Creative Communion
Readings and a reflection for the 21st February 2022.
This Sunday we will have our first Creative Communion, a service for everyone, young and old. The Gospel passage for Sunday describes Jesus calming the storm. It is a beautiful passage that tells us so much.
Over the last two years, we have been living in a storm that has been formidable in its ferocity and scale. And as we (hopefully) emerge from it, we need to reflect on how the work of others has helped us. We have found new ways to share fellowship and that has allowed us to weather that storm.
The gospel tells us that although we can’t always go round the storm, Christ gives us the strength to get through the storm. When we trust in him, all things are possible.
Reflection for the week
- Can faith in Christ calm the storms on our lives?
- Where are we in this story? Are we in the boat with Jesus, are we on the shore watching from a distance, or are we somewhere else?
- How far can trust in him take us?
Readings for Sunday 20th February
Psalm 65
To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.
Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Luke 8:22-25
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’
Readings for the week
Monday 21st February Psalm 19: 17-end, Mark 9: 14-29
Tuesday 22nd February Mark 9:30-37
Wednesday 23rd February (Festival of Polycarp) Psalm 34, John 15 : 1-8
Thursday 24th February Mark 9 : 41-end
Friday 25th February Mark 10: 1-12
Saturday 26th February Mark 10: 13-16
