the parish

Today our readings encourage us to widen our understanding of who is included in God's kingdom.

In our Old Testament reading we have a glimpse of the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. Solomon is asking for God's blessing on the new building, and he prays that foreigners will come to the temple to receive healing and help. It seems that Solomon shares God's vision that

the whole world may come to know the God of Israel.

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul challenges those who say that he isn't qualified to speak about Jesus, as he wasn't one of the original twelve apostles. Paul tells his hearers that he hasn't grabbed this position for himself, it has been graciously granted to him by Jesus and by God the Father.

In our gospel reading, Jesus is asked by a Roman officer to heal his servant. Although the officer would have followed a different faith, he was generous to the Jewish people and clearly believed in Jesus' power to heal. Jesus responds to this man's faith and grants his request. As we come to worship today we may also say, 'I am not worthy to have you come under my roof' – but we will find that God is already standing at the door of our hearts.

Fr Simon

Last Monday was apparently the day of the year when most people take unofficial time off work, hardly surprising with the dark, wet mornings and colds around at this time of year. The Church is often so preoccupied with what happens on a Sunday that we overlook the fact that in between Sundays, most people spent most of their time at work of some kind

-except when they’re on a “sickie” that is! Today’s readings make it clear that God is very much concerned with our working lives. Isaiah tells us that God will succeed in accomplishing his purposes, just as we see food growing in the earth. St. Paul, in Corinthians encourages us to see that our labour is not “in vain” when it is done for God. In our Gospel today, Jesus uses the analogy of a fruit tree to tell us that what we do or produce in our work will reflect the person we are within. We’ve all sung the song about the house built on the rock, but on what values or understanding of God is your attitude to work built? Bring your work to God on Sundays, and God will be with you at work on Monday.

Fr Patrick