Choose Friend - Verse 5

Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. Luke 15.1,2

Companionship

Our companions are, literally, those with whom we break bread. Jesus was criticised for those he chose for companions. He broke bread with sinners and welcomed them to his table. He still does.

Stop and Think

Who are your companions of choice?
How might your friendships better reflect the unconditional nature of God’s love and welcome?

Choose to Act

Choose today to celebrate companionship. Do something to welcome and eat with someone new.
Choose to be open to receive from someone else.

Choose Friend - Verse 4

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. Luke 9.49,50
Openness
The disciples wanted to exclude those who didn’t belong to their club. Jesus rejects their fear, their pride and their boundaries and opens the possibility of all sorts of partnerships.

Stop and Think

Why are we so quick to put boundaries around our groups - not least within the Church? Why the apparent need to exclude others?
What is your experience of exclusion and inclusion?

Choose to Act

Choose today to respond to others with openness - those who are not against you are for you.
Choose to open your eyes and heart to the possibility of surprising partnerships.

Choose Friend - Verse 2

But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.Matthew 12.48-50

Community

Jesus offers a radical redefining of family. For him, the closest relationships are not tribal or closed, but open. His ‘family’ is a wide community of those who seek to do God’s will.

Stop and Think

How do you respond to Jesus’ words? Is he rejecting family?
Where do you experience a true sense of community? What brings it together?

Choose to Act

Thank God for your family and for the variety of ways you find community.
Choose today to recognise someone ‘who does God’s will’ as a (perhaps unexpected) brother, sister or mother.

Choose Friend - Verse 3

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18.20

Presence

As we choose unity, as we choose community, especially with those who seek to do the will of God, so we discover not just each other but the presence of God. It’s the great gift of true friendship, to be experienced in church and beyond.

Stop and Think

Where do you recognise Christ as the one who is in the midst?
How easy is it to miss the simple reality of God’s presence in the complexity of our meetings?

Choose to Act

Choose to open your eyes today to Christ’s living presence in the midst of your meeting with others. Be open to what he might want to say or do.

Choose Friend - Verse 1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head.
Psalm 133.1,2

Unity

This week looks at choices we make in our close relationships. At the heart of the Christian life is a call to friendship. Today, a verse from the psalms expressing the beauty and the gift of unity.

Stop and Think

Where have you experienced the wonder of the gift of unity? What made it special?
What is unity? Is it sameness? What enable us to ‘dwell together in unity’?
Choose to Act

Choose today to celebrate the gift of those with whom you ’dwell together’.
Thank God for unity and celebrate diversity.

Choose Neighbour - Verse 7

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.Matthew 5.14,15

Light

Secondly, disciples of Jesus are to be like light. Light that is not hidden but uncovered and enables others to see the world around them more clearly and more truthfully.
Stop and Think

What does it mean to live a life that is like light?
How might your life help others to see more clearly?

Choose to Act

Take time to consider your reflections and your choices this week. Have they born fruit?
Choose today to live a life that, in its truth and its love, offers light to others. Choose to let that light shine.

Choose Neighbour - Verse 6

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5.13
Salt

Back to the Sermon on the Mount. (see last week) Jesus offers two metaphors to describe how his disciples are to be in the world. First, salt. Salt preserves and flavours. Salt ‘makes life taste better’.

Stop and Think

What effect does your life have on others? Does it add flavour? Does it make ‘life taste better’?
What might make your life more ‘salty’?

Choose to Act

Think about situations you will encounter today.
Choose to bring some flavour through your words and your actions - and maybe even by your silence.

Choose Neighbour - Verse 5

And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. Deuteronomy 26.11

Celebration

As justice for neighbour is rooted in the character and mercy of God, so the generous provision of God is to be celebrated and shared with all. Justice for all. Celebration for all.

Stop and Think

Stop and reflect on all the ‘good things’ which God has given in your life.
How might you celebrate these more joyfully? How might you share this celebration with others more generously?

Choose to Act

Choose to recognise and celebrate God’s generosity to you in all that you have in your life.
Choose to do something generous today.

Choose Neighbour - Verse 4

Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge: But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. Deuteronomy 24.17,18

Justice

At the heart of the Jewish law in the Old Testament, a demand for justice. Justice for those most vulnerable. Justice rooted in the mercy of God.

Stop and Think

How are the most vulnerable, asylum seekers, needy children, lone parents, treated in our society? Do they find justice?
What might it mean for you to seek justice for someone else today?

Choose to Act

Choose today to treat those you meet with fairness.
Do something to help make the world a place where the vulnerable are more able to find justice.

Choose Neighbour - Verse 3

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10.36,35

Mercy

Jesus’ story makes its point. The stranger, the ‘good Samaritan’, despite all the barriers of race and religion was neighbour because he chose to be neighbour and chose to show mercy.

Stop and Think

For Jesus, the defining quality in the relationship of neighbour is mercy. How would you define or describe mercy?
What might it mean for your to show mercy today?

Choose to Act

Thank God for those who are your neighbours, who show you mercy.
Choose today to live a merciful life, in words, in thoughts and in your actions.

Choose Neighbour - Verse 2

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.Luke 10.32,33

Action

To answer the question Jesus tells a story. The ‘neighbours’ pass by the wounded man, on the other side; the ‘stranger’ sees, has compassion and takes action.

Stop and Think

Where do you encounter people in need? How ready are you to see, stop and act?
What is it that prevents us ‘seeing’ our neighbours, feeling compassion and acting?

Choose to Act

Pray today that God would open your eyes and open your heart to your neighbours in need.
Choose to take action to bring help.

Choose Neighbour - Verse 1

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?Luke 10.29

Who is my neighbour?
This week looks at choices we make in our engagement with others. Today we return to the Lawyer and his questions to Jesus (see week 1). I should ‘love my neighbour as myself’. But who is my neighbour? What are the rules? Where are the boundaries?

Stop and Think

How do you define who is your neighbour?
What are the things that connect you with people, nearby and across the world?

Choose to Act
Choose to see people you encounter today (directly or indirectly) not as strangers but as your neighbours.

Choose God - Verse 7

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46.9,10

Knowing God
In the end ... God. The mystery that is God, sometimes evident and active, sometimes absent and silent. But a mystery that can be known - as we stop and are still.

Stop and Think

Where do you see God at work in the world?
Where do you see him active in your life?
And ... where can you simply be still and know God?

Choose to Act
Take time to consider your reflections and your choices this week. Have they born fruit?
Choose today to be still. Seek God. Know God.

Choose God - Verse 6

As the deer panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm 42.1,2
Longing for God
Back to the Psalms, great songs of assurance and joy in God’s presence, but equally honest about times of agony and sorrow, and about the thirst-like experience of God’s absence.
Stop and Think
Where in your life have there been (or are there) times when God has seemed absent?
What has helped you at these times?
What have you learned in them?
Choose to Act
Pray for those who are thirsty today. Pray for those who long to know God’s peace, joy or love.
Choose today to embrace the thirst for God in your own life and never give up.

Choose God - Verse 5

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.Matthew 6.24

Serving God
Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount. As God is found by those who know they need him, so relationship with God is sustained by singleness of heart and commitment. (‘Mammon’ represents wealth or greed.)
Stop and ThinkWhom do you ‘serve’?
Who or what demands your love, your time, your energy?
In your life, does God or ‘mammon’ get the biggest say?
Choose to Act

Choose to do something today which puts God first.
Choose a way to use your ‘wealth’ to express your love for God and for others?

Choose God - Verse 4

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5.7,8

Finding God
In the opening to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes those who are blessed; those who find God. It is not the proud or self righteous but those who know they need God and those who seek him in humility and generosity.

Stop and Think
What does it mean to be merciful?
What does it mean to be pure in heart?
How might these qualities make you blessed? How might they help you to find God?

Choose to Act
Choose today to live in the simplicity and honesty which is purity of heart.
Choose to show mercy to someone, near or far away.

Choose God - Verse 3

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23.4

Secure in God
God the Shepherd protects and preserves. His presence is recognised not just in green pastures and by still waters but is there in the darkest and most difficult times. In God fear is confounded.

Stop and Think
Where in your life have you walked through the valley of the shadow of death?
What helped you through?
In what ways, if any, did you experience the protection of God?
Choose to Act
Pray for someone who is living through dark times or who is afraid.
Choose to put your trust in God today, choose not to be afraid.

Choose God - Verse 2

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. Psalm 23.1,2

Resting in God
The 23rd Psalm is one of the best loved parts of the bible. God, the Shepherd, offers rest and refreshment. In God are found stillness and renewal. In God wants are satisfied.

Stop and Think
Where in your life are the green pastures and the still waters?
In what sense are these places where you encounter God’s provision and fulfilment?

Choose to Act
Even in the middle of busyness, choose to find rest today. In that rest discover more of the refreshment that comes from God. Choose to do something to offer rest to someone else.

Choose God - Verse 1

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah 6.3

Encountering God
This week looks at aspects of our engagement with God. Today, words from Isaiah’s encounter in the temple with an overwhelming sense of God’s presence. It was an encounter which changed the way he looked at the world and at his own life.

Stop and Think

When and where have you experienced an encounter with the presence of God?
What words would you use to describe it?
How has it affected your life?
Choose to Act
Take time to reflect on God’s presence in your life. Choose to let that sense of encounter shape your perspective on life.

Choose Love, Choose Life - Verse 4

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Luke 10.29


Find life
Jesus commends the answer of the lawyer. If you want to live right, then love God with all you are and all you have and love your neighbour.
Do this and you will live. It’s simple; or is it?
Stop and Think
What does life mean for you?
What does it mean for you to live well and to live life to the full?
In what sense, for you, is love at the heart of life and the key to life?
Choose to Act
Take time today to think about what you have learned this week. Pray that you will find life in seeking to love.
Choose the simplicity of ‘doing this’, of love in action.

Choose Love, Choose Life - Verse 3

And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Luke 10.27

Love neighbour
The lawyer continues his answer to Jesus. Life is to be discovered not simply in love for God but also in love for neighbour.
In both parts of his answer the lawyer has quoted from the Old Testament, but not the obvious 10 commandments. It’s love, not rules.

Stop and Think

What does it mean for you to love your neighbour? Who is your neighbour?
How do you express that love in practical ways?
How do love for God and love for neighbour relate?

Choose to Act
Choose to do something today to express love for someone else. Pray for the eyes to see others as your neighbours and not as strangers.

Choose Love, Choose Life - Verse 2

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.          Luke 10.27

The lawyer answers Jesus’ question by quoting the ‘first great commandment’.

To discover life, he says, first you must love God with all you are and all you have. As we shall see (on Saturday), Jesus commends his answer.

Stop and Think
What might it mean for you to love God with all that you are?
What does it mean in practictical terms for you today?
How might loving God help you discover life?
Choose to Act
Choose to do something today which expresses love for God.
How might this be an expression of your whole self - your heart, soul, strength and mind?

Choose Life, Choose Love - Verse 1

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’             Luke 10.25

What Shall I Do?

As Lent begins, a simple question: How do I truly discover life?

It’s a question which lies at the heart of this Lent Challenge.

For the lawyer, it is ‘what must I do?’ Jesus answers with a question, ‘you tell me?’.

Stop and Think

How would you answer the lawyer’s question?

What does lead to life? Is it a matter of what we do?

Is eternal life simply life be-yond death or does it have something to do with now?

Choose to Act

Choose to do something today which leads to life, for you or for someone else.

Saint Michael's and Santa Famiglia

For many years the Anglican parish of Saint Michael's in Bishop's Stortford, UK, and the Roman Catholic parish of Santa Famiglia in Fano, Italy, have been linked.  Close friendships have been formed over the years as various members of both parishes have travelled to meet each other, to share food and fellowship, and to form an ecumenical link between the two churches.

We are keen to maintain and grow this partnership in faith, and to this end have decided to blog our various discussions on Biblical texts.  Saint Michael's has a number of housegroups and Santa Famiglia has twelve 'tribes' who are looking forward to sharing their ideas.  This is hopefully the start of something fruitful.

To begin this we are planning on utilising Bishop Alan's Lent Challenge, part of Living God's Love, an initiative of the diocese of St Alban, UK.  To find out more about this and to sign up to receive the daily verse, please visit http://www.livinggodslove.org/living_gods_love/lent/

As Lent progresses, each verse will be added to the blog for members of either congregation to comment on (hopefully saying which church they belong to for those that don't know!).  We look forward to reading the posts of our distant brothers and sisters.

Pace,
Deacon Anthony

E italiano (probabilmente con errori di traduzione)...

Per molti anni la parrocchia anglicana di San Michele a Bishop's Stortford, Regno Unito, e la parrocchia cattolica della Santa Famiglia di Fano, in Italia, sono stati collegati. amicizie si sono formate nel corso degli anni vari membri di entrambe le parrocchie hanno viaggiato per incontrarsi, per condividere il cibo e l'amicizia, e per formare un legame ecumenico tra le due chiese.

Ci teniamo a mantenere e far crescere questa partnership nella fede, ea tal fine hanno deciso di blog nostre discussioni su vari testi biblici. San Michele ha una serie di housegroups e Santa Famiglia ha dodici 'tribù' che stanno cercando ora di condividere le loro idee. Questo spero sia l'inizio di qualcosa di fecondo.

Per iniziare questo stiamo progettando di utilizzo Vescovo di Alan Quaresima Challenge, parte di Vivere l'Amore di Dio, una iniziativa della diocesi di St. Alban, Regno Unito. Per saperne di più su questo e di registrarsi per ricevere il verso al giorno, si prega di visitare http://www.livinggodslove.org/living_gods_love/lent/

Come progredisce la Quaresima, ogni verso si aggiungerà al blog per i membri di una congregazione di commentare (si spera dicendo che la chiesa di appartenenza per coloro che non lo so!). Siamo ansiosi di leggere i post dei nostri fratelli e sorelle lontani.

Peace,
Diacono Anthony