The Gospel in hard times

Most of us are back from Filey, Scarborough, Skegness or wherever we spent our summer (in my case, largely in Sheffield, bronzing myself in Endcliffe Park), and I am struck by how exercised many people are by the continuing financial problems we face as a region and a nation. We are expecting significant cuts in public services, and some of us are very uncertain about how these will affect our jobs and our families. Some of us too are now actively looking for work. How do we live in accordance with the Gospel at a time of anxiety such as this?

First, Jesus calls us to follow him in prayer. When we are close to our Saviour, we also become closer to others, more sensitive to their needs and better able to walk with them during this time. Praying is also the most political act any Christian can do, for when we pray we break down the walls of separation between us and begin to build a new, and more equal, community.

Secondly, Jesus calls us to serve the common good, as he sets it out in the Gospel according to St Matthew, “feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, and welcome the stranger” (Matthew 25.31 – 46). These are the actions that will rebuild our society at this time of fear.

associated with that verse about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and visiting those imprisoned etc, My favourite verse is from the Old testament, From the prophet Micah , which reads:-

"Hear then what Yahweh asks of you: To live justly, to love tenderly, And to walk humbly with your God. ... (6:8 )

Living through hardship is part of our calling - and our discipleship!

i like the scriptures at matthew 6:25 to 34 , we can apply it ourselves and help others learn to apply it , and God will see to our needs

25“On this account I say to ​YOU: Stop being anxious about ​YOUR​ souls as to what ​YOU​ will eat or what ​YOU​ will drink, or about ​YOUR​ bodies as to what ​YOU​ will wear. Does not the soul mean more than food and the body than clothing?26Observe intently the birds of heaven, because they do not sow seed or reap or gather into storehouses; still ​YOUR​ heavenly Father feeds them. Are ​YOU​ not worth more than they are?27Who of ​YOU​ by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?28Also, on the matter of clothing, why are ​YOU​ anxious? Take a lesson from the lilies of the field, how they are growing; they do not toil, nor do they spin;29but I say to ​YOU​ that not even Sol′o‧mon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.30If, now, God thus clothes the vegetation of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much rather clothe ​YOU, ​YOU​ with little faith?31So never be anxious and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’32For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing. For ​YOUR​ heavenly Father knows ​YOU​ need all these things.

33“Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to ​YOU.34So, never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own badness.