Reflection for the week commencing Sunday 29th January
Scripture:
‘…the word of the Lord endures for ever.’ (Isaiah 40.8, quoted in 1 Peter 1.24-5)
Reflection:
Words, words, words… we need them, and we need them to be flexible, different from numbers. Look up ‘word’ in an English dictionary and there will be examples of many uses; look it up in a foreign language dictionary and you get many alternatives. ‘The word of the Lord’ is not like that, not a spoken or written word, but a universal principle. It’s ‘seen’, ‘heard’, grasped as we experience the love which underpins all life.
The beginning of this quotation goes ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but…’. It might be a message of despair, but let’s turn it on its head. When we see flowers, we think ‘beautiful’; when we encounter someone admirable, when we think on how Jesus lived and died, we recognise ‘goodness’. Of course flowers do not last for ever, nor do our bodies, but in their moment of glorious life, they give us access to the eternal ‘word’ of creative life and love. How wonderful!
David Harmsworth
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“Services” and Prayer:
Please make use of the beautiful quiet space in St. George's Church any day for individual private prayer; prayer resources are available.
Services in January
Sunday 1st
8 am Holy Communion
10 am All-Age Communion
No Choral Evensong Tonight
Sunday 8th
8 am 1662 BCP HolyCommunion
10 am Morning Worship
Sunday 15th
8 am Holy Communion
10 am Sung Eucharist
Sunday 22nd
8 am Holy Communion
10 am Morning Worship
Sunday 29th
8 am Benefice Holy Communion
Mid-week Communion: 10am, Tuesday, at the Mission Church, Sandhurst.
Morning Prayer takes place at St George's at 8am on Mondays and Fridays and at the Mission Church, Back Road, Sandhurst at 8am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Care:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength . . . Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
Now is still a time to care for your neighbour. Please, pick up the phone, speak to them. We are a strong community, a caring community. Together we are getting through this.
Finally, I encourage you to use these prayers when you get up and when you go to bed:
A prayer in the morning:
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your disciples, ‘I am with you always’. Be with me today, as I offer myself to you. Hear my prayers for others and for myself, and keep me in your care. Amen.
A prayer in the evening:
God our Father, by whose mercy the world turns safely into darkness and returns again to light,:we place in your hands our unfinished tasks, our unsolved problems, and our unfulfilled hopes, knowing that only what you bless will prosper. To your love and protection we commit each other and all those we love, knowing that you alone are our sure defender, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Keep safe. Keep well. Keep praying. God bless you. With love, David