Keeping the faith

Jeremiah 32:6-9

Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.

Keeping faith 

when all around spells desolation

Keeping faith

against the odds

Keeping faith

in the face of ridicule

Keeping faith

And demonstrating obedience

God calls us today

To keep faith

To demonstrate our faith

in the God

who will bring justice

and peace

The God

who makes all things new

Keeping the faith

Today

Black and white

Psalms 19:7-10

The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the decrees of the Lord are sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the Lord are true

and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Oh to have such clarity

Such surety

To be able to declare unequivocally

the goodness and th rightness

of the law of the Lord.

Extolled in such clear terms

one might presume out of naivety 

and yet few were more predicated

against belief than the Psalmists.

Their faith

and their confident proclamation 

hard won at great cost.

Forged through pain and trial

Refined with grit and determination

They earned the right

to extol the virtues of God

and to call others to embrace

the wonders of faith

tried, tested,

and found to be sufficient.

Prayer

God, before we mock the faith of another, teach us to stand in their shoes, to endure their trials, to wear their spectacles of faith and, in them,and in ourselves, see you constantly at work, shaping, refining, always drawing us closer to you.

Reverse order

Mark 10:28-31

Peter began to say to him, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Looking for reward

Not in some future universe

Looking for reward

Now - in this age

Looking for reward

To confirm our righteousness

Looking for reward

To raise our status

Looking for reward

To confound those who mock

Looking for reward

Because it is our way

But, says Jesus

The order will be reversed

First will be last

And last will be first

So where does that leave us

who are looking for reward?

Prayer

Lord sometimes it seems you give us little incentive to follow you - just a whole load of grief. Help us to look again at your promises and see that, despite our longing, the rewards you offer are not of this world. And, knowing that, keep us on the narrow way.

Predicting the Passion

Mark 9:30-32

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

They were afraid to ask him...

How often have we been afraid to ask?

Because we really don't want to know the answer.

The truth, the awful truth, would be too much for us to take in.

They were afraid to ask him....

How often have we been afraid to ask?

When our imaginations conjure up fears

that are much worse than reality

and we become locked into the horror

of what might be.

They were afraid to ask him....

How often have we been afraid to ask?

Because we have forgotten

that the God whose son died and rose again

accompanies us through all of life saying:

Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you

I have called you by your name

You are mine

Isaiah 43:1

Prayer

In all our fear, O God, draw near to us, breathing the warmth of your promise into the chill of our dread, reminding us that you accompany us through all of life and death, our friend and our redeemer.

Amen