Update on Sunday Worship

Sunday 13th July 

Fourth Sunday after Trinity

Saturday
2:00 pm  Thanksgiving Service at St Lawrence, Towcester

Sunday
9:15 am Holy  Communion at St Lawrence, Towcester
9:15 am Holy Communion at St Michael’s, Bradden
10:15 am  Benefice Sunday Worship via Zoom
11:15 am  Family Worship at St Bartholomew’s, Greens Norton
4:00 pm  Evening Prayer with Hymns at St Mary’s, Easton Neston


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Looking ahead to events and services that are happening please do look at the Monthly Calendar for July 
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Dear all,

What a wonderful weekend it was last weekend with Nigel’s priesting on Saturday and then the service at which he presided for the first time on Sunday. I find these big occasions uplifting and encouraging as we are prompted to reflect on our own calling as members of God’s church and witness people who have responded to that call.

It was heartening to see again one more packed ambulance head off to Ukraine. One response perhaps to the question we hear in Sunday’s gospel, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Towcester has seen the need and responds generously and in a way that it can. We hear of further drone and missile strikes and as this goes on the loss of life in Gaza continues apace. So this week a reflection on the Middle East:

You can’t help but weep for the nations of the Middle East as you listen to the news. And see the endless slaughter; fathers carrying in the bloodied bodies of young children to what was a hospital. Families digging into the rubble of demolished buildings with their bare hands. This is not the place for giving answers but rather for stimulating reflection and prayer. I have known people on both sides.

The Israelis, Jews, have never been able to live at peace with their neighbours. As they see it their land was given to them by God and no-one else has the right to be there. Their scriptures tell us that powerful neighbours have always got in their way. The Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, Moabites, Amalekites, Edomites, Philistines. And the most powerful – Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. In 3000 years nothing much has changed.

Joshua chapter 6 describes the people of Israel crossing the Jordan en route from Egypt, entering the promised land and then destroying Jericho. ‘Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys’. Archaeology doesn’t support that but it exists in popular imagination and it set the precedent. Deuteronomy 7. 1-3.  “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations – the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—seven nations larger and stronger than you- and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy….”  Those words claim to originate with Moses but really they reflect a much later period when the Jewish people were trying to establish themselves in the land they believed God had given them.

Neighbours are bad. Get rid of them. Don’t let Revenge go.  The psalms keep alive the memory of the Edomites rejoicing when Jerusalem was captured. There is rejoicing among their neighbours again when Babylon invaded and took the population into exile. The Jews asked God to deal with their mocking neighbours, Edom and Babylon - Psalm 137. 7-9 ‘Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall, how they said, ‘Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!’  O Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!’  There is no idea of putting the past behind and moving forward to a better relationship and living at peace.

That takes us to the characteristics of the people of the area. First Truthfulness.  Being open and honest. That’s not always been a priority among the various peoples of the Middle East. We learnt that when some years ago we tried to work out whether Saddam Hussein of Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or not. Not being strictly truthful has always been a characteristic of the area. The Garden of Eden may be a story but it shows us that human kind was not above trying to deceive even God. Adam and Eve having done what they had been told not to do tried to hide from God. Move forward and we have Cain denying that he had murdered his brother Abel. 

Coming to the New Testament we have Peter denying that he knew Jesus. And later in Acts 5 we have the early converts Ananias and his wife Sapphira wanting to give a good impression of themselves and claiming to the apostles that they were donating the whole of the proceeds of the sale of a piece of property whereas they were keeping back some of it for themselves. The shame of being found out gave them both a heart attack.

From all this we gain an idea of the sort of people God was trying to guide. They didn’t get on with neighbours. All who were different from themselves were seen as a threat and had to be destroyed.  Revenge was nurtured. Forgiveness was not an option nor was moving on and letting bygones be bygones.

And yet at a deeper level there is so much more that is positive. The one constant is God. Calling for faithfulness. And never giving up on his people. The story of Jonah and the large fish tells us that. It may be only a story but the author has a great sense of humour and has an important message for God’s people. To begin with Jonah hated all those who were ‘not like us’. He was the stereotypical Israelite. He became particularly upset when wicked foreigners not only repented of their sins but started to live morally. Jonah knew he should go and support them but he deliberately went in the opposite direction. God took measures to make sure Jonah went where he was supposed to go. God loves everyone and wants obedience to the law of love and transformed lives. Our place is not to sulk as Jonah did when God didn’t do what he wanted but to expand our vision of who and what God is.

And then, through Jesus God has acted to bring the whole of creation to himself. We might ask why he made life so difficult for himself by choosing a people of no significance who lived in the wrong place. But maybe that is the point. Geographically Israel was, and still is, at the crossroads of the world. The trade routes from northern and central Europe to India or Africa pass through Israel.

Travellers from different nations were always passing through Galilee. Jesus will have learnt a lot from watching and talking to them. If God wanted to change the way people behaved then choosing Israel was a good place to start. And amid all the slaughter and destruction of history there are glimmers of a different way of life among the people of God, showing that there were prophets and wise men in Israel who didn’t fit in with the ‘destroy them and drive them into the sea’ policy.  Proverbs 25:21-22 advises, "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you." This passage suggests that acts of kindness can lead to change in the heart of an enemy.

Then foreigners who dwelt in the land and who lacked the legal protection that Jewish people enjoyed, needed special care. Leviticus 19:33-34 "When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him. You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners once in the land of Egypt." This directive is a reminder of the Israelites' own history as people who didn’t belong and it serves as a call to empathy and compassion.

It was recognised too that not everyone had the means to pay their way. Those who were poor and who, like widows, had no regular income needed help. Lev 23.22 commands, ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you’.

So, in the Old Testament we find - Spare no effort in looking for ways to heal the relationship with your enemies and those who have wronged you.  Remember too your past history and reach out with a helping hand to those going through the same experience. Don’t just live in your own little bubble. All human beings are equally loved by God and should be well treated by you. Keep a watch out for those who need help.

Jesus will have been very well aware of the traditional view, ‘Destroy your enemies’. He was familiar too with the conciliatory view, Listen to what God is saying. And it was that that he took hold of and developed. Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. Father forgive them they know not what they do. Jesus made a point of going to those society rejected; foreigners both men and women; pro-Roman tax collectors. As he explained it I have come that you may have life and have it in all its fulness – ie not just the bits that fit in with your prejudices. 

In this confusing tormented world that we live in what we call ‘God’, the source of all being is a mystery. When we cease to be part of the realm of time and space everything will become much clearer. But at the moment, in the confusion of our lives, we know that faith and hope are what keep us going and are to be nurtured. And we know too that love, self-giving, is the characteristic of God, and that helps us to judge what is Christ-like and what isn’t.  ‘For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now, in the present uncertainty and confusion, faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love’.

With every Blessing
Greg

Nigel's Priesting

Dear all,

I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone in the Tove Benefice for your incredible support over this past year. Your love, encouragement, and prayers have meant the world as I’ve taken my first steps in ordained ministry. I was deeply moved by the turnout at the cathedral for my ordination and again at my first communion. Your presence, kind words, and warmth made both occasions unforgettable. It’s hard to express just how much your support means, but please know that being so well loved has made this journey lighter, richer, and full of grace.

Thank you
Nigel

Ukraine Update

We are pleased to report that Alex Donaldson and Clive Sparling returned safely from Ukraine on Thursday afternoon having safely donated another ambulance full of aid. The trip was not without its challenges at the border crossing, and air alarms on their overnight stay due to attacking drones within the vicinity of Lviv, alongside many other cities. Thank you again to all those who help this work. The team hope to take another ambulance in the autumn funds permitting.

Forthcoming Events

Worship for this coming week