11th August 2024 10.30am – 11th Sunday after Trinity – Eucharist

The Readings

Ephesians 4.25-5.2

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

John 6.35 and 6.41-51

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

Scripture Quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Sermon
By Kath, Reader at St Mary's.

I’d like to begin by asking you all a question, I’m not expecting an answer, it’s more something for you to mull over in your own time. The question is this, “what sort of person do you see yourself as”? I’m pretty sure that most of us like to think that we’re reasonable, honest and decent, maybe kind and compassionate, understanding, perhaps patient and tolerant. We probably hope that others regard us favourably as good or even nice people and it can hurt when we’re misunderstood or misrepresented as somehow being bad people.

What set me thinking about all this was when I first looked at our reading from Ephesians a few weeks ago and the line that stood out to me was the one about anger. I have never considered myself to be a particularly angry person but on reflection I do get riled up at bad or unjust situations. Let’s face it, in our messy, troubled world, there is a lot to get angry about. Perhaps as one commentator put it “there is almost too much to get angry about “ and it can be both exhausting and dispiriting. I’ve always been interested in current and political affairs both at home and throughout the world and sadly there is a great deal that is worrying and distressing. When there seems to be so little that I and most of us can do to change things for the better, I can find myself feeling angry. Now anger at something that is bad or wrong or unjust isn’t necessarily a bad thing; perhaps I should feel angry, but the danger comes when all too easily it tips into being judgmental, especially when I don’t know all the facts or the full story. Fortunately my moments of anger don’t cause me to start attacking others or destroying anything; I generally confine my responses to shouting at the radio or television or discussing the matter with whoever I’m with or writing to the appropriate body. I don’t doubt that there are an awful lot of people who feel and respond similarly. A big problem comes though when angry and frustrated people, who feel they’re not being listened to and their concerns not taken seriously, are hijacked by others with ulterior and malicious motives and whipped into a state of uncontrollable anger which they proceed to act on in some form of violence. We’ve seen some appalling examples of this in our own towns and cities following the truly awful stabbing of some little girls and the adults trying to protect them at a dance class in Southport and the death of three of those little girls. People were rightly appalled and outraged by this but most tried to show their support for those involved by an outpouring of sorrow and prayer. But other used it as an opportunity to foment trouble by misrepresenting the facts and stirring up hatred against groups of people they don’t like.

When I saw the terrible scenes of the riots on the news I almost instinctively thought “what horrible people, why are they behaving so disgustingly and hurting so many others, especially the families of those killed and injured in the Southport incident “? But again I had to pull myself back from being judgmental and seriously ask the question, why? Some of those involved in rioting were of ill intent, others were taking the opportunity for committing crimes, some were enjoying causing trouble and fighting but some were people who wouldn’t ordinarily behave this way. They have legitimate concerns but feel unheard and disregarded. Some, who didn’t actually riot have said as much and that they are tired of being misrepresented as bad people when they try to express their concerns.

It’s easy and tempting to rush to judgment but it’s seldom a good response to any situation. What I have made a conscious effort to do for sometime now is step back from my immediate angry or judgmental feelings and try to see the fuller picture and understand why people are behaving as they do, even if I still profoundly disagree with them. If I still feel anger, at least I’m better informed and have a better understanding and appreciation of what is going on. How can we put things right if our own anger and rash reactions just add more fuel to the fire? If we can all try to step back and take a moment to think before we judge, just maybe we can find some more constructive ways forward.

There are many more people in the places affected by the riots and disorder who have stood against what has been happening and said “not in our name”. They have got together to defend and protect those being targeted and they have cleaned up the mess left behind. They have comforted and cared for each other and shown the best in human nature which is so much stronger and more precious than the worst. I’m heartened by the growing willingness of people to understand that we don’t have to hate, vilify and crush those with whom we don’t agree, in spite of what some would have us believe. This was epitomised by a woman carrying a placard after the riots in Southport which read “Hope not hate” and a group of men from a mosque who offered food and conversation to those demonstrating against them.

In our very troubled world, the advice in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is as desperately relevant and needed as ever so I’m going to end by repeating it. Listen carefully to every line.

“So then, putting away all falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with malice, and be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Amen.

The Prayers
Prepared by Veronica.

In the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ, let us pray to the Father.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you promised through your Son, Jesus Christ, to hear us when
we pray in faith.
We pray for the Church worldwide, that all who profess the Christian faith may work together to
further your kingdom, support others, and bring about peace and cooperation among all people.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for the world. We thank you for our wonderful planet, and that we may care for it to pass it
on in good health to future generations. May those fleeing climate change or war always find a
welcome in our own country. We thank you for the Olympic Games which have brought together so
many athletes from all over the world to compete with each other and congratulate each other as
they win medals.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for this City of Sheffield, our community of Walkley, and for all who serve on the Council or
teach in our local schools. We thank you that we are able to provide a local venue for many of the
activities that happen here.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer,

We pray for all who are ill at this time, holding in our hearts those known to us, and those injured in
wars across the Middle East or in Russia or Ukraine. We pray also for those injured in the knife attack
in Southport recently.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for all who have died, whether recently or many years ago. We pray for all attending the
first funeral today of one of the victims of the stabbings in Southport, Alice, and especially for all the
grieving parents. We pray also for the victims of the plane crash in Brazil, and also those killed in the
recent bombing of Gaza.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer,

Rejoicing in the fellowship of Mary, Mark, John and all your saints, we commend ourselves and all
your people to your unfailing love.

Merciful Father,
Accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

St Marys Walkley

The Church on the Road: inclusive, eucharistic, a safe place to be with God

11th August 2024 10.30am – 11th Sunday after Trinity – Eucharist