Daily Devotions

from the United Reformed Church

photo credit Philip Weis /pexels.com

St Matthew’s Gospel part 5

Sunday 12th - March 2023
Introduction

Matthew’s Gospel is the first book of the New Testament and for millennia
Christians believed it was the earliest of the four Gospels. Now, most
scholars believe that Mark’s Gospel was a source for Matthew - who
repeats almost everything In St Mark. The editor of Matthew seems to
have access to a body of material shared with the editor of St Luke but not
known to either Mark or John and his own sources around the birth of
Jesus - the stories of the Magi and of Gabriel’s appearances to Joseph are
only found in Matthew.

The Gospel is concerned with showing how Jesus’ life and ministry was
foretold in what we now call the Old Testament. Most scholars think the
Gospel was written between AD 80 and 90 with a range of between 70 and
110 being mentioned. A minority think it was written before AD 70 which Jesus actually means Y rather than the interpretation you’ve heard before?
would make it the oldest Gospel. All these dates are at least 40 years after I know you think Z, but have you thought about these arguments? If all
Jesus’ death and resurrection. We have no idea who the editor was who we do at church is go through the motions, telling familiar stories as if we
drew these stories together - the earliest Church identified him as the are watching repeats of a favourite TV show, I would suggest we’re not
Apostle Matthew but we simply have no idea who wrote it. Matthew is showing much openness to the Holy Spirit moving among us.
the Gospel that we will hear read in Church this year and so we will read
through it between now and Easter - skipping the birth narratives as we’ve But we shouldn’t leave this to ministers or elders. On a recent visit to the
heard them over the Christmas services and Daily Devotions. Quaker centre at Woodbrooke, I came across their ‘Advices and Queries’
(and I’d commend them as worthwhile reading
Table of Contents https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/chapter/1/) . If you were making a list of
questions to challenge yourself whether you were living out your faith,
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................... 1 what would be on it?

SUNDAY 12 MARCH 2023 PSALM 126 .................................................... 3 Prayer

MONDAY 13 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 20: 20 - 28 ............................. 5
Lord, we give thanks for the questioners;
TUESDAY 14 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 20: 29 - 34 ............................. 7 for the experts asking from a position of knowledge;
for the children who aren’t afraid to be curious.
WEDNESDAY 15 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 21: 1 - 11 .......................... 8
We give thanks
THURSDAY 16 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 21: 12 - 17 ......................... 10 for the questions that release us from cages we construct ourselves;
for the joy of ‘yes’ rather than the fear of ‘no’.
FRIDAY 17 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 21: 18 - 22 ............................... 12
Open us up to the power of questions;
SATURDAY 18 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 21: 23 - 27 ......................... 13 help us admit when we don’t know;
help us recognise when we are wrong;
SUNDAY 19 MARCH 2023 PSALM 127 .................................................. 15
excite us to learn more, to change more, to live more.
MONDAY 20 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 21: 28 - 32 .......................... 17
And may your Holy Spirit inspire us to love and service.
TUESDAY 21 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 21: 33 - 46 ............................ 18
Amen.
WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 22: 1 - 14 ........................ 20

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 22: 15 - 22 ......................... 22

FRIDAY 24 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW

2 22: 23 - 33 ............................... 24 27
Saturday 25 March 2023 St Matthew 22: 34 - 46 SATURDAY 25 MARCH 2023 ST MATTHEW 22: 34 - 46 ......................... 26
Gordon Woods, Elder, St. Columba’s URC, Oxford

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they Sunday 12 March 2023 Psalm 126
gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to The Rev’d George Watt, Moderator Thames North Synod
test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He
said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with When God first brought us back from exile,
all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first we were as dazed as those who dream.
commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as Then were our mouths brimming with laughter;
yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the joy from our lips gushed like a stream.
prophets.’ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked The godless cried in envious wonder,
them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ “Look what the LORD has done for them!”
They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that Indeed our God has greatly blessed us;
David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at rejoice and sing, Jerusalem!
my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’”? If David thus
calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an 2 Once more, O LORD, restore your people;
answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. come with your saving help again,
as to the brook-beds in the desert
Reflection you bring the sweet, reviving rain.
Let those who sow with tears and sighing
I have always rather enjoyed it when my job has meant I’ve been working sing as they reap and joy proclaim;
with lawyers. Government lawyers tend to bring a different point of view may those who weep when seed is scattered
to a question - challenging sloppy thinking, and being creative about gather their sheaves and praise your name.
alternative solutions to problems. To be able to ask the lawyer’s question
in this reading, you probably need to know the law so well you actually Carl P Daw © 1966 Hope Publishing Co
have an opinion on the question - and I learn that Jesus’ answer is pretty CCLI licence number 1064776
orthodox for discussions among Jewish thinkers at the time - but the You can hear this sung to the early American tune Wayfaring Stranger here
questioners don’t like the question he asks them in return. https://vimeo.com/329677100

I suspect a lot of us don’t always welcome the sort of question that makes Reflection
us rethink our approach - whether at work, home or in our faith life. There
is a lot of comfort from familiar patterns, especially when the world As we grow older, we often like to look back and celebrate the past
around us is so volatile and uncertain. But I’d suggest that some of our (although for some we might prefer if it were left behind.) Generally, we
most effective ministers are the people who do ask those awkward focus on the good times. We recall the good things that have happened in
questions; why don’t you think you’re the right person to do X? What if the past and that causes us to give thanks. For many of us the Church has
26 3
played an important part in our lives perhaps for many years or just a few the Jews until after most of the Old Testament had been written. The
and it has brought us much joy. It has been an oasis when life has been Sadducees’ test case aimed to point out the absurdity of such a belief.
challenging for the rest of the week. It has been a source of joy with faith,
fellowship, fun and food playing an important role. Jesus’ response is worthy of any seasoned Rabbi scholar. He turns the
tables in showing that it is in fact the Sadducees who are absurd in their
There may have been times when we have not been able to worship and assumptions. First he says that when God calls himself the God of
found ourselves separated from the Church family and been overjoyed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob this indicates that they were, or would be, alive
when we have been able to return. This of course was true during the and so scripture does clearly pre-suppose belief in the resurrection.
pandemic and it was good last Christmas to return to celebrate Christ’s
birth together properly for the first time in 3 years. Jesus’ second point is even more potent and damning. He says that they
underestimate the power of God who will introduce a new form of life, in
But for many, Church is not the same as it has been in the past with the which there will be no marriage or birth, because there will be no death.
reduction in numbers, the lack of children and young people and the It was naive and crass to assume the afterlife would be a mere continuance
challenges of running the church. Psalm 126 looks to God for hope for the of the pattern of this life.
future, when tears and weeping can be turned into joy. Our rescuer God
can act today as God has in history, including in our own past. These are not just rarefied philosophic issues that pass us by. Each of us
has the gift, some would say the curse, to be born as the only physical
The Psalm ends with the powerful image of seeds being sown as people being able to contemplate our own mortality. All are faced with reflections
weep, which results in a harvest and praise. We can lament the present about the afterlife and for Christians this is intimately bound up with the
and do nothing or we can continue in our calling to be faithful in sowing core of our faith and Jesus’ assurance: “I am the resurrection and the life.
seeds. That’s not easy when we are dispirited and life looks bleak. But Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.”
unless we cooperate with God in declaring his love to a broken troubled
world, there will be no harvest of new life. Prayer

Prayer Dear God,

when, in the dark night of my soul,
Lord, for the past with laughter on our lips, I feel lost and forlorn,
we want to give thanks. fearful of life and the uncertainty of death,
Lord, for the present with tears in our eyes, let me again hear the assuring words
we seek your hope. of my resurrected Lord Jesus
Lord, for the future with faith in our hearts, who promises life,
we pray for your kingdom to come. true life beyond death.
Amen.

4 25
Lord Jesus, Monday 13 March 2023 St Matthew 20: 20 - 28
We belong to you. The Rev’d Gwen Collins, retired minister, member of Avenue St Andrew’s
Help us to live as those who believe that everything is gift from you. URC
Save us from clinging on to the blessings we have received,
lest we become selfish and lacking in compassion. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and
Help us to look at our talents, our time and our bank balance kneeling before him, she asked a favour of him. And he said to her, ‘What
as ours to use for the growth of your Kingdom. Amen. do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Declare that these two sons of mine will
sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.’ But Jesus
answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink
Friday 24 March 2023 St Matthew 22: 23 - 33
the cup that I am about to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said
Professor Graham Handscomb Member of Christ Church URC Chelmsford
to them, ‘You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at
my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been
The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no
prepared by my Father.’ When the ten heard it, they were angry with the
resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying, ‘Teacher, Moses said,
two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the
“If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants
children for his brother.” Now there were seven brothers among us; the
over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great
first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. The
among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among
second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. Last of all,
you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but
the woman herself died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven
to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’
will she be? For all of them had married her.’ Jesus answered them, ‘You
are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.
Reflection
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but
are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have
A mother kneels before Jesus and asks a favour. Earlier in Matthew’s
you not read what was said to you by God, “I am the God of Abraham, the
gospel someone suffering from leprosy kneels before Jesus and asks to be
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is God not of the dead, but of the
healed, and a leader of the synagogue kneels before Jesus asking him to
living.’ And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.
restore life to his daughter who has just died. I imagine that there were
many more, unrecorded, who knelt and asked.
Reflection
You and I may or may not kneel in prayer, but, kneeling, sitting or standing,
Despite appearing to be a rather obscure theological debate between
as we pray we share with these characters from the gospel the same
religious factions lost in the midst of time, this passage touches a nerve for
longing and hope for those we love and for ourselves.
every human being living in all times.
However, this mother’s plea is not for healing or for the restitution of life.
The Sadducees observed only the written Law and did not acknowledge
It is for a position of privilege for her sons in the coming kingdom. Jesus
any oral traditions or beliefs which could not be clearly evidenced in the
cannot grant her request. He can only promise suffering, and use the
Scriptures. This included belief in life
24 after death which was not held by 5
incident as a springboard to teach a fundamental truth. Sacrificial service penalty for such a crime was execution. If on the other hand he says ‘yes’
is the way of greatness. He came not to be served but to serve. They must he may be called a blasphemer, disloyal to Israel, a lover of Rome. It
do the same. So must we. seems impossible to get out of this unscathed.

Coming back, then, to a mother’s prayers, what should we pray for our Still Jesus outwits his hearers. “Whose head and title are on the coin?”
children? What should we pray for ourselves and for each other in the “The emperor’s”, they say. “Well, then, give the emperor what belongs to
church? Clearly not for success or status, good salary or trouble-free lives! the emperor and give God what belongs to God.” Brilliant answer. The
Nor even subtly disguised versions of those things. Rather, that God may end!
put them (and us) in situations where people need help. And that God may
supply the strength and love needed to act effectively. But is it really that simple?

I am reminded of the story of Dr Hawa Abdi, who established a clinic Are we to separate matters of faith from the secular? Is the old saying
serving tens of thousands when civil war broke out in her home country, right that politics and religion should not mix? Has our faith nothing to say
Somalia. Her daughters recall how even when they were very young their about how we use the money in our bank accounts?
mother’s mantra was “Help your people.” No wonder that as adults they
followed her example. For what in this world belongs to God?

Prayer Psalm 24 reminds us that “The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the
world, and those who live in it.”
From Heaven, You came helpless babe
Entered our world, your glory veiled There is nothing that truly belongs to the rulers of this world, or to us. All
Not to be served but to serve that we have is graciously given to us from God, to use for his glory. Thus
And give Your life that we might live. everything we have and everything we do, from how we handle our
money, to the way that financial systems operate and the way that rulers
You are our God, The Servant King exercise their power, come under the reign and lordship of our God.
You call us now to follow You
To bring our lives as a daily offering This is no more than a call to give all that we have and all that we are to
Of worship to The Servant King. God. For we are his people, to be spent in his service.

So let us learn how to serve What would our world look like if we viewed our lives and the resources
And in our lives enthrone You at our disposal as gifts to be shared for the good of our neighbours?
Each other's needs to prefer
For it is Christ we're serving. Amen Prayer

Adapted from Graham Kendrick

The Servant King 6
lyrics © Thank You Music Ltd., Make Way Music 23
Christians tend to picture ourselves) once I’ve done so I’m expected to Tuesday 14 March 2023 St Matthew 20: 29 - 34
behave in the right way. Dorothy Courtis, lay preacher and elder, Wortwell Chapel

If the image of God in this parable still worries you, take care to read it as As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two
part of the bigger Gospel story, where the Son also speaks, and we find blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing
that God is ‘With Us’, not against us. by, they shouted, ‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’ The crowd sternly
ordered them to be quiet; but they shouted even more loudly, ‘Have
Prayer mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!’ Jesus stood still and called them, saying,
‘What do you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, let our eyes
O God, be opened.’ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes.
May I never take your loving invitation for granted. Immediately they regained their sight and followed him.
May I always listen out for what your Son is saying.
May I be ever mindful that you are with me day by day. Amen. Reflection

Sitting by the roadside sounds so passive, so helpless. I suppose they were

Thursday 23 March 2023 St Matthew 22: 15 - 22
there to beg, dependent on other people’s generosity, trying to catch the
The Rev’d Camilla Veitch, Minister Wirksworth and North Derbyshire
crowds of folk who would be going into or leaving Jericho. Even so, they’re
Resource Area
firmly connected to what is going on, and when Jesus comes by they know
about it - and who he is. Which is more than a lot of the folk around them.
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So
Maybe it’s years of having folk walk on by as they beg that gives them the
they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher,
courage and tenacity to keep shouting. Even when told bluntly to shut up.
we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance
with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people
And they are rewarded when Jesus asks for them to be brought to him. He
with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the
gives them his full attention, treats them and their needs with respect, and
emperor, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you
gives them what they ask.
putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the
tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head
I wonder how quickly we give up when our prayers aren’t answered the
is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to
way we want? Can we find reassurance and encouragement in this
them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,
passage to keep shouting for Jesus’s attention to our needs?
and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard this, they were
And when he answers our prayers, do we trot off back into our own lives -
amazed; and they left him and went away.
or like the two men in this story, do we respond by following him?
Reflection
Prayer
It’s Catch 22 for Jesus. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor? If he says
Loving, caring Lord Jesus,
‘no’ he could be reported as a traitor 22 and agitator against Rome. The 7
Help us trust that you hear all our prayers, all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled
Know and respect our needs, with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a
And will always answer with whatever is best for us man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him,
And in line with your loving and holy will. “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was
Enable us to persist, trustingly, in prayer. Amen. speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot,
and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
Wednesday 15 March 2023 St Matthew 21: 1 - 11
The Rev’d Fleur Houston, retired minister, member of Macclesfield and
Reflection
Bollington United Reformed Church
Some years ago members of a URC congregation read their way through
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the
Matthew’s Gospel during Lent, meeting weekly to share reactions. In
Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the
discussion, one member commented, “we do a lot of wailing and teeth
village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a
gnashing when we read Matthew.”
colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to
you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them
Weeping and the teeth gnashing feature in this parable of the wedding
immediately.’ This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the
banquet, but that’s only one element in what’s alarming about it.
prophet, saying,
The king, who has issued an invitation to his son’s wedding banquet, takes
‘Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and
rejection badly. Those who declined the invitation and mistreated royal
mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’
messengers are killed by his army, and their city is burned to the ground.
Even those who accept the king’s invitation are not safe. One guest, who
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the
has been brought in off the street, is consigned to outer darkness (with
donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A
tears and teeth gnashing) because he is improperly dressed. (How many
very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches
of us habitually walk down the street dressed so as not to look out of place
from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead
at a wedding?)
of him and that followed were shouting,
If the king in the parable represents God that’s a frightening picture.
‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name
There’s a hint, though, that this picture is not complete. In the parable,
of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
although we hear from the king, and only from the king, the son, for whom
the banquet is given, is silent.
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who
is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth
Certainly, if I’m rich, I’m unwise to reject God (as did landowners and
in Galilee.’
business owners in the parable). I might find myself replaced by the poor.
Even if I’m someone who has accepted the invitation to God’s party (as we
8 21
The answer, of course, is simple. It is God. But one has to wonder if we Reflection
might not put others and ourselves first. Human nature is such that we all
desire a little limelight and accolade at times. We want a share of the There are no palms in this reading for Palm Sunday but that doesn’t detract
success and not to just hand it over. Yet, when we say ‘yes’ to God’s call to from the drama. From the start Jesus’s entry to Jerusalem is deliberately
tend God’s land, we not only have to accept the trials of this but not buckle stage-managed. Jesus instructs the disciples with authority; he chooses
at the temptation to reap the rewards which are God’s alone. not to approach Jerusalem on foot like other pilgrims but to ride a donkey
like an eastern monarch, garments spread on the road before the beast in
Prayer token of subjection. This is an intentionally symbolic action for the benefit
of his disciples. Here surely is Israel’s king, coming to his kingdom.
Gracious God,
you call us to fertile land, Yet Matthew’s readers are also given to understand that this is not a
to land that will bear fruit military triumph. The animals are the clue. The strange image of Jesus
in your name and as you desire. riding a donkey and its colt is a cogent reminder that Zechariah’s prophecy
You ask of us (9.9) is now fulfilled. This king Jesus is Israel’s long-expected deliverer, the
to tend and care for it, Messiah. As if there were any doubt, Matthew associates it with the joyful
may we do so in humble service acclamation of the Messiah in Psalm 118. 25-26.
giving you all the glory
in Jesus’ name. Amen Jerusalem, however, does not understand that its king has come and
prophecy fulfilled.
Wednesday 22 March 2023 St Matthew 22: 1 - 14
Jesus is acclaimed by those going with him to Jerusalem, not those inside
The Rev’d Dr Trevor Jamison, Minister, Saint Columba’s URC, North Shields
the city and this anticipates upcoming events. In his Passion, he will be
humiliated but in his Resurrection he will also be glorified.
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his
How may we connect this story with our own situation? Like the first
son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding
readers of the Gospel, we experience increasing uncertainty and latent
banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying,
fear of the future. Our context arouses fear of economic decline,
“Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my
increasing destruction of the natural world, wars rashly started with
oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready;
incalculable consequences. But as followers of the risen and glorified
come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away,
Christ we may with confidence face the challenges of the present in the
one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves,
triumphant hope of the Resurrection.
maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his
troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to
Prayer
his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go
therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the
wedding banquet.” Those slaves went 20 out into the streets and gathered 9
Gracious God, They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and
Fix in us the image of your Son in glory lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the
To sustain us in the path of discipleship, harvest time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:
That we may pass over with him to newness of life. “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this
May his name be blessed. Amen was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”? Therefore I tell you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people
that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone
Thursday 16 March 2023 St Matthew 21: 12 - 17
will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ When
The Rev’d Terry Hinks, Minister of Trinity, High Wycombe and Cores End
the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that
URCs
he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared
the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and
buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers
Reflection
and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written,
This parable, coming a few chapters before Matthew’s recording of Jesus’s
“My house shall be called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den
death, tells of the coming events. It does this in the context of Israel’s and
of robbers.’
Judah’s history and the response, particularly of those with authority, to
the prophets of God as well as Jesus, son of God. It again highlights the
The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.
difficult relationship between Jesus and the religious leaders, and it leaves
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he
us with no doubt why the Gospel writer goes to great lengths to point out
did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son
what would seem to be a great hatred of Jesus among them.
of David’, they became angry and said to him, ‘Do you hear what these
are saying?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read,
Yet, although this is all part of the Gospel’s narrative about who Jesus is
and what Jesus’s purpose was in the world, this parable also offers a
“Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise
cautionary tale for the Church and particularly those that lead it. Within
for yourself”?’
our tradition, we have that language of call when it comes to leadership.
We have that sense that God calls us to a place where we are to do God’s
He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
work tending a community. We take on that responsibility humbly,
sometimes with trepidation, but always, we believe, in the strength of
Reflection
God’s spirit. Then that community flourishes, it bears more fruit than we
might have even dreamed of. We celebrate. We make a name for
Today we contemplate an act of defiance and radical protest that has
ourselves in local church circles, denominational circles, maybe even
reverberated down the centuries – Jesus overturning the tables in the
further afield. And finally, Reform comes knocking and asks, “to whom do
Temple and releasing the doves to their freedom. It was one of the
you give the credit for this success?”
opening salvos of Jesus’ Passion, yet for the money changers this was
probably just a blessed nuisance!10 I wonder who are the ‘blessed 19
see in various ways - using (parts of) Reformation theology to assure nuisances’ in our day and age? The Spirit inspired over-turners? And
ourselves we’re forgiven, seeing ourselves as righteous in no great need of might we have the courage to join them? Or rather join the One who is
forgiveness or finger pointing at those dreadful other people who really ‘Blessed in highest heaven’.
are sinners!
As Jesus entered Jerusalem the crowd greeted him as the ‘blessed one
Time and time again Jesus turns the table on such thinking, and on us, and who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Now Jesus enters the Temple – the
reminds us that those who seem furthest away from the Kingdom are heart of the city, the nation and the people’s faith – and acts out what that
often closest to it. ‘blessed one’ is all about. In echoes of the Beatitudes that were the centre
of his teaching ministry, he speaks up for the poor and exploited ones
Prayer (Blessed are the poor). He grieves over the abuse and distortion of the
Temple, a sacred God-filled place of prayer turned into a robber’s den
Eternal One, (Blessed are those who mourn). In vulnerability he confronts the powerful
we pray for those who are despised (Blessed are the meek) and risks all to call out injustice (Blessed are those
and on the margins of our society; who hunger and thirst to see right prevail). He turns to the poorest and
we pray for those who sell themselves in order to simply live, most vulnerable – welcoming the blind and lame – and brings healing
and for those who work with them (Blessed are the merciful). He welcomes the children too and their
offering health, wholeness and a new start. exuberant praise (Blessed are the pure in heart). And he brings down on
Help us to see your Kingdom himself an avalanche of anger and hatred which ultimately leads to a
in the most unlikely of places. Amen. Roman cross - the Prince of Peace, turned Lamb of God (Blessed are
peacemakers and the persecuted).
Tuesday 21 March 2023 St Matthew 21: 33 - 46
No wonder that after this act of uncomfortable blessing, Jesus needs time
The Rev’d Dr Elaine Colechin, Minister, St Mark’s United Church,
to recover and regroup. He slips out to Bethany, no doubt to the house of
Greenwich and Bromley United Reformed Church
friends to eat and reflect on the next step in God’s work of turning the
world upside down and right way up, God’s work of passionate love.
‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then
Hosanna to you, Son of David,
he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest
Son of Mary, Son of God.
time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But
Truly blessed, you show us
the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned
what true blessing might mean:
another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated
Justice for the exploited,
them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will
Welcome for all,
respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to
Prayer that unites,
themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.”
Healing for the broken,
So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now
Love in the face of anger,
when the owner of the vineyard comes,18 what will he do to those tenants?’ 11
Truth on children’s lips, may we keep you in our mind’s eye,
to humble the oppressor, and inquire of you what is best for our souls.
Praise and amazement. We ask this in Jesus’ name Amen.
Come among us now and lead us
into fervent prayer and joyful praise,
Monday 20 March 2023 St Matthew 21: 28 - 32
renewed hope and determined action.
The Rev’d Andy Braunston, Minister for Digital Worship and member of
the Peedie Kirk URC in Orkney
Friday 17 March 2023 St Matthew 21: 18 - 22
Sam Goodman, Elder, Central Derby URC ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said,
“Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but
In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and
a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. Which of
it but leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them,
And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the
amazed, saying, ‘How did the fig tree wither at once?’ Jesus answered kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of
them, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the
do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change
“Be lifted up and thrown into the sea”, it will be done. Whatever you ask your minds and believe him.
for in prayer with faith, you will receive.’
Reflection
Reflection
Tax collectors and sex workers seemed to have a hard time in first Century
I do feel sorry for the fig tree, it's done nothing wrong. If you look at the Palestine. The former worked on a franchise basis where they purchased
parallel account in Mark's gospel it also tells us that it wasn't even the the right to collect taxes from the Empire then recouped what they paid
season for fig. A little bit of digging shows that the fruiting season is August by charging more than they were entitled to. Add to that they were
but small semi-fruit can grow in spring. If none shows in spring it's a sign collecting taxes on behalf of the occupying power - it would be like Russia
of a poor harvest later. collecting taxes in occupied Ukraine. Sex workers always deal with the
shame of society - the shame of sexual failure, the shame of lack of support
It seems the passage is less about this one fig tree than Jesus not being for (overwhelmingly) vulnerable women, the shame of not facing male
able to see fruit around him, fruit of the spirit that would grow and carry power and abuse.
the seeds of the Good News. It's partly a miracle (not healing but harming)
partly a parable. Jesus highlights that the tax collectors and sex workers heard John’s
message and changed their ways but his hearers, part of the religious
The tree is condemned to wither because it is fruitless, but what of the establishment, didn’t. Religious folk often have problems understanding
disciples and us? 12 what we’re sinners in need of redemption.
17 We can dress up our failure to
Reflection This passage is set on the short journey from Bethany to Jerusalem and
looking at the lie of the land about half way on your route you would have
This Psalm has hidden gaps between its sentences - gaps which represent to climb near Bethphage up to the brow of the Mount of Olives. From here
many of the dividing lines in life we experience in life. you have a view looking over Jerusalem.

This Psalm appeals to the home - or nest maker within us. It plays upon There's a subtlety to the mountain reference that I don't think I'd seen
contemporary sensibilities as expressed in television programmes such as before, Jesus isn't simply saying here that you can uproot any mountain,
Grand Designs and Escape to the Chateau. But at the same time it is a but this mountain in particular, and put together with the reference to the
Psalm of royalty and national government. The Psalm’s mention of fig tree you can hear a call to the disciples to go out and be witnesses
“house” refers to the Temple, guards on Jerusalem’s city walls implies because no-one here is either equipped or prepared to take the Good
national security, and the “sons in the quiver” are probably the royal line News out.
of succession - a continuation of the royal line of David. This Psalm was
possibly written by a Bronze Age contemporary of our own Poet Laureate. This passage asks us to have faith in how we pray, to trust. It calls us to be
The divide between domestic life and the royal courts couldn’t be larger. engaged in active prayer that guides us, challenges us, comforts us, upsets
us... but ultimately prayer that connects us with a God who loves us and
The dividing lines could also delineate the space between heaven and shows us how to love, to bear fruit and to begin to move mountains.
earth too. The Palmist calls on us to bring God into the heart of our
decision making processes, whether making the family home or Prayer
establishing the economy of an entire country. But do we really believe
our prayers will make it to heaven, or fall somewhere in the gap between, God of fig and mountain
so we stay silent? Hear our prayers
Help us to own the words we pray
But the implications of not praying are stark. Life risks becoming May we pray with confidence
unnecessarily laborious and meaningless without the divine presence. So that you will use us to make our prayers active. Amen
let us pray!
Saturday 18 March 2023 St Matthew 21: 23 - 27
Prayer
The Rev’d Jacky Embrey, minister in the Bolton and Salford Missional
Partnership
Gracious God,
thank you that you have closed the gap between the divine and humanity.
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people
As we face making decisions that can affect the future
came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing
of family, friend or stranger
these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will
may we invite you into the heart of that decision making process.
also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell
Whether we are considering issues of shelter, security
you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come
or the wellbeing of our families
16 from heaven, or was it of human13origin?’ And they argued with one
another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you God’s purposes, and, as a consequence, to their lives.
not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the The question for us, is what do we believe and are we willing to let our
crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do beliefs change our lives?
not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I
am doing these things. Prayer

Reflection Lord Jesus,

all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you.
The chief priests and the elders were not happy. Help us not simply to believe this,
but to let our beliefs change us and the way we live our lives,
Yesterday Jesus had caused havoc. First he had stirred the city of that we may become every more true to your image in us.
Jerusalem into turmoil, leaving everyone asking who he was. Then he went Thanks be to God Amen.
straight to the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers
Sunday 19 March 2023 Psalm 127
and the seats of those selling doves. Next he had the temerity to hold court
The Rev’d Daniel Harris, Community Minister , Rochdale, Bury and North
inside the Temple, purporting to cure the blind and the lame and rudely
Manchester Missional Partnership
rebuffing those who remonstrated with him when children began to call
out ‘Hosannah to the Son of David!’.
Unless the Lord 3 In vain you labour night and day,
constructs the house, by constant care oppressed;
Now Jesus was back again, teaching the people as though he owned the
the builders work in vain; the Lord supplies
temple. So they accosted him, knowing that they were in the right – that
the Lord alone designs and builds his loved ones' needs
they had the right, because they were in charge, as their caste had been
foundations that remain. and grants them sleep and rest.
for centuries (albeit now with the shadow of the Romans ever present).
They didn’t beat about the bush. ‘By what authority are you doing these
2 Unless the Lord is keeping watch 4 The Lord designed the family,
things, and who gave you this authority?’
the city cannot stand; providing earthly love;
the sentry guards the gates in vain our children are his heritage
Jesus, like the seasoned teacher he was, answered their question with one
without God's mighty hand. a gift from heaven above.
of his own. One that reminded Matthew’s audience that it was at Jesus’
baptism that he had received confirmation of his authority from heaven
5 Like weapons in a warrior's hand are those who bear our name;
and that the Spirit had descended upon him then, making him the
with them we face a hostile world assured, and free from shame.
anointed one, the Messiah.
Mollie Knight (1917 - 1993)
Jesus’ question also left the chief priests and the elders in a quandary. The
© Trevor Knight/Jubilate Hymns CCLI licence number 1064776
people believed in John and they did not. They could not or would not
You can hear the suggested tune, St Anne, here
believe that either John’s or Jesus’ authority came from heaven, because
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_ZTlOUsMJI
that would have meant drastic changes to their understanding of God and
14 15