Sunday Reflections
by Carolyn Rutherford
Transfiguration
Exodus 24.12-18; Psalms 2; 2 Peter 1.16-21; Matthew 17.1-9
“For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.” Ex 24.16
When was the last time that you took time out for an extended, dedicated time, to seek the Lord? Did you go away? Did you attend an organised “Retreat”? Were you on your own or with others? Have you ever booked yourself into a Motel, or camp ground on your own, deliberately to just meditate, listen and Love God? Would you want to?
If we want to experience spiritual transformation we need to give time and effort to it. Hear the call to come away up the mountain. And when you do, don’t ignore it or put it off. Put the pans you need to into place; book a location, get someone else to look after things while you are away, get ahead in your work, and do whatever else you need to do to take time out.
Make the journey. (It is possible to have a prayer day at home, but if you try to do longer than that familiar jobs and people will start to distract you.) There is a transition time in travelling that can be very important. It becomes the transitioning from busy rush, to expectant quiet. Enjoy the journey, perhaps listen to some music that focus your mind and heart on God, but also allow some silence to prepare your mind.
What do you do when you get there? Wait. Pray. Listen. Watch. Wait. It can help to take some spiritual reading with you, but take more than one book as what you need when you get there may not be what you thought you would. Consult a spiritual director for guidance, but remember what they suggest is only a guide, use it or leave it at God directs. Use art, photography and journaling to focus your mind and spirit. But don’t get busy, listen, wait, let go of the noise, rest in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Allow the cloud to envelop you, hear God’s voice, and be transformed.
Epiphany 5
Isaiah 58.1-9; Ps 112; 1 Cor 2.1-13; Matt 5.13-20
“Blessed be the person who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.” Ps 112.1
Today’s readings are about actions and faith. We have a tendency to believe that good people will be blessed and that bad people will not triumph. Yet our world is full of examples to the contrary. In many cultures there is the belief that if you work hard and do good, you will succeed, yet we all know of people who have just been lucky - or unlucky. Christ teaches us that we cannot earn salvation, and that our righteousness is a gift of God’s grace. Jesus warns us that “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5.16 Without Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we simply can’t be good enough to earn salvation.
Paul says we are justified by faith. (Gal 3.24) James says, faith without action is dead. (Jam 2.17)In the Isaiah reading today, God is saying that fasting and religious adherence to the law is pointless while greed and selfishness motivate us. Always there is this play between our actions and our belief. Good deeds do not earn salvation or blessings. But drawing near to God, being “of one mind with the Holy Spirit” will so influence our souls, our love and our motivation, that we will do good. We will see the needs of others and help where we can. We will treat others with dignity and compassion. We will see and be thankful for the many blessings we have and the great beauty around us.
We do not do our good deeds to be noticed or to become more blessed. But what we do will affect others. Light should not, and cannot, be hidden. Light is not to be looked at, but to enable us to see. If a light is drawing attention to itself it is not doing its job of illuminating the area. We do good, not to be seen, but because Christ makes us good, and shines through us.
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Malachi 3.1-4; Ps 24; Hebrews 2.14-18; Luke 2.22-40
“But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap.” (Mal 3.2)
In our hearts there is a longing for God. In our lives we hope to see the Salvation of Christ. In our dreams we see wrongs righted and problems solved by the intervention of Jesus. We pray to see things changed. Other people changed. Situations changed. But do we really want to be changed? Do we want Jesus to reveal the thoughts of our hearts? (Lk 2.35)
When the Holy Spirit comes upon us there is great joy and wonder. Our eyes are opened, our souls are revitalised and it is amazing! Then as we, like Jesus, grow strong, gracious and wise (Lk 2. 40) we also discover that being a follower of Christ requires some soul refining and some heart cleansing. This is not a one off event, but an ongoing transformation. It is not to be feared, but it is to be reverenced.
In the presences of true holiness and infinite greatness, our self inflated ego and our self righteous justifications – wilt. If who we are is any kind of pretence, the facade will burn. The dirt that we have gathered for ourselves, as well as the mud that others have thrown at us will not be able to withstand the Launderer’s soap. There is healing and forgiveness even for the most broken among us.
Jesus, as a first born Jewish Male, was consecrated to the Lord. (Lk 2.23) We may not be Jewish or first born or Male but we still belong to the Lord. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” (Ps 24.1) The one we long for is already here; loving us, holding us, leading us, and inviting us to grow strong, gracious and wise. Will you take up the challenge? Will you submit to the refiner’s fire and the Launderer’s soap?
Difference and Agreement
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions amongst you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.” (1Cor1.10)
Paul asks that we be in agreement and have no divisions amongst us. But does that mean we must all conform? A quarrelling, splitting Church is a very poor witnesses. But so is a church lead by an egotistical dictator and attended by brainwashed fanatics. Outsiders are just glad not to be part of it.
The problem is that though we are saved Christians we are still fallible, fragile humans. We still long for a way to feel important and often we use our faith as a means to attain this. Not only do some believe that faith make us better than those ‘heathen Philistines’ but some believe their faith is better because they have a special gift, or a particular ministry, or were converted by a famous evangelist, or up hold the bible better, or do more charitable deeds. Those truly great have no need to belittle others. They have no need to compete. They are more concerned with how they can share their skill and what they might learn from others.
There will always be differences between us. God made us all different so this should not be surprising. God also gives each of us different gifts, different calls, different ministries and different revelations at different times in our life. What is life changing to one, may be a given for another, and of little concern to someone else. The way we like to worship may be meaningless to some while their approach may be unsettling to us. So do we all need to compromise so that we can be without divisions? Of course not!!! Difference should be embraced, celebrated and well co-ordinated so that God is honoured in many glorious ways. Difference should be respected and challenge us to grow. Difference should not mean division or superiority - difference is what makes us a functioning body of Christ. There is no need for us to inflict our call, passion or theological revelation on others, but there is a need to express such things, listen, learn from each other and encourage, challenge, and prayerfully support each other as we each try to follow Jesus as we are individually being guided. May we rejoice in our differences and uphold the same mind and the same purpose as Christ.
Epiphany 3
25th January 2026
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Repent. We have been taught that to repent is to be, and to feel and to say that we are sorry for the wrong we have done, thought and said. Indeed this is true, and this is what we do each week together in our confession and privately at home in our prayers. But the word Repent took on a whole new light for me when I read a book by Richard Rour who said that the words for repent could also be translated as “re- see” or “see differently”.
How we see is what we see. We see what we are looking for. The attitudes, biases and expectations we have, affect what we see. If we think someone is wonderful we will see everything they do as wonderful and be their loyal fan. If we think that our team is the best, we will sight all the reasons to justify this and ignore or argue away any other options. If we believe the world is against us, we will find justification for our failure and victimization. If we believe we should have something, we will start to see it everywhere and want it more – oh, and don’t the advertisers know it!
So, as Christians, how is Jesus asking us to see?
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” We are to look at the world with the knowledge that the kingdom of heaven has come near. What is the kingdom of heaven? Well we could look at revelations and the depiction of the holy masses united in worship of our great God. But that is future, what about here, now, the “kingdom of heaven that is near.” Remember that God is love. God’s kingdom is one where Love is primary. God’s love is near to us, here with us, now within you through the Holy Spirit. So if we are to see differently, the differently Jesus is showing us, is to see through the lens of love.
What do we repent of? What makes what we have done or said or though, wrong? Why do we think we have failed and need to do better? Are the things we confess each week in repentance the things that the Law says are wrong, or the things that society says are wrong, or the things that religion say are wrong, or the things our parents taught us are wrong? Sometimes, sort of. Should we confess every week so that we remember what lowlifes we are and so we don’t try to get above our station as plebs in this world? History show that repentance has certainly been used for that purpose by unscrupulous leaders, and still is in many places.
But let us come back to the idea of seeing differently through the lens of love. Love truly changes the way we see. Naturally we tend to take care of self first. Greed and insecurity and a need to prove oneself, keep us striving and may even lead to lies, half truths and cheating. Sometimes we simply don’t see the needs of others or have any concern for them. We are too busy with our own lives and self concerns. So often we don’t even see or hear others at all. Love sees differently.
Our act of repentance is a time of reflection. It is a moment to relook at the events of our lives and the attitudes of our heart and draw near to God. We draw near to receive God’s love and grace, and with that comes a different understanding of who we are and what we do. And it is beautiful! It brings healing and transformation. It brings union with God, a deepening of love. This becomes our measure of right and wrong. As St Augustine said, “Love God, and do as you like.” If we truly love God, what we want and what we do and how we pray will be motivated purely by love. There is no need for law and specifics when Love reigns. There is no need of self justification and excuses when we try to explain our actions to God. When we repent we receive love, we see love, give love, and grow in love. The great lawyer and judge of all, asks only one question. “Did you love?”
Paul tells us that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God! Our capitalistic world runs on Greed. Now more than ever! Our world sees value only in monetary terms. Our usefulness depends on how much money we make or can make for others. Our class system has become more elite than ever: with only .00001% of people holding all the power and wealth, and the rest of us being their “consumers”, “workers”, “citizens” and “share holders.” That’s right they don’t even use their own money to make money, they use ours! Even in countries where they teach that everyone is equal – some appear to be more “equal” than others. Trade is no longer about the fair exchange of one product for another, trade is about using money to make more money, seeing the earth only as resources be exploited, sold, made into things that make money and then thrown away. Economic growth has become all important, but do we really need more, and when will we have enough. We already produce more food than the world can consume but people still go hungry and others become obese and ill - All so that the elite few can become even richer. Love is seen as weakness in our world. Our lusts make us vulnerable and more easily manipulated. Greed is killing us, and our earth, our trust, our facts, and our health. See differently. Repent. Let the kingdom of heaven draw near.
Love does not make sense in our greed driven world. But it is our power, it is what saves us, it is hope and it is truth. Love brings healing and wholeness. Love sees beauty where others only see resources to be exploited. Love sees friends where others only see customers and plebs. Love dawns in our hearts with the one true light, while others hide from their darkness with neon lights. Love shows us the truth when others manipulate the facts. Love is our wisdom and it is so much deeper than doctrine, fear and greed.
As the psalmist has taught us, there is one thing to ask of the Lord, one thing to seek all the days of our lives,
“That we may dwell in the house of the Lord, and behold the beauty of God, and seek him in his temple.” The Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near. Repent.
Exodus 24.12-18; Psalms 2; 2 Peter 1.16-21; Matthew 17.1-9
“For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.” Ex 24.16
When was the last time that you took time out for an extended, dedicated time, to seek the Lord? Did you go away? Did you attend an organised “Retreat”? Were you on your own or with others? Have you ever booked yourself into a Motel, or camp ground on your own, deliberately to just meditate, listen and Love God? Would you want to?
If we want to experience spiritual transformation we need to give time and effort to it. Hear the call to come away up the mountain. And when you do, don’t ignore it or put it off. Put the pans you need to into place; book a location, get someone else to look after things while you are away, get ahead in your work, and do whatever else you need to do to take time out.
Make the journey. (It is possible to have a prayer day at home, but if you try to do longer than that familiar jobs and people will start to distract you.) There is a transition time in travelling that can be very important. It becomes the transitioning from busy rush, to expectant quiet. Enjoy the journey, perhaps listen to some music that focus your mind and heart on God, but also allow some silence to prepare your mind.
What do you do when you get there? Wait. Pray. Listen. Watch. Wait. It can help to take some spiritual reading with you, but take more than one book as what you need when you get there may not be what you thought you would. Consult a spiritual director for guidance, but remember what they suggest is only a guide, use it or leave it at God directs. Use art, photography and journaling to focus your mind and spirit. But don’t get busy, listen, wait, let go of the noise, rest in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Allow the cloud to envelop you, hear God’s voice, and be transformed.
Epiphany 5
Isaiah 58.1-9; Ps 112; 1 Cor 2.1-13; Matt 5.13-20
“Blessed be the person who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.” Ps 112.1
Today’s readings are about actions and faith. We have a tendency to believe that good people will be blessed and that bad people will not triumph. Yet our world is full of examples to the contrary. In many cultures there is the belief that if you work hard and do good, you will succeed, yet we all know of people who have just been lucky - or unlucky. Christ teaches us that we cannot earn salvation, and that our righteousness is a gift of God’s grace. Jesus warns us that “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5.16 Without Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we simply can’t be good enough to earn salvation.
Paul says we are justified by faith. (Gal 3.24) James says, faith without action is dead. (Jam 2.17)In the Isaiah reading today, God is saying that fasting and religious adherence to the law is pointless while greed and selfishness motivate us. Always there is this play between our actions and our belief. Good deeds do not earn salvation or blessings. But drawing near to God, being “of one mind with the Holy Spirit” will so influence our souls, our love and our motivation, that we will do good. We will see the needs of others and help where we can. We will treat others with dignity and compassion. We will see and be thankful for the many blessings we have and the great beauty around us.
We do not do our good deeds to be noticed or to become more blessed. But what we do will affect others. Light should not, and cannot, be hidden. Light is not to be looked at, but to enable us to see. If a light is drawing attention to itself it is not doing its job of illuminating the area. We do good, not to be seen, but because Christ makes us good, and shines through us.
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Malachi 3.1-4; Ps 24; Hebrews 2.14-18; Luke 2.22-40
“But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap.” (Mal 3.2)
In our hearts there is a longing for God. In our lives we hope to see the Salvation of Christ. In our dreams we see wrongs righted and problems solved by the intervention of Jesus. We pray to see things changed. Other people changed. Situations changed. But do we really want to be changed? Do we want Jesus to reveal the thoughts of our hearts? (Lk 2.35)
When the Holy Spirit comes upon us there is great joy and wonder. Our eyes are opened, our souls are revitalised and it is amazing! Then as we, like Jesus, grow strong, gracious and wise (Lk 2. 40) we also discover that being a follower of Christ requires some soul refining and some heart cleansing. This is not a one off event, but an ongoing transformation. It is not to be feared, but it is to be reverenced.
In the presences of true holiness and infinite greatness, our self inflated ego and our self righteous justifications – wilt. If who we are is any kind of pretence, the facade will burn. The dirt that we have gathered for ourselves, as well as the mud that others have thrown at us will not be able to withstand the Launderer’s soap. There is healing and forgiveness even for the most broken among us.
Jesus, as a first born Jewish Male, was consecrated to the Lord. (Lk 2.23) We may not be Jewish or first born or Male but we still belong to the Lord. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” (Ps 24.1) The one we long for is already here; loving us, holding us, leading us, and inviting us to grow strong, gracious and wise. Will you take up the challenge? Will you submit to the refiner’s fire and the Launderer’s soap?
Difference and Agreement
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions amongst you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.” (1Cor1.10)
Paul asks that we be in agreement and have no divisions amongst us. But does that mean we must all conform? A quarrelling, splitting Church is a very poor witnesses. But so is a church lead by an egotistical dictator and attended by brainwashed fanatics. Outsiders are just glad not to be part of it.
The problem is that though we are saved Christians we are still fallible, fragile humans. We still long for a way to feel important and often we use our faith as a means to attain this. Not only do some believe that faith make us better than those ‘heathen Philistines’ but some believe their faith is better because they have a special gift, or a particular ministry, or were converted by a famous evangelist, or up hold the bible better, or do more charitable deeds. Those truly great have no need to belittle others. They have no need to compete. They are more concerned with how they can share their skill and what they might learn from others.
There will always be differences between us. God made us all different so this should not be surprising. God also gives each of us different gifts, different calls, different ministries and different revelations at different times in our life. What is life changing to one, may be a given for another, and of little concern to someone else. The way we like to worship may be meaningless to some while their approach may be unsettling to us. So do we all need to compromise so that we can be without divisions? Of course not!!! Difference should be embraced, celebrated and well co-ordinated so that God is honoured in many glorious ways. Difference should be respected and challenge us to grow. Difference should not mean division or superiority - difference is what makes us a functioning body of Christ. There is no need for us to inflict our call, passion or theological revelation on others, but there is a need to express such things, listen, learn from each other and encourage, challenge, and prayerfully support each other as we each try to follow Jesus as we are individually being guided. May we rejoice in our differences and uphold the same mind and the same purpose as Christ.
Epiphany 3
25th January 2026
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Repent. We have been taught that to repent is to be, and to feel and to say that we are sorry for the wrong we have done, thought and said. Indeed this is true, and this is what we do each week together in our confession and privately at home in our prayers. But the word Repent took on a whole new light for me when I read a book by Richard Rour who said that the words for repent could also be translated as “re- see” or “see differently”.
How we see is what we see. We see what we are looking for. The attitudes, biases and expectations we have, affect what we see. If we think someone is wonderful we will see everything they do as wonderful and be their loyal fan. If we think that our team is the best, we will sight all the reasons to justify this and ignore or argue away any other options. If we believe the world is against us, we will find justification for our failure and victimization. If we believe we should have something, we will start to see it everywhere and want it more – oh, and don’t the advertisers know it!
So, as Christians, how is Jesus asking us to see?
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” We are to look at the world with the knowledge that the kingdom of heaven has come near. What is the kingdom of heaven? Well we could look at revelations and the depiction of the holy masses united in worship of our great God. But that is future, what about here, now, the “kingdom of heaven that is near.” Remember that God is love. God’s kingdom is one where Love is primary. God’s love is near to us, here with us, now within you through the Holy Spirit. So if we are to see differently, the differently Jesus is showing us, is to see through the lens of love.
What do we repent of? What makes what we have done or said or though, wrong? Why do we think we have failed and need to do better? Are the things we confess each week in repentance the things that the Law says are wrong, or the things that society says are wrong, or the things that religion say are wrong, or the things our parents taught us are wrong? Sometimes, sort of. Should we confess every week so that we remember what lowlifes we are and so we don’t try to get above our station as plebs in this world? History show that repentance has certainly been used for that purpose by unscrupulous leaders, and still is in many places.
But let us come back to the idea of seeing differently through the lens of love. Love truly changes the way we see. Naturally we tend to take care of self first. Greed and insecurity and a need to prove oneself, keep us striving and may even lead to lies, half truths and cheating. Sometimes we simply don’t see the needs of others or have any concern for them. We are too busy with our own lives and self concerns. So often we don’t even see or hear others at all. Love sees differently.
Our act of repentance is a time of reflection. It is a moment to relook at the events of our lives and the attitudes of our heart and draw near to God. We draw near to receive God’s love and grace, and with that comes a different understanding of who we are and what we do. And it is beautiful! It brings healing and transformation. It brings union with God, a deepening of love. This becomes our measure of right and wrong. As St Augustine said, “Love God, and do as you like.” If we truly love God, what we want and what we do and how we pray will be motivated purely by love. There is no need for law and specifics when Love reigns. There is no need of self justification and excuses when we try to explain our actions to God. When we repent we receive love, we see love, give love, and grow in love. The great lawyer and judge of all, asks only one question. “Did you love?”
Paul tells us that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God! Our capitalistic world runs on Greed. Now more than ever! Our world sees value only in monetary terms. Our usefulness depends on how much money we make or can make for others. Our class system has become more elite than ever: with only .00001% of people holding all the power and wealth, and the rest of us being their “consumers”, “workers”, “citizens” and “share holders.” That’s right they don’t even use their own money to make money, they use ours! Even in countries where they teach that everyone is equal – some appear to be more “equal” than others. Trade is no longer about the fair exchange of one product for another, trade is about using money to make more money, seeing the earth only as resources be exploited, sold, made into things that make money and then thrown away. Economic growth has become all important, but do we really need more, and when will we have enough. We already produce more food than the world can consume but people still go hungry and others become obese and ill - All so that the elite few can become even richer. Love is seen as weakness in our world. Our lusts make us vulnerable and more easily manipulated. Greed is killing us, and our earth, our trust, our facts, and our health. See differently. Repent. Let the kingdom of heaven draw near.
Love does not make sense in our greed driven world. But it is our power, it is what saves us, it is hope and it is truth. Love brings healing and wholeness. Love sees beauty where others only see resources to be exploited. Love sees friends where others only see customers and plebs. Love dawns in our hearts with the one true light, while others hide from their darkness with neon lights. Love shows us the truth when others manipulate the facts. Love is our wisdom and it is so much deeper than doctrine, fear and greed.
As the psalmist has taught us, there is one thing to ask of the Lord, one thing to seek all the days of our lives,
“That we may dwell in the house of the Lord, and behold the beauty of God, and seek him in his temple.” The Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near. Repent.