Hello everyone,
Welcome to the latest issue of our church newsletter. Our newsletter is sent out regularly to share reflections from services, Bible readings and church news with our church family. You can find previous issues on our church website here.
We would love to hear from you and are always looking for uplifting and encouraging content to share in future issues of this newsletter. If you have any ideas or content that we can share, please do email them to Louise (publicity@christchurchuxbridge.org.uk)
There will be no newsletter next week due to the school half-term break. The next newsletter will be sent out on 8 November.
Opening Prayer
Lord God, you are awesome beyond measure
and we are so small in comparison,
yet you welcome us into your presence.
Reveal yourself to us today:
help us to see who you are.
As we bow down before the God of the universe,
the God of love beyond our understanding,
help us to worship you.
Amen.
(Taken from Roots)
Reflection from 20 October
Readings – Isaiah 53:4-12 and Mark 10:32-45
I wanted to introduce another word to you, which is goat – not the four-legged kind, but the acronym GOAT. Does anybody know what it means? Greatest of all time, yes, excellent. So, thinking of the greatest of all time. I wonder who you might say if I asked you who was the greatest of all time football player or the greatest of all time movie star, or the greatest of all time music artist? Those who know me well will know who I’m thinking of Taylor Swift. How about greatest of all time politician or is that too contentious?
In today’s New Testament reading we have James and John wanting to be the greatest disciples of all time. Let’s set the scene: we’re on the way to Jerusalem, we’ve got Jesus striding out ahead, his face set for what he is facing. He’s facing his final days, the Passion, the crucifixion: the turning over the Temple tables, the Last Supper, the arrest, the trials, the mocking humiliation, flogging, and death on a cross.
Jesus is heading to Jerusalem to face what lies ahead. The rest of the disciples are struggling along behind him, you know like when you go on a hike, there’s usually the people at the front, the keen ones striding on and everybody else is sort of straggling up. Maybe in a way this is literal and figurative. Maybe, you know, Jesus’s faith position: he was confident he was going ahead to the eclipse of his ministry, the final moments that bring it all together, but the disciples were struggling to keep up not only as he strode out, but also to understand what did it mean to be a disciple?
What did it mean that Jesus was heading off to this; that he was going to be the Messiah? Perhaps also we have the sense that as Jesus draws nearer to this ordeal, the disciples did not draw nearer to their understanding. Mark has Jesus tell us that he’s going to be delivered over to the chief priests and the lawyers, condemned to death, handed to the Gentiles, mocked, flogged and killed, but will rise again in three days.
Now this is not the first time that Mark has had Jesus predicts his death. It happens in Mark 8, Mark 9, and Mark 10. The actual chapter numbers weren’t introduced until the 13th century, so when Mark wrote this, think that in the previous three substantive narrative passages he has this prediction of the death, and interestingly the prediction becomes increasingly specific in each telling.
In Mark 8 he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, the teachers of the law; that he must be killed, and after 3 days will rise again. In Mark 9 the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him, and when he is killed after 3 days he will rise. Now in today’s reading, in Mark 10, we’re going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law, they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.
Mark narrates that Jesus told the disciples three times. Three times. It’s a bit like Samuel. Samuel was called by the Lord three times. It’s a bit like Peter who denied Jesus three times; a bit like in the temptations of Jesus by the devil, there was three episodes. This three-fold repetition has a symbolic significance. It’s highlighting the importance and the certainty of the message being conveyed.
This third prediction in chapter 10 tells how he will be handed over to the Gentiles and thereby killed under the jurisdiction of the Romans, and in this context we have James and John asking for a favour: “we want you to do whatever we ask” What an interesting manipulative way of asking something. Have you ever heard people come to you asking, “will you do a favour for me?” My usual reaction is, “well, it kind of depends, what it is?”
Maybe this also resembles our own prayer life. I mean, how often in our prayers do we really tap into the heart of God and pray what he would have us do, or how often do we present our own list of wants? Whatever we want, give me whatever we want. Jesus is incredibly gracious in his response. He doesn’t fall for the manipulation, he doesn’t outright refuse them. He responds, “okay, tell me what you want me to do for you” and I think there’s an interesting segue here that that God often works with us, often constrains himself to our desires and our convictions. He doesn’t compel his ways upon us, he sort of inhabits the cracks and the small places, makes himself limited by us and our faith and our willingness to do what’s right.
So, James and John, they ask to sit with him in glory; one on his right hand and the other on his left hand. Did they miss what Jesus had just been saying about being delivered over to those who are going to oppose him, being condemned to death, being handed to the Gentiles, being spat upon, mocked, flogged and killed? They jumped straight to the glory part, wanting to be part of that, to be seen as the greatest disciples of all time. I often hear people moaning about the younger generation wanting instant gratification. I think it’s been part of human nature for a lot longer, and here’s the two disciples wanting that here. Jesus answers, “you don’t know what you’re asking, can you really drink the cup I drink and be baptised as I was?”
The cup and the baptism, let’s think about these. As Old Testament imagery of suffering and death, the cup is often figuratively the cup of God’s wrath and judgment, so the cup of God’s judgment would be what happens when a holy war happens and people are vanquished. As for the baptism, thinking about a people who often were not swimmers, the idea of water being over you, completely submerging you, really symbolises death. Can we drink the cup he drinks and be baptised like him? Well, they said, “yes, we can.” Maybe they don’t know what they’re saying, but Jesus anchors on yes: “yes, you will, you will drink this cup and be baptised in this way,” but Jesus then goes on to say it’s not for him to choose to whom the honour of being the greatest disciple of all time will be given. On Earth, Jesus is subservient to the Father, constrained in what is he is able to do or say.
How did all the other disciples feel about this? The other ten, I think they’d be pretty hacked off with James and John pulling a fast one and going off trying to get a better position than the rest of them. Maybe they were frustrated not to have done it first, maybe they lost that first move of advantage, so Jesus calls them all together and the phrase here is actually more like an order for a mandatory meeting. Do you ever get those emails at work going you must attend, this is mandatory, or the headteacher calls everybody together: there will be direction, you will be told. Jesus explains how other rulers exercise authority over them, but here in God’s kingdom is completely different. Whoever wants to be great must be your servant, whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all, and how the Son of Man, Jesus the Messiah, didn’t come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
A ransom for many. The language of a ransom is often used in the sense of a compensation for a personal injury, or as a compensation for a crime, or purchasing the freedom of an enslaved relative, or the price paid for the equivalent of the sacrifice of a firstborn. I kind of think that with many of the metaphors, they break if you put too much pressure on them, so I try not myself to think about the ransom in terms of modern day hostage negotiation, where you might start thinking who is paying it unto whom. I don’t think that’s a helpful way of exploring this. I think it’s better to think in terms of many being liberated, and the gift of great value, the notion of getting back many, so that sense of a fundamental payment being made, a great gift.
The lectionary has positioned the story that we’ve read about James and John alongside the song of the suffering servant in Isaiah. The suffering servant in Isaiah 53 has long been embraced by early Christian interpreters as a prophecy or a prediction of the suffering and death of Jesus, and perhaps it was in the mind of the Gospel writer Mark. Interestingly, the verse before the ones we had read today actually talked about in Isaiah 53:3 the suffering servant being despised and shunned of people, a man of sorrows visited by illness, whereas there’s no biblical record of Jesus ever being ill or unwell. Some Jewish theologians would actually interpret the suffering servant story as not so much Jesus the Messiah, but the nation of Israel itself, so I would hold the Servant Song less as a literal prediction but more of a theological template for interpreting the death of Jesus.
We have in verse 10: “yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin.” This notion of substitution, that through the death of one others are saved, isn’t a new line of thought for the Israelites or in Isaiah, it was enshrined in the law of Moses. Lambs and other animals are often sacrificed for atonement offerings in the place of sinners and this is no different, except it’s the suffering servant being broken and killed to heal their broken relationship with God.
Finally, the last verses of both the Old Testament and New Testament readings have two words for many. In Isaiah we have “for he bore the sin of many”, and in Mark we have “to give his life a ransom for many.” Not for the few, but for the many. Not just for the disciples or all the Israelites, but many. Many are all of us: all of us who have sinned or fallen short of God’s glory, every last one of us, all of us here today.
So, in closing, how do we seek greatness? Do we seek greatness by pursuing status and titles or accepting the status of a slave? Is it by seeking to be honoured or accepting humiliation? Is it by being seen to be in command or being the servant? I think, as the passage shows Jesus worked with James and John as they allowed. I think perhaps God limits herself and works through our faith and as our conviction allows. How much do we allow God to work with us? Maybe we could ask ourselves a question: if we were to be the greatest disciple of our lifetime, what would that mean?
Neil Mackin
Readings for 27 October
Mark 10: 46-52
Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Further readings from the lectionary this week are as follows:
- Jeremiah 31: 7-9
- Psalm 126
- Hebrews 7: 23-28
Readings for 3 November
Mark 12: 28-34
The Greatest Commandment
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
Further readings from the lectionary this week are as follows:
- Deuteronomy 6: 1-9
- Psalm 119: 1-8
- Hebrews 9: 11-14
Our worship
We meet at 11am for our Sunday services, which are also live-streamed on our YouTube channel. If you wish to view our services online, you can find them at https://www.youtube.com/@christchurchuxbridge
You can also view a recent service on our church website. Our service this week will be a communion service led by our minister, Revd Wilbert Sayimani. You can find the order of service here.
If you are unable to join us in person or online for our Sunday services, but would like to receive a recording of them on a memory stick to watch at home, please let us know.
Forthcoming services
27 October – Revd Wilbert Sayimani – Holy Communion
3 November – Christ Church worship group
10 November – Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler (Methodist minister) – Remembrance Sunday (10.50am)
17 November – Neil Mackin (Christ Church member and trainee URC lay preacher)
The Wind in the Willows
Wednesday 30 October – Saturday 2 November 2024
Winston Churchill Theatre, Ruislip
Take a trip down the riverbank with the musical of this family favourite.
Based on Kenneth Grahame’s best-selling children’s book, with a script by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, The Wind in the Willows follows Mole, Rat, Badger, and the impulsive Mr. Toad, whose insatiable need for speed lands him in serious trouble. With his beloved home under threat from the notorious Chief Weasel and his gang of sinister Wild Wooders, Toad must attempt a daring escape leading to a series of misadventures and a heroic battle to recapture Toad Hall.
Full of wit, a gorgeous, soaring score from Stiles & Drewe, and heartwarming lessons of friendship, this riotous comedy is perfect for family audiences.
Several people from Christ Church are appearing in this production: Louise (Mole), Sophie (Hedgehog Child/Ensemble), Lawrence (Mr Squirrel/Ensemble) and Caitlin (Horse/Ensemble).
Tickets can be booked online at www.wos-productions.org.uk or by phone (07391 988077) (booking fees apply). Audience members requiring wheelchair spaces should contact the WOS Box Office (07391 988077).
Show times
Wednesday 30 October – Saturday 2 November 2024
Wednesday – Friday times: 19:30
Saturday times: 13:30; 18:30
Tickets cost £18 for adults, £16 for concessions and £14 for children. A group family booking is available – groups of 6 or more that include at least 2 children will receive £1 off each ticket. Contact the WOS Box Office to find out more!
Children’s Corner
Dates for your diary
2024 | |
30 October | Welcome Wednesday |
13 November | Welcome Wednesday |
24 November | Congregational Meeting |
27 November | Welcome Wednesday |
11 December | Welcome Wednesday |
2025 | |
8 January | Welcome Wednesday |
22 January | Welcome Wednesday |
Praying for other churches
w/c 27 October
This week we hold the following churches in our prayers:
- Northwood Methodist
- St John’s, Northwood URC
- St Margaret’s, Uxbridge
w/c 3 November
This week we hold the following churches in our prayers:
- Pinner Methodist
- Wembley Park URC
- St Andrew’s, Uxbridge
Closing prayer
Lord, send me out to love my family ‘actually’.
Help me to love my friends ‘actually’.
Give me grace to love my colleagues and classmates ‘actually’.
Show me where I can actually love the strangers who cross my path.
Help me to love in whatever way ‘actually’ means this week.
Amen.
(Taken from The Vine)