In touch |
Check-in |
Intercessions |
| In touch begins immediately below |
Scroll down or click for Check-in |
Worship Together subscribers only: see intercessions |
In touch
Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues.
To follow only Christ
Jesus Christ alone can rekindle our hearts when they falter. (Luke 24:32)
Context
It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell. William T Sherman
William T Sherman (1820-1891) was a Union General during the American Civil War, and he may have been wrong about a lot of things, but he was absolutely right about this: War is hell.
It is hard to imagine a more perfect image of hell than war, with its brutality, immorality and futility. The images that take over our news media – and social media – whenever armed conflict is reported are more hellish, not least because they are real, than anything generated in the mind of the Dutch master of hellish imagery Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516).
Our minds seem endlessly creative when faced with the call to make people suffer. From the club and the sword, through the crossbow and the Maxim gun, to the landmine and the nuclear missile, every technological advance seems to have brought with it new means of slaughter; indeed, many advances have been made only because the research behind them was seen to have military potential, and this trend continues today.
If war is hell, should we ask ourselves why so many people, including many who long for heaven, pursue it with such unshakeable commitment?
Ideas for sermons or interactive talks
In a recent statement, Pope Leo XIV asserted that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war”, adding, “Come back to the table. Let's talk. Let's look for solutions in a peaceful way.” Among the politer parts of President Donald Trump’s response was the suggestion that “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
It is rare (but not unknown) for two such powerful leaders to take opposing positions so publicly. Both publicly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ, and neither is likely to back down and admit that the other is right. Meanwhile, another Christian leader, Franklin Graham (the son of evangelist Billy Graham) responded more equivocally: “I don't support war, but I do believe, at times, there is justification when you're fighting evil.”
The disciples on the Emmaus road were worn down by the political and religious conflicts that obsessed their rulers Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas, and in despair at the execution of their beloved Jesus at the hands of these same leaders. But, as countless Christians have found since then, an encounter with the risen Jesus in simple fellowship at the breaking of bread was able to rekindle their hearts, refocus their minds, and refresh their wills. Previously despairing and exhausted from their journey on foot (no less than 7 miles and possibly as much as 19 miles, depending on the disputed location of this Emmaus), they are filled with spiritual joy and physical energy.
So the task the current situation sets us is not to ask, “Should I support Pope Leo, President Trump or Franklin Graham?”, but rather, “How may I best hear and follow Jesus in this time of escalating division and conflict?”
Questions for discussion
- What did the disciples mean by feeling “our hearts burning within us while he talked with us”, and have we ever felt like this?
- In what ways may we follow Jesus in a time of war, whether the war is in our own country or overseas?
- Some believe that war is always wrong. Others believe that war can only ever be the best of the available evils. Still others believe that war can be just. What do we believe?
Robert Beard is an NHS worker and Church of England priest.
Check-in
Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people
Whilst it’s only been a couple of weeks since we celebrated Easter, many of us will be heads down in revision for various exams – SATS, GCSE’s (or National 5’s in Scotland), A-Levels or BTEC’s to name but a few.
Revising for exams of any type, at any age, may not seem to be the most likely time or place to encounter Jesus, or to meet with him. And yet, I think, it’s important to remember two things:
- Jesus cares about our day-to-day normal everyday lives. The joys; the pressures; the good bits; the bad bits; and the boring bits. He cares about your Spanish or English or Maths or Science GCSE or A-Level because he cares about you.
- It’s important to create space amidst the normality and busyness of life to encounter Jesus – and that includes during times of revision and exams and pressures of life.
It was only when the disciples stopped at their home in Emmaus and invited Jesus in to eat with them, thus creating space for Jesus to break bread with them, that they recognised that Jesus had been among them all the time.
Which begs the question – how do we stop and create space for Jesus to meet with us – to break bread with us - amidst the routine day-to-day life of school, work and family life?
- It might be turning your phone off at mealtimes to create space to be present to others with you wherever you may be, as well as to God.
- It might be walking to school or college (with your phone turned off..) rather than getting a lift.
- Or getting off the bus a couple of stops early to create space to pray whilst you walk.
- Or it might be something else.
How are you going to create space to break bread with Jesus today, tomorrow and in the week ahead?
Jonathan Buckley is Youth Development Worker at YMCA White Rose and Redevelopment Manager at St Paul’s Church, Parson Cross, Sheffield.
Views expressed are the authors' own. Hypertext links to other websites are for the convenience of users only and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by Roots for Churches Ltd.
The week in focus is also available via facebook and Instagram.
Roots publishes weekly lectionary-based worship and learning resources online and in two magazines. FIND OUT MORE.