If you are the Son of God…… (Luke 4: 3)

If I was to ask you what your expectations are for Lent this year,    

what would you say? Will it just be to get through these next 6 weeks

unscathed or do we actively wish to engage with, seek after or spend time with

God?  There is always the unknown; the unexpected and even the

unpredictable. Not things that we generally like.

Canon Mark Oakley, the Dean of St John’s College, Cambridge, in this year’s “Reflections for Lent” comments that “Coming up out of the water, Jesus had heard the unmistakable voice that matters, telling him he was cherished, wanted and ready. He then goes into the heat of the desert spending time with himself, hearing other voices that want him to bow down to them. He knows that his vocation can only be lived out by following the voice he heard that day in the river. We follow him. Where he goes, so do we”.

Stanley Spencer (1891-1951) produced a series of paintings of “Christ in the wilderness” of which “The Scorpion” (1939) is one. You may know it. What is particularly moving is the way Christ is looking down at the scorpion in his hand. Jesus once likened God to a good father, putting the question: “If we ask a father for bread, will he give us a scorpion?”.  In this painting it is just such a scorpion that Jesus cups in his hand, looking down at it with a sense of deep pity. Scorpions can sting us to death, and the painting depicts more scorpions all around Jesus on the ground. It seems as if Jesus is contemplating his future and facing up to his destiny. It is not the bread that his Father gives him, but the sting of death.

Teresa White – a member of the Faithful Companions of Jesus - writes in this year’s Lent Book entitled “Hope and the Nearness of God” that “God is with us in a special way during Lent, our Christian season of prayer and fasting, and wants to unlock the doors of depression or pessimism in which we may feel ourselves trapped. When we take time to pray, to reflect, things which had previously escaped us in the jumble of existence become more clearly visible. It is God who gives this new vision. God that unblocks our ears so that we hear echoes of the distant melody of hope. God who touches our hearts and draws us towards what is good and beautiful. Hope in the nearness of God can set us free to walk more courageously into the unknown. It opens up our horizons. It is not a substitute for action, but it relies on God to point the way forward”.

In Lent, we are invited to enter into the wilderness in order to seek God’s presence, and to pray that we will become more alert to that which is invisible. The wilderness is a place of encounter with the divine, and God’s nearness can be very real in this place of apparent sterility and strange, unlooked-for beauty. As Pope Francis has said “God does not hide himself from those who seek him with a sincere heart, even though they do so tentatively or in a vague or haphazard manner”.

Jesus, friend and brother,

You were tested and found faithful,

When we are tested give us the insight to recognise what is right,

The will to do it,

And strength to continue in the true path.

Daily Prayers for the people of the Ukraine

God of love, turn our hearts to your ways; and give us peace. Amen.

God our deliverer, when the foundations are shaken and justice has departed, defend the poor and needy and give your people strength to fight all wrong in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

At the request of the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine we say:

Psalm 31:1-5, 21-24

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame; 

deliver me in your righteousness.

Incline your ear to me;

make haste to deliver me.

Be my strong rock, a fortress to save me,

for you are my rock and my stronghold; 

guide me, and lead me for your name’s sake.

Take me out of the net

that they have laid secretly for me, 

for you are my strength.

Into your hands I commend my spirit,

for you have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. 

Blessed be the Lord!

For he has shown me his steadfast love

when I was as a city besieged.

I had said in my alarm,

‘I have been cut off from the sight of your eyes.’

Nevertheless, you heard the voice of my prayer

when I cried out to you. 

Love the Lord, all you his servants;

for the Lord protects the faithful,

but repays to the full the proud.

Be strong and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait in hope for the Lord.

God of peace and justice, send your blessing on the people of Ukraine. Sustain them in their courage, hold them in their fear, protect them from all danger and be for them the hope they desire; for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed; give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both, our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that, by thee, we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

Adapted from the prayers issued by the Diocese in Europe

A Rite of for the beginning of Lent

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation; and sustain in me a willing spirit.       Ps 51:12

Preparation for Lent

Dear friend in Christ, in beginning our Lenten observance, on this Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of our baptism, and how Christ’s death on the cross may clearly be shown in our lives. We now come before God in penitence, reflecting on our life in Christ. We pledge ourselves to observe this season of self- examination, discipline, and self-denial with sincerity, prayer, and reverent reflection on holy Scripture, seeking God’s purpose for us, and modelling our lives on the example of Christ Jesus.

Kyries

Lord, have mercy. Lord, Have mercy.

Christ, have mercy. Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

Reading:  Joel 2:12-17

Let us pray for grace to keep Lent faithfully.

God of mercy and giver of comfort, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent. Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that, lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, we may receive from you, the God of all mercy, perfect forgiveness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Verses from Psalm 51

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,

   according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

   blot out my transgressions.

² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,

   and my sin is ever before me.

⁴ Against you, you alone, have I sinned,

   and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are justified in your sentence

   and blameless when you pass judgement.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,

   and put a new and right spirit within me.

¹¹ Do not cast me away from your presence,

¹¹ and do not take your holy spirit from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

   and sustain in me a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

   and sinners will return to you.

¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,

   and my mouth will declare your praise.

Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6; 16-21

As a sign of the spirit of penitence with which we shall keep this season of preparation for Easter, I invite you to make the mark of Christ’s cross, on your forehead, with which we are signed at Baptism, and by which we are forgiven our sins and live to the glory of God. Saying:

Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the Gospel.

Absolution

May God, who is both power and love, forgive us (+), and free us from our sins; heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord God Almighty, your people are washed clean in the saving flood of baptism, and born again: as we follow the way of the cross, we ask you to unseal for us the wellspring of your grace, cleanse our hearts of all that is not holy, and cause your gift of new life to flourish in us; grant this through Jesus Christ your Son, who sets us free from sin, and lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God, world without end. Amen.

Father of all, we give you thanks and praise that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home. Dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory. May we who share Christ's body live his risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit lights, give light to the world.  Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Forty days and forty nights

Thou wast fasting in the wild,

Forty days and forty nights

Tempted and yet undefiled.

Blessing

Christ give you grace to grow in holiness, to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him; and may the blessing of God, almighty (+) the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with us and remain with us always. Amen.

Father of all, your Risen Son gave new hope to his apostles with words of peace and the assurance of his presence: send your Holy Spirit upon the peoples of Ukraine. Bless them with Christ’s gift of peace, and strengthen the resolve of all who labour for an end to this conflict; 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

From the Diocese in Europe

Have you ever, like I have, been completely overawed with wonder when you’ve walked into a Cathedral or church building. It does not happen to me all the time but on occasion, as I enter a sacred building I am stopped in my tracks and just have to be still and wonder. Wonder at the grander, beauty or sheer workmanship which made this temple to God. It does not, for me, need to be a grand building in fact some of the most powerful places of worship have been wee chapels that you can feel are steeped with prayer and love. that was something I felt the first time I walked into the Good Shepherd.

Many thousands pass through a myriad of church buildings in a year but I’ve never stopped to wonder how many of these people are brought to faith by the building. How something in the awesomeness of stone, brick and mortar, wood, glass and light enable another to glimpse something of the divine that they might not have seen, otherwise.

We are often reminded that, however, beautiful or not a church building is, it is not ‘the church’. The Church is actually the people, the congregation and those whom they serve but we must not forget that the building can be a tool for mission and outreach just by being what it is.

The author of the piece from 1Kings this morning grasps this idea as does St.Luke. In 1Kings we are told to welcome the foreigner who chooses to worship in the Temple and who acknowledges God and Luke tells the story of the centurion held in great esteem by the locals in Capernaum for what he had done for the temple there. Buildings move people and even if they may say they don’t worship God, their actions speak otherwise. In that they are doing something for the ‘otherness’ that the building engenders.

The Church has always had its supporters who may not ever come to worship but would be amongst the first to help maintain its fabric and to ensure it remains standing for future generations. For some supporting the building might in a way be their act of worship to a God, they cannot yet proclaim. God has his supporters everywhere and not all of us will be worshippers. Those of us who are adherents and communicants worship not just on our own behalf but on the behalf of those others who cannot. We are called to give thanks for those who support the church and to pray for them just as we might pray for our own members. For Christ’s Church is made up of many different people.

Buildings do so often play a significant part in people’s faith. Making a pilgrimage to a favourite chapel or church can re-fresh belief or help us re-connect. Having a sacred building to seek peace and quiet in or sanctuary is also important and being a place just to be can be powerful. When I recently visited my parents I wandered into the town centre to walk round the restored ruins of Reading Abbey. The flint walls and window traceries still capture my imagination as much as they did when I was a boy. I like to imagine I can hear the benedictine monks singing the officers as I pace the grounds. I suspect those ruins had something to do with the reason I became a Benedictine Oblate and practice my faith. Even today those ruins speak of something greater than me or the world I see. This I believe is echoed in recent reports where it is recorded that Cathedral type congregations have increased over latter years simply because of the space they offer, just to be.

Buildings are a magnet and a magnet that can attract and lead someone into faith and fellowship given the right conditions. Some have joined our congregation because the building and its garden offered them a way into worship that they had not expected or were looking for. Perhaps they felt an atmosphere of ‘holiness’ that welcomed them in and made them stop for a while. We may not see these people every Sunday but they are there supporting us in what we do and we likewise should support them with our prayers.

Buildings may not be the people of God but they do have doors that should always be open in welcome; offering a glimpse of the Divine beyond.