Readings
Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8;
Psalm 67;
Romans 15: 1 – 2a, 29 – 32;
Matthew 15: 10- 28

Collect
Lord of heaven and earth, as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer, give us patience and courage never to lose hope, but always to bring our prayers before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Reflection
I hope you have been enjoying the sunny weather – although by the time this reaches print we may well have had the forecast thunderstorms! In some ways that would be a good image to accompany my reflection this week, as I am thinking about ‘keeping at it’ in the life of faith, even when the ‘spiritual weather’ is less than ideal.  

I’ve had a lovely few weeks away on holiday – firstly with the family in Yorkshire, and then for a blissful week with just Richard (and the dog!) on our yacht on the East coast. The sun shone, the waters were calm, the days were lazy. Sitting in the cockpit of the boat, G and T in hand, watching the sun sink slowly, it was relatively easy to have spiritual thoughts and to feel very close to God. It was a big contrast with how I had been feeling in the run up to the holiday – stressed, grumpy (did anyone notice??!) and pretty un-holy most of the time. God got a quick nod, and my spiritual radar wasn’t exactly well tuned in. 

But instead of this being another exhortation to us all to try harder, spiritually speaking, in fact it’s a reflection about easing up on ourselves a little bit. We can all feel guilty about not praying enough or not reading our bible religiously (see what I did there!!). We can look at others, ministers or otherwise, and think they’ve got it all sorted (we haven’t). 

I think it’s important we all hear this: God’s love does not depend on us being ‘good’. God will love us even when we are being completely rubbish at the spiritual thing. It’s not something we can earn – it’s a free gift. 

We cannot ‘conjure up’ God by our perfect prayers, our diligent study, or our (pretend?) perpetually sunny disposition. Prayer certainly can bring us closer to God, but quite often it’s a dry, difficult thing, and we may not see many ‘results’. Study of the bible, or other books, certainly expands our understanding, can challenge us and enrich us, but it doesn’t follow that we will automatically capture what Jesus really taught. Being amenable, approachable, affable even, definitely smooths the path of relationships, but unless it comes from a place of peace and joy, it will be brittle and false – and short-lived.

Isaiah writes in chapter 56: 1 that God asks us to ‘maintain justice and do what is right’ – that’s what really matters. Our heart. Our trying to be loving. Our seeking after God and God’s ways. Even if we mess up occasionally (often!). Paul writes in Romans 11: 29 that ‘the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable’. God isn’t a parent who takes away our toys because we’ve been naughty. And the gospel reading this week not only reminds us that it’s what’s in our hearts that matters, but also extols the virtue of keeping on, even if we feel lost, exiled or desperate. Keeping on keeping on, as the saying goes; having a sense deep down that God loves us, whoever we are, and whatever we are like; and if our heart is directed ‘Godwards’, however shakily, then we will find peace.

So I hope that this week, whether you are facing happy holidays or daunting news, that you will ‘keep on’, and that you will cut yourself some slack in the religious perfection department. God doesn’t need it, or want it. God just wants your heart.

Sharon Grenham-Thompson