Too far away from His presence? 19th 07 2026 Pentecost8 proper 11

 2026  07  19  Pentecost 8  Proper 11

Genesis 28.10-19a    Psalm 139.1-11, 23-24    Romans 8.12-25    Matt 1324-30, 36-43

 

One of my favourite psalms tells us; O LORD, you have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.  You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.  God KNOWS us.  How good is it to be truly known, understood and loved?

 

In our readings today we discover that Jacob experienced God’s knowledge of him first-hand.  Jacob lay down in a strange land, afraid that he was being hunted by his brother, and probably quite fairly, as he had deceptively received his father’s blessing.  So here he was away from the familiar, and he was probably feeling vulnerable and far away from God. 

 

Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, had been told by God, that God would make him into a great nation.  Abraham was told that his offspring would be numerous, and most importantly, Abraham was told that all the families of the world would be blessed in him and his offspring.  This blessing was to come through Isaac, the son born miraculously.  Isaac had twin sons, but Esau was the first born.  Jacob had just received the blessing of the first-born, through deceptive means and Esau was angry with him for this fact – murderously so.  Therefore, without accusing the twin brother to his father, his mother had convinced his father that Jacob should go to their relatives in the land of Haran to find a Hebrew wife, rather than a Canaanite one, such as had been taken by Esau.  

 

Jacob left his family and life of plenty, he is now completely defenceless.  Notice that he takes a rock for a pillow.  He is truly in the hands of God and has reached “rock” bottom, a point where he knows he needs God.  He falls asleep and dreams that there are angels ascending and descending.  Then God speaks to Jacob in the dream, and reveals himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac.

 

Jacob knew these stories.  Jacob knew that his grandmother miraculously gave birth to Isaac, his father.  Jacob knew that God had promised to make Abraham into a great nation through his father Isaac.  Jacob knew lots of stories about the faith of his family, although knowing all these things because someone tells you, is a whole lot different from knowing them for yourself.

 

An important aspect that we often overlook is knowing.  Knowing God…knowing his love for us… Knowing his promises.  It was in the knowing God and knowing his faithfulness that enabled Abraham to make that momentous trek up mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac.   Abraham knew – and knew that he knew, that God had promised to make him a great nation through Isaac.  Therefore, Abraham knew that God would provide a way to save Isaac.  THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!   Abraham didn’t just go up that mountain with a vague hope in God.  He KNEW.  When we know the brightness of our future, we can bear the sacrifice.  Abraham knew God, and what’s more, he trusted God and believed that God would be faithful to his promises, even if those promises were a long time coming, and involved so many ‘speed bumps’. 

 

It is the sure vision of a future that kept Abraham moving forward, focused and faithful to God, and it is a sure vision of a future that we need to keep us moving forward also.  Scripture tells us that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  This is what it meant to believe God; to live your life in such a way that shows your belief, your trust and unshakable faith in the promises of God.  And that belief is proved when we continue to hold fast to our faith through the tough times.

 

During the plague of the Black Death in the 1300s, and during many other plagues in the medieval period, thousands of priests, monks, nuns and laypeople courageously stayed in infected cities to nurse the sick, feed the hungry and bury the dead fully knowing it would likely cost them their lives.  They were courageous because they knew – and knew that they knew – that their eternal life was completely assured and glorious. 

 

Note what St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, when he says that he considers that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.  Saint Paul began his life as a successful persecutor of the Christian Church.  He was successful in all areas of his life, but God revealed himself to Saint Paul, and Saint Paul would never be the same again.  Something about that experience, and or the relationship that he had with God, meant that Saint Paul could and would endure all kinds of suffering.  Knowing God and knowing that God promises us a future, does not mean that we will not experience hardships or suffering, but it does give us the resilience to continue through trials, to be faithful to God.

 

It is through these tough times, such as the black death plague, that we discover if we really are the children of God – or just pretending…  When I was a teenager, I had a 92 year old piano teacher who had been buried in an earthquake in Italy as a child, along with his father and a priest.  Obviously, they were rescued and lived to tell the tale, but a significant part of the story relayed to me, was how the priest proved to be completely lacking in faith.  We don’t really know how we are going to react in tough times, but often it is through suffering that those things that are “weeds” or “tares” in ourselves become exposed.  The way that our reading talks about the wheat and tares it sounds like some of us are wheat and some tares, but in reality, we all have aspects in our lives that are weeds / tares…. The tares are a plant that looks very much like the wheat when both are young, but the tares HAVE to be separated at harvest because they are actually poisonous.  At maturity the difference is more obvious, the wheat head bows over, but the tares stand tall.  Perhaps another subtle reference to the children of God bowing to God, acknowledging our need, but the tares stand with pride.

 

A process of sorting, divinely appointed and sorted by God, happens when we experience tough times.  In those times we work out what really matters and we acknowledge our need for God.  As we read in the text it is God’s job to do this when we are mature enough, otherwise the weeds will overcome us and we will be destroyed in the process. 

 

The thing that keeps everyone going through the tough times is the belief that things are going to get better.  People will go in for painful knee surgery, back or hip surgery – put themselves through pain, because they know that outcome is for the good in the long run.  Jacob, in our first reading, had the stories and promises from God, but at the time when he was most vulnerable, God revealed himself to Jacob and confirmed that promise, personally reestablishing his covenant with Jacob.  Jacob now knew that he could endure through hardships because his future was connected to God’s promise.  What’s more, is that God promised to be with Jacob.  We share in this promise.  God is always with us through His Holy Spirit.  Also, have you ever wondered the significance of the angels going up and down the staircase? 

 

Scripture tells us that God sends his angels to minister and protect his people, but also, according to some scriptures, we understand that Angels have guardianship over different locations.  The descending and ascending Angels imply that those from that land that Jacob was leaving, were ascending and those assigned to the land that Jacob was entering were descending so that they could go with him to protect him.   This was a confirmation of God’s promise to protect Jacob and must have been a huge reassurance.

 

Let’s put ourselves in Jacob’s shoes; There you are, possibly being hunted by your brother who wants to kill you – and he is a skilful hunter.  You may have been told that God has a future for you, but you are scared that you might not live to see your future.  Then God stopped you in your tracks, showing you that he HAS promised you a future and what’s more, that he will protect you on your journey.   Not only that, but you witness that divine protection in the form of the Angels.  That is something that changes your outlook on life!

 

Last week we reflected on how Esau lived for the here and now, but this week we notice that when what is in front of you is a threat to your life, it is hard to see anything but that threat. This may be where we are at personally.  It is also where we are at as a church.  We can only see the threat, and fear for our lives.  We are trying to make sense of our reality which we see with human eyes.  If we only see the physical, our vision is only partial.  There is a spiritual reality that encompasses the physical and the spiritual.  Someone with that kind of vision can have a whole different outlook.

 

It may be that right now there is a very real and physical threat which is overwhelming you.  This is why we are the body of Christ – we need each other.  It is too big a burden to carry on our own.  Jacob was shown a vision of the Angels that would be with him so that he knew he wasn’t alone.  His story is recorded to be a reassurance to us also.  Neither are we alone, but we need to be reminded that God is with us and he sends his Angels, and we need to call on each other to support us when we are afraid and feeling vulnerable. 

 

God has promised us a future, and God has promised that he will never leave nor forsake us.  We can never be too far away for God’s love.  NOTHING  - neither angels nor demons, nothing future or past can separate us from his love, his calling and his promise is sure, and nothing can take that away from us.  God sees us and knows us.  Nothing in us is hidden from him, and he completely loves us.  Jesus has freed us from the guilt of our sin.  Like Jacob, it is time for us to let go of fear and past failure.   We have a future that God is calling us to walk into –- let’s do it!

Selling our Souls for Lentils. Pentecost 7 Proper 10 12th July 2026

2026  07  12  Pentecost 7 Proper 10

Genesis 25.19-34  Psalm 119.105-112      Romans 8.1-11     Matt 13.1-9, 18-23

 

Jesus described the reality, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.”  Jesus also described the seed sown in good ground – it yields massive growth.  Which soil are we?

 

 Last week we had the story of Rebekah and how the servant found her, gave her gifts and brought her back to Isaac, but did you notice, prior to the journey to Isaac, the response from her family?  It always seems to me that, without them coming out and saying it straight, they were trying to dissuade Rebekah from walking into her destiny.  They could well have been the cares of heart and choked out the word of God, but Rebekah left them behind.  However, she didn’t bear fruit, until her husband prayed for her.

 

The cares of this age and the lure of wealth are powers and principalities the enemy uses to dissuade us from walking in our destiny also.  And in our lives, aren’t there a huge number of cares striving to choke out the word of God?  Has there ever been such a time of pressure?  Everything must be done online.  A demand that is made to all, including those who were never taught the word “computer” at school, unless it was to refer to the person who added up on the abacus. LOL – I jest, but only a little.  The law has changed so many times.  I can think of one such law, where what used to be illegal, not only is now legal, but to speak against it you are in danger of being taken to court accused of hate speech.  This is an example of just how intense the cares of this world are. 

 

But wait, there’s more!  What is it that we care about so much that we are angry, grieving, hurting, and disillusioned?  So, here is the warning loud and clear; Will those cares choke out the very word of God?  Co-incidentally, this week our bible study looked at the book of Ezra.  A book following the people whose centre of worship had been destroyed and then the people had been sent into exile – they had nothing left of their religion, nothing but the word of God.  A great example of how when we have nothing but the word of God, and we let that word dwell deeply in us, we are actually holding on to something that nothing can destroy or take away.

 

Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys.  Esau was born first and therefore he was the heir.  We discover at the end of our reading that Esau despised his birthright, and it would seem, that he was swindled out of it. 

 

Isaac is the man who only exists because God performed a miracle in the life of his elderly and barren mother.  Isaac prays for his barren wife and she becomes pregnant.  Isaac is a living, walking miracle, and he knows God intimately.  Now we discover, so does Rebekah. 

 

Rebekah was in so much pain during her pregnancy, that she felt like she might die.  Therefore, she WENT to inquire of the Lord.  Are you wondering where it was that she went to inquire of God?  According to Jewish midrash, Rebekah went to a place of sacred study where the instructors, or wise men, were Shem and Eber.  Shem is where we get the term, “Semitic” and Eber is where we get the term “Hebrew”.  Shem was the son of Noah and Eber was his great grandson.  Whether it was from Shem or Eber or some other elder, the text implies that Rebekah was familiar with travelling the path to inquire of the Lord.  This also tells us, that unlike the people around them, Rebekah worshiped God – Yahweh.  

 

Rebekah was told that there were two nations in her womb and the younger would serve the older.  It appears that this is a prophecy that she kept to herself.  Perhaps wisely, as each of the boys were loved and favoured.  Isaac cherished Esau, but Rebekah cherished Jacob. 

 

Did Jacob swindle Esau out of his birthright?  Maybe, but there may have been more going on. It was customary to have red lentil stew when families were in mourning.  Some commentators suggest this was the time that Abraham died.  Jacob was involved and active in the ways of the family, and he was faithful to the sacred stories of faith.  He was honourable in the traditions of caring and mourning.  Esau, on the other hand, was very much living for the moment.  Esau despised his assumed role as the first born, who was meant to be the one entrusted with the spiritual passing on of the sacred stories.  He may have resented Jacob’s natural giftedness and inclination towards spirituality and care for this aspect.

 

Where are we in the story?  There are aspects of us in each, and even Esau, is often us.  Sometimes we too, resent those who “seem” to have it all together.  We resent those who show us up and make obvious our lack, or our sin.  ALSO, we too are, quite naturally, concerned with right here and right now, and sometimes the right here and now is pretty much all we CAN see. 

 

It is easy to “do the right thing” and follow God when everything is going our way, but what will we do when we feel that we are being attacked on every side and we are exhausted from all the trials that life throws at us?  It’s interesting how we read the Bible stories and relate to the heroes, but more often than not, perhaps we should be looking at the anti-hero.  The anti-hero has as much to teach us as the hero.  Esau has been out – perhaps hunting and successful… Killing it!  He was the hero in his own story, but he had returned home to a house of mourning.  He became acutely aware that he was not doing the duty of the first-born son…. Whatever!  And what’s more, he was so hungry!  So, he sold his birthright – a thing to worry about in the future –so that he could have something here and now. 

 

The fact that we are here, is a sign that we have been anointed as the chosen people of God.  We are called and set apart as holy to God.  That is our spiritual birthright.  Through our baptism, we are united to Jesus and scripture tells us that we are joint heirs with Christ, in the kingdom of God.  NO man can take that away-  but, would we give it away for a bowl of lentils?

 

Will the worries of life, lure of other things overwhelm the word of God in our lives?  Lentils are the food of mourning.  Have you known of people who left the church at a time of mourning, never to return?  Was the word of God, seed choked by sorrow?  The worries of life, the pressures, the sorrow etc… these things will come to us all – and really they do overwhelm.  What will we do, when those times do come?

 

Our letter to the Romans tells us that, to set the mind on the flesh is death.  The flesh wants comfort NOW.  The flesh wants to conquer, have and win.   The mind set on the flesh is death.  It is pretty tricky, because the world around us values that attitude of working to conquer, have and win.  It is a toughness – a hardness and an attitude that will not submit to God’s law – indeed, it cannot.  And what’s more, it is perfectly natural to want to conquer, control and win. 

 

If we think we can overcome the flesh in our own strength, we are fooling ourselves.  Ask any addict.  We need the Holy Spirit.  Last week we read about how we do the things we do not want to do.  We are here because we DO acknowledge that God’s way Is the way to life, but we still fail to do things His way.  So what hope is there for us? 

 

The hope is in our being united to Christ who did live the perfect life of faith.  He was obedient to God the father, even to death.  Because we are united to him, and spiritually are clothed in Christ, we are spiritually seen to have lived that perfect life.  That is why our reading in Romans can claim “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

 

Have we lived for the moment and made choices that didn’t glorify God?  Welcome to the human race!  We all have, but if we have chosen to be united to Christ, there is now NO condemnation.   God loves and accepts us as his perfect first-born.   THIS is the Good News – This is the quintessential Gospel message; We fail, Jesus is perfect and through our choice to belong to him we are saved. 

 

But how are we to live, now that we know that there is no condemnation?  Just because there is now no condemnation, do we just continue to live for the moment?  That would essentially be like selling our birthright for a mess of beans!  So here we are.  Exhausted.  Grieving.  Choking in the worries of life.  Breathe on us breath of God and plant the word of God deeply in us!  Let’s take a moment to admit our real position and need.  There are two “nations” in us also; Flesh and Spirit – And the struggle is to the point of death.  Come Holy Spirit!  Give the struggle to God, and live by the power of the Spirit, bearing much fruit.

Are you willing to go? Pentecost 6A 5th July 2026

 2026  07  05  Pentecost 6A  Proper 9A

Genesis 24.24-28    Psalm 45.10-17    Romans 7.14-25    Matt 11.15-19, 25-30

 

There are some people that no matter what you do, you can’t please them.  Everything they see in you is negative no matter how fabulously you might succeed.  If you’ve experienced this, you are not alone.  Jesus tells us that John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, he had a demon.  Then Jesus came, eating and drinking and they called him a glutton, drunkard, friend of tax collectors and sinners!

 

There are two aspects to reflect on with this; have we been those with a critical spirit, always looking for the failure in people?  Then, on the flip side, have we experienced not being able to please people no matter what we do?  For both, Jesus offers the solution – His yoke – His way.

 

What Jesus is describing at the beginning of our Gospel reading is a critical spirit.  A critical spirit is an obsessive, habitual attitude of fault-finding and negativity that seeks to tear down rather than build up.  This mindset is NOT the way of Christ.  The mindset of Christ, and his followers, is that of the servant of Abraham.  When this servant looks at ordinary people, he doesn’t see ordinary people….. he sees the chosen, who have the anointing of God on their lives, and his roll is to call them out, equip and empower them.

 

It has often come to my attention that the servant of Abraham was never named but incredibly honourable.  He was the most senior servant and in charge of the household and probably the heir of Abraham’s fortune before Abraham’s son came along.  As such, he could have been bitter for the change.  He could have questioned Abraham’s decisions and caused descension in the household, becoming critical and undermining Abraham and his wishes, but there is never a hint of any negativity at all.  In all things the servant acts as an agent of Abraham himself.

 

The servant was entrusted with great riches and a great task, to bring back a bride.  The servant prayed to God for success in his mission, showing that he also was a worshipper of our God, the God of Abraham.  In his prayer he acknowledges that God has already chosen the wife for Isaac, but it was his job to find her and bring her in to her destiny.

 

The story is a parallel for us, as we are also the servants of God.  We are entrusted with valuable gift of the Gospel.  We are the servants of God who are tasked with the job of bringing back the bride for Christ.  In other words, we find those who God has already known and chosen, and declare to them the Good News about God and we bring them into God’s kingdom.  While it is true that we are the servant, we the church, are also the called, the chosen and the bride of Christ,

 

When the servant comes upon Rebekah, he asks her to draw him some water. It appears that he is testing her character.  Not only does Rebekah give water to this stranger, but she offers to water the camels as well.  This was no small task!  Camels are said to drink approximately 530 litres of water in their first drink.  Rebekah was a woman of honourable character.  After finding out her family, it was clear that this was the chosen one.

 

The servant put a ring in her nose and bracelets on her arms.  After the exhaustion of watering the camels and being out in open air, she must have been feeling, and perhaps looking, flushed, and then this sudden lavishing of gifts, must have come as a shock.  However, Rebekah knew what it meant.  When Abraham’s servant gifted Rebekah the gold nose ring and two gold bracelets, she would have instantly recognized them as a formal, incredibly high-stakes proposal of marriage from an immensely wealthy family.  In that area and in that time, jewellery was a universal legal and social language.  This was her engagement to an elite person.

 

Imagine that!  But then Rebekah’s family tried to delay Rebekah from going back with the servant.  And isn’t this the truth of our walk with God!  God calls us.  We say, “yes, Lord.  We will follow you.”  And what happens next…..????  Life comes at us from left right and centre – EVERYTHING gets in the way of us fully committing to following God.

 

Rebekah is the example of who we ought to be.  She responds to the call and she doesn’t look back. We, on the other hand, are probably more an example of our second reading from the letter to the Romans where it says “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

 

We are here because we do desire to follow God, but we probably all know the struggle where it is just far simpler to just be comfortable.  In fact, this Romans reading is one highly relatable to anyone struggling with addiction.  It is about the inability within our selves, to do the thing that we know is good and best and leads to life.

 

A recovering addict is possibly way ahead of the rest of us, in understanding the reality of our human condition.  We, whose addiction to sin is less visibly destructive can fool ourselves into thinking that we don’t actually have a problem.  St. Paul comes across as one of the most disciplined humans ever, yet he wrote this; “For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (remember, last week we read that the wages for sin is death) Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

 

Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, because God knows our struggle and rescued us from our condition.  Christ has told us to come to him if we are weary… weary of this crazy round-a-bout of striving and failing.  He tells us to take his yoke and that his yoke is easy.  When he tells us this, he is not saying that life is without discipline.  In fact, the idea of a yoke, IS one of discipline.  Often when oxen were yoked together, an older and stronger Ox would be paired with a younger one.  The younger would be trained while the older took the brunt of the heaviness.  Jesus bears the crushing weight of sin, and he trains our feet to walk in the right paths

 

God knows that we are but flesh and he sent Jesus to die for our sin.  Though the wages for sin is death, Jesus paid that price.  We are free, but we need to understand that we are not to use our freedom as an excuse to go on sinning.  Our eternal life is secure through Jesus, but Jesus did more than die on the cross – he rose from the dead and….. He sent us his Spirit.  There is a really, super important, vital reason that he sent us his Spirit - and it is because, in our own strength, we cannot live the life that God calls us to.

 

Our church – The church in general- has been in decline for many years.  And that is what happens when we don’t rely on those gifts that the Holy Spirit brings.  The servant brought Rebekah valuable gifts.  He put them on her and she wore them.  The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus and brings us gifts also.  The gifts that the Holy Spirit brings are valuable beyond compare.  We are told that the Holy Spirit in us is a deposit guaranteeing our eternal life.  This is paralleled to the gifts received to Rebekah.  They guaranteed her new life with Isaac.  She took those gifts and wore them, and she set out on the journey, stepping into the destiny God had prepared for her. 

 

We need to decide if we are going to step into the destiny to which God has called us – and we can apply this to the church.  We stand on the brink.  If we are to grow the church, every single one of us needs to take an active part, even if that part is simply to commit to praying for each other every day.   In fact, prayer and praise is the secret and powerful weapon –  it was through obedience to God and then through shouts of triumphant praise to God – that the walls of Jericho came down.

 

We have been given gifts.  Amazing gifts.  These gifts come from God through the Holy Spirit, and in 1 Corinthians 14, we are told “Pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts”.  Are we eagerly desiring the spiritual gifts, or have we “looked a gift horse in the mouth”?  Looking a gift horse in the mouth would be that critical and negative spirit.  Literally, the saying comes from the idea of being given something of great value and then treating it as common.

 

We have been given the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we, the church, are the bride of Christ.  I wonder if we don’t really know what to do with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  So those gifts, rather than being worn, are hidden away – treasured perhaps -but hidden.  That is not why the Holy Spirit has given us gifts.  Shall we let fear, negativity and doubt be the familiar family members who hold us back?   Let’s walk away from negativity and let’s take hold of those gifts and wear them.  Let’s say, “yes Lord, I will journey with you to the unknown land of the future”.   As we go into the future, let us, as the church, put on our gifts.  Step out in our gifts.  Those gifts are for the benefit of our church and our community.  Many are sick – who among us has God given the gift of healing?  Many need encouragement – who among us has God given the gift of exhortation?  We need direction – Who among us has the gift of prophecy?

 

God has given us a hope and a future.  God has given us gifts to walk in triumph into that future.  God shows his love to the thousandth generation of those who love him.  Church, we are not paupers!  We are lavishly gifted.  Will we wear the gifts and go with the servant of the groom – the Holy Spirit - and journey with him to our destiny in God?

You rescued me. 28th June 2026 Pentecost 5A

2026  06  28 Pentecost 5A Proper 8

Genesis 22:1-14    Psalm 13    Romans 6:12-23    Matthew 10:40-42

 

Last week’s readings were tough, but this week is my least favourite reading.  It is the one about God testing Abraham by asking him to take his only son, go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him. This is just such a revolting idea.  As a mother, my instinct is to cry, “surely not, Lord.  This is a detestable thing!”  How could this be something that God told Abraham to do?  What on earth is going on here?

 

We know something of Abraham’s thought process at the time of this event, from New Testament writings.  The letter to the Hebrews tells us that Abraham figured that God could raise the dead.  Abraham knew that God’s promise to make him into a great nation was to be fulfilled through Isaac, and Isaac was already a living miracle, as he was the son of an old man and born of a barren woman, who was 90 years old at the time.  If God could enable a barren 90 year old woman to bear this child, then God could surely raise Isaac from the dead.

 

Something else to note is that at the time of this journey, Isaac was NOT a child.  The wording in the original text that is translated a “boy” can mean boy or man.   It was Isaac who carried the wood for the sacrifice.  Which tells us this was the action of a strong, young man.  What’s more, is that this capable, strong man was travelling with his VERY elderly father.  Various sources put Abraham’s age at approximately 115 to 125 years old, and Isaac was likely between 15 and 37 years old”  So, what is really going on here?

 

God does not simply say, “Take Isaac”, but instead, he specifically tells Abraham to take his only son, who he loves.  Abraham had a life-long relationship with God.  Through all that Abraham experienced, he had always trusted God, but he had grown to completely trust him.  Abraham’s wife, however, saw that not only was she barren but after going through menopause, she figured she would help bring about God’s promise.  The New Testament tells us that the resulting son, Ishmael, represents the law, and the things we do FOR God -often resulting in us assuming that we are good enough to earn God’s favour.  Abraham loved Ishmael, but God did not recognise Ishmael as Abraham’s legitimate son of the covenant.  Notice that our reading today tells Abraham to take his only son Isaac.

 

Isaac, through his miraculous birth is a gift from God.  He and his descendants ONLY exist because of God.  As Abraham goes to offer Isaac to God, God gifts Isaac back to Abraham again – the miraculous gift of life a second time.  God himself provides a substitute for the life of Isaac and figuratively Abraham received Isaac back from the dead.

 

Our second reading today follows on from last week’s readings explaining that we should consider ourselves to have died to sin through Christ.  And this week we read, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

 

In reality, we still struggle with sin – we become entangled much like that ram that was caught in the thicket.  Sin is anything that is not of faith…. Anything that falls short of perfection…. Anything that falls short of the glory of God – and in reality that is all of us.  However, we are not under law, but we are under grace.  Spiritually, we are set free from sin.

 

The best way to explain this is to liken the law to gravity and grace to aerodynamics.  We all are subject to the reality of gravity and sin!  Sin is anything that is not of faith, therefore, failing to trust in God is the origin of sin.  The first sin in the garden of Eden began as doubt and lack of trust and then it became a conscious choice to go against God.  Sin not only severs our relationship with God, but with each other when we covet, murder and the like – but ultimately it stems from a failure to trust in and follow God.  We all, many times a day, might sin in this way.  How can we overcome the gravity of the situation? – Pun intended!  We need a new way… aerodynamics… But how does this new way come into being? 

 

Abraham completely trusted God – He did not doubt.  God had promised to make him into a great nation through Isaac.  Abraham already knew, and told the men who were travelling with them, that he and Isaac would be back.  He figured that God would raise Isaac from the dead.  He also told Isaac that God would provide the lamb.  The story of Abraham and Isaac is a prophetic sign of God the father and God the Son.

 

Isaac was carrying the wood for the sacrifice on his back, and they were travelling up the mount of Moriah.  Isaac was obedient to the father and trusting.  He was strong and capable, but he was “obedient unto death”.  Does all this sound like someone else we know?

 

The mount of Moriah is the place that would eventually be the site of the first temple – a place where sacrifices were offered. Then that temple was destroyed and another built nearby.  It is believed that this site, of the sacrifice of Isaac, the site for the foundation of the first Temple, …was also the site for the cross of Jesus

 

In our reading about Isaac, a lamb or ram, was provided in place of Isaac.  We could quite correctly refer to this as the Lamb of God.  A lamb that died in the place of Isaac.  Isaac was a miraculous birth, but he was also miraculously “born again”  - he received life again, through the Lamb of God. 

 

At this point, Isaac becomes an example of our spiritual life.  Through the “Lamb of God”, we also gain life.  God knew us in the womb and gave us the gift of this life, and through Christ we receive the gift of eternal life.  Our human ego will often think that we can be good enough for God to love and accept us, but the fact is that even the best of us fail.  We are figuratively bound – powerless.  How do we escape from the law of gravity – the law of sin?  Our very existence is a gift from God and not something that we earn.  That undeserved gift from God is called Grace, and we enter into it by trusting/ believing God…. By faith… and by accepting that lamb of God who was sacrificed in our place.

 

The way of grace can be likened to the law of aerodynamics.  It isn’t that sin doesn’t exist anymore – You don’t have to look far to see that sin is alive and active in our world.  But, for us who have given our lives to God, Jesus is the aeroplane… saving us from the gravity of sin in our own lives. He is the one who is perfect and can fly above.  We enter into him through baptism, and accept his life.  It is a gift that we did nothing to deserve – undeserved favour is the definition for Grace.  

 

Many people after hearing this great news get rather confused.  They grasp the truth that no matter what we do, God’s grace has saved us, but in their newfound spiritual freedom they can sometimes think that God is accepting and happy with them no matter what they do, which is why this letter to the Romans explains;  “What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

 

This week I witnessed an example of this on social media.  A comment was made which was basically saying, that sinning is OK because God will forgive.  This kind of attitude was rife in the early Christian communities.  They had discovered the freedom we have in Christ – the aerodynamic aspect -  and the long reaching extent of God’s grace, but they didn’t get it.  This isn’t and should never be an excuse to go on sinning.

 

God rescued us, not because we are good enough, but because he loves us, and now, he calls us to love each other.  To care for each other- to see each human as a precious child of God.  We might do this by various good works, but it is important to note that it is never our giving or doing that saves us.  We give and we do because God has loved and rescued us. 

 

We are the body of Christ and so the rescue and deliverance of those who are suffering or in danger, is an automatic part of our union with Christ.  What life, that Christ died to save, is God calling us personally to advocate for today?  Let’s pray and obey.

King of the Castle! Pentecost 4A (Proper 7) 21st June 2026

2026  06  21  Pentecost 4 year A Proper 7(12)

Genesis 21.8-21  Psalm 86.1-10, 16-17  Romans 6.1-11  Matthew 10.24-39

 

Ooh!  TOUGH readings this week!  We could take the safe way out and talk about poor outcast Hagar and how God, who cares for the sparrows, cares for the outcast and so should we, but that completely ignores the fact that God encouraged Abraham to cast her out.

 

Ever played that game, “I’m the King of the castle and you’re the dirty old rascal”?  Sarah was not upset with a mere game being played, but that Ishmael, in mocking, was claiming his power and status over Isaac.  By the way, Ishmael was 16 or 17 years old and Isaac was 2 or 3 years old.  According to the law of the land, Ishmael, as the first-born son was the heir - not Isaac.  Legally, Ishmael truly was the “King of the Castle”.  Isaac was the “dirty rascal”.  

 

As a little insight into the current political climate; the Islamic people claim Ishmael as their ancestor, and therefore we can see that Ishmael is still “Playing” King of the castle with his little half brother Isaac.

 

As far as Ishmael was concerned, Isaac’s mother was a frail old lady of about 93, and his father was about 103.  In Ishmael’s eyes, Isaac’s days of favour and protection were numbered.  Isaac was very much the powerless “dirty rascal” in the eyes of Ishmael and Hagar.

 

Isaac’s existence was only because of a total miracle.  He was born by the intervention and work of God, and when you are a child, born of God’s intervention, everything is different and you enjoy the undeserved favour of God.  We also, are children born of God’s work through Jesus Christ.  We are born of God through our baptism.  We are spiritually born of God’s spirit through our baptism.  Without the gift of God’s intervention, what are we? Just dust in the wind.  Here today and gone without hope tomorrow.  Whether we experience losses or wins, riches or poverty, good fortune or disaster, would, in the end, be meaningless, as we go back to the dust of the earth – But this is not our reality.  By the intervention of God, through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are born of God.  It is the Holy Spirit, living in us that sets us apart.  We still experience the highs and lows of life, but there is purpose and there is meaning and a future that is sure.  Through the gift of God, we are inheritors of the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ.  Just as Isaac was an inheritor of his father’s kingdom due to the promise of God.   Like us, Isaac did nothing to deserve this gift and God’s favour.

 

Our reading from Romans explains that, in Baptism, we died with Christ and we will rise with Christ.  Through baptism and the Holy Spirit, we become children of God, and Romans 8:17 tells us, ^“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ,…"

 

We are assured of our eternal life through the Holy Spirit alive and active in our lives.  This is the very Good News.  However, there are those who mock the very thought of Christianity and the hope we have in Christ.  Sadly, due to this, instead of having the courage to stand separate from the world, there have been many Christians over the years, who strive to gain the approval of the world by compromising the truth of God’s message.  When I say “compromise”, what they – or we- do, is the mixing of the truth with societal views which ultimately water down the truth.  “God loves everyone” is a true statement.  “God accepts and approves all that you do” is certainly not right.  Another example would be that the Bible tells us all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.  This “ALL” means “ALL”.  But we water down the concept of sin so as not to offend anyone – and this does not actually help anyone to come to Christ. 

 

What should we do with the mocking of Christianity and the hope that we have?  Instead of compromising the truth we need to stand firm…. And we need to send compromise out into the desert….  Now, although we have this story of Hagar as an analogy, we have compassion for the situation -But compassion should never usurp the truth with compromise.  ALSO, God promised to care for her.

 

Isaac is an analogy of the spiritual life.  Abraham had to do an important and hard thing.  To safe-guard the spiritual life, he had to send away the son who represented the “striving in our own strength”.   As you can imagine, Abraham was sad about this.  He cared for and loved his son Ishmahel, but God reassured him that he needed to do this thing.  In sending Hagar and Ishmael away, this served as a statement to legally sever the inheritance rights and ensure by every standard, the status of Isaac as heir in alignment with God’s directive.

 

So, technically, Hagar became divorced from Abraham, and she and her 16 or 17 year old son set off with some provisions, but when the youth collapsed from heat exhaustion, Hagar prayed and we see that God, who cares for the sparrows, also takes care of them also, miraculously providing water for them.  For Hagar and Ishmael… and those who believe that life is about working to earn God’s favour, and in fact everyone- God provides miraculous water… the water of rest… the water God provides – His gift of faith, and to come to Him by faith also.  God cares for us – and our enemies – He calls to all of us, but there is only ONE way to the father, and it is through the son, Jesus Christ!  No Compromise!

 

Abraham learned that sometimes following God is hard.  God promised blessing, but to ensure that blessing meant some sacrifices and hard choices needed to be made.  We too need to make hard choices at times and there will sometimes be division between us and those we love.  We will have to continue to stand on the word of God regardless… and some, even in our own families will be offended.

 

In the end, Abraham followed through with a God directed boundary.  We all need to have healthy boundaries where we follow God and put away those things that come between us and the promise of God.  It might not mean that those things are bad in and of themselves, but that they come between us and God’s call on our lives.  Do we have relationships and habits that cause us to compromise God’s call for us?  Realistically, we’ve all had them – or have them – that is why the letter to the Romans encourages the readers to “die to sin”, because we all do tend to take the easy road and compromise with aspects of life that are not good for us – more importantly, they get between us and the inheritance that God has prepared for us – and that, my friend, is really serious stuff.   As Jesus says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” 

 

We have been given eternal life through a great sacrifice – the life of Jesus – and this was no small thing.   Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and us being baptised into Jesus, we become inheritors of the Kingdom of God with Christ.  This also, is no small thing.  This is a position of absolute privilege, and should be regarded seriously, appreciated and valued above all. 

 

This message was given to the early church, who were facing extreme persecution.  Being sure of their inheritance through Christ, they endured and stood firm, but many, like us all, were also inclined to compromise.  They, and we are reassured, God who cares about sparrows, cares infinitely more for us.  God loves us.

 

Hagar and Ishmael, in the New Testament writings, were likened to the concept of the law and the things that we DO for God – to manipulate and bring his kingdom into being by our own effort.  As in, Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to help God give him an heir, seeing as she was barren.  There are many things we might DO, even in our liturgy to “Help” God…. But in the end, if it becomes a “work” – that is, something that we must DO, to earn God’s favour, then we have made Sarah’s mistake, and created a Hagar and Ishmael situation. 

 

The same can be said for any of our good works.  It isn’t that any of our works are bad – we are called to do good works, but are they “God-breathed”?  Do we do them because the Holy Spirit moves us?  There was a post on facebook recently about some of the charitable organisations and one was making accusations against another.  Many good people do great charitable works.  They are moved by compassion, but there is also a sense of ego, and making ourselves feel like a hero.  We talk about this in our street chaplaincy training because it is a real challenge with us all.  None of us are exempt from this temptation to see ourselves as the hero, and if good is achieved, then the motive doesn’t so much matter- except when facing God.  Because we are God’s children and inheritors of the Kingdom of God by what Jesus has done and by the Holy Spirit alive and active in us, and not by anything that we do and it is vital that we understand and remember this.  In fact, being led by God’s Spirit may well see us moved to do Good works that are NOT popular.

 

As an inheritor of the Kingdom of God, all we do needs to be in alignment with the Spirit of God alive and active through us.  God’s kingdom comes through him moving, working and living his life through us.  We are children of the promise.  We are the called and the chosen.  We need to live by faith, and this is by living according to the Holy Spirit working through us.

 

So, the final question for today is, who is the King of the castle in our life? Because this is the only way to know if we are living according to the Kingdom of God.   Is Jesus our Lord and do we defer to him in all our ways?  Is God our king whose direction we follow?  Or are we doing our own works to make ourselves feel good about ourselves?   Or are we compromising, and is there a dirty rascal standing in the place where God should be…  ?