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Musing on Mark 6,30 to 34 and 53 to the end.4 The costs of following Jesus Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. You may find this weeks Gospel reading somewhat curious as it seems to miss out the best bits – no feeding of 5000, no walking on water. Instead we get what at first sight might seem to be...

Musing on Mark 6, 14 to 29 One question comes to mind when we read this passage – why did Mark, who is very selective in what he writes in his short Gospel, want to find space for this story? Why do you think it is important. What does he want us to learn from it? Herod Antipas, one of the 3 sons of Herod the Great (of ‘killing Bethlehem babies’ fame) was ‘king’, aka in charge, of the Roman administrative region of Galilee. He’d married his brother Philips ex-wife, Herodias, and John the Baptist had called him out on it in his preaching sessions in the wilderness (see Lev.18:15-16). Antipas couldn’t have his name disrespected like that so he had John arrested and brought to Machaerus, his hilltop fortress, presumably to ‘deal with him’. But then Antipas found that he liked listening to John. What he said coupled with his righteousness and holiness perplexed Antipas. Now I suspect that it was...

Musing on Mark 6, 1 to 13.           Do you believe and trust……..? Jesus returned to Nazareth, where he was brought up and worked, only to find that there was some truth in the saying ‘familiarity breeds contempt’. What’s your experience of ‘going back’ - to a school reunion, a former workplace, a ‘home town’? Was the expectation that you/people would still be exactly the same? Did you feel people didn’t want you to have ‘moved on’? As a good Jew Jesus went to the synagogue on the sabbath. Everyone went as it was a social time, a place to discuss civic matters as well as the scriptures and to share the gossip. There could be up to six readings, the leader of the synagogue picking the scroll to be read from and inviting people who could to read from it. As it was written in Hebrew there was also someone who translated it into Aramaic as it was read. Visitors were sometimes...

Musing on Mark 5, we to the end Shame overcome = faith? As a trustee of Thame Foodbank I’ve learnt that the main obstacle that people in need have to overcome in order to ask for help is shame - shame that they have failed to provide for their family, shame that they have to admit to it to strangers, shame that they have to admit to it to their children. Shame is a powerful force affecting our behaviour in society and it’s shame that the two people in our reading have to overcome to ask Jesus for help. Jairus was the leader of a synagogue, a public position of great honour and social standing. Synagogues we’re not necessarily buildings but could be just the village meeting place. Here people would discuss both scripture and village life – the blessings and difficulties of both. Social and religious life was inseparable. The leader of the synagogue would supervise public works, local laws,  the schooling...

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Musing on Mark 4, 26 to 34 This week we have 2 of Jesus parables of the Kingdom. What do you make of the first (26-29)? Is God the sower and reaper? Is the ground us? What represents the kingdom of God? Or is it simple illustrating that the kingdom of God is about the mysterious power of the seed itself, germinating in the ground and growing away all by itself?   The parable of the mustard seed is familiar enough but what is it telling us about the kingdom of God? Mustard had to be carefully controlled. From small seeds it grew wild and invasive and could take over your garden! A good image of the kingdom of God? It’s black seeds are popular with the birds! (An image of the kingdom of God providing for its populations, and for all birds, the clean and the unclean scavengers? (no scarecrows in Gods kingdom!) Left alone it can grow to around 3m high – modest but everywhere!...

Musing on Mark 3, 20 to the end family matters When I told my mum that I was giving up my architectural practice and entering the ministry full time, she thought I was mad to give up  the ‘safety’ of a profession (this quite overlooked that this ‘safe’ profession had been through a period of over 50% unemployment less than 10 years previously from which I had been extremely fortunate to survive with only small debt). ‘Can’t you do it in your spare time like you are now?’ (I was a reader) she asked. But as some of you will know, when God calls you, there’s little choice but to follow your vocation. Has your family ever told you that they think you’re crazy, an extremist, taking things to far as you try to live as a follower of Jesus? In the first couple of chapters of Mark we see Jesus response to his vocation. He tours through Galilee healing the sick, driving out...

This Sunday Messy Church will be back at Chearsley Village Hall (outside).  We still can’t offer you food, but if you bring a picnic and blanket, we would love to sit and eat “together” at the end. Our theme is “Toilet Twinning” so we will be doing lots of crafts and games based on toilets! Can you lob a loo roll into a loo? Throw a dice and race to build a compost loo Make poo out of Weetabix, then plop it into the compost loo, adding sawdust to stop the smell Play a memory game with all the bathroom items we take for granted Get messy with toilet paper and glue as we make a collage together Hear the story of Rachel, a schoolgirl from Africa, whose life was transformed by a toilet. Write your prayers graffiti style on the back of a toilet door Spend  a penny – can you get your pennies into the glass jar We would love...

John 15, 26 to 27 and 16, 4b to 15 The Spirit of truth and conscience. It’s a long time since I’ve read any Dom Camilo books, but the abiding image in my mind, rightly or wrongly, is of a priest with two small people, one on each shoulder, whispering in his ear, good thoughts from one side, temptations from the other. It echos Paul’s writings about his inner battles between what he wants and what God wants of him. Some call that inner voice that makes us feel uncomfortable when we act in selfish and unloving ways our ‘conscience’. Jesus makes clear that this is the Holy Spirit at work. I suggest that the Spirit is at work in people in this way whether one is a believer or not. What do you think? Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as ‘the Helper’. He also calls him (I use the convention of ‘he/him’ though the Bible gives no gender as God is all genders)...

Our commitment as a Benefice is to pray as a community continuously for the 12 hours 07:00 – 19:00. This year we are opening a “virtual prayer room” for bookings, using the 24/7 Prayer site. There is no actual online “room”, those praying promise, by booking a “slot”, to pray during the period they have booked, in their own homes, in private.   The 24/7 Prayer site is a booking system that allows anyone to commit to a “slot” – 30 minutes, 60 minutes or longer – during which time they will pray for whatever is on their minds, whether this be for the benefice, the church, the world.   We simply ask people to commit to actively praying in the slot they choose. The site for booking is on: https://www.24-7prayer.com/emailredirect/b79b48dd646ef0af02646b332a92d855/ There is no need to log-in, simply click on “Book as Guest” and leave your email so we know who’s praying! Thy Kingdom Come is all about praying for people to come to know the amazing, life-transforming love of...