In today’s Remembrance Service we reflected on the generational links that tie us to the story of last century’s great wars, and in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s passing we remembered the way she and her family shared in the sufferings of their people during World War 2. By staying in London when it would have been safer to leave; encouraging people with their presence and their broadcasts; getting alongside folk and being real with them and rejoicing with them when the fighting had finished, the Royal Family identified with the struggles that the rest of the nation was going through. In the same way, in becoming human in Jesus, God not only identified with his human family, but went even further by paying the ultimate price to secure their future.

Ancient wisdom, not to mention human experience, tells us that body and soul are intimately connected. We’re creatures of sense and we can only experience our world, and indeed God himself, through our senses and our minds. Almost every spiritual practice you can think of begins with the body. So today we’re giving thanks for the ways in which God makes himself known to us through our physicality and remembering that he didn’t consider it beneath himself to join the community of those who wear skin when he came among us in Christ.

We also celebrated the baptism of Lily and Ben East this morning. Congratulations and well done!

Jesus wants us to be selfish, greedy people who only look out for themselves

Read today’s story – the parable of the shrewd manager – and you could be forgiven for thinking that’s what it’s saying. Lots of commentators reckon this is one of the hardest parables to get to the heart of, but at its core it’s saying “if the crooks of this world know how to use resources shrewdly for their own gain, how much more should people of faith use what they have wisely, for better ends?”

In a spell when discussion about tax cuts and tax rises is ubiquitous, maybe it’s not a bad time to be thinking about the good we can do when we’re open handed and learn to share more of what we’ve been blessed with.

It’s just two little words, but their presence can make a big difference, and their absence speaks louder than we might sometimes like it to.

“Thank you.”

Today we’re reflecting on the story of the healing of ten lepers, reflecting on why it was that only one of them came back to thank Jesus, and thinking about how ready we are to offer our thanks to one another, and to our creator.

Today’s is a weird parable. A farmer has his harvest plans sabotaged by an enemy who sneaks in and sows weeds among his wheat when no-one’s looking. Instead of wading in and trying to haul out the weeds then and there, the farmer chooses to wait ‘til they’re fully grown before finally sorting things out.

This little story is flagging up some big truths. The world’s not as we’d like it to be. It’s beautiful and broken at one and the same time. The weeds and the wheat spring up in the same places and the hard truth is, that includes our own hearts and minds. In his patience, God holds off disrupting the good crop to give it the best possible chance of growing; but his promise is that there will come a time when all that mars our growth and fruitfulness will finally be dealt with once and for all. This is our ultimate hope for ourselves and our world – that one day all that’s wrong in it will finally be weeded out, leaving only the good. In the meantime his Spirit give us the help to do a bit of weeding in the only bit of creation we really get to tend, which is our own lives.

Just past Newburgh, over the Ythan and a couple of miles down through the dunes, lies Forvie Kirk – a 12th century church that, along with the whole of the village, was buried by sand in a storm in the middle ages.

Forvie’s old lichen-crusted stones spoke to me the day I first went to see them, more than 15 years ago. They had a few things to say about faithfulness; and that’s what we found ourselves thinking about in this morning’s service.

In this Sunday's all age service we're reflecting on Her Late Majesty's reign, hearing some moving and funny stories about her life, but also thinking about what the foundation of that exceptional life was.

Today, and next Sunday, we’re going to be reflecting on the Queen’s life together as we worship. This morning, the first half of the service will be given over to remembrance, and we’ll have some of Her late Majesty’s favourite hymns as well as videos and prayers to help us reflect on her reign and the foundation of faith it was built upon.

It’s often said that life’s a journey, not a destination, and what’s true of life is equally true of the life of faith.

Discipleship isn’t a destination, it’s a road we choose to travel, whatever stage of the journey we’re on – whether we’re ‘just looking’, beginning to scope out what all of this means for us, or taking steps to grow our faith and work out how we can support the life of a congregation and not just receive from it.

Today, Jesus challenges his hearers not to be hangers on but to commit to the path of discipleship which asks for commitment, intention and no little self-sacrifice. It’s a hard word but a necessary one, and the vitality of any local congregation depends on its members responding to it.

Will you?

Today was a communion service, so if you want to join in please have bread and wine or equivalents ready for the end of the service.

https://youtu.be/lIC16TQxjrU

1200 miles over two and a half months on foot.

That’s what our friend John Gibson, supported by his wife Isobel and other family and friends, has accomplished – walking from Land’s End to John o’ Groats to raise awareness of issues around suicide, after his son Cameron took his own life in October of 2019.

Last Saturday we joined John, and many others whose lives have been touched by suicide, for the Black Isle stretch of his journey. Today’s sermon reflects on that experience and what we can learn from how God drew near to Elijah at the very lowest point of his life.

Whatever the circumstances, we have it in us to help others in inner pain with the simple gift of our presence and our listening.

https://youtu.be/j70SuwjPQTM