This is a copy of a short ‘homily’ (and the intercessions) given at Evening Prayer on Wednesday 7 August 2024 for the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. The Bible Reading was Mark 3:20-35 and I entitled my talk ‘Challenging Family Relationships.’

You can read a copy of the service for Evening Prayer here Summer-Midweek-Service-Wednesday-Evening-Prayer

Challenging family relationships are nothing new. They can lead to awkward meals, uncomfortable holidays, spats over minor things, and sometimes being completely estranged from one another. The Bible is filled with countless examples of family members at odds with each other: Jacob and Laban, Joseph and his brothers, Abraham and Sarah, Adam and Eve and their children, Cain and Abel.

Even Jesus experienced challenging family relationships and we see this in our reading from Mark’s gospel. This wasn’t a celebratory homecoming. Jesus’ family didn’t understand his ministry. He faced opposition from religious and political leaders. His disciples were unsure and to the people of Nazareth, he was just the son of Mary and Joseph.

Jesus’ family wanted to charge him with insanity. The Pharisees accused him of being possessed by the devil. Jesus was the Messiah the religious authorities didn’t expect and because of that they have absolutely no idea what to make of him or how to respond to him.

Truthtellers always make people uncomfortable. They disturb our creeds and customs. Those who challenge the status quo are dangerous. We can’t handle them. They threaten to turn everything upside down – or downside up.

Jesus didn’t fit their categories, and what doesn’t fit are typically labelled abnormal, or deviant, or crazy, or possessed. Similarly, we assume that what we know, have experienced, and hold to be true is normal, natural, and God-ordained, and that becomes the standard by which we judge the thoughts and actions of others. That’s where Jesus found himself.

Jesus’ whole ministry up until this point has been about a new vision of God and a new way of relating to God. And at the heart of that vision is the conviction that God desires the health and healing of all His creation, that he stands both with us and for us, that he is determined to love and redeem us no matter the cost.

This is why Jesus sets himself against all the powers that would rob humanity of the abundant life God intends – whether those powers be unclean spirits; disease that ravages the mind, body soul and spirit; illness that isolates and jealousy and bitterness that separates and destroys community. UK recent days.

Challenging family relationships are nothing new and sharing our faith with non-Christian family and friends has always been a balancing act. We long to share Jesus with them, but we don’t want to push them away. We work to maintain good relationships and yet we want to talk about the eternal life Jesus offers which  creates more animosity.

Sadly, our fast-changing culture has dramatically intensified that challenge. These days, simply talking with non-Christian family and friends can be as tricky as navigating a minefield. Every topic is more controversial. Every issue more polarised.

Jesus teaches that those who trust in him and accept the Holy Spirit will do the will of God and will become part of the family of God. Jesus redefined what constitutes a family at a time when family was everything, especially  when he says that anyone and everyone who does the work of God is his true brother and sister and mother.

A closer bond often exists between brothers and sisters in the faith than among biological families because of their spiritual relationship with one another and their desire to serve the Lord. Jesus knows this.

Jesus often pushed the boundaries of what was/is socially and religiously acceptable in order to reach more people with the always surprising, often upsetting, unimaginably gracious and ridiculous love of God.

If that’s the kind of love you want to offer to others, what can you do to push the boundaries in communicating the Good News of God’s kingdom in your words and your deeds amongst your family and friends and in the wider community to Transform, Revive and Heal Society? Perhaps that’s something to reflect upon in a few moments of quiet. Amen.

Today the church remembers the hymn writer John Mason Neale who has written ‘All glory laud and honour’ ‘Christ is made the sure foundation’ amongst many others. However, I’m going use one of his most well-loved Advent hymns as the outline for our prayers.

When I say Rejoice, rejoice! You respond. Emmanuel shall come to you.

O come, O come, Emmanuel!
Come to our world with its cruelty and hatred;
its division and distrust; its greed and its selfishness.
Come with your gentleness, to ease the pain of enmity.
Come with Your forgiveness, to dispel dissension and restore harmony.
Come with Your humility, to cure the error of pride and self-centredness.
Come with Your peace to transform the world into Your Kingdom.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you.


O come, O come, thou Lord of might!
Come to those who act violently and quell their anger.
Come to those who oppress the weak and establish kindness.
Come to those who revel in their powerfulness and remind them of the power of love.
Come with Your grace to establish Your Kingdom in the hearts of all.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you.


O come, thou Rod of Jesse!
Come to our nations and bless us with peace and prosperity.
Come to the lost and the least and the lonely in our lands
and let them know that they are valued and loved by you.
Come to those who have lost any sense of their worth and surround them with your love.
Come to the homeless, the forsaken, the poor in spirit and the disturbed in mind bringing your peace.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you.


O come, thou Key of David!
Come to the Church and show it how to serve you as you wish to be served.
Come to local congregations and enable them to reach out to the unchurched with the hope which they need.
Come to this Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf and bind it in unity to its Lord and Master.
Come and make Your Gospel a living reality here, in our time and place.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you.


O come, thou Dayspring!
Come to the sick and the suffering with the balm of your healing.
Come to the guilty and the grieving with the offer of your forgiveness and hope.
Come to the distressed and the dying with the promise of your peace.
Come to all who are in need, for You are sufficient for every need.
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you.

And now we share in a moment of silence the personal and private prayers of our hearts, for ourselves and for those known to us …
Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you. 

Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

This is the song I played at the end of the service.