Shropshire & Marches
Methodist Circuit

FROM SUFFERING TO HOPE

Reflection on Circuit Online Worship Sermon June 14 2026
Delivered by Revd. Shalome MacNeill Cooper

Drawing from Bible passages: Romans 5:1-8 and Matthew 9:35-10:8

In this week’s Online Worship Service, Revd. Shalome MacNeill Cooper drew from the books of Romans 5 and Matthew 9. She asked us to consider the “movement of the heart of Jesus,” as portrayed in the verses from Matthew. She tells us, “He went about teaching, proclaiming the Good News, curing every disease and sickness. Then Matthew does something wonderful he takes us behind the heart of Jesus. He doesn’t tell us what Jesus did, he tells us what Jesus felt. Matthew said that when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. This is a deeply physical explanation. When we look at Jesus, he was gut-wrenched at what he saw. His heart physically hurt for the people he saw, who were tired, people who were disconnected, people who felt that the world was going too fast, leaving them behind, much like we are today, looking at the news; confused not knowing what’s happening and perhaps, really upset at things that can be happening in our lives or in the headline news. Jesus in his actions is immediate. The involuntary response is pure, unconditional love. Notice what Jesus does next. He states, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Then Jesus prepares the twelve and sends them out as the workers for the harvest.”

Revd. MacNeil Cooper went on to say, “For a long time the church has read this passage as a marching order, a frantic activity. Go! Go make disciples! And whilst there is this imminence and urgency to the Gospel, we hear the harvest is plentiful, there’s lots for us to do. We assume that God expects that we run ourselves ragged perhaps ticking off boxes, we must do this, this and this. Matthew names the people that Jesus sends out. They are not a highly trained spiritual elite, but ordinary people with doubts and physical limitations and God’s advice is “You received without payment, give without payment.” We look at our inabilities and physical shortfalls, but what if the harvest is the abundance of God’s love just waiting to be shown through us?  In their world, leprosy isolated people. You couldn’t be around lepers. Simple things like a hug or a touch on the arm were denied them. But you are not cut off or disconnected.  A labourer in God’s harvest can be someone holding and comforting someone else in their pain, it could be deep prayer, it could be the person who picks up the phone.”

“We can pass on peace; radiate peace.  This is the grace we have to offer; we have that peace. This brings us to Paul’s words: “Endurance develops character”. We can be tired, facing hardship but since we are justified in faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. So as Paul says, our suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope.”  And hope does not disappoint. Paul says when things get difficult, our God takes the difficult raw material of our lives and fashions deep endurance, and hope.

“God proved his love for us while we were yet sinners. Christ did not wait. God loves us even to our absolute, weakest moment. As Jesus looked out on the people, he had compassion for them and he has compassion for us.

God sees with absolute gut-wrenching compassion.

Let the grace fill you up and then let it overflow.”

Deborah Wills.