.jpg)
St Nicholas is now in the Care of Fr Christo (Christopher) Roberts until a permanent Priest is selected.
Prayer for the Vacancy of the Parish Please Lord, call to this your church and ours a true shepherd, a minister of Christ; and make us, with the priest, a church joyful in worship and united in witness, working, caring, praising, loving to the glory of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord
Dear Friends,
Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The Gospel reading for the fourth Sunday after Pentecost presents a selection from one of Jesus’s extended teachings in the Gospel of Matthew, usually called the missionary discourse. He speaks of the hardships his disciples will face, the divisions his message will bring, and the radical nature of loyalty to him.
This passage invites reflection on what it means to follow Jesus with full commitment.
Jesus begins with a statement about identity and suffering: “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a servant above the master” (10:24). Just as Jesus has faced opposition, his disciples will also. If the people of Jesus’s day could see his work and associate it with the work of the devil, we should not be surprised if similar things happen to us as followers today.
Just prior to this verse, Jesus has made clear that allegiance to him will sometimes cause rifts even in families. Again, this is something that Jesus himself had experienced (Mark 3:21), with some of his family questioning his sanity during his ministry.
In verses 26–31, Jesus repeatedly tells his disciples not to be afraid. Though they will face threats, they should not fear those who can harm the body but cannot touch the soul. Instead, they are to trust in God’s care, knowing that even the hairs on their heads are counted. Ultimately, Jesus reminds his hearers of their traditional understanding that God knows all that can be known.
He is keeping account, such that even the secret things will one day be made clearly known.
Shalom
Fr. Christo