Sunday 17th February - "Jesus tempted too!"

Who among us has not been tempted at some time?  Very few, if any, I should think.  Today we are surrounded by temptations of every kind - chocolate when we’re on a diet; stationery in the cupboard at work.  But is the temptation wrong in itself?  No, only if we give in to it.  
Jesus was tempted by the devil soon after His baptism. Very often temptation comes when we have had a great spiritual experience.  At His baptism, God had said to Jesus “You are the Son of God”.  The devil set out to make Jesus prove that this was true.  The temptations with which Jesus was presented were those of provision, power and protection.  The devil used Jesus’ hunger after fasting.  He very often attacks at our weakest point.  You might wonder how the Son of God could be tempted at all, but he was absolutely human as we are and he understands our temptation moments because he’s experience all of human life. 

Jesus was then tempted with being King over all the nations but only if he worshipped the devil who reckoned he had power over all things.  We must be aware of the devil’s existence but not give him power and authority because Jesus took that away from him on the Cross.

The devil was not giving up and took Jesus to a high point on the temple in Jerusalem, the most sacred place for Jews.  He suggested Jesus that if he was the Son of God and threw himself down,  the angels would hold him up!

Each time Jesus was presented with a temptation he countered it with a quotation from Scripture (all from the Book of Deuteronomy which underlines the Ten Commandments).  On the third occasion, the devil tried to use Scripture too.

Now realising he was beaten, for the moment, the devil slunk away and waited for an opportune moment in the future to continue his attack on Jesus.  Many times in his ministry, Jesus must have been tempted;- all the demands on him by the people to heal; they were expecting him to become a hero, ridding them of the Roman occupation; demanding signs from heaven to authenticate his authority from God.

So why was Jesus tempted at all?
 

 *Temptation is part of all our experiences.
 *Jesus was human and divine
 *Temptation destroyed Adam but Jesus is the new Adam.

Resisting temptation can make us stronger in our faith and as people. But God, in his mercy, will always give us a way out.   (1Corinthians Chap. 10 v.13) 

Elizabeth Ewen

Sunday February 3 - Candlemass

Candles and lanterns abounded and songs about Jesus being the Light of the world were sung with heart and soul by nearly 70 worshippers - an extraordinary morning.  We sang ‘The earth was dark’ immediately followed by ‘Colours of Day’. We had great fun with ‘Jesus’ love is very wonderful’ and then we made lanterns – yes we added cut out yellow candle flames (which I have to admit looked a bit like rabbit ears!).

We spoke of Simeon by using an interactive version of the story in Luke 2. ,sang ‘Light of the World’ and then made a Giant Candle of Hope to which we added our messages of Faith, Hope and Love for 2013 which will be displayed in church – keep your eyes open, for you can’t miss it when it goes up!

We talked of how we can be mirrors of Jesus’ love in the world and closed our morning by singing ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ while the big people waved (very carefully) their little candles around and the children jumped up and down with their paper lanterns. As we didn’t have our hands free for the clapping bit in our last song, we were all stamping our feet.  What a wonderful time of worship.

Every blessing and much joy to you all for 2013.

Deacon Olivia.

Church Without Walls

 

Thank you to all of you who came out in the snow and contributed to our service on the theme of Church Without Walls.   One of the themes of this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is barriers, and so we took the opportunity this week to reflect on the barriers we erect as individuals, as churches, as societies, and to commit ourselves to break down the barriers that separate us from others.

At the centre of the service was the recognition that God loves diversity because God created it !  

However, it is not always easy for us to do so - and all too easy to act instinctively in ways which exclude.  Even Jesus' disciples were not immune - as we saw in our Gospel reading, they thought Jesus should just go along with the social boundaries of their time ("Send her away !")   But Jesus didn't ... (Matthew 15: 21 - 28)

Group discussion was enthusiastic, and there was much to share from them.   Thank you to all who did.    If you were not able to be with us (or even if you were) you are invited to continue the discsussion here ...

 The world will provide you with stones every day;

what you build out of it,

a bridge or a wall,

is up to YOU!

Anon

 

Should you wish to (re)read it, the talk is below.

 

Peter King

 

¹⁴For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. ¹⁵He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.

Ephesians 2: 14 - 16

²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3: 27 - 28

No outsider shall enter the protective enclosure around the sanctuary.  And whoever is caught will only have himself to blame for the ensuing death.

Temple Inscription (C1 CE)

---

Three statements.   The first two from the New Testament;  the third one from the Jerusalem Temple.

At the time of Jesus, Judaism was very much a religion of insiders and poutsiders. You were either a Jew or a gentile, and the temple was constructed with  a series of walls, preventing outsiders (Gentiles, Women, Laypersons) getting into areas into which they were not allowed.

As we saw from the reading from Matthew's Gospel, the message of Jesus was all about making outsiders (like the Samaritan woman) into insiders (like the disciples) - which is why they objected so loudly.

The New Testament writer to the Ephesians likens it to the breaking down of a wall - perhaps one of the dividing walls in the Temple: Jesus  "has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us".

The writer to the Galatians goes further:  Within the new community "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."

·        So what does this mean for us ?

Some years ago the then Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, not known for memorable remarks, referred to a church he had seen in Papua New Guinea that had no doors and no walls. People were able to go in, stay on the edges, listen for as long or as short a time as they liked, and then move away. The image became the metaphor:  the Church without walls.

http://www.mayfieldsalisbury.org/files/Sermon020809.pdf

Every year at about this time (January 18 - 25) churches throughout the world observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  What this is about is removing the walls that separate our various church traditions and denominations so that we all acknowledge one another and the importance and value of our diversity.   It's good that we are all different !   God made diversity and enjoys it - so why shouldn't we ?

·        But it doesn't have to stop there !

Perhaps you could turn to the persons around you and think for a moment about the dividing walls that are part of your life:

·        Are there walls that you - or we as a church - or we as a society - need to break down ? 

·        And if so - how do we make a start ?

You each have a piece of paper with (a rather simple) picture of a wall on it.    We are going to play some music and while the music is playing there will be an opportunity to write something on the back of the sheet that symbolises for you a wall which you would like to play a part in breaking down.  

You are invited to take the paper home with you as a reminder of what you have written.   You are also invited to come up to the front and take a brick out of the lego wall we have erected, both as symbols of your commitment to break down the walls.