Note: Zoom Coffee and Chat after the Service 11:30 am every week on Sundays. The link is:
  https://zoom.us/j/91620889282?pwd=SWVlZmQzMk9YZ2lBaTRCVlUvZ215dz09  
Bring your own coffee (or tea/juice!) If you prefer to phone in, the number to call is 0131 460 1196.

PSALM 43

O send thy light forth and thy truth;
let them be guides to me,
and bring me to thine holy hill,
even where thy dwellings be.

Then will I to God's altar go,
to God my chiefest joy:
yea, God, my God, thy name to praise
my harp I will employ.

Why art thou then cast down, my soul?
what should discourage thee?
And why with vexing thoughts art thou
disquieted in me?

Still trust in God; for him to praise,
good cause I yet shall have:
he of my countenance is the health,
my God that doth me save.

Psalm 43, verses 3-5
The Scottish Psalter,1929
Sung by the Mayfield Salisbury Chamber Group

Reflection    Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant … I will put my law within [the people], and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people...”

John 12:31-32

“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

In our Old Testament passage today that Ailsa read for us, the ‘new covenant’ that God speaks of through the prophet Jeremiah looks ahead to the good news of Jesus Christ, and comes to fulfilment in the shadow of the Cross of Good Friday. This new covenant casts aside any false and unrealistic hope that underpinned the old one, that through our humanity alone, by our own mental powers, our desire and our will, we have any prospect of wholly fulfilling God’s law. It admits that tablets of stone, paper rules and regulations, the kind of strict lists of doctrines and acceptable social behaviours that many of our Protestant brothers and sisters still seek to adhere to, are just not enough to make us act in a Christ-like way. Rigid enforcement of a code of personal morality within a Christian community swiftly becomes an exercise in domination, of human desires for power and control over others, usually by male pastors in a highly patriarchal system. The new covenant says that external directives of what you can and cannot do can only go so far, because the human moral tools of cognition and volition are not enough. Human understanding and human will can see where we should go and what we should do, but again and again, through human nature, we fall into a morass of self-interest and wrongdoing.

Last week as I raised the cup at communion, I said the words of Jesus, this is the ‘new covenant’, sealed in my blood. If the ‘old covenant’ between God and the people was one of human obedience in response to the external rules and regulations of life given to the people of Israel by God, how is the ‘new covenant’, now revealed fully in the cross of Jesus Christ, any different? God says through Jeremiah, I will put my law within [the people], and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people… they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” The law of God in the new covenant is no longer to be upheld externally to us all but internally. We may not be changed by what those in positions of power and command in a church or a state tell us to do, for the church or the state cannot of itself create a good society. But we will be changed individually and as a community by what God has put into our hearts, in our knowledge of God in a close, personal relationship, as his people. This is a promise of a new moral consciousness from inside, that comes fully to fruition through Jesus. This is a fresh vision of a faithful life, of knowing God in a new way, of being transformed from the inside out, rather than outside in. As Pascal wrote, ‘God wants to motivate the will more than the mind’. Our faith is written on hearts, not on stone tablets.

Is a law written on our hearts really something to get excited about? Does that not suggest that we almost might become automatons for God, that personal will and freedom of choice will disappear, and we aim to become nothing but mouthpieces for religion? To the contrary, having the love of God written on our hearts might be the very essence of freedom. Freedom to know who you truly are. Freedom to act and react spontaneously, from a grounding which is right and true. It’s like learning the English language and then producing beautiful poetry like Jackie Kay or Amanda Gorman. Learning the underlying notes and scales for a trumpet and then producing beautiful improvisation like Miles Davis. Learning how to kick a ball and then ‘bending it like Beckham’. So that, as the theologian of preaching Sally Brown puts it, we might all become in our everyday lives ‘agents of redeemed interruption’. In other words, with a law of love through Jesus Christ written on our hearts, as we face the struggles, trials and darkness of the world, we will know how to react because we have the language, know what to improvise because we hear the notes and scales, realise what is right and wrong in God’s eyes not because the pastor told me so, but because God is truly within us.

And this is not just a covenant for personal, private faith, but a stark image in a mirror held up to the world of how it might be, rather than how it is. Jesus said in John 31:32 that Catriona read, when he is resurrected, he will draw all people to himself, echoing God’s call through Jeremiah that under the new covenant all people will know God, and they will be his people. And at that time, said Jesus, in the image of the cross and the empty tomb, verse 31, ‘now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be driven out’.

The image of the cross and the resurrection of Christ that is presented in John’s Gospel is not about forgiveness of individual sins, not about substitutory atonement, a theology where Jesus takes on divine punishment in our place, to relieve us of our guilt. Instead, in John 12:27-33, the crucifixion of Christ judges the world and ‘drives out the ruler of the world’. What does Jesus mean there? On a personal level, Jesus on the cross shows us an ideal. The Crucified God suffers in the ultimate self-giving, put to death by the powers of this world and standing in solidarity with all suffering in the world, and ultimately triumphs, liberates and redeems. But this also has a very strong message beyond the personal for the powers and principalities, for the ‘ruler of the world’ that is to be driven out. For this is a message, I believe, that directly addresses all human structures, institutions and norms of any society that legitimise violence and injustice: that hold humans captive, suffocate and deny them fullness of life, exploit or abuse them, that place greed over common good, exploitation over empathy, or ravage the environment, God’s own creation, for personal profit. The systems and assumptions of this world that choose domination, violence and death over freedom, peace and life.

What systems and assumptions are we talking about here, that might be driven out?

• In this week of the outcry following the murder of Sarah Everard, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests, it might be systems or norms of society that in any way legitimise or condone the subjugation of others, or violence against them, because they are different from those in roles of power, if they are, for example, female, or trans, or gay, or black or Asian,– to those who perpetuate such systems and norms, the resurrected Christ says sexism, racism and homophobia are not the way of life, but the way of death.

• As the violent crackdown continues in Myanmar, and in this week when the UK has announced that it will increase its number of nuclear warheads from 195 to 260 by the middle of the decade, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ drives out, at the heart of our world, what the theologian Walter Wink calls ‘the myth of redemptive violence’, that the way to deal with threats from others is to eliminate them. The myth, from Punch and Judy, to Popeye and Bluto, to Call of Duty, to oppressive military dictatorships, to international relations, that somehow the creation of fear and the threat of unimaginable violence protects, that war brings peace, that might is right. That weapons of mass killing are anything other than immoral.

Christianity at its worst has perpetuated and legitimised violence from the Crusades to the destruction and slaughter of indigenous peoples as heathens across Latin America, Africa and Australasia. Christianity at its best, recognises that on the cross such a myth is completely exposed, that no matter the violence perpetrated against Jesus on the cross and the suffering it entails, the love of God will prevail, and the evil of violence will not be met with more violence.

In these passages today, God says there is freedom within from these myths, these untruths, these ugly cultural assumptions or expectations. The cross exposes these evils of violence and injustice and takes away any legitimacy they could have. But of course it does not wipe them out in an instant. Hypothetical? Aspirational? Perhaps. Paper rules and regulations will not be enough to make humanity ever change, only transformation from within. But let every woman who walks in fear, every gay person who hears vile abuse, every Asian person who is assaulted in some infantile blame game for COVID 19, every civilian casualty of humanity’s endless wars of conquest, every person whose environment is threatened by climate change, know that the Christian God of Easter, from cross to resurrection, says ‘No!’

And then says ‘yes’ to all that brings life, peace and human flourishing.

That may, indeed, be written on our hearts already, to be shared in the brokenness of this world.  

RESPONSE TO THE SPIRIT OF GOD WITHIN   

Prayer  Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth
for Others

Open our eyes, Lord,
especially if they are half-shut
because we are tired of looking,
or half open
because we fear to see too much,
or bleared with tears
because yesterday and today and tomorrow
are filled with troubles,
or distracted,
because we only look at what we want to see.

Open our eyes, Lord
to the life we lead,
the home we have,
the world we inhabit,
and help to find,
where there are dark places and disappointments,
signs of hope we can fasten to on and encourage.

Take away the numbness of our familiarity, and give us the bigger vision of what you can do
even with lost causes
what you can achieve, your hope for the world

Lord God, show us the world in your sight,
Staggering around, reeling from COVID-19 as we approach the first anniversary of lockdown,
Weeping at the human loss and the ongoing struggles
riddled by oppression, prejudice and violence, by fear, debt and doubt,
yet also shot through with possibilities
with a vision on the horizon at Easter from a Cross on a hill outside Jerusalem
A vision for recovery, renewal, redemption and peace.

We have thought of that new vision for the world. We pray for that vision to come closer to reality,
We pray for your vision of a world where there is no more ‘starve’; a world where all that there is to eat means no more hungry mouths,
your vision of a world where there is no more ‘grab’, a world where sharing its resources means an end to greed and the destruction of our planet.

Your vision of the world where there is no more ‘shock and awe, search and destroy’, a world where the ‘myth of redemptive violence’ is forever a memory

Lord, we bring to you also today the innermost thoughts of our hearts. We know that you are listening. You know who are thinking of, who we are praying for, we name the people and the situations that keep us awake at night…

We know that we have made you aware of how precious and important they are to us. We ask you humbly to look on each one of these people or situations. To show them your love, your concern, to give them your support, strength, comfort, to bring the people and the resources to bear to intervene, to change things for the good. Lord, please help…
Lord God, we pray for your world and open our hearts to you, asking that in your love which has no boundaries and no end, that you might fill us and those who we have thought of with the fruits of that boundless love too, that we might be blessed and inspired as we go onward, to envisage a world where in the words of our hymn, there is always beauty for brokenness and hope for despair.

In Jesus name, Amen.

HYMN 259   Beauty for brokenness

Beauty for brokenness,
hope for despair,
Lord, in the suffering
this is our prayer.
Bread for the children,
justice, joy, peace,
sunrise to sunset
your kingdom increase.

Shelter for fragile lives,
cures for their ills,
work for the craftsmen,
trade for their skills.
Land for the dispossessed,
rights for the weak,
voices to plead the cause
of those who can't speak.

God of the poor,
friend of the weak,
give us compassion, we pray,
melt our cold hearts,
let tears fall like rain.
Come, change our love
from a spark to a flame.

Refuge from cruel wars,
havens from fear,
cities for sanctuary,
freedoms to share.
Peace to the killing fields,
scorched earth to green,
Christ for the bitterness,
his cross for the pain.

Rest for the ravaged earth,
oceans and streams,
plundered and poisoned,
our future, our dreams.
Lord, end our madness,
carelessness, greed;
make us content with
the things that we need.

God of the poor,
friend of the weak,
give us compassion, we pray,
melt our cold hearts,
let tears fall like rain.
Come, change our love
from a spark to a flame.

Lighten our darkness,
breathe on this flame,
until your justice
burns brightly again;
until the nations
learn of your ways,
seek your salvation
and bring you their praise.

God of the poor,
friend of the weak,
give us compassion, we pray,
melt our cold hearts,
let tears fall like rain.
Come, change our love
from a spark to a flame.

Graham Kendrick (b.1950)
Words and Music: (c) 1993 Make Way Music www.grahamkendrick.co.uk
International copyright secured. All rights reserved.

Closing Responses    Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth
and Benediction

From both of today’s readings, by Nathan Nettleton

Go now, to serve Christ and follow him.
Let your old life fall like a grain of wheat into the earth
so that you may bear much fruit
as you allow God to reshape your heart
and live in obedience to the law written within you.

And may God centre you in truth and steady your spirit.
May Christ renew your joy and strengthen your will.
And may the Spirit teach you God’s hidden wisdom
and fill you with songs of rejoicing.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord. 

BENEDICTION 

And may the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, let it be so with us all,
and with everyone whom we love, this day and for evermore,
Amen.

HYMN 825   Amen

Amen, Amen, Amen.

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INTIMATIONS

Note: Zoom Coffee and Chat after the Service
  11:30 am every week on Sundays. The link is:
  https://zoom.us/j/91620889282?pwd=SWVlZmQzMk9YZ2lBaTRCVlUvZ215dz09  
Bring your own coffee (or tea/juice!) If you prefer to phone in, the number to call is 0131 460 1196.

SUPPORT US  Regular and one-off donations, now possible through: www.give.net/20311853 

CROSSREACH PERINATAL SERVICES – MARCH GIVING   This covid period, and all of the associated restrictions, has been a particularly hard time for those with new babies and small children. CrossReach Perinatal Services (Mayfield Salisbury’s local charity) continue to offer support to families remotely, as has been the case since the first lockdown last year. They hope to return to face to face work in July.

In addition to their existing services including couple and individual counselling and group therapy, CrossReach has some new initiatives. They are launching a new group specifically for fathers managing anxiety, they also hope to extend their offer of infant massage so that more families have access to it, and in addition they are planning a new birth trauma group for mothers who have given birth during lockdown.

Once again, instead of our usual bucket collection to support the work of CrossReach Perinatal Services, we are asking you to help by giving direct to CrossReach in one of the following ways:

· Online giving  Visit the www.crossreach.org.uk page and click the purple “Donate” button at the top right of the page. This takes you to a Just Giving page which is for general CrossReach donations but there is a box in which you can “Add a message of support” and please would you type in there that the donation is for Perinatal Services (or PNS) which will ensure funds are routed to PNS. Please note that Just Giving automatically adds a platform fee but this can be changed to zero if preferred (with no reduction in the amount that is then routed to PNS). There is also the opportunity to gift aid your donation.

· Postal giving   CrossReach would be happy to receive any cheques by post which should be payable to “CrossReach” and sent to Supporter Development, CrossReach, Charis House, 47 Milton Road East, Edinburgh, EH15 2SR. If you could send cheques with a covering letter to let CrossReach know that the donation is for perinatal services, and if you wish to gift aid then please note that in your letter. In order to gift aid, CrossReach needs a note of your name and address.

Please continue to show your support for the very worthwhile work of Crossreach PNS, either financially in one of the ways highlighted above, and/or by keeping the staff, volunteers and families supported in your prayers. Finally, CrossReach would welcome any new volunteers for their creche (which they plan to reopen when they return to face to face work) and any new volunteer counsellors.

HOW ETHICAL IS YOUR EASTER EGG?    We all love chocolate don’t we? And at this time of year the shops are full of tempting Easter eggs - from mini to enormous! How can we choose an egg that delights our taste buds, while conforming to our ethical and eco values?

The Ethical Consumer magazine in April 2019 rated their Best Buys according to several ethical and eco standards. These are environment, people, animals, politics, product sustainability, and company ethos.

Cocoa Loco F, O, P, (V); Plamil F, O, V, (P); Divine F, P, (V); Traidcraft F, (V, P); Booja Booja F, O, P, V; Montezuma F, O, P, (V); Moo Free F, O, P, (V). F-Fairtrade; O-organic; P- palm oil free; V- vegan

A more recent addition to this list is an online company, Tony’s Chocolonely.

Companies to avoid: Cadbury’s; Creme Egg; Twirl; Green and Black’s; Nestle; Terry’s; Aero; KitKat; Smarties.
Source: www.ethicalconsumer.org

You might like to check out two UTube video documentaries, that give an eye opening account of the child trafficking and exploitation that goes on within the cocoa trade.  The Dark Side of Chocolate, and its sequel Shady Chocolate.

PASTORAL CARE   Remember we need you to inform us if someone is ill or due to go into hospital. Perhaps you would now like to have a pastoral visitor or receive a regular phone call?We would be delighted to hear from you and will respond to your request. Contact Kay on 07903 266 307.

ECO UPDATES  Please read our Eco Group page on the church website here: www.mayfieldsalisbury.org/eco

CORNERSTONE BOOKSHOP    If you are looking for a book to help you on your inward journey, expand your knowledge of Christian history, doctrine or the Bible, then please support our local bookshop Cornerstone Books.

The physical store is closed during Level 4 restrictions, but purchases can be made at  www.bookshop.org - nominating Cornerstone for all your book buying needs.  More information at: www.cornerstonebooks.org.uk  

Recommended Daily Meditations:  Fr Richard Rohr at www.cac.org      Also, see www.pray-as-you-go.org

Books for the Journey

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Forthcoming Deadlines

Order of service for next week: Thursday at 6.00pm.

Next Grapevine: Friday 23 April at 6.00pm.

Please send submissions to the Church Manager, William Mearns.

Phone: 0780 801 1234 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Copyright Notices

SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.

All rights reserved worldwide.

Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church holds a CCLI Streaming License: #88916

Images – Some courtesy of Pixabay

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