26 July 2020
10:30 | 
Posted by
Dr Platts |
This Sunday our 10 am Service was a celebration of the Eucharist. Father Stephen was the celebrant, and as is our current practise, we spread out around the church at suitable social distance, and wearing face coverings. Joanna provided music from the organ, but there was no singing, the service was said. The readings were from St Paul's letter to the Romans, and from St Matthew's gospel, continuing the theme of past weeks of Jesus's sayings about the Kingdom, Father Stephen explored some of these sayings in the sermon, which you can read below. We were all delighted to hear that the Cake and Jam sale organised yesterday by Angela and Becky had, despite the rainy weather, raised over £300 for the Church, a marvellous effort all round! Please do come to the Plant and Book Sale to be held next saturday in the Church Hall Car park, details on the poster !
‘THOUGHT
FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE –
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 26 JULY
Circle
of the Master of the Legend of St Ursula, ‘St Lawrence showing the
Prefect the Treasures of the Church’, c1510,
National
Gallery
Dear
Friends
Today’s
Gospel reading (Matthew 13:31-33 and 44-52) represents a collection
of parables about the Kingdom of Heaven, continuing a few of the
themes which we have explored during the previous two weeks. The
collection seems, at first sight, to be piling up a wide range of
images – some to do with growth (as in the mustard seed and the
yeast), others to do with value (the treasure hidden in the field,
the pearl of great price) and a further one (the dragnet) which
returns to the idea of judgement and resonates more closely with the
story of the wheat and tares which featured last week.
I
would like this time to focus on the images concerned with value –
the treasure and the pearl. The idea of buried treasure is probably
irresistible for most of us, whether or not we pursue ‘metal
detecting’ as a hobby! In this story, the chap who sells all and
buys the field where he believes the treasure is buried must have
been certain that it was there, and had more than enough wealth
already, to be able to pay for the field. Nevertheless, he is
convinced that the treasure is worth every sacrifice and must be
obtained at all cost.
Similarly,
the merchant in search of pearls is sure that he has found just one
which is worth obtaining, even at the expense of everything he has
previously owned.
It
is easy to assume that these parables are meant to instruct us to
search for the Kingdom, and to make this a priority in our lives, and
this is probably not incorrect. Many commentators, however,
interpret them differently, suggesting rather that the ‘treasure’
and the ‘pearl of great price’ are us! God is the purchaser of
the field, or the merchant, who sacrifices everything, including his
own dear Son, to find us because we are precious in his sight.
British people especially might find this hard to accept – we are
usually so self-deprecating that we can’t believe anyone would
think so highly of us as to sell everything in order to save us!
There is a famous story about St Lawrence who, when pressed by the
Roman Prefect Decius, to give up the ‘treasures of the church’
(ie the silver vessels etc used for Communion), gathered together a
group of the poorest and most humble members of the congregation and
presented them instead. This parable encourages us to understand
that we, too, are the ‘treasures of the Church’ in God’s eyes.
God
is so unbelievably generous and wishes to lavish on us all and more
than we can desire – we have only to ask in a spirit of faith and
trust (think of the story of Solomon who asked for wisdom to govern
his people well, rather than wealth or power, but who was blessed not
only with great wisdom but also with wealth beyond compare).
We
think there must be a catch – but, as last week’s Collect
reminded us, God has prepared for those that love him ‘such good
things as pass our understanding’ so that, loving him in all things
and above all things, we may obtain his promises, ‘which exceed all
that we can desire.’
Fr
Stephen
Collect
for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity
Lord
of all power and might,
the
author and giver of all good things:
graft
in our hearts the love of your name,
increase
in us true religion,
nourish
us with all goodness,
and
of your great mercy keep us in the same:
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.Romans 8:26-39
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans
The Spirit helps us in our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but that very Spirit intercedes
with sighs too deep for words.
And God, who searches the heart,
knows what is the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for the saints
according to the will of God.
We know that all things work together for good
for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those whom he foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,
in order that he might be the firstborn
within a large family.
And those whom he predestined he also called;
and those whom he called he also justified;
and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then are we to say about these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
He who did not withhold his own
Son, but gave him up for all of us,
will he not with him also give us everything else?
Who will bring any charge against God's elect?
It is God who justifies.
Who is to condemn?
It is Christ Jesus, who died,
yes, who was raised,
who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will hardship, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written,
"For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height,
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gospel Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew
Jesus put before the crowd another parable:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that someone took and sowed in his field;
it is the smallest of all the seeds,
but when it has grown
it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree,
so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
He told them another parable:
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour
until all of it was leavened.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which someone found and hid;
then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has
and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
in search of fine pearls;
on finding one pearl of great value,
he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a
net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;
when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down,
and put the good into baskets
but threw out the bad.
So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come out
and separate the evil from the righteous
and throw them into the furnace of fire,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Have you understood all this?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he said to them,
"Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven
is like the master of a household
who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
