News and reflections

“I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth.” Jesus in today’s Gospel, John 14:8-17.

‘Admission as advocates….involves a process of examination and practical instruction known as devilling.’ The Faculty of Advocates in Scotland.

Today is Pentecost, fifty days after Easter and originally celebrated in the Old Testament as the Spring Harvest when the first fruits of wheat were presented. It’s now also known as the birthday of the Church, being the time when, after receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples started to spread the Good News amongst the people they met and began the Church itself.

More than two thousand years later, the task continues as followers today face the challenge of communicating the Good News and truth in a world where bad news and lies seem so often to dominate the headlines. That has been highlighted this week in the ongoing row between the world’s most powerful man, President Trump, and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. He called Trump’s forthcoming legislation, “massive, outrageous……a disgusting abomination” whilst Musk was termed, “the man who has lost his mind” by the President. Formerly, a good relationship had seemed to prevail but the trading of these and other insults led the Daily Mirror to comment, ‘The world’s biggest kids are still bickering’ and to observe that, ‘The egos have landed.’ It’s a costly business for them both, in terms of reputation and truth as well as finances.

It was a costly business for Jesus, too, as he spoke with his followers on the night before he died to assure them that another Advocate would come to them after he left. That’s now a legal term, meaning to ‘add’ a ‘voice’ of support for a person or cause and may involve devilling – the preparation and checking of documents for possible challenges in the details and fine print. It’s sometimes said that the devil is in the detail and, whether thought of as an actual figure or representing the power of evil, devilish contradictions and complexities may seem to abound today, contradicting the Spirit of truth which Jesus also mentioned.

According to the account in Acts the Advocate, the Spirit of which Jesus spoke, enabled communication so that people of all languages could understand what they were being told. Despite the negativity and confusion created by Trump, Musk and so many others, Pentecost is a reminder that better communication and understanding can prevail if we allow our own voices to echo the Advocacy of the Holy Spirit’s guidance and clarification. That continues to birth not only the Church but a different and more hopeful way of living – may this new phase not faze us!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

As the Guardian’s mother is still very poorly, today’s reflection has kindly been written by Christopher Belk – thanks to him for doing this. 

Reflection for the Sunday after the Ascension. 

Waiting…

24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36. 24-28

If you have ever been to A&E you know what waiting is like. You know you are not right, you expect some form of emergency treatment, you may not know exactly what to expect, and you certainly don’t know how long you will have to wait. Meanwhile you pop a paracetamol and hope

Our eldest granddaughter Sophie is getting married next Saturday, after being engaged for over a year. Ruth and I were also engaged for over a year, so we know how it feels. All sorts of details to be sorted; invitations, service, clothes, food, honeymoon, need of paracetamol from time to time, but underlying joyful expectation.

Ezekiel had his message from God during the exile in Babylon: – God has something good in mind but you will have to wait for it. Like many OT prophecies, it can be short term – they will get their land back, which they did soon after, – or long term – they will always keep the land. Many, including probably Mr. Netanyahu, still quote it in the long term political sense.

But the spiritual promise about being given a heart of flesh and having God’s Spirit goes way beyond the political – what did that mean? Probably Israel would have thought, and may still think, this is just another rather vague promise about the long awaited Messiah. They got the land back short term but still had to wait for the Messiah. The waiting period in Babylon was only part of that longer term Messianic wait.

We of course believe that the Messiah has come in the person of Jesus. That waiting period is over, if only He could be recognised. But the spiritual promise was even yet not wholly fulfilled.

At this time of year we are looking at the waiting period Jesus’ disciples were in, between his ascension and Pentecost. Lets look at how Luke describes this

45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. Luke 24. 44-53;

Luke describes the scene again in Acts 1, adding that Jesus’ mother and the women were with them in the Upper Room.

So the disciples knew they were in for another waiting period: they seem to have not been given much clue as to how long it would be or what exactly was going to happen, but fresh from Jesus parting blessing they certainly were in joyful expectation of whatever being clothed with power might mean. In the meantime they prayed, met constantly for worship, and saw to a bit of admin by choosing Matthias as replacement apostle no.12.

We know now how that waiting period ended, with the dramatic happenings at Pentecost (next week in our calendar). So after that, don’t tell me there is yet another waiting period…??

Before we get onto that, lets sing the sort of praise the disciples might have sung between Ascension and Pentecost.

[139 Crown Him with many crowns]

Look now at what Jesus said, first in John’s gospel and then in Revelation

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[e] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17. 20-26

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you[a] this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Rev22., 12-14,16,17,20,

So we are now in a new waiting period, between Pentecost and the time when we get to be with Him where He is, and see His glory, whether that be at the end of our earthly life or at his earlier coming. Again, we do not know when either of those things will happen, but we need every day to expect and pray for his coming, and be ready for either. But in this period we should not just be sitting in the waiting room popping paracetamol, uncomfortable though it may sometimes be. There is much to be done, not least praying and praising.

First we need to be sure that we have personally answered the invitation to take the free gift of the water of life, so that, as Ezekiel foresaw and Jesus promises, the Holy Spirit will be fully in us and will move us to follow God’s decrees and be careful to keep his laws, and so that as Jesus promised he and his love will be in us and we in Him. Only thus can we have the power to serve the world and help others believe. The book of Acts tells many stories of how this worked through the original disciples, but we must never fall for the idea it was only for them. “Let the one who is thirsty come…” is an invitation to the whole world, and most immediately to any Christian who feels thirsty for spiritual progress in this waiting time. I guess that means us, and that we should come and accept the power to be part of the continuing Acts of the Disciples. How to come? Just ask God. Jesus said, “How much more will my Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him”.

What exactly do we anticipate? Noone expected to get out of Babylon with the blessing of King Cyrus. Noone expected the Messiah to come in quite the way He did. Noone expected actual tongues of fire at Pentecost. God has a habit of fulfilling prophecy in unexpected and wonderful ways. We can anticipate a treat beyond anything poets, prophets or theologians may have tried to describe

Do we experience that as a constant joyful expectation? Should be worth waiting for, and praising for meanwhile…

The feast day of St Melangell is being celebrated this year with the unveiling of a portrait of her by a local artist professional, Stephen Hopper. There are many images of the saint, some of them as traditional icons with her in the robes of the abbess she became or wearing a simple brown woollen habit which is likely to have been both warm and practical. One popular painting of her depicts Melangell with blond hair coiled over her ears and wearing a red silk dress whilst another shows her with a long ginger plait and a cream dress – both appearances are beautiful, but neither is likely to have been ideal for the reality of valley life! The green velvet dress and curly tresses she has in a different image depict Melangell’s possibly privileged upbringing but also make her look rather like Maid Marian whereas in another she looks charming in her hooded red velvet cloak which may indicate her arrival in the valley although some liken this image to Little Red Riding Hood. Melangell is wearing a cardigan and pearls in a recent lino cut of her and one image done by a school child shows the saint behind her church, looking down at it and smiling at what’s become of it. 

A very different image of Melangell is Fr. Rory Geoghegan’s fibre glass sculpture of her which is outside in the garden during the warmer weather and shows no clearly defined facial features, indicating that any of us could be like Melangell and show the same practical care for the creatures as well as the people around us as she did.

All these images have something positive to contribute to the unknown details of Melangell’s life. It’s entirely possible that her Irish heritage may have given her auburn or dark hair and that her privileged upbringing there may have provided her with coiled hair, silk dresses and velvet cloaks, though practical woollen clothing would quickly have been needed for outdoor life when she came to this Welsh valley. No-one knows what Melangell did look like, although it’s suggested that she was beautiful, but Stephen’s thought-provoking portrayal of her face shows a woman of great strength of character. Melangell’s Irish background is clearly indicated, blending with the woven clothing of her Welsh lifestyle, and the hare is also depicted and treated subtly whereas in some images she is shown cradling this wild creature in her arms. 

As a woman who cared for the creatures as well as the people around her, who enabled the church here to be built by keeping the goodwill of Prince Brochwel and who lived a life of great contrasts, Melangell’s example and care is as inspirational and needed today as it was when the religious community here first began. She is very much a saint of her own time but her legacy endures for our days too. Thanks be to God for her life, example and relevance today!

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.” Jesus, in John 13:31-35.

‘What the hell just happened?’ Title of the UK’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Today’s Gospel reading takes place at the Last Supper, just after Judas has been told by Jesus to leave and do quickly what he’s going to do. The arrangements for his betrayal then proceed while Jesus continues to talk with his disciples before leaving later to go to the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. Jesus begins to speak of glorification and calls the disciples little children as he prepares them for what is to come by telling them that he will only be with them for a little longer. He then gives them a new commandment to love one another just as he has loved them.

That’s familiar to Jews as Leviticus 19:18 states that they must ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’, which is a theme throughout the Old Testament. However, Jesus tells his disciples that they must specifically love one another just as he has loved them and that, when they do, it will be known that they are his followers. He speaks of that love even when he knows that Judas is going to betray him and before those with him have fallen asleep in Gethsemane, Peter has denied him and Thomas will doubt him. His disciples are frail, fallible people who clearly don’t understand what is happening or what is being asked of them. Yet, all this changes through the crucifixion as Jesus is glorified on the throne of the cross with his crown made of thorns and the resurrection then eventually enables the disciples slowly to realise the truth of what Jesus told them. So, God is glorified and love shown as the disciples take out the good news into the world and do not then fail in this despite such great personal cost. 

It’s easy to love people we like, much harder to persevere in the face of confusion, hatred or doubt. In the midst of our failings, frailty and misunderstandings, perhaps the way love spread and developed amongst those first disciples will hearten us today as it becomes our hallmark too. There is much in the church and its worshippers now that may create disappointment or frustration but love is also still at work as God’s glory continues to be glimpsed in so many different ways by those willing to seek it. 

It’s not love itself which is the focus of the commandment Jesus gives but the way Jesus loves that makes it new and different. It means loving in the face of betrayal, denial and doubt, just as Jesus did by washing his disciples’ feet as a servant despite knowing what lay ahead. More than that, Jesus also loved and associated with the poor, outcasts, lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors and Samaritans, the traditional enemy of the Jews. For his followers, that sometimes means not just learning from him but unlearning what may have become ingrained in habits and lifestyles, changing actions and behaviour. Through becoming vulnerable, from the Latin word vulnerabilis meaning wounding, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus to possible suffering and terrible woundedness but also to the transforming possibility of a new way of life and being. 

That may begin with the questions we ask of ourselves as well as others. The UK entry in Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest was ‘What the hell just happened?’ sung by Remember Monday. Why not sing God’s praises and Remember Sunday, the day new life became possible, asking instead, ‘What, for heaven’s sake, could happen?’

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.” Jesus, in today’s Gospel John 10:22-30. 

“The prayers of Catholics around the world will be that the universal shepherd can lead his flock to safe pasture.” Mark Easton, BBC commentator.

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, due to the Gospel passage in John where Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)  and refers to his flock of followers. He also calls himself the gate to the sheepfold, the one who protects the sheep from bandits and thieves, putting himself in possible danger for their sake. 

This year, my neighbour’s small flock has given her ten Torddu lambs, the Badger Face Welsh Mountain sheep that are so attractive. Recently moving them to fresh pasture, all Mary had to do was open the gate of their field and walk through it as she called them. The flock followed, its trust in her clear, and a ewe with her two lambs which were frantically calling each other after they had become separated were able to be reunited. Peace then reigned for a while and this good shepherd could have a rest!

Peace was mentioned nine times in the words of the new shepherd of the Roman Catholic church, Pope Leo XIV, as he addressed the crowds from the Vatican balcony after his election this week. He emerged traditionally robed like Benedict, wearing a similar red mozzetta (short cape) and the same ornate stole bearing golden images of the four Gospel writers, but speaking like Francis who wore simple white robes at his first appearance. In doing so, Leo may have already been building bridges with the traditional and progressive wings of the church, beginning to fulfill the calling in his title pontiff meaning bridge-builder. His chosen name also reflected this as his predecessor Leo l was instrumental in persuading Attila the Hun in the fifth century not to attack Rome, with Brother Leo also being a close companion of Francis of Assisi and Leo XIII prioritising diplomacy and social issues in his pontificate. Leo is also the name for a lion, king of the jungle, linked with authority, leadership and courage – Leo XIV will need all this and more as he sets out on the challenging times ahead. With this Pope’s experience of community as an Augustinian friar and his stated belief in synodality, walking and working with colleagues under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he will not be alone in his task and, as his colleague, Very Revd Anthony Pizzo, observed, “We are in hopeful space.”

Abundant hope is the theme of Christian Aid Week which begins today, highlighting Guatemala where, in the Alta Verapaz region, 90% of the population live in poverty. Christian Aid is partnered there with Congcoop, an organisation providing training and resources for communities to develop crop production in the face of climate change and economic need. The work created and the practical skills learned can change lives and communities – hope becomes a living reality and not just a possibility. 

May it be so for those in Guatemala, in the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglicanism too as the next Archbishop of Canterbury is discerned. May it be so for us, too, and the flocks for which we hold responsibility or of which we are a part, whether great like the Pope or on a small scale like Mary. And, if you were to take a new name like Robert Prevost who has become Leo XIV, what would you choose and why?

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.

“Come and have breakfast.” Jesus in John 21:1-19.

“Let minnow.” Fishing humour for let me know. 

Today’s Gospel reading is the first resurrection appearance of Jesus away from Jerusalem. When they last saw him in the upper room, having found it hard to believe the good news they had been told about his resurrection, Jesus told his disciples to go to Galilee (Matthew 28:10) and this they have done, awaiting him there. However, only seven of them are present and, as they gather at the Sea of Tiberias, Simon Peter decides to go fishing and the others go with him. This is what they were doing when Jesus first called them three years earlier and perhaps returning to their previous work is reassuring after all the disciples have been through. 

Having caught nothing all night, the disciples must have been tired and disappointed so perhaps it’s understandable that they don’t realise that it’s Jesus who calls to them from the shore. He speaks kindly to them, calling them children as an endearment rather than criticism, and tells them to cast their net on the other side of the boat even though they may have found that hard to do after a fruitless night. Their co-operation leads to the net being filled with many fish as John then recognises Jesus and Simon Peter jumps out of the boat to go to him, leaving the other disciples to deal with the heavy net.

When he reaches Jesus, a charcoal fire has been made with fish on it and bread. Given that the final meal they had with Jesus was at the Last Supper, where their betrayals, denials and failures had begun, Jesus does not chide the disciples but simply invites them to come and have breakfast, the first meal of the day. This is a new beginning – and even though Jesus has provided food for them, he invites them to bring some of their own catch to the meal. Their labour is used and valued, a way perhaps of enabling them to make a contribution that is honoured at a time when those disciples may have had very mixed emotions after the bewildering events of Holy Week.

The fire around which they met may have reminded Simon Peter of the brazier at which he denied Jesus thrice – yet the man who failed him is now commissioned three times by Jesus and, empowered with the fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter responds to the hard challenge ahead of him and will remain faithful to what is asked of him. 

Perhaps we or those around us have very mixed emotions as both the courage and sacrifice of those who enabled the end of war in Europe and VE Day to happen eighty years ago is acknowledged? Perhaps there are doubts about the freedom won at such cost or the warfare that still persists today? Perhaps we have sometimes denied God’s call in our lives for all sorts of reasons or struggle with some aspects of faith today in the face of such profound change?  If so, perhaps the joyful response of Simon Peter, the fisherman who became the rock on which the Church was built, will hearten us and enable us to be forgiven and forgiving, knowing that a new beginning after failure or denial is possible and our contribution to God’s purposes is not only accepted but requested. What fintastic news to share as Eastertide continues! 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian. 

As the Guardian’s mother has still needed support this week, today’s reflection has been written by Christopher Belk, a local worship leader. Thanks go to him for it.

Reading 1 Acts 5; 27-32

Reading 2 John 20; 19-31

Those 2 readings are of course in the wrong chronological order. In John 20 we find the apostles having witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus but still locking their doors at their Sunday meetings for fear of the Jews. In Acts 5 we find them not in the least afraid, having just been out on the streets preaching and healing. What has happened meanwhile?

It seems they had suddenly found a new spiritual dimension, though not initially. The belief they had reached as a result of seeing Jesus after his resurrection, shared rather late by poor old Thomas, does not seem to have immediately resulted in any notable witness to those outside their circle, despite at their first meeting Jesus breathing on them and saying “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Jesus last words to them before his ascension were “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses”. After Pentecost they were filled by the Holy Spirit to such an extent that they couldn’t help talking about Jesus in public, even in other people’s languages. It seems that even Jesus’ preparatory breath was not enough without the rushing mighty wind of Pentecost

Poor old Thomas. Apart from being listed with the others, his only other mentions (both in John’s gospels) come from the days leading up to Good Friday. First when the disciples couldn’t understand why Jesus should want to go up to Jerusalem knowing the authorities wanted to kill him, gloomy Thomas said come on then we’d better go with him and die with him. Then at the last supper it was confused Thomas who said “Lord we don’t know where you are going so how can we know the way?” Then imagine him in the garden of Gethsemane, in the background, not chosen to witness Jesus agony close up, probably asleep or confusedly dozing, suddenly roused by the arrest which certainly didn’t seem to him to have been planned by Jesus, running off into the night not knowing what was going on. We don’t know if Thomas witnessed the crucifixion, probably not, though couldn’t help hearing about it. So far as we know only John was actually there. Thomas was too miserable even to turn up for their first meeting.

So when the others told him they had seen Jesus alive it’s not surprising he needed more to get him out of his gloom. It must have been like that first week at a new school when everyone else seems to know the ropes but all you want to do is hide in a corner till Mummy comes to collect you. You would think that the others, inspired by Jesus’ breath, should have had no trouble witnessing to Thomas, but no, even they were not yet completely filled.

Here is a bit of rubber. If I drop it it falls immediately. If I tell you that some breath in it will make it fall slower you might not believe me unless you had seen it happen before. If I tell you that filling it with helium will make it hit the ceiling you are even less likely to believe me, especially as I don’t have any helium with me at the moment. You need to have seen it happen, and then you need a supply of helium.

It’s as though the first sight and breath of risen Jesus was like a good puff into the deflated balloon, and in Thomas’ case it was Jesus’ individual care for him and his deepest worries which transformed his belief. So they all then believed Jesus was alive, and that anything was possible for him, but they still had to wait for the helium before they acted on that.

So it seems believing the good news is more than just believing the facts of Jesus life, death and resurrection. Most people in the world don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead at all, or don’t think about it; the balloon just stays a bit of rubber, maybe gathering dust in the attic. Many, including many who call themselves Christians, do believe that intellectually, and have seen even that much belief can make a difference; their balloons do have some buoyancy to varying degrees. But many have not yet discovered very much power just in that stage of belief, and a church will not produce credible witness without the helium of the Holy Spirit.

How do we get that helium? Jesus said just ask, our loving Father longs to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. The rushing wind and fire of Pentecost was to give the disciples and us the visible evidence of what that can mean: until then they probably didn’t know exactly what Jesus meant when he breathed the Holy Spirit on them. We may not all need the Pentecost drama, but we do need the results, and need both to believe and to dare to ask..

Blessed, said Jesus, are those who have not seen and yet believe.

’They thought it an idle tale.’ From today’s gospel, Luke 24:1-12.

Luke tells his readers that this is what the apostles thought of what the women who had gone to the tomb were saying to them about Jesus’ body not being in the tomb. This phrase is telling, I think, partly because of the cultural differences that applied in those days as women were regarded as unreliable witnesses. They were not allowed to speak in synagogue or sit with the men, and these women were going to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ dead body with the customary spices. That’s a horrible thing to have to do, especially after scourging and crucifixion, and today, we think of the women, and men, who have to work with dead and mutiliated bodies in Ukraine and Russia, or the conflict between Israel, Gaza and Hamas. But these unreliable witnesses, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and other women with them, confirmed that Jesus was not in the tomb.

The disciples think this is an idle tale, nonsense, and don’t believe what the women say. But then Peter decides to see for himself – he goes to the tomb and sees the grave cloths, now not needed. Luke says he went home amazed.

These apostles had been with Jesus during his ministry; had watched, waited and prayed with him; had been at the Last Supper and in the Garden of Gethsemane after being prepared by him for what was to happen. Yet still, they did not believe was what happening. How could this be true? Easier to dismiss the testimony of the women. And yet, what they said WAS true. And that truth is borne out by the fact that today, over two thousand years later, we are celebrating the resurrection – hope renewed and faith restored, new life and fresh beginnings albeit with the marks and scars of what we’ve been through, just as shown in Jesus’ resurrected body.

Like those first disciples, we may find things hard to accept, especially in matters of faith. But, as Luke tells us, so did those first disciples. So if anyone says anything to us that we find hard to believe and think to be an idle tale or nonsense, perhaps, just perhaps, is it possible they may be telling the truth? For, despite it seeming so hard to believe, Christ IS risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

As the Guardian’s mother needs support having been in hospital, today’s reflection is by Christopher Belk – thanks to him for it.

Palm Sunday Readings 13 April 2025: Isaiah 50, 4-9a; Psalm 31, 9-16; Luke 22, 14-23; Philippians 2, 5-11.

I was surprised to find that none of today’s readings contains the actual account of Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, with palm branches thrown in front.  This usual Palm Sunday theme is often celebrated with joyful  processions into church, even accompanied by a donkey, especially where children can be involved.

Today’s readings emphasise  a darker theme.  At the beginning of Isaiah 50, God seems to debate with himself what to do about sinful Israel. He says “When I called, why was there no-one to answer?  Was my arm too short to ransom you?” Then He seems to decide that pure power is not the answer, and the amazing passages about the “Suffering Servant” begin with today’s extract, and go on for four chapters leading up to to the well known chapter 53 “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”. Although it seems to be about someone else, the context shows it is God himself who will suffer these things.

By Palm Sunday, Jesus had done his divine best, through teaching and miracles, to persuade by power and the word of God, but only some had been persuaded. He knew that God’s plan must involve more, and he would have been deeply familiar with those Isaiah chapters. He identified himself with them, as well as almost incidentally with Zechariah’s prophecy “ Behold your King comes to you, meek and riding on an ass”. Several times earlier he had told his disciples that he must suffer and die, though they did not understand. He did not earlier mention a donkey, but did earlier mention a cross.

Psalm 31 was written by King David, and no doubt expressed his personal feelings at the time, but it is no surprise to find these feelings paralleled by those which Jesus must have experienced as Holy Week began.  As he rode his donkey he was surrounded by joyful demonstrations, which he knew were appropriate as he was indeed the King, but it was too soon for joy to be uppermost, notwithstanding the “joy set before him” described in Hebrews 12.2. More likely it was his eager desire to eat his last Passover meal and complete his teaching of the disciples about the meaning of bread and wine before he suffered.

While he was conscious of the crowd of well-wishers he was also very conscious of those other crowds who did not wish him well, or may just have been indifferent. The gospels vary as to the makeup of the Palm Sunday crowd: some say they were those who had been with him on the journey up from Jericho, including many who had been with him all the way from Galilee – these mostly would genuinely have believed in him by then, though not understanding what was to come.

John’s gospel says others who had been with him when he raised Lazarus had spread the news so that those who had only heard about Jesus also came out to welcome him. Others only heard about him when the procession entered Jerusalem, and asked “Who is this?” Some Pharisees objected to the words being sung by the children, resulting in Jesus telling them the stones would cry out if the children didn’t.

It is traditional to suggest that the same crowd which sang Hosanna on Palm Sunday also shouted “Crucify” on Good Friday. I find that idea unlikely. The authorities who arrested and tried Jesus in the middle of the night and then hustled him to Pilate early on Friday morning would hardly have recruited their mob from that source, though I guess their professional mob might have been fringed by some of the indifferent bystanders who were happy just to join the latest protest.

So which crowd is us? Hopefully the ones who celebrate and worship Jesus as King and redeemer because we love him and are loved by him. Hopefully not the ones bent purposely on rejecting him. Or are we the ones who just know about him without much intimacy beyond some knowledge of the Bible? Or are we sometimes open to other influencers who try to recruit us for the latest gossip, habit or fashionable hate? If I am honest I can sometimes identify with most of them. But, as St. Paul advises, let us continually aim to be like Jesus.

A Palm Sunday Prayer

Gentle Jesus, find us today in the welcoming committee.

No stretch Limo – a borrowed donkey, celebrating the humility of divinity, anticipating the victory of victims.

Man of the people. Champion of the underdog.

Gentle Jesus, King of kings, HOSANNA!

(Pete Greig)

”You have the poor among you always, but you will not always have me.” Jesus, in today’s Gospel John 12:1-8.

“He just dropped a nuclear bomb on the global trading system.” Ken Roggoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, re Donald Trump’s tariffs. 

”Today is America’s Liberation Day.” President Donald Trump, re his tariffs. 

Today is Passion Sunday, the start of Passiontide, when the cross looms ever closer as Jesus continues to make his way to Jerusalem. The Gospel takes place at the home of siblings Lazarus, Martha and Mary who have already experienced death and restoration when Lazarus was raised from his tomb by Jesus after being dead for four days. It might be thought that they would realise that death could have no hold on Jesus but it is Mary who anoints his feet with expensive oil – according to St Mark, this cost 300 denarii or a year’s wage in those days – and wipes them with her hair. Contrasting with the stench of Lazarus ‘ tomb, on which Martha commented at the time, the fragrance of its perfume fills the whole house. It leads to the thief Judas complaining that the oil of pure nard could have been sold and the money given to the poor. In response, Jesus explicitly tells all present that she is preparing him for his burial – this is a prophetic act as well as a loving one. Mary also prefigures the washing of his disciples’ feet by Jesus at the Last Supper – she is a faithful and generous follower, whereas Judas is greedy and has been stealing from the common purse. What a contrast between them both!

John writes that this happens after the chief priests and Pharisees have ordered that anyone who knew where Jesus was should give information so that he could be arrested, which later leads to Judas agreeing to betray him for thirty pieces of silver. They also resolve to do away with Lazarus too, as so many people are turning to Jesus after what happens. This is a dangerous time for all involved as tensions increase and money plays its part in the considerations, for those who have the luxury of choice. 

Money is a focus for many people currently, with worldwide tensions being increased by the consequences of Donald Trump’s tariffs and policies, with contrasting interpretations of them. However, this is creating an uncertainty which will affect more than the stock markets – as Simon Jack, the BBC’s Business Editor, commented: ‘The real warning sign here is not about the value of your pension but about the health of the economy in which we live and work.’

The health of the economy was a focus in the UK even before the recent tariffs with the whole benefit system, as well as government departments, being subjected to radical cuts and changes made by the Chancellor in her Spring Statement. Health and the cost of living, generosity and greed, poverty and wealth, passion and indifference – the contrasts of life today, as in the time of Jesus, arouse passions and reactions in many forms. Judas came to regret what he did – while there is still time, what do we feel passionately or indifferently about and is there anything we need to change our minds about this Passion Sunday? 

With my prayers; pob bendith,

Christine, Priest Guardian.