News and reflections

“Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Jesus, in Luke 17:11-19.

“Joy is more infectious than leprosy.” Baba Amte, who worked with lepers in India.

In today’s Gospel, Luke tells the story of ten lepers who approach Jesus as he is travelling through the border between Samaria and Galilee, a place where tensions still existed from ancient disputes between Samaritans and Jews to the extent that some preferred to take a longer route to avoid the area altogether. Today, that area is still disputed in the wider conflict ongoing in the Middle East although the peace proposals may bring some relief from the current hostilities. 

As Jesus enters a village, ten lepers call to him from a distance as they were bound to do according to the hygiene laws of their day, asking Jesus to show them mercy. In those days, leprosy was dreaded and Jews were expected to stay at least two metres away from anyone affected by it. Most were kept further away than that, with some people refusing to buy food in an area where there was leprosy and others throwing rocks to prevent lepers coming near. Lepers had to cry out that they were unclean if anyone approached and were alienated from their families, friends and communities until they were either cured or died a horrible death. As leprosy was thought in those days to be a punishment from God, lepers had to go to the priests for procedures to be carried out to establish whether actual leprosy was present or if other infectious diseases such as ringworm, psoriasis, smallpox and measles (which could look like leprosy in the early stages) were the cause of the skin infections. In doing so, the priests acted as some of the first public health officers in effect, with the disease being diagnosed by careful criteria outlined in Leviticus 13  and the priestly judgements being made not just for the infected person but for the safety of the community too. 

When he sees them, Jesus doesn’t ask anything of the lepers other than telling them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they comply with what he asks of them, all ten are healed – but only one goes back to thank Jesus for it. Ironically, he is the only Samaritan – the traditional enemies of the Jews, although the adversity the lepers shared seems to have led to him being accepted by the other nine as would not normally have been the case. Perhaps the other lepers were desperate to have the validation of their priests or to see their families and friends again – but Jesus does notice and he asks where the other nine are when the Samaritan returns and prostrates himself as a sign of humility and thankfulness. Jesus calls the leper a foreigner rather than an enemy and tells him to get up and go on his way. He enables the man to be integrated with others once more, cleansed of his leprosy and anything else that may be amiss, as Jesus tells him that his faith has made him well. 

In a place and time of exclusion, dreadful suffering and heartbreak, acceptance, healing and restoration find a way to overcome hatred and fear as enemy and outcast meet and begin to find hope in and through each other despite their differences. Despite – and perhaps because of – the terrible cost for all involved, may it begin to be so amidst the renewed efforts to establish a just settlement for peace throughout the Middle East today and in other places of violent conflict. Will it?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

“One sows and another reaps.” Jesus, in John 4:31-38.

“If you don’t like what you are reaping, you had better change what you have been sowing.” Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur and author.

Today is Homelessness Sunday and also Harvest Festival here. The age old celebration of the agricultural year comes from times when dependence on the land was far greater than it is today with the availability of freezers and fridges, cans and packets for storing food. However, changing habits also mean that it’s much easier to live on ready meals, convenience food or take-aways with less being stored accordingly – for a city like London, it’s suggested that it would only be six meals away from starvation if there was a disaster of some kind. Sadly, in places like Gaza, the consequences of disaster and war are only too evident with so many civilians suffering or dying from malnutrition, although the welcome news of a possible breakthrough in the peace proposals may now enable food and aid to reach the places and people where it’s most needed. 

The harvest here this year has varied due to the changing climate with root vegetables and grain being smaller due to lack of rain – the recent heavy downpours have come too late to make much difference in some areas – although the crops of berries, apples, pears and plums have been abundant. It’s a troubling time for many farmers, producers and gardeners, as for some councils where adverse decisions have had to be made regarding the continuation of allotments due to economic necessity, even though waiting lists for them are lengthy. 

It was in 1843 that the Reverend Robert Hawker began the celebration of Harvest Festival at his church in Morwenstow, Cornwall, this being linked to the practice of the Children of Israel at the Feast of Tabernacles when they were commanded to ‘..observe the festival of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labour.’ Exodus 23:16. This was when booths or tabernacles were made from branches in remembrance of the time in the wilderness when food was scarce and thanks were given for the food and farming that developed when the Israelites reached the Promised Land. It’s thought that, in the days of Jesus, around 90% of time would be spent in growing or preparing food and the Gospels have many references to farming, harvest and the land. Today, Harvest Festival remains one of the occasions when people may consider coming to church or helping with the proceeds of what’s gathered for it and, due to local need, the foodstuffs, toiletries and money given at the service here will go to the local Food Bank which supports the homeless as well as those struggling to provide for themselves as well as their families.

Although traditionally a time of thanksgiving, there could be a bitter harvest following the proposed peace settlement in the Middle East, when the hope of peace and hostages being released is tinged with sorrow for many as some hostages are dead and the death rate on all sides has been great, as with the war between Russia and Ukraine. Bitterness may also be a consequence of the terrorism at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester whilst its members were marking Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. There are references to a bitter harvest in Isaiah 5, when sour grapes were being produced in God’s vineyard instead of the sweet fruit expected. In the first chapter of the book of Ruth, Naomi declares that she is to be called Mara, bitter, following the death of her husband and sons, as God “has dealt very bitterly with me.” After three days without water in the wilderness, the Israelites found only bitter water to drink at Marah and grumbled about it – in these situations, there was good reason for bitterness but, with perseverance and patience, faith and hope eventually prevailed. The same is true today – the challenge lies before us all in the face of terrorism, division and hardship to overcome bitterness and hatred with the hope of peace, justice and love. That requires hard work and, often, forgiveness and a change of heart as well as the will to want this to happen. As the fruits of our own lives, families and communities are considered in the face of national and world events, how can a bitter harvest become a better harvest? 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

’Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated.’ Revelation 12: 7, 8.

‘Back into storyland giants have fled, And the knights are no more and the dragons are dead.’ From ‘When a knight won his spurs in the stories of old,’ the children’s hymn. 

Monday marks the feast day of Michael and All Angels. He is one of the three angels named in the Bible, the others being Gabriel and Raphael, and is described as the protector of Israel and leader of the armies of God. Michael is also trusted to protect Christians from the devil, especially at their death – hence the spiritual Michael, row the boat ashore, which was often sung by slaves to keep their hopes up and anticipate their safe transition to heaven. His name means ‘who is like God?’ and perhaps his most famous image is at Coventry Cathedral in Jacob Epstein’s 1958 sculpture St Michael’s Victory over the Devil where he is shown slaying the dragon in the Book of Revelation. There were apparently some initial objections to Epstein undertaking this on the grounds that he was a Jew, until the architect Basil Spence reminded them that so was Jesus Christ. Clearly, the dragons of prejudice and racism also needed slaying then, as well as today!

A red dragon, Y Ddraig Goch, is at the heart of the Welsh flag, a symbol that dates back to Roman times when the standard bearer of a cohort was called the draconarius and carried a golden staff with a dragon at the top. Celtic leaders were originally called dragons and ancient stories in the Mabinogion and elsewhere tell of a red and white dragon fighting each other underneath a fort at Dinas Emrys. The white dragon was defeated and the red dragon was then adopted by Welsh kings following the Roman withdrawal from Britain with leaders such as Owain Glyndŵr using the symbol of a golden dragon on a white background for his banner when he lead the rebellion against Henry IV. When Henry Tudor used a red dragon on the traditional colours of white and green to highlight his Welsh origins, and presented this at St Paul’s Cathedral after his defeat of Richard III at Bosworth in 1485, the dragon became established as the symbol of Wales. From then on, it was always depicted facing left when carried to appear to be advancing, rather than to the right implying retreat, although it wasn’t until 1959 that Elizabeth II decreed that it should be flown on public buildings throughout Wales rather than the Union Flag.

Today, this ancient emblem still represents the need for courage and strength – in life and not just on the battlefield. At a time when national flags are being flown on lampposts in some areas as symbols of exclusivity and division, there is still the need to ‘Let faith be my shield and let joy be my steed ‘Gainst the dragons of anger, the ogres of greed’ as the children’s hymn suggests. Modern dragons still come in many forms, representing evil or instilling fear and the temptation to give up. So, take heart from Archangel Michael who was not alone but had angels to support him – as did the devil in the Book of Revelation. In this complexity, the need to unite to battle wrongdoing, fear and prejudice still continues, and the Michaelmas daisies which bear Michael’s name at this time of year are reminders that love, hope and perseverance will eventually prove victorious now, as then.

With my prayers; pob bendith, Christine, Priest Guardian.

Dear All
You are invited to join a Zoom group linking America and Wales on Monday 13th October at 7.30pm when the distinguished American teacher of medieval literature Dr. Robert McMahon will lead a discussion of George Herbert’s Love III: Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back… This is the final poem in Herbert’s collection The Temple, the third of his poems on Love, and it contains the whole Gospel in three stanzas.

Herbert was born in 1589 at Black Hall, Montgomery Castle and, after being elected Public Orator at Trinity College, Cambridge, later became MP for Montgomery from 1624-5. His poor health lead to him then serving as an Anglican priest at the age of 36 in Bemerton, Wiltshire where he died three years later, probably of consumption. Herbert’s poems were published posthumously in 1633 and he is regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets of the 17th Century. He is commemorated on the Herbert Memorial in St Nicholas’ Church, Montgomery.

Dr. McMahon has taught English and Comparative Literature (Dante) for many years, and has published books on St. Augustine, The Medieval Mystical Ascent (Augustine, Anselm, and Boethius), and Milton’s Paradise Lost. George Herbert is among the poets he most admires and McMahon’s exploration of the medieval astronomy that informs Herbert’s poem Coloss.3.3 was published in the George Herbert Journal in the late 1990s.

Robert and his wife, the herbalist and therapist Kim Orr, have a shrine to the saint as well as a sanctuary for rabbits and hares, Melangell’s Garden, in their grounds in Colorado, USA where they form Melangell West, the unofficial long-distance extension of St Melangell’s! Kim is a regular correspondent on St Melangell’s website and wrote the text for the Diocesan prayer card circulated for St Melangell’s feast day in 2021. Four Americans and three Brits collaborated for that to happen and it is hoped that the same collaboration will underpin this Zoom. So, please plan to spend an hour or so with us reading and discussing the poem as we explore what it says, how it contains the Gospel, and what it implies through its echoes of the New Testament.

If you’d like to participate in this, please register with Karen, St Melangell’s Administrator, by contacting her at admin@stmelangell.org or on 01691 860408.

Today celebrates St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist and is also UN World Peace Day with a call to prayer being issued by the World Council of Churches. It’s also World Gratitude Day and, alongside the prayer requested particularly for the Middle East, the evangelist and broadcaster J.John has written a reflection on gratitude which was sent to me with the suggestion that it could be circulated. So, here it is – sent with gratitude for it and my prayers!

Christine, Priest Guardian.

Gratitude: The Attitude That Changes Everything

Sunday 21st September is World Gratitude Day.

Gratitude is not just polite manners; it’s powerful medicine. It is like oxygen for the soul: we don’t thrive without it. We are, as it were, hard-wired to say ‘thank you’ not just to people, but to someone beyond ourselves.

And here’s the awkward question for the atheist: if you don’t believe in God, who do you thank when you see a glorious sunset, hear a newborn baby’s cry, or survive a near miss on the motorway? Nature isn’t listening. Evolution isn’t either. But heaven is.

Gratitude is riches; ingratitude is poverty. Gratitude is contagious so let’s spread it!

Gratitude is good for us

Gratitude is a gift that blesses both the giver and the receiver. It’s a mood booster, a perspective shifter and a spiritual disinfectant.

Anger struggles to take root in a thankful heart. Try being furious while singing, ‘Thank you, Lord!’ – it doesn’t work. Gratitude doesn’t change the situation, but it changes us in the situation. Very few disputes begin with, ‘I just want to say how grateful I am . . .’

Pride resists gratitude because it refuses to admit dependence. But gratitude is humility in action, saying, ‘I need others and I need God.’

The Bible says, ‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall’ (Proverbs 16:18 NIV). Gratitude is the parent of all virtues because it recognises that we are not self-made.

Envy wilts when gratitude flourishes. Gratitude says, ‘I am content with what I have.’ Adam and Eve had paradise but discontentment made them reach for the one fruit they didn’t have. Gratitude would have saved them and us a lot of trouble.

Psychologists now confirm what Scripture has always taught: grateful people are happier, healthier and more hopeful. People today talk about mindfulness. I say, try thankfulness – it works!

Gratitude is good for others

Gratitude is love in its simplest form. It costs nothing, yet it can make someone’s day.

A word of thanks turns a tedious job into a worthwhile one. Gratitude oils the gears of marriage, family and friendship. Withholding gratitude dries up relationships. No wonder so many managers and leaders lose people not because of pay, but because of their inability to say, ‘Thank you.’

A thankless heart divides. A grateful heart unites. Gratitude doesn’t just make  you  better, it makes us better.

Gratitude is good before God

For Christians, gratitude is not optional but essential. We serve a God who made us, loves us, redeemed us in Christ and fills us with his Holy Spirit. We are people of thanksgiving!

‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise’ (Psalm 100:4 NIV).

‘Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!’ (2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV).

‘Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances’ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

‘By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’ (Philippians 4:6 NIV).

And just peek at Revelation – heaven resounds with thankfulness! We’d better start rehearsing now. Gratitude isn’t just for today; it’s training for eternity.

Of course, gratitude does not mean pretending everything is fine. The world is broken, but when we give thanks to God, we celebrate the light in the midst of the darkness. Gratitude doesn’t deny pain, it defies it.

Practising gratitude

Gratitude needs nurturing. Our culture is self-obsessed and over-busy. People are quick to demand their rights but slow to express thanks. Yet gratitude has a lot going for it. It frees us from toxic emotions, strengthens relationships and aligns us with God’s will.

Gratitude is not a day in the diary but a lifestyle for eternity.

A heart response

Lord, thank you for the gift of life, for the people who bless us and above all for Jesus, the greatest gift of all. Forgive us for the times we complain more than we praise, grumble more than we thank. Teach us the rhythm of rejoicing, the discipline of thanksgiving and the joy of contentment. May gratitude flow from our lips, our hearts and our lives, so that those around us may glimpse your goodness through us. Amen.

When we thank God, we stop staring at what we lack and start celebrating what we already have. Gratitude is not simply an attitude – it is the attitude that changes everything.

J.John

jjohn.com

”Which of you….does not….go after the one that is lost until he finds it?” Jesus, in today’s Gospel Luke 15:1-10.

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” John Dewey, American scholar.

Today is Education Sunday, coinciding with the start of the new academic term for those in education of any sort. It’s a challenging time for students and teachers alike with issues such as increases in university fees, shortages of nursery places, difficulties with crumbling buildings and controversies over the legacy of Covid causing social and mental health issues for some with the use of mobile phones and the accessibility of the dark web all contributing to the complexity of education today. Equally, Oxford and Cambridge are amongst the world’s leading universities and today’s school students have a range of opportunities not available to those of previous generations who were taught with chalk and talk. Just as discipline is sometimes criticised as being too lax today, so it has been not only severe but occasionally dangerous in bygone times – I was in various classes where chalk or the wooden blackboard rubber was thrown across the room at a rowdy pupil and narrowly missed being hit in the head by one when I turned at the wrong time!

One of the earliest instances in Jesus’ life shows him, unbeknownst to his parents, staying behind after a visit with his family to Jerusalem so that he could listen to the Rabbis in the Temple, learn from them and ask them questions (Luke 2:41-51). Jesus was often called ‘Rabbi’ or ‘Teacher’ as he taught his disciples and the crowds who flocked to hear him – he also told his followers to let the children come to him (Matthew 19:14). The church followed his example down the centuries through monasteries, universities and schools and, here in Wales, the circulating schools were developed in the eighteenth century by Revd Griffith Jones so that a group of children could be taught to read the Bible and could then pass this learning on to others. This was remarkably successful in establishing early literacy, often in the Welsh language, and Sunday Schools also became a means of teaching the young. The church is still involved in education today, as are other faiths, and these schools are not without critics as well as supporters. 

It’s in this context that this week’s murder of the right wing activist Charlie Kirk at a debate on the campus of Utah Valley University assumes a chilling context, occurring in a setting where free speech is usually lauded. The comments about this made by the President-elect of the Oxford Union also seemed to contradict free speech in an academic setting where considered debate is normally paramount, although these remarks were later withdrawn. Kirk’s right wing and conservative views led him to debate freely with those who opposed him and, as such, he  was an open target for Tyler Robinson to assassinate. Ironically, in trying to silence the voice with which he disagreed, Robinson has created a wider platform for Kirk’s message to be heard, with some terming him a martyr as outrage at his murder spread across social media and as his defiant widow and others vowed to continue and develop his work. 

Robinson himself had been a successful pupil and was in the third year of an electrical apprenticeship, seeming to be a promising student. However, there is a world of difference between schooling, learning and education and although he had good prospects Robinson chose to become a murderer. He may well pay a heavy price for it as calls begin for him to face the death penalty for one of the most significant political killings in recent US history.

Today is also Holy Cross Day, when the means of a terrible death eventually became a symbol of hope and peace and when the life intended to be snuffed out was transformed into a new way of being and living. Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel of seeking the lost and so may Charlie Kirk’s family, friends and organisation Turning Point, having reached out to so many young people as they seek their way in life, discover that they also find the care and support they now need from the Good Shepherd and those around them in their own devastating loss. Will this become a turning point for all involved or will it accelerate the tensions that are obvious in the UK as well as America, clearly shown in the violent and divisive demonstrations in Whitehall yesterday? 

Nelson Mandela suggested that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” At this time of such profound change, life itself has much to teach us – what are we learning and passing on to the generations to come?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” Jesus, in today’s Gospel Luke 14:25-33.

“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” Max Lucado.

In last week’s reflection, I mentioned an incident in my childhood and then suggested that Sir Ed Davey is the leader of the Liberal Party – its name when I was growing up! Today, the party is called the Liberal Democrats and has been since its foundation in 1988 when the Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party – going back in time can affect not only perceptions of yesteryear but current memory too. 

The same is true with regard to the Gospel today, which seems to be contrary both to today’s standards and also Jesus’ command then to love God, neighbour and self. He refers to hating family and even life itself in order to follow him, which may sound extreme now but is actually a Rabbinic way of making a point, meaning to love less. Jesus suggests that following him and carrying the cross if necessary is to be preferred above all other considerations, including family. He makes the point with an illustration about checking the cost before starting to build a tower to ensure that it can be afforded and then a second example of a king who must first consider whether he has sufficient soldiers to be able to go to war with his opponent or must seek peace instead. Jesus then says, ”So, therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not renounce all your possessions.”

In the King James Version, renounce is translated as forsaketh, meaning to bid farewell. Jesus is telling those listening to him that they must be ready to bid farewell to all that is dear to them in order to follow him, words that many may struggle to hear and yet, Luke says that large crowds were following him. Why would they do this when what he says is so challenging?

Jesus had been performing many miracles and often speaking to the crowds around him who had heard of this preacher, his healing and stories and were interested enough to follow him. But perhaps it was the spectacle and excitement they sought, rather than costly commitment to his teaching. Putting family first was a priority in the time of Jesus and so it would have been difficult to hear his words about loving them less but the suggestion of carrying the cross would have been shocking for, in those days, that would have been done by criminals carrying the means of their death to the place of execution. Jesus warns the crowds that they might be humiliated, shamed or put to death through a commitment to him, as would be shown later by his own suffering and death in response to what was asked of him. Even possessions must be given up, if necessary – hardly an attractive proposition then, or now.

This may not be asked of all his followers, but there are many places the world over where home and family have been left behind and where suffering, violence and death may seem to dominate in the struggle for freedom, justice and peace. The teaching of Jesus is challenging but is also a reminder to sit lightly to worldly priorities and to consider his call on our lives spiritually. It was so for Melangell, who renounced her heritage to follow another path and was at prayer, so the story goes, when the hare ran to her for sanctuary and the encounter with Prince Brochwel began. It has been so in the lives of many down the ages and 405 years ago, on 6th September, the Pilgrims did just that, leaving Plymouth for a hazardous voyage on the Mayflower to America in search of a new life of religious freedom, renouncing all that was familiar and forsaking their old way of life. Careful planning was needed, much was demanded of them, some died and harsh conditions were faced on arrival – but they found what they sought and also established what became the United States. 

In a week when crowds have been much in evidence, gathering at the start of the political conference season, protesting about migrants in Epping or about the situation in the Middle East in Westminster, there may be times when it’s important to be part of those crowds seeking change or perhaps opposing what is sometimes being demanded. But, despite the songs and chants of protest, it’s important also at times to stand alone and apart – Jesus suggests that his is the voice to which attention must be paid, a call that can easily be drowned out by noise and commotion, and that careful planning and consideration is also needed for what will be. Perhaps, as for those Pilgrims, there are things to be renounced, forsaken or embraced if we truly are to follow and be involved with the teaching of Jesus today and not just be part of the crowd observing the spectacle of his ministry?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Jesus, in today’s Gospel Luke 14: 1, 7-14.

“Take your elbows off the table, Geoff.” My mother, who was a teacher, to my father at Sunday lunch when I was a child. His reply cannot be circulated!!

As a child, table manners were always considered important at home particularly with four children at hand and my father sometimes being treated like a fifth by my mum, who occasionally forgot that she was not in the classroom. Dad’s response usually reminded her, sometimes more politely than others! Today, it seems that families often eat different meals at separate times, some while watching TV or perhaps with mobile phones at hand and conversations or activities taking place with others not present. Today’s Gospel deals with the etiquette practised in the time of Jesus and his interpretation of what it meant in terms of God’s kingdom and the heavenly banquet. 

In Luke’s passage, Jesus has been invited to the house of a Pharisee – this is not about hospitality but an opportunity to meet Jesus at close quarters and try to trap him. Jesus notices that the guests choose the places of honour for themselves – often these occasions were used for social advancement but Jesus warns against this. Instead, he suggests that a guest should choose a lowly place in case other more distinguished people are present and then be invited to move up higher if they are not. In that way, due recognition could be accorded rather than eclipsed and Jesus also reminds those present not to give invitations in the hope of being repaid with a return invite. He suggests that friends and family should not be invited to a meal for that reason but that the outcast, the poor and disabled should be welcomed, specifically because they cannot repay the social etiquette expected in those days. Jesus exaggerates to make a point, for the Pharisees believed that they would be rewarded for generosity and charitable acts at the resurrection of the righteous – but, meanwhile, are acting unrighteously by favouring those who may favour them in return. 

That often applies today, too, and an invitation to a dinner has been much in the news this week. The Liberal Democrats Party leader Sir Ed Davey has announced that, although he has been invited by King Charles to a banquet at Windsor Castle for the visit of President Donald Trump next month, he will boycott it in protest about the situation in the Middle East. Sir Ed said that he and his wife Emily “…have spent all summer thinking about this and have prayed about it. There is no honour like an invitation from the King, and not to accept his invitation goes against all of our instincts…. Boycotting the banquet is the one way I can send a message to Donald Trump and Keir Starmer that they can’t close their eyes and wish this away. We have to speak up, they have to act. Donald Trump must act to end this humanitarian crisis.”

There are many who would disagree with his political assessment and response just as there are many who would agree with it. But it echoes the points made by Jesus as he finds himself a guest at a meal where politics are at work, duplicity is afoot and all is not necessarily as it seems. His remarks are pertinent to us today, as we are also asked to ponder our genuine invitation from another King to his heavenly banquet – but on very contrasting terms. Jesus’ parable suggests that God’s criteria for his guests will be very different from the usual expectations and that the invitation shows his generosity and grace rather than our merit. As George Herbert writes, ‘Love bade me welcome…. So I did sit and eat.’ Will we be at Love’s feast in due course and might we be astonished to see who else is or isn’t there? And might they be surprised about us?!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

“I am among you as one who serves.” Jesus in Luke 22:24-30, today’s Gospel.

”I opened myself to you only to be skinned alive. The more vulnerable I became, the faster and more deft your knife. Knowing what was happening, still I stayed and let you carve more. That’s how much I loved you.” Rabih Alameddine in ‘I, The Divine, A Novel.’

Today is the feast of St Bartholomew, one of the Twelve and a trusted follower of Jesus. His name is Semitic, meaning son of my furrows, indicating a farmer or land owner and it may be that he also had the name Nathanael as he is often associated with Philip, who brought Nathanael to Jesus and called him an Israelite worth of the name. He isn’t listed as an apostle whereas Bartholomew is – was he possibly Nathanael Bar-Talmai?

Much about him is uncertain, not least that there are three versions of his martyrdom. The best known is that Bartholomew was flayed alive and depictions often show knives and his skin wrapped around him. The horrific manner of this death has lead to him becoming the patron saint of tanners, butchers, leather workers, bookbinders, vellum makers, glovers and shoemakers but perhaps the greatest tribute is the hospital named after him, Bart’s in London – now a centre of excellence for heart and cancer care.

Today’s Gospel doesn’t name Bartholomew but happens at the Last Supper where all the disciples have gathered with Jesus to share what will be a final meal with him before his death. As a dispute breaks out about which of them will be regarded as the greatest, Jesus reminds them that leadership is about service and that he is among them as one who serves. How bitterly disappointed he must have been to hear the disciples argue about this and to know how little they have understood about what he is trying to teach them. Yet Jesus focuses on the positive and tells them that they have stood by him in the various trials he has faced and that he is conferring on them the kingdom that his Father conferred on him. He says they will eat and drink at his table in the kingdom, of which the Last Supper is a foretaste although they don’t realise that. What must the disciples have made of this later, when they fled rather than stood by Jesus at his arrest and realised they had argued so pettily at their last meal with him?  

There are perhaps times for us when we realise that arguments may have intruded over a meal or meeting and that things weren’t as we thought or hoped at the time in a way that causes regret later. It’s also easy to become sidetracked with disputes over the approach or leadership of others as can often be seen in so many disagreements where power rather than service becomes key. The affirming and encouraging words of Jesus to his followers despite their shortsightedness were hallmarks of his own commitment to what he preached to them, shown in the agony of his scourging before crucifixion. That involved a whip where the flails were weighted with strips of sharpened metal designed to flay partially the skin on his back and make the suffering on the cross even more horrendous. God also asked of his Son what was asked of his followers.

As a child, I remember hearing the phrase don’t do that or you’ll be flayed alive being used as a deterrent. Sometimes, the word used was skinned alive, often shortened to being skint, where money had run out for various reasons. Horrible images were also depicted in other ways such as Rabih Alameddine’s powerful writing of what can be the terrible and sacrificial cost of love – thankfully, the term is not used so much now.

Perhaps Jesus’ affirmation of his followers at the Last Supper, combined with the terrible suffering and sacrifice of his crucifixion, partly underpinned their resolve to spread the Good News the world over after the resurrection. Bartholomew’s flaying came after his missionary work in India, Ethiopia, Turkey and various other countries before going to Armenia where he was said to have been skinned and beheaded on the orders of its king, Astyages. That was a terrible death after a life based on the Good News and service but it showed the best as well as the worst of humanity as it has since inspired the work of healing in the hospital of which Bartholomew is patron. Perhaps it could inspire us, too, as we wrestle with the worst as well as the best and the everyday challenges of humanity before us today? 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” Jesus, in Luke 12:49-56.

“What did you make today: a difference or an excuse?” Noel Edmonds.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of bringing fire to the earth – Moses’ burning bush, the pillar of fire and cloud which lead the Israelites, Elijah’s chariot of fire and the tongues of flames at Pentecost resonate with this as signs of God’s activity in the world. But fire can also burn and destroy, as John the Baptist warned when suggesting that what is not fruitful will be cut down and thrown into the flames. Jesus himself also speaks of hellfire in Matthew 25:41 and of creating division rather than peace on earth, despite so often being called the Prince of Peace.

Recently, in nearby Shropshire, the plentiful harvest of straw that one farmer had grown and stored in two barns caught alight in the fourth heatwave this year. The Fire Brigade would usually remove some of the burning straw to take it into the fields to be soaked for the flames to be extinguished but, as the grass was so dry, it could not be done in case that ignited too. The surrounding streams and pools were also too low to use to supply the hoses and so water had to be brought from further afield by bowsers, which delayed the flames being extinguished. Consequently, the farm’s entire straw harvest for use with livestock during the winter was lost, both barns destroyed and the farmer’s livelihood imperilled after so much hard work in vain.

Whether or not this is due to climate change or the earth’s natural cycle is a moot point, although the blackberries are ready much earlier than usual and some trees are already dropping leaves and even branches – signs of the stress they are under after so much heat and lack of water. Jesus, often so observant of nature around him, refers to the signs of changing clouds or winds to indicate forthcoming rain or heat but links this to discerning the signs of the age in which he and his followers live – much more than just the weather forecasting he mentions. As he warns his followers of the strife and divisions of the times, Jesus also accuses some of them of hypocrisy in not recognising the spiritual significance of what is happening. The Prince of the Peace of which angels sang at his birth also blessed peacemakers in the Beatitudes, spoke of leaving peace with his followers before his death and, at his resurrection, reassured his frightened disciples with his first words, “Peace be with you”. But this was in the context of the terrible violence meted out to him at his imprisonment, crucifixion and death – it is not the shallow, false peace of appeasement but the peace bought at so great a cost.

That was reflected in the VJ Day commemorations this week when the Forgotten Army in Burma, a multinational force made from the Commonwealth countries who spoke 100 languages between them, was remembered and the sacrifice made by so many in the war with Japan was acknowledged. The deaths and terrible suffering on all sides brought an end to the fighting, though not necessarily the hostility, as the challenge of the work of the peace began. That challenge continues today, as the signs of the times are interpreted in our generation as well as those in the time of Jesus. Warnings of fire and division are hard and costly to bear – but so is the possibility of a just peace and collaboration across nationalities, faiths and cultural divides if the commitment and will for this can succeed. Which will prevail? Will the example of those who paid the price in Burma inspire us in so uncertain a world and could the fire of which Jesus spoke also enlighten the way forward, whether divided or united? As the King said on VJ Day, the “….courage and camaraderie displayed in humanity’s darkest hour is a flame that shall blaze for eternity – a beacon that honours our past and guides our future.”

With my prayers; pob bendith,
Christine, Priest Guardian.