A final reflection from Jenny for Enborne and Kintbury Schools

Good morning everyone

We light our candle

and greet each other:

The Lord be with you

And also with you

Last week, Rev’d Tim talked about Hope – about keeping going and people helping each other – and shared a passage from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans: ‘Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’

A letter from Paul:

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s important for all us to hope and to have hope.

Hope is one of the three favourite values Kintbury School children chose last year. Hope was really important for St Paul when he wrote that letter – we think he was probably being kept in prison at the time, for being a Christian.

I was thinking about people keeping going, and helping each other and I was reminded about another letter Paul wrote; this time to the people who lived in Corinth – the Corinthians. The church in Corinth wasn’t having a very good time: people were quarrelling with each other, they were showing off,

they were forming little groups that wouldn’t share or be kind

to the people in other groups –

you know the kind of thing.

So Paul wrote a rather sad, stern letter to tell them to try and do better:

A letter from Paul:

To the church of God in Corinth, Grace and peace to you from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ. .

In the Letter to the Corinthians is a very famous verse: Chapter 13, Verse 13:

“Three things will last forever—Faith, Hope, and Love—and the greatest of these is Love.”

Thinking about “love” and about “keeping going” made me think about all the people in the National Health Service who just kept going and going and going all through lockdown and before lockdown and after lockdown.

They were often scared of getting ill themselves; they were often sad because the people they looked after were so ill;

they were always tired because they had to work such long hours, day after day after day.

But they knew their patients needed them – and they wanted to show love, and bring hope, so they just kept going.

Three things – Faith, Hope, Love

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father

We have Faith in your goodness and your care for all of us;Give us your Hope, and help us to show and share your Love with the people we know and the people we meet.

Amen

And so we blow the candle out,

:

ready to go on with our day:

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord”

In the name of Christ … Amen

And we know that God’s love will go with us as we start the summer holidays, and look forward to a new school year – in a new class, with a new teacher, and maybe in a new school:

The greatest of these is Love