acknowledge the error of his ways, cry out to God and be saved.

Even though Jonah initially messed up, God forgives Jonah and offers him a second opportunity to serve. Whether we have messed up, or have been reluctant to serve God in the way he wants us to, God loves us and offers us the chance to reach out to him, he forgives us, and helps us to get back on track. Furthermore, we are reminded in this passage that Gods loves everyone and his original intention in sending Jonah was his desire for Nineveh to turn away from wickedness and turn to a loving relationship with him.

God's loving kindness and generosity extends to all, not only to us, but also to the people whom we might find difficult to love. Is there a person or group of people that you struggle to love? Spend a moment reflecting on God’s love for you and for them and pray.

Lotwina FarodoyeSt Mellitus College

First Week of LentWednesday in the First Week of Lent


OT: Esther 14.1-5, 12-14 or Isaiah 55.6-9Psalm: 138Gospel: Matthew 7.7-12

‘Seek the Lord while he may be found.’ Isaiah 55.6 A pilgrimage to the Holy Land reflects this desire to find God. To seek him out. To know Jesus better by walking through the places where he walked; by sailing the sea of Galilee; by being immersed in the River Jordan; by kneeling at the site of his birth, his death and his resurrection and even kissing the stones on which he is said to have stood.

A sceptic will remind you that the streets stand higher than they were when Jesus walked the earth; that there is no conclusive evidence that this is the actual site of the crucifixion or that was the place of resurrection; that the route Jesus took when entering Jerusalem is the one pilgrims walk today.

And yet these places have had meaning for pilgrims for hundreds of years.

They have meaning because the pilgrim steps forward with an open heart and longing for that connection with God. In these places, like millions who have gone before them, they remember.

This modern sculpture at Bethpage invites pilgrims visiting a traditional site to remember Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and to become part of the crowd cheering him on, before following in his footsteps.

First Week of LentThursday in the First Week of Lent


Prayer thoughts• Those on the Bishop’s Ecumenical pilgrimage to the Holy Land.• Those who care for their needs during the pilgrimage.• The custodians of the traditional pilgrimage sites.

Tim BruntSt Augustine’s College of Theology


OT: Ezekiel 18.21-28Psalm: 130 Gospel: Matthew 5.20-26

In the Holy Land, as in all times and places, God is waiting for humanity’s repentance, always ready to forgive. The hurt and resentment between the peoples of Israel-Palestine have festered for many years but, as always, God offers us glimmers of hope even in the worst situations. The prophet Ezekiel tells us that there is no sin which cannot be forgiven if we will only turn away from wickedness and learn to do what is right. As Jesus shows us, repentance is not just about saying sorry before God, but requires us to do the hard work of making right the harm we have done to others, great or small. If we want to draw nearer to God, Jesus says, we must first do our best to make peace with our enemies, who are all truly our brothers and sisters. Though conflict still grips the Holy Land, God’s children — whether Muslim, Jew, or Christian — like the psalmist, await God’s loving mercy and strive toward peace and justice.

God of all mercyyou came to us preaching a gospel of reconciliationcleanse us from our sininspire us by your Spiritand make us bearers of your peaceso that through your great Love we may live in love with our brothers and sistersthrough Christ our Lord, Amen.

Molly BuddCollege of the Resurrection, Mirfield

First Week of LentFriday in the First Week of Lent


OT: Deuteronomy 26.16-endPsalm: 119.1-8 Gospel: Matthew 5.43-end

You are a people whom God calls his own possession — treasured, chosen, holy, brought out of darkness into his marvellous light. What do you think about that? Pause for a moment. Reflect on how that makes you feel.

Three words in the readings arrested my attention, ‘his treasured possession’ (Deuteronomy 26:18). My own treasured possessions are located in an honoured place, the mantelpiece. I am glad to enjoy them there and pleased for visitors to see their prominence. In other instances, when on the move, I draw my treasured possessions close to me. Today’s readings reveal that this is what the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, our heavenly Father does with us.

Our identity is set by God. He has drawn towards us in covenant pledge. Imagine with me what our lives will look like as we, from this place of prominent blessing, look up and agree to be children of our Father, his covenant people. The ones to whom he has pledged a holy inheritance that can never spoil, perish or fade.

Likewise, as identity-changed people, let’s look out and reflect his marvellous light as we choose to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, walk his blameless way, listen to him and declare that the Lord is our God and there is no other.

Then we, his treasured possession, who once were not a people will today be the people of God to those who are not yet his people.

Lisa Fairman-Brown

St Mellitus College

First Week of LentSaturday in the First Week of Lent


OT: Genesis 12.1-4aPsalm: 121NT: Romans 4.1-5, 13-17Gospel: John 3.1-17

In the Gospel passage set for today the Pharisee Nicodemus is being invited by Jesus to look beyond the world that he inhabits; he is being challenged to hear a call to a life that is more real, and more profound.

As we seek to realise our own calling, there can be so many things that we don’t understand or we cannot discern. Our busyness, and often skewed priorities can make it feel impossible to attend to the call of God in our everyday life. However, God is persistent and we are surrounded by signs of grace and reminders of love if we but stop, occasionally, and look and listen. The things we consider ‘important’ are often not where we can see God most clearly; the season of Lent is an opportunity to pay attention to the world around us, and the divine messages it carries so that we may better know God for who he is, and understand better who we are as his creatures. Like Nicodemus we are invited, during Lent, to look beyond those things which we see everyday and see where God is in them and so begin to see the divine in the everyday things around us.

The American poet Mary Oliver expresses this idea beautifully in her poem Invitation. Do find it and read it if you can as you look and listen for God’s message in the everyday.

Leanne Roberts

Diocesan Director of Ordinands

Second Week of LentSunday in the Second Week of Lent


OT: Daniel 9.4-10Psalm: 79.8-9, 12, 1Gospel: Luke 6.36-38

In today’s Gospel reading we encounter some of Jesus’ best-known sayings about generosity: ‘give, and it will be given to you…for the measure you give will be the measure you get back’.

Living as we do in a heavily commercialised culture, our minds are immediately drawn towards thinking of material goods. ‘Be generous with your money’, Jesus seems to say, ‘and you will get more money back in return!’ Although we undoubtedly should be generous with our money and possessions, we have other riches to offer. The Kaduna Centre for the Study of Christian-Muslim Relations in Nigeria, for example, exists to build bridges between Muslim and Christian communities in Northern Nigeria, and it does so not by sharing material riches between the communities, but by sharing the riches of the faiths and traditions themselves.

The result of this act of sharing, as the project’s founder, the Most Revd Josiah Idowu-Fearon, writes, is that people become ‘willing and ready to respect those outside their religious community and willing to cooperate for a peaceful and harmonious society devoid of extremism’, and in a country in which lives are lost daily to inter-religious conflict, these are riches worth having.

If we are to take seriously Christ’s call to live in peace, then perhaps we might think about what we have to share with those who are beyond our communities of faith. May we be inspired by our Nigerian brothers and sisters to pray for them, and to share the riches of our faith here in Southwark.

David BagnallWestcott House

Second Week of LentMonday in the Second Week of Lent


OT: Isaiah 1.10, 16-20Psalm: 50.8, 16-endGospel: Matthew 23.1-12

In today’s reading in Matthew we see Jesus going on the offensive with the Pharisees and their system of religious observance that they practised. His language is uncompromising, uncomfortable and undeniably not just directed at them!

Jesus attacks the Pharisees for their obsession with how they appear to others, their need to be seen to be doing the right things, their desire for recognition and acknowledgment. It’s easy to stand behind Jesus’ shoulder and point the finger joining in his accusation — until I feel his gaze land on me, and I realise I am as guilty as the Pharisees.

Admittedly I don’t wear scrolls on my forehead or lengthy tassels on my clothes, but I do easily slip into the habit of seeking acceptance from colleagues and friends. Am I any better than the Pharisees when I post something on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and eagerly anticipate the validation that the comments, likes, shares and retweets of social media can temporarily offer?

So today, rather than looking for recognition from those around us, let us shift our gaze to God. Only validation from him will ever satisfy. Only acceptance from him will ever mean we overcome our insecurities. By God’s grace we can come before our heavenly father and live for an audience of one.

Louisa DaviesSt Mellitus College

Second Week of LentTuesday in the Second Week of Lent


OT: Jeremiah 18.18-20Psalm: 31.4-5, 14-18Gospel: Matthew 20.17-28

‘It will not be so among you’ and ‘I have not come to be served but to serve’. Matthew 20.26-28

Jesus speaks on the exercise of power. In Jesus’ time, those who held power were not at all accountable. They acted as they wanted. The Roman Empire controlled the world and maintained it through force of arms. Through tributes and taxes, it succeeded in concentrating the riches of the people in the hands of a very few in Rome. Society was characterised by the exploitative, oppressive, repressive, suppressive and abusive exercise of power.

Jesus had a different proposal. He said: ‘It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave!’ (Matthew 20.26). He preaches against privileges and rivalry. He wants to change the system and insists on that service as the remedy against personal ambition.

In Matthew 20.28, Jesus defines his mission and his life: ‘I have not come to be served but to serve!’ He has come to give his own life for the salvation of and as ransom for many. He is the Messiah Servant, announced by the Prophet Isaiah. Service is not something we tack onto our schedule to fill up our spare time; it is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came to serve and to give — and those two verbs should define every Christian life here on earth, too.

Henry AkingbemisiluSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Second Week of LentWednesday in the Second Week of Lent


OT: Jeremiah 17.5-10Psalm: 1Gospel: Luke 16.19-end

Jeremiah 17.5-10 This reflection is written in autumn, at a time of deep political uncertainty and division. By the time you are reading it, in Lent, much may have changed in our nation for better or worse. Today’s verses in Jeremiah are a timely reminder that our real security can never be found in even the best of human leadership. The warning is stark: ‘Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength.’ (Jeremiah 17.5). Humans will disappoint us, and the word of God continually reminds us of our frailty and the need for humility.

Second Week of LentThursday in the Second Week of Lent


However, we are not without hope; even in the most turbulent times. If we continue to fix our eyes on things above, we will find the source of our stability. ‘Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall be green: in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.’ (Jeremiah 17.7-8).

Even when feelings are running high and our news is full of angry exchanges, we can still flourish when focused on what is eternal. The sun rises every morning and reminds us of God’s faithfulness and daily mercy. Lent offers an opportunity to withdraw from the business of the world and be refreshed by the Spirit. We reflect on where we might be contributing to the noise and folly and seek truth in our inmost being and hearts. ‘I the Lord test the mind and search the heart’ (Jeremiah 17.10): my prayer is that this will enable us to go back into the world, seeking the Kingdom of heaven.

Katie KellyWycliffe Hall


OT: Genesis 37.3-4, 12-13, 17-28Psalm: 105.16-22Gospel: Matthew 21.33-43, 45-46

Our focus is Genesis 37. Sin is horrible, in whatever form it takes, be that sin against others or my own sin. When I behold the ugliness within me it hurts, it saddens, and it causes pain. Genesis 37 exposes sin, the horrible sin of the brothers against Joseph. In verses 3 and 4 we are told the brothers hated Joseph; in verse 18 they plan to kill him but instead, terribly, they sell him to slavery. The brothers treat Joseph horrifically, selling their own brother into slavery after leaving him in a well. This is evil.

Joseph’s story doesn’t end here, it continues, and for a while it is horrible. However, in the end Joseph saves lives. Through him a famine in Egypt is dealt with and the dream that got him into so much trouble (the brothers bowing down to him) is fulfilled. Joseph summarises his experience in Genesis 50:20: ‘Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people.’

Jesus’ story is similar: dying on the cross, being raised to life, and through faith in him he saves lives. Jesus died at the hands of sinful humanity and yet this was the means by which God saved people. In this penitential season of Lent let us remember and confess our sins but let us not dwell on them. Instead, let us rejoice at the saving, life-giving work of Jesus through his cross and resurrection.

Harry FrostCranmer Hall

Second Week of LentFriday in the Second Week of Lent


OT: Micah 7.14-15, 18-20Psalm: 103.1-4, 9-12Gospel: Luke 15.1-3, 11-end

Frieda Zunde-BakerAged 11

Second Week of LentSaturday in the Second Week of Lent


OT: Exodus 17.1-7Psalm: 95NT: Romans 5.1-11Gospel: John 4.5-42

John 4.5-42Samaritans — foreigners, outsiders, people not like us. The story of the Samaritan woman at the well in John’s Gospel reminds us that our aversion to outsiders is ancient and persistent. That then, as today, people were excluded and rejected simply because they were different and not from the ‘in group’.

It also reminds us that Jesus not only repeatedly engaged with the outsiders, but chose these situations and interactions as places in which he shared the truth about who he was and is. Christ sets an example of reaching out to the vulnerable and those on the margins of society — an example which we see emulated in our own communities today. From Superkidz (helping young offenders and those who struggle with drugs or young people recovering from abuse), to Sparkfish (a broad collaboration working to inspire and encourage young people in faith, hope and love), and the Nicholas Stewart Project (motivating and empowering young people to turn away from negative influences).

We give thanks for all those working in our communities day in, day out, to love and serve the vulnerable, the rejected and the excluded. We pray that, like the Samaritan woman at the well, they may be renewed by the Living Water of God’s love, and that together with all people we may live and worship him in spirit and truth.

John HenryRipon College, Cuddesdon

Third Week of LentSunday in the Third Week of Lent


OT: 2 Kings 5.1-15Psalm: 42.1-2, 43.1-4Gospel: Luke 4.24-30

But Naaman’s servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?’ 2 Kings 5.13

We have all heard stories of God calling people to do extraordinary things; to leave everything they know, to move to other countries, to love and serve people they’ve never met. Sometimes people who have these kinds of calls on their lives are lauded as ‘super Christians’. When I was younger I naively hoped that I would one day travel to another country and save hundreds of lives and souls. And, perhaps, that I could return and humbly tell others about my exploits.

Naaman had imagined something similarly aggrandising: ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy.’ (2 Kings 5.11). ‘For me’, Naaman said, as he imagined a grand scene with him at the centre, just as I had when I was young. Instead, Elisha told him to do something simple, even humdrum, and wash himself in the river Jordan.

Sometimes God calls us to do extraordinary things. Sometimes God calls us to do seemingly mundane things. But, if we are faithful to God’s call then God acts and miracles occur. Let’s pray, during Lent, to seek God’s will in the everyday, and ask God for miracles there.

Charlotte SmithRidley Hall

Third Week of LentMonday in the Third Week of Lent


OT: Song of the Three 2, 11-20 or Daniel 2.20-23Psalm: 25.3-10Gospel: Matthew 18.21-end

‘For you I wait all day long.’ Psalm 25.5

Jane AndrewsWestcott House

Third Week of LentTuesday in the Third Week of Lent


OT: Deuteronomy 4.1, 5-9Psalm: 147.13-endGospel: Matthew 5.17-19

‘So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live…make them known to your children and your children’s children.’ Deuteronomy 4:1,9

Words from the classic song by Julie Gold which reveal the tension between our current reality and future aspirations: ‘From a distance, God is watching us…from a distance, we are instruments marching in a common band…’

Staying on the tramline of God’s word is integral to our spiritual and physical well-being and remaining in harmony with God and our neighbour. Just as following the direction of a good satnav brings us safely and promptly to our destination, when we ‘give heed to the statutes and ordinances’ of the Lord and pass them down through the generations we have a guide with spiritual and moral consequences.

We pray for the three Area projects — SparkFish, Superkidz and the Nicholas Stewart Project — as they aim to make a lasting difference in the lives of young people in crisis. God’s word is integral to this goal and being able to be a good role model is exactly how these projects are aiming to share and work with young people.

No doubt ‘a pint of example is worth a gallon of advice’ (Unknown) and building a meaningful relationship with those we engage with is fundamental to change. As God’s instruments, we are more effective not ‘from a distance’ because God hardly operates this way with us, ‘the Word became flesh and lived among us’ (John 1.14).

Ian Luke-MacauleySt Augustine’s College of Theology

Third Week of LentWednesday in the Third Week of Lent


OT: Jeremiah 7.23-28Psalm: 95.1-2, 6-endGospel: Luke 11.14-23

What does God want from us? The answer is, of course, many things. In our Gospel reading from Luke 11, we see Jesus driving out demons. When he’s challenged over this, he compares himself to a strong man, calling for us to give up our resistance and, in verse 23, to join him. Will we do that afresh today?

In our Old Testament reading and Psalm, we see the theme of obedience. Yes, God wants a people of great praise (Psalm 95.1-2 and 95.6-7) but he also desires an obedient people. When we hear his voice, as we have done today in these three passages from the Bible and as we do each Sunday in church, we must listen and obey. Otherwise, we risk missing out on his rest, as Hebrews 3-4 vividly reminds us. Are we listening to God’s voice in his Word today?

The theme continues in Jeremiah 7. God is explicit that he wants obedience from his people. We must listen to what he has commanded and follow his ways. Just like the people in Jeremiah’s day, we fail and must return to God for forgiveness and ask for the help of his Spirit to walk in his ways. Have we prayed that today?

Listening to God in obedience means action, as this week’s projects show. They listened and are telling people about the strong man Jesus, and are fighting for justice and mercy in our communities. What does listening and obeying mean for us today?

Philip KeenWycliffe Hall

Third Week of LentThursday in the Third Week of Lent


OT: Hosea 14Psalm: 81.6-10, 13, 16Gospel: Mark 12.28-34

We watch the news and hear about violence on the streets of London and other major cities. Families are being torn apart by drugs, violence, gangs and criminal or sexual exploitation of children. We hear about children killing children. More stories of knives and broken lives. The most shocking thing is that we are no longer shocked.

The book of Hosea is full of terrible torment and the rebellion of Israel’s unfaithfulness and waywardness. However, in the depths of his mercy and grace, God makes a firm promise of restoration. In this passage from Hosea we read about God’s call of repentance that willbring blessing to his people.

Let us reflect on the rebellion and waywardness of our own hearts. Are we stumbling like the rebellious or walking like the righteous? Christ died for us, the rebellious and unrighteous, so that we can walk in his truth and enjoy the riches of his grace.

The three projects being prayed this for this week support children and young people affected by some of the issues mentioned above. Let us pray, not only for these projects but for the children, young people, families, those involved in offending and victims of crime. Wepray that those who need restoration will hear the Lord’s call. God’s promise of love, healing and compassion offers a new hope for us all.

Robert HindmarchOak Hill College

Third Week of LentFriday in the Third Week of Lent


OT: Hosea 15.15-6.6Psalm: 51.1-2, 17-endGospel: Luke 18.9-14

The silent voice of humility: Luke 18.9-14Christianity is a sovereign dispensation of freedom through Jesus Christ for humans to worship God without fear or discrimination.

This sovereign freedom means that whosoever worships God in spirit and in truth is guaranteed a reward from God (John 4.23-24). The word of God also assures us that ‘a broken and contrite heart, He will not despise’ (Psalm 51.17).

In the passage, the Apostle Luke unapologetically points out how pride, arrogance and bad attitude towards others are unacceptable before God. He shows us how Christians must behave and strive to learn and practise humility at all costs and also to eschew self-justification. He enlightens us so that we may understand how God resists the proud and hears the still, small voice of humility within us in every way.

May the God of mercy, the God of infinite wisdom and power help us all to learn to be humble in all our endeavours through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Adelaide DaviesSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Third Week of LentSaturday in the Third Week of Lent


OT: 1 Samuel 16.1-13Psalm: 23NT: Ephesians 5.8-14Gospel: John 9.1-41

In our reading from 1 Samuel, David, who was the youngest of Jesse’s sons, was chosen to be the anointed one. He was the son who eventually had Jesus in his genealogy. The youngest, some might say least able to lead a nation, was anointed by God for the task of being King. David was unexpected, yet because of God’s faithfulness he was anointed by the Spirit of God for the works he had been called to do.

Is there something God is asking you to do but you feel like you are the unexpected choice? Ask God to remind you that you are filled with the Holy Spirit for the tasks you have been called to do.

Today is Mothering Sunday, a time when we give thanks for our churches and the community they provide. We also remember those who have been mother figures in our lives, which can be both a difficult day and a joyful one. Lift to God prayers for those in your lives who have been mother figures, and then give thanks to God for the church communities of whihc you have been a part.

This week we are praying for Zimbabwe and the mission projects we are linked with. Let us pray for the Mothers’ Union in Zimbabwe and its place within the Church community, particularly in: Central Zimbabwe, Matabeleland, Manicaland and Masvingo Dioceses.

Jessica LaneSt Mellitus College

Fourth Week of LentSunday in the Fourth Week of Lent


OT: Isaiah 65.17-21Psalm: 30.1-5, 8, 11-endGospel: John 4.43-end

Around half of the population of Zimbabwe live below the poverty line. For new mothers, infant mortality is a constant fear. When Jesus came to Cana, he met the royal official whose son was ill. The official begged Jesus, a man of a much lower class than himself, to heal his dying son and Jesus brought the boy back from the brink of death.

One thing which all cultures share is the natural human instinct to care for one’s child. For many of us in Britain, these responsibilities normally include making sure that the kitchen is fully stocked with lots of healthy food, getting our children into the best schools and so on.

In the poorest parts of places such as Zimbabwe, however, many of the things that we would do for our children suddenly become much more difficult. Many parents must manage their child’s weakened immune system owing to the prevalence of AIDs in the population, and this becomes even more difficult to manage when the child suffers from chronic malnutrition. Often, the only solution they could find to save their daughters was to force them into marriages under the guise that they would be looked after, although this practice is almost unknown today.

Let us pray today for parents who go without to care for their children, for mothers who have lost children through disease and malnutrition, and for children who are forced to become adults far too soon.

Max MarshCollege of the Resurrection, Mirfield

Fourth Week of LentMonday in the Fourth Week of Lent


OT: Ezekiel 47.1-9, 12Psalm: 46.1-8Gospel: John 5.1-3, 5-16

‘At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.’ John 5.9

Hannah HindmarchAged 11

Fourth Week of LentTuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent


OT: Isaiah 49.8-15Psalm: 145.8-18Gospel: John 5.17-30

Jurassic Park can teach us plenty about dinosaurs and also a little about humanity. In the series’ most recent film, 10-year-old Maisie decides to free the trapped creatures and, in explanation, says simply, ‘They’re alive, like me.’ It’s a valuable reminder, at a time when many of us are too quick to see divisions, that we share more with each other — and with God — than we sometimes remember.

Psalm 145 teaches that God is ‘good to all’ and that ‘his compassion is over all that he has made’. His unconditional love is like that of a parent — and parenthood, in the remarkable love it displays, is touched by God. In the week of Mothering Sunday, and as we celebrate the amazing work of the Mothers’ Union around the world, we may like to reflect on Julian of Norwich’s remarkable teaching about the maternal nature of God: ‘We owe our being to him — and this is the essence of motherhood! — and all the delightful, loving protection which ever follows. God is as really our Mother as he is our Father.’ (Revelations of Divine Love, chapter 59)

The 20,000 Mothers’ Union members in Zimbabwe and the 71,000 of Britain and Ireland, whatever their differences, are all loved by God, our Father and Mother, as every one of us is blessed to be too.

God of Love, thank you for those who parent us so wonderfully on earth, and for your parental love of us all. Help us to see what we share with our sisters and brothers, and to feel bound together, across mountains and borders and seas, in your compassionate embrace. Amen.

Ben Cahill-NichollsSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Fourth Week of LentWednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent


OT: Exodus 32.7-14Psalm: 106.19-23Gospel: John 5.31-end

It can be fun to put filters on selfies, to try to create a reflection of what we would like to see rather than what we really look like. Rightly or wrongly, image matters. True reflections can be very difficult to look at because we might see something in them that we do not like.

Today’s readings reflect back to us something that may well make us feel uncomfortable; about ourselves, our relationship with God and how he sees us. They reflect back to us a gap between what we are called by a loving God to do and what we really do.

We are called to live a life, as individuals and in community, in loving service to each other and in response to God’s love and calling for us. God asks us to yield and not be ‘stiff necked’ to his love and his glory. Jesus says we are to ‘come to him to have life’. And there is an implicit understanding in the anger expressed by God and the frustration expressed by Jesus that we find this difficult, both as individuals and as a community living out our calling.

This week, as we give thanks for our Diocesan links with Zimbabwe and the wonderful missional work of the Mothers’ Union there, let us also remember that such a calling to live in communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ requires us to look up and out of our own local communities, up and beyond the physical borders of our daily lives.

Gemma BirtRipon College, Cuddesdon

Fourth Week of LentThursday in the Fourth Week of Lent


OT: Wisdom 2.1, 12-22 or Jeremiah 26.8-11Psalm: 34.15-end Gospel: John 7.1-2, 10, 25-30

There are times in our lives when it does not feel that God is close to us. This may be particularly true when we are broken-hearted or crushed in spirit. Indeed, it is on our darkest days that God can sometimes feel furthest from us. At times there seems to be no justice, and that good people suffer and the evil prosper.

In the second part of Psalm 34, in spite of painful realities, we are invited to accept that God is actively present to bless and save us — in the good times and the bad. It is only our lack of faith and insight that denies us from seeing this.

The cumulative effect of verses 15-22 assures us that whatever the outcome of any particular experience of persecution, grief, or pain, God’s nature offers hope and peace. And that truth makes it possible, even in the midst of suffering, to worship God. Whatever the circumstances we are invited to proclaim: ‘Blessed be thy name.’

Judith BrooksSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Fourth Week of LentFriday in the Fourth Week of Lent


OT: Jeremiah 11.18-20Psalm: 7.1-2, 8-10Gospel: John 7.40-52

‘Mother and daughter by sea’In the week following Mothering Sunday we remember God as our protector and comforter amidst the waters of life.

‘Lord my God, I take refuge in you.’ Psalm 7:1

David AtkinsonRidley Hall

Fourth Week of LentSaturday in the Fourth Week of Lent


OT: Ezekiel 37.1-14Psalm: 130NT: Romans 8.6-11Gospel: John 11.1-45

It is sometimes very difficult to accept that there is a God who rules in the affairs of humanity and that God is good when all that we can see around us is desolation. The accounts of God’s providence and God’s interventions that we have read about time and time again in the scriptures sometimes seem far-fetched when there seems to be no end in sight to human suffering.

Nevertheless, Ezekiel 37.1–14 is an account that holds humanity’s hopelessness and the transforming power of God in contention. This passage also shows that God is never far away from human suffering; in fact, it is at the heart of human suffering that we find God at work.

As we look back to the situation in Zimbabwe over the past few years, we can see how beauty is rising from the ashes of severe drought, hardship and political instability; blessed be to the name of the Lord.Our faith must rest on hope and expectation and it is with this in mind that I invite you to pray for the collaborative work done by the Diocese of Southwark and our partner Dioceses in Zimbabwe.

During this Lent period, may I encourage each of us to reflect on the love of God for us, and to use this love as a catalyst for our walk with God as we continue to support the people and the nation of Zimbabwe with our prayers and through the work of the Diocese?

Olabisi Akano-AdesoyeSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Fifth Week of LentSunday in the Fifth Week of Lent


OT: Josh 2.1-14 orApochrypha: Susanna 1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 [or 41b-62]Psalm: 23Gospel: John 8.1-11

Today’s Gospel story sees Jesus facing up to the religious authorities’ demands that a woman caught in adultery be stoned in accordance with Jewish law. Jesus ignores the rights and wrongs of the law and asks the authorities (and us) to do two things.

He first asks anyone seeking to pass judgement to look at their own shortcomings. None of us is without sin, and all should stand condemned before God. He also asks us to see one another through his own eyes: eyes not of condemnation but compassion. Jesus, the one without sin who could have cast the first stone, refuses to apply the law’s punishment and releases the woman in an act of pure grace.

The radical message of the Gospel is that we are no longer defined by whatever sins we have committed — they are washed away. Yet, neither are we defined by our own righteousness or achievements — God’s grace is freely available to all, won for us through the birth, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. So it is not in ourselves that we find our fundamental identity but in Jesus Christ: abiding in him and he in us.

The Christ-shaped life we are all called to live is not an easy one. At some point it may look like taking up a cross. Pray that you may have the strength to bear it, and through it to find what Christ has promised and won for you: resurrection to new life.

Alastair NewmanWestcott House

Fifth Week of LentMonday in the Fifth Week of Lent


OT: Numbers 21.4-9Psalm: 102.1-3, 16-23Gospel: John 8.21-30

Dispute over who Jesus is: John 8.21-30In this passage Jesus is explaining his identity. He is God, connected to God the Father, sent by the Father, doing his Father’s will (verses 28-29). He is judge (verse 25).

In the passage we learn about the identity of God the Father. He is trustworthy (verse 26), he sent his Son into the world (verse 29).

The passage shows us the hope that we have in Christ — believing in Jesus and trusting his forgiveness means that we will not die in our sins but enjoy life and relationship with God in this life and for eternity.

The passage shows us the power of Jesus’ words — people did not understand what Jesus was telling them about God (verse 27) and yet as he spoke, many believed in Him (verse 30).

PrayerJesus said: ‘The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone’. As we are sent to proclaim Christ, may we know the presence of God with us. Jesus spoke with power and many came to believe; may we speak with that same power causing many to believe in him.

Ros WilliamsSt Mellitus College

Fifth Week of LentTuesday in the Fifth Week of Lent


OT: Daniel 3.14-20, 24-25, 28Canticle: Bless the LordGospel: John 8.31-42

Children of God?‘Ummmm…’ our 18-month-old daughter says as she chooses a toy to play with. But she often ignores her toys in favour of our ‘toys’ — the Sellotape reel, a box of tissues, pens, the iPad. In fact, anything that she has seen us ‘play’ with. One of her favourite games is to imitate a phone call by placing a random object to her ear and conducting an imaginary babbling ‘telephone’ conversation. Her behaviour is typical — young children naturally imitate those around them, particularly their parents. Indeed, we can often identify children’s parents by the way their children imitate them.

In today’s Gospel passage, though, Jesus questions whether some members of his Jewish audience are imitating their founding father, Abraham. Are you acting — Jesus asks — like the children of Abraham? Moreover, are you acting like children of God? If God is your Father, then surely your behaviour must imitate the love of your Father. Jesus’ charge is that those who seek to kill him are not imitating either Abraham or God.

Jesus’ imitation challenge resonates beyond its immediate context. Perhaps today we might ask ourselves who we are imitating. As followers of Christ, can we say we are good imitators of ‘the one who came from God’? Can people tell from our behaviour who our heavenly Father is? Can we be recognised as true children of God?

Daniel BennettRipon College, Cuddesdon

Fifth Week of LentWednesday in the Fifth Week of Lent


OT: Genesis 17.3-9Psalm: 105.4-9Gospel: John 8.51-end

‘Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.’Psalm 105.4-9

Does the constant stream of bad news cause us to throw up our hands in despair, or do we follow the psalmist and look to the Lord? We can actively seek the one whose judgements are in all the earth and who established an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants. This is our God: unlike many in the world today, he keeps his promises and can be trusted with each detail of our lives.

Abraham was not only the father of a multitude of nations, he was also a friend of God. At the heart of the covenant was the gift of relationship with God himself: ‘(I will) be God to you and your offspring after you’ (Genesis 17.7). We, too, are invited to sit with him face to face.

Let us remember God’s goodness to us and receive the gift of his loving presence in our lives. Let us pursue his strength for the challenges we face in our own divided nation and stand with our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe who are suffering from little-reported, ongoing hardship.

Lord God, we thank you for your promise to be our God and that, through the gift of Jesus, we can enjoy your presence forever. We pray for justice and peace here in the UK and in Zimbabwe — deliver and strengthen us by your mighty right hand, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Caroline MadanatWycliffe Hall

Fifth Week of LentThursday in the Fifth Week of Lent


OT: Jeremiah 20.10-13Psalm: 18.1-6Gospel: John 10.31-end

The Gospel passage for today opens as the crowd pick up stones with the intention of throwing them at Jesus. The human impulse to condemn and punish can be so strong. The crowd is quick to judge Jesus and they fail to see the outworking of God within him. Shockingly, they seek punishment through violence and believe this is a righteous thing to do. It did not matter that Jesus had done good work and performed miracles.

Reflect on this Gospel portion knowing that God, in his infinite love and mercy, is always ready to meet us in prayer exactly where we are. When have you missed the opportunity to see Christ within other people? Maybe you can think of a time you felt an impulse to attack or criticise someone and felt justified or righteous by doing so? When has the spark of God within you been unseen or misunderstood by others? How did you think and feel?

Open up yourself to the living light of God. Allow him to illuminate and dispel any frustration, anger and hurt that you are holding on to. We are called to be like Christ in the world, a beacon. God is within us, may he be seen. God has given us gifts, may they be a blessing shared with others.

Jesus never threw a stone at anyone. May we seek to follow Jesus and walk on that same path.

Leigh EngehamSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Fifth Week of LentFriday in the Fifth Week of Lent


OT: Ezekiel 37.21-28Canticle: Jeremiah 31.10-13 or Psalm 121Gospel: John 11.45-end

In the image of God, we are made. It perhaps is not surprising, therefore, when we read parts of the Bible where we see this reflection more clearly.

Psalm 121 paints a picture of our creator God doting on his children, just as a new mother or father dotes on their newborn child.

Fifth Week of LentSaturday in the Fifth Week of Lent


I am not a parent myself, but I am friends with enough people who are, and they are always there, during the day at the park, watching over them, and in the depth of night, awake for them, for whatever it is they need. From the perspective of the child, their parent neither slumbers or sleeps, they are always available.

This is the truth of what we learn in Psalm 121, ‘he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep’.

Our creator God, who is Lord of all, never stops watching over us. From the perspective of the child, when we awake in the middle of the night, in need, our Father in heaven is with us. All that is required of us is to lift our eyes to the mountain — to lift our eyes up to our creator God.

This Lent, let us use this time, in all things, and at all times, to lift our eyes to our wonderful, almighty, creator God, with knowledge that he is there, with knowledge that he is with us, in the brightest of days and in the darkest of nights. Amen.

Georgia AshwellSt Mellitus College


Liturgy of the Palms:Psalm: 118.1-2, 19-29Gospel: Matthew 21.1-11Liturgy of the Passion:OT: Isaiah 50.4-9a Psalm: 31.9-16 NT: Philippians 2.5-11 Gospel: Matthew 26.14-27.66 or Matthew 27.11-54

‘I got me flowers to straw thy way;I got me boughs off many a tree:But thou wast up by break of day,And brought’st thy sweets along with thee.’ George Herbert, Priest (1593-1633)

‘Easter’ from The TempleEven for George Herbert’s day, the person in this poem is speaking to Christ in a simple and naïve manner. ‘Lord, I have gathered flowers and palms to celebrate,’ he says, but he is too late. Likewise the people of Jerusalem ‘cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road’ singing ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ (Matthew 21.8-9).

The Palm Sunday liturgies (Procession of Palms and Passion reading) are an essential reminder of our need for readiness. We must sing ‘Hosanna’ and decorate our churches with Palm (or willow or yew - old British customs) because we love and will welcome Jesus. However our human ‘readiness’ will be insufficient and all too late. Ignorantly we will pass into the darkness of Christ’s passion, as we witness his death and wonder, by God’s grace, at his sweet resurrection.

Holy WeekPalm Sunday


Note for meditationI love to listen to Herbert’s words in a musical setting by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It’s the second song from Five Mystical Songs. I would recommend the recording by Guildford Choral Society with Henry Herford as soloist.

Daniel WymanCollege of the Resurrection, Mirfield


OT: Isaiah 42.1-9Psalm: 36.5-11NT: Hebrews 9.11-15Gospel: John 12.1-11

‘I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.’ Isaiah 42.6

Abigail HindmarchAged nine

Holy WeekMonday in Holy Week


OT: Isaiah 50.4-9aPsalm: 70NT: Hebrews 12.1-3Gospel: John 13.21-32

Recently I received an e-mail with the subject ‘Stop hearing and start listening’. Ordinarily this spam message would have ended up unread in my trash folder. But I paused to think and reflect on these words. Hearing can be passive and casual but listening requires making time, being focused and intentional. In Isaiah 50.4-9a, the Lord’s servant listens to God, God gives the servant protection and help, opens the servant’s understanding to his will and grants wisdom to know how to act. As a result, the servant is determined to do God’s will.

The question is not, does God speak? but rather, what is God saying to me right now? Am I listening and how do I respond? We know God is always speaking because Scripture tells us: ‘Let him who has an ear; hear what the Spirit is saying.’ The Holy Spirit never goes on vacation or sleeps, and so we can be certain that he is always at work and speaking.

Lent offers us the opportunity to tune in to listen to the Father’s heart for us, his Church, the world and creation. As we wait and listen through prayer, scripture, and worship we are empowered and inspired to serve God with our lives, gifts, and talents. So where is God directing and inviting us to serve in his mission? The Bishop’s Lent Call gives us a chance to share our blessings with others through prayers, practical support and giving. May we listen and respond with commitment and passion.

Nicholas LebeyCranmer Hall

Holy WeekTuesday in Holy Week


OT: Isaiah 50.4-9aPsalm: 70NT: Hebrews 12.1-3Gospel: John 13.21-32

‘After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit.’John 13.21

It can seem lonely to be a Christian. Our beliefs and way of living are unusual in modern society, and our values often conflict with the social consensus. In some parts of the world, Christians risk persecution, imprisonment and death. Even here in Southwark, revealing our faith can prompt disbelief, ridicule, even hostility from acquaintances and colleagues. How hard it can be to summon up the courage to share the good news of the Gospel.

Jesus is our example. His friends were fishermen and tax gatherers. He challenged the self-righteous to see their own faults while telling the adulteress to sin no more. He drove the money-changers from the Temple. He condemned unrighteousness, where the world accepted it.

But Jesus is more. Together with all the disciples for the last time, he grieved as he faced the fact that one of his closest friends was to desert and betray him. He feared the ridicule, suffering and death to come. Because God became man, he suffered all the temptations, all the sadness, all the dread that we suffer. He knows the loneliness and the temptation to self-preservation, compromise and silence. So when we are nervous and timid and just want to keep our heads down, he walks beside us, never ceasing to love us, understanding our weakness, and rejoicing when we have the courage to speak his Holy Name.

David PovallSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Holy WeekWednesday in Holy Week


OT: Exodus 12.1-4 [5-10], 11-14Psalm: 116.1, 10-17NT: 1 Corinthians 11.23-26Gospel: John 13.1-17, 31b-35

‘He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet.’John 13.5

In the hands of Jesus every one of his disciples are cleansed and find their belonging in Christ. In this act of self-offering of himself, God is revealed in Jesus Christ.

‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ John 13.8

Just like Peter, we can tend to offer the Lord our own ways to serve him, ways that we think are better or perhaps more acceptable. But it is only in accepting the truth that we cannot secure our salvation by our own effort, but that Christ cleanses all who trust in him, that we are freed from our sin and brought into Christ’s salvation.

‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.’ John 13.34

The word ‘Maundy’ comes from the Latin mandatum which means ‘mandate’ or ‘commandment’. The most important thing that Christ wants his disciples to know is that his love, outpoured in that room, was never intended to stay there but to be shared with the world. To be participants in God’s mission to redeem the world means being obedient to where and how he calls us in service to others.

Sue BosleySt Mellitus College

Holy WeekMaundy Thursday


OT: Isaiah 52.13-53.12Psalm: 22NT: Hebrews 10.16-25 or Hebrews 4.14-16; 5.7-9Gospel: John 18.1-19.42

‘Draw near’: Hebrews 10.16-25On Good Friday we enter the story of Jesus at its most intense, raw and harrowing. Through the solemn reading of the Gospel in the Good Friday liturgy we share Jesus’ pain of abandonment from God and total exposure to the pain and evil of the world. There was no place for Jesus to hide, nowhere to withdraw.

In contrast, the letter to the Hebrews calls upon the followers of Jesus to ‘draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith’. (Hebrews 10.42) Where Jesus was exposed to the world on the cross, believers are urged to draw near to God to access the nearness to God which the cross brought about.

Using the images of the Jerusalem Temple and the sacrificial rituals which controlled access to God, the passage shows how the Cross has removed these barriers and opened up a new way to God.

In the Hebrews passage, the heart as the centre of being is the place we come before God. There is an inner movement away from the externals of sacrifice and systems as the means to draw near to God. However, the heart reveals itself through the way we live our lives. Our response to the Bishop’s Lent Call is one expression of a heart near to God. The message of the cross is that Jesus opened the opportunity for all to draw near to God and this is the good news.

Janice PriceSt Augustine’s College of Theology

Holy WeekGood Friday


OT: Job 14.1-14 or Lamentations 3.1-9, 19-24Psalm: 31.1-4, 15, 16NT: 1 Peter 4.1-8Gospel: Matthew 27.57-66 or John 19.38-42

1 Peter is a challenging read for many Christians. We are, after all, essentially being told to be ready to suffer as Christ suffered on the cross. When we first come to faith, whatever our journey to get there, few contemplate suffering as Christ suffered.

Of course, when Peter originally wrote this letter, he was addressing an audience who were meeting secretly in houses, hiding their faith and expecting to be punished by the authorities of the day. Thankfully, in today’s Southwark, we are not being crucified or sent to face the lions. As Christians here in modern London, perhaps Peter is reminding us to be mindful of our deliverance in Jesus’ death. As Paul echoes in his letter to the Romans, we become ‘dead to sin and alive to God’ when we follow Christ. Is it this metaphorical death which Peter calls us to look towards? We are free of our debt to sin. Free to worship and live for the will of God. We can count our blessings that this is the case for Christians here in the UK.

However, this Lent, a season of prayer and penance, I am remembering and praying for those who are still being persecuted for their faith around the world. Those people whose circumstances — hidden faith; small, secret house churches; imprisonment for their belief — Peter would instantly recognise. I will be praying for those people throughout Lent and invite you join me today. O, Lord, hear our prayer.

Rob Slater-CarrRipon College, Cuddesdon

Holy WeekEaster Saturday


OT: Acts 10.34-43 or Jeremiah 31.1-6Psalm: 118.1-2, 14-24NT: Colossians 3.1-4 or Acts 10.34-43Gospel: John 20.1-18 or Matthew 28.1-10

‘When Mary Magdalene had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but she did not know it was Jesus.’ John 20.14

People of Southwark Diocese, rejoice! Christ is Risen, this Easter Day and always, in you and in me.

Rachael GledhillWestcott House

Easter WeekEaster Sunday

Published by Press and Communications for the Diocese of SouthwarkTrinity House, 4 Chapel Court, London SE1 1HW

Copyright © Diocese of Southwark 2019

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Walking Welcoming

Growing

Date post:	05-Jun-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	4 times
Download:	0 times