Jacob tricked his brother Esau - Genesis week 3
1 Jacob tricked his brother Esau,
strange how God deals with this act;
Jacob seems to go unpunished,
discord sown by this one fact.
2 Tasty stew had bought a birthright,
hunger had the upper hand,
brothers once, two nations forming,
bitterness within the land.
3 Rancour sometimes deeply rooted
acts like cancer in our lives,
rifted, riven, torn and twisted,
love is lost or scarce survives.
4 Youthful envy, words unspoken,
rend a nation at its heart,
generations pass unnoticed,
wonder what had made this start.
Andrew Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2011 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Metre: 8 7 8 7
Tune: ST CATHERINE (Jones)
Category: Bible
Abram set out on a journey – the call of Abram/Abraham – Genesis 12 and onward…
Abram set out on a journey – Inspired by the call of Abram
1 Abram set out on a journey,
joined this new, uncertain, game.
Challenges bring new excitement,
no two days will be the same.
Life was settled, now it's shaken,
preconceptions turned around,
every day a new beginning,
every place uncommon ground.
2 Now it felt God moved the goal-posts,
playing by some other rules,
life and work had been uprooted,
staying home seemed just for fools.
Still today God calls the dreamers,
those with visions charged by grace,
those who move and travel onward,
bringing hope to each new place.
3 Will you join this pilgrim people,
finding new and different ways;
trusting God will walk beside you
now and in your future days?
Will you walk into the darkness,
trusting God and trav'ling light,
setting out to live the gospel,
always keeping God in sight?
Andrew Pratt (born 1948) based on Genesis 12 vs 1-4
Words © 2011 © Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
8 7 8 7D
Tune: BETHANY
A hymn inspired by 1 Samuel 8: 4 – 11, 16 – 20 for Second Sunday after Pentecost perhaps still pertinent? – The warning went unheeded…
A hymn inspired by 1 Samuel 8: 4 – 11, 16 – 20
for Second Sunday after Pentecost perhaps still pertinent?
1 The warning went unheeded,
that power corrupts and fires
a need for domination,
that wealth and fear conspires
to elevate the powerful,
to subjugate the poor,
that those who have most riches
will always look for more.
2 The people pleaded loudly,
'most nations have a king',
and reason would not change them
from wanting such a thing.
As history unfolded
they learnt, as if in youth,
that kings are only human,
a long-forgotten truth.
3 So Saul was soon anointed
and feted by his peers,
his reign was sometimes blighted,
brought hurt and pain and tears.
That lesson we're still learning:
that power blinds to need,
and wealth is hoarded, hidden,
and selfishness a creed.
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948)
Words © 2015 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd
Metre: 7 6 7 6 D
Tune: AURELIA
Toward Ascension
The 9th May, 2024 is Ascension Day. That takes my memory back to school days going to, what would now be seen as, a very old-fashioned boys grammar school. On this day we were marched in the morning to a local church for a service. Other than having a morning off from lessons, I remember little of this and grasped nothing of its significance. It makes me wonder what we make of this today, if anything.
Easter was early this year. Then it was over. What then? Actually, in terms of the church calendar, it’s not over until Ascension. So what do we do in these weeks?
Over recent Sundays we have been recounting stories of resurrection. Outside the world moves toward the next commercial opportunity for retailers and hospitality. As to Ascension, what’s that? Good question.
Let’s take it literally from the point of view of the disciples. They had witnessed crucifixion. Then Jesus was back with them. Forgiveness was given, peace proffered. Back to normal. Remember when the lockdown of Covid was lifted. Back to normal, yes. But I’ve recently had another vaccination. Not all is ‘normal’. We have adjusted. I think the disciples experienced a similar rhythm. Jesus death left them orphaned. But Jesus was back. Then this ascension took him away again – ‘Handed over to orphaned, comforted, now comfort less…lost, bereft, as now he leaves them, homeless, friendless, scarred, unblessed’…as a hymn puts it. The gospel according to Matthew says, ‘and some doubted’.
Once beyond this moment what was the new normal for them? Perhaps it can teach us something. Firstly, they had to recognise that Jesus really was dead, not there. Gradually the way beyond this realisation was that the old normal was not coming back. They had to think and act for themselves. This was not just trusting for life after death, but for living life before death.
Without the Ascension they would never have reached this point. Realising this they needed a real new normal. This involved repentance for real. A total and complete change of mind. Following Covid the so called ‘new normal’ drifted back to business as usual. If we have grasped the intention of Ascension there are choices to be made, a new mindset to be adopted and a new life to be lived for real, no drifting back. That new life, for the disciples, began to express the very spirit of Jesus.
So this time coming up to Ascension what are we going to do? A time for reflection? What real new normal do we need to embody that we, you and I, might see Christ in others and they might see Christ in us – that same Spirit of Jesus?
Buzzard; Copyright Andrew Pratt 2024
True Resurrection – a reflection
This is the day of resurrection.
In our narrative, just three short days ago, hatred had free reign. And now, as the sun crept over the horizon on yet another day, change was in the air. Heralded by the sound of a voice, the calling of a name, the offering of peace, the breaking of bread, change was waiting in the wings.
Hatred has had free reign through this year since we celebrated this festival last. And now as the sun creeps over the horizon on yet another day change still pervades the air. Silence and fear mix with the calling of a name, candles are lit, peace is hoped for, bread is broken, people pray, change is in the wings.
What do you do after a death?
Lost voices echo over the gulf of death and shake us, for though silenced, they will never be lost.
Actions, simple actions, will make memories real. My father’s hands, those of your mother, the painted nails of your daughter, the knuckles of my son – all familiar – all echoed in our own hands, bringing us up short. And tears, unexpectedly, sometimes inappropriately, flow and we lose control.
Then someone points out the significance of words which still stay with us, the occasions when we heard them informing what we say and how we act.
This is the day of resurrection, of re-creation, of persistent love.
Some hold this as an historic event easily, a matter of faith. Others feel it is beyond belief. Yet what happened in those days, miraculous or not, is mirrored in our own experiences, yesterday, today, perhaps tomorrow. This was a day that changed lives, offered a new perspective. Mary heard her name being called and the disciples walked into a new future. All that Jesus had said and done lived on for and in them. He changed attitudes and informed actions. But he had died.
Love, however, had not been destroyed. If you can have faith in a literal bodily resurrection hold onto it, it is a gift of grace. But whether you can, or not, reflect with me for a moment on how the first disciples kept Christ alive even beyond crucifixion, resurrection, Ascension.
Acts 2
44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds[j] to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home[k] and ate their food with glad and generous[l] hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.
Christ was raised and lived on in the love and kindness of ordinary people like you and me.
Love, real love, cannot be destroyed, for there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from God’s love. That’s what matters and our ongoing love, our persistent loving kindness, is evidence of resurrection NOW!
That is real:
When we greet with loving kindness those who have betrayed us;
When we make peace with those who have let us down;
When we meet apparent strangers, yet learn their names, and call them in loving kindness;
Then Christ is alive.
Christ is alive when persistent loving kindness is alive in your life and mine!
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