As children of light, we are called to put first the way of God; to set aside time to mull over worldly concerns in the light of what we understand of God’s world. Our faith and our prayer life inform our view of both worlds and provide a more balanced view; one which is not the result of someone else’s rhetoric and persuasion. Such a view inspires us to take our lead from the example of Jesus. For he was very clear that it just doesn’t work out if we try to serve two masters; it is illogical that it should. In other words, if we allow our main preoccupation to be making money or forging a career or any other aspect of life which we allow to take centre stage, then we cannot make enough space for total commitment to God.

It’s more than challenging. It sounds well-nigh impossible. We live in the world and few of us can turn our back on that entirely. We are bombarded by targeted advertising and social media influencers who can make anything sound desirable and trustworthy.

Restricted budgets and busy lives often mean that we shop without always checking the credentials of the shop we’re buying from, or looking in detail at the provenance of what we’re buying. But fish scraped from the seabed in their millions, in nets that trap dolphins and turtles as well, are unnecessary luxuries our planet simply can’t afford. We need to be aware of these pitfalls and be consistent in avoiding them.

Fortunately, Jesus is there to support us, and his teaching is clear and reassuring. In Luke 12:30, he says:

“ … the pagan world runs after all such things and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his Kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.”

This post is an extract from the sermon on Luke 16:1–13 preached by the Rev Carol Latimer at St Serf’s, Burntisland on 21 September 2025, the Third Sunday in the Season of Creation. Do take time to read the whole of this challenging sermon at this link.

Our silhouette of someone observing images of earth was taken by Hunter Scott and made available on Unsplash

The Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, born in 1901, was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas the second, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia.

When Anastasia was thirteen, she was given a ‘Brownie’ box camera, first invented some ten years previously. As a precocious teenager, she stood herself in front of a mirror and clicked the camera in her hands. Having had the photo developed she sent it to a friend. In an accompanying letter she wrote. “I took this picture of myself looking at the mirror. It was very hard because my hands were trembling.” What Anastasia had produced was the first self-portrait of herself. It may have been the last, as tragically she was murdered with her family in July 1918, during the course of the Russian Revolution.

Advances in technology have meant that making a self-portrait has never been easier. During the 1970s, the instant Polaroid camera became available, but this has now been superseded by mobile phone cameras. Now, along with the ‘Brownie’ box camera, the term ‘self-portrait’ is also obsolete. The word ‘selfie’, meaning taking an image of oneself by means of a mobile phone, has now entered the dictionary.

Today marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is an opportunity to take a selfie and then to examine it critically. What might we see? Imagine like Anastasia, sending that portrait to a friend. What might that friend honestly say about us?

In addition, Ash Wednesday is a time to address the elephant in the room. We are confronted with advertisements of cures and remedies claiming to take years off our life and to make us feel younger. But as the hymn says, “Time like an ever-rolling stream bears all its sons away”. The word “death” is tiptoed around. In such situations, many individuals prefer to use the terms “passed on” or “taken from us”. In short, we fail to accept that time on earth is only finite. Ash Wednesday brings us up short. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Our self-portrait before us, along with knowledge of a day of judgement, our shortcomings and our mortality, might prompt us to penitence. An outward sign of penitence that we are offering today is an ‘Imposition of the Ashes’ [the mark of the cross applied to the forehead, using a paste of olive oil and the ashes prepared by burning palm crosses from the previous year], either self-imposed or applied by someone else after receipt of the sacraments.

Grant us Lord the wisdom and grace to use aright the time that is left to us here on earth. Lead us to repent of our sins, the evil we have done and the good we have not done and strengthen us to follow the way that leads to the fullness of eternal life.

Amen.

Photo by Alexei Maridashvili on Unsplash