RAMBLING RECTOR
Church buildings can open for public worship now, but I will continue to send a short reflection, for those of you who must continue to ‘shield’. It will be based on the topic of the Sunday Sermon, but not a transcript of it.
Let me know if you want a full transcript and I’ll get one to you.
SUNDAY 19 July
Romans 8.12-25
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, ‘Abba,[g] Father.’ 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Matthew 13.24-30 and 36-43
24 Jesus told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed ears, then the weeds also appeared.
27 ‘The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?”
28 ‘“An enemy did this,” he replied. ‘The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?”
29 ‘“No,” he answered, “because while you are pulling up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”’
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’ 37 He answered, ‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 ‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
REFLECTION
What have you inherited from your parents or grandparents?
It might be material items like that hideous vase that you feel obliged to keep?
Or it might be a huge sum of money, or a vast estate!
It might be that we have inherited a distinct physical characteristic such as ginger hair or big blue eyes? Or like me, being particularly short?
And then we should bear in mind that scientists estimate that 20 to 60 percent of our temperament and character is determined by genetics. That means that we could probably say with a clear conscience – “It’s not my fault I have a short attention span or a volatile temper – it’s in my genes!”
In today’s epistle reading from the Letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us that we are God’s children and so can call him ‘Father’. Paul also reminds us that as well as being God’s children we are also his heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. I think you will agree that is a particularly fine inheritance to have, and I encourage you to take some time this week to think about it, and let your soul and your spirit absorb the truth of it.
Clearly, such an inheritance will make a difference to us, but while it all sounds wonderful in the abstract, we might well ask what it might mean for us as we face the everyday challenges that life can bring to us. We may have worries in our school or working lives, we may encounter family difficulties, or issues of health or ageing. Might not all these worries be put in perspective when we remember the great resources of our inheritance, remembering that the creator and sustain of the whole universe shares the richness of his grace with us. As inheritors of the freedom and the glory that Paul speaks of, we can find the courage to look at life differently, with a deeper sense of security and a new confidence.
Even as we hold onto that amazing truth, we will remain aware that even as God’s children we are not immune from suffering. Indeed, in addition to inviting us to call God “Abba,” we will also share in Christ’s sufferings and the suffering of the world. But we can be assured that in the fullness of time, all creation will be restored in God and it is in that hope that we live, knowing ourselves to be adopted by God and able to receive our inheritance.