Author: stmelangell_l5nfea

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” From Luke 3:1-6

”For those living with MND……when the Sinfield juggernaut comes through…..it lifts their spirits, it shines a bright, bright light.” John Maguire, BBC commentator. 

St Luke, with his customary doctor’s eye for detail, sets today’s Gospel in the context of those in authority at the time. He cites Tiberius as Emperor, Pontius Pilate as Governor of Judaea, Herod as ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip as ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis with Lysanias the ruler of Abilene. All this, he writes, takes place in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas and it’s this context of earthly power that dates to 28 or 29 CE the emergence of John in the wilderness to proclaim the coming of a very different realm. He urges his listeners to prepare the way, not of an earthly ruler, but for the Lord who will come and who is greater than he. The mountains will be made low and the valleys raised, declares John – this is a topsy-turvy kingdom where worldly values and power are overturned.

I often pass one of the construction sites for a hub of the HS2, the ill-fated high speed train that has had its route curtailed due to escalating costs. This is a massive undertaking involving the compulsory purchase of properties en route, the preparation of the ground and foundations, the time and skills of many and huge amounts of money and machinery. Slowly, shape and order is emerging from the chaos and mud but it’s taken a long time of planning and preparation as well as hard graft. This huge undertaking contrasts sharply with the work of Calum MacLeod, a Scot living on the Island of Raasay, whose daughter’s education was being affected because there was no road as the original ran out due to cost and left people in the North of the island isolated. Julie was 14 when Calum decided that, nothing having been done about this, he would build the remaining two miles stretch himself. This was the start of an astonishing feat which took him ten years as he single-handedly demolished what blocked the route and constructed a way of joining two isolated communities together, whilst also working as a crofter, postman and lighthouse keeper. By the time he finished, it was too late for his daughter who was now an adult but succeeding generations benefited from his foresight and hard work in creating the road which is still in use fifty years later. Calum could, like so many others, have done nothing but he decided that, despite the challenges, he would do something about a situation that needed a solution – and he did. He prepared and made the way.

The same was true of Doddie Weir, the Scots rugby player diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. He knew this would kill him, which it did, but was determined to do what he could to raise awareness and money to try to find a cure for it. Doddie’s courage as well as his determination not to lie down and give up began the challenge that has now evolved into Kevin Sinfield’s Running Home for Christmas, seven ultra marathons run over seven days in seven different places in honour of Rob Burrow, who played rugby in a seven shirt and who also died of MND earlier this year. A great many people were involved in the arrangements and preparation of the route for Kevin and his team of supporters, doctors, sports therapists and nutritionists, all combining to try to raise their target of £777,777,7. That was surpassed and, as the commentator John Maguire said, “It’s light in the darkness isn’t it?” 

Looking for light in the darkness is not only part of the Advent preparation for Christmas but appropriate since this is being written at night during a power cut caused by Storm Darragh! May the light guide us in 2024 in whatever form of wilderness and authority we find ourselves in the reign of King Charles III, with Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, Eluned Morgan as First Minister of Wales and the Church in turmoil as it comes to terms with a disgraced Archbishop of Canterbury and a storm of criticism for the institution itself over safeguarding issues. Nevertheless, like John the Baptist, we have our own part to play in serving the Lord as we are also tasked with preparing the way for what is to be or enabling others to do so. And, if the wilderness seems to dominate, it’s very dark and everything is topsy-turvy, perhaps we are closer to the kingdom of heaven than we may realise?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

The Bishop of St Asaph has asked for his Advent message to be circulated, so it forms this week’s reflection and is available below in Welsh or English. 

May Advent bring forgiveness, wider vision, fresh hope – and an Advent-ure!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

Advent Message from the Bishop of St Asaph 2024

It’s good to have the opportunity to communicate with you once again this Advent Sunday, and to reflect about how our life as a diocese has been developing, both in the year past and in the year ahead.  

 In the diocese we’ve been living into our three foci – Growing Faith, Bringing Hope and Demonstrating Love. This year, I’d like to focus on Bringing Hope. One of the great saints of the Church, St Augustine of Hippo, spoke about the festival of Easter. It maybe a surprise to be talking about Easter in Advent, but he said to his churches, “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song.” We are an Easter people and “Praise to God” is our song.  

Christians should be bearers of Hope.  We should be people who warm the hearts of those we encounter; who create courage and positive feelings; who transform the world into being a more hopeful, better place.  

So how can we do that in a world that is fairly grim; a world in which people are suffering, in which there are levels of anxiety and need, of homelessness and food poverty, a world in which there is greater war than we have seen for a long time. We are still praying for peace in the Holy Land and peace in Ukraine. We are still seeing governments having to raise taxes and populations electing curious choices to be their leader. How do we bring hope in that situation?

I can tell you what brings me hope. 

The first thing that brings me hope, is my belief that, in the end, as Christians, we affirm that God is in control. The message of the birth of the baby in Bethlehem is to say, “God has the work of salvation in hand. He is working to save us; He is working to put things right. He is our chief hope and stay in any situation”. “God help us – Hosanna, Free us” is the cry of the Christian church. God really does give me hope. 

The second thing that brings me hope is my love for the Christian disciple, that is, the real joy I see in the eyes and the hearts of members of the Teulu Asaph.  

So what is my Advent Message to you this year? Quite simply, “Put your trust in God. Deepen your knowledge of God so that he may bring you hope, so that you may become a bearer of hope to others; someone who will encourage, someone who will stand alongside, someone who makes time to be with other people  – so that we can become an Advent people and “Alleluia” can still be our song.  

Neges yr Adfent gan Esgob Llanelwy 2024

Mae’n dda cael cyfle i siarad â chi unwaith eto, ar y Sul hwn yn yr Adfent, ac i ystyried datblygiad ein bywyd fel esgobaeth, yn y flwyddyn sy’n dod i ben ac yn y flwyddyn sydd i ddod.

Rydym ni yn yr esgobaeth wedi bod yn ymroi i dair elfen ein harwyddair – tyfu ffydd, dod â gobaith a dangos cariad.  Eleni, hoffwn ganolbwyntio ar ddod â gobaith. Efallai ei bod yn swnio’n rhyfedd i sôn am y Pasg yng nghyfnod yr Adfent, ond dyma a ddywedodd un o seintiau mawr yr eglwys, Awstin Sant, wrth ei eglwysi am ŵyl y Pasg, “Pobl y Pasg ydym ni ac Alelwia yw ein cân. Pobl y Pasg ydym ni a Mawl i Dduw yw ein cân.”

Dylai Cristnogion ddod â gobaith i bobl; dylem gynhesu calonnau’r rhai y down ar eu traws, dylem wneud i bobl deimlo’n ddewr ac yn gadarnhaol, a thrawsnewid y byd i fod yn lle gwell a mwy gobeithiol.

Ond sut allwn ni wneud hynny mewn byd sy’n filain; byd sy’n llawn sefyllfaoedd eithaf difrifol; byd lle mae pobl yn dioddef; lle mae llawer o bryder ac angen, digartrefedd a thlodi bwyd; byd lle mae mwy o ryfel nag a welsom ers amser maith; lle rydym yn dal i weddïo am heddwch yn y Wlad Sanctaidd ac yn Wcráin. Yr ydym yn gweld bod llywodraethau’n dal i orfod codi trethi a phoblogaethau’n dal i wneud dewisiadau rhyfedd wrth ddewis arweinydd?

Sut allwn ni ddod â gobaith yn y sefyllfa honno?

Gallaf i ddweud wrthych beth sy’n dod â gobaith i mi.

Y peth cyntaf sy’n dod â gobaith i mi yw fy mod yn credu ein bod ni fel Cristnogion yn cadarnhau mai Duw sy’n rheoli yn y pen draw. Byrdwn y neges am eni’r baban ym Methlehem yw bod iachawdwriaeth yn llaw Duw.  Mae’n gweithio i’n hachub; mae’n gweithio i wneud pethau’n iawn.  Ef yw ein prif obaith a chynhaliaeth mewn unrhyw sefyllfa.  “Helpa ni Dduw – Hosanna, Rhyddha ni,” yw cri’r eglwys Gristnogol.  Mae Duw wir yn rhoi gobaith i mi.

Ond y peth arall sy’n dod â gobaith i mi yw cariad disgyblion Cristnogol – y gwir lawenydd a welaf yn llygaid a chalonnau aelodau Teulu Asaph.

Felly beth yw fy Neges Adfent i chi eleni?  Yn syml iawn, ymddiriedwch yn Nuw.  Ewch ati i feithrin adnabyddiaeth ddyfnach o Dduw fel y daw ef â gobaith i chi, ac y dowch chi â gobaith i eraill. Trwy annog pobl, cydsefyll â nhw, a gwneud amser i fod yn eu cwmni, gallwn ni fod yn bobl yr Adfent ac “Alelwia” fydd ein cân o hyd.

The Kingship of Jesus is an issue at his birth as well as his death.  Born in the reign of Emperor Augustus, the appearance of the Magi in Jerusalem asking the whereabouts of the child born to be the King of the Jews was enough to alert King Herod and send Jesus and his family into exile in Egypt for fear of his life. Even the song of the angels on the night of his birth was revolutionary –  Luke’s Gospel tells of a multitude of the heavenly host singing, “Glory to God in the highest! And on earth, peace.” This part of the Nativity happens outside Bethlehem, now in the West Bank and part of the ongoing turmoil in the Holy Land and Middle East today. Then, the birth of Jesus was at a relatively peaceful time in Palestine, although enforced by the Roman occupation, but the cry of “Glory to God in the highest” was revolutionary and could get you killed because it gave God the highest honour and not the Emperor.

The same was true when Jesus appeared before Pontius Pilate in the reign of Emperor Tiberius, just before his crucifixion, when earthly power is confronted by a different kind of kingship. As the Roman prefect of Judea, Pilate was a puppet ruler caught between the occupying Romans and the people and his first question to Jesus is, “Are you the King of the Jews?” A debate then follows with Jesus declaring that his kingdom is not of this world and that he has come to testify to the truth, with Pilate asking the question that resounds through history: “What is truth?”

That question is as relevant today as then, especially with so much rumour,  trolling and Trumped up comments being posted on social media with calls for greater regulation having little success. The truth of the matter according to the Gospels is that this King rides into Jerusalem on a donkey rather than the usual kingly stallion; humbly washes the feet of his disciples; wears a crown made of thorns on the throne of a cross; forgives his enemies as he dies; enables a dying criminal to find hope; and proves the truth of which he has been speaking through the resurrection. Ironically, the Roman prefect who gave in to the people posts Jesus’ kingship in Hebrew, Latin and Greek atop the cross – testifying as the King of the Jews and not, as requested by the chief priests, “This man says he is the King of the Jews.” And, as the soldiers mock Jesus, it is a penitent criminal – a man with no illusions about himself or his fate – who recognises the truth before him and is forgiven whereas his disciples had mostly fled from the reality they found too hard to bear. Is the same true, at times, for us?

Today is also Stir Up Sunday, the Sunday before the start of Advent and the traditional time when Christmas puddings were made in order to mature in time for the feast.  A secret wish, – a form of prayer in a way? – usually to do with hopes for what could be, was often made as the pud was stirred and the ingredients were mixed in. Given the uncertain situations being faced today in so many ways, perhaps that very uncertainty may stir us up to realise that, like Pilate, we also need to proclaim Jesus as King when he appears in our lives and to ask and respond to the same question, “What is truth?”

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“If anyone puts a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for them if a great millstone were hung around their neck and they were drowned in the sea.” Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 18:6.

“Appropriate and proportionate action should be taken with anyone who has failed in safeguarding terms.” The Bishop of Winchester, Rt. Rev’d Phillip Mounstephen.

In light of the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury this week, it’s appropriate that today is Safeguarding Sunday as the Church of England is left in turmoil and called to address the issues arising from the Makin Report more thoroughly and openly than has been the case. Since St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597, Archbishops have left their role for various reasons – not least murder and execution – but Justin Welby is the first to resign over matters of negligence. As he wrote in his resignation statement, “It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility,” and it was said of him that his position had become ‘holy untenable’.

There is very little that is holy in the appalling details that have been revealed about the terrible child abuse inflicted by John Smyth at youth camps and schools in the UK and Africa for so many years and the failure of the Church to deal with it effectively. Chances to stop him were missed and neither fully exposed nor prevented further abuse by him. Steps taken by the institution and individuals within it were ineffective and the police were not informed when they should have been as others who knew also failed to take proper action. Survivors therefore had to endure the consequences for longer than need have been the case in an institution tasked with particular care for the defenceless, widows and children, as well as liberation for the captive. Jesus himself warned his disciples of the terrible consequences for those who did not look after children (see above) and those who experienced the abuse included Smyth’s family. Many victims have described how their psychological and spiritual health has suffered even when the physical trauma ended and how they’ve been unable to move on even though Smyth is now dead because they were also treated so badly by the Church. As Mark Stibbe, victim and former vicar commented, ”We are still suffering broken hearts, broken marriages and broken lives as a result of it so it never really goes away.”

The Archbishop, a former oil executive, has endeavoured to introduce change to the church and update its practice on issues such as women bishops and the blessing of same sex marriages although these remain controversial. He has been outspoken on issues such as slavery, housing, child poverty, Rwanda and assisted dying although this seems to have been overlooked in the current controversy. Let it not be forgotten how much good the church also does in so many ways but it does seem that a conspiracy of silence has prevailed in a desire to protect the institution and avoid a scandal. Now that Welby has resigned, and others may follow, it’s suggested that this may lead to more effective and independent safeguarding with a complete overhaul of church procedures and awareness of individual as well as institutional responsibility.

This applies not just to the church but to many institutions and businesses where silence and turning a blind eye can often prevail, as in the case of Mohamed Al-Fayed at Harrods. It can take immense courage to speak out but the hope is that others may then also come forward, silenced voices may then be heard and action will follow.

Perhaps there have been times when we have not spoken out or have ourselves been ignored and not found support. May the shame and sorrow of which Justin Welby has spoken lead to greater awareness of the need for effective safeguarding in all areas of life from anyone involved in any way with children and vulnerable adults and not just figureheads. The responsibility and accountability for their safety belongs to us all.

For further information or support, please contact safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk or call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056. With my prayers; pob bendith,Christine, Priest Guardian. 

Unlikely as it may seem, I am an honorary member of the Royal Marines Association dating from when I was Chaplain to the Nottingham RMA which commemorated Lance Corporal Walter Parker VC as a local war hero. Parker won his Victoria Cross during the Gallipoli campaign, on the night of  30^th April 1915, when he volunteered to be a stretcher bearer with a party of men taking ammunition and supplies to an isolated trench containing about 40 soldiers, some of whom were wounded, and men had already been killed trying to reach it. 

After crossing 400 yards of an open area being swept by machine-gun and rifle fire, Lance Corporal Parker found himself alone because everyone else had been killed or injured. When he arrived at the trench, he tended those needing care and also helped with the evacuation of the trench early the next morning, even though he himself was seriously wounded. The citation notes that Parker showed remarkable bravery then and during the previous three days too, when almost every wounded man had to be evacuated under fire and over open ground.

Parker won the VC but never fully recovered from his wounds and was invalided out of service in June 1916 before dying at the age of only 55. The remarkable thing about his VC is that stretcher bearers don’t bear arms and the action under fire was taken whilst being unable to defend himself. Before his Army service, Walter had worked at the local ironworks and, at 33, was considerably older than many of his comrades. He was just an ordinary chap leading a quiet life in Nottinghamshire but, called up to the trenches, found himself in an extraordinary situation where his commanding officer, adjutant, sergeant major and company commander were all injured in the same action. There was no-one else to do what needed to be done and so Walter stepped in and did what was necessary. Perhaps that’s one of the definitions of courage – realising that you are the one who needs to act and responding to that duty for the sake of others, no matter how unlikely it may seem. And perhaps that’s a duty that, for various reasons, we have shown or maybe avoided at times in our own lives. 

That was the case with other ordinary people who stepped up. Amongst them was a Welsh seamstress, Mabel Davies from Newport, who had married Max Wulff, a German sailor, in 1909. They had set up home in Wales but he was interned when World War One broke out and sent back to Germany when it was over. His wife and two children joined him there and Mabel was the caretaker of the Anglican Church in Hamburg when the Second World War began. She and the church were harassed by the Gestapo but Mabel concealed British flags under the altar, hid valuable art works, put out fires when the church was bombed at various times in the frequent raids on Hamburg and also allowed people to shelter in the church, helping to save their lives. Mabel did what needed to be done, despite the personal risks involved, and later received the British Empire Medal for her courage.

Others found that quick thinking was the order of the day, like the officer commanding Royal Welch Fusiliers who had become trapped during fighting in Reusel, Holland. Rather than using English, by calling out his orders in Welsh the men were able to withdraw in small groups without discovery as none of the surrounding Germans could understand Welsh. Quick thinking saved lives where previously hundreds had died. Sadly, quick thinking could not save Private William Lewis of 1 Berwyn Square here in Llangynog. He was killed in Palestine in 1917 and is commemorated at Pennant Melangell – a poignant reminder of the cost and waste of warfare as we consider the warfare and bloodshed that still goes on, for different reasons, in the Middle East today. In the same way, how hard it must have been for the family of Edward Evans of Llangynog, who served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He survived the war having been badly gassed but his weakened lungs could not overcome the tuberculosis from which he died in 1920 and, because his death was war related, Edward Evans is honoured as one of the local war dead in St Melangell’s churchyard. 

The consequences of war service were factors for the Welsh Guards, too, on their return from a tour of duty in Helmand Province Afghanistan in 2009. One of them said that nobody came back the same person as they went following the terrible sights, experiences and losses they’d endured. PTSD developed for some but one of the officers spoke of his great pride in what had been achieved in six months. “It was about endurance and human endeavour, everyone at every level,” he said – and aren’t there times when that is true in our lives, when, on the home front, we also have to show endurance and human endeavour or find ourselves pushed to the limits, too? 

And as we commemorate D Day, Kohima, Monte Cassino and the battles 80 years ago, so we remember Able Seaman Glyn Evans of Berwyn Street Llangynog, the only name here for the Second World War, who died at the age of 20 in 1944 when HMS Mahratta was torpedoed off Norway by a U boat whilst she was on convoy escort.  

Walter Parker, Mabel Wulff, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, William Lewis, Edward Evans, Glyn Evans and the Welsh Guards: all examples of courage and fortitude in times of extreme danger and trial. Many are long dead and we may think it’s all far removed from us today but is it actually? For them, the warfare is over but for us, in less extreme ways, life’s battles go on. Perhaps there are times for us when, like Walter Parker, those who might have taken control are out of action and we unexpectedly find ourselves the only one available; perhaps, like Mabel Wulff, caretaking means that we have to take evasive action for the sake of others; perhaps, like the officer commanding the Welch Fusiliers in Reusel, our quick thinking may save the day; perhaps, like William Lewis, Edward Evans and Glyn Evans, we know of lives laid down through violence, illness or painful memories for the sake of the freedom we sometimes take for granted today; or perhaps, like some those Welsh Guards, we find ourselves having to live with agonising memories and experiences that are hard to overcome. We in our generation, ordinary people living out our daily lives, are having to endure times of extraordinary change, which can be hard to accept. As we contemplate a world where still so many are killed or injured through warfare or violence, the fight for justice goes on – as does the hope that making a difference for good to establish peace will prevail as it eventually did in Northern Ireland and the Balkans in our day. 

Those who died fell in the service of others and for the cause of freedom and peace – that service and cause is now ours. May the example of all those in the Navy, the  Army, the RAF and the civilians who made the ultimate sacrifice inspire us  to honour their memory and to build on their lives’ legacies through doing what needs to be done, as they did, and helping to create communities of hope and peace as we, with thanksgiving, honour and remember them. 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” From Mark 12:28-34. 

 ‘Let saints on earth in concert sing With those whose work is done For all the servants of our King In heaven and earth are one.’ Hymn by Charles Wesley.

All Saints’ Day, 1st November, can be transferred to the First Sunday of November if it falls on a week day – as it does this year – because it is such a highlight of the Christian year. It marks those real men and women, known and unknown to us today, whose lives have been dedicated to serving God and whose examples have encouraged others in their own faith. There are many churches dedicated to All Saints and some saints, like Melangell, are esteemed by public acclamation rather than canonisation. This doesn’t apply only to those who have died, but to living Christians too, as in St Paul’s greeting ‘to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Colossae.’  (Col. 1:2, NIV) or Charles Wesley’s hymn, above. 

That call to sing God’s praises is not always joyfully reflected in the lives of the saints, and it was St Teresa who prayed: “From sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.” Many knew great tribulation but joy is also a hallmark for many and St Thomas More, in a letter to his daughter Margaret before his execution, wrote of his hope that ‘We may merrily meet in heaven’. That same courage and humour even in the face of such adversity was also reflected in his words to the Lieutenant of the Tower of London at his execution: “Assist me up. Coming down I can look after myself.”

Some saints such as John the Baptist, known as St John the Forerunner in Orthodox tradition, lived very hard lives and were martyred for their faith. Francis of Assisi gave up his wealthy heritage at an early stage to follow a life of poverty, chastity and obedience whilst others like the theologian St Augustine of Hippo wrote as a young man, ‘Lord, give me chastity and continency – but not yet!’ By contrast, Mary gave birth to Jesus in extraordinary circumstances, fled with him and Joseph to Egypt and later witnessed his ministry and terrible death through saying yes rather than no to what was asked of her at a time when she could not have known what lay ahead. Jesus and his earthly father, now known as St Joseph the Worker, spent much of their lives doing manual labour whilst some such as Hildegard of Bingen devoted themselves to prayer and study and others like the priest Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take the place of a prisoner being executed in the same concentration camp who was a husband and father. There are as many ways of being a saint as there are saints, the word originating from the Latin ‘sanctus’ simply meaning holy. Holiness attracts and places matter, too – near here on the Llŷn Peninsular in Wales is Bardsey Island, said to be the Island of 20,000 Saints and still a place of pilgrimage and grace today. 

In the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of the Kingdom, the four Sundays before Advent, many of the people surrounding Jesus are not so much concerned with holiness as with questioning and querying him to try and catch him out. Nevertheless, Jesus continues to speak of the importance of love of God, neighbour and self. A scribe, an erudite man, affirms his words where so many have tested Jesus, who then says to him, “ You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” 

With that comment, the hope of heaven and Kingdom values here on earth breaks through into this world now, as in the time of Jesus. Perhaps we, too, are closer to the Kingdom of God than we realise? In the face of so much conflict, woundedness and death in life today, we can also glimpse holiness and hope with All Saints’ Day and that of All Souls’ on 2nd November reminding us that love is the bridge between this world and the next. But it’s a costly business and, as the poet Malcolm Guite writes in his sonnet The gathered glories: 

‘Though Satan breaks our dark glass into shards 

Each shard still shines with Christ’s reflected light.

……….The dark is bright 

With quiet lives and steady lights undimmed. 

The witness of the ones we shunned and shamed, 

Plain in our sight and far beyond our seeing. 

He weaves them with us in the web of being….. 

To triumph where all saints are known and named; 

The gathered glories of His wounded love.’ 

FromSounding the Seasons, Canterbury Press. 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

‘Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.’ Archbishop Cranmer’s Collect in the original Book of Common Prayer for the Second Sunday of Advent.

“Wakefield Prison: I put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that I gave up smoking today, 16.4.82.

I did stop smoking this time 31.5.84 in HMP Nottingham.”

“We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him.” Notes in the margin and an underlined passage of Romans 8:28 in a prison Bible.

Today is Bible Sunday, although it used to be held on the Second Sunday of Advent due to the collect for that day which was a prayer of thanksgiving for the Holy Scriptures – see above. Dating from 1549, and regularly being revised, the Book of Common Prayer introduced by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer continued the practice of the synagogues and early Christians in having set readings on which preaching would be based. He developed the lectionary of one-year Bible readings following Henry VIII’s order in 1538 that an English Bible must be placed in every parish church and so the scriptures became more accessible to the congregations who had previously heard them in Latin. Cranmer began a series of reforms which brought further conflict with the Catholic church following the posting of Martin Luther’s 95 theses in Wittenberg on 31st October 1517, and the Protestant Reformation lead to violent struggles for change. Cranmer’s terrible death by burning at the stake under the Catholic Mary I is a reminder of how costly those reforms would prove to be and Bible Sunday is now marked on the Sunday nearest to 31st October, Reformation Sunday. 

It’s an astounding thought that, for most of its existence, the Bible would only have been heard as most people could not read and its cost before the printing press would have been the equivalent price of a house. Today, the availability of a Bible is often taken for granted and it’s sometimes forgotten that it’s actually a library of books with different purposes ranging from history and religious practice to love poems and theology. Here in Wales, it was in 1588 that the priest William Morgan in nearby Llanrhaedr ym Mochnant first translated the Bible into Welsh whilst the smaller ‘Y Beibl Bach’, the Little Bible, of 1630, was later intended for use in homes and making the Scriptures available to all. It was also in Wales that, after saving for six years, the fifteen years old Mary Jones walked for twenty-six miles to Bala to buy a Welsh Bible from Revd. Thomas Charles, which lead eventually to the establishment of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 

As a prison chaplain, I was initially impressed with the demand for the Gospels that could be given out – until I realised that their popularity was due to the thin paper which was ideal for rolling cigarettes! However, I still have a Bible from those days, used by a prisoner who originally wanted cigarette papers but had read some of its words as he tore its leaves to smoke and so began to develop a faith. Its cover is decorated with the matchstick art used by some prisoners, notes are written in the margins and its contents underlined in significant places such as Jesus’s words to the prisoners crucified beside him. This is a well-used tome, with pictures and comments full of insights into the struggles and hopes being faced by the rehabilitation that was ongoing. It contrasted greatly with a Bible I was shown when visiting the home of a woman who had been given it when she was confirmed many years previously. This was still in its box and in pristine condition as she proudly told me that she had never used it as she valued it too much to do so – but she’d not used any other either, and the Scriptures remained, literally, a closed book to her. 

Nowadays, the Revised Common Lectionary has a three year cycle of readings and there are many ways of exploring the Bible and its messages. There are many versions of it, too, ranging from the beautiful prose of the King James Bible to the more contemporary language of The Message and it remains the world’s best selling book. This Bible Sunday, as religious persecution, warfare and the struggles for change continue in many places, perhaps the words that inspired Cranmer’s original collect will strengthen faith today, too: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4, KJV)

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

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This week’s reflection is written by Christopher Belk and thanks go to him for doing this and taking the service with Ruth.

I have the sort of mind which likes to know how things work, and where it is not obvious I take things to bits in order to find out. Sometimes I cannot work out how to put them together again but the dismantling is always fun. My latest effort involved a type of electric grill which we bought over 20 years ago and which blew all the power sockets when it was turned on: after doing my best I had to admit defeat and as it is well past guarantee date, it will be consigned to the tip.

With increasing age I find it more and more difficult to understand technical things. 60 years ago I knew in some detail how my car worked: last month we hired a holiday car in Switzerland which despite being one of the cheapest was new and full of extra gizmos, and the instruction book was only in German. The only way forward was to try out various buttons and knobs and amazingly it worked, mostly rather smoothly, to be fair. Only later we got our hosts to translate some of it for us.

Today’s OT passage is one of the most famous in the Bible. The verses set for today are only Isaiah 53 4-12, but I have printed on the back of the service sheet the whole section starting from Chap 52.13.

This passage is called “the Suffering Servant”.  No one knows by academic research who Isaiah may have had in mind in writing it, some 600 years before Christ, but it was then and still is generally accepted he was a true prophet who genuinely heard from God. Apparently, Jews teach that it is all about the Jewish nation as a whole, not an individual, as other fairly similar parts of Isaiah (eg Chap 49) may well be, at least mostly. But Jesus himself referred to  this passage as about him and all the NT writers do the same. You don’t need me to count the number of times the physical details in this passage were literally fulfilled in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection – you will have heard countless Holy Week sermons about them. My legal mind is completely convinced that on the balance of probabilities this is a true prophecy about an individual, and Jesus is an exact match. The apostle Philip was also convinced, a good Jew who was (Acts 8, 32-34) asked by the Ethiopian eunuch “who is the prophet talking about, himself or another man? Then Philip began with that very passage   (vv.7&8)  and told him the good news about Jesus.”

But my mind still has difficulties in understanding the spiritual effects: the why and the how. What does it mean to say he took up our infirmities, was smitten and crushed by God, bore the punishment that brought our peace, made his life a guilt offering, and bore the sin of many? Why did Jesus say if he was lifted up he would draw all men to him? (John 12.32). Why did he say to Nicodemus (John 3.14) his lifting up would be so that whoever believed in him would have eternal life? Why did he say to his disciples he would give his life as a ransom for many (today’s gospel)? Are we not nowadays past the old superstitions of blood sacrifice, and did not God say he takes no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats (Is.1.11)? Do not those who refuse to believe that a perfect God could send his son to die have something of a point?

This is where the car with the German instruction book comes in handy. I had no idea why the car should work, but clearly the makers thought it would and it had enough kilometers on the clock to show that others had made it work. So we set off in faith, and it proved better than we expected. That is the essence of the Christian gospel: the whole bible is a much better instruction book than the German one, and if you don’t at first understand much of it you can get help, but in the last resort God’s plan is a high mystery, and it is a matter of faith whether you try it out, whether you go on living by it, and whether you show others the joy of doing so. Sadly, many people think that because they cannot understand everything, and do not always have enough evidence that eternal life works for others, they give up on belief, and relegate the gospel and the church to the tip.

I am greatly comforted by noting how many great Christian hymn writers confess to not understanding everything, but nevertheless rejoice in having found eternal life, forgivenessand love in Jesus, eternal life being something that starts now. “Can it be? ‘Tis mystery all” says Wesley. “I scarce can take it in” says Boberg. “I cannot tell why” says Fullerton. “Love unknown” says Crossman, but “Blessed Assurance” says Fanny Crosby, and I don’t suppose even she reckoned fully to understand the Saviour whom she joyfully experienced. 

So for us, let us put aside the intellectual arguments and apathy, and accept that if what the Bible says God has done and Jesus offers is true it must have been necessary, and the results are far too good to ignore. That simply leaves the step of faith, not just finding the initial starter switch which I’m sure all of us here have done long ago or we would not be here today, but the daily steps in committing or recommitting all our actions, griefs and love to him. As we decide again and again to try believing  (but usually not until we do) the next step on the way becomes clearer, as also does our understanding, though even St. Paul never got further in this life than seeing in a glass darkly, and we should never kid ourselves that what we understand so far is enough. 

We eventually found the satnav on that car and could see the way, if we bothered to go on looking at it. Jesus said he is the way and is with us always. Don’t let us take our eye off him.

So don’t stay stuck in the carpark, get on the motorway and go!

‘Jesus looked at him and loved him.’ Mark 10:21 and the theme for Prisons Week 2024.

“All I ask is the chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.” Spike Milligan.

Today’s Gospel, Mark 10:17-31! is topical, with a rich man asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. The conclusion of their encounter and its focus on wealth as Jesus tells him to give away all his possessions to the poor contrasts with recent political upheaval about values and money. The withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance for all pensioners and the acceptance of ‘freebies’ such as clothing, glasses and tickets to football matches or Taylor Swift concerts by the Prime Minister and other Government officials has lead to much criticism in the first one hundred days of the Labour Government. Similar issues have often ensnared politicians of all persuasions but Sir Keir Starmer admitted on BBC’s Newscast that there had been, “Bumps and side winds which I prefer we hadn’t bumped into and been pushed by….. stuff on donations, staffing issues, that sort of thing.” In the ongoing row with his Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, who called P&O Ferries “a rogue operator” in its business practices, the wealthy Prime Minister has himself been accused of dubious practice through freebies being accepted for his wife and himself when neither is short of money to buy them for themselves. The Bible states that, ‘Love of money is the root of all evil’ (1 Timothy 6:10) but George Bernard Shaw also noted that, ‘Lack of money is the root of all evil.’ Money, its accumulation and its loss is as much a concern today as in the time of Jesus and a major factor in the causes of homelessness and criminality, with this week marking Homelessness Sunday and Prisons Week.

However, in the Gospel Jesus is not condemning the rich man for being wealthy – money can do a great deal of good. His call is to discipleship, not poverty, but as well as, “You shall not steal,” Jesus also adds, “You shall not defraud,” as one of the commandments to bear in mind – perhaps he knows something about the man that we don’t. Jesus tells him to redistribute his wealth with the needs of the poor in mind and to do so, not only wealth would be affected but also power and status – a step too far for the unnamed man whose circumstances are also unknown. This is too much for him and he turns away from what is being asked – whereas the disciples have already forsaken so much of their own lives, income and security when called by Jesus to follow him unconditionally.

But perhaps there is much more to the question being asked. For anyone to inherit, someone must die and many are the disputes about inheritance gifts, capital gains tax and benefits arising from a death. But at what cost? Jesus, whose own death will pay the price for all humanity, simply looks at the man, loves him and later acknowledges how difficult all this is for rich people although he also warns of the dire consequences of putting earthly possessions before having treasure in heaven.

This Prisons Week, with the system in chaos due to overcrowding and so many homeless people being former prisoners who can’t find a stable home or income, there is much to ponder – not least how we look at others and are regarded ourselves.

Reflections for each day of Prisons Week can be found at prisons week.org

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

The Bishops of the Church in Wales have asked that this bilingual short Litany is prayed today and it seems appropriate for use tomorrow and this week, too, which marks a year since the renewed hostilities in the Middle East. Accordingly, it forms the reflection today and follows in both English and Welsh. 

A Short Litany for the Peoples of Israel, Palestine and Lebanon

Thus says the LORD:
“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31.15)

God of Abraham, loving father of all the peoples of the Holy Land and the Middle East,

Hear the weeping of your children, and all those who suffer in the storm of violence

Initiated one year ago, and still experienced 

in the land which you blessed with the presence of your Son.

In your mercy, Lord,

Hear our cry.

We remember all those innocent people, the children and the elderly,

Whose deaths are tragic losses, and wounds to our humanity.

Comfort the bereaved without reference to borders,

Bring hope in the conflict and an ending in sight.

In your mercy, Lord,

Hear our cry.

Lead all people out of darkness into light,

Out of war and into peace,

Out of enmity and into reconciliation,

From a spirit of vengeance to a spirit of mercy.

In your mercy, Lord,

Hear our cry.

Litani Fer ar gyfer Pobloedd Israel, Palestina a Lebanon

Fel hyn y dywed yr ARGLWYDD:

“Clywir llef yn Rama, galarnad ac wylofain,

Rachel yn wylo am ei phlant, yn gwrthod ei chysuroam ei phlant,

oherwydd nad ydynt mwy.”

(Jeremeia 31:15)

Dduw Abraham, tad cariadus holl bobloedd y WladSanctaidd a’r Dwyrain Canol,

Clyw wylofain dy blant, a phawb sy’n dioddef yn y storm o drais

A ddechreuodd flwyddyn yn ôl, ac sy’n parhau i effeithio’r wlad a fendithiaist drwy bresenoldeb dy Fab.

Yn dy drugaredd, Arglwydd,

Clyw ein cri.

Cofiwn am yr holl bobl ddiniwed hynny, y plant a’rhenoed,

Y mae eu marwolaethau yn clwyfo’n dynoliaeth mewnmodd mor drasig.

Cysura’r galarus ar bob ochr i’r rhaniadau.

Tyrd â gobaith i ganol y gwrthdaro a thyrd â diweddglo i’rgolwg.

Yn dy drugaredd, Arglwydd,

Clyw ein cri.

Arwain yr holl bobl allan o dywyllwch i oleuni,

O ryfel i heddwch,

O elyniaeth i gymod,

O ysbryd dialedd i ysbryd trugaredd.

Yn dy drugaredd, Arglwydd,

Clyw ein cri.