Sunday 30 November 2025: Jeremiah 33:14-16 and Isaiah 7:14

Advent – Hope

Today is the first week of Advent. Advent is the season of preparation and anticipation for the birth of Christ. It is celebrated in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day. The word ‘Advent’ means coming or arrival, and it also signifies the second coming of Christ. There are many traditions that Christians observe during Advent that include things such as lighting an Advent wreath, using an Advent calendar, reflection, prayers and reading scripture.

The Advent wreath is a circle of evergreen leaves with five candles, one for each Sunday in advent, followed by the one in the middle which will be lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Today’s candle, the candle of hope, is also known as the Prophecy Candle.

A prophecy is a prediction of what will happen in the future. In the Bible, a prophecy is delivered as a divinely inspired message from God through a prophet and can involve predicting the future, but generally is a broader message about God’s will, intentions and guidance. Prophets in the Bible acted as God’s spokespeople to convey His messages, which often called for repentance, justice and faithfulness, while also containing messages of hope and promises of the future saviour, Christ.

Prophecies in the Old Testament often called God’s people back to God’s law and also contained promises of a future Messiah who would come to rescue them. In the New Testament, prophecies were delivered to strengthen believers, encourage them and build up the church. In the New Testament, writers used Old Testament prophecies to confirm that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

There are four major prophets in the Bible; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. However, there are many prophets, including these four who spoke about the Messiah. Their prophecies describe the Messiah’s lineage, birth in Bethlehem, virgin birth, suffering, death, resurrection, and His role in establishing a new covenant and justice.

[Read Jeremiah 33:14-16]

As we commence the season of reflection and contemplation during Advent, we are invited to imagine a different kind of hope. A hope that is rooted in the unchanging nature of God who promised to restore His creation. This type of hope that Jeremiah spoke about did not minimise the pain or difficulties of the Jews at that time, and neither did it assume that, if they were going through a period of hardship, it would get better. This hope that Jeremiah spoke about gave them the assurance that God’s promises would be fulfilled. It would have given them courage to face the darkness and to put their trust in God.

In the Hebrew Bible, the words that are commonly used for ‘hope’ can be translated as ‘wait’. Therefore, to hope in God means to wait for God to fulfil His promise with patience. The reading commences with ‘The days are coming’ but it does not say when, and of course time to God is likely to be different from how we perceive time. The Jews would have been encouraged to have faith that God would send a saviour, but they were asked to trust with patient expectation.

Through this prophecy, God is saying that He is going to make good on His promise. He said He was going to do something, promised the people of Israel and Judah, and now He is going to make sure that He fulfils this promise. And that promise of course is to be fulfilled through a ‘righteous branch’. A new ruler who will bring justice and righteousness to the world. The hope is that God’s faithfulness endures and that He will restore His people with a new King, a new ruler, a new priest, a saviour who is the Messiah.

[Read Isaiah 7:14]

The first candle of Advent is purple, which is the primary colour symbolising royalty. This reminds us of the prophecy from Isaiah foretelling the birth of Jesus Christ, who will be born of a virgin and He will be called Immanuel.

The meaning of Immanuel is God with us. Isaiah’s prophecy was proclaiming the Good News that God would indeed be sending a saviour into the world, and in fact this human would be God Himself, come down to earth in the form of a man.

It’s funny isn’t it how the more familiar we get with something, the less we take notice of it? Every Christmas, we get to hear the same readings and carols, and unfortunately there is a chance that as we begin to hear the passages about the angels, shepherds and kings, they carry less impact. We know the story probably off-by-heart, we know the readings from the prophets so it is easy for our brains to switch-off and stop really digging into the meaning behind the message.

There are a few things in this very short passage that we could focus on. We could focus on the sign that God will give, or we could focus on the virgin birth, but we are going to simply focus on the name. Immanuel, God with us.

What does the name tell us about Jesus?

Firstly, God with us – tells us that God is for us not against us. As we read some parts of the Bible it would be easy to think that God is against us. He laid down commands that are hard for us to keep, which means that we keep disobeying Him. But, of course, God sent Jesus to wipe the slate clean, to take on our sins, to give us grace. To enjoy life, we need God with us not against us. With Jesus that is possible, and when we accept Him and allow Him into our lives, this gives us the hope the prophets were taking about.

Secondly, God is with us – He is not somewhere else.

In the Old Testament, people used to set up a tabernacle in the middle of where they were staying, so that God could be in their midst. People want God to be close them. Some people use phrases such as ‘I want to find God’. But the truth is that God does not hide. The hope spoken about through the prophets is that God is not just everywhere, all of the time, but also for a brief amount of time He would come to earth in the form of a man, to live as man and die as man before being resurrected to new life and ascending to heaven. He was born as we are, He lived as we do, He experienced what we do, He laughed like we do, He cried as we do and He died as we will. When Jesus went to heaven, He also did not leave us for He sent His helper the Holy Spirit to guide us, to give us comfort and to assure us of His love and His presence. You don’t need to be in a special place to talk to God, He is right here, right now. In fact, God created the first mobile phone – you do not have to find a land line, or a telephone box to dial God in, you can access Him anywhere, at any time, 24/7, 365 days of the year.

Thirdly, God is with us – we are not alone.

Have you ever felt lonely? I am sure there may have been times in most people’s lives when they have felt lonely. Even someone who is surrounded by lots of people can feel lonely. For being alone is not measured on how many friends you have, or family, but it can be felt when there is a lack of a deep connection with another person. Someone to just sit in silence with, someone who truly knows you, gets you, shares your pain and sorrow, or laughter.

God is ever-present, He is not distant. He doesn’t go away and come back at a later date. That is not to say that there will not be times in our lives when we do not feel God’s presence so much, and we may feel that He is not there. But this is just our feelings and is not the truth. The truth is that God is always there. Jesus told us ‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age’. Matt 28:20.

God does not leave us. God walks with us, comforts us when we feel sorrow, holds our hand when we need steadying, gives us courage when we are doubting, loves us when we feel unloved, forgives us when we have done wrong. And I could go on. Life can be tough and hard, but in these times in particular it is good to remember the promise and hope we have in God.

We are inviting God to be with us during Advent. Celebrating His life on earth as a man, who came down from heaven to save us from our sins. A God who is everywhere, at any time and we can meet God right where we are. A God who is always with us, He never leaves us. That is the hope we need to remember and reflect on this Advent. 

Sunday 23 November 2025: Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds

Why does God let bad things happen to good people? This is one of the questions I dread being asked as a Christian, and we must all, surely, have pondered it, perhaps many times over, as we experience the pleasures and pains of life.

We hear it often from people who are looking for help when they’ve reached the end of their tether, when it seems like life has dealt them more trouble than anyone deserves. It’s a fair question, but a difficult one to answer.

Today’s Bible reading comes from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel – a chapter with a whole string of parables. We haven’t included all of them in our series, but we did include the first one, about a sower who scatters seed everywhere, on all kinds of ground. We examined that parable during our harvest service at the start of October when we considered the type of soil we might be as the seed from God the sower fell on us.

The parables that follow are all about the Kingdom of God. In today’s reading, Jesus is still talking about planting, but He switches focus to something bad that happens to a good farmer. We heard in our reading that his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat while everyone was sleeping. Then he told his servants not to pull up the weeds until the harvest.

Listen to this story about a young mother who had lost her job. She missed too much work when her children were too sick to take to nursery. Without that income, she couldn’t pay her bills, and was worried that her utilities would be shut off, or she would be evicted from her home.

On top of that, her car had broken down, and she had no money for repairs. Without a car, she couldn’t look for a new job. One thing piled on top of another until she was overwhelmed with hardship. She felt like the world was out to get her. “How can God let this happen?” she asked. “What have I done to deserve this?”

Such a moment isn’t always the perfect time to point out that actually, none of us are good, all of us deserve far worse than we get out of life. We are all broken sinners. People like this young mother don’t come looking for a judgmental sermon. They come looking for a glimmer of hope.

The people who gathered to hear Jesus tell them stories weren’t much different. They had experienced oppression from Rome. Even among their own people, they had watched the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Life wasn’t fair. How could God allow His people to continue to suffer, while evil seemed to flourish all around them? When would the Messiah deliver them from this miserable existence, and bring judgment to Israel’s oppressors?

Yet here was Jesus, looking and sounding very much like He could be the one they were waiting for, telling them stories about farming!

There are a few ways to interpret the parable of the weeds. At its most basic level, this story might be about how difficult it is to tell weeds from wheat. The plant that looks very much like wheat is apparently a weed called bearded darnel. As the grain matures, it becomes easier to tell them apart, but by then, it’s too late to uproot one without damaging the other.

If we take this parable at face value, we simply hear that pulling weeds can cause more harm than good, destroying the very crops we want to harvest. But this story is probably more than just a farming tip for weed control.

Just a little further on in Matthew chapter 13, we see at verses 36 to 43 that the disciples ask for an explanation, once they are alone with Jesus. This is what those verses say:

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.’

He answered, ‘The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 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, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

‘As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 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. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

I think it might be good to remember that the field is God’s, and God will continue to nurture and care for His Kingdom.

But what about those troubling weeds? Why shouldn’t we pull them up, if we see them choking the wheat around them? Why does Jesus say they should be left until the harvest?

Well, there might be some pretty good reasons to leave weeds alone. Sometimes, weeds are too big to be pulled up – their roots have intertwined with the roots of the good plants, and pulling up one will also uproot the other.

Sometimes, what we think is a weed, is actually a good plant, and what you think is a good plant is actually a weed. They aren’t always easy to distinguish from one another.

We may not be good at judging between wheat and weeds – and that’s God’s job anyway. And that brings us back to that first question: why doesn’t God do something now about the evil we see everywhere?

This is one of only three parables for which Jesus gives a detailed explanation in Matthew’s Gospel, and they are all in chapter 13. The parable of the Sower, about the good seed spread abundantly on four types of soil, is the first one. And the parable of the net, where the good fish are separated from the bad fish, is the other.

This parable of the weeds has something in common with each of the other two – we hear the connection with the first story in the seeds that are sown. And like the parable of the net, this story teaches us about judgment. Judgment will come, and evil will be destroyed – but not yet.

The Kingdom has already broken into our world in the person of Jesus, and is already at work among us through the Holy Spirit. But the Kingdom has not yet reached its completion. The Kingdom is coming – like seed planted in a field.

We might wonder, “How can this be the Kingdom of God, if evil is still present?” Why is there still poverty? Why does disease still claim so many lives? Where is God in the midst of suffering? Why do people reject Jesus? Why isn’t judgment happening? When will God get around to making things right?

Our responsibility is to make sure we are focused on Jesus so that nothing can uproot us. We should follow His example so that it is easier for others to tell whether we are wheat or weeds by the way we live our lives. And we should understand that it is for God to be the judge of who belongs in His Kingdom.

Like those servant field workers in the parable, we might think it’s our job to pull the weeds, to judge who should be in God’s Kingdom and who should be rooted out. But it is not. God will take care of removing evil in His own good time.

And if it feels like ‘God’s own good time’ is getting nearer and nearer, and Judgment Day must surely be coming soon, then shouldn’t we have a greater sense of urgency to be ready for that day? 

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus described the generosity of a God who sows seeds abundantly everywhere, even on soil where it might not flourish. In today’s parable, the soil is the world, and the children of God are the good seed being scattered all around, to increase the Kingdom while there is still time.

Like the parable of the sower, today’s story asks us if we are living out of abundance, sharing generously to heal the world and increase God’s reign, or are we operating out of scarcity – insisting on our own importance, getting our own way, taking whatever we can get by whatever means?

The good grain gives nourishment; and the weeds take it. Which one are we? Are we robbing nutrients from the intended crop, or are we multiplying God’s abundant mercy?

But here’s the good news about these parables: we can’t change ourselves from weeds to wheat any more than we can change ourselves from rocky, thorny ground into good soil. But Jesus can.

Jesus invites us to turn away from a mindset of scarcity into His abundance; away from focusing on getting what we want, to receiving the infinite grace and forgiveness that God offers each of us through Jesus.

The Kingdom is coming, and Jesus invites us to be part of that Kingdom. The Kingdom comes with limitless grace in the midst of an evil world. As we receive that grace, we can offer it to others with the same kind of generosity that God has offered grace to us in the person of Jesus. What a friend we have in Jesus!

Sunday 16 November 2025: Luke 15:1-10

The parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin

This reading starts with Luke telling us who was listening to the parable Jesus was telling. He was surrounded by tax collectors and sinners. Jesus was not hanging out with the best of society, those who were keeping the law, he was hanging out with the outcast, prostitutes, corrupt businessmen, anyone who probably could not care for religious laws and acts. And this was clearly frowned upon by the Pharisees. After all, in their eyes, God did not love sinners, so why should they? They were frowning at what Jesus was doing for He was associating Himself with those who were beyond saving. But what they failed to realise was that, yes, God does not like sin, but He still loves sinners, in fact so much that he gave his one and only Son to come to earth to save the very sinners that Jesus was welcoming. It is within this context that Jesus tells the parables about lost things – the lost sheep and the lost coin.

Jesus uses the parables about everyday things that the crowd can relates to in order to engage their interest. It was likely that within the crowd would have been shepherds, or people who knew shepherds, and they would have understood how valuable it would have been to a shepherd to have lost one of them. That one sheep was important, and it did not matter that the shepherd had 99 other sheep, he was worried about the one that was lost. A diligent shepherd would carefully count his sheep, and get to know each of them individually. Sheep have a habit of wandering off and getting lost they don't have much sense of danger. This is why the role of a shepherd is so important to ensure that when sheep are lost, they get found. We hear in the reading that the shepherd does not berate the sheep for getting lost, but actually puts it on his shoulders, bearing its burden and carrying it home.

This story tells us something about the nature of God. It shows us that God cares deeply for each and every one of us. Everyone matters, no matter how small or insignificant we may think we are and God is not content to let anyone be lost. This parable illustrates to us that, like the shepherd who persistently looked for his lost sheep, or the woman who looked for her lost coin, God persistently seeks after those who have strayed away.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 says:

¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

These parables should be comforting to us. It means that, even when we mess up, stray away from God or run away and try to hide from him, God does not give up. He perseveres and goes to great lengths to bring us back into the fold. Like the shepherd who braved the wilderness to look for the one lost sheep, or the woman who upturned her house to find the lost coin, God also goes to great lengths to bring back those who are lost.

In both parables there is great rejoicing once the thing that was lost was found. However, if you notice, this was not a single individual who was rejoicing, there was a communal response. The shepherds calls his friends and neighbours together to rejoice with him. Equally, the woman, when she finds her coin, also calls her friends and neighbours together so that they can rejoice. This indicates to us that it is not only God who would be rejoicing in heaven when a lost soul comes back to the Lord and is found, but the whole of heaven. In verse 10 it says, ‘I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’

When we return to God, He is full of joy. He is not disappointed, He does not shame us, He does not scold us. God is glad when a sinner repents and returns to Him.

As followers of Christ, these two parables invite us to reflect on two things

Firstly, it encourages us to reflect on the fact that we have been found. There may have been times we have felt lost, felt overwhelmed, felt distant from God, or even forgotten. But our faith is not based on feelings but on truth. The truth is that Jesus provides us with reassurance through these parables that God is searching for us and goes to great lengths to find us, restore us to Him and then all heaven rejoices when that happens.

Secondly, we are called to mirror the love of God in our lives today. We may know others who are feeling lost or alone. They may feel that God has abandoned them and that He is not searching. We are invited to reach out to others to encourage them and let them know that God is right there by their side and eagerly searching for them. We should never write anyone off to being found. And when they are, we get to share in the joy and the celebration.

We are loved, sought after, and cherished by God and we need to ensure that we seek out others who are lost, care for them and be ready to rejoice with them when they are found. 

Sunday 9 November: Romans 8:18-25

Present Suffering and Future Glory

I wonder if, like me, you find that memories have a habit of creeping up on you when you least expect it? The sound of a song that reminds us of our first love, the smell of a favourite food that reminds us of home, the look or feel of an object which we associate with a particular time of our life. 

These things, and many more, can trigger memories so strong we are instantly transported back in time as emotions and images come flooding back. Some memories we treasure and we find ways to preserve them. It is a rare person, I suggest, who does not keep any mementos as reminders of those key events and people who are important to us.

But there will be some who might say, “Memories – what are they good for? Absolutely nothing.” For some who have witnessed terrible things, perhaps they would rather wipe away those memories? Maybe you have a relative or a friend who has served in conflict situations yet chooses not to speak of it. And those who love them have learned not to ask, because there are some memories that people would rather forget. Sometimes, there are no words to express the horror of what has been seen, done and suffered.

On the other hand, you may know someone like my Dad, who was always ready and willing to tell of his wartime experiences. Just like Uncle Albert in ‘Only Fools and Horses’, he would begin those stories with that famous phrase, “During the war.”

My brother and I used to be entertained by accounts of where he had been stationed, and you may have heard me say before that it was a rare occasion when a trip out did not include somewhere he had visited during wartime. He also liked to speak of his time in the Fleet Air Arm where he prepared planes for battle. And one story that he often liked to recall was of a bomb landing nearby at dinner time which shook dust from the ceiling all over his freshly prepared steak and kidney pie!

Some of those events he spoke of might have been less glamorous than he made them sound. Maybe for him, it was his way of coping with what he had seen and heard and lived through.

So, who am I to say which one of these two types of people was right or wrong? Keeping quiet or speaking out? It is a very personal choice.

For some, Remembrance Sunday will always be personal; a time to recall the loss of people we love, when we are reminded of the scars that we carry around as a result of conflict, when we are confronted with actions that still bring with them a sense of guilt and shame. Equally, we could be inspired by thoughts of determination, loyalty and the amazing courage of ordinary human beings in the face of adversity and, yes, evil.

Just a week ago today, in a different kind of conflict situation, there were some on a train in Cambridgeshire who bravely risked their lives to protect others.

But, could it be a mistake to think that Remembrance Sunday is purely personal, just for those personally affected by loss or memories of war? Instead, could it be a time for everyone to be invited to remember? Remembrance could be an essential reminder that we live in community with one another and that the decisions we make as a nation, or as part of a network of nations, mean that, in a democracy like ours, we bear corporate responsibility for those actions.

Remembering plays a vital role in defining our identity, because through our memories we try to make sense of the world around us. We learn from our experiences, or at least sometimes we do! There is a certain hopefulness in choosing to remember, an opportunity to look forward to what we might do differently, and better, next time.

Here, today, can we imagine a Remembrance Sunday where no-one in the congregation had any experience of war? Can we imagine there was no-one who knew anyone who had died or been hurt or suffered PTSD, or watched a marriage disintegrate as a result of conflicts past or present? It would be lovely, wonderful, a blessing.

Strangely though, perhaps it is easier for people to remember while we are still, as a nation, involved with conflicts, when we are regularly confronted with the loss or injury of men and women in the armed forces, while the images of global conflicts are broadcast into our home each week.

Although the images and the memories may be more painful than we can sometimes bear, the importance of remembering is at least clear when conflict surrounds us.

Pauls tells us in our Bible reading from his letter to the Romans that sin has caused all creation to fall from the perfect state in which God had created it. There is, perhaps, nothing more obvious as a sin than conflict, when human life is cheaply cast aside to satisfy nationalistic pride, huge egos, arrogance, greed and hate.

Our world is, therefore, subject to frustration, death and decay, to the extent that it cannot fulfil its intended purpose. But Paul says that, one day, all creation will be liberated and transformed. For those of us who are believers, therefore, we do not need to feel pessimistic or despairing as we remember.

We have hope for future glory as we look forward to the new heaven and new earth that God has promised. The firstfruits of the Spirit that Paul refers to are our guarantee of resurrection life. God’s new order will set the world free from sin and sickness and evil. But even as we wait, we go with Jesus into the world to serve as examples of love, so that others might be drawn to Him and become believers themselves.

Christians regularly meet to drink wine and eat bread in memory of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. We remember that God once came to earth in human form, to live and to love, to laugh and to cry, and to die among us. In doing so, He demonstrated His love for us, to overcome evil and death. We eat bread and drink wine, remembering Jesus’ promise to return. We remember that He chose willingly to go to the cross, because it was the only way to reconcile us to God.

The peace we can share with one another each Sunday, the peace of Christ which passes all understanding, is not cheap. It cost everything.

These are more than just words, they are the way that Jesus Himself took: laying down His own life at the cross to win our freedom; offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice to bring God’s peace and love to our broken world; and, rising again from the dead to show us that the path to life is not found by getting revenge, but through forgiveness which allows for healing of the wounded hearts that keep us apart.
 
Forgiveness seeks to do away with revenge for good. It is by no means simple or straightforward, I know, but Jesus, the crucified and risen Lord, shows us that forgiveness is the path to life – for us, and for our world.
 
As followers of Jesus today, in a world torn apart by bitter divisions and wounds that go back for generations, we have an important role to play in bringing God’s peace to life. Like Jesus, we are to lay down our claims for revenge, and to practice forgiveness, not simply for our own sake, but to show our world that it is possible to stop tearing each other apart, and to break the cycles of violence and retribution by sharing the grace and love that God gives to us all in Jesus.

If only the world’s leaders could do the same.
 
On Remembrance Sunday we remember service men and women, peace-keepers and civilians, in fact all those who have paid for our freedom with their lives, as well as those who continue to pay that cost on our behalf. We remember that behind every news story, every statistic, is a human being, a much-loved child of God. And we remember them.

So, may we courageously seek to do all we can to pursue peace, here at home, and around our world. May we refuse to get caught up in the prejudice and hatred that fuels so much destruction. May we remember that Jesus laid down His life out of love for every single human being, be they our loved ones, our neighbours, or even our enemies, and may that same love be at work in us for the sake of His kingdom. 

Sunday 26 October 2025: Luke 16:19-31

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

This parable is a story about two very different lives, two deaths and two very different hereafters. This parable illustrates consequences of living a selfish life and the importance of listening to, and acting on, scripture. It helps us to realise that the worldly possessions that we think are so important, mean nothing to us in the afterlife.

It is important for us to know, however, from the outset that the rich man was not condemned to Hades because of wealth, but it was due to his total disregard of the beggar, Lazarus who was laid at his gate. Our salvation does not come from worldly possessions; it comes from faith in the Lord. The rich man could not have had the love of God within him, otherwise how could he have lived in the lap of luxury, probably with fine clothes, living in comfort and eating good food, knowing that there was a beggar living in poverty right on his doorstep. This beggar whose life was tough and seemingly without hope; who lived off of crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table and whose sores on his body were licked by dogs.

It is also important for us to know that Lazarus was not saved because he was poor. He was saved because he trusted in the Lord for the salvation of his soul. Salvation is a gift from God received through faith in Jesus Christ, who saves believers from sin and death.

John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the word, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

Upon his death, Lazarus, we are told, was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. This is symbolic to illustrate a place of bliss. To a Jew, the idea of enjoying fellowship with Abraham would have been pure bliss, but we can take Abraham’s side to mean the same as heaven and we can only begin to image how this must have felt to Lazarus after living the kind of harsh life that he was used to. He was covered in sores which would have been painful and uncomfortable, and he was likely to be emaciated with hunger, and was plagued by dogs that came to lick his sores. Upon his death, he is taken lovingly by angels to this place of pure joy and welcomed with open arms to Abraham’s side to dwell forever.  

In stark contrast, when the rich man died, he was buried and sent to Hades. Now I think it is worth mentioning here what is meant by Hades as there are different meanings. One meaning for Hades is as the Greek word for the underworld and it is generally considered as an intermediate state for the dead before the final judgement. Hell is the final place of eternal punishment after judgement. Various different versions of the Bible use different names for the place where the rich man was sent. Some say Hades, some say hell and others state the place of the dead, so for the benefit of our reading today, we should consider that the rich man was sent to hell where he was in torment.

Now to us this is probably not a shock considering how he treated Lazarus, but if we think about the audience that Jesus was talking to then we can start to see the impact that this parable would have had on the teachings of the Jews. To the Jews, the Old Testament taught them that being rich and having status would have been a sign of God’s blessing and favour. It was taught that those who obeyed the Lord were promised material prosperity, so for Jesus to then be preaching that a wealthy Jew went to Hades would have gone against what they believed. Jesus taught that simply having wealth was not a sign of blessing but actually can be a test of a man’s faithfulness.

In Matthew 19:24 Jesus said, ‘Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom.’

There is a tendency for wealth to become an obstacle to spiritual devotion, making it hard for a person to surrender their possessions and prioritise God.

In Matthew 19:21 Jesus said, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.’

But this is not what the rich man in the story did. Neither did he share his wealth with those less fortunate than himself. Instead, he stored everything up for his own gain and pleasure. So he ended up in Hell.

Then we come to the part of the parable where the rich man sees Lazarus at Abraham’s side and pleads to Abraham for mercy. But Abraham does not take pity on the rich man but instead reminds him of his life of luxury and indulgence and the life of poverty and suffering that Lazarus endured. Now we see that beyond the grave the tables have turned and of course the rich man does not like it and wants them to be reversed. He wants to have what Lazarus now has and tried to convince Abraham to let this be so. In verse 26, we learn that the choices we make in this lifetime determine our eternal destiny and once death occurs that is fixed. There is no way to cross from that of the damned to those in salvation.

Verse 26 says, ‘And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

In realising his fate, the rich man then wants to act the role of an evangelist to instruct someone to go to his brothers to warn them so that the same thing does not happen to them. But Abraham quite rightly points out that the brothers already have instruction in this matter, but they chose to ignore the Word from God and the Prophets. The rich man then goes on to contradict Abraham saying that they would listen if someone from the dead was to go to explain it to them, then his brothers would repent. This of course was proved through the death and resurrection of Jesus where still He was not believed. It is possible that Jesus was referring to Himself and what would happen when He rose from the dead when people still refused to believe.

The message we get from this parable is a solemn warning. Anyone who lives just for money, and neglects to share with those less fortunate or care for their neighbour, does so at the peril of their soul. Jesus is saying that it is better to beg for the crumbs under someone else’s table in this life than to beg for water in Hell.

The Lazarus in this parable is someone we have all met before. This Lazarus is the man we have seen lying in shop doorways. The man who is there with his belongings, maybe a sleeping bag, perhaps with a dog to keep him company. He may ask you for a few coins as you pass buy, or he may simply sit there being ignored by everyone around him.

What thoughts have we had about Lazarus? How has he got there? He must be on drugs or be an alcoholic. He looks violent so I had better not go near him. What will he spend his money on if I give him money, and will this do him more harm than good?

Perhaps we have seen Lazarus sleeping in tents in the towns or cities? Tent villages are now becoming more and more frequent as more people become homeless. Perhaps we have seen Lazarus at a food bank? Someone perhaps on minimum wage who just doesn’t have enough to pay all the bills and they rely on the generosity of others? Or people who are in debt and their debts never seem to go away and they go from one crisis to another?

The parables of Jesus are meant to challenge us, to provoke thought, and hopefully call for a response to the message we have heard. Today’s story is not about being rich or poor, it is not about whether we will go to heaven or not, it is about living out the commandment to love your neighbour as yourself. To pour out compassion and generosity towards others. To use our blessings to help those who are suffering or in need in some ways.

There are many things we can do to help others, and many of you may already be helping others. If not, then I hope this message has prompted you to think about how you can get involved. 

Sunday 19 October 2025: Mark 12:1-12

The Parable of The Tenant Farmers

Rejection may be one of the most painful things we have to face in life. We have all been rejected at one time or another. We have all experienced the pain, embarrassment and humiliation of being cast aside, turned down, or overlooked.

Surely, we have all faced rejection in school, in games and sports, and even at church? If we were not the biggest or strongest or fastest child, we would often be overlooked by friends when it came to picking teams in the playground. As hard as we may have tried, perhaps we never seemed to be part of the ‘in crowd’ at school. Maybe, we felt as if we were often on the outside looking in.

Rejection is terribly hard. It brings us to tears, leaves us with that empty feeling in our stomachs, and sends our minds into a tailspin of doubt, despair, and discouragement. But even though rejection is hard, it is also good. Why? Because it points us to the God who accepts us. Had I been a strong and fast and smart and cool and popular child, I may never have seen my need for Jesus. The rejection of the world prepares us for acceptance by God.

Rejection is also good because, when we look back over our lives, we begin to see how God used rejection to lead us and shape us and bring us to where we are today. Rejection is often the vehicle that drives us into the blessings that God has for us. Think of the process of finding somewhere to live. Rarely do we end up in the first house we try for. Because, usually, a couple of offers or bids are rejected, most of us are able to find the house that is just right for our family. Or how about our jobs or careers? Like many boys, I always wanted to be a train driver, so I applied at the first opportunity, only to be rejected for failing a test. That rejection led me down a completely different career path that, ultimately, I believe was far more beneficial for my life as a Christian.

Rejection is often what reveals God’s wise plan for us. It is often what shows us how sufficient Jesus is for us. Rejection, therefore, is a marvellous gift from God.

Our reading today says that Jesus also experienced rejection, but that it was marvellously used by God to accomplish His purposes. The main point of the parable of ‘The Tenant Farmers’ is that God’s Son would be rejected only to be vindicated, and that those who rejected Him would be judged. 

In verses 1 to 5, we see the tenants of the vineyard reject the owner’s servants. The owner is God. The vineyard is God’s people, Israel. The tenants are Israel’s leaders. The servants are the prophets. And the owner’s ‘beloved son’ is Jesus.

Jesus is saying that God entrusted the land to the Jewish leadership, but when He sent His servants, the prophets, to collect fruit from Israel, they were mistreated and killed. So, He sent more servants, but they received the same treatment. Finally, God sends His Son, Jesus, because surely He will be respected. But the Jewish leadership would get rid of Him, too, in the hope of retaining authority and respect for themselves. At this point God intervenes decisively to bring judgment on those who rejected and killed His Son, and to bless those who, instead, chose to follow Him.   

The parable was aimed at the chief priests, teachers of the law and elders who were questioning Jesus at the time. Verse 1 would have immediately reminded them of one of the most famous parables from the Old Testament in Isaiah 5:1-7. There are many similarities between these two parables, but the one major difference is that, in Isaiah’s parable, the problem is a fruitless vineyard where the nation of Israel was failing to produce the fruit of righteousness. In Jesus’ parable, the problem is the unrighteousness of the tenants, or leaders of the nation of Israel. Verse 12 of our reading tells us that the Jewish leadership knew Jesus had spoken the parable against them.

What landowner in their right mind would send their child to talk to people like this? What kind of father would send his son to people who despise his authority and mistreat his servants, to people who have beaten and killed every single other person that he has sent?

God is the kind of the Father who would. The simple act of God sending His Son shows us how much He loves people who do not love Him. God loves us so much that He sent us His Son. God is holy and we have rejected Him. We, therefore, deserve His judgment. But in mercy, He sends us Jesus instead of judgment. The sending of the Son of God reveals the love of God. We need to remember this when we doubt or wonder whether God loves us. He does. He sent Jesus.

Everyone who marvels at Jesus’ rejection for their acceptance is called into a new family, the Church. In 1 Peter 2:4-5, the Apostle uses the imagery of chosen stones to describe this: “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

In Christ, we become living, precious, beautiful, choice stones that make up God’s house, the place where the holiness of God dwells on the earth, the place where God is worshipped among all the nations. We should, therefore, not underestimate what we are in Christ. We are one of millions of ‘living stones’ holding up the house of God, created by the Word of God, built on the Son of God, full of the Spirit of God. Our local church is more precious and powerful than we might realise. It is where God choses to live. It is where we will find spiritual life. Christians who neglect or reject their local church do so to their own detriment.

The rejection of Jesus is marvellous because it brings us to God and makes us the house of God. Everyone who admits their sin, who realises their need for a Saviour, and who puts their trust in Jesus will be granted full acceptance by God. 

Sunday 5 October 2025: Matthew 13:1-23

I wonder if, like me, today's hymns bring back lots of memories for you? I can certainly remember from my junior school harvest festivals singing ‘we plough the fields and scatter’. It has always been a favourite hymn year after year. But I also wonder if the familiarity of such hymns sometimes leads us to overlooking the meaning of the words they contain.

In the case of ‘we plough the fields and scatter’ it is just possible that its words may help us to see the parable of the sower from a slightly different perspective to the traditional way. After singing that famous first line, 'we plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land', we then go on to sing, 'but it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand'.

In a literal sense, we know that to be true. In our everyday world, we are the ones who sow and harvest the crops, and we depend on God working through creation to provide the conditions for those seeds to germinate and grow. But could our reading today be telling us to see ourselves not as the Sower, or as the seed, but as the soil, and then to ask ourselves what type of soil are we?

If we think of the seed as the Word of God, then Matthew is perhaps inviting us to ask ourselves how we can be rich, fertile soil, enabling God to be a living, growing and life-enhancing presence in the world. We can do this by letting go of all destructive feelings like pride, hate, greed and jealousy, and all the harmful thoughts and emotions that tempt us to exploit the world and those around us for our own ends.

These are the things that distance us from God. When we give in to these desires, we are like the rocky ground, where the soil is thin and sparse leaving the seed, the Word of God, to remain dormant. The question we need to ask in response to Jesus’ parable in Matthew’s Gospel, is what kind of soil are we going to be?

Jesus wants us to be the good soil of the parable, but that means asking ourselves what are we doing to enable the seed – which is the presence of God in the world as the Spirit of Life and Peace – to grow and thrive?

Soil is messy, dirty stuff; and if we try to live independently of God then we remain messy and dirty, governed by desires and impulses that we know are not good for us. But if we accept Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, then even with all our faults, we can be changed and transformed; we can be the means by which God's living presence, in the form of the Holy Spirit, can grow and thrive.

Jesus must have spent time observing and talking with people who knew and understood the relationship between the natural environment and human needs. He knows about sheep and shepherds, vines and vineyards, and today, maybe we can think of Him sitting on a hillside near Nazareth, watching someone sowing, throwing the seeds out onto those different types of soil that He described in His parable?

But what do we need to do to become 'the good soil' today? How can we enable others to grow in their knowledge and understanding of God? Well, if we want to be good soil, then we have to concentrate on being close to God. Being good soil is setting our minds on the Spirit. It isn't necessarily about doing lots of good works (although that is a most worthy thing to do); it is about being receptive to God, allowing our knowledge and understanding of what it is to be Christ-like to grow day-by-day, so that eventually we find ourselves helping and encouraging others to be like the seed sown on good soil, growing towards the sunlight.

Today's reading from Matthew contains a question in verse 10 that the disciples ask Jesus: 'why do you speak to them in parables?' Jesus responds that parables help people to better understand what He means by the Kingdom of Heaven. Some people, like the disciples, have that understanding already, but for others it's harder to reach, and parables are a means of helping them to see the truth.

As we are discovering together in this series on the parables of Jesus, they invite lots of different interpretations. My interpretation of the good soil may not be yours, but that doesn't necessarily matter. The more we come up with different ways of explaining what each thing might represent, the more we come to understand the mysterious richness of God's Word and His presence in the world. They are a way in which Jesus gets us to see how we can think imaginatively and creatively about the Kingdom of God.

But it is important that we use our creativity within the framework of the Church family to ensure that, together, we reach the right conclusions when interpreting God’s Word. Without that, we risk creating our own personal religion according to our likes and dislikes, and that would be heresy.

In the case of our reading today. the parable of the Sower contains an explanation of its meaning from Jesus himself, and His view is absolute. So, when we think creatively about God’s Word, we should always check within our Church family or with other authorities to keep on the right track.

And so today, as we reflect on the ways in which we can be the good soil of the parable, let us also reflect on how we can all find ways of enabling the Spirit of God to grow and thrive through what we say, think and do. We might do this by being silent and still, or we might do it by showing God's love through our words and interactions with others.

Ultimately, we each have to discover our own personal way of becoming the 'good soil' of the parable, knowing that by doing so, we will be enabling the Spirit of God, which is already part of who we are, to become evident in our everyday lives.

Has the seed of God’s Word taken root in your life? If so, what kind of soil are you going to be? 

Sunday 28 September 2025: Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

This passage obviously has a significant and powerful message to the people of Jesus’ time and people today about how, in order to truly live up to God’s commandment, we need to break down prejudice and help others, no matter their circumstance, their race, their religion or any other characteristic that makes us think they are different from ourselves.

This parable centres around three key questions that the man of law asked Jesus. The questions were unlikely to have been asked because the man was ignorant, after all we are told at the very beginning that he was an expert in law. He would have been a very learned man, and most likely actually had the attitude that he knew more than most people about everything. So, it is most likely that on this occasion the lawyer stood up to ask Jesus questions in order to try to catch him out. This is not the only time that Jesus has been questioned in that same manner, and Jesus, instead of answering the question, follows this up with another question.

Question 1 – ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

This question was meant to test Jesus, to see if he would reject what was written in the Law. To the lawyer, Jesus was simply a teacher, and eternal life was something that could be earned through his own merit rather than being a gift from God.

Jesus answers ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’

Of course, the lawyer would have been fully versed with what was written in the Law. After all we are told he was an expert in the law. He most likely would have studied it for many years, teaching others on what it means. So, Jesus instead of rejecting the Law, directs attention towards it. The Lawyer obviously correctly answers the question Jesus has asked and was probably feeling quite smug with himself. He correctly stated that he had to follow the Law and ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.’

Jesus confirmed to the lawyer that he was in fact correct and that if he did this then he would live. Now Jesus was not saying here that if you keep the Law then you will be saved. He never intended anyone could be saved simply by keeping the Law. The purpose of the Law was not to save someone from sin, but to shine a light on our sin.

Jesus is the source of eternal life. Christians receive eternal life by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not through earning it in some way. We have to believe in Him and accept Him as Saviour. Eternal life is the gift we receive when we place our faith in Him.

John 5:24 says, “Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Question 2 – ‘Who is my neighbour?’

On the surface it appears as though he simply wanted to better understand the Law, but most likely it was that he wanted to limit the extent of the Law. When it comes to loving others as ourselves there is a tendency that we too want to limit this to thinking it applies to those who are close to us. Our neighbours may be considered to be our close friends, family and acquaintances. This question reminds us that we cannot just look at the Word of God on the surface, but we need to dig into the Word to understand the deeper purpose of the message that God wants us to know. Showing love, justice and compassion for everyone no matter who they are, or where they are from is what true obedience to God’s Word means. We need to see everyone as our neighbour. This is what Jesus did when He poured out His love for others, even when He was on the cross.

When we read this encounter between the Lawyer and Jesus, it shows us that no matter how knowledgeable we think we may be about the Bible, no matter how long we have been a Christian, we all need to continually seek to know more about our Lord and Saviour. We all fall way short of true understanding and in applying the Word in practice. This is why we need to continually seek, ask and knock on Jesus’ door to check that how we are behaving and thinking is in line with the teaching of Jesus and God’s command. Love your neighbour as yourself. What this means is reaching out to others to help and show mercy. Not shutting doors because someone appears different from us but treating others with a heartfelt compassion.

Question 3 – v36: ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’

Well of course we already know the answer, and it appears to be fairly obvious. The Samaritan showed mercy and compassion on a Jew. Now we need to remember that at the time that the relationship between Jews and Samaritans was one of animosity and division. They had different religious beliefs and there were political tensions among them. So, it would have been understandable if the Samaritan in the story was the one who just walked on the other side of the road and turned a blind eye. Let us remember that while to us all Samaritans are Good Samaritans, it was not like this in Jesus’ time. To the Jews, all Samaritans were, by the very fact, bad. This is why Jesus used the Samaritan as the subject of the parable. It was important for those hearing the parable to realise that in fact Samaritans can be good also. It was to break down prejudice. To open their eyes to the fact that kindness towards others should not be restricted only to those who are similar to ourselves. The Good Samaritan isn't a story about how nice 'we' are. It's a story about how one of 'them' helped one of 'us'. 

In this story, it is the Priest and the Levite who walk on the other side. They were from distinct groups within the larger Jewish population, so if anyone would be considered to be a neighbour to the beaten Jew it should have been them. But instead, their actions reveal in them the hardness of their heart and the inability for the Law to instruct them. They are dead in their sin. The Law commanded them to love their neighbour as themselves, but the Law does not give them the power or the desire to obey the Law. It was easier for them to ignore the beaten Jew than to go and help him.

This question shows us that it is easy for us too to overlook who our neighbours are. This may happen because we are focused inwardly rather than being focused on God. When we fail to stop to help someone in need because we are too busy. When we neglect to talk to someone feeling lonely or down because we are thinking about our own needs and problems. This question reminds us to check our hearts and be honest where we have sinned and fall short of God’s command. Loving others as ourselves is not just a good idea, or something nice to do on a Sunday, this is about embracing the love of God and allowing this to shine out of us into the lives of others.

Jesus ends the conversation with a command: ‘go and do likewise’. We do not know how the lawyer responded to this command. Did he listen to Jesus and go and do likewise, or did he simply ignore what he said and walked away? How do we respond to this command? Are we willing to go and do likewise, or are we going to ignore what Jesus wants us to do?

This should encourage us to not just be bystanders by chance, if we happen to be at the same place as someone else, but to actively seek opportunities for us to show the love of God to others. We need to make the effort to step out of the routine and seek ways where we can show kindness to others through sacrificing our time or energy. Making our faith visible to others when we demonstrate acts of love and kindness and treat our neighbour as ourselves.

Sunday 21 September 2025: Luke 12:13-21

The Parable of the Rich Fool

Our reading is a classic example of how the Gospel maintains its relevance to life from Jesus’ time right up to the present day. It starts with an argument about inheritance. How many times these days do we hear of families torn apart by the question of who gets what when a loved one dies? Worse, there are plenty of stories about people who deceptively befriend the vulnerable with the sole intention of inheriting their worldly goods, or those who even turn to murder for the same purpose.

So, it is an emotive topic, and one that no doubt was deliberately intended to find its way into the Gospel because it is one that we can all understand. And Jesus masterfully deals with the question put to him by the man in the crowd by telling a story about a man whom we have come to know as the rich fool.

Apparently, problems like the one raised by the man in the crowd were often brought to Rabbis for them to settle. And many times we will have heard Jesus referred to as ‘Rabbi’, or in the case of our reading from the New International Version, ‘Teacher’. But Jesus responds by pointing to a higher issue which is to have the correct attitude towards the accumulation of wealth. Life is more than material goods, and what is far more important is our relationship with God.

The man’s concern seemed only to focus on his own needs, which seems to align with Martin Luther’s description of sin as ‘the heart turned in on itself’. It is notable that the man appears to consider neither his need for God, nor the needs of those around him, ignoring the consistent demand throughout the Bible that those blessed with wealth should be concerned for the needs of the poor. This is particularly striking, given that the nature of the society in which he lived, would have made the needs of those around him obvious. We only have to look at the plight of many in the middle east today to conclude that not much has changed in two thousand years.

The issue is not only that the man has acted selfishly, but that he has appeared to leave God out of his considerations. This provides the link with the teaching of Jesus in the parable which followed that attention to God, both in His provision for us and His holding us to account, rescues us from both greed and anxiety.

So, Jesus put his finger on the questioner’s heart. When we bring problems to our heavenly Father in prayer, we may often find that He responds in the same way that Jesus did towards the man in the crowd by showing us how we need to change and grow in our approach to tackling our problems. The answers we receive may not be the ones we were seeking or expecting, but rather something more effective in helping us to see the direction that God is prompting us to take.

In this parable, Jesus tells us about a rich man whose fields produce a surplus harvest. Unsure how to store all this abundance, the man makes plans to tear down his smaller barns and build larger ones. He believes he will be able to store enough to relax for several years and live off what he has earned, and we hear that he says he can now eat, drink, and be merry.

It is at this moment that God appears and tells the man that he is a fool, because that very night he will die. What good will all his preparations be in light of death? 

Jesus ends the story in verse 21 by telling the crowds, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God”. 

This story would have been challenging enough for those who originally heard it told by Jesus, but maybe it is more so for us in our modern-day setting because we can relate to the rich man. Our society has taught us to dream of retirement years when we can eat, drink, and be merry, and so perhaps it might not seem wrong that this man would plan for a future where he could relax. We are not told whether he gains his wealth by unjust means. We are not told anything negative about him until God appears and declares him a fool. 

That silence is part of the parable’s power. The man’s mistake isn’t how he made his money. It is what he believed it could do for him. He put his trust in his possessions and not in God. That’s what made him foolish. 

Jesus tells us in verse 15 that a good life has nothing to do with being wealthy, and that we should be on our guard against greed and the desire for those things we do not have. This is the polar opposite of what our modern-day world is telling us. It is not just the advertisements we see in the media, product placements in films, tweets by the famous, or the bewildering persuasion from an array of so-called influencers. It is also from our everyday interactions with those around us; our families, our friends, our neighbours and our colleagues. Jesus is helping us to respond to this ever-present pressure by sharing the truth that fulfilment does not come in the form of an abundance of possessions. It comes from a living and faithful relationship with Him and by doing God’s work wherever we can.

The rich fool in the parable died before he could begin to use what was stored in his huge barns. Planning for retirement, or planning for life before death, is wise – but neglecting to plan for life after death could be disastrous. If we accumulate wealth only to enrich ourselves with no concern for helping others, we face the prospect of entering eternity empty-handed.

So, why do we save money and accumulate material goods? Are we saving for a rainy day, for our later life, to keep-up with our friends and neighbours, or to be secure? Jesus challenges us to think beyond earthbound goals and to use wisely what we have been graciously given for the good of God’s kingdom. Faith, service, obedience and love are the way to become rich in the sight of our Father in heaven. 

Sunday 14 September 2025: Matthew 25:14-30

The Parable of the Ten Talents

The master was clearly a wealthy man to be able to give away that amount, and he entrusted the gold with his servants. He was also trusting them that they knew him and what he would want them to do with his wealth. The first two servants clearly knew what was expected of them. They put the gold to good use and traded it to gain profit for their master and for this foresight they were richly rewarded. They were praised and given even more responsibility. However, the third servant was afraid and mistrusted that his master will be merciful to him. This does not motivate him to do more for his master, instead he is just focused on ensuring he can give him back what was given to him. This lack of trust and his fear, leads to him being scolded and punished.

When you were a child were you ever told that you could be anything you wanted to be. Maybe an astronaut, the prime minister, a scuba diver, etc. Well, the truth is that this just isn’t true. Why? Because the gifts we have and the things we are good at may not match the skills needed for what we aspire to. So, what ends up happening as we grow older is that we find ourselves taking on roles that play to our strengths. God gives us gifts to be who we are. Some of us are good at teaching, some of us are good with figures, some of us maybe good at planning, and some good at music. Whatever your abilities, they are given from God and can be used for God. We can see the glory in God when we use the gifts He has given us to do His work.

In some versions of the Bible gold is translated as talents, which although is a monetary term, is useful for us to think of them as gifts or abilities. Now did you notice in the reading that the servants were not given the same talents, but they were given them according to their abilities. Therefore, the one who was given 5 talents was given them because his master knew he could cope with looking after that large sum of money. Now what this shows us is that life is not equal. We do not all get the same. That may be a little unfair you may be thinking, but that does not mean that it is not fair. What would have been unfair was if the master treated them all equal and gave some of them way too much responsibility that they could not cope. Instead, the master knows them so well that he gives them just the right amount of responsibility according to their abilities. This is the same with God. He does not dish out gifts in equal amounts, but He is fair and gives us just what we need. In Romans 2:11 it says – ‘For God does not show favouritism.’ So while God may not treat us all equally, He is still fair. Like the master in our reading.

Jesus was using this parable to teach that when the Lord returns there will be true servants of Christ and there will be false servants. It is clear to see that the example He uses shows Jesus as the master, and the long journey could be referred to as the period between the two comings of Christ – the first as a man and the second still to come. The three servants represent those living to represent the interests of the absent Lord and are given responsibilities that match their abilities.

When Jesus describes the return of the master, He is referring to Himself and the second coming and the blessings and judgement that will lead to salvation for the righteous and damnation for the wicked.

The first two servants were rewarded for their good judgement of using their abilities to the best use. Verses 21 and 23 say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

The test of their service to their master was not how much they earned, but how hard they tried. They used their abilities to the full and earned 100% of what they put in. They were excited to show their master what they had produced. When was the last time you were excited about something you had done for the Lord? These two servants represent true believers whose reward will be to enjoy the blessings of His eternal kingdom. That should be our goal, not to just sit back and think we have made it, we are going to heaven. We should be constantly working for God and seeking His blessing.

However, the third servant had nothing but insults and excuses towards his master. He accused him of being a ‘hard master’, being unreasonable, and reaping where he had not sown and gathering where he had not scattered. In blaming the master for his lack of work, he made excuses that he was scared and therefore buried the gold. He was an unbeliever and not a genuine servant and this led to his rebuke.

Rather than agreeing with the accusations made by the servant, in verses 26 and 27 the master made a very valid point. If he was guilty of the things that the servant accused him of, then surely the best thing to have done would be to actually put his money to work for him. Therefore, instead of being a valid excuse, the servant further condemns himself and his one bag of gold is taken from him and given to the one who has ten already. Now you may think that is a little unfair to take from the man who has the least and give it to the man who has the most, but remember we have already said that God does not treat us equally, but He is fair and just. Let’s just think about this situation for one minute. The servant with the one talent did not bother to do anything with it, why therefore would the master leave him with it. He wants to put his money to work and as such decides to entrust it with the one who was the most fruitful. That is how you maximise any investment. And this is how God enables His kingdom to grow. Verse 29 says, ^‘For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them’. 

Those of us who desire and are willing to be used for God’s glory are equipped with the means to do so. It is not through our own strength, power, intelligence, determination, words, etc, that we work for God, but it is through the gifts that He has given to us. We are told that the more we do for the glory of God, the more we are enabled to do for Him. Equally, that could also be turned around, that the less we are willing to do, the less we use our gifts for His good, the more stagnant we become. Those who squander what they have will lose that little bit that God trusted them with. Think about this from a church perspective, if we want to be entrusted to work for God, then we must be willing and ready to make sacrifices, for example with our time, getting involved, or helping others.

Then finally we come to the end of the parable. Verse 30 says, ‘And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

When we put our faith in the Lord Jesus and love Jesus, we need to be obedient to Him, and others should see the fruit of the Spirit in those working for God’s kingdom. We can’t just expect to be saved because we simply show up to church and sing hymns. We are all part of a team, God’s team, and we each have gifts according to our abilities. When we love Jesus, obey Him and serve Him, His glory shines through. We need to recognise what may be getting in our way of doing this. Maybe we are too busy (or that’s what we convince ourselves), and yet we find time to do other things. Maybe we are too lazy and get too distracted by other things such as TV or leisure activities. Or maybe we are too unaware, we simply fail to understand what God expects of us and neglect to pay attention.

This parable teaches us an important lesson. We are not bystanders. God has blessed us with many gifts, all given according to our own unique needs and abilities, but God expects us to put these gifts to work. God does not expect us to be like the lazy servant and stand on the sidelines; He wants us to act like the first two servants and make our talents grow and be productive. We should all examine ourselves and ask how we are putting our talents to work for God. We need to spend time investing and serving God, and like the servants in our reading, one day God will say to us, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness.’

Sunday 7 September 2025: Mark 4:26-34

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

We live in a fast-paced world. Everything is moving quicker, especially with the growth of technology. We have high-speed internet access. We have high-tech televisions that can download movies, communicate with our phones and tablets, update our computers, and tell us what to do next, all with the touch of a button.

Technology has sped-up life to such an extent that we live in an instant-moment culture. Life happens in the ‘now’.

The growth of technology has many benefits, of course. Just last week I was talking with some youngsters – they were about 30 years old – wondering what life would be like when they reached my age. They will likely be able to see and do things we can’t imagine at the moment.

Digressing slightly, and talking about the world of work – if I can remember that far back – have you heard some of those office phrases that sometimes get trotted out? Phrases such as blue-sky thinking, circle back, square the circle, idea shower, brainstorm, thinking outside the box, touch base, and of course, singing from the same hymn-sheet! But there is one that maybe we should consider as part of the mustard seed parable and that is ‘seeing the bigger picture’.

Too often, maybe, we have a tendency to look inwards and focus on our immediate concerns and worries. The mustard seed parable suggests to me that the bigger picture is more worthy of our focus. For the Kingdom of Heaven awaits and its riches will be greater than anything we are able to imagine in our current earthly form.

So back to technology. Right now, we can have conversations and relationships with people from different cultures and countries. It’s amazing that we can have a conversation, by video, with friends, family, colleagues or just about anyone from just about anywhere in the world simply through the use of a computer or an app.

One of our visiting speakers pointed out to us recently that technology has enabled God’s Word to spread further and faster than ever, to the extent that it has now reached every corner of the globe. Something for us to ponder on, I think.

But, there are drawbacks to technology because it has sped-up life, and many of us want things to take place now. We no longer want to wait for things to happen. We do not believe we have the time, or energy, for things to take place at a natural pace. If it cannot happen now, or in a short period of time, we believe it is not worth the effort. We want the get-rich-quick plan. We want all that this life has to offer and we want it now.

Also, we sometimes measure ourselves by how we see others. If someone else has a bigger house, then our house isn’t big enough, even if it comfortably houses our entire family. If someone has a bigger car, then we need a bigger car, even if we can’t really afford the payments.

When it comes to faith, are we sometimes tempted to do the same thing? We want all that the Christian life has to offer - today. And sometimes we are not willing to wait. We are, sometimes, unwilling to be patient in our growth in Jesus. If we are not a deeply-devoted, heart-changed person in a few weeks, then, in our consumer-driven mindset, perhaps we are starting to look elsewhere to see what other options are available?

Maybe we will even compare ourselves to other Christians? If we see someone growing in their relationship with the Lord, or in serving the Lord, we may look at ourselves, and get discouraged and say, “Why can’t I be like that?”

Instead of those words being an encouragement of growth, there is a risk that they become a discouragement that leads to separation. This is a separation between ourselves and our community, and ourselves and God. We risk feeling that, if we don’t have the biggest faith, the deepest relationship, or even the best devotional life, that we don’t measure up in the Kingdom of God.

That mindset goes against what I think Jesus is saying in our passage today. Jesus doesn’t use the analogy of the largest thing possible, but instead uses the smallest of seeds in order to point us to a deeper relationship with God.

Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. When this seed is planted, it grows and becomes one of the largest plants around. It is a plant that can grow as high as 15 feet. Something as small as a mustard seed can reach extraordinary heights when it is planted and allowed to grow.