Category:Uncategorized

‘Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights and afterwards he was famished.’ From Matthew 4:1-11, today’s Gospel.

‘It is not only that God makes a way in the wilderness but that the wilderness is the way.’ Gideon Heugh in ‘Open’, Tear Fund’s Lent booklet.

The Greek word for temptation can also mean testing and it may be tempting to think that what Jesus endures in the wilderness is a one-off experience as he ponders what the revelations at his baptism mean to him. However, it will also influence what lies ahead. Jesus rejects turning into bread the pitta-like flat stones around him to feed himself in the desert but he will eventually teach his disciples to pray for their daily bread (Matt 6:11) and  feed thousands with just a few loaves and fish (Matt. 14:17-21; 15:33-38). As the devil tells him to throw himself off the highest point of the temple so that God’s angels will rescue him, Jesus endures mockery to save himself and come down from the height of the cross on which he is being crucified (Matt 27:38-44,46). He also resists the devil’s offer of dominion over the kingdoms of the world but frequently mentions the kingdom of heaven to those willing to follow his own leadership. The wilderness temptations are not just an ordeal to endure but also tests, preparing him for all that is to come – they underpin Jesus’ encounters with those who are hungry, sick and in need; with those like the Pharisees and Sadducees who later use their powerful connections to test him(Matt 16:1, 19:3 etc); or with those who perhaps care too much about worldly assessments of greatness, his own followers amongst them (Matt 18:1-5). The wilderness is indeed the way.

Throughout, Jesus quotes scripture from similar situations in the Old Testament. His forty days in the wilderness echo the length of time that Israel wandered there after the Exodus and his quote about bread comes from that time in Deuteronomy 8:3. The devil himself quotes scripture from Psalm 91 and challenges Jesus to throw himself off the temple’s pinnacle but Jesus resists with Deuteronomy 6:16 from the time when Moses reminded the people how they tested God about their thirst at Massah even after he had fed them with manna. The same applies in the final temptation when Jesus quotes again from Deuteronomy 6, now at v13 – scripture enables him to think of similar tests and their outcome. As, during our Lenten journey, we consider what has happened to us, perhaps we too can discern tests and temptation that we might have overcome or given in to. But what was learned from those times and did they prepare us for later life events? 

Jesus went from the Jordan’s waters to the arid wilderness, from the crowds to the silence, from the heavens opening to enduring hellish spiritual attacks but scripture was key in what he faced. As similar tests are being faced today, whether the shortage of food in UK supermarkets at the moment, disputed earthly power as in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine or the worship of other powers – apparently Satanists are having a recruitment campaign currently and are now ‘family friendly’!!! Just as Jesus quoted scripture at a testing time, in whatever physical or spiritual temptations each of us is enduring this Lent what scripture could help overcome it?

With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Guardian.

“Jesus led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.” From Matthew 17:1-9.

“I see you – wondering if God is just the translucence of a dream.” From ‘Rumours of Light’ by Gideon Heugh.

Today’s Gospel about the Transfiguration occurs after Simon Peter’s realisation that Jesus is the Messiah, which conflicts with his shortsightedness in understanding that this must lead to his death before resurrection. On the one hand, Simon Peter makes a huge leap of faith but is then called Satan by Jesus for being a stumbling block. Thank God for flawed disciples who are nevertheless called and used by God in his service, ordinary people and figures with whom we can identify. 

Jesus takes only Peter, James and John up the mountain with him – this is not an experience all the disciples will have, for not all the things of God are for all believers. Matthew tells us that Jesus was transfigured before them, his face shining like the sun and his clothes dazzlingly white. He is joined by Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets but, as this is happening, practical Peter wants to mark the event. Even as he speaks of building three shelters, a voice is heard saying “This is my Son, the Beloved…..listen to him!” (V5) It’s true of impetuous Peter, and perhaps of us, that we can sometimes rush through important matters rather than taking time to experience them fully – perhaps there are times when we also need to listen more and speak less. 

Nothing is said of James’ and John’s reactions but when the voice is heard, the disciples fall to the ground in fear. Jesus comes to them, touches them reassuringly and tells them not to be afraid, speaking to their needs and not his own. He then tells them not to speak of this yet and all four of them make their way back down the mountain where Jesus heals an epileptic child. This wondrous experience, astounding as it is, leads on to the practicalities of serving and healing those at hand – glory and the cross mingle, as do disfiguration and transfiguration.

Perhaps, as we stand on the threshold of Lent, we should also consider what role the law and prophets play in our own lives and communities at a time when authority is under attack on so many fronts. Just this week, Lancashire Police have referred themselves for investigation into their handling of the disappearance of Nicola Bulley and changes to church practice over the blessing of same-sex marriage have led some to prophesy that it may lead to the collapse of the Anglican Communion. So much is contested and worrying – yet, amidst the Transfiguration is the figure of Jesus, encouraging and reassuring those who will ultimately flee from him during his arrest and yet will be leading figures in the spread of the Gospel after his resurrection. 

So it is for us in our day – whether in the mountain top experiences of life or down in the depths of sorrow, the Transfiguration reminds us of the need to keep listening for the voice of Jesus and to care for those we meet, as did he. Lent is a good time to consider the desert places in our lives and to figure out where glimpses of God’s glory and his touch through prayer may enable us to perceive how light and hope will overcome fear – if we allow them to.

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

“ Chwe diwrnod yn ddiweddarach, fe gymerodd Iesu Pedr, Iago ac Ioan, ei frawd, a’u harwain i ben mynydd uchel ar eu pennau eu hunain; ac yno yn eu gŵydd fe newidiwyd ei wedd, ei wyneb yn disgleirio fel yr haul, a’i ddillad yn wyn fel y goleuni.”
O Matthew 17:1-9k

“Rwy’n eich gweld – yn ystyried os mae dim ond tryloywder breuddwyd yw Duw”
O ‘Rumours of Light’ gan Gideon Heugh.

Mae Efengyl heddiw, ynglyn a’r Gweddnewidiad, yn digwydd ar ol i Seimon Pedr sylweddoli mae’r Iesu yw’r Messeia, yr hyn sydd yn groes i
fyrddallter yn ei ddealltwriaeth fod hyn yn mynd i arwain at Ei farwolaeth cyn Ei Atgyfodiad.
Ar yr un llaw mae Seimon Pedr yn gwneud naid mawr mewn ffydd, cyn gael ei alw yn Satan gan Yr Iesu am fod yn faen tramgwydd.
Diolch i Dduw am nam ddisgyblion, y sydd, ta waeth, yn cael eu galw a’u defnyddio gan Dduw er Ei wasanaeth, pobol cyffredin y medrwn uniaethu gydant.

Dim ond Pedr, Iago a Ioan sy’n dilyn Yr Iesu i fynny’r mynydd – tydi hyn ddim yn brofiad ar gyfer pob disgybl, oherwydd nid yw pob peth gan Dduw yn addas ar gyfer pob credadwr.
Mae Mathew yn daethom fod yr Iesu wedi gweddnewid o’u blaenau, ei wyneb yn tywynnu fel yr Haul a’i ddillad yn bur wyn. Gydag Ef mae Moses ac Eleias, yn cynrychioli y Gyfraith a’r Prophwydion ond, wrth i hyn ddigwydd, mae Pedr, tra bod yn ymarferol, eisiau nodi’r achlysur. Wrth iddo son am godi tri pabell dyma gwmwl gloyw’n taflu’i gysgod drostyn nhw, a llais yn dod o’r cwmwl: “Dyma fy Mab, fy anwylyd, sydd wrth fy modd; gwrandewch arno.”

Mae’n wir, amdan Pedr ac efallai amdanom ni, ein bod yn rhuthro drwy materon pwysig yn lle eu llawn profi – efallai hefyd fod yna adegau lle dylem wrando fwy a siarad llai.
Does dim yn cael ei ddeud am ymateb Iago a Ioan ond, wrth i’r goleuni rhyfeddol dywynnu, maen’t yn syrthio i’r llawr mewn ofn.
Mae’r Iesu yn dod atynt ac yn dweud wrthynt i beidio ac ofni, yn eu cyffwrdd yn gefnogol – yn ymateb i’w gofynnion nhwythau ac nid Ef ei Hun.
Wedyn mae’n eu gorchymun i beidio a son am hyn eto, ac mae’r pedwar ohonynt yn dychwelyd o’r mynydd, Yr Iesu yn gwella plentyn gydag epilepsi.
Mae’r profiad godidog yma yn arwain at wasanaethu y cyhoedd, mae llewyrch a’r Groes yn cymysgu, fel mae anffurfiad a thrawsnewidiad.
Efallai, wrth i ni sefyll ar drothwy Y Grawys, y dylem ninnau ystyried dylanwad y gyfraith a phrophwydion yn ein bywydau a’n cymunedau, ar adeg lle mae awdurdod o dan fygythiad o sawl cyfeiriad.
Yr wythnos yma, mae heddlu Sir Gaerhirfryn wedi cyfeirio eu hunain at ymchwiliad i’w trefniadau mewn achos Nicola Bulley, ac mae argyfwng yn yr Eglwys ynglyn a phriodasau unrhyw.
Mae gymaint dan her ac yn bryderus ond, yng nghanol y Trawsnewidiad mae’r Iesu yn sefyll, yn calonogi a chefnogi y rhai a fydd, yn y pen draw, yn ffoi rhagddo yn ystod Ei arest ond a fydd yn amlwg yn lledaenu’r Efengyl ar ol ei atgyfodiad.
A felly y mae i ninnau, boed yn ystod adegau “ar ben mynydd” yn ein bywydau neu “i lawr yn y dyfnderoedd”, mae’r Trawsnewidiad yn ein atgoffa i wrando am lais Yr Iesu ac i helpu’r rhai rydym yn cwrdd, fel a wnaeth Ef.
Mae adeg Y Grawys yn gyfle i ni edrych ar yr anialwch yn ein bywydau ac i edrych allan am ogoniant Duw a’i gyffwrdd mewn gweddi i ddangos i ni sut mae goleuni a gobaith yn trechu ofn – os yr ydym yn gadael iddynt.

Gyda fyng ngweddion;
Pob Bendith,

Christine,
Gwarcheidwad.

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.” Jesus, in today’s Gospel Matthew 6:25-34.

“…We never curse the air when it is warm

Or the fruit when it tastes so good…

We bless things even in our pain.” From ‘An African elegy’ by Ben Okri.

Today’s reading has an irony about it in light of the terrible devastation caused by earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, where at least 28,000 people have died and many thousands are injured and homeless. Aid has been slow to arrive in some instances due to accessibility and the political situation but there have nevertheless been some astonishing survivals too. However, 113 arrest warrants have already been issued for those who constructed buildings without observing the safety regulations and a long time of uncertainty lies ahead for those who have lost their families, homes and communities. Telling people not to worry in the face of so much loss and destruction could have a hollow ring – but Jesus is referring to a way of life he outlines in this part of the Sermon on the Mount. 

His words may seem out of step today when we are constantly bombarded by adverts enticing us to buy more than we perhaps want or need, at a time when Brexit, Covid 19, the economic situation and the war in Ukraine have understandably made so many people anxious and fearful about what lies ahead. But, in the face of adversity, the challenge is to try to find blessing within it all as Ben Okri suggests. Emergency aid won’t make up for the loss of a home, but a tent will at least provide some shelter meanwhile, just as food banks and community kitchens may enable those who are struggling to provide food for their children as the cost of living continues to rise in the UK. It’s a reminder, too, that we live in community that has broader horizons than just our own needs or hopes so that caring for others as well as ourselves becomes part of a way or life. It’s not just a case of loving our neighbour but giving the practical support that our neighbour might need or welcome, with the values of the kingdom of heaven becoming part of daily life today. Putting that first before material wealth and possessions enables a wider vision for the creation entrusted to us as stewards of it and, as Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow….. Today’s trouble is enough.” 

This Creation Sunday is a good time to take stock of these things as preparations begin for Lent later this month. Just as Jesus refers to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, so the snowdrops that have been called nature’s candles are appearing and bringing their silent but clear hope today of better things to come in Spring. A friend of mine mentioned her disappointment when, going to the church grounds where snowdrops had been planted in previous years, there was no sign of any although they had already appeared in other places. She thought that perhaps something had eaten or destroyed them but, returning later in the week, a spell of sunshine had brought them out and there they were! In a shaded place, more time was needed and, in the varying situations we are currently facing, each of us will need to trust that what we have planted and grown practically and spiritually in our lives will blossom when the time is right. If we allow it to, that can enable hope to overcome worry as trust begins to play a greater part in battling fear so that we can celebrate the gift of today, whatever it holds.

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

“Chi yw halen y ddaear. Unwaith y cyll yr halen ei flas, sut y gwneir ef yn hallt drachefn?”

Yr Iesu yn Mathew 5:13

‘ rydym yn creu “halen o’r ddaear” yn ogystal a “halen ar gyfer y ddaear”. Hysbys cwmni Blackthorn.

Tra roeddwn yn gweinyddu mewn eglwys yn Notingham, mi wnes erthyglon a sgyrsiau i’w darlledu ar yr orsaf radio lleol.

Mi oeddwn yn arbennigwr mewn torri tapiau i greu deunydd ar gyfer darlledu a cwrddais a pobol diddorol dros ben tra’n eu cyfweld ond ar un adeg clywais am yr ymarfer o chwalu halen dros y tir er mwyn cryfhau’r “signal” ar gyfer darlledu. Do, mi lwyddodd yn hynnu o beth ond gwnaeth dim lles o gwbl i’r coed gyfgos.

Mi ddigwyddodd rhywbeth tebyg yma yn eglwys Santes Melangell pryd gwasgarwyd halen o gwmpas y tir, i edrych fel eira, ar gyfer ffilm deledu. Yn anffodus wnaeth hynny ddim lles o gwnl i’r coed Ywen gyfagos. Heddiw fase hyn yn erbyn rheolau diogelwch a byth yn cael ei ganiatau.

Roedd yr Iesu yn gwybod hyn, gan fod halen yn cael ei hel o’r Mor Marw gyda ychwanegiant i wneud iddo barhau. Petai ormod o’r ychwanegiant yn cael ei gynnwys, bydde’r halen yn colli ei flas a’i ddawn a felly cael ei sathru dan draed. Bydde’r Iesu yn gyfarwydd a’r arfer yma ac yn defnyddio symbolau bydde’i gynlleidfa yn eu dallt.

Mae E’n egluro wrth ei ddilynwyr mae nhw YW halen y ddaear, nid fod hyn yn addewid am y dyfodol.

RWAN yw’r amser a mae ychydig o ronnynau yn gwella’r blas. Wrth gael ei adael mewn potun neu pecyn, mae halen yn ddiwerth. Rhaid ei wasgaru ar y bwydydd er mwyn gwneud gwahaniaeth.

Mae halen hefyd yn cael ei ddefnyddio fel cadwolun ac hefyd fel meddyginiaeth e.e. ar gyfer dolur gwddw. Mae e’n ddiheintydd hefyd, yn erbyn y bacteria sydd yr unig greaduriaid sy’n byw yn y Mor Marw. Ar ol deud hynny, pan es i yno, bron iddynt gael cwmni Profost Gweinidogaeth Southwell. Roedd yn darllen papur newydd tra’n gorwedd ar ei gefn yn y Mor Marw, pan gipiodd y gwynt ei bapur. Rhaid ei helpu’n ol ar ei gefn ar ol iddo fethy troi oddiar ei fol!

Heddiw mae halen yn cael ei osgoi gan y rhai gyda phwysau gwaed uchel a mae dewisiadau eraill ar gael er mwyn iechyd.

 Beth bynnag, mae unrhyw weinidog yn rhannu gwellhad eneidiau gyda’r Esgob, ac yn eu galw’n “curad” er mai “curad cynorthwyol” ydynt mewn gwirionedd.

Drwy gadw pysgod neu cig gyda halen, maen’t hefyd yn cael eu hamddiffyn rhag fynd yn ddrwg ac, wrth i’r Grawys agosau, mae geiriau’r Iesu yn ein atgoffa fod rhaid cadw’r enaid yn ogystal a’r corff, rhag mynd yn ddrwg.

Yn ogystal a’i amryw ddefnyddiadau, mae’r Iesu yn son am ddefnydd halen i wella blas y bwyd. Wrth iddo gael ei droi yn y bwyd, mae e’n diflannu ond ei effaith yn parhau.

Wrth son am halen – a goleuni hefyd, mae’r Iesu yn dangos i’w ddilynwyr  y medrid ddefnyddio pethau bob-dydd i wneud gwahaniaeth i fywyd pobol.

Rhaid i halen gael ei ddefnyddio ac yn yr adeg tywylll yma yn enwedig, mae yna sawl posibylrwydd o’i ddefnyddio yng nghymysg Teyrnas Duw yn y Creawd yma.

Fel mae hysbys Blackthorn yn awgrymu, er mwyn gwneud gwahaniaeth, neu argraff ar fywyd heddiw, rhaid i ni fod yn halen O’R Ddaear yn ogystal a halen AR GYFER y Ddaear.

Wrth fod yn gymysg a’r byd rwan ac yn y dyfodol, rhaid i ni fod yn ymgyrchwyr “haledig”!

Gyda fy Ngweddion, Pob Bendith,

Christine,

Gwarcheidwad.

‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?’ Jesus, in Matthew 5:13-20.

‘We create…..a ‘salt of the world’ as well as ‘for the world’ – Blackthorn salt advert. 

Whilst I was serving in a church in Nottingham, I used to do some talks and articles for broadcast with the local radio station. I became quite a dab hand with cutting tape to edit the comments made and met some fascinating people as I interviewed them but, on one occasion, heard of the time when salt had been scattered on the ground to strengthen the signal from an outside broadcast. That greatly helped the transmission – but nearly killed the nearby trees and vegetation. A similar thing happened at St Melangell’s where, some years ago, salt was scattered to look like snow for a TV film and did the yews no good at all. Nowadays, with greater awareness of care for the environment, that wouldn’t happen – salt has to be used with care!

Jesu knew that, as the Dead Sea was a place where salt was harvested and, at times, cut with additives to make it go further. If too much was added, that made it unusable and  it would be trodden underfoot. Jesus would have been familiar with that and, once again, uses illustrations with which those who listened to him could identify. 

He tells his followers in this extract from the Sermon on the Mount that you ARE the salt of the earth – not that they will be. Now is the time and even just a few grains will enhance flavour. If left in the pot or packet, salt is useless – it’s when it’s sprinkled on food or stirred into it as seasoning that it makes a difference. Salt is also used as a preservative and for healing, as in a salt water gargle to kill germs. It’s a disinfectant too – bacteria are the only living organisms in the Dead Sea although, when I went, they were nearly joined by the provost of Southwell Minster who needed help to right himself having turned turtle trying to retrieve the newspaper the wind blew away as he read it whilst floating in the brine for the good of his health!

Nowadays, salt is avoided by those with high blood pressure and there are many alternatives to it medically. However, any priest shares the cure of souls with their bishop although their helper tends to be called the curate rather than the assistant curate that they  actually are. In curing fish or meat with salt, it’s also being protected from decay and, as Lent approaches, so these words of Jesus remind us of the cure that our souls as well as our bodies need, too. Despite its many uses, Jesus is talking specifically of the use of salt for seasoning – as it’s stirred in to food and disappears, it can no longer be seen but its presence can be tasted. In speaking of salt – and light too – Jesus highlights the ordinary things of life that are to hand in any kitchen and to which his followers could make a difference. Salt needs to be used and, in such dark times today, there are many possibilities to being useful and making a difference to the mixture that is the kingdom of heaven here on earth. As Blackthorn’s advert suggests, the followers of Jesus need to be salt of the world as well as for the world if we’re to have any relevance or make a difference in life today. And in mixing in now as well as in what lies ahead, we need to be seasoned campaigners!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have a second flight.
If Candlemas Day be dull with rain
Winter will not come again.

It’s for good reason that one of the old names for February is mud month – although January has also deserved that name this year! February is a month of contrasts not only due to the weather but to the range of events within it, not least Candlemas, Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. At what can still be a bleak time of year, it’s good to celebrate light and love as well as thinking about where our journey through life is taking us and why.

The following services will be held at the church or centre according to the weather:

Candlemas, Thursday 2nd, noon, Holy Eucharist.

Sunday 5th, Third before Lent, 3pm, service of reflection.

Thursday 9th, noon, Holy Eucharist.

Sunday 12th, Creation Sunday, 3pm, service of reflection.

Wednesday 15th, 10.30am at the centre, Julian Group

Thursday 16th, noon, Holy Eucharist 

Sunday 19th, 3pm, service of reflection.

Ash Wednesday, 22nd February, 10am – Holy Eucharist and Ashing. Please note that, due to this, there will be no service on Thursday 23rd.

Sunday 26th, 3pm, Holy Eucharist for the First Sunday of Lent

All services will be followed by refreshments at the centre and further information is available on 01691 860408 or admin@stmelangell.org

With my prayers; pob bendith, 

Christine, Guardian.

Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany and Holocaust Memorial Day.

”What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” From Mark 1:21-28.

’If I survive the war… I would like to send every man, woman and child in Western Europe on pilgrimage along the via sacra so that they might think and learn about what war means from the silent witnesses on either side.’ David Gillespie, killed at the Battle of Loos in 1915.

‘As a five year old, I could stand at the edge of the clearing where the trains were being loaded. People like sardines in those wooden trucks. And the people loading them in – they were railway men, they didn’t look terribly different from the railway men who check my tickets these days – they looked like ordinary people.’ 

Dr Martin Stern, Holocaust survivor.

The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day is Ordinary People, mindful of those who were perhaps doing ordinary jobs or tasks at the time, people who were perpetrators, bystanders, rescuers, silent witnesses – and victims themselves. 

People such as Henryk Gawkowski, a train conductor who estimated that he had transported about 18,000 Jews to Treblinka concentration camp and said that vodka was the only way to make his job bearable. Or the two hundred Lithuanian railway workers involved in the shooting of more than 60 Jewish men in August 1941, their bodies falling into a pit that had been dug by Russian prisoners of war with noisy motors covering the firing so that it could not be heard by other Jews close by. Or Léon Bronchart, a French railway worker who was made a Righteous Amongst the Nations for helping his Jewish neighbours, hiding a Jew and refusing to drive a train containing political prisoners. These were all ordinary transport workers who responded in different ways to the situation unfolding around them in the horror of the Second World War – see hmd.org.uk for further information. And lest it’s thought that this is all long ago, the case of Irmgard Furchner, 97 and known as ‘the secretary of evil’, has only recently been in the news – she worked in Stutthof concentration camp and was sentenced for her role in facilitating what was unfolding. 

This is within living memory, unlike David Gillespie’s reference to what war meant to the silent witnesses on either side in the First World War. Yet, in a letter written shortly before he was killed in 1915, Gillespie wrote of his hopes for a pilgrimage along what he called the via sacra, the way that had become sacred to him through the shedding of the blood of so many who were killed during the warfare. A hundred years later, his hope has been realised, facilitated by those who came after him – the Western Front Way is now a walk of 1,000 km through soil where, for every step taken, ten people had died or been wounded. 

Two thousand years earlier, another walked a via sacra, the Via Dolorosa which is sacred to many who follow in the footsteps of Jesus on his journey to a terrible death. Jesus the Jew retained that faith to the end, quoting the Hebrew scriptures when faced with temptation and praying at his death the prayer a practising Jew prays at the end of the day in case they die during the night: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23:46. Today’s Gospel mentions a challenge to his authority in the synagogue at Capernaum and, when he could have kept silent, Jesus chose to speak out – a man raised in an ordinary human home but one who, through his extraordinary courage and action, links Judaism and Christianity and offers hope that death and betrayal will not have the last word. 

Today, ordinary people still face choices which may or may not activate that hope so that extraordinary things may result despite – and perhaps because – of what is unfolding around us. What choices will we make and how might they be extraordinary?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian