26th June 2022 All Saints Church, Childwall
Read: Luke 9: 52 – end.
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Reflect:
‘Jesus not welcome in our village’ would be the newspaper headline from our passage today. Jesus was travelling to Jerusalem and was intending to stop off in this village but the message was clear; ‘You are not welcome’. It was a Samaritan village and Samaritans and Jews had a strong disagreement about the most sacred place to worship God. Samaritans favoured Mount Gerizim and Jews favoured Jerusalem. With Jesus travelling onto Jerusalem this no doubt annoys these Samaritan villagers and causes them to react. When someone rejects our beliefs or reacts against them, we can often be motivated to justify, prove and defend them. There are times though when our response can become one of attack because we feel that we have to show a person how wrong, misguided or even unfaithful they are.
Maybe it shouldn’t surprise us that James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy this village. Jesus rebukes them though and instructs them to get on with the work of the gospel – ‘They went on to another village’. Jesus doesn’t allow them to argue, it is not a contest to see who wins! Jesus is saying ‘move on’ and that is what happens. As they continue to journey three potential disciples interact with Jesus, on each occasion he calls them to follow him. Jesus emphasises that to follow him will require complete commitment.
At first glance the objections that are voiced seem reasonable. Jesus is not being heartless in his response but is calling these potential disciples to examine their own life commitments and put him first!
The challenge that Jesus finishes with is: “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Respond:
In life we can be tempted to focus on how right we are and how wrong others are in relation to our beliefs.
There is a challenge from Jesus when we have an impulse to defend our beliefs and ultimately attack
others who don’t share them. The challenge is that we need to stop and do a full 180-degree turn, turning
our attention away from ‘the other’ to examining ourselves instead. We must ask: To what am I attached
today that keeps me from following Jesus fully and freely?
Pray: Heavenly Father, help me to keep my eyes firmly fixed on you. Help me to let go of everything that stops me from serving you fully and faithfully. Help me to look forward and not back and guide me to live my life as you want me to. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Andrew Colmer (Vicar of All Saints Childwall)
In life we can be tempted to focus on how right we are and how wrong others are in relation to our beliefs.
There is a challenge from Jesus when we have an impulse to defend our beliefs and ultimately attack
others who don’t share them. The challenge is that we need to stop and do a full 180-degree turn, turning
our attention away from ‘the other’ to examining ourselves instead. We must ask: To what am I attached
today that keeps me from following Jesus fully and freely?
Church services
Sunday 26th June – 9.15am – Holy Communion 11am – Service of the Word with Baptism
12.30pm – Baptism Service 6pm – Evening Worship in the Church hall followed by tea & coffee.
Tuesday 28th June – 11am – Funeral of Alan Woods Thursday 30th June – 10.45am – BCP Holy Communion
Sunday 3rd July – 9.15am – Service of the Word 11am – Holy Communion
6pm – Evening Worship. (in the church hall followed by tea & coffee)
Monday 11th July – 12noon Service of Thanksgiving for Eileen Holland
Alan Woods – Alan’s funeral is taking place this week at All Saints on Tuesday 28th June at 11am, followed by his committal at Springwood Crematorium at 12.30pm. Alan’s sisters Angela and Carla would like to extend a very warm welcome to all of Alan’s church family to join them for the committal and at Heath Hall afterwards to share time together.
Sunday 3rd July – 9.15am – Service of the Word 11am – Holy Communion
6pm – Evening Worship. (in the church hall followed by tea & coffee)
Bookworms – Our Church reading group has its next meeting on Monday 1st August at 7.30pm in the function room of the Childwall Abbey. We are looking at the book: The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce, a heartwarming novel about the potential strength of local community.
Morning Prayer – Monday and Friday at 8:00am – Common Worship Morning prayer service with words on screen. Optional Chat after the service. Meeting ID: 948 786 2454 Passcode: 4allsaints
Weekly prayer meeting – Thursday 6.30pm on Zoom. Why not join a group of us at All Saints that pray regularly. It lasts 40 minutes, you can pray, sit and listen or just contemplate. – Aidan Holmes
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/8802380315?pwd=cGxQTnQ0QVRjU1gyUnBrYnJMMzZldz09
Please note joining ID. Meeting ID: 880 238 0315
Passcode: yt76bq
Vestry Hour – every Tuesday 7pm – 8pm.
To book a Baptism or a Wedding or speak to a member of the clergy, please come to Vestry Hour which is held in the church every Tuesday, no appointment is necessary. Please use the wooden door to the left of the tower. You do not need to knock, just come in, take a seat and you will be seen privately in turn.
Weekly Prayer requests – Please pray for all those who are unwell at this time particularly praying for Stan Cowley, Alison Kefford, Sue Holden, Shirley Rawlinson, Margaret Whitehead, Diane Deacon and Doris Springer. We also pray for the bereaved family and friends of Norman Russell, Alan Woods, Norman Bell and John Wright.
Andrew Colmer – Vicar – Tel: 07305 842257 – vicar.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com Helen Deegan – Curate – Tel: 07984 933467 – curate.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com Bill Forster – Associate Minister – william.forster1@btinternet.com Adeyinka Olushonde – Ordinand – adeyinka.allsaintschildwall@gmail.com
