Follow me and have blessings, long life and prosperity or don’t and have curses and death.  The choice offered in Deuteronomy 30:15-20 is a no-brainer. We all want blessings and life not curses and death.  But in Luke 14:25-33 the choice seems to be follow me and give up all those blessings: family, possessions, even life.   

Does choosing God means choosing life or does choosing God mean giving away our life? It means both.

Luke’s gospel is addressed to a community which is fragmenting under threat: families, congregations and communities were closing ranks.  This is a common human reaction to perceived danger or scarcity: we protect our own and what is ours.  We see this happening across the world from Trump raising tariff barriers to Reform targeting asylum hotels.

When God promised the people of Israel life and blessing in Deuteronomy it was a communal blessing: for all people to share the land and the blessing it offered.  Jesus is not opposing this promise; he is re-offering it to us: the blessing is for the many not the few.  Jesus is reminding us that all that all that we are and all that we have comes from God, it does not belong to us.  Our lives are not about us they are given by God to be used for the well-being of all. 

The choice we are offered is to let go of our small lives and become part of the expansive life-giving mission of God.  To choose to practise justice, honour creation, protect the vulnerable allows our lives overflow and bring life to the world around us. Then we will be blessed by being the blessing.

Some major roof maintenance started this week. The old roof is being re-covered but with new upstands and skylights ( to replace the existing, many of which are broken). The new ones are triple glazed, improving heat performance.

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