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Today’s reflection is from Christopher Belk, who took the service here this afternoon. Thanks to him for sharing his thoughts about the readings set for today.

Exodus 33:12-23 

This reading is an episode which comes just after Moses first 40 day stay up Mount Sinai. God had given him the Ten Commandments (plus a lot more regulations). Then God told Moses about the people worshipping  a golden calfwhile he was away, and generally having a big party. God said he would destroy them all. Moses pleaded with God and God relented from that first reaction, though Moses in anger broke the tablets on which the 10 commandments were written and 3,000 of the people were put to death by way of example, and there was a plague as well. God also said he would no longer personally accompany such disobedient people in their onward journey, as he had been doing in a pillar of cloud by day or fire by night. He would just let them have an angel to guide them to the land he had promised them. 

So it seems God was moved by Moses prayers to relent still further, and to promise his continued presence after all. In Deutoronomy 9, Moses included his brother  Aaron in his prayers and God even forgave Aaron, though he was the one who originally made the golden calf. God’s mercy is not always logical by human standards  – “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 

But it seems that promise was still not enough for Moses.”Now show me your glory”, he prayed. So Moses went up the mountain for a second 40-day session, when he continued to pray for the people (Deuteronomy), the stone tablets were rewritten, and he received a great many more regulations to pass on, though many were the same as before. He had of course talked with God before, from the time of the burning bush, in Egypt before an during the Exodus, during his first session up the mountain, and in the tent of meeting where it says the pillar of cloud would come to the door of the tent while God spoke with Moses as between friends. Also, before the first 40-day session, Moses, Aaron and 70 elders were given a distant vision of God. 

But there was something different about this second session, because God did show Moses his glory as intimately as was safe for him, and when Moses came down again we read that this time his face shone because he had been talking with God, so much so that he had to wear a veil. The only other time when that happened was for Jesus during his transfiguration, unless you also count Stephen’s martyrdom when it says they saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

Psalm 99

The psalm for today is based on the same story. You have to imagine this psalm being sung while people went up to Jerusalem in the time of David and after. They believed then that God particularly lived in the Jerusalem temple, where the two gold cherubim were fixed over the ark of the covenant, and the “holy hill” would have been Mount Zion. For instance, Daniel during his captivity in Babylon still prayed facing Jerusalem. But the motive for worship is not so much the geographical place as the holiness of God. The word for Holy implies separation or otherness as well as perfection– a spiritual dimension. In this spiritual dimension God reigns over and is near to all peoples, even where they do not recognise him, but particularly near to those with whom he is able to converse, prime historic examples being Moses and Samuel, and then par excellence Jesus.

Gospel reading Matthew 22:15-22

I guess millions of sermons have been preached on exactly what “rendering to Caesar” means in modern life. But Jesus was not interested in politics, or in laying down more regulations. This passage comes after Jesus had told several parables to show that the Jewish leaders had lost their way, and were more interested in regulations and laws and the temple than in coming near to God in the spiritual dimension. Moses and of course Jesus knew that the glorious spiritual presence of God was much more important than any amount of law; you could say the Pharisees had turned the law into their golden calf. Jesus is saying, forget your politics, and start asking God to reveal his glory (which of course he has done in sending Jesus, whom they did not recognise). Only after that will you be qualified to regulate others.

So do we dare now to ask God to show us his glory, when our attention is gripped by tragedies and struggles both personally and all over the world, not least in the Middle East? Of course we pray about these things, but we do need to remember the priority of seeking God just for himself, not just for what we want him to do. He reigns, and precisely how he reigns is up to him in the end. He is holy, we are not, but if we ask for his Spirit to converse with us we can be on the way, as Jesus promises to be with us always just like God promised Moses, but better because in Jesus we can see God without having to climb a mountain. Our first hymn is maybe too pessimistic in saying it is impossible for sinful people to see God: that tends to make us give up trying, but if we give up then Jesus came in vain.

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field….you shall leave them for the poor and the alien.” Leviticus 19:9-10.

“The most powerful social media ….is not the internet…it is food. This connects all human beings.” Alex Atala, chef.

The book of Leviticus was probably written about three thousand years ago and this part of it indicates that provision must be made, literally in this case, for those in need and the stranger. All these years later, some may not be as closely attached to the land as used to be the case but shops and supermarkets are still places where donations can be made to local food banks and where food is sometimes pre-packaged for just that purpose. It’s a sign of the times in which we live that donations are diminishing in some places as people struggle with the cost of feeding their own families but, still, provision is being made for those in need and unknown to each other. 

At this season of Harvest Festivals, the services are often followed by a harvest supper, an echo of the time when those living locally would have worked together to gather the crop and then celebrate it. Storage of the crop would also be important – the reason that the firstborn died during the ten plagues of Egypt was because, as the eldest and heirs, they would have received a double portion of the grain that was going mouldy due to previous plagues. Today, it’s estimated that one third of all food produced is lost or wasted, about 1.3 billion tons worldwide, with 9.5 million tons of this in the UK despite 8.4 million people being in food poverty here and much of the food still edible. 

In the valley, the land’s yield has been taken in a different way as the trees on the hillside by the Centre have now been harvested. 130 lorry loads of tree trunks have been taken – the the skill and hard work of the harvesters has been impressive on so steep an incline and the thousands of trees felled will provide wood for all sorts of purposes. The harvesters have heavy machinery to do much of their work and, when they began, the beauty here seemed at first to have been devastated but, as in Leviticus, some areas have been left alone. That’s to leave areas for animals and birds to use or because the trees are inaccessible to the machinery and already new growth has appeared where the first trees were felled.

Harvesting takes many forms and, as terrible suffering unfolds in Israel and Gaza, Ukraine and Russia and other places of conflict or disaster, it can only be hoped that the food, water and basic supplies which are being withdrawn or running out will be restored on a humanitarian basis as so many displaced and traumatised people seek help. The author Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but the seeds you plant” but these fine words involve longer-term plans and outcomes. Food, supplies and help is needed now – what on earth can be done and what bitter harvest is being sown?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.



“Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.” Matthew 26:50.

“The White House is the finest prison in the world.” American President Harry Truman.

Today marks the beginning of Prisons Week, the theme of which this year is Look up! This comes from Psalm 19, verse 1: The heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament declares his handiwork. David’s poem encourages its reader to look up and see God’s silent statement of hope and beauty, a message we are sometimes too busy to notice or unable to access if clouds obscure the heavens. It can take an act of will or circumstance to look up when we are downcast and I remember this happening to me when I first came here.

When I arrived, the house had been empty for some time and, as it was like a fridge when I moved in, I lit a big fire to get it warm. As I was unpacking, the fire alarm went off due to excessive smoke and I had to take outside the coals and open all the windows to get rid of the smoke and its smell. By 2am, I was not only wide awake but shivering so I decided to go for a walk to get warm and went out into the lane with some trepidation. It had been a long, difficult day – the removers couldn’t get the van down the narrow lane and everything had to be transferred in the village to a smaller van – and I was looking down to see that I didn’t trip over anything. But, when I glanced up, I was gobsmacked to see the skies above. There were no street lights and the inky blue of the heavens that cloudless night, the huge moon and stars like diamonds set in velvet and the glory that I simply hadn’t noticed was astounding. I remember quoting this psalm as a hymn of praise for the sheer beauty around and it raised my spirits as I stood there marvelling – without light pollution, it was a magnificent sight.

Glory and beauty were there all along but I simply hadn’t noticed it and, when I did, it made all the difference. That was so during my time as a prison chaplain, too. All too often bitterness, violence and misery would prevail for good reason but there was always hope that a positive difference could be made. Sometimes that happened – lives could be turned round with the will and circumstances for that to happen and the drugs, alcohol, reading and skills courses played a big role in rehabilitation. But I also remember the abused prisoner who said he’d never known parental love as a child so how could he show it to his own kids if he had them – did he find love eventually? There was the suicidal man over whose dead body I said prayers and the model prisoner who was said to have a hopeful future but died the night he came out when his mates brought him heroin which, having lost his tolerance, killed him. But there was also the prisoner who got married in jail because his partner was such a support to him, the lad who came to chapel services only because we had chocolate digestives but found faith as well and the pagan chaplain whose earrings were witches on broomsticks. In some cases, the cost was enormous – one prisoner had snatched a woman’s handbag to steal her pension with such force it had knocked her over and killed her when she hit her head on a lamppost. But, so appalled was he, his resolve was that her death would not be in vain – did that prove to be the case? Would that have been any comfort to her relatives? In all these lives, did hope prevail?

Does hope prevail in our lives too? In the chaplaincy, the fact that Jesus was taken prisoner, misjudged and forgave one of the criminals crucified with him spoke to the hearts of those men who wrestled with their consciences and wanted a fresh start in their lives. That can be so for all of us, especially where routine, bad memories, the actions of others or Covid restrictions can make our homes and situations places where we are not free. In those locked-up circumstances, Jesus can forgive and renew if we allow him to but, when we’re downcast, we need to look up and glimpse the beauty and wider horizons that are there when we look for them. That applies to governors and leaders whose hands may be bound by circumstances too – even in the White House!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

“By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority?”

The chief priests and elders questioning Jesus in Matthew 21:32-32.

“You have no authority here, Jackie Weaver.” Handforth Parish Council member.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus has gone to the Temple following the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, the healing of the blind and lame people who came to him and the cursing of the fig tree which provided no fruit for him when he was hungry. All this concerns the religious leaders of the Temple who challenge Jesus’ authority and its source but he refuses to engage with what they ask and begins to question them instead. He asks them a clever question about John the Baptist which ties them up in knots and then tells a story about two brothers who both change their minds about what they have told their father about work commitments. One says he won’t work but does and the other says he will but doesn’t and Jesus questions which was doing the will of his father. He then tells the chief priests and elders that tax collectors and sinners will enter the kingdom of heaven before they do – this is not the most diplomatic approach to queries about his own authority!

Authority is very much under attack today, too, in many ways. During the pandemic, a Zoom meeting of Handforth Parish Council descended into chaos as clerk Jackie Weaver intervened during conflict between the members. She was accused of not having the authority to do so, which was later proved correct, but with online meetings in their infancy, no proper guidance yet existed and the clerk did what she thought was necessary. The angry clip became an overnight sensation and a good example of both bullying and the UK’s woes at the time – guidance now available should prevent such absurd conflict in future. 

However, the authorities decided that churches must be closed during the pandemic, a decision many disagreed with and one which is still having great consequences for the congregations who have found their numbers depleted since. Lambeth Palace has also let it be known that the Archbishop of Canterbury is “shocked” at the refusal of the Home Secretary to meet him to discuss immigration and that this is considered to be “a big slap in the face.” (Daily Telegraph) The authority of the Prime Minister is also under question regarding taxes and the future of HS2 and, with local authorities unable in some cases such as Birmingham to meet their commitments, this is having profound repercussions. With the chopping down of the beautiful sycamore tree near Hadrian’s Wales by a youth of sixteen and a man in his sixties, the outpouring of anger and grief has questioned why they took authority to do this – though it seems that this vandalism may have been just  a TikTok challenge. 

Meanwhile, all this is happening at Michaelmas, the festival of Michael and the angels who act with God’s authority to bring messages of hope and assurance to a troubled world. In the chaotic times we are living through, there will be words of hope and guidance that will encourage us to persevere as we find our own authority questioned at times, too. Perhaps, like the two brothers in the story Jesus told, we sometimes need to change our minds or, like Jackie Weaver, take authority during its lack to do what is needed under the circumstances? The most frequent message of the angels is “Fear not” or some form of it – can we encourage those around us as well as ourselves by claiming and sharing these words in the complex and perplexing times we are all living through, taking authority to do what we can for those in need and finding our own needs met as we do?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian. 

“I choose to give to this last the same I give to you…… So the last will be first and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16.

“All I’ve ever wanted was a honest week’s pay for an honest day’s work.” Steve 

Martin, in the film Sgt Bioko.

Jesus continues his series of parables about the kingdom of heaven with this story of a landowner who hired labourers to work for the day in his vineyard after agreeing the usual daily wage with them. At various times during the day, he sees other workers standing idle and agrees to pay them ‘whatever is right’ for working until finally evening comes and the labourers are paid. Those who were hired last were paid first and received the usual daily wage although they had only worked for an hour but those who had worked from the start received the same amount. Although they had agreed this with the landowner at the start of the day when they were willing to work for that wage, they grumbled because they had worked for much longer. Some might have sympathy for their complaint, but the landowner tells them that no wrong has been done because they were willing to work for that pay at the start of the day.

That may be true, but it’s understandable that those who have laboured all day are jealous of the good fortune of those who arrived late. Perhaps they think that, having worked for so short a time, they don’t deserve the full amount and haven’t earned it. In coveting what those last workers have received, the jealousy and grumbling of those who have worked all day affects their perception of the wage they accepted when they were hired – although they had been initially satisfied with it.

This parable about labour and wages has resonances in the context of the ongoing disputes about pay and conditions in the NHS, the railways, the London Underground and elsewhere. With the government pouring £500 million to prop up the Port Talbot Steel Works, pay, the cost of living, the difficult in getting a mortgage and the changes in the economy as well as the housing market means this is a topical issue currently. What would Mick Lynch, General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and the other Union secretaries and leaders involved in the current disputes make of this parable?! 

However, the parable isn’t about pay and labour at all. Rather, Jesus likens it to the kingdom of heaven where all are welcome and those who seek it sometimes enter much later than others. All are welcome unconditionally – God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness are his to dispense, not ours to judge even though we may feel envious of blessings given to others that we might envy ourselves. 

Perhaps jealousy of others is an issue for us today? Do we covet the blessings others have been given, whilst not recognising that we’ve been blessed in different ways? If the last are first and the first last, rather than resentment being key, isn’t that a sign that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand? If so: alleluia!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.” Jesus in Matthew 18:21-35

“Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future.” Paul Boese.

Today’s Gospel is the response of Jesus to Peter’s question about how often forgiveness should be shown. In reply, Jesus tells the story of a king wanting to settle his accounts with his servants. Having reckoned what he was owed, a servant in his debt for ten thousand talents was brought to him – that’s a huge amount of money, which the servant couldn’t possibly repay. As he begged for mercy, the king took pity on the servant and forgave him the entire debt – an act of great generosity.

By contrast, when the man leaves, he immediately goes to another servant who owes him a hundred denarii – a very much smaller amount of money. The forgiven servant is violent with him, seizing him by the throat, refusing to show the same pity he was given and having him thrown into prison. However, word of this gets back to the king through the other servants who witness this unfair treatment but won’t stand for it and, because the forgiven servant was not himself merciful, the king has him thrown into jail. His position is now very much worse than before because he did not show forgiveness or share his good fortune with those also in need as he had been.

Jesus’ parable has fictional characters but is based on the practice of his day and so there’s much to ponder about forgiveness in what he says. Perhaps the actions of the first servant are related to the mercy he’s been shown? He may have realised he must not get into such arrears again and may be wanting to reclaim what is rightly his – but it’s the way he goes about it that’s the  issue as he shows no forgiveness. His wife, children and possessions are ordered to be sold to pay off his debt so his actions affect them, too. When he goes free, so would they – but what would happen to them when the debt is reinforced later? The consequences of his actions spread out to others and, when injustice is done, even onlookers become involved when they tell the king what has happened whereas, sometimes, bystanders do nothing even though they could.

This parable is timely, with Companies House sending a reminder here this week about accounts being due by the end of the month! As Wilko stores go into administration after being on the high street since 1930, documents at Companies House show that the company owed £411 million to creditors as well as £25.8 million to HMRC – this huge sort of debt will also have a knock-on effect on the jobs and pensions of the workers, whose families and prospects may well be adversely affected by the situation. 

Debt is a huge factor in many of the financial and personal situations bring faced today and with whom do we identify in Jesus’ parable about forgiveness and its fictional characters acting in a true to life manner? Who, in our lives and the news headlines today, are the equivalents of the generous king, the unforgiving servant, the one being threatened or onlookers doing something about the injustice being witnessed? 

Perhaps, at various times in our lives, we recognise ourselves in each? 

Lord, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us……….

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian



“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” 

Jesus, in Matthew 18:15-20.



“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,”

Nelson Mandela.

Today is Education Sunday, an appropriate link as the new academic year begins for schools. The church has always been involved with teaching and learning, not only with the education of monks, nuns and choir schools but with the Sunday Schools begun by Robert Raikes and the Christian schools now sought out for their high standards of academic, moral and spiritual education. 

Here in Wales, the churches and chapels were also involved in education and teaching. At Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant only a few miles away from here, the priest William Morgan had begun to translate the Bible into Welsh in 1578 but few could read it. By 1740, the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge had established 76 schools in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire and Griffith Jones, with his patron Madame Bevan, also developed circulating schools with the purpose of being able to read the Bible in Welsh. These temporary schools moved on when sufficient numbers had grasped enough to share with others locally (the church plants of today can flourish on this basis too!) and, by 1771, it was estimated that over 200,000 had attended them. In 1800 Mary Jones, having learnt to read in the circulating school Rev’d Thomas Charles had begun, famously walked 26 miles barefoot at the age of fifteen to his chapel in Bala to obtain a Welsh Bible. This led to the foundation of the British and Foreign Bible Society and, although whether to use Welsh or English remained controversial, the churches and chapels were influential in creating the choice that now exists in Welsh education where previously there was little. 

In the Gospel today, Jesus is teaching his followers how to resolve disputes when they happen – education is not just academic but a way of life too. He tells them that, if there is a difference between two of them, they should try to settle it by talking it through but, if it can’t be resolved, two or three witnesses should then be brought in and, finally, the church should be told if necessary and the person concerned then treated as a pagan or tax collector if agreement couldn’t be reached. Down the ages, this challenging advice and the need to admit wrongdoing has often not been followed and Jesus’ followers can sometimes be known for their divisions – that often lead to other fellowships being formed elsewhere and the Gospel spreading in different ways accordingly. However, the fact that Jesus is giving this guidance at all shows that disputes were common amongst his followers even then and, when Jesus suggests that if two people agree on anything it will be done by God in heaven, that small number suggests that perhaps even he realised unity was always going to be an issue. 

Today, that is still the case and education in so diverse a world still remains a dream rather than a reality for many – Nelson Mandela’s words still await fulfilment. Progress is great too but currently hampered in some schools and buildings in the UK due to RAAC concrete which has become a hazard in so many places. That can happen in our lives, sometimes, when all we think we’ve built can sometimes collapse and we’re left tackling the rubble as are so many in Morocco today after the earthquake that has killed so many. Life teaches us many lessons, not least to care about neighbours with practical care and support whether or not we’re in agreement with them. Those lessons can bring new insights and blessings but they’re also sometimes challenging and difficult. What are the lessons life has taught us this Education Sunday? 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Guardian.

Today’s Gospel reading follows on from last week’s, where Peter received a new name and was told by Jesus that he is the rock on which he will build. When Jesus now tells his disciples that he must undergo great suffering, be killed and then be raised on the third day, Peter takes him to one side and tells Jesus that this must never happen to him. Immediately, Jesus tells him that he is a stumbling block, using the word skandalon meaning a trap or obstacle to cause a fall – it’s a strong word, as is Jesus’ use of the word Satan, showing just how quickly Peter has misunderstood the situation. In a matter of a few moments, Peter has gone from being a foundation stone to a trip hazard and Jesus follows this by telling the disciples that anyone wanting to become a follower of his must take up and bear the cross as they follow him. 

Perhaps it was hard for Jesus to contemplate what lay ahead, which may account for the harshness with which he responds to Peter – it must have been a terrible shock for Peter to hear these words from him when he had so recently been praised by Jesus. Having just been identified as the Messiah, who it was thought would be a victorious leader, it must also have been hard for his bewildered disciples to understand what Jesus was talking about and to be willing to embrace such a future. Just as Peter protests about it, perhaps we’ve known times when we have misunderstood others or been misunderstood ourselves – that can be hard to bear but also enlightening. 

Peter clearly wrestles with what this means and, in Luke 22:31-34, declares that he is ready to suffer and die with Jesus. He seems to have accepted what must happen and yet will shortly betray Jesus by pretending he doesn’t know him. Peter is the only follower who is recognised as Jesus is held prisoner and, as the cock crows for the third time, he leaves and weeps bitterly, having failed Jesus again.

Like all of us, Peter had a lot to learn but all this was forgiven by Jesus who, after the resurrection, commissioned him three times (John 21:15-19) and Peter was able then to respond to the call to follow faithfully. Jesus didn’t give up on Peter despite his failings and his desire to shape events according to what he wanted and expected to happen. He won’t give up on us either and if there are things we don’t understand or conflict with those around us, perhaps we need to consider whether, like Peter, we’re trying to force a particular outcome rather than ponder what is being asked of us at that point. 

Rather than insisting on having our own way, the kingdom of heaven is built of love for others and bearing the cross on a daily basis to bring about God’s purposes in building the kingdom of heaven here on earth. Peter could have become a skandalon, an obstacle to what Jesus asked of him but found the strength and courage to resist having his own way. Is the same true of us?

With my prayers; bob bendith,

Christine, Guardian. 

“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.