THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
12th June 2026
Greetings,
In this Sunday's gospel (Matthew 9.35-10.23) Jesus gives his disciples authority and sends them out to do his work, mending souls and bodies. I can imagine some of them protesting on the basis of their inexperience and timidity. I can also imagine Jesus being quite firm and telling them to get on with it. With his mandate and their God-given gifts, they had all they needed. There would be mistakes and failings but they are part of life's tapestry, weaving a stronger fabric for the future.
And so it is with us, Jesus' disciples in this age. Christian authority is not the sole preserve of bishops and other clergy. In baptism Christ's authority is grafted into our hearts by water and the Spirit. In Confirmation it is reiterated as an active call to service and a sharing in Christ's royal priesthood. We will be reminded of this on Tuesday at the Archdeacon's Visitation when our Churchwardens, Ashley Hancock and Carol Morris will be commissioned and authorised in their particular ministries. Historically, churchwardens had a civic as well as a religious jurisdiction, tasked with keeping order in the wider community. Thankfully, that is no longer the case, but it is a reminder that where Christianity thrives, society thrives too. The great philosopher Immanuel Kant distilled the challenge of life thus: something to do, something to believe in, something to hope for. As prime doers, believers and hopers, we Christians have so much to give and, in this fractious world, it is certainly needed. We have so much to give, but do we really believe it? Has the world's contempt so eaten away at our souls that faith has become no more than a private consolation? Well, it is not beyond God to turn us around and fire us afresh just like those first disciples. With Christ's peace in our hearts we must never tire of doing, believing and hoping, looking afresh for those places and circumstances in which God wills us to serve.
Charles Booth
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