Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 Philippians 3:17 – 4:1 Luke 13:31-35

Abram had won a great victor y in battle but had chosen not to keep for himself any of the spoils, instead giving thanks to God for his defeat of the kings. Abram was already a ver y wealthy man, and blessed by the Lord in many ways, but he longed for a reward of a very different and much greater kind, which only the Lor d could provide: offspring who would continue the futur e generations of the life which he had r eceived from his forebears, and a kingdom of their own in which to settle. For he was already an old man, and his marr iage to Sarai remained childless. But God knows our needs even before we ask him, and gives with greater generosity than we can comprehend, and his promise to Abram is of such magnitude that it is not only life-changing for Abram, but marks a significant turning point in history, as Abram is chosen on account of his great faith in God to be the father of countless descendants and of many nations. The covenant that the Lord makes with Abram is a gift given freely to a man who tr usts implicitly in the word which the Lord has spoken to him.

The letter to the Philipp ians shows that Paul has a ver y high regard for this first church planted in Europe, and he is deter mined to ensure that having come to faith in Jesus Christ, these new Christians ar e not distracted or led astray, either by the disputes about retaining aspects of the ceremonial law, or by those who continue to look for ear thly rewards and treasures, characterised derisively by Paul as mere gluttony. Indeed he describes those who r emain attached to worldly things as enemies of the cross of Christ, for the example they set is quite literally deadly to those who ar e deceived in this way. Instead he sets before the Philippians the example of the life of faith which he and others have adopted, not boasting in any way but as a practical demonstration of the evangelical simplicity and humility of the apostles, coming fr om one who has already suf fered much for the gospel and is now imprisoned in Rome. We should reject the prevailing materialism of the present age in favour of our citizenship of the kingdom that is to come, in which alone we will be r enewed and glorified by the power of God.

Although the Pharisees have acquired an unenviable reputation in the popular r eading of the gospels, it seems that at least some of them were drawn to the teaching of Jesus and sought to protect him from harm. But Jesus, like John the Baptist before him, is not afraid directly to challenge the unjust rule of Herod, for to refrain from doing so is to collude with unrighteousness. Jesus knows that he must make the hardest of choices and continue with his ministr y, which will lead to his death in Jer usalem. It would be easy to walk away, to look for a safe place of refuge, or to alter his message so as to avoid any conflict with an unusually cunning and dangerous king. But Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem itself, to fulfil the long tradition of the prophets, rejected and mur dered by those who have set their faces against God and his law. It is only by his most selfless act of faithful obedience to God, accepting death on the cross as the ransom to be paid for our disobedience, that Jesus can accomplish our salvation. And we will only see him when at last we have faith in the one whom God has sent, and call upon him as our Lord and Saviour. The Rev Stephen Trott