Daily ScriptureLet mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13 1-2)Daily ReflectionHospitality is one of the sectors that has suffered the most during this pandemic. Hospitality was a highly valued act in the time of Jesus and after, especially among the newly formed Christians. Welcoming the stranger is how we show what it means to love. Welcoming the stranger means giving them a place to sleep & providing food. Christian communities continue this hospitality today; monasteries, convents, communities, even churches are open to welcoming the stranger through offering sanctuary to pilgrims - showing them that Christ means love. What a wonderful feeling it will be when we feel safe and able to fling open our doors and welcome people into our homes and offer hospitality again, not only to our nearest and dearest but to those unknown to us - because you never know who you might be entertaining.Lyn Hayes, ALM
Daily ScriptureVery truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)Daily ReflectionWhat a very simple farming image to understand: the grain of wheat needs to be planted in order to produce more grain. (If it’s left in a sack, it stays as just one grain.) Metaphorically, the seed of grain dies; it is then transformed, grows, and produces much more than one grain of wheat. Easy to understand.Jesus used these words as he was speaking to his disciples, trying to get them to understand why he must die. Suddenly this moves from a farming story to thinking about life and death…..and life once more! This is the kernel (if you’ll forgive the pun!) of what we are thinking about in Lent; of what we are preparing ourselves for in Holy Week, before celebrating the joy or the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Will Jesus’ death bear much fruit in you? Revd David
Daily ScriptureWho is like the Lord our God, that has his throne so high, yet humbles himself to behold the things of heaven and earth? (Psalm 113.5)Daily ReflectionJust nine months to Christmas! Today is the traditional Feast of the Annunciation, marking the time when the ‘ordinary’ girl Mary became pregnant with the extraordinary child who was to be a colossal figure in world history – the man who was lifted up on a cross, looking down with the eyes of God and offering forgiveness. The idea that God is powerful is familiar enough – here the focus is on the humility of God, God side by side with criminals, God in the cemetery, God with us wherever and whatever. “He that is down needs fear no fall. He that is low, no pride. He that is humble ever shall Have God to be his guide.” (John Bunyan in The Pilgrim’s Progress) David Harmsworth
Daily ScriptureHappy the one whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.Happy the one to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psalm 32 v 1-2)Daily Reflection I think that it is very liberating to know that when we are truly sorry for the things we have done wrong, God will forgive us. Modern medicine has shown that when we suppress our sins, worries, guilt or anxiety it manifests itself in physical symptoms - sometimes not showing up for months or even years later. If we have confessed, then God has forgiven. That doesn’t mean we forget what we did wrong, but we move on and refuse to allow it to define us. But how many of us continue to carry around that guilt? It is almost as if, despite God’s forgiveness, we can’t forgive ourselves - but God does not want us to feel guilty, he loves us too much for that - so let it go - and feel liberated. Lyn Hayes ALM
