The Anglican Church of All Saints

Click here to read the sermon for 16th February – Luke 6: 17-26 The Beatitudes

 

23rd February – The Second Sunday before Lent

11am Sung Eucharist – Celebrant: Revd Judie Horrocks, Preacher: Peter Lockyer

---

26th February – Wednesday

10am Morning Prayer – led by Peter Lockyer

---

2nd March – The Sunday next before Lent

11am Sung Eucharist – Celebrant & Preacher Mtr Fiona Jack

---

5th March – Ash Wednesday

11am Sung Eucharist (with Imposition of Ashes) – Celebrant & Preacher Mtr Fiona Jack

---

---

Lent Course 2025

This year’s Lent course will be based on the 2010 film The Way, starring Martin Sheen. The film was screened on Tuesday, February 18th, at 11:00 AM. The accompanying study, titled The Long Road to Heaven, consists of five 90-minute sessions featuring film clips and discussion. These sessions will take place on March 11, 18, and 25, as well as April 1 and 8. Do consider coming along.

---

---

A date for your diary

Sunday 20th April. Easter Day
Buffet lunch 1pm for 1.30pm.
Catering by Kelly from the Orchard Garden
Booking now. Tickets €18 from Jane Stewart after the Sunday Service or WhatsApp 676506957.

Sermon 16th February – Luke 6: 17-26

Today’s gospel, with the topsy-turvy world it presents makes uncomfortable reading for those of us – and I imagine that this applies to the majority of us here this morning – who are well-fed and live a life of relative material comfort. And I think it is supposed to. This passage is known as the Beatitudes, and the most famous version is from Matthew’s gospel. Today we have Luke’s version, and it is a little different -Matthew’s version of this takes place on a mountain, whereas from Luke we hear that Jesus was standing in a level place. The scene is set, as Jesus is surrounded by a great crowd of people who have been responsive to his message. They have come, not to test him or simply out of idle curiosity. These people have come to hear Jesus and to be healed by him.

Luke’s version includes God’s favour on those who are poor, the hungry, those who weep and those who are hated. Luke’s beatitudes speak in the second person (i.e. ´you, compared to Matthew’s which speak in the third person, i.e. ´they´). This gives them an immediacy and a direct appeal to all who hear them. Luke’s version speaks to real socio-economic conditions perhaps rather than spiritual conditions or attitudes, as in Matthew, who speaks of the poor in spirit.

Liberation theologian Gustavo Gutierrez has commented: “God has a preferential love for the poor, not because they are necessarily better than others in some way, but because they are poor and living in an inhuman situation that is contrary to God’s will. “Because we are not poor, we may find this a little mystifying, or perhaps it leaves us feeling guilty rather than joyful. Like the rich young ruler, we hear the Lord’s word and go away because we have many possessions. Perhaps our pride and our ability to provide for ourselves have blocked the channels of blessing. We need of course to re-order our priorities, but how difficult that is!

It is true that more than any other gospel, Luke’s gospel speaks of the dangers of wealth. However, it’s important to bear in mind before we feel too guilty about being well-fed that Jesus’ sermon begins with blessings on the disciples and also on the poor. The blessing of the poor does not idealise or glorify poverty but rather speaks of God’s commitment to them. One of the hallmarks of the new kingdom will be the redemption of the poor.

The last beatitude “Blessed are you when people hate you” is a tricky one too. It suggests that those who live by God’s blessing will find themselves so out of kilter with the world that others will persecute them. It is extraordinary that people in the Church still receive hostile receptions from certain quarters. A small example is a Facebook page where we have been asked not to post things that are “churchy” because people have complained about them or that it’s not relevant. I see many things on FB sites which aren’t relevant to me – and I just ignore them – I don’t complain about them or feel offended!

Perhaps the most important point of these challenging words to us today is that Jesus redefines what blessing means – not as earthly prosperity but as spiritual dependence on God. Imagine a world where the last are first, the weak are strong and the poor are rich- this is the radically different view of blessing Jesus presents to us. The world values wealth, status and financial security. But Jesus says that those who recognise their need for God are the ones who are truly blessed.

We hear “blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied”. The world tells us to seek comfort, indulgence and satisfaction. But Jesus turns this on its head by explaining that those who hunger for righteousness will be filled. Righteousness in this context just means ‘doing the right thing’. Many so-called celebrities have fame and fortune but still often struggle with emptiness, addiction and depression. It begs the question – what are we hungry for – success, comfort -or more of God?

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh”. The world seems to say that life is about happiness, fun and entertainment. But Jesus says that those who mourn over sin, suffering and injustice are the ones who are truly blessed. We live in a broken world, and there is such a thing as “compassion fatigue”. Someone like Martin Luther King and others wept over racial injustice- but their tears led to powerful social change. Do we weep over sin in our lives and the world, or are we numb to suffering?

“Blessed are you when people hate you”. The world values approval, likes and followers. Jesus puts us on notice that if we truly follow him, we will face opposition. Even today, Christians around the world face persecution for their faith. Some lose their jobs, families or their lives. Thankfully we are not in that situation. But we do risk perhaps being ridiculed for our beliefs, and that’s never very comfortable.

How can we respond to this challenge? We are being invited to live by a new set of values – kingdom values. True blessing is not found in wealth, comfort, entertainment or popularity. It comes from knowing, trusting and following Jesus. The idea of blessing is very old. God’s
blessing first appears in the Hebrew bible when God promises to bless Abraham and his descendants and make them a blessing to all the peoples of the earth. One of the oldest recorded blessings we have is the blessing of Aaron in Numbers 6 “The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace”. I use a version of this blessing for someone who doesn’t receive communion. It was recently found on a piece of silver in a tomb just south of Jerusalem, and dates from about 600 BCE – in other words, it’s very old. God blesses us not for selfish gain, but so that we can be a blessing to others. As we leave the church today with God’s blessing in our ears, let us recognise our need for God’s blessing, and try intentionally to be a
blessing to someone around us who is in need, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.

Mtr Fiona Jack – Chaplain

---

Please click this link to read previous sermons: https://allsaintstenerife.org/all-saints-midweek-letters/