Author: stmelangell_l5nfea

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?………. But who do you say that I am?” 

Jesus, in Matthew 16:13-20.

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are…..I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.” Kurt Cobain 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asking the disciples what other people are saying about who he is in a place of worldly power and politics, Caesarea Philippi. Their replies matter to him and some of them say that he is John the Baptist whilst others suggest Elijah, Jeremiah or a prophet – they can’t agree. However, Jesus then asks, “But who do you say I am?” and when Peter replies that he is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus blesses him as Simon son of Jonah and tells him that God, not people, has revealed this to him. Jesus goes on to say that he will build his church on the rock that is Peter and a new name and identity is given to him which reflects the trust Jesus is placing in him. 

The significance of Peter’s new name and identity is important – if ever my parents called me Christine Mary as a child, I knew I was in some trouble although they are actually my names. However, if my father called me Sarah Bernhardt, after the famous actress, I knew the trouble was serious and that no amount of acting nonchalantly would get me out of it!

In serious trouble in the news this week is the paediatric nurse Lucy Letby whom parents thought they could trust – although that trust was misplaced as she killed at least seven and harmed at least six babies. Nurses are traditionally called angels but she was termed a devil by some, although the name Lucy means light. Equally, Donald Trump has been in the news in connection with his indictment for election fraud – the name Donald means proud chief or world leader, but the mugshot that’s been released shows him in a rather different light. Trust was placed in both Letby and Trump as they exercised the worldly power accorded to them both but many now see this as being misplaced although both still have their supporters. At Caesarea Philippi, a centre of worldly and political power, Peter earned and deserved the spiritual trust that Jesus the Messiah – also meaning leader – placed in him. Is the same true of us?

Peter did go on to serve Jesus faithfully and, according to tradition, become the first Pope – but not before he denied and then deserted Jesus after his arrest. The Messiah chose ordinary working people to help him build the kingdom of heaven here on earth and sometimes they fulfilled what he saw in them just as they sometimes failed him. That is so for all of us as we struggle with the shadows of our characters and lives as well as the light and potential which we may/not be able to fulfil. Who we are is sometimes difficult for others – or even ourselves – to accept, as Kurt Cobain suggests, but just as Jesus saw his potential, so Peter was able to look beyond the immediate and see Jesus the Messiah bearing the Name above all Names before him. 

At a time when church attendance has declined by 24% of all adults in the last twenty years what is God building afresh in his church, the communities they serve and our lives today? What do we need to look beyond to glimpse what could be as well as what is – and, as Jesus asked his followers then, so he continues to ask us today, “Who do you say I am?” 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

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”Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” 

Jesus, in Matthew 15:21-28. 

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” 

Dalai Lama.

The encounter with a Canaanite woman that is the focus of today’s Gospel occurs during a series of difficult encounters between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes who are testing his authority. But the unnamed Canaanite woman challenges Jesus to see that what he’s been saying does not apply only to the Jews but has a wider significance. The Canaanites are the ancient enemies of Israel and yet Canaanite women are amongst the ancestors Matthew cites in his first chapter when he lists the genealogy of Jesus. This woman changes his thinking and their meeting begins when Jesus leaves Jewish territory and goes to the district of Tyre and Sidon – today, these two places are in the Lebanon. 

When the woman pleads with him for her daughter’s healing, Jesus ignores her – yet he has chosen to come to her area and she seems to know a great deal about him as she calls him, ‘Son of David’. Jesus neither responds to her nor rejects her but his disciples then urge him to send her away for she keeps shouting at them. They are tired of hearing her cries for help and Jesus says that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, which the disciples seem to echo as they ignore her.

However, showing great humility and perseverance, the Canaanite woman then kneels before Jesus and simply says, “Lord, help me.” In acknowledging his authority and power in this way, her perseverance leads Jesus to speak to her but he then makes a comment that sounds offensive when he tells her that children’s food should not be thrown to the dogs. However, the word Jesus uses here implies a much loved pet and, rather than taking offence, the woman suggests that even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table – she is not wanting to take food from those for whom it is intended but is content with what is left over. She asks only for crumbs of the food he is giving – and this is soon after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand where the leftovers filled twelve baskets. What generosity of provision! 

At this, Jesus acknowledges the great faith the woman has and tells her, “Let it be done for you as you wish.” She is satisfied with what others have discarded and so there is ample for the house of Israel and others to be fed. Even crumbs bring about the healing of her daughter instantly and the faith of this woman – unclean, a stranger and someone with whom a Jew would not normally converse – is sufficient to bring about the change for which she longs.

The Canaanite woman acknowledged Jesus’ authority whereas the scribes and Pharisees wouldn’t – her faith challenged boundaries and her persistence changed the mind of the one she recognised as the Son of David before his own disciples had perhaps realised it. She may challenge our assumptions or boundaries too and perhaps creates uncomfortable perceptions of reluctance to relate to those perceived as different, which need to be addressed. Jesus realised this, acknowledged her faith and healed her daughter – today, what would we ask ‘to be done for you as you wish?’

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

Saturday 9 September, 10am – 4.30pm at St Asaph Cathedral

Free tickets are now available to book via Eventbrite for this event organised by the Diocesan Spirituality Group. It is an opportunity to find out more about healing ministry, to benefit from it on the day, and to be encouraged to practise it. The focus is on both ‘wholeness and healing’ because the healing ministry has a much wider concern than individual recovery from physical illness. It includes mental health, spiritual health, and the healing of communities.

You can find out more and reserve your space at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-day-exploring-wholeness-and-healing-tickets-640405850137



’Those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”’ 

Matthew 14:33.



‘If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat’ – John Ortberg. 

Today’s Gospel is set in a difficult time for Jesus who, after hearing of the death of his relative John the Baptist, seeks some time for himself, presumably to mourn. However, the crowds follow him and are hungry, so Jesus has compassion on them and the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand takes place – in reality more, as this figure would not include women and children. Afterwards, Jesus again seeks time to himself as he sends the disciples on ahead in a boat and dismisses the crowd, going up the mountain to pray. How hard it must have been for Jesus to find time for his own needs with so many demands constantly being made of him. That can often be so for us, too. 

However, a storm has blown up on Lake Galilee and, early in the morning, Jesus goes to his disciples but, when they see him walking on the sea, they are understandably terrified and think it’s a ghost. As he comforts them, Peter tests him and says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus tells him, “Come.” Peter does begin to walk on the sea towards him but is then overcome by fear of the wind and cries to Jesus to save him. Jesus does so, with the famous words applied to many situations where events overcome initiative: “O ye of little faith, why did you doubt?”

That may seem harsh, given Peter’s initial brave response in such awful conditions. But they both get into the boat and the wind ceases – Jesus comes to those who stayed in the boat too and they then acknowledge him to be the Son of God. Although they have remained in the relative safety of the vessel, they have seen the five loaves and two fish feed so many and now even the winds and waves obey Jesus. Creation is subject to him and they begin to worship him as they realise who is with them and that what they thought was a ghost is their living Lord. 

Peter was literally stepping out in faith initially whereas the other disciples remained in the boat and, as Ortberg’s book suggests, courage is required to leave the safe and familiar if new ways are to be experienced. Peter had that courage at first, but was then overcome by fear whereas the eleven others remained in the boat to handle it and survive the storm. There are times for all of us when, like Peter, we may have to step out in faith but that can sometimes be hard to maintain. Perhaps, like the other disciples, we might choose to remain where we are and get on with what needs doing. That can also take as much courage – it can be as hard to persevere in the face of adversity – and the numbers of asylum seekers risking their lives in overcrowded boats today in hope of a better future bears testimony to this. With news that 6 more illegal immigrants have died in an overloaded boat which sank in the Channel, that over 100,000 people have come to the UK in this way since 2018 and with 39 migrants being moved off the Bibby Stockholm barge due to Legionella bacteria being found in the water supply, deciding whether to go forth or to stay put is a difficult choice to make.

These are complex matters – things about which we’re afraid may come back to haunt us in the storms of life and facing our fears is not easy. Whether inside the boat that is the church, the ark of salvation, or stepping out in faith like Peter, Jesus’s words speak to us too as we face the issues of our day and the stormy winds of change as did his followers then: “Take heart, it is I: do not be afraid!”

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

‘While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed.’ Jesus, in Luke 9:28-36.

‘It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work.’ Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Luke’s account of the Transfiguration begins with Jesus taking Peter, James and John up the mountain with him – this is not for all the disciples to experience. While they are together, Jesus is transfigured before them – his face changes and his clothes become dazzling white, with Moses and Elijah also joining him and appearing in glory. Luke tells us that the disciples are sleepy but, because they stayed  awake, are able to see what happens. Perhaps that’s part of our story too – despite the ‘woke’ culture in which we live, there may be times when sleep seems more tempting than being alert. 

Moses and Elijah traditionally represent the Law, the Prophets and the importance of the Old Testament in understanding the New – and, despite never having met them, the three disciples seem to know who they are. However, Luke states that Moses and Elijah are discussing with Jesus his departure, or forthcoming death, in Jerusalem. They are encouraging him to face what lies ahead, whereas the disciples still do not understand what is to happen. Bishop Hall wrote of the ‘strange opportunity’ this presents:

‘In his highest Exaltation to speak of his Sufferings; to talk of Calvary in Tabor; when his Head shone with glory, to tell him how it must bleed with thorns; when his Face shone like the Sun, to tell him it must be blubbered and spat upon; when his Garments glistered with that celestial brightness, to tell him they must be stripped and divided; when he was adored by the Saints of Heaven, to tell him how he must be scorned by the basest of men; when he was between two Saints, to tell him how he must be seen between two Malefactours: in a word, in the midst of his Divine Majesty, to tell him of his shame; and whilst he was Transfigured in the Mount, to tell him how he must be disfigured upon the Cross. Yet these two Heavenly Prophets found this the fittest time for this discourse: rather chusing to speak of his Sufferings in the height of his Glory, than of his Glory after his Sufferings.’ Bishop Joseph Hall, 1574-1656.

In the face of the glory before them as Jesus is transfigured by dazzling light, the disciples hear a voice telling them to listen, as well as look, as they are enveloped in a cloud – understandably, they are terrified. They tell no-one what has happened and keep their silence in the face of such an astonishing event. Like them, perhaps we need to listen as well as see what is happening before us in our world today. There may be many things from global warming to warfare and unrest in so many places that cause us to be frightened and it’s poignant that the feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated on the same date as the terrible light unleashed by the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945. Through that devastation, peace was enforced but there are also fears today that nuclear warfare may become an outcome of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Many things disfigure our world, just as the Light of Christ and faith that prayer can make a difference can also transfigure the darkness as the figures on the world stage play out their roles. 

However, the cloud was also part of the transfiguration then just as the mushroom cloud disfigured Hiroshima in 1945. If we can’t see where we’re going or understand what is happening, perhaps we need to listen and look more closely as we figure out where God’s transfiguring glory may be clouded in our world today: ‘A man with a dungfork in his hand, a woman with a sloppail, give God glory too. All things give him glory if you mean they should.’ Gerard Manley Hopkins.

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.



“The kingdom of heaven is like…….” Jesus, in St Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.

“Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise.” Andy Stanley, American pastor.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus deals with five short parables in which he likens the kingdom of heaven to what is happening all around in his rural setting. He speaks of the kingdom resembling mustard seed, which is tiny but can grow to a great height, or yeast put into flour to make it rise. Jesus also likens the kingdom of heaven to a full net of fish of every kind with the good fish being separated from the bad which is then thrown out. These are small, everyday events from which greater things will develop but Jesus also mentions precious objects such as treasure being found in a field or a fine pearl of great value. These are things worth possessing and so the field is bought for access to the treasure and everything is sold so that its new owner can buy the expensive pearl. 

In these parables, short stories with a heavenly  meaning, patience is required: the mustard seed will grow, but it takes time; the yeast will raise the flour and the fish will be sorted when the net is full – but it takes time. So it is with the treasure in the field, which needs to be covered and the land purchased or with the fine pearl – possessions have to be sold before it can be bought and that also can’t be done immediately.

These things can also happen without being noticed – it can often be assumed that seeds will grow, bread will rise and fish will be sorted out before use. But it takes effort, money and resources to buy a field or a fine pearl and that needs planning in a way that can sometimes be overlooked. Like the oak tree within the acorn, small things can have great consequences in the right setting just as big things can also have tiny origins. All this is part of the kingdom too, says Jesus. The treasure was there – but hidden, like so much around us – and so is the kingdom of heaven, developing whether or not we are aware of it. 

Those hidden things are often revealed later – after at least ten and possibly fifteen years on her own in this remote valley, the encounter between Melangell and Brochwel led to a small wooden church being built in the seventh century and a place of pilgrimage being established on the foundations of sanctuary, healing and hospitality. Thanks to those seeds being sown then, today people come here from all over the world and the website is used by people in many countries as candles are placed on the altar and prayers said on their behalf. From tiny beginnings, great things have grown – and are doing, still. 

Jesus used examples current to his way of life then. Today, what is the kingdom of heaven like? 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

“Let both of them grow together until the harvest.” Jesus, in Matthew 13:24-30,36-43.



”The time will come that gold will hold no comparison to a bushel of wheat.” 

Brigham Young

Today’s Gospel reading is the parable of the wheat and tares, which Jesus likens to the kingdom of heaven. A farmer has sown good seed but, when it starts to grow, weeds are appearing too – probably darnel, which looks much like wheat at first but is poisonous in large quantities and means that the flour can’t be used if it’s mixed with the wheat. The servants are anxious to pull out the tares before they can ruin the crop but, as the roots entwine, this would pull up the wheat too. In those days, farmers would be dependent on good seed as well as the right weather and, without the sprays often used today, malicious action by an enemy could have disastrous results. The enemy is not named in Jesus’ parable but the workers are indignant at what’s happened – possibly in case they might be blamed. They have also done the hard work of preparing the ground and sowing the seed so they are the ones who want to uproot the weeds in the hope that the wheat will flourish through what they do. 

However, the farmer wants it all left until the harvest, as it can then be more easily separated with the wheat being stored and the tares burnt. Rather than finding an immediate solution which may do harm, he chooses to wait and patience is required until the time is right and the damage can be minimised. Patience that is sometimes so hard to endure – many have prayed for patience and wanted it NOW!

That may be hard for the workers who are perhaps more used to smaller tasks and short-term goals. Patience is also a quality required here as the harvesting of the hillside’s trees continues – as one of the harvesters said, it should look fine again in only forty years from now!

With Ukraine and Russia supplying 28% of the world’s wheat exports and the price fluctuating hugely because of the war and the resultant rising cost of living, Jesus’ parable is particularly appropriate. In the challenges being faced individually and collectively, patience can at times become procrastination and, two thousand years later, his message is still pertinent. When Jesus likens the kingdom of God to a field where wheat and weeds are growing  together, it’s a reminder to his followers that this is to be expected as part of God’s kingdom here on earth. So, finding wheat and tares together is actually a sign of the kingdom. Any news broadcast shows that good and evil, fruitfulness and weeds are entwined in our world today and that needs to be recognised as part of the growth until the time is right for harvesting.

Potential crop and tares are present in every life, too; are we, like those workers, wanting to rush in quickly to overcome challenges and risk further damage? Perhaps we identify with the farmer, showing patience and longer-term planning? So, if weeds and woes seem to be dominant, take heart – it may be a reminder that the crop is growing too, entwined until the time is right for harvesting. That time may be nearer than is realised – as Jesus says, “Let anyone with ears listen!” (v43)

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

 “Let anyone with ears listen!” Jesus in St Matthew 13-1-9, 18-23. 

”They try to destroy us but as long as we come here and play music we are the first green grass which comes out of the ruins.” The unnamed cellist brother of conductor Dalia Stasevska on playing Bach in the ruined concert hall in Bucha, Ukraine.


Today’s Gospel is a parable – an earthly story with a heavenly meaning – and is just one of the seven parables found in the thirteenth chapter of St Matthew. Unlike the other parables, where Jesus likens them to illustrating something to do with the kingdom of heaven, this parable simply begins with a farmer going out to sow seed, an image which would have been very familiar to his rural audience.

Jesus speaks of seed being sown by broadcasting, a method where it is scattered by hand over a fairly large area. In the parable, it falls onto four types of ground: the path, where it’s eaten by the birds; rocky ground where the seed springs up quickly but has little root and soon withers; soil where thorns are so great it can’t grow; good ground, where the seed brings excellent yields. Jesus ends by telling those with ears to listen and this perplexes the disciples, who ask him why he is speaking in parables and so he eventually tells them more plainly what he means.

The sower himself is unnamed but the seed and what happens to it is described in more detail. The grain that falls on the hard path, Jesus suggests, represents the hard-hearted who hear his word but don’t respond to it or are snatched away by wrongdoing. The seed falling onto rocky ground suggests that some followers will appear to flourish at first but will wither when trouble comes their way. On thorny ground, the problems and anxieties of life choke any potential growth but those who hear and respond to the word may be very fruitful. They respond to the good news and resist wrongdoing whilst enduring hardships and overcoming worldly cares. 

However, the generosity – or wastefulness – of the sower is key. Hard ground can be dug for easier growth, rocks and thorny weeds can be removed so that the seed stands the best chance of growing – but this sower has done none of that. He scatters the seed plentifully wherever he chooses – some of it might be wasted, but some might grow, too, even though it falls randomly. A good farmer would prepare his ground thoroughly before sowing the seed and the disciples would have known that. That’s probably why they don’t understand what he’s talking about but, in giving the meaning of this parable to the disciples but not the crowd, Jesus’ words about them listening as well as hearing are key. In speaking so cryptically, Jesus tells them to work out for themselves what he’s saying about God’s kingdom breaking into their lives in unexpected places and times. God’s love is generous – many may have the chance to hear and respond but others will fall away too. For those who receive the word and respond to it, there is hope – God or Jesus may be the sower of the seed but the disciples are asked to join him. They may be able to prepare the land by removing what threatens the word from flourishing – but the sower is key, whereas the seed will germinate where it falls.

Today, this may mean little in light of the prairie fields and large scale drills that are now used by farmers but this week has seen an extraordinary struggle between various broadcasters in the modern sense of the word. An individual unnamed broadcaster, the world famous broadcaster the BBC, the Sun newspaper and the media broadcasts and posts were  engaged in a storm of allegations that sowed rumour and innuendo which ended with Huw Edwards being named and then admitted into hospital with severe mental health issues. As seed needs to be sown in the right places for the best growth, so does truth – clearly a casualty in this week’s events as they are assessed.

However, from the devastation may spring up new realisations of what is heard and said, just as the green shoots of recovery were shown in that concert hall in Ukraine. Here in Melangell’s valley, the first shoots of new life are pushing up on the hillside following the harvesting of its trees and the devastation of the ground. What is being sown in our hearts or lives and where might the first shoots of new life be breaking through as we listen to what our hearts, as well as our ears, are telling us? 

With my prayers; pob bendith

Christine, Guardian.



Following a visit from a group of Quakers from North Wales a member was inspired to felt an image of St Melangell “…immersed in her woodland setting….sheltering her hares…”. This gift arrived unexpectedly in the post. How beautiful and how kind. Thank you