I am delighted to announce that two new books, based around the work on this blog and some I found languishing on my computer have been published.
Introducing Voices Through Mark. Mark is the feature gospel in the coming lectionary year, so it could be useful for that.
Voices Through Mark journeys through all of Mark’s gospel from John the Baptist up to The Plot to kill Jesus.
We hear the voices of the characters encountering Jesus for the first time and the development of what Jesus means to them and the world.
Suitable for use as private reflection or in worship.
Price £7 plus £2.00 postage.
It is a bit early, but in this strange current world, who knows what might happen, so here is Voices Through Lent
Beginning with an Ash Wednesday appraisal of our lives in the light of the Ten Commandments, we journey together through Lent, hearing the voices along the way.
It follows the Lectionary readings for Years A, B and C from Ash Wednesday to Lent 5.
Each of the 16 voices stands alone, but weaves together to forma whole.
The pieces in this book are suitable for personal or public reflection and worship following the lectionary readings for the first five Sundays in Lent leading up to Holy Week.
I have copies available, or it is available directly from Moorleys, price £4.50 plus £1.50 postage.
I am doing a offer of both together for £11 plus £2.50 postage
I can also make the text of either book available as a PDF. Please contact me.
All my books are available from Moorleys, or you can order directly from me – please use the contact form below to contact me. If you live near me, I can leave one in the porch for collection or get it put through your door. Or as per the Eyam plague, goods and money can be left at the boundary marker!
Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me to do this and helped make it possible – and to those who support it.
Both Voices Through Advent and Christmas (£4) and Voices Through Holy Week and Easter (£4.50)are also still available.
This is the text of my Going Deeper Daily Devotions for today:
Todays reading is Hebrews 12:1-24, but I am only going to read the first few verses, I will leave you to read the rest yourself.
As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.
When I was learning to drive, the one best pearls of wisdom that the wonderful Llewelyn imparted to me is “look at where you want to go”. Keep your eyes focussed on the road ahead at where you are journeying to.
Don’t look at the front of the bonnet, you are not prepared for what is ahead, and especially don’t start admiring the scenery to the left or right – or that is where you will end up heading.
It turns out, that is not only useful advice for driving, but also for faith. I would dare to suggest it is also good advice for a pandemic.
We are running a race, Hebrews tells us. I sincerely hope it is not a physical running race, or I don’t stand a chance! If I can expand the metaphor further, it is not a sprint, but a marathon. It is not about a short sharp burst of energy, but about the long game. The race that lies before us is probably long and winding, with unexpected twists and turn – more like a steeplechase with various different obstacles! – but no so systematically placed. We will all run it in our own way, with our own style. But the writer of Hebrews tells us to run, always keeping our eyes on Jesus. He is where we are going, he is the reason for the journey, it is on him we depend. Take our eyes off him and we will become distracted, drop focus, lose momentum in our step, become confused about where we were going, what the goal actually was, or just head off in the wrong direction all together.
With our eyes fixed on Jesus, we will not be distracted by the things on the periphery – those things that scare us, confuse us, take out focus, our interest, or just take us from the road and land us in a ditch.
Jesus should be our focus, the way, the guide. With our eyes on Jesus, we are not avoiding the here and now, not just looking to the future, but thinking like Jesus each step of the way.
It seems very trite to ask,
‘what would Jesus do?’
but actually it can be a great question. We will only reach the end if each step works. As we plough on with our natural reactions, it can be a great question to pull us up in any situation – never mind what I feel, what my knee jerk reaction might be, what would Jesus be doing in this situation? How is my vision of him going to effect what I do here, now?
When I finish this race, will I be able to look Jesus in the eye?
The passage finishes with these words:
22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, with its thousands of angels. 23 You have come to the joyful gathering of God’s first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, who is the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, who arranged the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that promises much better things than does the blood of Abel.
That is race’s end – The city of the living God. To the joyful gathering of God’s people. To Jesus.
Each day, may that be our focus.
Lord you call us to run this race of life.
We want to run it always with you, always with our eyes fixed on you and not distracted by things that do not matter.
And so each day may we look to you and live in the way that you would.
May God bless us this day in our journey and every day. May we know his presence. Amen
You were delayed Moses, you didn’t come back when we wanted you to.
We didn’t know where you were or what you were doing and we, so we thought, couldn’t wait.
You didn’t act God, when and how, we wanted , thought we needed you to.
So, we took matters into our own hands. made ourselves a god, a god that looked like we thought it should, would do what we wanted it to.
And we worshipped it, the god of our own making, our design, to meet our purposes.
Forgive me Lord, when I have failed to wait for you, your time, your best ways.
When I have taken things into my own hands tried to make you be like I want you to be, to look like the kind of God I think I need.
When I have made you in my image and offered my all, my precious gifts to that poor imitation.
May I learn to wait for you, for your timing, not try to force you hand, but to live by your ways, for you are God, the only God I need, the only one worthy of my praise and worship.
The Golden Calf
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’ So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mould, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.’ They rose early the next day, and offered burnt-offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.’
But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, “It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth”? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.” ’ And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
