Posted on by atfurse

Trinity I

‘For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’

‘Oherwydd i alw pechaduriaid, nid rhai cyfiawn, yr wyf fi wedi dod.’ (Mt 9:13)

THE American statesman, Benjamin Franklin is usually credited as the author of the phrase: ‘but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ Taxation is definitely one of life’s certainties. But if we are honest, most of us don’t really like paying taxes even though we know that we have to, and that life would be miserable if we didn’t. In the Ancient World taxation was privatised, and people would tender for contracts which were auctioned off to the highest bidder. In order to recoup the cost of securing the contract in the first place, taxpayers would be overcharged so that the collectors would not be out of pocket. It sounds a harsh and cruel system, and it explains why tax-collectors are generally looked down on in Our Lord’s day. People disliked the Roman conquerors, and they disliked their taxes even more. Especially since they knew that part of what they paid was simply going towards repaying a bribe. 

So when Jesus comes across the tax-collector named Matthew, he encounters a hated figure. Nonetheless Our Lord calls him to be a disciple:

‘and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.’ (Mt 9:9)

The whole scene is over in a few words. Matthew leaves everything and follows Christ. It sounds quite matter of fact, but this tax-collector’s whole life changes in this brief encounter. Matthew is someone on the margins, a despised figure, certainly not part of polite society. Despite this he is called to be close to Jesus, and to play his part in sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God. In a society where social respectability is important, Our Lord turns these expectations on their head.

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mt 9:10-11)

The religious authorities — the Pharisees who are responsible for interpreting and teaching Jewish law — are deeply unhappy with what Jesus is doing. This Galilean is hanging around with the wrong sort of folk! People who are deemed as being ritually impure, people who, they believe, should be shunned. 

But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mt 9:12-13)

Our Lord is opposed to the self-righteous and judgmental attitude of the Pharisees. Christ is the Divine Physician who has come to heal our wounds, and to restore our relationship with God and with each other. Christ accomplishes this at Calvary, where He offers Himself as both Priest and Victim on the altar of the Cross. Jesus quotes from the Old Testament, in particular Hosea 6:6, which is also the first reading today. The Scripture speaks of how God desires mercy, and steadfast love. On the Cross, Christ will demonstrate both mercy, and the ultimate sacrifice: where God offers Himself for love of us. 

Jesus has already pointed out that it is only people who are sick that require physicians. All of us, however, need what Christ offers us. Jesus has not come to call the righteous but sinners: people who fall short of what God wants. The Pharisees, on the other hand, think that they are righteous because they closely follow the Law of Moses. This makes them self-righteous, at best. What they fail to recognize is that they too are sinners, just like the tax-collectors and other people dining with Jesus, but they cannot see it. This is because they are afflicted with a spiritual blindness and pride which, in turn, dulls their relationship with God.

The Pharisees are judgemental. They think that they are better than other people. This is a common human failing, which all of us can, and do, fall into from time to time. It leads us to think that we are better than we are, and ultimately to believe that we can rely upon ourselves rather than on God. Sinners, however, know their need of God. This is why they are close to Jesus, eating and drinking with Him. Our Lord is merciful towards them, and through this mercy they are able to begin the process of turning their lives around. 

In today’s second reading, St Paul is reflecting on the example of Abraham, as a man of faith, who does not doubt that God will keep His promises. Here we see a model for living the Christian life: trusting God. He calls us all to follow Him, and we do so knowing that we are loved by Our Heavenly Father.

We are used to images of the Messiah, the anointed saviour of Israel, as something of a Davidic superman, bringing peace and freedom from tyranny. However, it is important to remember that this is not the only Messianic image to be found in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. In the tractate Sanhedrin in the Talmud, a discussion of the Jewish legal system, we find the following story:

Rabbi Yoshua ben Levi came upon Elijah the prophet while he was standing at the entrance of Rabbi Simeron ben Yohai’s cave … He asked Elijah, ‘When will the Messiah come?’ Elijah replied, ‘Go and ask him yourself.’ ‘Where is he?’ ‘Sitting at the gates of the city.’ ‘How shall I know him?’ ‘He is sitting among the poor covered with wounds. The others unbind all their wounds at the same time and then bind them up again. But he unbinds one at a time and binds it up again, saying to himself, ‘Perhaps I shall be needed: if so I must always be ready so as not to delay for a moment.’

While we are used to talking about a broken humanity, one whose wounds need healing, it is all too easy to forget that God shows us vulnerability in being born as a baby in Bethlehem, He becomes someone who needs to be cared for and nurtured. Later, in His Passion, Our Lord receives 39 lashes and deep wounds to His hands, feet, and side. When Jesus appears to Thomas in the Upper Room, He shows His wounds to the doubting disciple. Having ascended to Heaven, Christ still possesses these marks, so that as the King and Judge of all, He continues to bear the wounds of love. 

Ours is a generous God, who does not even spare His Son. God gives Himself for us gladly. This benevolent and loving nature is shown most fully when we are fed with the Body and Blood of Christ, God’s very self. Given to heal us, so that we may turn away from sin and sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Corpus Christi 2026

‘Whoever feeds on this bread will live for ever.’

‘Caiff y sawl sy’n bwyta’r bara hwn fyw am byth.’ (Io 6:58)

I would like to begin this evening by telling you a story. It is about a girl who was born in Liège in Belgium around 1192 AD. Her name was Juliana. At the age of five Juliana was orphaned and placed in a hospice at Mount Cornillion just outside Liège, along with her sister Agnes. At the age of 13 they both joined the Norbertine Community of Canons and Canonesses. These religious wear a white habit, and are particularly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist. Juliana had a particular devotion to the Eucharist, and she longed with all her heart that it would have its own special feast day. She had visions which were interpreted as pointing out the lack of a Eucharistic festival. In time, Juliana was elected as the prioress of her community. Under her leadership, the canonesses’ devotional fervour grew and the community was reported to Jacques Pantaleon, the Archdeacon of Liège. However, as such devotion was firmly within the bounds of orthodox belief and practice, it was seen to be perfectly acceptable. Jacques went to become the Bishop of Verdun, then the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and finally, in 1261, he became Pope Urban IV. In 1264 Pope Urban declared that the Thursday after Trinity Sunday was to be kept as a Solemn Feast of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Body of Christ, Corpus Christi. Pope Urban asked his theologian, Thomas Aquinas, to compose liturgical texts, which are still used to this day. 

Pope Urban was clearly moved by Juliana’s piety and devotion to the Eucharist, and instituted the Feast on the first free Thursday in the liturgical calendar. Our Lord Himself instituted the Eucharist on a Thursday, Maundy Thursday, in the Upper Room with His disciples. After Maundy Thursday we have had seven weeks of Eastertide, and the Octave of Pentecost, so this is the first day on which we have been able to look back and focus on what Our Lord did on Maundy Thursday when He was gathered with the Apostles in the Upper Room on the night before he died. So Today’s the day!

Eucharistic devotion is not a new thing. For as long as we have accounts of the Eucharist being celebrated, going back to St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, it is clear that what is going on is something special, and out of the ordinary. Jesus said: ‘This is my Body … This is my Blood … Do this!’ And so the Church does. Christ’s words are clear. What we receive in the Eucharist under the outward forms of Bread is truly the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of the Word made Flesh: the Second Person of the Trinity. The Eucharist is a memorial of Christ’s Passion and Death, where His offering of Himself to the Father, in love and obedience to His Will, is re-presented for all time. When we partake in the Eucharist we are as close to Jesus at the Last Supper and on Calvary as we can be. 

The Eucharist is the most precious gift we can be given. It is God’s gift of His very self, given to us, so that we might become what He is. This Sacrament is given to transform us and to prepare us for Eternal Life with God in Heaven. God prepares for the promise with the meeting of Abram and Melchizedek in Genesis. The King of Salem brings out bread and wine. He is a priest of God Most High, who feeds Abram our father in faith.

When Paul writes to the Church in Corinth, he is ensuring tradition. What has been handed on to him, he then hands on to his fellow Christians. As the Twentieth Century Anglican scholar and monk, Dom Gregory Dix put it:

At the heart of it all is the eucharistic action, a thing of absolute simplicity — the taking, blessing, breaking and giving of bread, and the taking, blessing, and giving of a cup of wine and water, as these were first done with their new meaning by a young Jew before and after supper with His friends on the night before he died…. 

For century after century, spreading slowly to every continent and country and among every race on earth, this action has been done, in every conceivable human circumstance, for every conceivable human need …. week by week and month by month, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays, faithfully, unfailingly, across all the parishes of Christendom, the pastors have done this just to make the plebs sancta Dei—the holy common people of God.

Dom Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy, London, 1945, p. 743-4

The Eucharist makes the Church, and the Church makes the Eucharist. It is a question of both/and, rather than either/or. Our Lord’s teaching in the Gospel is clear:

‘The one who eats this bread will live forever’ (Jn 6:58)

God gives Himself to us, so that we might live forever in Him. If that isn’t a reason to celebrate, then I don’t know what is! Generosity, sacrifice, and transformation, these three things lie at the heart of our faith as Christians. All three are encapsulated in a ritual action, which is the source and summit of our life of faith. 

Back in the year 304 AD a group of 49 Christians were discovered worshipping in Abitene, near Carthage in modern Tunisia. There had been an edict from the Roman Emperor Diocletian, which had prohibited such gatherings. But when the Abitene Christians were asked why they had broken the emperor’s law, one of them replied:

sine Dominico non possumus. Without the Lord we cannot live

This reply along with their actions make clear the importance of gathering on the Lord’s Day for worship; the central importance of the Eucharist in the life of faith, and the fact that Jesus is Lord. These Christians bore witness to their faith even at the cost of their lives. They could not live without the Eucharist, and communion with each other, and with God. May we follow their example, and remain close to the Lord who feeds us with Himself.

So, as we celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist, let us pray that we may be changed by God’s love, manifest in His Body and Blood. Let us share this love with others, and let us give thanks for the mystery and wonder that is God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity Sunday 2026

‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’

‘oherwydd nid i gondemnio’r byd yr anfonodd Duw ei Fab i’r byd, ond er mwyn i’r byd gael ei achub trwyddo ef.’ (Io 3:17)

In St Davids Cathedral there is a beautiful chapel dedicated to St Thomas Becket. He, you may recall, was the Archbishop of Canterbury murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in the twelfth century and soon after made a saint. His shrine was one of the great mediæval pilgrimage sites in Europe and was where the pilgrims in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales were heading. The Sunday after Pentecost was the day on which Thomas Becket was consecrated a bishop in 1162. Whilst he was archbishop, and before his untimely death, Becket desired that the anniversary of his consecration should be kept on the Sunday after Pentecost, in honour of the Most Holy Trinity. The practice became widespread and in 1334, Pope John XXII made it an official feast day for the Western Church. The Feast was popular, so popular in fact, that in England and Wales the remaining Sundays before Advent, about half the Church year, were numbered after Trinity, rather than after Pentecost.

The word ‘Trinity’ was coined by Tertullian in the second century AD. It combines the words for three and for unity, to represent the three persons of the one God. Christian worship is thoroughly Trinitarian; we worship One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are baptised in their names, and our Eucharist this morning begins with the words: ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Yn enw’r Tad, a’r Mab, a’r Ysbryd Glân’. The Creed, which we are about to say, has a tripartite structure (it is divided into three sections), and expresses our belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We are so used to reciting these words that we rarely stop to focus on what we are saying, and why. Our worship as Christians helps to understand our faith, and our relationship with God. Jesus has taught us to call God Father. He is the Son of God, and with the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we can now recognise the fullness of the Divine Life in a Trinity. The Divine Trinity is distinct, yet united. Equally each Christian is distinct, but united in faith.

As Christians we worship One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are not three separate Gods, but one God. That the three persons of the Trinity are one God is in itself a mystery. This is the mystery of God’s very self: a Trinity of Persons, consubstantial, co-equal and co-eternal. We know God most fully in the person of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God. He took flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the Cross for our sins, and was raised to New Life at Easter. He sent us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In Christ God discloses who and what He is. We know Jesus as someone who pours out love, and who desires our reconciliation with God so much so that He dies on the Cross to bring it about.

The Gospel reading today begins with one of the most well-known verses in the Bible:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)

God the Father sends the Son into the world, to be born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, out of love for humanity. God loves us. This is the central truth of the Christian faith. The following verse underlines this:

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:17)

Jesus, whose name means ‘God saves’, has come on a rescue mission. As we will soon proclaim in the Creed: ‘who for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven…’. This has been forshadowed. In the first reading today, God descends to Moses, pronounces His name, and then speaks to Moses:

‘The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”’ (Exod 34:6)

God is faithful and loving in His interactions with humanity. Throughout the Bible God forgives His people, and rescues them when they go astray. There is a consistent message here, a golden thread which runs through all the Scriptures. 

St Paul writes two letters to the Church in Corinth to help sort out various problems they are experiencing, and to promote reconciliation and harmony in the Body of Christ. As Christians, we are expected to practice what we preach, and to live out our faith, making reconciliation real in our dealings with one another. Today’s second reading makes this explicit:

‘Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you…. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.’ (2Cor 13:11-13)

Grace, love, and communion, are all words which describe who God is, what God offers, and how humanity should live. In the Eucharist we seek God’s forgiveness, share God’s peace, pray for ourselves and also for the needs of our communities and of the whole world. In the Eucharist God gives Himself to us, so that we may be built up in love and become like our Divine Father. 

Here, this morning, earth and heaven meet. Here we are united with the God who loves us, who reconciles us to Himself and with each other. At the end of today’s Eucharist I will pray that God will bless us as I invoke the name of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, while making the sign of the Cross. These words and gestures are not random, but are part of our tradition of worship as Christians. This is how we express and declare our faith; through words and actions. Words and actions help us to reinforce what we believe and help us to live out our faith.

The terms we use to worship God matter because they express the faith which we believe. They form us into a community of belief where what we believe affects who we are and what we do. The gift of faith, the life of love, and the hope of eternal life are not things for us to jealously guard. Instead, they are for sharing. We are called to be disciples, to share what we have received, so that others may also experience the love of God.

Like all relationships, this goes beyond words, and is something which needs to be experienced. It is only in our experience of this relationship that we can begin to come to understand our faith. However, we understand that we will only do so fully when we experience Heaven. So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, we rejoice in God’s love and we give thanks for the day when  we will be united with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Gyda Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Masaccio: The Holy Trinity [Santa Maria Novella, Florence]

Posted on by atfurse

Pentecost 2026

‘And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”’

‘Ac wedi dweud hyn, anadlodd arnynt a dweud: “Derbyniwch yr Ysbryd Glân’” (Io 20:22)

Here in Great Britain we are used to celebrating Harvest Festivals in the Autumn, at the end of the Harvest. However, that was not the case in Ancient Israel. Fifty days after the Passover, Jews celebrate the first of two Harvest festivals: Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, or First-fruits. This festival also celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, which we know as the Ten Commandments. There were offerings made of the first-fruits of the Harvest at the Temple in Jerusalem. Shavuot was one of the highlights of the year, and one of the great pilgrim festivals. People would travel from all over the Mediterranean World to Jerusalem to worship together. So the fact that the Apostles preach the Good News to:

‘Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians’ (Acts 2:9-11)

makes a great deal of sense. Pentecost was an international event. In Genesis 11:1-9 we see the division of humanity after the building of the Tower of Babel. In contrast, suddenly, the division of language is removed and the words of the apostles (who were used to speaking in Greek or Aramaic) could be understood by people of many diverse tongues. Now humanity is united in Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit. That which was divided has been reconciled.

Today’s Gospel takes us back to St John’s account of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples at Easter. The disciples are afraid: they fear being lynched by a mob for following Our Lord. And suddenly, into the midst of this place of fear and apprehension comes their Saviour:

Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20: 19)

Christ’s gift to His disciples is peace, tangnefedd, the Peace of God, a peace which passes all human understanding. This is something that we all long for in the deepest core of our being, in our soul. For ourselves, for our families, and for our world, God gives us what we truly desire more than anything, except Him. This cannot be bought or earned, it comes as a gift, freely given to those who believe in the Lord. 

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (Jn 20:20)

Jesus shows the disciples the wounds of love in His hands and side. His wounds show them who He is, and that He is alive, and that these wounds are the reason that we can have peace. Because of Christ’s death on the Cross, we have access to the internal tranquility we long for. Our Lord’s presence brings not only peace, but also joy. The disciples are glad. Christ gladdens our hearts in a variety of ways: by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and by the gift of Himself in Holy Communion. When we feed on Him, we become what He is, which brings us peace and joy. 

Having revealed Himself to His disciples, and having filled them with joy and peace, Our Lord commissions the Apostles. They are sent out to proclaim the Kingdom of God:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (Jn 20: 21)

God the Father sends the Son to announce the Kingdom and to invite people to ‘Repent and believe the Good News’. The disciples are similarly sent out to call people to ‘Repent and believe the Good News’. At this point they become Apostles, from the Greek word apostolos meaning ‘someone sent out’. They are now given a prophetic role, proclaiming who Christ is, and what He has done, for love of us. Hand in hand with this task goes a ministry of reconciliation, healing wounded souls, restoring what sin has broken:

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (Jn 20:22-23)

The Father sends the Son into the world to heal it, to reconcile humanity to itself and to the Divine. In St John’s account, Easter and Pentecost become a single moment, stressing their intimate connection. Christ dies for us, is raised from the dead, and sends the Holy Spirit, so that humanity can be offered life in all its fullness, forever. At this point in the Christian year we focus on how God wants us to love Him and each other. Love is who God is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see God’s love in the entirety of Jesus’ Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. All that Jesus is and does is a demonstration, a manifestation of God’s love for us. God longs to give us His love, so that it can transform us into His likeness, the likeness in which we were created, in order that we might become children of God and heirs, to our inheritance of Heaven.

On the day of Pentecost something wonderful takes place: The Good News is proclaimed in a host of different languages. The Acts of the Apostles records how the people gathered in Jerusalem are amazed to hear the Good News spoken in their own language. Not just that, but by a rag-tag assortment of Galilean fishermen and other ordinary folk. It is incredible! It is miraculous! Pentecost points towards our present reality, where there is not a country on this earth which has not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, there is still work to be done. We are the successors of the apostles, the ordinary people who tell others about Jesus — who He is, what He does, and why it matters. Each and every one of us in our baptism are made Christ-like, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to share our faith.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray earnestly for the gift of the Spirit, that God may fill us with His love and equip us to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. May we encourage others to come to know, love, and worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Easter V: Christ the Way, the Truth & the Life

‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’

‘Myfi yw’r ffordd a’r gwirionedd a’r bywyd’ (Io 14:6)

Today’s Gospel reading is taken from an important moment in Christ’s life and ministry. After the Last Supper, Jesus gives a number of farewell discourses to His disciples. Before Our Lord’s Passion and Death, He spends time talking to His followers, to set their hearts at ease and to prepare them for what is about to happen. Jesus begins by saying:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” (Jn 14:1)

Our Lord is telling the disciples not to be afraid, and to put their trust in God, and also in Him. Fear and trust motivate people at the deepest level. However, trust casts out fear. Because God is trustworthy, we can rest secure in Him. We know that we are safe, that we are loved, and that we are cared for. This is the foundation upon which our spiritual life is built.

Jesus then develops His teaching:

“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (Jn 14:2)

The Father’s house is the Temple in Jerusalem, but the Temple is also Christ’s Body. Jesus goes to prepare a place for His disciples by going to the Cross on Good Friday. The word translated as ‘rooms’ is μοναὶ in the original Greek, and means ‘somewhere to abide’. Christians are called to abide in Christ, in His Death and Resurrection. Our Lord prepares a place for us by dying and rising from the dead. We abide in Him by living the way of Jesus; following His example and His teaching, and putting these into practice in our lives.

Jesus’ teaching, however, leaves His disciples somewhat confused:

‘Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”’ (Jn 14:5-7)

His followers do not yet understand where Christ is going. This is because the reality of His Death and Resurrection is something they must experience before they can begin to comprehend it. We, by contrast, are in a better position than the disciples. We know where Jesus is going, and how He will get there. Our Lord refers to Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Firstly, Jesus is the Way, leading through death on the Cross to the new life of Easter. He is the way to life in all its fullness. Those who follow Him are said to be ‘on the Way’. Those persecuted by Saul in Acts 9:2 are described as such by St Luke. Christians are people ‘on the way’, a pilgrim people, with Heaven as our true home. Secondly, Jesus is the Truth. He is God, the source of all truth. We can have faith and put our trust in Him. Thirdly, Jesus is the Life. He is the Creator and source of all life. He offers us Eternal Life in Him, the new life of Easter, which we continue to celebrate.

Despite Our Lord’s statement that to know Him is to know the Father, His disciples are unable to understand what He means. So Philip asks: 

“Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” (Jn 14:8)

This leads Jesus to say:

“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” (Jn 14:9-11)

When we see Jesus, we see God. When we hear Him speak, we hear the voice of God. When we see His works, we see the works of God. To know Jesus is to know God, and be in a relationship with Him. This relationship finds its culmination with Him, forever in Heaven. 

Thus we can share the confidence of Peter, who writes to Christians who: 

‘like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ (1Peter 2:5)

The apostle Peter is the rock and he calls all the faithful, that is you and me, to be ‘living stones’. We are all called to be living temples of the Body of Christ.

‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.’ (1Peter 2:9)

Peter calls Jesus’ followers, the Church, to be holy, and set apart for service to God and to others. This is symbolised by the anointing with holy oil which forms a part of our baptism, the ordination of clergy, and the coronation of a Monarch. We are united in Christ; we become His Body, and are nourished by Him so that we may be strengthened for service. Our royal identity comes from the King of Kings, the source of all earthly power. We plead the sacrifice which has reconciled God and humanity on the Cross. He who is the Word of God, who is the Living Bread, has come so that we may have life and have it to the full. We are nourished so that we may live lives characterised by proclamation of the Gospel, and the service of others. This is shown by the calling of seven deacons in this morning’s first reading.

So then, my brother and sister in Christ, let us then be living temples which proclaim Christ’s victory. Let us share the Good News of His Kingdom with others, so that all peoples may come to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Easter IV – The Good Shepherd

Sheep in Winter — John Clare

The sheep get up and make their many tracks

And bear a load of snow upon their backs,

And gnaw the frozen turnip to the ground

With sharp quick bite, and then go noising round

The boy that pecks the turnips all the day

And knocks his hands to keep the cold away

And laps his legs in straw to keep them warm

And hides behind the hedges from the storm.

The sheep, as tame as dogs, go where he goes

And try to shake their fleeces from the snows,

Then leave their frozen meal and wander round

The stubble stack that stands beside the ground,

And lie all night and face the drizzling storm

And shun the hovel where they might be warm.

Living in Pembrokeshire we are used to seeing sheep, shepherds, and sheepfolds in the landscape around us. As most of you no doubt know, a sheepfold is a pen for a flock with a single entrance where the shepherd could sleep to keep the sheep safe. The relationship between God and the Israelites is often described as being like a shepherd and his sheep. They know each other, there is a close bond between them, and the sheep need the care and protection of a shepherd. Christ’s image is simple, clear, and taken from the everyday life of his audience. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep; who dies so that we may have eternal life in Him. This model of self-sacrificial love lies at the heart of our faith, and because of it, we are able to live the new life of Easter.

The core of today’s Gospel reading is found in the last verse, where Jesus says:

‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’ (Jn 10:10)

Our Lord has come so that all of us may have life, in all its fullness. What does this look like? Firstly, it is a life lived in relationship with Jesus, through baptism, prayer, bible reading, and Holy Communion. This is clear from the Gospel passage where Jesus says:

‘The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.’ (Jn 10:3-4)

We recognise Jesus’ voice if we have heard it, if we know Him. Our recognition is the result of a relationship. I would like to focus for a moment on a few words: ‘the shepherd goes before them’. In this season of Easter we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. In this Christ has truly gone before us, so that Christians need no longer fear death. Our Lord shows us that the New Life of Easter is open to all who believe in Him. Thanks to our relationship with Jesus we are offered a new way of living, filled with love and forgiveness.

Jesus talks of an abundant life. This is something that comes from a close relationship with God, who is the only who can satisfy the longing of the human heart. The things of this world: wealth, possessions, power, will always leave us wanting more. However, our connection with God, and with other Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ, embodies life in all its fullness. This is because Our Lord dies and rises again so that we might enjoy eternal life with God in Heaven. We are given a foretaste on Earth of what we hope to enjoy in God’s closer presence. We taste this in Holy Communion, where Jesus gives Himself to feed us under the forms of bread and wine, so that we might have life in Him.

The first reading from Peter’s Pentecost sermon in the Acts of the Apostles is an early proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Peter tells the people of Jerusalem to repent and be baptized; to turn away from sin, to share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In nearly two thousand years, the Church’s message has not changed. Repentance is a key aspect of who and what Christians are. We turn away from our failings and stop straying like sheep, but instead return to Our Shepherd (1Peter 2:25). This is what listening to the shepherd means: hearing what Jesus says, and obeying Him. 

That is how we know Christ and follow Him. Being a Christian affects who we are and how we live: as people of love, who in turn are loved by God. Archbishop Michael Ramsay wrote in 1969: ‘God is Christlike, and in him is no un-Christlikeness at all’ [God, Christ & the World: A Study in Contemporary Theology, London 1969, 98]. When we see Jesus, we see God. When we hear Him speak, we hear the voice of God. We can know who God is — the creator and redeemer of the universe — through His Son, Jesus Christ. God is not a distant irate old man on a cloud. He is a loving Father, just like the Father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. At the same time he is also a Son who loves us so much that He suffers and dies for us, to give us life in Him. This is the God who searches for lost sheep; who longs to love, to heal, and to reconcile. He can heal our wounds if we let Him. Such is the abundant life, offered to us by Our Lord, the Good Shepherd.

This conviction is central to Peter’s confession of faith. Christ is the example we are called to both follow, and to fashion our lives after. We can do this because of what Jesus has done for us:

‘He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.’ (1Peter 2:24)

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, as we continue to rejoice In Our Lord’s triumph. May we follow His example, and live the new life of Easter. Following Our Good Shepherd, who longs for us to be safe with Him forever in Heaven. Let us share the Good News of His Kingdom with others, so that all may come to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Easter II – Thomas

“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” 

“Fel y mae’r Tad wedi fy anfon i, yr wyf fi hefyd yn eich anfon chwi”(Jn 20:21)

The first Easter Day must have been very strange indeed for Jesus’ followers. Before the sun had even risen, Mary Magdalen comes and says that the tomb is empty. Peter and John go and look at Christ’s burial place, and then Mary comes back again having seen the Risen Lord. And while all of these earth-shattering discoveries are beginning to sink in, we are faced with this morning’s Gospel passage. It is evening and the disciples are afraid that they will face retribution for supporting a ‘false’ Messiah. They are scared, and can hardly believe what people have told them, let alone make sense of it all. And then suddenly, without warning, Jesus is in their midst, there in the room with them. Our Lord greets them and says, “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20:19) words which we still use in worship today. Jesus’ first words to the disciples are, ‘Shalom alechem’, ‘Tangnefedd i chwi’ ‘Peace be with you’. Christ’s greeting is one of peace and reconciliation, which dissipates their fear and anxiety. Then the Risen Christ shows the disciples His hands and side, the wounds which have brought about this peace and reconciliation.

Jesus shows the disciples the wounds of love, manifestations of God’s love for humanity. He then repeats His greeting of Peace and commissions them:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (Jn 20:21)

God the Father sends Christ to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, to call people to repentance, and to reconcile God and humanity. As blood and water flowed from Christ’s side at Calvary, so through Baptism and the Eucharist, the Church gives life to the people of God. Then the commissioning and ordaining of the apostles continues:

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (Jn 20:22-23)

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is active in the world. Christ gives the apostles the power to forgive sin. In Jewish understanding, this is something only God can do. Yet Jesus forgives sins, and empowers His disciples to do so. This forgiveness is a manifestation of God’s love and reconciliation, which can, and does, heal our wounded human nature. This is what Jesus came to do, and He commits the Church to continue His mission and His saving work. This is the reality which we inhabit as Christians. It is God’s free gift to His people, a sign of generous love. By the power of His Holy Spirit, the Church is to be a community of reconciliation, where we are forgiven and where we, in turn, forgive. This is designed to be a place where we are freed from sin, its power, and its effects.

St Thomas is not there with the other disciples when The Resurrected Jesus appears on that first Easter Day. Understandably, Thomas feels somewhat left out. He knows he has missed the opportunity to experience something truly wonderful and life-changing. This is a perfectly normal human reaction to an extraordinary situation. Which of us would not feel the same? We too would want to be present to experience the reality of Jesus’ Resurrection, and to be sure of it. Thus, we empathise with Thomas when he says:

“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (Jn 20:25)

These are the words of someone who longs to experience the reality of the Resurrection. Like the other disciples, Thomas has been on something of an emotional rollercoaster. It is therefore understandable that Thomas wants to be certain, to know with his own eyes and hands that Jesus is alive. 

A week later, Jesus comes to the disciples again, and says to them: 

“Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (Jn 20:26-27)

Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he wants: the opportunity to experience the reality of the Resurrection and to touch the wounds of love and mercy. This leads Thomas to reply to Jesus:

“My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28)

Thomas no longer doubts. Instead he confesses that Jesus is God, and the Lord of his life. This is a profound and concise statement of faith, declaring both who Jesus is, and what He has done. Thomas has journeyed from doubt and despair to true faith. Doubt is the starting point, but it is not the end of the journey. St Thomas should not be known as ‘Doubting Thomas’, but rather as ‘Believing Thomas’, as this is what he becomes. Thomas’ belief changes his life, and leads him to take the Gospel to be proclaimed far and wide. He travels as far as India, founding Christian communities which have endured for two thousand years. Such faith is our inheritance, and in it we are blessed, as those who have not seen, but yet believe. We too are called to be like Thomas, and to share the Good News of Christ’s Resurrection with the world.

At its heart, today’s Gospel should be understood as something to greatly encourage us in our life of faith:

‘but these [things] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ (Jn 20:31)

Belief in Jesus leads to New Life. This underlines the Christian understanding of baptism. Through baptism we share in Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, and are given new life. This new existence is eternal life with Christ, and in Christ.

At the Easter Vigil, last week, we renewed our baptismal promises to remind ourselves of what Our Lord has done for us. What Jesus has done for you, and for me, and for every Christian over the past two thousand years. In our Baptism we are united with Christ and made brothers and sisters. We become part of a new family which we call the Church, which is called to live in a new way. This is made clear in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Here we see people of faith being loving and generous, caring for each other. We pray that we may be inspired by their example, to live out the faith of our baptism throughout our lives. 

It is important to take our time over our celebration of Easter. We need to pause to allow the reality of what we commemorate to sink in. Something this wonderful, this world-changing, needs to be pondered, and shared. We gather today to do what the disciples did, and are filled with joy at Our Lord’s Resurrection from the dead. Through Christ’s Resurrection we are changed, transformed, and filled with God’s love. Today, and every day, we give thanks and praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Caravaggio The Incredulity of St Thomas (Potsdam)
Posted on by atfurse

Maundy Thursday 2026

‘For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.’

‘Yr wyf wedi rhoi esiampl i chwi; yr ydych chwithau i wneud fel yr wyf fi wedi ei wneud i chwi.’ (Jn 13:15)

Celebrations of important events in our lives and our nation’s history  usually involve both eating food and also telling a story. The Jewish celebration of Passover (Pesach) is no different. This feast’s food includes lamb and unleavened bread. The story (Hebrew Haggadah, literally ‘telling’) is the account, from the Book of Exodus, of Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt — part of which was the first reading this evening. Over the next few days both Jews and Christians will tell stories and eat food in order to relive the events of the past. This is done in such a way as to make these events become present to us, here and now, so that we can enter into them, and re-live them.

Tonight we are all guests at the Lord’s Supper. Tonight, before He suffers and dies, Jesus institutes the Eucharist. What Our Lord does on this evening, the Church has continued to observe for a hundred thousand successive Sundays, and will continue to do so until the end of time. Jesus told us to ‘do this’ ‘gwnewch hyn’ and so we do. This is more than sacred drama. We are not simply spectators watching a re-enactment, we are active participants in the mysteries themselves. Through participation in them we are transformed by them!

The Liturgy of the Eucharist, which Jesus instituted this evening, means a number of things. Firstly, the Eucharist is our thanksgiving to God for who Christ is, and what He does for us. Secondly, the Eucharist is an act of obedience. Our Lord told His disciples to ‘do this’, and so, for two thousand years, Christians have obeyed His command. Thirdly, the Eucharist is a mystery which makes present the Body and Blood of Christ, who suffered and died for us on Calvary. As Jesus fed His disciples, so He feeds us. Tonight’s Eucharist is just as real as the first one, in the Upper Room, and each and every one ever since. That is why Christ’s followers celebrate this evening. On the night before He suffered and died for us, Jesus took bread and wine, and gave thanks to God. He then gave them to His disciples, telling them to do this in remembrance of Him. In the celebration of the Mass we do not just remember Jesus, but by doing what He did, and saying what He said, He feeds us with Himself. Christ is the priest who gives Himself. But at the same time, He is the servant who washes our feet. 

St Paul writes:

‘For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you’ (1Cor 11:23)

The apostle hands on to the church in Corinth all that was given to him by our Lord. This is tradition in action: handing on those things you have been taught, or experienced, for the benefit of others. Paul’s letter contains the earliest known account of the Last Supper. Christ gives the Church priests, who share in His Priesthood to carry on His saving work in the world, to wash feet, to celebrate the Eucharist. I am honoured and humbled to minister to you as your priest, to wash your feet and to celebrate the Eucharist, especially on this holy night. However, this is a responsibility that I cannot fulfil solely by my own strength and abilities, but through the grace of God, and with your help and your prayers.

God does not expect us to understand the mystery of His saving love. Instead we are called to experience this love so that it might transform us. God gives Himself to us as nourishment. God gives Himself to us, so that we might have life in Him. The role of the Church is to carry on the offering of the Son to the Father, to make redemption present across space and time. That is why we are here, tonight, gathered as disciples of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ we are called to be people of love. It is love that makes us Christians. God’s infinite love for us leads to Our Lord sacrificing Himself, to take away our sins, to heal our wounds, and restore us to God’s loving embrace.

Jesus takes ordinary food — water, bread, and wine — along with simple rituals and does something extraordinary. The God who spoke the universe into being kneels, takes off his outer clothing and washes the feet of humanity:

‘If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.’ (Jn 13:14)

Tonight Christ washes our feet. Kneeling on the floor, He pours water over our feet and wipes them with a towel. This is something that is both humble and utterly wonderful. Jesus gives us an example of loving service, which the Church is tasked with continuing. In a few moments time I will wash people’s feet. I have to tell you that this is one of the most moving things that I have ever done, and that I ever do. Because tonight the Upper Room is here in this church, and I, as your priest, will stand and kneel in the place of Christ. When I was made a priest, just before the laying on of hands, the Bishop who ordained me told me to ‘Imitate the mysteries you celebrate’. I try to follow these words to the best of my ability. Tonight Our Lord feels very close, as we make the events of two thousand years ago real in a particular way here this evening. We begin in the Upper Room with the washing of the Disciples’ feet and the Institution of the Eucharist, and we will end in the stillness and silence of Gethsemane, waiting with Our Lord, before His Arrest. Those in positions of Christian leadership are called to be shepherds in the service of God’s people. Here, tonight, we see love and service made real. They become something we can feel, touch, and taste. These things are given for us, so that we might be transformed, prepared for Heaven, to enjoy eternity with God. 

Christ gives us an example to follow, a ceremony of service and nourishment, so that we can continue to re-live and experience God’s generous love. The hands which tonight wash feet and celebrate the Eucharist will tomorrow be nailed to the Cross. This is how much God loves us. This is how far God goes to reconcile each of us to Him, and to heal our wounds. Never was a lamb set upon the altar that could take away the sins of the world, until God Himself took on the nature of a servant. This way of living goes against everything people are told about putting themselves and their lives first and judging their importance and worth by what they own, rather than how they live their lives. And yet this world, in its selfish searching, truly wants and needs to be healed, and to be embraced by a loving God. That is why tomorrow, on the Cross, Our Lord’s Arms will be flung wide open to embrace all people with God’s divine love.

Let us then prepare ourselves for the journey ahead. Let us have our feet washed by Christ. Let us be fed by Him, and strengthened by Him. Let us fashion our lives after His example. Let us prepare to go to Calvary with Jesus, and lay down our lives in His service. Let us pick up our Cross and follow Him to death and beyond, to the New Life of Easter. Let us live His Risen Life, and share our joy with others. And let us give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Maundy Thursday 2026

‘For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.’

‘Yr wyf wedi rhoi esiampl i chwi; yr ydych chwithau i wneud fel yr wyf fi wedi ei wneud i chwi.’ (Jn 13:15)

Celebrations of important events in our lives and our nation’s history  usually involve both eating food and also telling a story. The Jewish celebration of Passover (Pesach) is no different. This feast’s food includes lamb and unleavened bread. The story (Hebrew Haggadah, literally ‘telling’) is the account, from the Book of Exodus, of Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt — part of which was the first reading this evening. Over the next few days both Jews and Christians will tell stories and eat food in order to relive the events of the past. This is done in such a way as to make these events become present to us, here and now, so that we can enter into them, and re-live them.

Tonight we are all guests at the Lord’s Supper. Tonight, before He suffers and dies, Jesus institutes the Eucharist. What Our Lord does on this evening, the Church has continued to observe for a hundred thousand successive Sundays, and will continue to do so until the end of time. Jesus told us to ‘do this’ ‘gwnewch hyn’ and so we do. This is more than sacred drama. We are not simply spectators watching a re-enactment, we are active participants in the mysteries themselves. Through participation in them we are transformed by them!

The Liturgy of the Eucharist, which Jesus instituted this evening, means a number of things. Firstly, the Eucharist is our thanksgiving to God for who Christ is, and what He does for us. Secondly, the Eucharist is an act of obedience. Our Lord told His disciples to ‘do this’, and so, for two thousand years, Christians have obeyed His command. Thirdly, the Eucharist is a mystery which makes present the Body and Blood of Christ, who suffered and died for us on Calvary. As Jesus fed His disciples, so He feeds us. Tonight’s Eucharist is just as real as the first one, in the Upper Room, and each and every one ever since. That is why Christ’s followers celebrate this evening. On the night before He suffered and died for us, Jesus took bread and wine, and gave thanks to God. He then gave them to His disciples, telling them to do this in remembrance of Him. In the celebration of the Mass we do not just remember Jesus, but by doing what He did, and saying what He said, He feeds us with Himself. Christ is the priest who gives Himself. But at the same time, He is the servant who washes our feet. 

St Paul writes:

‘For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you’ (1Cor 11:23)

The apostle hands on to the church in Corinth all that was given to him by our Lord. This is tradition in action: handing on those things you have been taught, or experienced, for the benefit of others. Paul’s letter contains the earliest known account of the Last Supper. Christ gives the Church priests, who share in His Priesthood to carry on His saving work in the world, to wash feet, to celebrate the Eucharist. I am honoured and humbled to minister to you as your priest, to wash your feet and to celebrate the Eucharist, especially on this holy night. However, this is a responsibility that I cannot fulfil solely by my own strength and abilities, but through the grace of God, and with your help and your prayers.

God does not expect us to understand the mystery of His saving love. Instead we are called to experience this love so that it might transform us. God gives Himself to us as nourishment. God gives Himself to us, so that we might have life in Him. The role of the Church is to carry on the offering of the Son to the Father, to make redemption present across space and time. That is why we are here, tonight, gathered as disciples of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ we are called to be people of love. It is love that makes us Christians. God’s infinite love for us leads to Our Lord sacrificing Himself, to take away our sins, to heal our wounds, and restore us to God’s loving embrace.

Jesus takes ordinary food — water, bread, and wine — along with simple rituals and does something extraordinary. The God who spoke the universe into being kneels, takes off his outer clothing and washes the feet of humanity:

‘If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.’ (Jn 13:14)

Tonight Christ washes our feet. Kneeling on the floor, He pours water over our feet and wipes them with a towel. This is something that is both humble and utterly wonderful. Jesus gives us an example of loving service, which the Church is tasked with continuing. In a few moments time I will wash people’s feet. I have to tell you that this is one of the most moving things that I have ever done, and that I ever do. Because tonight the Upper Room is here in this church, and I, as your priest, will stand and kneel in the place of Christ. When I was made a priest, just before the laying on of hands, the Bishop who ordained me told me to ‘Imitate the mysteries you celebrate’. I try to follow these words to the best of my ability. Tonight Our Lord feels very close, as we make the events of two thousand years ago real in a particular way here this evening. We begin in the Upper Room with the washing of the Disciples’ feet and the Institution of the Eucharist, and we will end in the stillness and silence of Gethsemane, waiting with Our Lord, before His Arrest. Those in positions of Christian leadership are called to be shepherds in the service of God’s people. Here, tonight, we see love and service made real. They become something we can feel, touch, and taste. These things are given for us, so that we might be transformed, prepared for Heaven, to enjoy eternity with God. 

Christ gives us an example to follow, a ceremony of service and nourishment, so that we can continue to re-live and experience God’s generous love. The hands which tonight wash feet and celebrate the Eucharist will tomorrow be nailed to the Cross. This is how much God loves us. This is how far God goes to reconcile each of us to Him, and to heal our wounds. Never was a lamb set upon the altar that could take away the sins of the world, until God Himself took on the nature of a servant. This way of living goes against everything people are told about putting themselves and their lives first and judging their importance and worth by what they own, rather than how they live their lives. And yet this world, in its selfish searching, truly wants and needs to be healed, and to be embraced by a loving God. That is why tomorrow, on the Cross, Our Lord’s Arms will be flung wide open to embrace all people with God’s divine love.

Let us then prepare ourselves for the journey ahead. Let us have our feet washed by Christ. Let us be fed by Him, and strengthened by Him. Let us fashion our lives after His example. Let us prepare to go to Calvary with Jesus, and lay down our lives in His service. Let us pick up our Cross and follow Him to death and beyond, to the New Life of Easter. Let us live His Risen Life, and share our joy with others. And let us give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Palm Sunday

‘But all this has taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled’

‘Ond digwyddodd hyn oll fel y cyflawnid yr hyn a ysgrifennodd y proffwydi’’(Mt 26:56)

Today marks the beginning of the holiest week of the Church’s year. It starts with Our Lord’s Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This was much more than a royal visit. It was the proclamation of the Messiah, and a fulfilment of prophecy. The prophet Zechariah, writing 500 years before Jesus, looks forward to a messianic future:

‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ (Zech 9:9)

Likewise, the prophet Isaiah anticipates the arrival of the Messiah in the following words:

‘Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”’ (Isa 62:11)

Both prophets deliver a message of salvation, with God saving His people. The name ‘Jesus’ means ‘God saves’, and in Him we see salvation incarnate.

In Twelfth-century Jerusalem a procession took place on Palm Sunday  which recreated Jesus’ journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. The city’s famous Golden Gate [Porta Aurea], was only opened on this day of the year. Through this gate, the King, representing Christ, rode in on a donkey, whilst the people waved palm branches and cried “Hosanna to the Son of David”. In our own way, we too are re-creating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem here today.

The donkey ridden by Jesus reminds us of the humble beast of burden, which carried his Mother Mary to Bethlehem for His birth, and then carried the Holy Family into exile in Egypt. This is an act of humble leadership which fulfils what was foreseen by the prophets. It shows us that Jesus Christ is truly the one who fulfils the hopes of Israel. The Hebrew Scriptures look forward to the deliverance of the Israelites, and this is enacted in front of the eyes of those watching the Carpenter’s son enter the holy City.

Today’s service begins with joy and triumph. However, with the reading of the Passion Gospel, we move to the events of Thursday and Friday of Holy Week. Suddenly, the mood is more mysterious. Our Lord celebrates the Passover with His disciples. This is the celebration of the people of Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land, passing through the Red Sea, and wandering for forty years in the desert. Jesus also blesses bread and wine and says, ‘This is My Body’ and ‘This is My Blood’, something which the Church continues to celebrate every day in the Eucharist. 

After spending time in prayer with His disciples, Our Lord is arrested. He is charged with blasphemy, and brought for trial before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. A few days earlier Jesus was hailed as the Messiah, the Saviour of the people, and now all the crowd can do is shout ‘Let him be crucified!’. A joyous public have turned into a baying mob. Popular opinion can be very fickle. What is striking is that Christ remains silent:

‘But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.’ (Mt 27:12-14)

Here Jesus is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, regarding the Suffering Servant, where he declares:

‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.’ (Isaiah 53:7)

Our Lord’s silence speaks powerfully to the injustice of the situation. Pilate wants to release Jesus but is afraid that a riot might break out, so washes his hands of the situation, thereby condemning an innocent man. The Roman governor takes the easy way out, bowing to popular pressure. At a human level this is understandable, if rather weak. In contrast, Christ stands in silence, a model of humility and strength, submitting to death for love of us, and all humanity.

Humility is not a popular virtue these days, The world around us would have us be the exact opposite: full of ourselves, with a high opinion of our abilities. Ours is a society which is more and more characterised by the sin of selfishness. The individual is all that matters: me and what I want, is all that counts. At the root of all this is pride, thinking that we are more important than we are, making ourselves the focal point. In contrast, as Christians we need to put God at the centre of things, and learn to be thankful. To quote from Fulton Sheen:

Gratitude is characteristic only of the humble. The egotistic are so impressed by their own importance that they take everything given them as if it were their due. They have no room in their hearts for recollection of the undeserved favours they have received. [On Being Human, 1982: 325]

As people of faith, we need to adopt the mind of Christ. That means embracing a way of thinking that is devoted to love and the service of God. Christ doesn’t just do what He wants to. Instead everything that He says and that He does is in service to the will of God the Father. Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane for the strength to do God’s will. He demonstrates humility and obedience in action: embracing the most degrading death possible, for love of us. Thus, we should love Jesus. We should worship Him, because He is God, and He loves us. The Saviour of the World scorns majesty. Instead, He embraces shame and sin, total utter humiliation, to save us. Jesus does this to heal the wounds of disobedience and division, so that we might have life with Him for ever. This is why Jesus is willing to take on our human frailty and to redeem us through His suffering. Through His vulnerability, He shows the World that God’s ways are different from ours. His is the example we are called to follow — the way of suffering love and humility.

And so, my brothers and sisters in Christ, today, and in the coming week, we see what God’s Love and Glory are really like. It is not what people expect. This is power shown in humility, strength in weakness. As we continue our Lenten journey in the triumph of this day, and look towards the Holy and Life-giving Cross and beyond to the new life of Easter, let us trust in the Lord. Let us be like Him, so that He may transform our hearts, our minds, and our lives, allowing us to experience life in all its fullness. Through God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw Y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Lent V: Passion Sunday

“But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 

“A hyd yn oed yn awr, mi wn y rhydd Duw i ti beth bynnag a ofynni ganddo.” ” (Jn 11:22)

One thing is absolutely certain from the moment we are born, and that is that our earthly life will end at some point. This is something most people don’t like to spend much time thinking about, and yet it remains an inescapable truth. The Sadducees in Ancient Israel did not believe in life after death, and there are probably plenty of people nowadays who think the same as them. However, the Christian Faith is a celebration of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are an Easter people. Resurrection is the heart of our faith. As our celebration of Lent continues, we look to the Cross and beyond to the glory of Easter, placing our hope in Him who died and rose again.

The possibility of bringing life out of death is central to the first reading from the prophet Ezekiel. Writing during the exile in Babylon, the prophet has a vision of a valley of dry bones. Even in this image of lifelessness, Ezekiel is able to see God’s ability to bring good out of every situation. Ezekiel’s vision of the day of resurrection also looks forward to Jesus, who is the fulfilment of all prophecy. 

Today’s Gospel takes place in Bethany, a village about two miles east of Jerusalem. Bethany is best known for being the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, who were followers and friends of Jesus. Their house still exists, and now forms part of a church. The Raising of Lazarus from the dead is the last of Jesus’ signs and miracles before His Passion. It was the final straw that pushed the Religious Authorities in Jerusalem into having Our Lord arrested and killed. From the start, today’s Gospel passage looks forward to the events around Jesus’ Passion. The reading begins by pointing out that:

It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. (Jn 11:2)

St Matthew’s account of the Passion begins with this anointing in Bethany. The  two sisters send a message to tell Jesus that their brother, ‘he whom you love is ill’ (Jn 11:3). However Our Lord’s response to this news is surprising:

“This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (Jn 11:4)

Jesus then remains two more days where He is, and after this time tells His disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” (Jn 11:7)

At a human level this seems strange. We would expect Jesus to go straight away to see His friend who is ill, in order to heal him. But this is not what happens. What is even more unexpected is that a few verses later Our Lord makes known that He is aware that Lazarus has died:

Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (Jn 11:14-15)

The key point is that the disciples may believe. Lazarus’ death is how they will come to belief, as it prefigures Our Lord’s Resurrection. The raising of Lazarus is a sign which points towards Easter.

Jesus and His disciples travel back to Bethany, and as they approach the village they are met by Martha, Lazarus’ sister, who greets Our Lord and says:

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (Jn 11:21-22)

Martha is grieving her brother’s death, but in the midst of her grief she can recognise Jesus’ ability to heal, through the help of God. Martha has a deep faith, which is demonstrated in the following memorable exchange: 

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (Jn 11:23-27)

Martha understands Jesus’ words to be about the resurrection of the dead before the final judgement. Jesus explains that, through her faith in Him, she can have true hope. Through our faith in Christ we can also have eternal life in Him. We too need to believe and trust in Him. Our Lord raises Lazarus to point to His own Resurrection, to explain what will happen. He does this to give people hope, to strengthen their faith, and to help them to live out His love in their lives.

Mary of Bethany’s initial response is the same as that of her sister, Martha. She wishes that Jesus had been there to heal Lazarus, and she falls at His feet, weeping. Mary’s grief moves Our Lord, who asks where her brother is buried.

They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. (Jn 11:34-35)

There is an immense power in these last two words: ‘Jesus wept’. God, who created the Universe weeps at the grave of His friend. Jesus is the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He will soon undergo His Passion and Death for us. We have a God who understands humanity, who shares our pain, and who will submit Himself to torture and death on our behalf. 

Jesus tells the people assembled at the tomb to remove the stone. Martha, ever the practical disciple, points out that there will be an odour as Lazarus has been dead for four days. 

Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” (Jn 11:40-43)

The key here is faith and prayer. In this respect the raising of Lazarus is no different, and no less miraculous, than our own daily lives, which are supported by our faith in God, and prayer. Martha has faith, and sees the glory of God in the raising of her brother who was dead and is now alive. The raising of Lazarus is a miracle, and a demonstration of God’s love, which also points forward to all that Jesus will accomplish in His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

In our baptism we share in Christ’s saving Death and Resurrection. In the signs of John’s Gospel, from the changing of water into wine at the Marriage Feast at Cana, to the raising of Lazarus, we see demonstrations of God’s love, and the power of prayer and faith. Jesus demonstrates that we are loved by a generous God, who is willing to die for us, and rise again, to offer us new life in Him, through faith.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us embrace the faith of Mary and Martha, and trust in Our Lord to heal our wounds and raise us to eternal life. Let us give thanks and sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw Y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Ash Wednesday 2026

I would like to begin today with some words of Pope Benedict XVI: Today the Church celebrates Ash Wednesday, the beginning of her Lenten journey towards the great festival of Easter. The entire Christian community is invited to live this period of forty days as a pilgrimage of repentance, conversion and renewal. 

In the Bible, the number forty is rich in symbolism. It recalls Israel’s journey in the desert: a time of expectation, purification and closeness to the Lord, but also a time of temptation and testing. It also evokes Jesus’ own sojourn in the desert at the beginning of His public ministry. This was a time of profound closeness to the Father in prayer, but also of confrontation with the mystery of evil. 

The Church’s Lenten discipline is meant to help deepen our life of faith and our imitation of Christ in his paschal mystery. In these forty days may we strive to draw nearer to the Lord by meditating on his word and example. We seek to conquer the desert of our spiritual aridity, selfishness and materialism. For the whole Church may this Lent be a time of grace in which God leads us, in union with the crucified and risen Lord, through the experience of the desert to the joy and hope brought by Easter. [Pope Benedict XVI Catechesis at the General Audience 22.ii.12: 

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-conquering-our-spiritual-desert ]

Today we begin our journey with Christ into the desert for forty days. Deserts are places of lack and isolation, something which we have all experienced over the last few years. Not long ago we were cut off from people, places, and things we are accustomed to do because of the pandemic. In many ways those two years felt something like a continual Lent. This year, as every year, as Christians, we thoughtfully prepare to celebrate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who began his public ministry after His Baptism by going into the desert.

To go into the desert is to go to a place to be alone with God, in prayer, to face temptation, and to grow spiritually. It is something which Christians do together over the next six weeks or so, to draw closer to Jesus Christ. By imitating Him, and listening to what He says to us, we prepare ourselves to enter into and share the mystery of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection; so that we may celebrate with joy Christ’s triumph over sin and death, and His victory at Easter. 

In the Gospel reading today, Jesus teaches His disciples how to fast. The point is not about making an outward show of what we are doing, but rather about how the practice affects our interior disposition. This is clear from the first reading, from the prophet Joel, who gives this advice:

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abiding in steadfast love; and relents over disaster. (Joel 2: 12-13)

Through the prophet, God is calling His people back to Himself, in love and mercy. Rather than the outward show of mourning through the tearing of our clothing, we are instead instructed to open our hearts to God, so that He can heal us. However, we can only find healing if we first recognise our need for healing, and understand that healing is something that only God can do for us. We cannot bring it about ourselves.

Human beings, by nature, like to show off, to engage in display, and to tell people about things. Yet in the Gospel today, Christ tells us to do the exact opposite. We are told not to show what we are doing, for our Lenten disciplines. We are to keep them hidden. This is completely in line with the advice of the prophet Joel that fasting, like mourning, has an interior quality which is important.

By giving up something we love and enjoy, and regulating our diet we are not engaging in a holy weight-loss plan. What we are doing is training our bodies and our minds, to be disciplined. Through these actions we express physically the radical purification and conversion which lies at the heart of the Christian life: we follow Christ.

We follow Christ into the desert. We follow Christ to the Cross, and beyond, to be united with Him, in love and in suffering. In this we should bear in mind St Paul’s words to the Church in Corinth that we are called to suffer with and for Christ, to bear witness to our faith, and to encourage people, as ‘ambassadors for Christ’. This starts with our reconciliation with each other, and God’s reconciliation and healing of each one of us. Just as for any other role we undertake in life, it requires preparation. 

The Gospel talks of three ways to prepare ourselves: Firstly, Fasting: disciplining the body, and abstaining from food. Secondly, Prayer: drawing closer to God, deepening our relationship with Him, and listening to what He says to us. Thirdly, by Charity, or Almsgiving: being generous to those in need, as God is generous towards us, is to follow Christ’s example. Matthew’s Gospel clearly states that we do not do these things in order to be seen to be doing them — in order to gain a reward in human terms, of power or prestige — but to be rewarded by God.

We should always remember that as Christians we cannot earn our forgiveness through our works. God forgives us in Christ, who died and rose again for us. We plead His Cross as our only hope, through which we are saved and set free. 

Being humble, and conscious of our total reliance upon God, allows us to be transformed by Our Heavenly Father, into what He wants us to be. God’s grace transforms our nature, allowing us to come to know and to live life in all its fulness. This is the joy of the Kingdom, and a foretaste of Heaven. Through grace we are united with God, and know and experience His love and forgiveness. We are transformed by Him, into His likeness, sharing His life and His love.

Let us, therefore, use this Lent, to draw ever closer to God and to each other. Through our fasting, prayer, and charity, may we be built up in love, and faith, and hope. Let us prepare to celebrate with joy the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. To whom, with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit, gyda Duw y Tad, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân, be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Quinquagesima 2026

“But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.” (1Cor 2:7)

‘Ond yr ydym ni’n llefaru doethineb Duw a’i dirgelwch, doethineb guddiedig, a ragordeiniodd Duw cyn yr oesoedd i’ dwyn i’n gogoniant.’

Whenever a new political party comes to power everyone is keen to find out what they will change and what they will leave the same. A new generation often wants to abandon the rules of the preceding one, seeing them as no longer relevant to the new times. Jesus, however, does the reverse. He teaches that the Law of Moses and the prophecies are not to be abolished. Quite the opposite, He states that He has come to fulfil them:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (Mt 5:17)

Jesus is the fulfillment of Jewish religious and ethical teaching, which He does not revoke. Instead, He deepens its meaning, and reminds people of how God wants us to live. It is an intensification of a rigorous system, which sets very high standards to live by. Jesus states:

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:20)

The Religious Authorities of Jesus’ day were scrupulous in their observance of the Law, but even this is not good enough. As Our Lord will go on to explain, God is calling us to live to an even higher standard:

“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Mt 5:22)

Intensifying the teaching regarding murder, Jesus points out that anger, and words spoken in anger can themselves have dire consequences. All aspects of our life matter, because we become what we do. As Christians, our actions and our speech help to form our moral character. They are how we put our faith into practice in our lives.

Jesus expects the Christian community to practise reconciliation:

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Mt 5:23-24)

We are called to be people in good accord with each other because Christ’s Death on the Cross has reconciled God and humanity. The Cross stands at the heart of Our Lord’s ethical teaching because it is the ultimate demonstration of love and goodness, poured out by God for our benefit. This is the ethical standard by which we are both measured and freed. Reconciliation is difficult and costly, but it allows Christians to live in a new way. This new way of living offers the world the opportunity to move beyond recrimination and retaliation, and flourish in a renewed relationship with God and with each other.

Our Lord’s teaching on adultery takes things even further than the Law of Moses did. This is because Jesus is inaugurating a society based on love and faithfulness. What we say and do are important, they affect who we become. Each of the teachings in today’s Gospel begins, ‘You have heard it said …. But I say to you’, ‘Clwysoch fel y dywedwyd … Ond rwyf fi’n dweud wrthych’ or something similar. Jesus takes existing moral teaching, and deepens it. He goes beyond the letter of the Law, to point out the Spirit which underlies the teaching. We are called to be people of love, forgiveness, reconciliation, who operate according to higher standards. And this includes the words we use everyday — they matter. 

In our life, we have a choice to make, and we are free to make it. Today’s first reading, from the Jewish Wisdom tradition explains the options:

“Before a man are life and death, and whichever he chooses will be given to him.” (Ecclesiasticus 15: 17)

This verse echoes the choice given by Moses to Israel in Deuteronomy 30:19, and it is expanded upon in the Book of Ecclesiasticus a few verses later:

“He has not commanded any one to be ungodly, and he has not given any one permission to sin.” (Ecclesiasticus 15: 20)

Humanity has a propensity for sin; to choose to do what we know is the wrong thing. Sin harms us, and it also damages our relationship with both God and with each other. But, thanks to Jesus, who chose death for our sake, on our behalf, we can choose life in all its fullness. This we can achieve, both as individuals and as a community, by responding with love. In doing so we conform ourselves to Christ, and embrace His life and death. This is also exemplified in the writings of St Paul. Drawing on his theological training, Paul had a deep understanding of the Scriptures and came to see how they both pointed to, and also found their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. The Greeks in Corinth, to whom he was writing, prided themselves on their love of wisdom, their philosophy. Paul, however, has something different to offer:

“But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.” (1Cor 2:7)

This hidden wisdom is simply to know Christ and Him crucified (1Cor 2:2) —  words written by Paul a few lines earlier and part of our readings last Sunday. Because of who Jesus is, and what He does, humanity can choose life. The Christian life is not an easy option, it comes at a cost, but the alternative is far worse.

Individually, and as a Christian community, we will struggle to live up to the high standards that God expects of us. However, this does not give us the excuse of not trying. With the love and support of each other, and the knowledge that God’s love and forgiveness are never-ending, together we can strive to be the people Jesus longs for us to be. 

So then, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us conform ourselves to Christ, and live like Him. Let us be a community of reconciliation and love. United together let us give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now, and forever. Amen

Posted on by atfurse

Epiphany IV – The Wedding at Cana

One of the defining characteristics of both Welsh and Jewish culture is their attitude towards hospitality. The thought that a guest could possibly leave without being full to the gunwales is unthinkable; a source of potential shame, which would reflect extremely badly upon the host. We want to be generous, we believe that a full guest is a happy guest!  The widow of Zarephath, however, has very little, and she appears to be at her wits end, but what she has, she offers to Elijah. The woman is blessed by God, for her generosity and hospitality. The flour and oil do not run out, and she, her family, and the entire household are able to thrive in difficult times.

Everyone loves a party. What better excuse could there be than a wedding? The joining together of a man and a woman, a sign of love, and joy, and commitment, is made holy and fruitful by God. At one level it symbolises God’s relationship with humanity brought about by the Incarnation: where God becomes human, so that humanity might come to share the divine life. The sheer joy of salvation, of hope in Christ, is manifest in the uniting of that which what sin had destroyed. What the Hebrew Scriptures look forward to, is made real in Jesus Christ. And so the first of Jesus’ signs, His demonstrations of the Kingdom of God, takes place at a wedding, at Cana in Galilee. 

The wedding takes place on the third day. It was also on the third day that God’s Glory was manifest in thunder and lightening in Sinai in Exodus 19:16. The manifestation during the wedding banquet may be less dramatic, but is no less extraordinary. Jesus’ mother is present, so is He, and His Disciples. Marriages in the Bible are a community celebration. Lots of people are invited, the whole of the locality has come to the celebrations. On such an occasion it would be completely terrible for them to run out of wine. Such an event would reflect badly on the hosts’ hospitality and would be talked about for years to come. Mary tells Our Lord that there is no wine left. And while Jesus’ reply may look like He’s upset, He doesn’t ignore His mother, or fail to comply with her request. Jesus’ Hour has not yet come, and it will not, until He dies upon the cross. It comes when Christ dies for our sins; when He makes a new Covenant in His Blood. He is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, who, as both priest and victim, reconciles humanity and divinity, and gives us the hope of Heaven.

Mary instructs the servants to simply: ‘Do whatever He tells you’. She stands as a model of Christian obedience. The key to the Christian life is to follow Mary’s example, and to do whatever Christ tells us; nothing more, nothing less, just that. Our life of faith is rooted in obedience. We listen to God and we obey, for our own good, and the good of the Kingdom. We do so in order that we are not conformed to the world and its ways, but rather to the will of God. Through humble obedience we can truly enter into the joy of the Lord; fed by Him, who died for love of us, in obedience to the Father’s will.

At the wedding banquet were six stone water jars, for purification, holding twenty or thirty gallons each — about the size of a modern wheelie bin. In total they held one hundred and eighty gallons of liquid, over six hundred litres. It is a lot of wine to drink, and that’s the point. This is a sign of the super-abundance of the Kingdom of God. 

The wedding party sounds very extravagant to us, but it points to something greater than itself. It is a foreshadowing of the joy of the Kingdom. It is a taste of the lavish excess that our God, whose love and generosity are beyond our understanding, wishes to bestow on us, as a sign of His deep love for us.

The world today struggles somewhat with extravagance, and rightly so. When we see the super-rich riding around in gold-plated supercars we are right to be concerned. In the Gospel we witness something unexpected. The head steward has a point: you serve the best wine first, while people are sober and can appreciate it. The Kingdom of God, however, turns human values on their head — the joyous new wine of the Kingdom is finer than any human wine. It is lavished upon undeserving humanity, so that it might transform us, so that we might come to share both in the glory of God, and in His very nature. Christ therefore becomes the true master of the feast. He will feed humanity from the abundance of the Heavenly Wedding Feast [Revelation 19:6-9], just as He will feed us here, today.

Therefore, as we start this new year, we see a three-fold dawning of the Glory of God in Christ Jesus. First in Our Lord’s manifestation to the Gentiles; the proclamation of the Messiah to the whole world. Secondly in His Baptism, which shows us the way to the Father, a sign of love and obedience. Thirdly in the Wedding Feast at Cana, a sure sign of the superabundance of God’s love. This is manifest to us here today in the Eucharist, where we drink the wine of the Kingdom. Imbibing the Blood of Christ transforms us by the power and the grace of God, so that we may share His Divine life, and encourage others to enter into the joy of the Lord. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world [Jn 1:36]. He holds nothing back for love of us. His love knows no end

The Wedding at Cana points to the events at Calvary. This is when Jesus’ hour comes; when He sheds his blood for us.  The Cross removes all our shame, all the disobedience of humanity, so that we can forever enjoy the banquet of God’s love prepared for us in Heaven. This is demonstrated and foreshadowed here and now under the outward forms of Bread and Wine. Therefore let us joyfully feast on the Body and Blood of Christ, so that we may be transformed more and more into His likeness.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us commit ourselves to follow the advice of Our Lady. Let us do what Jesus tells us, and, in doing so, allow Him to transform us. With joy, let us celebrate His Kingdom, giving glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now, and forever. Amen

Posted on by atfurse

The Conversion of St Paul

One of the most satisfying moments in literature occurs at the end of Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge, starts the story as a misanthropic greedy miser, but after being faced with a vision of his own death, unloved and unmourned, he turns his life around. Scrooge totally changes, and becomes kind, generous, and loving. The transformation is real, and heart-felt. Similarly, one of the greatest turnarounds in Christian history happens with St Paul. Saul of Tarsus, as he was originally known, was a zealous Pharisee, and was keen to persecute the followers of Christ. And yet Paul becomes a great evangelist, devoting his life to telling people about Jesus. His is a profound change of heart, which speaks to us of God’s ability to mould our characters and lives; to reconcile, and to heal.

St Paul first appears in the Acts of the Apostles holding people’s clothes as they are stoning Stephen the Deacon to death. There is a discomfort in even mentioning this because we are naturally squeamish about the idea of imposing capital punishment for blasphemy. We are Christians who believe that life is sacred, and a gift from God. Not so our tentmaker from Tarsus! At this stage of his life, Saul is angry, and zealous, fanatical and single-minded in his devotion to God and the Jewish law. He wants to stamp out the Church, once and for all!

This angry man is travelling to Damascus, keen to rid the world of the scourge of Christianity, when something amazing happens. Saul sees a bright light, and falls to the ground, and then he hears a voice, saying:

‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

‘Saul, Saul, pam yr wyt yn fy erlid I?’ (Acts 9:5)

Saul then realises that Jesus is talking to him. For a moment, I would like to concentrate on Our Lord’s Words. Christ does not say: ‘Why are you persecuting my Church?’, or ‘Why are you persecuting my followers?’ Instead He asks Saul, ‘Why are you persecuting ME?’ God the Son talks directly to the greatest persecutor of the Church. Our Lord takes things personally. The Church is the Body of Christ. We are His Body, He loves us, and cares for us. Therefore, God takes an enemy of the Church and transforms him into its true friend. We put our trust in a God who changes things, and the Conversion of St Paul is one of the most dramatic and consequential reversals in Christian history. 

At the heart of this event is the operation of sanctifying grace; the unmerited kindness of God, which has the power to make things Holy. We receive it through our Baptism, when we are washed clean, and born again to new life in Christ. Through his direct experience of Christ, along with the love of the Christian community (represented by Ananias of Damascus), Paul is restored. 

After his conversion Paul goes to the synagogues and to tell his fellow Jews that:

‘Jesus is the Son of God.’ (Acts 9:20)

This causes profound confusion. People are surprised that the same man who came to Damascus to arrest Christians, and have them tried for blasphemy, appears to have joined the very religious movement which he was persecuting. Not only this, but this pharisee is now busy telling everyone about Jesus. In the Gospel, Our Lord tells his disciples to go out and proclaim the Good News. This is exactly what St Paul is doing, and what he will carry on doing for the rest of his life. 

On foot, and by boat, Paul will travel thousands of miles around the Mediterranean Sea proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ and founding communities of believers. He also writes many letters to support the fledgling Church. Thanks to Paul’s dedication and devotion, the message of salvation has been announced throughout the world. At the heart of the Good News is the promise that there is nothing God cannot do, if we let Him. If we cooperate with the Divine, so that His will is done, on earth, as it is in Heaven. If we repent of our sins, and turn back to Our Loving Father, and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. If we are nourished by Word and Sacrament. If we pray, and are supported by a community of prayer, which we call the Church. Then God can, and will, transform us, to bear witness to Him, and to make His Kingdom a reality here and now. 

God can, and will, heal our wounds, restore our relationships, and give us the strength we need to be a loving community. If the Almighty can turn an enemy and persecutor of the Church into its greatest evangelist and missionary, what can He do with us? None of us are beyond redemption and conversion. God can, and will, use us to make the world a better place. Paul did not earn the right of salvation, and neither do we. God offers us salvation in and through Christ out of love. We can choose to accept His love, and to allow Our Heavenly Father to be at work in us. We can let God transform us bit by bit into His likeness. The more we co-operate, the more Our God and Saviour can be at work in and through us; proclaiming the truth of His Kingdom, and helping to reach those in need of His love.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us commit ourselves to follow the example of St Paul. Let us open both ourselves and our lives to Jesus, and allow Him to transform us. With joy, let us proclaim His Kingdom, giving glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now, and forever.

Caravaggio: The Conversion of St Paul [Rome: Odescalchi Balbi Collection]
Posted on by atfurse

Epiphany II: Behold the Lamb of God!

One of the loveliest aspects of Christian Worship is how many of the words we use in worship are taken from the Bible. Whenever the Eucharist is celebrated, we pray to God using the words of John the Baptist which are heard in the Gospel today: 

‘Look, there is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!’ 

‘Dyma Oen Duw sy’n cymryd ymaith bechod y byd.’ (Jn 1:29) 

John speaks these words at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, after Our Lord’s Baptism and before the calling of the first disciples. John the Baptist has invited people to repent, to turn away from what separates them from God and each other. John’s mission finds its fulfilment in Christ, whom he has just baptized. Jesus is the person who reconciles God and humanity, through His death on the Cross. This is the Good News of the Kingdom. We are loved by God, who flings His arms wide on the Cross to embrace the world with love. Our Divine Creator embraces shame and torture, to show the world love. It isn’t what you would expect, and that is the point. God experiences human pain and suffering and in doing so makes a relationship possible, so that we might come to know Him, and to love Him.

John then explains Jesus’ importance:

“This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me.” (Jn 1:30)

We know from Luke’s Gospel that John is six months older than Jesus, so what does the Baptist mean by this? How can Jesus have had life before John? The reason is that Christ is God Incarnate, He has always existed, and the Eternal has taken flesh in the womb of His mother, Mary. John then bears witness to the numinous events that occur when he baptizes Jesus:

“I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.” (Jn 1:32-34)

At Jesus’ Baptism we see and hear the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. God the Father speaks, the Son is obedient, and the Spirit encourages. Jesus will pour out the Holy Spirit, the bond of love between the Father and the Son, the agent of healing and reconciliation. John recognises that Christ is the Son of God, and proclaims this truth: that God dwells with His people, and has come to save them. 

The fact that John describes Jesus as ‘The Lamb of God’ is consequential. Lambs were a central part of the Jewish festival of Passover. In order to avert the tenth plague in Egypt, the people of Israel were told to take a young lamb without any blemish and slaughter it. They were then instructed to anoint the doorposts of their houses with the lamb’s blood, so that their firstborn would be saved, and would not be killed by the Angel of Death. The lamb was to be roasted over the fire and eaten standing up whilst dressed ready for a journey. This festival of Passover is the high point of the Jewish religious calendar, and commemorates the start of their journey from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land of Israel. It is also the time of Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

In order to meet the requirements of the large number of people celebrating the passover festival in the early 1st century, there needed to be a lot of shepherds raising flocks of animals for slaughter. In the Christmas story we see that the first visitors to the Holy Family in Bethlehem were local shepherds. As Bethlehem is only six miles from Jerusalem, these shepherds were raising the thousands of lambs that would be consumed at Passover in nearby Jerusalem. Jesus, like these lambs, was also without blemish, and would be killed at Passover. So from the very moment of Christ’s birth, His Sacrificial Death is foreshadowed. 

Traditionally Jesus’ death is understood to have taken place at the ninth hour, that is 3pm. Significantly, this is the same time that the passover lambs began to be slaughtered in the Temple in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. This is not mere coincidence, but rather signal proof that Christ’s death is sacrificial, and also represents the new Passover, bringing freedom to the people of God. By describing Jesus as: ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world’. John understands that Jesus is the Passover Lamb, whose death will save us all.

The image of a lamb also brings to mind a passage in the prophet Isaiah, where the Suffering Servant is compared to ‘a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb’ (Isa 53:7). This prophecy will be fulfilled in Holy Week on Good Friday, and also every time the Eucharist is celebrated. This is the beginning of the community of believers to which we belong through our faith and through our baptism. We, like the Christians in Corinth to whom St Paul wrote, are:

‘those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.’ (1Cor 1:2)

We can call upon Christ’s name in prayer because He loves us, and saves us from our sins. From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, even from the gifts offered by the Three Wise Men, Our Lord’s life and mission is to be understood in terms of the death He will suffer. It is this sacrificial, self-giving love which God pours out on His World, which streams from our Saviour’s pierced side, and which makes our peace with God, and with one another. It is this recognition of who and what Jesus really is that enables us to recognize who and what we really are. By following Christ’s teachings and example we can live our lives truly, wholly, and fully. Loved by God and loving one another. 

Together, we can express this love most profoundly when we celebrate the Mass together, because the Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. This Sacrament unites heaven and earth through the sacrifice of Calvary, and allows all humanity to share the Body and Blood of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. We feed on Him so that we may become what He is. This enables us to share eternity with Our Lord, and to live lives full of faith, and hope, and love. So then, let us lift up our hearts and give thanks for Jesus, the Lamb of God. Let us enter into the mystery of God’s self-giving love. And let us join together to give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now, and forever.

Posted on by atfurse

The Baptism of Christ 2026

‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’

‘Hwn yw fy Mab, yr Anwylyd; ynddo ef yr wyf yn ymhyfrydu’ (Mt 3:17)

Our Baptism is one of the most important events in our lives. However, for the vast majority of Christians who were baptised as infants, it isn’t something we necessarily remember. We are too young to recall the experience. But whether we can remember it or not, we know that our baptism marked our entry into the Church. During the sacrament we were clothed with Christ and we were born again, by water and the Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ was also baptised, but as a man, rather than a baby. This is what the Church celebrates today. 

Baptism washes us from our sins, yet Jesus is not a sinner. So why does He need to get baptized? John the Baptist says to Christ, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Mt 3:14). Our Lord replies by saying, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” (Mt 3:15). Jesus’ baptism is one of obedience to the will of God the Father. That is why our first reading is the first of the Servant Songs in the prophecy of Isaiah. The prophecy is fulfilled when the Father speaks the words from the first verse, at the moment of Jesus’ baptism. God gives His Son as a covenant to the nations. This covenant will be made on the Cross, to save humanity. Christ is a light for the nations, as Simeon states at the Presentation in the Temple. Jesus will open the eyes of the blind, and set prisoners free. This is the reality of the Kingdom of God, which we are members of, through our baptism.

Today, God does a new thing. This lies at the heart of the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom by St Peter in this morning’s second reading from the Acts of the Apostles. It is the same pronouncement that we find in Isaiah. There is a consistency in proclamation down through the centuries, a guarantee of its truth. God the Father expresses His love for His Son, whose obedience to His Father’s will shows humanity that by saying ‘Yes’ to God, the ‘No’ of Adam and Eve can be undone. Christ, the new Adam, fulfils all righteousness, and in so doing begins His public ministry which takes this ultimately to the Cross. This is where righteousness and obedience lead: to death and suffering, to the demonstration of God’s love and finally, to the restoration of humanity once and for all.

What is foolish in the eyes of the world, is in fact the greatest possible demonstration of love. We will see that love made visible here this morning, where Christ offers Himself for us, through His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. We feed on Him, so that He can transform us; so that we may come to share in the very life and nature of God. Through our Baptism, and through the Eucharist, God’s Kingdom becomes a living reality in us. We are transformed to live its life, and transform the world around us.

A few days ago we celebrated Epiphany, Our Lord’s manifestation to the Gentiles. Now this Sunday, at the start of Christ’s public ministry, He is again made manifest. God the Father acknowledges the Son in the flesh, and sends the Holy Spirit, the bond of their love. The fullness of the Divine Trinity is united and revealed on earth to proclaim that Christ is Lord. The Kingdom has become a reality. Christ does not need to be baptised, as we do. However, He does so in order to fulfil all righteousness and to sanctify the waters of baptism for those whom He would redeem, to show us the way to new life in Him. At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus shows humanity the way to the Father, through himself. The world sees the generous love of God, which heals and restores us, from the darkness of the dungeon of sin and evil, to the light and life of the Kingdom of God. As our baptism is a sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, so His baptism points to the Cross, where streams of blood and water flow to cleanse and heal the world. We see the love of the Father, the power of the Spirit, and the obedience of Son, and all for us, who deeply need God’s love and healing, and forgiveness.

We long to experience this deep, divine love. The whole world needs it, but we are often too proud or too fearful to turn to the God of love. And yet it is exactly such people, the lost sheep, that Our Lord comes to seek. He desires to enfold them, and us, in His loving arms on the Cross. He washes us in the waters of baptism, so that we all may be a part of Him, regardless of whom we are, and what we have done. Salvation is the free gift of God and is open to all who turn to him.

Ours is a faith which can transform the world, so that all humanity can share in God’s life and love. Each and every one of us can become part of something radical and revolutionary, which can, and will, transform the world one soul at a time. Rather than human violence, cruelty, and mis-use of power, the only way to transform the world is through the love of God. This is what the Church is for. This is what Christianity is all about. This is why we are gathered here today, to be strengthened and nourished.

Through prayer, through the Word of God, and through the Sacraments of the Church, we are strengthened and nourished to live out our faith and transform the world. Nothing more, nothing less, just a revolution of love, of forgiveness, and of healing. This is what the world both wants and needs. So, let us draw on the strength of our baptism to live out our faith in order that the whole world may be transformed and believe. United with all our Christian brothers and sisters let us give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw Y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot: The Baptism of Christ (Brooklyn Museum)
Posted on by atfurse

Epiphany 2026

‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’

‘Ble mae’r hwn a anwyd yn frenin yr Iddewon? Oherwydd gwelsom ei seren ef ar ei chyfodiad, a daethom i’w addoli.’ (Mt 2:2)

IN Britain there is a tradition that royal births are announced by a notice placed on an easel outside Buckingham Palace. When the present King was born in 1948 the notice read as follows: ‘Buckingham Palace November 14th, The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh was safely delivered of a prince at nine fourteen pm today. Her Royal Highness and her son are both doing well.’ Historically, royal births were witnessed by important people. They were public occasions rather than private ones. When a prince or princess is born, everyone wants to know what is happening. 

Two thousand years ago, out in the East, in what is now modern day Iraq and Iran, astrologers noticed something in the sky. This phenomenon possibly involved Jupiter and either Saturn, or the star Regulus in the constellation Leo. It was a significant astronomical event, which was understood to signify a royal birth. These Magi travelled to Judaea, as that was the direction that the celestial sign pointed them towards. As they were looking for a royal baby, their first stop was, naturally, the palace. When they arrived at Herod’s palace they asked:

‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ (Mt 2:2)

The travellers make a reasonable statement, but their words have an unexpected effect:

‘When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he enquired of them where the Christ was to be born’ (Mt 2:3-4)

News of the birth of a royal child is troubling to Herod. He was an Aramean who had bought the right to be king by paying the Romans. Therefore, he was very concerned by questions of legitimacy because his own claim was based on shaky ground. Herod’s religious experts then explain where the child will be born, quoting a prophecy of Micah, which we heard on the Fourth Sunday of Advent:

‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”’ (Mt 2:5-6)

Bethlehem, the city of David, is where a King of the lineage of David will be born. A Davidic King poses a huge threat to Herod. There could be an uprising, leading to regime change. Herod needs to know what is going on. Since knowledge is power, he sends the Magi off to find the child and to report back to him.

What looks like a simple and straightforward enquiry is actually the first part of a plan to eliminate this potential threat to Herod’s rule. This will later be carried out in the Massacre of the Innocents — the wholesale slaughter of young male children in Bethlehem. Herod certainly has no intention of relinquishing his power. His behaviour is a sham. The Wise Men then leave the royal palace and head for the town of Bethlehem:

‘And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.’ (Mt 2:9-10)

The Magi have journeyed hundreds of miles because they saw a celestial event. Now this heavenly light is above Bethlehem, and the travellers have reached the new-born King. 

‘And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.’ (Mt 2:11) 

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh seem to us unusual presents for a baby. They are, however, all expensive, costly, and precious things, and therefore suitable as royal gifts. These offerings were prophesied by Isaiah: 

‘They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.’ (Isa 60:6)

Gold, is a precious metal, which is pure and does not tarnish. It is a gift fit for a king. Gold’s purity points to a life of perfect obedience, the pattern of how life should be lived. Incense, from Arabia, was offered to God in the Temple in Jerusalem. As the sweet-smelling smoke rose, it looked like prayers rising to God. Frankincense is a sign of worship, and honour, representing how humanity should respond to God. We use it today in our worship to glorify God Myrrh was often a component of the ointment used for embalming bodies. This links to the anointing of Jesus’ body after His Death, and before His Resurrection from the dead. These three gifts given at Jesus’ birth point to Christ’s kingly power, and His role in worship as our great High Priest, which leads to His to Death and Burial.

The Wise Men are warned by a dream not to go back to Herod, and not to tell him who Jesus is. This is because the Judean king does not want to worship Jesus. Herod wants to kill Him, in order to safeguard his own position. And so the unexpected visitors leave as mysteriously as they arrived. These pilgrims from afar gave Our Lord gifts which celebrate His Humanity and Divinity, and which point forward to His Death and Resurrection. The beginning of Jesus’ earthly life looks to its end, because it is all part of the outworking of salvation history.

The events that we are celebrating today were prophesied by Isaiah in the first reading this morning:

‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.’ (Isa 60:1)

The birth of the Messiah is a sign of God’s glory, and the salvation He will bring for all people: 

‘And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.’ (Isa 60:3)

These pilgrims are the Magi, the Wise Men, the Kings who represent the entire Gentile (non-Jewish) World. They have come to worship God born among us. The travellers recognise who it is they have come to see, and their gifts fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy. Their gifts, which might appear strange at first sight, are, in fact, both apt and right: to worship God and honour a King, and to recognise the Saviour in their midst. Today, the World recognises the Birth of Jesus Christ, and the mystery of salvation is proclaimed to all.

As we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany today, we also look forward. Both to Our Lord’s Baptism in the River Jordan and to His first miracle at the Wedding in Cana. Christ, He who is without sin shows humanity how to be free from their sins and to have new life in Him.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, as we continue to celebrate Jesus’ birth, let us raise our voices to join with the wise men in giving praise and honour to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Second Sunday after Christmas

‘And the Word became flesh and lived among us’

‘A daeth y Gair yn gnawd a phreswylio yn ein plith’ (Jn 1:14)

After all the excitement and bustle of Christmas and New Year, there is a certain slowness about January. The days are short, the weather usually takes a turn for the worst. Also, despite our resolutions, we often don’t feel all that lively or full of energy. It is understandable. Thankfully the Lectionary helps by giving us the opportunity to revisit some Christmas texts, allowing us to ponder the mystery of the Incarnation. While the world around us has taken their decorations down, in Church we are still celebrating Christmas, and will continue so to do for some time yet. The awesome mystery of God taking human flesh and being born among us needs more than a day’s celebration. Indeed we could spend a whole lifetime contemplating the wonderful fact that God has come down to earth to share our human life, and to bring about our restoration and our redemption.

Today’s Old Testament Reading is from The Wisdom of Sirach, also known as Ecclesiasticus. This is a later writing in the Jewish Wisdom Tradition, dated to roughly 125 years before the birth of Jesus. It was composed in Hebrew and soon after was translated into Greek. Our reading this morning comes from the beginning of a hymn to Wisdom. Wisdom is likened to the Word of God, and so becomes important as a way of reflecting upon Jesus. This is especially true of the following verse: 

‘Then the Creator of all things gave me a command, and my Creator chose the place for my tent.’ (Sir 24:8)

In John’s Gospel we are familiar with the verse:

‘And the Word became flesh and lived among us’ (Jn 1:14)

The Greek word ‘ἐσκήνωσεν’, we translate as ‘lived’, actually means ‘pitched his tent’. John’s Gospel is looking back to the Jewish Wisdom tradition to understand the Incarnation, and to place Christ’s birth in a wider scriptural context. The author of Ecclesiasticus was looking forward to a Messiah, and now He has been born. The longed-for salvation has become a reality. 

This assurance lies behind St Paul’s joyful greeting to the Christians in Ephesus. Like the Ephesian faithful, we too we have entered into a new relationship with God the Father: 

‘He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved’ (Eph 1:5-6)

Our primary identity is as children of God; as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is brought about through an outpouring of God’s grace — unmerited kindness and generosity  given freely because Our Heavenly Father loves us. This is the heart of the Christian Faith, and the message of Christmas: God loves us! How we respond to His divine love is our choice. Paul prays that Christ:

‘may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.’ (Eph 1:17-18)

Our hope is in Heaven. We desire to spend eternity in God’s close presence, and to join the Church Triumphant. This is the reason why Christ is born in Bethlehem: to give us this hope, and to bestow this grace upon us. Through our celebration of Christmas we know that ours is a God who comes among us, and alongside us; who is not remote, but involved in every part of our lives.

Saint John take us back to the beginning of all things, to the Creation, so that we can see the bigger picture. What we are celebrating at Christmas is an event which extends through time, both in its nature and its effects. This is why we, as Christians, make such a big deal of Christmas. It isn’t just something nice to do in the middle of winter. Along with Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection, the Birth of Jesus is the most wonderful and important moment of history, and it affects us here and now. What was made known to the shepherds, we now proclaim to the world. This is shown symbolically in the Feast of the Epiphany, where the Wise Men point to the manifestation of Christ’s Divinity made visible to the whole world — the recognition of God’s saving love:

‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.’ (Jn 1:14)

The reality of the Incarnation, of God with us (Emmanuel), is that Our Lord lives with us, sharing our human life, and showing us His glory. That which Moses hid his face from in the Book of Exodus is now made plain, and displayed for all to see. It is a proclamation of the divine glory; the love, and the goodness of God. This is demonstrated by our adoption as children of God, and the inheritance we are given. This inheritance consists of eternal life, as well as a close relationship with God who restores and heals us. 

The last few years have shown us that humanity desperately needs both healing and restoration. This is possible through Christ who can heal our wounds, and restore in us the image of the God who created us. As Christians, we long for this, and we pray for it. If we are willing to let God be at work in us, the Kingdom of God can become a reality here and now. 

As we begin 2026, we are grateful that we are able to meet together in worship. We look forward in hope to a future much brighter than the dark days we have endured. Let us walk in the light of Christ, and know the fullness of His joy. Let us be glad that as a pledge of His Love Christ gives Himself, to feed us with His Body and His Blood. Through the bread and wine of Communion we have a foretaste of Heaven. This is food for our journey of faith here on earth. By participation in the Eucharist, physically or spiritually, we are strengthened to live out our faith and to proclaim it by word and deed. Therefore my brothers and sisters in Christ, at the start of this new year, we pray that all the world may come to know the love of Our Lord Jesus, and experience His healing touch. We lift up our hearts with joy, and join with the angels, to sing the praise of to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Christmas 2025

‘all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.’

‘fe wêl holl gyrrau’r ddaear iachawduriaeth ein Duw ni’ (Isa 52:10)

Christmas is a time for many seasonal activities, including spending time with family and friends, eating special foods and enjoying Christmas Carols. Also, most of us will spend some time over the festive period watching films on the television, or in the cinema. Movies can, surprisingly, be particularly useful when we try to comprehend the wonderful events of Christmas. I would like to begin by focussing on a favourite film from my childhood — the 1981 adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark. In this film, the intrepid hat-wearing archaeologist, Indiana Jones, is competing with evil Nazi forces to discover the Ark of the Covenant, which, it is said, has the power to make an army invincible. At the climax of the film, the villains open the Ark on an island in the Aegean Sea. Immediately, spirits and bolts of lightning are released, which kill the Nazis and free Indiana and his companion Marion. Other than being the sort of film one might watch at Christmas, what is the relevance of the scene?

The film’s denouement relies upon the heroes averting their gaze, while the villains do not, and are therefore destroyed. The plot draws upon the biblical idea that the glory of God, which the Ark is said to contain, is not something which humanity should gaze upon. In the Book of Exodus, when Moses asks to see God, he is told that if he does so he will die. The glory of God is not something humans are able to behold. 

Yet, the first reading this morning reaches its climax with the statement that:

‘all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.’ (Isa 52:10)

There appears to be something strange going on here. Likewise, the one who begins His life wrapped in cloth and placed in a stone feeding trough, will end it by being taken down from a Cross, wrapped in cloth and placed in a stone tomb. ‘In my beginning is my end …. In my end is my beginning’ wrote T.S. Elliot in his poem ‘East Coker’, the second of his Four Quartets. And yet this end is but a prelude to Christ’s Resurrection, Ascension, and the Second Coming. 

In the great turnaround of salvation history, humanity goes from being unable to look upon the divine, to being able to behold Him in a manger, surrounded by farm animals. As the prophet Isaiah says:

‘The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib,’ (Isa 1:3)

To put the mystery of our salvation into context, this morning’s Gospel goes back to the beginning, which is a very good place to start. Not to the Annunciation, where in the power of the Holy Spirit Christ takes flesh in the womb of His Mother, but to the beginning of time itself and the Creation of the Universe:

‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.’ (Jn 1:1)

The Word which spoke the Universe into being exists in eternity with God, and is God. This is whom we worship: the one who will save humanity, and who offers us eternal life with God. 

Today we celebrate Divine generosity and humility. God is among us. Mae Duw yn eich plith ni. Born as a weak and vulnerable baby, he is utterly dependent upon Mary and Joseph. In time, this divine generosity will be refused:

‘He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.’ (Jn 1:11)

Ours is a God who does not force Himself upon us. Instead, He comes to us in love, that we might receive His divine love, and share it with others: 

‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ (Jn 1:14)

God pitches His tent, and tabernacles among us. The invisible becomes visible. The God who is beyond human understanding becomes human, and shares our human life from its beginning to its end. This is no unapproachable divinity, remote and uncaring, but one who experiences our existence, who understands us from the inside out. Humanity beholds the glory of God, in a tiny baby who will grow into a man, who will die on a Cross to redeem us. 

Not only that, but Christ continues to give Himself to us, every time the Eucharist is celebrated. So that the Word can continue to become flesh. So that we can be transformed by Him, and share in God’s life. 

As we celebrate the birth of Our Saviour we should ask ourselves: have we made room for Jesus in our lives? Have we really? If we haven’t, we need to allow our hearts and our lives to become the stable in which the Christ-child can be born. We should see Him in the outcast, in the stranger, in all the people which the world shuns. As Christians, we are instructed to welcome such people, for in welcoming them we also welcome Our Lord and Saviour. This is how we live out His love in our lives.

This is the true meaning of Christmas — this is the love which can transform the world. It is radical and costly. This love terrified the might of the Roman Empire, by showing human power that it was as nothing compared to Divine Love. Soul by individual soul, for the past two thousand years, the world has been changed by ordinary people living out the love shown to the world by, and through, this little child.

So, today as we celebrate Jesus’ birth, let us raise our voices to join with the shepherds and angels and give praise and honour to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a joyful, peaceful, and love-filled Christmas!

Gallaf gymryd y cyfle hwn i dymuno Nadolig llawen, heddychlon, ac llawn cariad i bawb!

Posted on by atfurse

Christmas Midnight Mass

‘He become human so that we might become divine.’

‘Fanodd ef ein natur ddynol ni, er mwyn i ni rannu ei natur ddwyfol ef’ (Athanasius de Inc. 54.3)

We have all come here tonight to celebrate something unique, something which defies both our understanding and our expectations. The fact that God, the Creator of all things, took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born for us in Bethlehem is the Messiah, the Anointed of God, who would save us from our sins, should feel strange. In human terms this simply does not make sense, nor indeed should it.

And yet, here we are, some two thousand years later, celebrating the birth of this child who changed both human history and human nature. We do this because, as Christians, we do not judge things solely by human standards. We gather together in order to ponder the mystery of God’s love for us. Through love, God heals our wounds. Through love, God restores broken humanity. Through love, God offers us a fresh start. Our Heavenly Father can see beyond our failures and shortcomings, and He took on human form so that humanity might become divine; so that we may share in His life of love, both here on earth and in Heaven.

If that isn’t a cause for celebration, I honestly don’t know what is. However, we are so familiar with the story of Christmas that I wonder whether we, myself included, really take the time to ponder, and to marvel at the mystery which unfolded two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. Almighty God, who made all that is, comes to dwell among us. He took flesh in the womb of a teenage girl through the power of His Holy Spirit, so that in His Son we might see and experience God and His divine love for us. 

God comes among us not in power or splendour, but as a weak, vulnerable child, depending on others for love, food, and warmth. He is laid in an animal’s feeding trough, insulated from the cold hard stone by straw — beginning his days as he will end them placed in a stranger’s tomb. 

Throughout His life, all that Jesus says and does shows us how much God loves us. The Word becomes flesh, and enters the world. He dwells among us. This is a wondrous mystery which inspires us to worship. We stand and kneel with the shepherds and adore the God who comes among us. He shares our human life so that we might share His divine life. This is not because we have done something to deserve it: we haven’t worked for it, or earned it. Rather, it is the free gift of a loving and merciful God. This, then, is the glory of God — being born in simple poverty, surrounded by those on the margins of society. Our Heavenly Father calls humanity to a new way of being a community. The old order is cast aside, turning the world upside down and offering us the possibility of living in a radically different way. One founded on peace, love, and joy, rather than wealth and power. Heaven comes to earth, carried in the womb of a Virgin, so that we might behold the glory of God in a new-born child. So that we might experience the deep love and eternal truth of God.

The word is made flesh so that prophesy might be fulfilled. So that the hope of salvation might unfold. So that a people who have languished long in darkness might behold the glory of God in the place where Heaven and Earth meet: in a lowly stable in Bethlehem. Where men and angels may sing together: ‘Alleluia, Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace to people of goodwill’. The worship of Heaven is joined with Earth on this most holy night. In the quiet and stillness humans and animals join together to praise Almighty God, who stoops to save humanity in the birth of His Son. 

Despite the worrying state of the world around us, we can be filled with joy and hope: because Christ is born! No matter what difficulties we have to face, what fears and hardships may assail us and those we love, the birth of Our Saviour in Bethlehem is a cause for hope and joy, both in this world, and the next. God comes among us, as a baby, into a world of pain, fear, and misery; just as He did two thousand years ago. The God who made all that exists enters our world weak and helpless. Just as we were when we were born. He is totally dependent on others for food, warmth, shelter, and security. In doing so, God takes a huge risk to save humanity and to give us hope for the future.

Tonight we see God’s healing and reconciling love made manifest: to save us from ourselves, from sin, selfishness, and greed. At first this act of generosity and weakness does not appear to change things, and yet it does. God transforms our world; sometimes quickly, and sometimes slowly. Humanity is not always good at listening or waiting. It is easy to become so wrapped up in our own anxieties and yearnings that we close ourselves off from God’s transformative power. This Christmastime is an opportunity to open ourselves to God, to His transforming love.

There is also fear in the Christmas story. This is an understandable human reaction. When the shepherds saw the Heavenly Host, the angel said to them: ‘Paid ag ofni’ ‘Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people’ (Lk 2:10). God comes among us to dispel our fears and to invite us to trust in Him. This Good News is as true today as it was two thousand years ago. The love and peace which Christ comes to bring can be made real and visible in our hearts and lives. It still has the power to change the world. God’s kingdom can be a reality, here and now. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s glorious kingdom to come on earth in the same way that it is in Heaven: ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’.  

The true gift of Christmas is the Good News that Christ is born; that God becomes one of us. Our humanity is reconciled to God in, and through, Jesus. God saves us, and sets us free to worship Him, to love Him, and to serve Him. In the fourth century, a bishop in Asia Minor, Theodotus of Ancyra, said in a Christmas homily: ‘He whose godhead made him rich became poor for our sake, so as to put salvation within the reach of everyone’ [Theodotus of Ancyra (Homily 1 on Christmas: PG 77: 1360-1361)]. Such is the wonder and mystery of God’s love for us. It is a love made perfect in weakness, yet with the strength to transform the lives of everyone including each and every one of us gathered here on this most holy night. 

God is with us. For two thousand years Christians have proclaimed this truth. Jesus is born for us, to set us free from sin. Jesus is born for us to give us eternal life. Jesus is born for us to pour out God’s love and reconciliation upon a world longing for healing and wholeness. Tonight, as the mystery of God’s love is made manifest, may we be filled with that love. May our voices echo the song of the angels to the shepherds in giving praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a joyful, peaceful, and love-filled Christmas!

Gallaf gymryd y cyfle hwn i dymuno Nadolig llawen, heddychlon, ac llawn cariad i bawb!Incarnation

Posted on by atfurse

Advent IV: ‘He will save his people from their sins’

‘He will save his people from their sins.’

‘am mai ef a wareda ei bobl oddi wrth eu pechodau.’ (Mt 1:21)

Of all the figures in the story of Our Lord’s Nativity, the one most often overlooked is Joseph. It is fair to say that today’s Gospel finds Joseph in a particularly awkward situation. He is described in verse 19 as a ‘just man’. Just or righteous in this context means that he obeys Jewish Law. However, Deuteronomy 22:23-24 states that:

‘If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbour’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.’ (Deut 22:23-24)

Mary and Joseph are betrothed, and preparing to be married, but strictly speaking under Jewish Law because she is pregnant, Mary is guilty of a capital crime. It is perhaps for this reason that Luke’s account tells us that Mary spends time out in the country with her cousin Elizabeth, who is also pregnant. Joseph loves Mary, and rather than see her killed or publicly humiliated, he wants to put an end to the marriage quietly, without any fuss. It is at this moment that the Angel Gabriel appears to him in a dream saying:

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:20-21)

Joseph is a descendant of King David, a member of Israel’s Royal Family. This is an awkward fact when the current occupier of the throne is not part of that dynasty, but was put there by the Romans as a pliant puppet king. 

The angel says to Joseph: ‘Do not be afraid! Paid ag ofni!’ Again and again God speaks to His people to tell them not to fear and to be of good heart, to reassure and encourage them. God loves His people, there is nothing to be afraid about. The angel is clear: the child that will be born is of the Holy Spirit. He will be the Son of God, and His name will be Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. ‘Yeshua’ means ‘God saves’ which is exactly what Jesus does. At a practical level the angel’s message to Joseph is designed to put him at ease, to stop him worrying. The message is Good News, through the angel the Gospel of Salvation is announced.

To reinforce this fact, St Matthew then quotes a prophecy of Isaiah, which is also found in the first reading today:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (Mt 1:23)

The prophecy is being fulfilled; there will be a son born to the House of David, who will be God with us (Emmanuel), and He will save His people from their sins. This is why we celebrate Christmas, because it is the coming of our Saviour. What does is mean to say that God is with us? Is it an expression of solidarity? Or something more? In Jesus God is with us, and He shares our human life, from birth to death. Christ is not some remote divine figure, but one intimately acquainted with all of human existence. God is not distant, but instead is someone who understands us, and loves us. Christ’s entire existence is about communicating Divine Love and Reconciliation. The Church has also been proclaiming this same message of hope and salvation for the past two thousand years.

‘He will save his people from their sins’: the angel’s words to Joseph could not be clearer. Jesus is God’s rescue mission, sent to save humanity from their sins. This vocation ultimately leads to Calvary. Therefore, as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s Birth, we know that His life will end here, on the Cross. As we prepare for the most joyous of feasts, we are mindful of the cost and depth of God’s love.

It is important to notice what Joseph does when the dream is over:

‘When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.’ (Mt 1:24-25)

Joseph did what the angel commanded him to do. He was obedient. He listened and obeyed. Joseph is complete opposite of Ahaz, in today’s first reading, who neither listens to God nor obeys Him. Joseph is obedient in naming his son as he was instructed: ‘And he called his name Jesus’ (Mt 1:25). Jesus too will be obedient. His is an obedience to the Father’s will borne out through suffering, death and resurrection which characterises the mission of the Son. This is what brings about our salvation. We then, in obedience, look for His second coming as our Saviour and our Judge. As Christians, we are called to take time to ponder these mysteries — to stop for a while amid the business of our modern existence and reflect upon the wondrous nature of God’s love for us, and for all humanity. We need to take the opportunity to stop, and to ponder this wondrous fact; to reflect upon what ‘God-with-us’ means for each one of us, and for our lives.

As the people of God, members of the Christian Church, which we enter through our baptism, we have all been commissioned to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, and to live out this example in our lives. Christians urge the world to pause and to consider exactly what is being celebrating at Christmas: the free gift, of hope and salvation for all people, through a baby, born in a stable, among the poor and the marginalised.

The act of Divine love, which we experience in Our Lord’s Nativity, should draw us, in turn, to love God and to love our neighbour; to live out the love which becomes flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This same love will become the flesh and blood that we touch and taste, here, this morning, through the bread and wine. Feeding us, so that we might share His divine life. So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be filled with, and transformed by, the divine gift of love. Let us, like Mary and Joseph, wait on the Lord and be reshaped by Him. Let us live out our faith in our lives so that others might believe and sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot The Vision of St Joseph: Brooklyn Museum
Posted on by atfurse

Advent III – He who is to come

‘the ransomed of the Lord … shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.’ (Isaiah 35:10)

‘a gwaredigion yr Arglwydd fydd yn dychwelyd … hebryngir hwy gan lawenydd a gorfoledd a bydd gofid a griddfan yn ffoi ymaith’

This year our first readings during Advent come from the book of Isaiah. This Old Testament prophet stresses the belief that the Messiah will come to deliver Israel. As Christians, we use the period of Advent to reflect upon the fact that Christ is coming. He is coming as a baby born in Bethlehem. He is coming to us here today in the Eucharist. And He is coming to judge the world. Should we be afraid? On the contrary, as the prophet says:

‘Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart,“Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you’ (Isa 35:3-4). 

God is coming to save us, His people. The salvation we long for will be ours. The prophet Isaiah has a vision where the desert, a dry wilderness, is carpeted with flowers. This is a sign of new life.This is an image of hope. This is the flourishing which the Messiah will bring: ‘the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God’ (Isa 35:2). As Christ Himself says, ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’ (Jn 10:10). This is good news. It is a reason to rejoice and be glad. In order to mark this, the Church wears rose today, instead of penitential purple. In order to celebrate the joyful character of this day, and to remind us that Christ is coming. As Isaiah says:

‘the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away’ (Isa 35:10).

The time is both now and, at the same time, it is not yet. As St James writes, ‘You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand’ (James 5:8). Patience is a hard thing to master. Human beings are naturally impatient. We do not want to wait, but we have to. The question is how we wait. We are told that this should be in joyful expectation, preparing ourselves for what is to come. 

John the Baptist has been waiting for the Messiah. However, despite leaping in his mother’s womb at the Visitation to announce Christ’s coming, in this morning’s Gospel he appears to be having doubts. John is expecting a Messiah of judgement, and he is isn’t entirely sure what is going on. The Baptist has been imprisoned for criticising Herod Antipas’ marriage to his brother’s wife. John is therefore hoping for a messiah who will sweep away an unjust and corrupt regime. This is why he has doubts about Jesus, who does not seem to be a political messiah. Jesus tells John’s disciples:

‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them’ (Mt 11:4-5). 

The vision of a messianic future envisaged by Isaiah in this morning’s first reading has become a reality: prophecy has been fulfilled, God keeps his promises. The Kingdom of God is a place of healing, and Christ is the great physician, who has come to heal our souls. Jesus is the one who is to come, who has come, and who will come again. The establishment of God’s kingdom can appear strange in human terms. Focussing on those on the margins, the sick, the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalised, is not a grand gesture. That is the point! The greatest gesture Jesus will make will be in handing Himself over to be crucified and to die the death of a common criminal. This is how the messiah will reign as the true King of Israel, on the Cross at Calvary. 

God’s salvation defies human expectations. This is the point: God’s ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. That is the core message of this morning’s Gospel. If we expect God’s rule to look like human kingship, then we will be disappointed. Our Heavenly Father has something else in store, something far more wonderful than we could ever imagine, and at its heart is the transformation of humanity through love. God heals His people, because He is a God of love. Our Creator does not love us because we are loveable. We are sinners, who do not deserve to be loved, and cannot earn His divine love. But, rather than WHAT we are, God loves us for WHO we are: His sons and daughters, created in His image and likeness. God is someone whom we can trust, who keeps His promises. Our Heavenly Father offers the world the greatest present it could ever hope for: true love and eternal life.

Today, the peace which the Messiah came to bring seems as elusive as ever. The human capacity to create misery in the most dreadful ways continues relentlessly. We know that humanity still has some considerable distance to travel towards the establishment of a just and peaceful world. An answer is to embrace the need for repentance: to change our hearts and minds and to follow Jesus. We also prepare to meet Our Lord as He will come again, as our Saviour and our Judge. It is a daunting prospect, yet we know and trust that Christ saves us. By His Wounds on the Cross we are healed, and our sins are forgiven.

This is God’s grace: loving sinful humanity in order that we may be transformed by His Divine love. This is why the focus is on healing — something which only God can do — to redeem our souls with His love. This is the cause of our gladness and joy. What the prophet Isaiah hoped for has been fulfilled, and continues to be fulfilled. The Church is called to carry on God’s healing in the world, and restore each person with divine love. This is what we are about to celebrate in the Eucharist, where we both thank Our Heavenly Father for loving us, and we also prepare to experience that healing love, so that it may transform us, now, here, today. We do so with reverence, because we are not simply consuming human food and drink, but the very Body and Blood of Christ, given for us, to heal us. It is the greatest medicine our souls could ever wish for. Soon we ‘shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God’ (Isa 35:2). God’s glory and majesty is to give His Body for us on a Cross, and also to feed us with Himself.

Let us, then, come to the banquet with glad hearts, and experience the life-changing love of God. Let us allow it to heal and transform us, so that we can join our voices with all creation to joyfully sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mad, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân, to whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Jean Tissot: St John the Baptist sees Jesus from afar (Brooklyn Museum)

Posted on by atfurse

The Second Sunday of Advent

‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing’ (Rom 15:13)

‘A bydded i Dduw, ffynhonnell gobaith, eich llenwi â phob llawenydd a thangnefedd wrth ichwi arfer eich ffydd’

The book of the prophet Isaiah has sometimes been called the ‘Fifth Gospel’. This is because so many of Isaiah’s prophecies look forward to the Messiah, and find their fulfilment in Jesus. We, too, are currently in a time of anticipation. Advent is when we prepare for Christ to come, both as a baby in Bethlehem, and as our Saviour and our Judge. As the son of Jesse, and the son of David, Jesus is Israel’s true king, who rules over all:

‘There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.’ (Isa 11:1-3)

Isaiah has hope in the peace the Messiah will bring. Injustice and affliction, the fruit of sin, is dealt with on the Cross, where Jesus ‘shall stand as a signal for the peoples’ (Isa 11:10). This is the great demonstration of God’s love to the world. A love which heals and reconciles humanity. 

To prepare the way for the Messiah, Israel needed prophets like Isaiah and John the Baptist both to announce His coming and to prepare people for His arrival. A prophet’s role is a difficult one because they are often required to tell people home truths. Those chosen by God to act as prophets point out the sorts of things which, if left to our own devices, we would rather ignore. John’s message is simple, plain, and direct:

‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Mt 3:2)

To repent is to express sincere regret about one’s wrongdoing. The Greek word used —metanoia— literally means to ‘change your mind’. It is a proclamation, rather like a road sign which reads: ‘You are going the wrong way!’ Repentance is recognising this and turning around. 

For two thousand years the Church has worked to continue John’s proclamation, and to say to the world: turn around, and follow Jesus! The season of Advent is penitential because it highlights this call to conversion and says to everyone, both inside and outside the Church, that our lives are supposed to be a perpetual turning back to Our Lord. We all need to be reminded of our shortcomings, and to be encouraged to let God be at work in and through us.

John the Baptist’s blunt message struck a chord and sparked something of a revival in Israel. People took him seriously:

‘Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.’ (Mt 3:5-6)

It is not surprising that in those times people travelled out into the desert to hear John. He was charismatic, and his message was a refreshing antidote to the Religious Establishment of his day. People came, confessed their sins, and were baptised. They were washed clean, to love and serve God. The crowds also came because, in John, the people of Israel saw prophecy fulfilled, and a new Elijah in their midst. One who points to the Messiah, and has done so ever since he leapt in his mother Elizabeth’s womb at the Visitation. Before John was even born he proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the One who would save us from our sins.

We see this Messianic kingdom, hoped for in the vision of Isaiah, in this morning’s first reading. The branch which comes forth from the stem of Jesse is the Blessed Virgin Mary. Filled with God’s Holy Spirit, she conceived and bore Our Saviour; the true King of all that is, or has been, or will be. Christ is on the side of the poor and the meek, people who are left behind, and ignored because they are not rich or powerful. This is a radical concept, one which still has some way to go before it is fully put into practice in the world around us. Isaiah’s vision of Messianic peace may appear impossible, but it signifies a world-changing harmony, which alters how things are, and how people behave. For, with and through God, another way is possible. This path is not simple, nor is it easy, but it is possible if we rely upon God to help us. As St Paul says to the Christians in Rome:

‘May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’ (Romans 15:5-7),

and a little later in the same passage:

‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope’ (Romans 15:13).

Hope can feel in pretty short supply when we look at the world around us, and if we just look to humanity then we will be disappointed. Our hope comes from God. Our hope is God. God is with us. It is His Birth that we are preparing to celebrate at Christmas. In Advent we prepare for Christ to come as our Saviour and our Judge: 

‘His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ (Mt 3:12) 

Judgement is real, and it should make us stop and think for a moment. Are we living the way God wants us to? If we are not then we need to repent, we need to say sorry, and we need to live the way that God wants us to live. This is how we flourish as Christians. John the Baptist calls us to make a spiritual u-turn, to turn our life around, and to turn away from our sins, which separate us from God. John calls us to the waters of baptism, so that we can be healed and restored by God, filled with his grace, and prepared to receive the Holy Spirit:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11).

The problem with the Pharisees and Sadducees who come to John is that they do not show any repentance. They haven’t made the necessary u-turn, and they do not have the humility to recognise their own sinfulness, and their need to be washed in the waters of baptism. They, therefore, do not possess the right attitude to allow God to be at work in their lives.

As well as recognising Jesus as our Saviour, John the Baptist sees Him as Our Judge. John points to the second coming of the Lord when, as St John of the Cross puts it, ‘we will be judged by love alone’. It is love that matters. In Christ we see what love means. True, deep, love is costly, self-giving and profound. As we are filled with God’s Spirit, nourished by Word and Sacrament, we need to live out this love in our lives. This is how we prepare to meet Jesus as we prepare to celebrate His Birth and look forward to His Second Coming.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us re-commit ourselves to live out God’s love in our lives. Let us turn away from everything which separates us from God, and from each other. Let us live out deep, costly, and self-giving love in our lives. This is both what Christ and John the Baptist call us to do. By acting in this way we demonstrate to the world around us what our faith means in practice. How our beliefs affect our lives, and why others should follow Jesus, and sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Advent Sunday

‘Gwisgwch yr Arglwydd Iesu Grist amdanoch’

‘But put on the Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Rom 13:14)

Today is Advent Sunday, the start of the season of Advent. The next four weeks are a time of waiting, of expectation: for the coming of Jesus Christ. Both as we prepare to celebrate His Birth at Christmas, and for the Second Coming of Christ as our Saviour and our Judge. The idea of Jesus’ return has not always been seen as something to look forward to. Judgement has been equated with condemnation, and fear of the coming judgement has been used to control people. Yet, as Christians, we look forward to Our Lord’s Second Coming, just as we look forward to our annual celebration of His First Coming, at Christmas.

In today’s Gospel Jesus is teaching His disciples about the end times. Our Lord draws a comparison between the Last Day and the Flood:

‘For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.’ (Mt 24:37-39)

The point is that, just like the arrival of the Great Flood, no-one knows when the Last Day is going to happen. People are carrying on with their lives as normal. It is an unexpected event. One of the reasons Noah was saved was that he was prepared. He had built an ark. Our ark is the Church, which we enter through Baptism. For us the waters bring life not death. We are ready, and preparation is the key to Jesus’ message. Whenever the Lord comes, we need to be in a fit state to meet Him. 

How do we prepare? By following the advice in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah:

‘O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.’ (Isa 2:5)

If we walk in the light of the Lord, then we are not walking in darkness. We live out our faith in our lives, and our moral characters are formed by our behaviour. We become what we do often in our actions.

About sixteen hundred years ago, one of Christianity’s great figures, St Augustine, had been struggling towards the journey of faith. One day, as he sat under a fig tree, he kept hearing a child say, ‘Pick up and read’ (Aug. Conf. 8.29). And so he opened a Bible and read in the Letter to the Romans:

‘Not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.’ (Rom 13:13-14)

Drunkenness, fornication, the sort of behaviour often associated with the Christmas Office Party in particular, and the modern society in general, can be dismissed as ‘just a bit of fun’ or of ‘no consequence in the great scheme of things’. However, what we do affects our lives: we become what we do often. The Christian Life is most definitely not a ‘fun-free zone’. Rather, it is a way of being which allows us to be fully alive; doing what we should be doing in the way we should be doing it. Today’s world is filled with examples of the behaviour which St Paul sees as problematic: people being quarrelsome and subject to baser appetites. One need only read a newspaper, look at the Internet, or turn on the television, to see a world which has got things wrong, in which we are not living decently. Our lives, our characters, are formed by what we think and do, by the decisions we make. This is a cumulative process, where we build on the choices we have made in the past. Therefore, we need to start down the right path as soon as possible, or turn back if we have gone astray.

The first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, looks forward to a Messianic Age of peace:

‘and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ (Isa 2:4)

Swords and spears will be turned into agricultural tools for ploughing fields and cultivating vines.They will no longer be used for warfare, but instead for growing grain and grapes, to make bread and wine. These are the very foodstuffs Our Lord takes at the Last Supper, when He institutes the Eucharist. This feast of thanksgiving is the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy, and represents the Messianic Kingdom where love will triumph over violence.

At this time of year, The Church prepares for three comings: the first is our annual commemoration of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, at Christmas, where the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The second coming of Christ will be at the end of time, when He will be our Saviour and our Judge. The third coming we prepare for is even nearer. It happens day by day, and week by week, when Christ comes to us in the Eucharist, through His Body and Blood, under the outward forms of Bread and Wine. This is the Feast of the Kingdom, anticipated by the ploughshares and pruning hooks of Isaiah: tools used to help produce Bread and Wine. Isaiah’s prophecy looks forward to the peace of the Messiah and the banquet of Bread and Wine. These are the Foods of the Kingdom, which provide nourishment for our journey of faith, and give us strength and new life in Christ. Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist to fortify us, and to transform us into His likeness; to help us to live out our faith in the whole of our lives.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us prepare to meet Our Lord by living out our faith, in all aspects of our lives , nourished with Word and Sacrament. The time is short. The time is now. How we live really matters. We need to grow in the Lord, to learn His ways and walk in His paths. As Christians, we are called to live decently and vigilantly, preferring nothing to Christ, and inviting all the world to come to the fullness of life in Him. This is how we prepare for His coming at Christmas and as Our Saviour and Judge. By following Jesus, and being fed by Him, we are restored and healed by Him. And so, on this Advent Sunday, we sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Fra Angelico The Conversion of St Augustine, [Musée Thomas-Henry, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, France]
Posted on by atfurse

Saint Katharine, Virgin & Martyr

In the middle of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt lies the famous monastery of St Katharine. It is the oldest monastery in continuous existence, and was founded by the emperor Justinian in the sixth century AD. It was built in the desert on the site of the Burning Bush, where God appeared to Moses. The monastery holds a collection of manuscripts in its library that is second only to the Vatican. And it is in this monastery that the bones of our patron, St Katharine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr, are enshrined.

Katharine is believed to have been the daughter of a fourth-century Roman Governor of Egypt, and became a Christian as a child. She was known for her intelligence and learning; she studied much and asked her tutors many questions. Around the year AD 305, when she was about 18 years old, she was arrested, and tortured, but her faith in God was strong and helped to convert people to Christianity. She engaged in dialogue and dispute with pagan intellectuals and refuted them, causing some of them to convert to Christianity. The Roman Emperor Maxentius offered her a proposal of marriage, which she refused, saying that she was a bride of Christ. The emperor, enraged, ordered her to be killed by being broken on a wheel. The wheel shattered when Katharine touched it, whereupon she was beheaded. Some scholars have disputed her existence. However, regardless of this question, (which cannot be proved), she has been an important focus for Christian devotion for nearly seventeen hundred years.

In the Roman Empire, until Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in AD 313, you could be condemned to death for simply being a Christian. It was expected that everyone would worship the Emperor as a living god, by offering prayer and worship, and burning incense before an image of him. Christians cannot do this, as we worship God alone. Faced with a choice, St Katharine was prepared to die, rather than worship a false god. Her fortitude inspires us to take our faith seriously and to prefer nothing to Christ.

It is common in Britain for public buildings to display a picture of the reigning monarch. For most of our lives this was the late Queen Elizabeth II, and now it is King Charles III. If, however, you were required by law under pain of death to worship the King as a god and burn a pinch of incense before his image, we would all, rightly, refuse. We are Christians and we worship God alone. Such was the reality in the world inhabited by Katharine, and countless other Christian martyrs. They were faced with a difficult choice: either to conform to the will of the state, or to die. They chose to bear witness to their faith. Followers of Christ would pray for the emperor, however, they could not pray to him. 

It is hardly surprising that the calm and dignified manner of many early Christians won admiration from the world around them. The Roman Empire valued philosophical detachment and public service, and Christians excelled at both of these things. However, it was the manner that Christians faced death, at the hands of the state, which inspired people.

In Medieval Europe, St Katharine was extremely popular, and devotion to her grew after the Crusades. She was made patron saint of students, teachers, librarians, and lawyers. St Katharine was one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, along with St Agathius, St Barbara, St Blaise, St Christopher, St Cyriacus, St Denis, St Elmo, St Eustace, St George, St Giles, St Margaret of Antioch, St Pantaleon, and St Vitus. Some of these names are very familiar, and their popularity as Christian names, is testament to their continued importance as the basis of our culture. St Catharine bore witness to her faith in Jesus Christ. Her relationship with Him was the most important thing in her life. She is a model of faithful prayer and fortitude: trusting in God to bring good out of any situation.

The teaching of the Gospel passage set for today is clear. We are called to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, regardless of the cost. Katharine could have saved her life by submitting and worshipping the Emperor, but she chose not to. Instead she proclaimed that Jesus is Lord, and not Caesar in Rome. And for this she paid with her life.

It is a fundamental truth of the Christian Religion that Love, Obedience, and Suffering go hand in hand — they are costly. Following Christ means embracing the suffering which comes from love and obedience, and bearing witness to the truth that God gave His life for us all, and may ask the same of us. The God whom we worship did not just die upon a Cross, but rather was raised to New Life. St Katharine knew Our Lord and trusted His promises. She now shares His Risen Life, and she calls us to follow Christ, to trust Him, and to love him. 

May we then, today and every day, be inspired by the example and witness of St Katharine, and may we follow her example and sing the praises of Our Divine Lord, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Raphael: St Catharine [The National Gallery, London]

Posted on by atfurse

Christ the King 2025

‘God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.’

‘gwendid Duw yn gryfach na chryfder dynol.’ (1Cor 1:25)

On November 23rd 1927 the Mexican Jesuit priest Fr Miguel Pro SJ was arrested on false charges and placed in front of a firing squad. He refused a blindfold and spread his arms out into the shape of a cross. His last words were: ‘¡Viva Christo Rey!’ ‘Long live Christ the King!’. The Mexican regime of that time was cruel and went out of its way to persecute Christians, including thirty-six year old Miguel Pro, a twentieth century Christian martyr who died confessing Christ’s sovereignty over all things. His words are both powerful and inspiring. When we acknowledge Christ as King we are saying that He is above all human power and authority. We are affirming that God is supreme. As Christians, our primary allegiance is to God alone, and not to the things of this world. To proclaim Our Lord as King of Heaven and Earth will always challenge and trouble those who lay claim to an authority and a power which is not their own. There are plenty of examples in the world around us of those who are unwilling to recognize a power greater than themselves. 

Christians profess the sovereignty of God primarily on the basis of the Crucifixion of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We worship a Crucified God. This should strike us as something strange and disconcerting. At one level it doesn’t quite make sense, and yet it does. St Paul expresses the paradox at the heart of the Christian Faith in his First Letter to the Corinthians:

‘For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.’ (1Cor 1:25)

God is doing something amazing, which we cannot fully comprehend, or understand. This is because it is the mystery of God’s love. This is a love which we can never fully understand but it is something that we can experience in our lives.

Today’s Gospel is from St Luke’s account of the Crucifixion. It begins with Jesus being mocked by religious leaders: 

“He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” (Lk 23:35)

They demand action — that Jesus saves Himself — because they have completely misunderstand Our Lord’s mission, which is not to save Himself, but to save others. The Roman soldiers then join in and mock Christ saying:

“If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” (Lk 23:37)

In these words, power has been conflated with self-interest. Jesus, however, is not interested in saving Himself, but rather in saving us. He is the King of the Jews, born in Bethlehem of the line and lineage of David. And here Christ, in saving humanity, is doing what a proper King does: caring for His people, even at the cost of His own life. While the soldiers are mocking Jesus, they are actually proclaiming Him as a King. 

One of the men crucified with Jesus asks:

“Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Lk 23:39)

This man has been condemned to death for acts of robbery and rebellion, and he is only able to understand the Messiah in political terms. He is looking for a revolutionary leader, who can save him. This causes the other man being crucified to rebuke the first one, saying:

“Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” (Lk 23:40-41)

This second man understands that Jesus is innocent. This leads to one of the most memorable interactions in Luke’s Gospel, a demonstration of faith followed by its reward:

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:42-43)

This man does not ask to be saved. He simply requests that Jesus keep him in mind, when He comes into His Kingdom. Christ immediately grants his request. The condemned man’s recognition of Jesus’ Kingship is rewarded with the promise of eternal life with God in Heaven. Here, in two sentences, we see salvation and redemption at work. Jesus’ death saves people — starting with the condemned man. That is what Christ’s kingship is all about: bringing healing and the forgiveness of sins to all who turn to Him in faith. 

We worship a Crucified God. One who suffers and dies for us, to offer us eternal life in Him. This is true kingship, shown in self-sacrificial love. Christ is the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep. He wants to save others, because He is the Messiah, and He is God saving his people. The Hebrew for Jesus is Yeshua and means ‘God saves’. Here on the Cross Jesus fulfils His destiny: this is who and what He is. God saves His people by dying for them. This is real kingship — not robes, or power, but love — dying the death of a common criminal. It doesn’t make sense, and it isn’t supposed to. God’s ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts. We cannot save ourselves. Only God can do that, in an act of generous love; an extravagant and exuberant gift that we can neither earn nor repay.

In the reading from St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, we hear both what God has done for us, and who Christ is. God has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. We are able to go to Heaven because we have been delivered from darkness, into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. In Christ we have redemption and forgiveness. Jesus has paid the debt we owe; our sins are forgiven. We do not need to slaughter lambs and be sprinkled with their blood, because we have been sprinkled with the Blood of the Lamb of God in our Baptism. We are redeemed, and our transgressions are forgiven, because of what Christ does for us on the Cross. This is the heart of our faith: Jesus died for us, because He loves us. 

In Christ we see that God loves us. He created all that is, therefore things are subject to Him. He is the head of His Body, the Church, of which we are a part through our baptism, and our participation in the Eucharist. As the firstborn from the dead, Christ, in His Resurrection, shows us that death is not the end.

This is the God we worship, and whom we hail as our true King: the God of love and healing. Christ has conquered on the Cross; Christ reigns as King of the Universe; Christ reigns in our hearts, and in our lives. May we then lift our hearts and voices to sing the praises of our Divine King: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity XXII

‘As for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing good’ 

‘A pheidiwch chwithau, frodyr a chwiorydd, â blino ar wneud daioni’ (2Thess 3:13)

Have you ever visited Greece or one of the Greek Islands? I have been lucky to have had the opportunity to do so. Saint Paul visited Northern Greece, founded Churches, and  wrote his earliest letters to a Christian community there. Thessalonica is now the second largest city in Greece. It was always important as a trading port, and also lay on the Via Egnatia, the route which connected the Adriatic Sea in the West with the Black Sea in the East. In Thessalonica the Christian community grew out of the synagogue. Because Paul, trained as a Pharisee, he began his evangelism within the community and traditions in which he had been raised. However, relations deteriorated and the new Christians found themselves facing persecution from the synagogue and its members. This, understandably, led the Christian community to focus, even to fixate, upon the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. They imagined that Our Lord’s Return was immanent, and that He would come back, and sort everything out.

Some people, however, took advantage of the situation as an excuse for laziness, and relying upon the generosity of others. Such behaviour was bound to attract the attention of St Paul. As well as being a religious and legal expert, Paul was a tent-maker. While he was in Corinth he lodged with Priscilla and Aquila, who also made their living through this trade, and perhaps he aided them in their work during his stay. The Apostle did not wish to be a burden for the communities he visited as he travelled around the Mediterranean proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

In our epistle this morning, Paul begins by issuing a stern warning:

‘Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.’ (2Thess 3:6)

The Christian Community was not supposed to a place for idle freeloaders. It was a place where people lived out generous love, but of course this could be taken advantage of. Paul offers the Thessalonians an example of how to live, and goes on to say:

‘For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labour we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you.’ (2Thess 3:7-8)

Paul’s vision of a Christian community is one that is well-ordered, with everyone contributing. Each member has their part to play. Living a Christian life is something which we do both as individuals and as a community. Hence St Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians: ‘As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good’ (2Thess 3:13). We are called to be active and make a difference, here and now, in our community. As a Church we have been striving to do this for nearly two thousand years. It remains a work in progress. 

We may encounter problems in our life of faith, and all of St Paul’s Letters to Churches address these. Christians learn to overcome difficulties together, growing in grace, in love, and in forgiveness, as a family, brothers and sisters in Christ. And this is what the Kingdom of God looks like: people such as you and me, deepening our faith, growing in the love of God and the love of each other. Living the life of Heaven here on earth, today. 

This loving fellowship is what makes the Church attractive. The world around us finds it all to easy to get wrapped up in selfishness, concerned with wealth, power, and status. Whereas Christians value love and service — of God and each other — to help build a new society where all are loved, all are valued, and all are cared for. 

On the night before He died, Our Lord and Saviour washed His disciples feet, before celebrating the Eucharist with them. He commanded us to ‘do this in remembrance of him’, so that service and self-giving love should remain at the heart of who and what we are. This is the source and summit of the Christian life. Participating in the Eucharist helps us to grow together in love, and to proclaim God’s saving truth in who and what we are, and what we do. Christ offers the world the alternative which it longs for deeply.

Let us then come to Him, to be healed by Him. Let us be nourished with His Body and Blood and strengthened to proclaim Him in word and deed, so that the world may come to believe and sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

Posted on by atfurse

All Saints: Living the Beatitudes

I have an important message for you all this morning: God has a plan for your life! Now, you may well have heard these words before, possibly from someone preaching a sermon, but they contain a profound truth. They are found in the Bible, in words that God speaks through the prophet Jeremiah:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Oherwydd myfi sy’n gwybod fy mwriadau a drefnaf ar eich cyfer, medd yr Arglwydd, bwriadau o heddwch nid niwed, i roi ichwi ddyfodol gobeithiol. (Jer 29:11)

It can be hard to hold onto such a promise, especially when times are difficult and the outlook is bleak. We need to ask ourselves the question, ‘Do we trust God?’ If the answer is ‘Yes’ then, whatever difficulties or hardships may come our way, we know that our future is in safe hands.

Fundamentally, the point of being a Christian is to reside in Heaven. Such a destination is possible because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, out of love. This is the plan God has for our life, and this is why Jesus became man, lived, died, and rose from the dead. God shows us both how to live, and what He desires for us. We can have faith, and put our trust in the God who loves us, in the clear hope that, after our earthly life is over, we may enjoy eternity with God and the Saints in Heaven. Most of all, in this hope, we can live earthly lives of love, loving both God and each other, foreshadowing the eternal joys of Heaven. 

In our current culture we are not used to hearing such a message. There is a tendency to think that holiness is for other people, certainly not for us. But God wants each and every one of us to become a saint. He wants us to live in a world full of people trying to be saints. The Church is ‘a school for saints’ (which is peopled by sinners), in which Christians try to live out their faith, cooperating with the grace of God. We do this when we let Christ live in us, so that we can say with the Apostle Paul:

‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’

‘a mwyach, nid myfi sy’n byw, ond Crist sy’n byw ynof fi.’ (Gal 2:20)

There is a paradox at work here. For when we truly let Christ live in us, we do not lose ourselves, but instead we discover who we really are. This enables us to become the people God wants us to be; the people we were created to be. As Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel:

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Oherwydd pwy bynnag a fyn gadw ei fywyd, fe’i cyll, ond pwy bynnag a gyll ei fywyd er fy mwyn i, fe’i caiff. (Mt 16:25)

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints. On this day, in the eighth century ad, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel to All Saints in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and now there are many Churches with this dedication. It is a good thing to celebrate the fact that Heaven is full of saints. They are the Church Triumphant, who spend eternity praising God and praying for us. Just as we pray for our friends here on earth, it stands to reason that our friends in Heaven pray for us as well. It is reassuring to understand that we are not alone in our quest to reach Heaven, and to know that those who are already there long for us to join them. 

If Heaven is our goal, how then should we live our lives on earth? Thankfully today’s Gospel gives us a template to follow, an example of what a Christian life looks like. 

We constantly hear how the world around us values success and confidence, and looks up to the rich, and the powerful. In contrast to this, Jesus says to the gathered crowd:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Gwyn eu byd y rhai sy’n dlodion yn yr ysbryd, oherwydd eiddynt hwy yw teyrnas nefoedd.” (Mt 5:3)

‘Poor in spirit’ is not a term we are used to using today, but it means the exact opposite of pride. Jesus places humility as key to living a Christian life: knowing who we are, and our need for God. Only if we rely upon God, and not ourselves, and ask Him to work through us, can we truly live out the Christian life. 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

“Gwyn eu byd y rhai sy’n galaru, oherwydd cânt hwy eu cysuro.” (Mt 5:4)

We mourn those we love, those whom we see no longer in this life. We do so because we love them, we miss them, we want to see them, and hold them, and talk to them. Our parting, while temporary, is still very painful. Thankfully the Kingdom of God, which Christ comes to bring, is a place of healing and comfort with the promise of eternal life. 

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

“Gwyn eu byd y rhai addfwyn, oherwydd cânt hwy etifeddu’r ddaear.” (Mt 5:5)

Gentle people are not weak: they know how to use their strength, and how not to use it. As Jesus will later say in Matthew’s Gospel: ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ ‘Cymerwch fy iau arnoch a dysgwch gennyf, oherwydd addfwyn ydwyf a gostyngedig o galon, ac fe gewch orffwystra i’ch eneidiau.’ (Mt 11:29). This is how God wants us to live as human beings. Christ is the example of gentleness we must follow. Once again, God’s vision of the future turns human expectations upside down. 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

“Gwyn eu byd y rhai sy’n newynu a sychedu am gyfiawnder, oherwydd cânt hwy eu digon.” (Mt 5:6)

Should we be devoted to God? Absolutely! Should we pray that His will is done on earth as it is in Heaven? Definitely! Jesus taught us to pray this way. Clearly God wants to see our world transformed and has invited us to help in the process; and doing so gives us fulfilment.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

“Gwyn eu byd y rhai trugarog, oherwydd cânt hwy dderbyn trugaredd.” (Mt 5:7)

We see what God’s mercy looks like in Christ’s death for us on the Cross. In following Christ’s example, we both ask for forgiveness for our own sins, and forgive those who sin against us. This forgiveness can transform us and the world around us, and it is how the healing and reconciliation of God’s Kingdom functions. 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

“Gwyn eu byd y rhai pur eu calon, oherwydd cânt hwy weld Duw.” (Mt 5:8)

To be pure in heart is to want what God wants: to align our will with the will of God. It is to be saintly, and thus have the promise of Heaven, which is less of a place or a time, and much more a relationship. To see God is know Him, and to know His love for us. This is the very thing that Christ comes to restore to humanity, and it is our hope. 

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” 

“Gwyn eu byd y tangnefeddwyr, oherwydd cânt hwy eu galw’n feibion i Dduw.”(Mt 5:9)

First and foremost, we know that Christ is the Son of God because He made ‘peace by the blood of his cross’ ‘ar ôl gwneud heddwch trwy ei waed ar y groes’ (Col 1:20). We too are called to follow Christ’s example to take up our Cross, and work for peace. We are called to strive for peace in our own hearts and lives, in our families and communities, and in our world.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

“Gwyn eu byd y rhai a erlidiwyd yn achos cyfiawnder, oherwydd eiddynt hwy yw teyrnas nefoedd. Gwyn eich byd pan fydd pobl yn eich gwaradwyddo a’ch erlid, ac yn dweud pob math o ddrygair celwyddog yn eich erbyn, o’m hachos i.” (Mt 5:10-11)

Following Jesus will not, by default, make us popular. Often people’s response is quite the opposite. If, however, we want to see God’s Kingdom as a reality in this life and the next, then we must be prepared to be shunned, or even ridiculed by others. To follow Christ is to take up the Cross, and to expect persecution. But we are not alone in this. Christ has gone before us, showing us that the story does not end with Death on a Cross, but with the glory of the Resurrection and Eternal life. 

If we want to become saints, then we have to be like Christ. We have to share in His suffering and death, and we have to be prepared to be rejected by the world. We may not face imprisonment, torture and death in this country, but many Christians around the world do. However, we may be scorned, ignored, or criticised. What do we do in such circumstances? We are called to be loving, generous, and forgiving, because that is what Jesus has shown us. We can be different to the world around us because we belong to a new community — the Kingdom — a community of faith, built on our relationship with Jesus Christ, who came to save humanity from itself. Our Lord came so that we might have life in all its fullness.This is what the Beatitudes mean. By living the life of God’s Kingdom in this place and at this time, we can live the life of Heaven (here and now) on earth. This is what God wants us to do. It is the way Jesus has showed us how to live. It is what the Saints have done before us.

So, on this feast of All Saints, let us be filled with faith and joy, and let us be ready to conform our lives to God’s will. May we live the life of the Kingdom together, and encourage others, so that all may join the choirs of Heaven to sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

James Tissot, The Sermon on the Mount, Brooklyn Museum
Posted on by atfurse

Bible Sunday

Today is a very special day for me. It is my first Sunday as Priest-in-charge of S. Katharine & S. Peter’s, Milford Haven. As the eleventh incumbent of this wonderful Church I feel the weight of expectations, and the many questions you probably have: What kind of a priest is the new vicar? What is he like as a person? How will he lead our church through the years ahead? What is he going to change? What is his vision for S. Katharine & S. Peter’s? As you get to know me and I get to know you, the answers to these questions will become clear.

In first century Palestine, expectation was also running high. The Hebrew Scriptures were full of prophecies about the Messiah, a King of the House of David, who would rule over Israel and set His people free. Releasing them from the tyranny of foreign rule, and a corrupt religious establishment. Two thousand years ago, people were full of hope and expectation, that God would act, and fulfil His promises. This He does, in a surprising way…

When Jesus comes to the town of Nazareth, where He grew up, He goes to the synagogue to worship on the Sabbath. There Our Lord is given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and He reads:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” 

“Y mae Ysbryd yr Arglwydd arnaf, oherwydd iddo f’eneinio i bregethu’r newydd da i dlodion. Y mae wedi f’anfon i gyhoeddi rhyddhad i garcharorion, ac adferiad golwg i ddeillion, i beri i’r gorthrymedig gerdded yn rhydd, i gyhoeddi blwyddyn ffafr yr Arglwydd.” (Lk 4:18-19)

This prophecy is taken from the 61st Chapter of Isaiah. It expresses Israel’s hope for a Messianic future: a hope of healing, freedom, and restoration. This is similar to the idea of the Jubilee, when every fifty years all debts were cancelled, all slaves freed, and all land returned to its original owners. Some of you may remember the Campaign Jubilee 2000, which sought to write off Third-world debt, as a modern reworking of this ancient biblical idea. Jesus is proclaiming the Kingdom of God as a reality, here and now. This is what fullness of life and salvation look like when we live them. Our Lord gives us an attractive goal, and it can be a reality, if we co-operate with God to live out the vision in our own lives.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the announcement of the Kingdom of God. A call to a new way of living, which can transform us, and our world, for the better. The Kingdom of God is to be a place where all are cared for, and where our needs are met. The Good News of the Gospel is for those who know their need of God, those who are aware of their spiritual poverty. That means each and every one of us. Jesus will later go on to say, in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God’ ‘Gwyn eich byd chwi’r tlodion, oherwydd eiddoch chwi yw teyrnas Dduw’ (Lk 6:20). We all need God’s love in our hearts, and our lives, so that we can be transformed. We cannot reform ourselves, this is something that only Our Heavenly Father can do. But only if we let Him, and co-operate with Him, through prayer and action. 

Christ offers the world both freedom and vision. The opportunity to see what others cannot, and the ability to experience true freedom. God gives us life in all its fulness, so that by His love we can be made into people who are loving, and who will the good of others. By living lives characterised by love and sacrifice we can be truly alive, and experience the joy of God’s Kingdom. 

After having read from the Book of Isaiah, Our Lord says:

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

“Heddiw yn eich clyw chwi y mae’r Ysgrythur hon wedi ei chyflawni.” (Lk 4:21)

This is a huge claim to make. If the Scripture has been fulfilled then this means that Jesus is the Messiah, plain and simple. That which the prophets pointed to in the future has now become a reality in the person of Christ. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the fulfilment of the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God. This is what we believe as Christians, and it is the reason why we read the Old Testament. The New is prefigured in the Old. The Scriptures point to Christ, and they find their fulfilment and true meaning in Him. What Israel has hoped for and longed for has arrived in the figure of Jesus. This means that the Kingdom of God is not something abstract, but rather someone physical. It is a person: Jesus of Nazareth. The reconciliation of God and humanity happens in and through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The mission of the Church is, and always has been, to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The words spoken in a synagogue in Nazareth two thousand years ago are as relevant today as they were then. God continues to invite humanity to know Him, and to experience His divine love.

As Christians, we are recipients of the healing and wholeness which Jesus promises. We experience this healing here today, in this Mass. Soon we will be nourished by Christ’s Body and Blood, and be given a foretaste of Heavenly Glory. Let us , therefore, prepare to be fed, and to be transformed and become what we eat. Fortified by Christ, let us proclaim His Truth to the world, so that all may come to believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity 17 [28th of Year C]

One of the arms of the River Cleddau which flows into the sea at Aberdaugleddau (Milford Haven) has its source near here in the Preseli Hills. The other flows from Llygad Cleddau, a few miles from here. These two rivers join together and flow through the County of Pembrokeshire and form one of the deepest natural harbours in the world. It is therefore fitting that I am travelling from the sources of the rivers to their estuary. Rivers flow from their springs to the sea. They provide us with water, and a means of transport. Historically, both were important, they transported Bluestones towards Stonehenge in Wiltshire, and brought Vikings, Normans and Flemings who have all left their mark on this county.

Sources of water have been important in our religious history. Ffynnon Fair, St Teilo’s Well, and Bernard’s Well would all have provided water for baptism, just as the stream is still used at Rhydwilym. Baptism is how we enter the Church, it is how we become members of the Church. Not through paying fees, but by sharing in Christ’s Baptism, His Death and Resurrection, and looking forward to eternal life with Him in Heaven. Water is poured in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we are washed clean, and grafted into the Body of Christ. An act so simple, and yet so profound, which lies at the heart of who and what we are as Christians. Baptism is a Sacrament, an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, by which we become united with Christ in this world and the next.

In our first reading this morning from the Second Book of Kings we meet Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army. He has been afflicted with leprosy, and he hears that there is a prophet in Samaria who can cure him. He writes to the King of Israel, to ask for the prophet to heal him. The King of Israel thinks that it is a trick, an excuse for the Syrians to start a war against Israel. The prophet Elisha reassures the king, and asks for Naaman to be sent to him. Elisha tells Naaman to wash seven times in the River Jordan. Naaman can’t quite believe his ears. He’s angry. This isn’t what healing is all about, it is far too simple, too easy. The point isn’t about having to do something difficult, but rather in letting God do something wonderful.


Eventually Naaman listens, and is obedient, and is healed. He goes back to Elisha to say that, ‘Dyma fi’n gwybod yn awr nad oes Duw mewn un wlad ond yn Israel’ ‘Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel’(v.15) Naaman is grateful, and comes to believe in God. The mention of washing in the Jordan reminds us of Baptism, how we were washed clean from sin, and given new life in Christ Jesus, sharing His Death and Resurrection, a sign of God’s generous love towards us. 


In this morning’s Gospel Jesus is in border country. He is in an uncomfortable place, heading towards Jerusalem, towards His Passion and Death. Ten people suffering from leprosy see Him, and cry, ‘Iesu, feistr, trugarha wrthym’ ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us’. Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to a priest, to prove that they are now clean and are no longer outcasts. Jesus complies with the law of Moses in Leviticus. The law commands them to sacrifice in order to be healed. Christ heals them, so that God might be glorified.


One of them returns to say, ‘Thank you’. The leper thanks God, and falls at Jesus’ feet. He shows gratitude. We wouldn’t want to live in a world where no-one said, ‘Thank you’. Thanksgiving is the heart of prayer, it’s why we celebrate Harvest in Autumn. We thank each other, but most importantly we thank God for what He has done for us. Thanksgiving goes hand in hand with faith, what we believe, and where we put our trust. As I prepare to bid you farewell, I give thanks to Almighty God for you, His people, and all that the last seven years have been. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to know you, to love you, to pray for and with you, and to serve you.


As Christians we thank God for many things, but first and foremost for what He has done in His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for us. This is why we celebrate the Eucharist, because Jesus told us to, and so that we might be fed with His Body and Blood. Not because we have earned it, certainly not because we deserve it, but so that we, like the lepers in Gospel, might be healed by Jesus. It is medicine for our sick souls, not a gold star or a prize for the righteous. Christ gives himself for us not because we are worthy, but so that we might BECOME worthy through Him. God loves us. He longs to heal us, and to reconcile us, to Himself, and each other. This is what the Church is for: to extend the saving work of God through both space and time.

Salvation is God’s work not ours, as Naaman and the lepers show us. God in Christ saves us and heals us. He dies for us, and rises again so that we might share His Risen life. This is true generosity. And we can receive God’s healing love here and now. We can prepare to be transformed into His likeness, by His Body and Blood, which cures not only lepers, but our sin-sick souls. So let us be thankful to God, for all that he has done for us. For giving us His Son, to bring about healing, to show mercy, to strengthen our faith. And may we follow Christ, and walk His Way of the Cross, enduring whatever sufferings come our way, with the assurance of God’s love and help.

Remember that Christ will never abandon us. His words are true. His promise is faithful:

‘os dyfalbarhawn, cawn deyrnasu hefyd gydag ef; …os ydym yn anffyddlon, y mae ef yn aros yn ffyddlon, oherwydd ni all ef ei wadu ei hun.’ ‘if we endure, we will also reign with Him …. if we are faithless, He remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself’ (2Tim 2: 12-13) 

As Christians, let us follow where Christ has gone before. Let us be confident in His promises, nourished with His Body and Blood. Let us turn from the shadows and images of this world, into the light of His Truth, who is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. And let us proclaim that truth to the world so that it may come to believe and give glory to Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

Diolch yn fawr!

James Tissot The Healing of Ten Lepers (Guérison de dix lépreux) Brooklyn Museum
Posted on by atfurse

Holy Cross Day

One of the important aspects of the liturgical life of the Church relates to the celebration of Saints’ Days in the Calendar. You might be aware that the 29th September is Michaelmas, but most people do not know why the feast is celebrated on that day. The date refers to the dedication of a church in Rome under St Michael’s patronage, which was dedicated on that day in the fifth century. Likewise, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the site of Our Lord’s Crucifixion and Resurrection, was built under orders from the Roman Emperor Constantine and dedicated on the 13th September 335ad. On the following day, the 14th September, the True Cross, which his mother, St Helena, had discovered in 326AD, was brought out for the Christian faithful to venerate. The feast day also commemorates the exaltation of the Holy Cross in Constantinople in 629AD, when the True Cross was returned by the Persians, who had taken it during the sack of Jerusalem some fifteen years earlier. 

That is why we celebrate the Holy Cross today. But what are we celebrating? The Cross of Christ. The fact that God loves humanity enough to suffer and die for us, to take away our sins, and to offer us eternal life with God forever. This is the central truth of our faith, a life-changing reality which affects both this life and the next. The Holy Cross changes the world. We are freed and saved by the Cross.

In this morning’s Gospel, Our Lord is explaining His mission to Nicodemus:

“Ac fel y dyrchafodd Moses y sarff yn yr anialwch, felly y mae’n rhaid i Fab y Dyn gael ei ddyrchafu, er mwyn i bob un sy’n credu gael bywyd tragwyddol ynddo ef.”

‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’ (Jn 3:14-15)

Jesus is drawing a parallel between His death and a significant event in the Exodus story, which is this morning’s Old Testament reading. Once again the people of Israel are complaining about the food and conditions on their journey: 

“Pam y daethoch â ni o’r Aifft i farw yn yr anialwch? Nid oes yma na bwyd na diod, ac y mae’n gas gennym y bwyd gwael hwn.”

‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.’ (Num 21:5)

The Israelites are rejecting the manna, bread given from Heaven, a gift from God. In response, God sends snakes which kill them. This causes the people to realise their sin, and repent. They ask Moses to intercede for them with the Almighty, and Moses is instructed to do the following:

“Gwna sarff a’i gosod ar bolyn, a bydd pawb a frathwyd, o edrych arni, yn cael byw.”

‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’ (Num 21:8)

God does not take the serpents away, but He does give healing, and life. The Exodus story points to Christ, the Saviour and giver of life. In the Gospel, Jesus is explaining the Crucifixion to Nicodemus, to help him begin to understand how God is giving life to humanity. Our Lord points out what causes death, and what will now bring life. 

Just as the serpent in the desert brought healing to the people of Israel, so now the Cross is our only hope. The sacrifice of God for humanity is a free gift of infinite value. God gives salvation to us, and to all the world, for one simple reason: because He loves us, and desires that we might become more lovely, more like Him. God sends His Son into the world not to condemn it, but so that the world might be saved through Him. This is an unselfish act of generosity, of grace, by our Maker so that we might be saved from sin and death, from ourselves, and so that we can share new life in Him.

‘Do, carodd Duw y byd gymaint nes iddo roi ei unig Fab, er mwyn i bob un sy’n credu ynddo ef beidio â mynd i ddistryw ond cael bywyd tragwyddol. Oherwydd nid i gondemnio’r byd yr anfonodd Duw ei Fab i’r byd, ond er mwyn i’r byd gael ei achub trwyddo ef.’

‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.’ (Jn 3:16-17)

These few words spoken by Jesus to Nicodemus, recorded in John’s Gospel, encapsulate what we believe as Christians, and why we believe these things. Strengthened through prayer, our study of the Bible, nourished by Our Lord’s Body and Blood, may we live out our beliefs, forgiven and forgiving, preparing to be caught up forever in the love of God. Christ liberates us from sin and death. He saves us so that we may enjoy eternal life with God. Our response to such generosity should be thankfulness: that we are loved by God, and saved by Him.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross is the same sacrifice which we see here this morning, which we can taste and touch. Bread and Wine, The Body and Blood of Our Lord which we can eat and drink, so that our lives and our souls can be transformed to live Christ’s risen life. We treat these elements with the uttermost reverence because they are God, given for us. They transform us to live as children of the Holy Spirit, freed from the shackles of this world. They strengthen us to live for God, to live as He wants us to, as His new creation. On a hundred thousand successive Sundays Christians have participated in this sacrifice, in memory of Him, to make the holy people of God. We likewise do this to make us holy: so that everything which we say, or think, or do, may be for God’s praise and glory.

Let us, therefore, give thanks for the fact that God loves us. Let us cling to the Cross, and let us sing the praises of God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

Diego Velazquez Christ Crucified (Museo del Prado, Madrid)
Posted on by atfurse

Trinity XII: Take up your Cross

One of the curious aspects of life as a clergyman is the number of times that people ask you to pray for specific weather: be it rain, or sunshine. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer actually contains prayers for rain and fair weather, just after the Litany, after Morning and Evening Prayer. Therefore, I can only assume that weather-related prayers have always been high on the list of people’s priorities. Generally speaking, however, my response has been to say, “Sorry I’m in Sales, not Management”. I have always been concerned that people seem to think that I am somehow able to influence the Almighty when it comes to matters meteorological. Fundamentally, prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. Now, on reflection, I’m more inclined to listen to their prayer request and honour it, as I do every other. 

All Christians are called to evangelise, to share the Good News of the Kingdom of God. However, doing so can feel a bit like being a salesperson. To some people you are just annoying. Most people show varying degrees of disinterest, but a few people are genuinely interested in what you have to say. However, if you were to use this morning’s Gospel as a sales-pitch, I doubt that you would meet with much success. Jesus’ stark presentation of the cost of discipleship is not necessarily an easy way to win people round. 

Christ has attracted a large group of people eager to hear what He has to say, so Our Lord explains what discipleship is all about:

“Os daw rhywun ataf fi heb gasáu ei dad ei hun, a’i fam a’i wraig a’i blant a’i frodyr a’i chwiorydd, a hyd yn oed ei fywyd ei hun, ni all fod yn ddisgybl imi.”

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:26-27)

Families do not always get on well, but Christians are called to ‘love their enemies’ (Lk 6:27) and to despise our own families, and even our own lives. This seems strange, and paradoxical. Aren’t Christians called to be people of love? Indeed we are, and the primary focus of our love as Christians should be God. Jesus is saying that God must be the most important thing in our life. Nothing should get in the way of the fact that our primary relationship is not with our parents, siblings, spouse, or offspring, but with the God in whose image we were created.

To make this a reality each and every one of us is called to bear a cross, to risk torture and death, and offer the whole of our lives to God. We are told we must follow Jesus, wherever that may lead. Our commitment has to be total, there is no room here for half-measures. Hence the stark imagery employed by Our Lord. Jesus uses strong and disturbing language to shock us. He reminds us that in Him we are called to a new relationship which takes us away from traditional social structures. That means that everyone in the Church becomes our brother and sister, and that our primary responsibility is to love Christ, and follow Him. To imitate Him, and take up our own Cross.

Our Lord then uses the images of a construction project and of warfare to reinforce the point that we need to see the matter through to its conclusion. Jerusalem was no stranger to either. King Herod’s rebuilding of the Temple took 46 years to complete, and war (or the threat of it) was a constant factor of everyday life. The point is being made that there is nothing worse than a half-finished building. It says, ‘The constructors didn’t plan properly, or get the finances in place first’. Likewise, in war you fight believing that you can win, otherwise you sue for peace. At this point, we remember and pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and the Holy Land and throughout all the world where there is violence and war.

At the end of the Gospel passage Jesus reiterates His main point:

“Yr un modd, gan hynny, ni all neb ohonoch nad yw’n ymwrthod â’i holl feddiannau fod yn ddisgybl i mi.”

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:33)

Over-attachment to material things is a problem: our stuff cannot save us, only God can. Are possessions useful or pleasant? Certainly. Can we enjoy them? Yes. But the problem occurs when their importance becomes misplaced. All that really matters is eternal life with God, sharing the Divine life of Love. Nothing we ‘have’ is really ours. We can enjoy material things and share them with others, but in a few years time our earthly life will have ended. There are no pockets in shrouds! As the old saying goes: ‘you can’t take it with you when you go’. 

As Christians, we gather, to hear God’s word read and explained; to pray together; to be nourished together. We do these things so that we may grow together in love, and to embrace the Cross. Having died with Christ in our baptism, and being raised to new life with Him, we live out our faith in our lives. Our discipleship can be costly and difficult. It calls us to renounce the world and rely upon God, together, as a community of faith. To form a new community where old ties and distinctions are done away with, where we have a new identity, and where we are called to a higher purpose. 

These are not easy things to achieve, and the Christian community has, for two thousand years, struggled to live up to these goals. But we put our trust in a God who forgives our sins and failings, who understands our humanity from the inside. We are not written off, or cast aside. We are not abandoned or discarded. This is because we are all made in God’s image, people of infinite intrinsic value. Christ died for us, to give us eternal life, to heal our wounds. He calls us to follow Him, so that we may find His freedom, and share in His triumph over death and sin. 

As Christians, we are called to something great and wonderful: to stand, like Christ as a contradiction, offering the world a new way to live; a way of life not of death; a way of generosity rather than selfishness. We are called to renounce the world and instead to embrace the freedom, and joy, that is the life of the Kingdom of God. 

It is truly liberating to look at the world as Jesus wants us to, knowing that all that really matters is loving God, and loving our neighbour. Doing this can be difficult, especially when times are uncertain as they are today, but we know that we can trust the God who loves us, who gives His life for us. The God who comes to us to feed us with Himself. So let us together follow him and invite others to do so. Let us give thanks for all our blessings and sing the praises of God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity XI: Come to the Banquet

Organising seating plans for a banquet is not something most of us have a great deal of experience doing. Most of our dining nowadays is not that formal. The closest we might come is organising the seating at a Wedding Breakfast. So it is difficult for us to understand quite how important seating arrangements at dinner were in the Ancient World. Where you sat mattered. Where you were seated was signified by your rank in society, with the most important placed next to the host. This morning’s Gospel begins with Jesus having been invited to a Friday night dinner, the most important meal in the Jewish week, by a senior Pharisee. Luke’s comment is instructive:

‘ac yr oeddent hwy â’u llygaid arno’

‘they were watching him closely’ (Lk 14:1)

Jesus is on display. He is being studied by all those present at the dinner — presumably other leading Pharisees. They want to see if Our Lord will do, or say, something that they can find fault with. They are keen to catch Him out, in order to criticise Him. Jesus uses this experience as a teaching opportunity:

‘Yna adroddodd ddameg wrth y gwesteion, wrth iddo sylwi sut yr oeddent yn dewis y seddau anrhydedd’

‘Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honour’ (Lk 14:7)

The self-important dinner guests are all trying to get as close to the host as possible. They want the best places, the best food, and to be seen as being superior. So Jesus tells the following parable:

“Pan wahoddir di gan rywun i wledd briodas, paid â chymryd y lle anrhydedd, rhag ofn ei fod wedi gwahodd rhywun amlycach na thi; oherwydd os felly, daw’r sawl a’ch gwahoddodd chwi’ch dau a dweud wrthyt, ‘Rho dy le i hwn’, ac yna byddi dithau mewn cywilydd yn cymryd y lle isaf. Yn hytrach, pan wahoddir di, dos a chymer y lle isaf, fel pan ddaw’r gwahoddwr y dywed wrthyt, ‘Gyfaill, tyrd yn uwch’; yna dangosir parch iti yng ngŵydd dy holl gyd-westeion.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person’, and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you.” (Lk 14:8-1o)

In practical terms, what Jesus is advising is sensible, and wise, because it removes the possibility of losing face. To this day in the Middle East, and elsewhere, the situation envisaged in the parable would be seen as a source of shame, or honour, depending on whether you were promoted to a place near the host, or demoted to a more distant seat. We tend not to be so aware of such considerations, and many people instinctively gravitate towards the back. Christ’s parable makes the point that humility is better than pride: 

“Oherwydd darostyngir pob un sy’n ei ddyrchafu ei hun, a dyrchefir pob un sy’n ei ddarostwng ei hun.”

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk 14:11)

To have an attitude which does not seek out the place of honour contrasts strongly with the guests who have done exactly that. Our Lord is pointing out that humility is the better way.

Christianity is a religion of humility. It starts from the premise that we have to rely upon God’s grace to save us, through faith. God takes the initiative, and we respond. We do not save ourselves. The point of salvation is that God is the host who says: ‘Friend come up higher’. We do not deserve a seat of honour, nor have we thought ourselves worthy of it. Yet a loving and generous God says to all who turn to Him: ‘Friend come up higher’. This is the Good News of the Kingdom, and it turns our human expectations on their head. Jesus then develops His teaching: 

Meddai hefyd wrth ei wahoddwr, “Pan fyddi’n trefnu cinio neu swper, paid â gwahodd dy gyfeillion na’th frodyr na’th berthnasau na’th gymdogion cyfoethog, rhag ofn iddynt hwythau yn eu tro dy wahodd di, ac iti gael dy ad-dalu. Pan fyddi’n trefnu gwledd, gwahodd yn hytrach y tlodion, yr anafusion, y cloffion, a’r deillion; a gwyn fydd dy fyd, am nad oes ganddynt fodd i dalu’n ôl iti; cei dy dalu’n ôl yn atgyfodiad y cyfiawn.”

He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Lk 14: 12-14)

People were having parties to display their wealth, social status, and connections. This still happens today. But God has a different understanding of hospitality. In His vision it is not about what you get, but what you can give to others. Generosity is what really matters. By inviting those who cannot invite you back in return, you are being generous to those who are in no position to repay you. Jesus’ teaching here is also about the banquet of the Kingdom of God, the Eucharist. Jesus, as God, invites the poor, those in need of healing — in other words all of humanity, you and me — to the feast of the Kingdom. The purpose of the Eucharist is so that God can feed us, with His Body and Blood, to heal us. In this divine banquet God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and gives us a foretaste of Heaven. We cannot repay God, but we can be thankful, and accept what is offered, allowing it to transform us. 

Christ has an important and strong message for His host and his fellow diners. We see Our Lord advising them to be generous and not to seek any reward. Human Society is complex. The giving and receiving of gifts has always been a crucial part of how society works. It creates networks of obligation: if you give someone something, they may feel obliged to return the favour. That is fine in human terms, but when we transfer it to the divine realm we are faced with a problem. What can we give God? Does Our Heavenly Father need or want anything? No! Because God is by nature, perfect, complete, and self-sufficient. Almighty God cannot want or need anything. As a result of this God is able to give the purest form of gift, which does not require anything in return. There can be no obligation, because humanity cannot give Our Creator anything. God is able give without expecting anything in return. This is what happens in the Incarnation when Our Lord is given to and for us. Throughout His life and ministry, to His Passion, Death, and Resurrection all He is and does is for our benefit. God is generous to us, not so that we can be generous in return, but simply for our own good. Likewise our sacrifice of praise is not for God’s benefit, but ours, demonstrating that we are living the way we should: flourishing by being loving, generous, and thankful. 

Instead of the norms of human interaction and obligation, Christ presents us with a completely different paradigm. The dinner invitations in the Kingdom are for the ‘poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind’ (Lk 14:13). That means us! God longs to lavish His riches upon us; to heal our wounds, and to restore our sight. In turn, by our care for those who are weak, outcast, or deemed socially undesirable, we proclaim the Kingdom of God in our actions. Each one of us is called to the banquet here and now, in order that our souls may be nourished with Word and Sacrament. The Eucharist is the banquet of the Kingdom, which heals us, and transforms us more and more into God’s likeness.

God gives Himself, so the we might live in Him. This is true generosity — a generosity which expects nothing in return. Christ is the model of humility and loving service that we should imitate. Jesus takes the lowest place, bearing the weight of our sin, on the Cross. There He dies that we might live. There He dies to make us free.

Therefore, may we, in humility, recognise our need of God, and respond to His invitation to the Divine banquet. We pray that God will heal us, restore us and strengthen us to live lives of humility and love. In response we give thanks and sing the praises of God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity X: Enter by the Narrow Gate

Every four years we have the opportunity to watch the pinnacle of human sporting achievement in the Olympic Games. The last games took place in Paris last year, where the finest athletes from around the world gathered to compete. It takes a great deal of talent in order to take part in the Olympics, and also a huge amount of effort and training. To be the best requires a significant effort. Living out our Christian Faith is, likewise, something we have to work at. Following Christ should both challenge us, and bring out the best in us. It is hard work, often requiring great effort on our part. And yet, the effort we put in is as nothing compared to that of God, who sent His Son to be born for us, and to show us how to live. Jesus demonstrates the Love of God in action, to show us how to live lives of radical generosity. Our endeavours are part of a co-operation with God, so that we can grow and develop in our faith together. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus and His disciples are making their way towards Jerusalem, teaching in the towns and villages, en route. As they travel, Jesus is asked a question:

‘Meddai rhywun wrtho, “Arglwydd, ai ychydig yw’r rhai sy’n cael eu hachub?”’

‘And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”’ (Lk 13:23)

Christ does not answer the question directly. Instead He offers some advice:

‘Ac meddai ef wrthynt, “Ymegnïwch i fynd i mewn trwy’r drws cul, oherwydd rwy’n dweud wrthych y bydd llawer yn ceisio mynd i mewn ac yn methu. Unwaith y bydd meistr y tŷ wedi codi a chau’r drws, gallwch chwithau sefyll y tu allan a churo ar y drws, gan ddweud, ‘Arglwydd, agor inni’; ond bydd ef yn eich ateb, ‘Ni wn o ble’r ydych.’’

‘And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us’, then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’” (Lk 13:23-25)

First and foremost, the narrow way is the way of the Cross. Our Lord is going to Jerusalem to be rejected, and to be put to death, so that He may rise again, and show the world the way back to the God who loves us. We who follow Him are to expect nothing less. We show ourselves to be Christ’s disciples not just by what we SAY but also by what we DO. Our actions often speak louder than our words.

In the Gospel, people presume that because they heard Jesus teach and have eaten and drunk with Him and that all is well. While they have enjoyed Our Lord’s hospitality, they have not actually responded to His message. They have not believed in who He is, and what He does. Rather than salvation being offered solely to the people of Israel, instead the whole world is included. Everyone, everywhere, all at once, is invited. This is something radical, something new, which is first prophesied in the words of Isaiah in our first reading this morning. 

The prophet Isaiah has a vision of a future with a God who knows us and loves us. He gathers the people of the world together, so that they may see God’s divine glory. As Christians, we believe that this teaching points forward to Jesus Christ, who is the Word made flesh, the true demonstration of God’s majesty in the world. He will demonstrate that glory most fully on the Cross, when He suffers and dies for humanity, to take away our sin. This is the sign God sets among us, so that we may declare God’s greatness among the nations. The Cross is the sign of God’s love for all people.

Declaring God’s glory is the prophetic aspect of the Church — the sharing of the Good News. With it comes a commitment to holiness of life, so that our words and actions are in tune with each other. We cannot succeed in this by our own strength or efforts. Instead we must rely upon God’s grace. Every day we should humbly acknowledge our need for God. Only Our Heavenly Father can transform us. Only God can forgive our sins, our failures and our shortcomings. Through grace Christ can transform us, more and more into His likeness. 

This recognition of our limitations and failings opens up a space where God can be at work in our lives, transforming us to live the Divine life of Love. This is the narrow door of this morning’s Gospel. The opening is narrow because if we have a sense of our own self-importance or of our worth which is too large then we cannot enter — our image of who and what we are gets in the way.

Following Christ is often hard. It is far easier to coast along and take the easy options. That is why Christians meet together to encourage and support each other. This is what the Church is for. We are a collection of sinners trying to live in response to the love of God which has been poured out on each of us. This is something which we need to do together: loving each other; loving our enemies; living out forgiveness as we have been forgiven and loved by God. This is a radically different way of life to that which the world encourages us to practise. Naturally we will sometimes fall short, but the point is not that we fail and give up, but that we keep trying. We must keep on loving and forgiving. Plugging away together, in order to be built up as the body of Christ. Humbly letting God be at work in us. He, by His Grace will transform our nature and make us the people of God, able to live out His love in our community.

As I have already said, living out our faith is hard. In addition, others may mock us as we attempt to follow the Gospel. Yet, we believe in a God who loves us, and who would never belittle our efforts to follow Him. As Christians we pray for the fire of God’s love to be kindled in our hearts and lives, so that we may be ablaze for Him, aflame with love for God and for our neighbour. Loving our enemies and our friends, enables us to change the world, not just this village, or this county, but all of God’s creation; all of humanity. In doing so we help others to know God’s love so that it may rule in their hearts and lives.

And so, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us then hasten to enter through the narrow gate, so that God may continue to transform us. Let us give thanks that His saving love and power is at work in our hearts and our lives, remodelling us. Let us sing praise to God, i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity VIII: Trust

These are certainly interesting times in which to live. But as Our Lord says in this morning’s Gospel, ‘Paid ag ofni’ ‘Do not be afraid’ (Lk 12:32) We can put our trust in one who will not abandon us, the God who loves us.

In this morning’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear words addressed to a community of believers facing persecution. They are tempted not to believe in Jesus, and instead to revert to their former Jewish faith. The author has explained that Christ is our great High Priest, and that His Sacrifice has atoned for our sins. In the passage we hear an overview of salvation history from the creation of the universe to the time of the patriarchs. Just as the people of Israel sought to return from their exile in Egypt, we too seek our eternal homeland: Heaven. We ‘desire a better country, that is a heavenly one’, and we trust that our real homeland is in Heaven with God. This is the end of our journey of faith; a better place, where the worries of this world are cast aside.

In today’s Gospel Jesus comforts his followers.We are reminded that the Church began small with only a few people. Two thousand years later it is a huge community. We may feel that we are only a tiny part of the whole, that we are not big enough, and that is ok. When the Church began it was fragile and faithful, a flock uncertain of what the future would hold. But God loved the early Christians, just as He loves us, and longs to see us flourish. God gives us the Kingdom, a realm where He is in charge, and we can live lives of freedom, love, and fulfilment. God’s kingdom is a place of generosity, where gifts are shared. It looks radically different to the world around us, where wealth, status, power, and possessions matter, and are seen to give people value. But these are, in Luke’s words, ‘purses that wear out.’ In the kingdom of God, on the other hand, all of humanity has infinite value and dignity. This is because we are all made in the image and likeness of God. This is what gives us value, and not any other reason. God pours out His Grace upon the church freely, out of love, so that humanity might flourish, and have life in all its fulness.

Christians have the sure hope of Heaven, of sharing in the divine nature, together, with the saints. To be united with love itself. The love that created all that is. The love which redeemed us through the Suffering, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. That is why the second part of our Gospel reading this morning tells us to be prepared and ready for Our Lord’s Return.

Jesus, having ascended to the right hand of God the Father in Heaven, will return, as our Saviour and as Judge of all. Should we be afraid? Jesus tells us constantly not to be afraid. There is a choice for the hereafter: Heaven or Hell. It is up to us: what we believe and how we live our lives. The central message in the proclamation of the Kingdom is ‘Repent and Believe’. We can choose to turn away from sin, to turn to God, believe in Him, and live our lives accordingly. Or we can choose not to. We have a greater choice to make, which lasts for ever. Do we trust in a God who loves us so much that His Only Son died for us. Do we gather at this altar and receive the Eucharist so that we may be transformed by Him?

If we do these things, we open ourselves to living the Christian Life. The faith of our hearts affects who we are and what we do. We can be filled with joy as we await a judge who comes in mercy and love. The one who heals our wounds, and restores in us the image of the God who not only created us but all that exists. Our Christian faith leads us to action, which can transform the world around us, so that God’s kingdom becomes a reality, here and now. For where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. What greater treasure is there than eternal life in Heaven with God? This is offered to us freely. Nothing this world proffers comes close. It is all fleeting: wealth, power, privilege, do not last. But we can trust in the eternal promise of a God who loves us, and we can be ready to greet Him, when he comes again. Through the power of Christ’s sacrificial Death we have the hope of Heaven and the assurance of sins forgiven. This is GOOD NEWS. It helps us see the vanity of the world for what it is.

We all need to be ready for Jesus, when He comes. We do not know when this will be, but we are told that it will be at a time when we do not expect. Also Jesus will not come as we might expect. Instead of appearing as a judge, as someone powerful, Jesus reconfigures our understanding of power and authority. Rather than being someone who expects to be served, Jesus will come again to continue to serve. God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all creation, will come and put on an apron and care for us. This image defies our expectation and understanding. It gives us a foretaste of the glory that is to come, where we will be transfigured like Our Lord, and experience the fulness of God’s kingdom.

However, for this to take place we need to be careful, and we need to be vigilant. Just because we do not know when Jesus will return does not mean that we can take things easy. Nor can we afford to be lax or lazy, and negligent in the way we treat others. That would be to go against the message of the Gospel. We need to both think and act as though Jesus will return NO —, during this very Eucharist — to judge and serve us. As we will welcome His Eucharistic presence with open hands and open hearts, so all of our lives should be open and welcoming to Him. We need to prefer Jesus and His Kingdom to anything else. For where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. We can have no excuse for not choosing Jesus and His message of the Kingdom over the cares and concerns of this world.

What we believe and how we act together are a sign and symbol of our relationship with God and one another. So then, let us continue to live lives together which proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, so that when Our Lord comes He may find us ready and doing his will, and singing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, to whom be ascribed as is most right and just all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever.

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity VII: Generosity

Advertising media are constantly telling us that we need a new car, a larger house, the latest gadgets, expensive clothes, and exotic holidays. If we have all these things, we are told, then we will be truly happy. Covetousness is portrayed as a virtue. However, the more we have, the more we want. People are never satisfied. Even billionaires are happy to squeeze the poor if it will make them more money. St Paul, however, tells us that, as Christians, we should not focus our energies on the things of this world, and the author of Ecclesiastes reminds us that: ‘gwagedd llwyr yw’r cyfan’ ‘All is vanity’ (Eccles 1:2).

This morning’s Gospel begins with a striking scene. Jesus is teaching as He travels to Jerusalem, and a crowd gathers around Him. Then someone asks a question:

“Athro, dywed wrth fy mrawd am roi i mi fy nghyfran o’n hetifeddiaeth.”

“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (Lk 12:13) 

As a religious teacher, Jesus could be called upon to make rulings on religious or legal matters. However he has no desire to do so:

Ond meddai ef wrtho, “Ddyn, pwy a’m penododd i yn farnwr neu yn gymrodeddwr rhyngoch?” A dywedodd wrthynt, “Gofalwch ymgadw rhag trachwant o bob math, oherwydd, er cymaint ei gyfoeth, nid yw bywyd neb yn dibynnu ar ei feddiannau.”

But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions.” (Lk 12:14-15)

Our Lord takes a family dispute over property and turns it into a teaching opportunity. The world around us tends to equate riches with success, but it is easy to forget that wealth is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. The unnamed man wants to get hold of his inheritance. He wants money so that he can spend it. He is obsessed with worldly things. Jesus is trying to encourage people to live in a different way: God’s way. 

To illustrate His point, Our Lord uses a parable:

“Yr oedd tir rhyw ŵr cyfoethog wedi dwyn cnwd da. A dechreuodd feddwl a dweud wrtho’i hun, ‘Beth a wnaf fi, oherwydd nid oes gennyf unman i gasglu fy nghnydau iddo?’ Ac meddai, ‘Dyma beth a wnaf fi: tynnaf f’ysguboriau i lawr ac adeiladu rhai mwy, a chasglaf yno fy holl ŷd a’m heiddo. Yna dywedaf wrthyf fy hun, “Ddyn, y mae gennyt stôr o lawer o bethau ar gyfer blynyddoedd lawer; gorffwys, bwyta, yf, bydd lawen.”’

“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’” (Lk 12: 16-19)

In worldly terms, the man in the parable can be understood as behaving sensibly. But his concern with material success leads the man to think that he is in a safer position than he actually is. This is made clear at the end of the parable:

“Ond meddai Duw wrtho, ‘Yr ynfytyn, heno y mynnir dy einioes yn ôl gennyt, a phwy gaiff y pethau a baratoaist?’ Felly y bydd hi ar y rhai sy’n casglu trysor iddynt eu hunain a heb fod yn gyfoethog gerbron Duw.”

“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God.” (Lk 12:20-21)

Jesus is showing us that you cannot put pockets in your shroud. You cannot take wealth with you when you die. In the afterlife you do not need ‘stuff’. If the man had thought, How can I share what I have? How can I use my riches to alleviate poverty and make people’s lives better? Then he could have done some good. Instead, he has put all his efforts solely into increasing his own wealth. God does not want us to live selfish materialistic lives. But rather to help bring about a world where goods are shared, and where the hungry are fed. Yet we still see images of starving people, and many do not have a roof over their head. Whilst we cannot individually solve all the problems of the world, we can make an impact in our communities and beyond.

The Book Ecclesiastes, known also as Qoheleth, the Preacher, begins by stressing the fact that everything is vanity. All things are empty and worthless, in themselves, especially when compared to God. Our Heavenly Father longs for humanity to respond to His love and generosity, by living lives characterised by compassion and unselfishness. This is why Jesus preaches the Good News of the Kingdom of God: to wake humanity up to eternal realities and encourage us to live thoughtfully and generously here and now. 

This is the life which stores up treasure in Heaven, which we live when we have, ‘Rhowch eich bryd ar y pethau sydd uchod, nid ar y pethau sydd ar y ddaear’ ‘Set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth’ (Col 3:2). This is what a Christian life really looks like, when lived out in the world. This is the sort of radically different life which can and does both change and transform the world: offering people a way that is different to an existence obsessed with possessions. This is the way of love and forgiveness, of knowing that we are loved and forgiven, no matter who we are or what we have done. With God’s help we can live as a community which embodies radical love and forgiveness in the world and offers others a new way of being, which turns the obsessions and values of the world on its head. The Christian way of life is that radical, that revolutionary, and can be lived out right here, today. Our Lord is speaking to us through His Scriptures. He calls us to live this life for the good of others, for our own good, and for the glory of the God who made us. God our Father loves us. He saves us from the tyranny of worldly possessions and sin, so that we can be free. Allowing us to focus on worshipping Him, and helping to make the Kingdom of God a reality.

This then is what the Church is called to be. As Christians, we need to be like a lamp set upon a lamp stand or a city upon a hill: shining, attractive, a light amidst the darkness of this world. We are called to represent a radical alternative: embodying life in all its fullness. So let us choose to live this way, together. Let us set our hearts on heavenly things. Let us build on Christ, our sure foundation. God is our treasure, and His wealth is self-giving love.

By gathering together this morning we are living out God’s kingdom here and now. Through our prayer, worship, and generosity, we can change the world; so that all people may be transformed and sing the praise to God, i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Rembrant The Parable of the Rich Fool, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
Posted on by atfurse

Trinity VI – Lord teach us how to pray

If I were to ask you if you could recite a text off by heart you might regale me with a poem, a passage from a book, or a speech from Shakespeare learned at school. If I then asked whether you knew any prayers off by heart you would probably say ‘The Lord’s Prayer’, ‘Y Gweddi’r Arglwydd’. Even if they do not know all the words, most people have heard the Lord’s Prayer. It is an important part of our Christian heritage.

Our readings this week focus on prayer. Christians know that God answers prayer. However, God may say, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or even ‘Not yet’. We may not like the answer, but one will be forthcoming. Prayer is both simple and mysterious. Simple, insofar as it is our conversation with the divine. Mysterious, in the fact that prayer changes us, and not the Almighty. So prayer is something of a paradox, being at the same time quite straightforward and also an enigma. We pray to God, but prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. Pagans in Greece and Rome would bargain with their gods: if you do this for me, I will give you that. Jews and Christians, however, are profoundly different. We do not bargain with God, and we do not need to, because we are in a covenant relationship with our Heavenly Father who loves us.

It would be all too easy to see this morning’s first reading, where Abraham tries to save Sodom and Gomorrah, as being concerned with bargaining with God. However, prayer does not work in that way. What the reading from Genesis shows us is that we are in a covenant, a relationship with God, and that God is generous and loving. He wants the best for us.

The American Bishop Fulton J. Sheen summed it up as follows:

‘Prayer is helplessness casting itself on Power, infirmity leaning on Strength, misery reaching to Mercy, and a prisoner clamouring for Relief.’ Life Is Worth Living, Second Series (New York, 1954), p. 213.

In today’s Gospel the disciples ask Jesus:

“Arglwydd, dysg i ni weddïo, fel y dysgodd Ioan yntau i’w ddisgyblion ef.”

‘Lord teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples’ (Lk 11:1).

Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins. They both preached about the need for both repentance and belief in the Good News. Also, they both taught their disciples how to pray. Virtually all Christian prayer can be described by one or more of four phrases: ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘I’m sorry’, and ‘I love you’. God does not need our prayers, we do. This is because praying allows us to open our hearts and lives to God, allowing Him to change us. Jesus answers His disciple’s request to teach them how to pray as follows:

Ac meddai wrthynt, “Pan weddïwch, dywedwch: ‘Dad, sancteiddier dy enw; deled dy deyrnas; dyro inni o ddydd i ddydd ein bara beunyddiol; a maddau inni ein pechodau, oherwydd yr ydym ninnau yn maddau i bob un sy’n troseddu yn ein herbyn; a phaid â’n dwyn i brawf.’” 

He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray: ‘“Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.”’  (Lk 11:2-4)

The version of Jesus’ words we are most familiar with is that found in Matthew’s Gospel, which is slightly longer than Luke’s prayer. But both contain the same elements. The prayer begins by calling God, ‘Abba’ ‘Father’ ‘Tâd’. Such a term expresses our close relationship with our Creator. The idea that God’s name should be kept holy goes hand in hand with the desire that God’s Kingdom may come. Christianity is all about the establishment of the Kingdom of God: that God may rule over our hearts and our lives.

Next, we ask God to feed us, to forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us, and to free us from temptation. It is important to note that every celebration of the Eucharist begins with us all acknowledging our own shortcomings and asking God’s forgiveness. Saying sorry to God is important, because it keeps us humble, and helps to maintain our relationship with God, and with each other. We all make mistakes, you do, I certainly do. Recognizing this is the start of a process which allows us to grow in virtue and holiness, through God’s love. The high point of the Eucharist is when God feeds us with His Body and Blood, providing us with spiritual food to nourish our souls. All our food is a gift from God, and being thankful for it, just like being humble, helps to keep us close to God. If you don’t already do so, try to get into the habit of saying a few words of thanks to God before you eat a meal.

There are good reasons why Christians regularly pray this prayer, which we call The Lord’s Prayer, Y Gweddi’r Arglwydd. Jesus has told us how to pray and gave us these words. Similarly, we celebrate the Eucharist because Jesus told us to ‘do this in memory of Him’ and so we do. We use the Lord’s Prayer when we pray, because it honours God, and it forms us as Christians. We will soon pray it together before Communion, asking that God will continue the process of transforming us day by day into His image and likeness. 

In the Gospel reading Jesus continues to teach His disciples using parables. In this narrative, there is a late-night hospitality emergency. A friend is on a journey (just like Jesus and His disciples), and arrives at your home (just like Jesus visited Mary and Martha last week). Naturally you want to be hospitable as a sign of your friendship. So, you pop round to a next door and ask to borrow some food. However, the initial response you receive from your neighbour is not very positive:

‘Paid â’m blino; y mae’r drws erbyn hyn wedi ei folltio, a’m plant gyda mi yn y gwely; ni allaf godi i roi dim iti’, rwy’n dweud wrthych, hyd yn oed os gwrthyd ef godi a rhoi rhywbeth iddo o achos eu cyfeillgarwch, eto oherwydd ei daerni digywilydd fe fydd yn codi ac yn rhoi iddo gymaint ag sydd arno ei eisiau.’

“Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it you.” I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants. (Lk 11:7-8)

Jesus shows that, despite the neighbour not wanting to get up and be bothered with the request for food, because the person is persistent and stays there, disregarding the initial reluctance, his request is granted. Perseverance is rewarded. The point Our Lord is making is that God hears our prayers and answers our requests. We might need to ask more than once, and commit time to prayer, but we will not be ignored.

‘Ac yr wyf fi’n dweud wrthych: gofynnwch, ac fe roddir i chwi; ceisiwch, ac fe gewch; curwch, ac fe agorir i chwi. Oherwydd y mae pawb sy’n gofyn yn derbyn, a’r sawl sy’n ceisio yn cael, ac i’r un sy’n curo agorir y drws.’

‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him.’ (Lk 11:9-10)

The phrase ‘knock, and the door will be opened to you’ ‘curwch, ac fe agorir i chwi’ reinforces the teaching in the parable. The neighbour opens the door and gives the requested provisions. Jesus then develops His teaching, by drawing a comparison between the lesser and the greater. This is a common rabbinic practice:

‘Os bydd mab un ohonoch yn gofyn i’w dad am bysgodyn, a rydd ef iddo sarff yn lle pysgodyn? Neu os bydd yn gofyn am wy, a rydd ef iddo ysgorpion? Am hynny, os ydych chwi, sy’n ddrwg, yn medru rhoi rhoddion da i’ch plant, gymaint mwy y rhydd y Tad nefol yr Ysbryd Glân i’r rhai sy’n gofyn ganddo.’

‘What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’ (Lk 11:11-13)

The Good News of the Kingdom is that God answers prayer. Not only that, but He gives us more than we ask Him for. God also grants us the Holy Spirit. This is an important concept in the wider narrative of Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, where the Church is filled with God’s Spirit. God answers prayer because He is our Creator, and we are in a special relationship with Him. In today’s Old Testament reading God listens to Abraham’s pleas for mercy and then grants them. 

Turning to St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, the apostle can proclaim baptism as the way to salvation, because this enables us to share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and the forgiveness of our sins:

‘Y mae wedi ei bwrw hi o’r neilltu; fe’i hoeliodd ar y groes.’ 

‘he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross’ (Col 2:14)

God cancels our debt by paying it Himself, overcoming evil and sin through an outpouring of healing love. This is the demonstration that God loves us and hears our prayers, and so we continue to remember the Passion through our celebration of the Eucharist. God forgives our sins, and gave His life for us, nailing our sins to the Cross. He suffered in His flesh so that we who have died with Christ in our baptism may also share His risen life. That is why Jesus can assure us that God listens to our prayers and answers them, giving us the good things we need.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, through practising both prayer and action, may we be agents of God’s love and grace in the world. May we transform our homes, our communities, and the whole world. Filled with God’s generous love, compassion and forgiveness, let us give glory to God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot – The Lord’s Prayer [Brooklyn Museum]
Posted on by atfurse

Trinity V – Mary & Martha

Life is all about decisions. The choices that we make can have a massive effect upon our lives. We often think of decisions as ‘either/or’ alternatives. However, we may be making a false distinction. Living the Christian life is often much more a case of ‘both/and’ rather than ‘either/or’. Nowhere is this shown with greater clarity than through the question of faith and action. These two concepts are not in opposition: they are two sides of the same coin. To make the Kingdom of God a reality we need both contemplation and practical application. If work and prayer are kept in balance, then our duties towards God and our neighbour can be fulfilled, and we can grow in faith and love. As Christians we need to demonstrate our faith by being hospitable and welcoming, as well as prayerful. 

Hospitality is the focus of this morning’s first reading from the Book of Genesis. God appears to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre near the town of Hebron, nineteen miles south of Jerusalem. Abraham is visited by three angels and looks after them, offering them hospitality, and taking care of them. In return the Patriarch is blessed with the promise of a son. From early times, biblical interpreters understand these three angels as symbolising the Trinitarian nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, revealing their nature to Abraham, our father in faith. This view became particularly relevant during the fourth-century debate on the nature of God, which led to the formation of the Creed we will soon recite together. In this passage from Genesis, we see both what God is like and how we should respond to God: with generous hospitality, care and attention.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is still travelling. As there were no hotels or service stations, the only way to eat, drink, and rest was through hospitality. Our Lord is welcomed into her home by a woman named Martha: 

‘Yr oedd ganddi hi chwaer a elwid Mair; eisteddodd hi wrth draed yr Arglwydd a gwrando ar ei air.’

‘And she had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching’ (Lk 10:39)

These sisters, Mary and Mary, may well be the same women who appear in John’s Gospel as the sisters of Lazarus, and who live in Bethany. There they are described as friends of Jesus who regularly provide hospitality for Him and His followers. We are told that Mary is giving Jesus her undivided attention, she sits at His feet, as a student would sit at the feet of their teacher. Her sister does not join her as she is so busy looking after the guests:

‘Ond yr oedd Martha mewn dryswch oherwydd yr holl waith gweini, a daeth ato a dweud, “Arglwydd, a wyt ti heb hidio dim fod fy chwaer wedi fy ngadael i weini ar fy mhen fy hun? Dywed wrthi, felly, am fy nghynorthwyo.”’

‘But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (Lk 10:40)

Like the lawyer in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Martha is attempting to justify herself. In order to do this, she blames others — in fact her own sister — to cover up the fact that she is anxious and troubled with the cares of the world. She allows these worries to take precedence over the Gospel. Martha has shown Jesus a hospitable welcome, but then she tries to involve Him in a domestic squabble, which is centred on justifying her own busyness. Jesus is a teacher, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. While it is important that He and his disciples are fed and cared for, the immediate concern is to give Our Lord their undivided attention, and listen to what He has to say:

‘Atebodd yr Arglwydd hi, “Martha, Martha, yr wyt yn pryderu ac yn trafferthu am lawer o bethau, ond un peth sy’n angenrheidiol. Y mae Mair wedi dewis y rhan orau, ac nis dygir oddi arni.”’

‘But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”’ (Lk 10:41-42)

Jesus does not tell Martha off, rather He is encouraging, calming her down, and showing her a better way of living. Only one thing is necessary: for a host to pay attention to a guest, as Abraham did at the Oak of Mamre in the first reading this morning .

The point is not simply to prefer the contemplative to the practical, or the spiritual to the physical. Instead we need to balance our physical needs with our spiritual ones. Martha is too wrapped up in her own affairs and has forgotten what is really important. Jesus does not want special treatment, or a lavish banquet with lots of dishes. What He wants are people who pay attention to what He has to say. Martha has not chosen a bad portion, service and hospitality are important. However, attention — staying close to Jesus, listening to what He says, and not being distracted — is how we grow as Christians. This is the good portion that Christ speaks of. 

Jesus of Nazareth frequently breaks down cultural barriers. Last week we saw a Samaritan, a complete outcast held up as a model of neighbourly love and compassion. This week Mary sits at Christ’s feet, breaking a cultural taboo regarding women. She wants to be taught, and therefore displays both love and attention. Jesus tells us that, like Mary, we too should be attentive to God and His message for us in the Gospel. In doing this we emulate Mary, and choose the better part. This is a choice which has a moral dimension. When we truly listen attentively to what God says to us, our actions and our character are formed, helping our growth in holiness. Nourished by Word and Sacrament, we can progress in living out the graces which we received in our baptism, and prepare for our inheritance with the Saints in glory. We do not achieve this through prayer and contemplation alone, but by making our prayer and our work, all that we do, and all that we are, a response to God and to our neighbour. By responding in this way we are truly living out lives of Christian love. Such love is the nature of God and binds together the persons of the Trinity. This is a powerful catalyst which transforms both us and our world.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, through practising both prayer and action, may we be agents of God’s love and grace in the world. May we transform our homes, our communities, and the whole world. Filled with God’s love, and compassion, let us give glory to God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Trinity IV – The Good Samaritan

This year I have re-kindled my love of reading fiction. I have been introduced to some new authors by books lent to me by friends and neighbours or recommended by my wife. Taking time to lose yourself in a good book is one of life’s greatest (and cheapest) pleasures. Everybody loves a good yarn. Stories are also a useful way to make a point and to convey a deeper truth about human nature. They help us to understand who we are and how we should live. As Jesus travels from Galilee to Jerusalem He teaches, using parables, vivid stories we know and love. As I said, everyone likes to hear a good yarn, but the parables are much more than that. Jesus uses parables to explain the Kingdom and His Mission — who He is, and what He is doing — so that His followers can understand and share that knowledge with others.

In today’s Gospel, Our Lord encounters a legal expert. This lawyer wants to put Jesus to the test, to check whether what He says is acceptable under Jewish religious law. This man of the law asks Him: 

“Athro, beth a wnaf i etifeddu bywyd tragwyddol?”

“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk 10:26)

Jesus replies by asking the lawyer to tell Him what is written in the Law, and questions how, as a legal expert, he interprets it. The man replies, by reciting scripture:

‘Câr yr Arglwydd dy Dduw â’th holl galon ac â’th holl enaid ac â’th holl nerth ac â’th holl feddwl, a châr dy gymydog fel ti dy hun.’

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.” (Lk 10:27)

The first part of the lawyer’s answer is a quotation from the book of Deuteronomy (6:5), part of the Shema, a Jewish declaration of faith in God, which begins ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one’. The second part is a quotation from Leviticus (19:18). This summary of the Law outlines humanity’s duty both towards God and also towards our neighbours. This legal expert understands how he should behave, and how he should live his life. He has basically repeated Jesus’ teaching word-for-word. So far, so good. The lawyer then asks Our Lord another question:

‘Ond yr oedd ef am ei gyfiawnhau ei hun, ac meddai wrth Iesu, “A phwy yw fy nghymydog?”’

‘But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”’ (Lk 10:29)

The lawyer wants to legitimise himself, and so he asks Jesus to define his terms. In a legal argument, this is a typical response. However, the lawyer’s motives are questionable. He is interested in self-justification, in making himself look good. Our Lord is happy to answer, and does so with a parable: The Parable of the Good Samaritan. This well-known story is set on road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Despite being a major route, it is steep and windy (a bit like some of the roads around here!), dropping over three thousand feet in seventeen miles. The road takes a traveller through lots of empty desert land, where bandits made a living robbing travellers. The sight of someone who has been attacked and robbed was probably not an unusual one along this route. 

In the parable, a priest and a Levite pass by one such victim, crossing to the other side as they do not wish to become ritually impure. Under Jewish law, if they touched a dead body, they would become unclean, and unable to offer sacrifice and worship in the Temple until they had been ritually cleansed. Rather than risk this, these Temple officials assume that the man is dead and simply pass on by. Soon afterwards another traveller sees the man who has been attacked:

‘Ond daeth teithiwr o Samariad ato; pan welodd hwn ef, tosturiodd wrtho. Aeth ato a rhwymo ei glwyfau, gan arllwys olew a gwin arnynt; gosododd ef ar ei anifail ei hun, a’i arwain i lety, a gofalu amdano.’

‘But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him.’ (Lk 10:33-34)

Samaritans and Jews generally kept separate from each other. They had profound theological differences, and the Jews worshipped on Mt Zion, while the Samaritans worshipped on Mt Gerizim. When the Jews went into exile in Babylon, the Samaritans remained behind. Despite the fact that they all worshipped the same God, they were completely estranged from each other. However, the Samaritan has compassion. He is deeply moved to help someone in need, and so he crosses the cultural boundaries and takes care of the man. We are told that he pours oil and wine on the injured man. This was current medical practice. It was also what one would do at a sacrifice at the Temple. Therefore, it is possible that Jesus’ image relates to some words of the prophet Hosea:

‘Oherwydd ffyddlondeb a geisiaf, ac nid aberth, gwybodaeth o Dduw yn hytrach na phoethoffrymau.’

‘For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.’ (Hosea 6:6)

The priest and the Levite are concerned with sacrifice and purity, but the Samaritan shows the mercy that God desires. He binds up the injured man’s wounds, treats them, brings him to an inn, and takes care of his needs. The parable shows true love and mercy in action.

Traditionally the Church has also seen deeper meanings at work in this story. It has understood the Parable of the Good Samaritan in a symbolic way, which explains both the human condition, and Christ’s saving work. In one reading, the traveller represents Adam, and stands for all humanity. His wounds are those of sin and disobedience. The Samaritan is Jesus, the one who has compassion on us. The inn stands for the Church, the place where sinners are healed, and the oil and wine are the sacraments of the Church, which heal us. However, Christ is also the man wounded for our transgressions, who suffers for humanity, to heal our wounds.

Such an interpretation shows us how rich this parable is. Jesus tells it to His followersas He is travelling up to Jerusalem — the place where He will suffer and die. Our Lord is teaching His disciples what they need to understand in order to put mercy and love into action. Love and mercy are signs of the Kingdom of God. God’s Kingdom is where Jesus reigns from the Cross. It is where Christ overcomes sin and Death, to offer eternal life to all humanity. This is why St Paul can write:

‘Oherwydd gwelodd Duw yn dda i’w holl gyflawnder breswylio ynddo ef, a thrwyddo ef, ar ôl gwneud heddwch trwy ei waed ar y groes, i gymodi pob peth ag ef ei hun, y pethau sydd ar y ddaear a’r pethau sydd yn y nefoedd.’

‘Because God wanted all perfection to be found in him and all things to be reconciled through him and for him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, when he made peace by his death on the cross.’ (Col 1:19-20)

Our Lord’s Passion is a work of reconciliation. It is the job of every Christian to carry on that work. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is also about the reconciliation of people from different cultures — through Christ. Today Christians from so many different backgrounds gather together to read and study scripture. To pray together. To be healed and nourished by God, through the Sacraments. Both Baptism and the Eucharist are outward signs of spiritual grace, the power of God to heal, reconcile, and transform us all. We are gathered today in the ‘inn’ of the Church, so that God can heal us, and strengthen us to go out and share God’s saving love with others.

Following the example of the Good Samaritan, may we also be agents of God’s love and grace in the world. May we transform our homes, our communities, and the whole world. Filled with God’s love, compassion, and healing, let us give glory to God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot – The Good Samaritan (Brooklyn Museum)
Posted on by atfurse

Trinity I

Children love to ask questions: who? what? where? when? and, especially, why? The Questions we ask and the Answers we give can say an awful lot about who we are. One of the most fundamental question is one concerning identity: ‘Pwy wyt ti?’ ‘Who are you?’ My response would be: ‘I am Adrian, and I am a priest’. The name I was given in baptism, and the fact that God has called me to share in the priesthood of His Son Jesus Christ, define who I am, and what I do. They are why I am standing here, saying this to you, today.

From the time of their exile in Babylon, and before, the people of Israel had looked for a Messiah, a leader of the House of David. They sought someone who would bring them the peace and security that they longed for. The first reading this morning comes from the prophecy of Zechariah, and was written perhaps as late as two hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ. At this time the Jewish people were struggling under Greek rulers who tried to abolish their identity, and all that they held sacred. The prophet Zechariah looks forward to a messianic future, when the people of the House of David :

‘edrychant ar yr un a drywanwyd ganddynt, a galaru amdano fel am uniganedig, ac wylo amdano fel am gyntafanedig.’

‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced; they will mourn for him as for an only son, and weep for him as people weep for a first-born child’ (Zech 12:10)

The mention of looking upon one whom they have pierced anticipates Christ and His Crucifixion, as noted by John’s Gospel: ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced’ (19:37). Zechariah also writes of the outpouring of a ‘spirit of kindness and prayer’, just as we have seen at Pentecost. Here Jesus’ Death, Resurrection and gift of the Holy Spirit are clearly prefigured: God’s saving plan is announced in the words of the prophet. A few verses later, Zechariah prophesies:

‘Yn y dydd hwnnw bydd ffynnon wedi ei hagor i linach Dafydd ac i drigolion Jerwsalem, ar gyfer pechod ac aflendid.’

‘On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse themselves from sin and uncleanness.’ (Zech 13:1)

This is what the Cross achieves for those who are washed in the Blood of Lamb, as we are at our Baptism. Christ’s death takes away our sins. Through Baptism and the Eucharist we share in Jesus’ Death and are raised to new life with Him. When St Paul writes to the Galatian Church, he stresses their common baptism:

‘Oblegid yr ydych bawb, trwy ffydd, yn blant Duw yng Nghrist Iesu. Oherwydd y mae pob un ohonoch sydd wedi ei fedyddio i Grist wedi gwisgo Crist amdano. Nid oes rhagor rhwng Iddewon a Groegiaid, rhwng caeth a rhydd, rhwng gwryw a benyw, oherwydd un person ydych chwi oll yng Nghrist Iesu.’

‘You are, all of you, sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. All baptised in Christ, you have all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus.’ (Gal 3:26-28)

St Paul is preaching a profound message. He explains that none of the distinctions which the world makes matter in God’s eyes. There is no difference. All people are one in Christ. There is a radical equality in the Church: all are welcome to come and experience God’s saving love. When Paul preached, nearly two thousand years ago, this was a revolutionary idea, and it still is today. We are all one in Christ: young and old, rich and poor. It doesn’t matter who we are, where we are from, or anything else. All that matters is that we find our true identity in Christ. This makes us heirs of God’s promise: that we would enjoy eternity in Heaven with our Creator and Sustainer.

In today’s Gospel Jesus begins by asking His disciples this question:

“Pwy y mae’r tyrfaoedd yn dweud ydwyf fi?”

“Who do the crowds say that I am?” (Lk 9:18)

His followers reply that the people think a variety of things: John the Baptist, Elijah, or another of the prophets. They recognise Jesus’ proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom and understand Him in terms that are familiar to them. Christ, however, presses the issue by asking His disciples another question:

“pwy meddwch chwi ydwyf fi?”

“But who you say that I am?” (Lk 9:20)

Peter answers, ‘Meseia Duw, the Christ of God’ (Lk 9:20). By this answer Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Anointed, the fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy. The disciple’s confession of belief is also our confession of belief as Christians: Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour, the Son of God. As we will soon declare in the words of the Nicene Creed.

Jesus instructs the disciples that they should not communicate this knowledge to anyone, at this time. He then explains what is about to happen:

“”Y mae’n rhaid i Fab y Dyn,” meddai, “ddioddef llawer a chael ei wrthod gan yr henuriaid a’r prif offeiriaid a’r ysgrifenyddion, a’i ladd, a’r trydydd dydd ei gyfodi.”

“The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day” (Lk 9:22)

Jesus tells the disciples about His Passion, Death and Resurrection, because it is His mission. He has come to reconcile God and humanity, and to restore and heal our broken relationship. Christ then invites His followers to follow His example:

“Os myn neb ddod ar fy ôl i, rhaid iddo ymwadu ag ef ei hun a chodi ei groes bob dydd a’m canlyn i. Oherwydd pwy bynnag a fyn gadw ei fywyd, fe’i cyll, ond pwy bynnag a gyll ei fywyd er fy mwyn i, fe’i ceidw. Pa elw a gaiff rhywun o ennill yr holl fyd a’i ddifetha neu ei fforffedu ei hun?

‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it.’ (Lk 9:23-24)

At the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus invites people to repent and believe. Now He calls us to self-denial, and to embrace the Cross. Christ asks us to accept the most shameful way to die, a form of torture, used by the Romans to execute slaves. As those saved and made free by the Cross of Christ, we take up our own cross and follow Jesus. We imitate Him, in selfless love and devotion, and we bear the weight of the cross in life’s difficulties and disappointments. Following Christ is hard. It is a struggle, and we cannot just rely solely upon our own willpower to succeed. Instead, the Christian life needs to be a corporate effort, something we do together, trusting in God’s Grace to be at work in us, both individually and as a community.

Christ wants us to lose our lives for His sake, and find freedom in His service. There is something paradoxical in Jesus’ teaching. We are to find perfect freedom in obedience, in service of God and each other. Each of us needs to be humble enough to accept what God offers us, and be prepared to try to live it out together. It isn’t about us, but rather letting God be at work in us. When we co-operate with God, and live in love, and joy, and peace, we flourish as human beings. This is liberating, and it is what Our Heavenly Father wants for us. This is what true freedom looks like, and we are called to live it together, today and every day.

So, as we celebrate the joy of our Salvation, let us pray that we may be changed by God’s love, and share this love with others. Let us give thanks for the mystery and wonder that is God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Jesus discourses with his disciples – James Tissot (Brooklyn Museum)
Posted on by atfurse

Trinity Sunday 2025

In the Science fiction film, ‘The Matrix’ and its sequels there is a character called ‘Trinity’, played by Carrie-Anne Moss. The name comes from her handle as a computer hacker. She, apparently, chose this moniker to give the impression that she is as mysterious and enigmatic as the concept of a Three-in-one being (God the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). So what do Christians believe about the Trinity?

In today’s Gospel Jesus promises His disciples that,

“Ond pan ddaw ef, Ysbryd y Gwirionedd, fe’ch arwain chwi yn yr holl wirionedd. Oherwydd nid ohono’i hun y bydd yn llefaru; ond yr hyn a glyw y bydd yn ei lefaru, a’r hyn sy’n dod y bydd yn ei fynegi i chwi.”

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (Jn 16:13)

God gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us in our lives. We are invited into a relationship and journey of faith, which enables us to grow and develop. As Christians, we worship One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are not three Gods, but one God. That the three persons of the Trinity are one God is itself a mystery. It is the enigma of God’s very self: a Trinity of Persons, consubstantial, co-equal, and co-eternal. ‘Consubstantial’ means ‘of one being’, i.e. they are One. ‘Co-equal’ means that the persons of the Trinity are equal to one another, none is greater or lesser than another. ‘Co-eternal’ means that they all have no beginning in time all three are eternal. We know God most fully in the person of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, who was born of the Virgin Mary, died upon the Cross for our sins, was raised to New Life at Easter, and sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. In Christ, God discloses who and what He is. We know Him through His outpouring of love into our lives.

All Christians are baptised in the name of the Trinity. Our worship is Trinitarian. The service this morning began with the words ‘Yn enw’r Tad, a’r Mab, a’r Ysbryd Glân, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.’ Eucharistic Services have begun by invoking the name of the Trinity, and making the sign of the Cross, for as long as we have descriptions of them, going back almost 1900 years. And 1700 years ago just before the Council of Nicaea, this morning’s first reading was one of the most controversial passages in Scripture: 

“Lluniodd yr Arglwydd fi ar ddechrau ei waith, yn gyntaf o’i weithredoedd gynt.”

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.” (Proverbs 8:22)

In the Greek text of Proverbs, used widely around the Mediterranean at that time, the verb translated as ‘possessed’ was one that meant ‘created’. This lead some people — the followers of Arius — to argue that this passage means that Jesus Christ was created and not begotten. This would therefore mean that Jesus had a beginning in time, and was not eternal. He was therefore somewhat lesser than God the Father. To discuss this theological issue Church Councils were called at Nicaea in ad325, and Constantinople in ad381. These meetings of bishops rejected the Arian ideas and gave us the doctrinal statement known as the Nicene Creed, which we will say together in a few minutes time. Our faith, as Christians, is rooted in our belief in God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, consubstantial, co-equal, and co-eternal. This is why the Creed is made up of three sections. It begins by stating what we believe about God the Father. The text then moves on to what we believe about Jesus the Son. The statement of faith then finishes with the Christian beliefs concerning the Holy Spirit. What we believe and how we worship God matters.

Last Sunday we celebrated Whitsun, Y Sulgwyn, the Feast of Pentecost: the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples in the Upper Room, fifty days after Easter, and ten days after Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, we see the fullness of who God is. As St Paul puts it in his Letter to the Romans:

“oherwydd y mae cariad Duw wedi ei dywallt yn ein calonnau trwy’r Ysbryd Glân y mae ef wedi ei roi i ni.”

“God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

As Christians, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit — a spirit of love and joy. This allows us to experience God as He is: the Father who created all that exists; the Son who redeemed humanity; and the Spirit who sanctifies and encourages God’s people. God calls us into a relationship and we respond with worship which honours our Creator and Sustainer. We do this not because God requires our worship, but because of our own need to acknowledge our dependance upon Him. God loves us, and because we know that we are loved, we respond with love and praise. 

The wonderful thing about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is that it enables us to encounter and experience God in a deeper way. We can know Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. He speaks to us in Scripture, and He comes to us in the Eucharist, so that we may be nourished by God. In our prayer and worship, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, who transforms us. The Trinity is not an abstract philosophical concept, but rather the manifestation of a generous and loving God. The Christian understanding of God is not of a remote being. God makes His home with us. He gives us His life, and He transforms and heals us in love. This is all possible through the relationship God has with us, through His Son and His Spirit, which is personal to each and every one of us. That is why we celebrate the Trinity today.

In Christ God becomes human, allowing Him to understand us from the inside, so to speak. This is not a distant, impersonal divinity, but one who lives a human life. One who understands our frailty, and who loves us. God sends His Spirit so that we may be encouraged and live out our true potential. We will face difficulties and hardships. Christ promises us no less, as does St Paul in our second reading. But the point is that these experiences, while difficult to endure, can also be positive: we grow and develop through them. It is often through the experience of suffering that we become more loving and forgiving.

God makes us new by his redeeming love and transforms us into what He wants us to be. God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — offers us all the opportunity to be something different, something more than we are. If we let Him change us. If we co-operate with His grace. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and nourished by Word and Sacrament, God is at work in us, transforming us into His likeness.

So, as we celebrate the mystery of the Holy and Life-giving Trinity, let us pray that we may be changed by God’s love, and share this love with others. Let us give thanks for the mystery and wonder that is God, Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

The Trinity Lance McNeel 2009

Posted on by atfurse

Pentecost 2025

Every Sunday, and also on solemn Feast days, Christians make a public declaration of their faith in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, using the words of the Nicene Creed — which we will all say together in a few minutes time. This statement of belief was drawn up seventeen hundred years ago at the First Ecumenical Council, which was called by the Roman Emperor Constantine to sort out divisions within the Church concerning the Divinity of Jesus Christ. The council met at Nicaea in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and comprised of three hundred and eighteen bishops of the Church. One of these was Nicholas of Myra, St Nicholas, the patron saint of this church. 

Questions about belief matter. They have the potential to divide the Church. Taking it away from its core purpose of being united in a common faith, and making a consistent proclamation of that faith. This is the situation in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Having been promised the Holy Spirit by Our Lord at His Ascension, the disciples wait and pray. At Pentecost they are filled with the Spirit. Emboldened, they are able to tell Jews from all over the Mediterranean world, who have gathered in Jerusalem, who Jesus is, and what He has done. From this moment on the disciples are known as Apostles from the Greek ἀπόστολος (meaning one who is sent, a messenger). The message they deliver is that all people should repent and believe the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not a one-off event, but rather a permanent state of affairs. This is how God continues to be active in the world: inspiring and strengthening Christ’s followers in living and proclaiming their faith. In John’s Gospel, Jesus promises His disciples:

‘Os ydych yn fy ngharu i, fe gadwch fy ngorchmynion i. Ac fe ofynnaf finnau i’m Tad, ac fe rydd ef i chwi Eiriolwr arall i fod gyda chwi am byth,’

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you for ever.’ (Jn 14:15-16)

The promise is that God’s Spirit will be present in perpetuity. God will continue to pour out His Spirit to strengthen the Church. This is what we are celebrating today at Pentecost. Indeed, during the Eucharistic Prayer I, as your priest,  will pray that God continues to do this and ‘trwy nerth dy Ysbryd, i’r rhoddion hyn o fara a gwin fod i ni ei gorff a’i waed ef’ ‘that, by the power of your [God’s] Spirit, these gifts of bread and wine may be for us his body and blood’. Our heavenly Father makes wonderful things happen. Disciples who have been scared and have been in hiding are transformed into fearless evangelists, going out to preach Christ’s message of love and forgiveness. They become enthusiastic fellow-workers in the vineyard. God is able to completely change people and situations, because His love for us knows no bounds.  

The 318 bishops, who met at Nicaea, in 325AD, were able to put into words what Christians believe because they began their deliberations by praying for the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide and direct their thoughts and actions. This is entirely in line with Our Lord’s teaching in the Gospel: 

‘Ond bydd yr Eiriolwr, yr Ysbryd Glân, a anfona’r Tad yn fy enw i, yn dysgu popeth ichwi, ac yn dwyn ar gof ichwi y cwbl a ddywedais i wrthych.’

‘But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.’ (Jn 14:26)

The Bishops, including St Nicholas, were strengthened by God to proclaim the truth, and to bear witness to it, in the face of those who would deny it. They bore witness to the truth of Jesus Christ: true God and true man, who promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit gives Christians strength and brings us together as brothers and sisters in a new family, which we call the Church. 

It is thanks to the preaching of the Gospel begun by the Apostles at Pentecost, and continued by their successors at Nicaea, that we are here today. It is how billions of people have come to know, love, and serve Our Lord Jesus Christ. As people who are in Christ, who have entered the Church through our Baptism, we are given a very important job to do. We need to tell people about Jesus!

The world-wide Christian Church is wonderful in its diversity. We are all different, we do not speak the same language, or have the same culture. However, we are all equally empowered through having received the Holy Spirit at our Baptism, in our Confirmation, and through all the sacramental actions of the church, which are the outward and visible signs of the inward and spiritual grace of God. This is how the Holy Spirit works. This is how God builds us up together in love. Through the Eucharist, through prayer and through Scripture, we are nourished spiritually to keep doing all that God desires of us.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray earnestly for the gift of the Spirit. Just as St Nicholas was inspired by the Spirit, may God also fill us with His love and equip us to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. May the fire of the Holy Spirit embolden us to encourage others to come to know, and love Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Maundy Thursday 2025

Celebrations of important events, such as the forthcoming VE Day on the 8th of May, usually involve eating food and telling a story. The Jewish celebration of Passover (Pesach) is no different. This feast’s food includes lamb and unleavened bread. The story (Hebrew Haggadah, literally ‘telling’) is the account, from the Book of Exodus, of Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt — part of which was the first reading this evening. Over the next few days both Jews and Christians will tell stories and eat food in order to relive the events of the past. This is done in such a way as to make these events become present to us, here and now, so that we can enter into them, and re-live them.

Tonight we are all guests at the Lord’s Supper. Tonight Jesus institutes the Eucharist before He suffers and dies. What Our Lord does on this night, the Church has continued to observe for a hundred thousand successive Sundays, and will continue to do so until the end of time. Jesus told us to ‘do this’ ‘gwnewch hyn’ and so we do. This is more than sacred drama. We are not simply spectators watching a re-enactment, we are active participants in the mysteries themselves!

The Liturgy of the Eucharist, which Jesus instituted this evening, means a number of things. Firstly, the Eucharist is our thanksgiving to God for who Christ is, and what He does for us. Secondly, the Eucharist is an act of obedience. Our Lord told His disciples to ‘do this’, and so, for two thousand years Christians have obeyed His command. Thirdly, the Eucharist is a mystery which makes present the Body and Blood of Christ, who suffered and died for us on Calvary. As Jesus fed His disciples, so He feeds us. Tonight’s Eucharist is just as real as the first one, in the Upper Room, and each and every one ever since. That is why Christ’s followers celebrate this evening. On the night before He suffered and died for us, Jesus took bread and wine, gave thanks to God, and gave them to His disciples, telling them to do this in remembrance of Him. In the celebration of the Eucharist we do not just remember Jesus, but by doing what He did, and saying what He said, He feeds us with Himself. Christ is the priest who gives Himself. At the same time, He is the servant who washes our feet. 

God gives Himself to us as nourishment. God gives Himself to us, so that we might have life in Him. The role of the Church is to carry on the offering of the Son to the Father, to make redemption present across space and time. That is why we are here, tonight, gathered as disciples of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ we are called to be people of love. It is love that makes us Christians. God’s infinite love for us leads to Our Lord sacrificing Himself, to take away our sins, to heal our wounds, and restore us to God’s loving embrace.

God takes ordinary food — water, bread, and wine — along with simple rituals and does something extraordinary. The God who spoke the universe into being kneels, takes off his outer clothing and washes the feet of humanity:

‘Os wyf fi, felly, a minnau’n Arglwydd ac yn Athro, wedi golchi eich traed chwi, fe ddylech chwithau hefyd olchi traed eich gilydd. Yr wyf wedi rhoi esiampl i chwi; yr ydych chwithau i wneud fel yr wyf fi wedi ei wneud i chwi.’ 

‘If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.’ (Jn 13:14-15)

Tonight Christ washes our feet. Kneeling on the floor, He pours water over our feet and wipes them with a towel. This is something that is both humble and utterly wonderful. Jesus gives us an example of loving service, which the Church is tasked with continuing. Those in positions of Christian leadership are called to be shepherds in the service of God’s people. Here, tonight, we see love and service made real. It becomes something we can feel, touch and taste. These things are given for us, so that we might be transformed, prepared for Heaven, to enjoy eternity with God. 

Christ gives us an example to follow, a ceremony of service and nourishment, so that we can continue to re-live and experience God’s generous love. The hands which tonight wash feet and celebrate the Eucharist will tomorrow be nailed to the Cross. This is how much God loves us. This is how far God goes to reconcile each of us to Him, and to heal our wounds. Never was a lamb set upon the altar that could take away the sins of the world, until God Himself took on the nature of a servant. This way of living goes against everything people are told about putting themselves and their lives first and judging their importance and worth by what they own, rather than how they live their lives. And yet this world, in its selfish searching, truly wants and needs to be healed, and to be embraced by a loving God. That is why tomorrow, on the Cross, Our Lord’s Arms will be flung wide open to embrace all people with God’s divine love.

Let us then prepare ourselves for the journey ahead. Let us have our feet washed by Christ. Let us be fed by Him, and strengthened by Him. Let us fashion our lives after His example. Let us prepare to go to Calvary with Jesus, and lay down our lives in His service. Let us pick up our Cross and follow Him to death and beyond, to the New Life of Easter. Let us live His Risen Life, and share our joy with others. And let us give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Philippe de Champagne: The Last Supper (Musee de Louvre, Paris)

Posted on by atfurse

Palm Sunday Evensong

THIS evening I would like to talk about the Apostle John. The name ‘John’ means ‘The Lord has worked grace’. John the Apostle is the son of Zebedee and Salome (the sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary). He is also the brother of James, and the cousin of Jesus. In the Bible, John is called ‘the beloved disciple’, the disciple whom Jesus loved. He is also believed to be the author of the Gospel which now bears his name, as well as three canonical letters and the Book of Revelation. While scholars tend to ascribe some or all of these works to others, I do not wish to. Time tonight does not allow me to examine all of John’s writings in detail, so I must be selective. However, I strongly urge you to read John’s works and immerse yourself in the richness of his vision.

In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) we first meet our soon-to-be disciple by the shore of the Sea of Galilee with his father, Zebedee and his brother, James. In John’s Gospel, however, there is no mention of him until the Last Supper. The apostle is then also present at the Crucifixion, standing at the foot of the Cross with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Along with Simon Peter, he is the first witness of the Resurrection. John is also one of the seven disciples who have breakfast with the Risen Christ by the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus asks Simon Peter three times if he loves him. At the end of his Gospel John writes the following authorial comment:

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (Jn 21:24-25)

John is someone we can trust, whose writings help us to ponder the mysteries of God’s love. Elsewhere, in the Synoptic Gospels, John appears as part of an inner circle of disciples. He is with Peter and James at the Transfiguration, and at several miracles where not all the Twelve are present. What then are we to make of this apostle? The various mentions of him in Scripture show that he is a beloved disciple, one loved by God, who loves God deeply. Love is something of a defining characteristic in John’s writing, especially in his Gospel and Letters. But even love must be set in a wider context, namely God.

John’s Gospel begins at the beginning, a very good place to start.‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ (Jn 1:1) God is trinitarian: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Duw Dad, Mab ac Ysbryd Glân). He always has been, and always will be. ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (Jn 1:14). The word translated as ‘dwelt’ actually means ‘pitched his tent’, tabernacled among us, like a nomad, or a shepherd, or an exile wandering like Israel after the Exodus from Egypt.

John then introduces his namesake, the Baptist, who on seeing his cousin Jesus, exclaims ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (Jn 1:29). Jesus calls disciples, and suddenly they are at a wedding in Cana, where the wine runs out. To prevent shame and ‘social death’ for the hosts, Our Lord turns a large amount of water into wine. God is generous, and the messianic banquet is a reality! There are other signs of Jesus’ divinity and God’s love for humanity. In John’s Gospel, Our Lord is keen to say, ‘I am’: ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ ‘I am the Bread of Life’ ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life’. Just as God reveals himself to Moses at the Burning Bush, saying: ‘I am who I am’. This is the same God who took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

It is when John is with Mary at the foot of the Cross that the Beloved Disciple is singled out for the second time. Just before Christ dies He looks down, and says:

‘Woman behold your Son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home (Jn 19:26-27)

Something wonderful is happening here. On the hill of Calvary, on Good Friday, Jesus is starting the Church, with His Mother (the laity), John the Beloved Disciple (the Clergy), and Himself (Our Great High Priest). Jesus offers himself as both priest and sacrifice upon the altar of the Cross to take away our sins, and to restore our relationship with God and with each other. John and Mary become a new family, not because of ties of blood and kinship (though they are related), but through Jesus. Likewise, every Christian is a brother or sister in Christ. We are all children of God.

From this verse the tradition arises that Mary and John lived together in Ephesus, south of Smyrna, (modern İzmir). This tradition maintains that the Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos for his preaching of the Good News. There John lived in a cave where he had the visions which have come down to us as the Apocalypse, the Revelation of St John the Divine. Before his exile, during the reign of the emperor Domitian, it is recorded that John survived being immersed in a vat of boiling oil near the Porta Latina, the Latin Gate on the south of the Aurelian Wall of the City of Rome. This miraculous event was remembered in a feast celebrated (until 1960) on 6th May, and is found in the Calendar of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. John’s main feast day, however, is the 27th December. Significantly, he is the only apostle not to have suffered a martyr’s death, and so the liturgical colour of his feast days is white and not red — the usual colour for a martyr. 

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote that the example of St John teaches us that:

‘The Lord wishes to make each of us a disciple who lives in personal friendship with him. To achieve this, it is not enough to follow him and listen to him outwardly: it is also necessary to live with him and like him. This is only possible in the context of a relationship of deep familiarity, imbued with the warmth of total trust. This is what happens between friends: for this reason Jesus said one day: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends … No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (Jn 15:13, 15)’  [ Pope Benedict XVI, Christ and his Church: Seeing the face of Jesus in the Church of the Apostles, CTS 2007: 72-73.]

The way to understand John and his theology is through the prism of love. As the apostle writes:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:16-17)

These words are echoed in John’s First Letter:

‘By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.’ (1Jn 3:16)

God loves us, and becomes one of us, so that we may have life in all its fulness. Love means willing the good of another. God’s love for us shows that our flourishing is His will. This is the reason for the Incarnation, our Salvation, and Redemption. Love is also the source for both the words of teaching and the signs which pervade John’s Gospel. This is Good News, given to us by the Church — a community of love, which feeds us with Christ’s teaching and the bread of life — so that we can grow more and more into the likeness of the one who loves us: Jesus Christ, who is Our Lord and God.

John is the disciple who has a vision of Heaven, of heavenly liturgy which looks Eucharistic. As one of the first disciples to experience the reality of the Resurrection, and as one who sees and believes, John understands that Eternal Life Heaven is our objective. He says:

‘I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.’ (1Jn 5:13)

As Christians, we need to follow the example set by the Beloved Disciple. We need to love Our Lord and Saviour above all else. Like John, we need to see and to believe, and to let God work in our lives. We are called to let God act in us, and through us, to bring His message of love and forgiveness to our needy world.

The depth of John’s relationship with Jesus illustrates how such a theology might come about. John’s life and teachings should continue to inspire us as Christians today. Reminding us to love, to believe, and to persevere in faith, even in the face of hardship. May all of us gathered here today be strengthened by the example of John, to grow closer to God and to give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Correggio: St John,San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma
Posted on by atfurse

Palm Sunday 2025

J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous novel, The Lord of the Rings is a long and complicated book. The main story is the journey of an unlikely group of heroes across Middle Earth to destroy a powerful Ring at Mount Doom, where it was forged. But it is also the tale of how Aragorn becomes the King of Middle Earth. He does this by reuniting the lands of Arnor and Gondor, and defeating the evil Sauron with a coalition of men, elves, dwarves, and hobbits. In constructing his narrative Tolkien drew on his encyclopaedic knowledge of medieval European literature and his deep Christian faith. The desire to see a monarchy re-established lies at the Jewish and Christian faiths. Jews await the coming of the Messiah, the anointed Davidic King, which Christians believe is Jesus. We believe that the Messiah has already come, to set His people free, and to inaugurate a kingdom of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. 

The service this morning begins with Luke’s account of the first Palm Sunday, when Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, an animal of peace and not war. The prophet Zechariah, writing 500 years before Jesus, looks forward to a messianic future:

‘Bydd lawen iawn, ti ferch Seion; a chrechwena, ha ferch Jerwsalem: wele dy frenin yn dyfod atat: cyfiawn ac achubydd yw efe; y mae efe yn llariaidd, ac yn marchogaeth ar asyn, ac ar ebol llwdn asen.’

‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ (Zech 9:9)

The donkey ridden by Jesus reminds us of the humble beast of burden, which carried his Mother to Bethlehem for His birth, and then carried the Holy Family into exile in Egypt. This is an act of humble leadership which realizes what the prophets foresaw. It shows us that Jesus Christ is truly the one who fulfils the hopes of the people of Israel. The Hebrew Scriptures look forward to His deliverance of Israel. This is what is made real in front of the eyes of those watching the Carpenter’s son enter the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Scripture is fulfilled and there is a burst of popular enthusiasm — people wave palm branches and cry out. However, having someone claim to be a relative of King David is a direct challenge to Herod, the puppet ruler installed to comply with the Romans. The events we heard described, before our procession this morning, sound something like a political coup — a bid to replace a leader lacking legitimacy. Such an attempt is bound to have wide repercussions. It represents a direct challenge to the ruling house and to Rome, and therefore it has to be countered. The masses in Jerusalem are expecting a king of the Davidic line. One who would be seen as a threat to the ruling élite, a challenge to the status quo. But in Christ, God gives Israel something else. Yes, he is a King of the line of David, but Jesus is the one who rules with love. He has no desire for power, or honour. Naturally, the leaders and those in authority are threatened by Him: Christ turns their world on its head. He is an awkward inconvenience. Jesus, however, does not want their power. He has come to accomplish something completely different. What is seen as a potential political coup is in fact a renewal of religion, the fulfilment of prophecy, and a new hope for Israel. Political and religious leaders can only see the threat to their hold on power, rather than the opportunity which Christ offers.

At its heart Christianity is the offer of new life in Jesus Christ. This starts with repentance, and acceptance of our need for God. As we grow in faith, we come to believe and trust in a God who loves us, and gives Himself for us. Then we can experience healing, wholeness, and fullness of life in and through Him. Such gifts come at great cost to the giver, which the week ahead will make clear to us in the most stark and direct way. 

One way of reading St Luke’s account of Christ’s Passion and Death is through the lens of conversion and reconciliation. After Jesus celebrates the Eucharist a dispute arises amongst His disciples as to which of them is the greatest. There is something of a contrast here between the institution of the most solemn and sacred act of Christian worship, and the actions of the disciples who seem to be arguing like children in a playground: ‘I’m greater than you!’ ‘No, I’m greater than you!’. This is not how they should behave, so Our Lord explains:

‘Y mae brenhinoedd y Cenhedloedd yn arglwyddiaethu arnynt, a’r rhai sydd ag awdurdod drostynt yn cael eu galw yn gymwynaswyr. Ond peidiwch chwi â gwneud felly. Yn hytrach, bydded y mwyaf yn eich plith fel yr ieuengaf, a’r arweinydd fel un sy’n gweini.’

‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.’ (Lk 22:25-26)

Service of others lies at the heart of Christianity, not exercising power or influence. Christ is offering the world a new way to be, and the church needs to take this seriously, and follow His teachings.

As Jesus goes to Calvary, He tells the women of Jerusalem not to mourn for Him, but instead to mourn for themselves and their children. He says this because He understands that in a few years time the Romans will sack Jerusalem, and the people will be scattered in exile. Christ is more concerned with the needs of others than Himself, and as He goes to His execution, Our Lord is still a servant, caring for others.

As the Roman soldiers crucify Jesus He says:

“O Dad, maddau iddynt, oherwydd ni wyddant beth y maent yn ei wneud.”

‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ (Lk 23:34)

Christ’s concern is for forgiveness and reconciliation — just as it has been throughout His earthly ministry. His life’s work is to restore each and every one of us to God and to pour out the Creator’s love on us. This is also evident from Jesus interaction with the penitent thief a few verses later:

Yna dywedodd, “Iesu, cofia fi pan ddoi i’th deyrnas.” Atebodd yntau, “Yn wir, rwy’n dweud wrthyt, heddiw byddi gyda mi ym Mharadwys.”

“And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Lk 23:42-43)

The criminal being executed for seditious acts against Rome expresses faith in Christ, and is rewarded with the grace earned for humanity on the Cross. Our Lord’s dying words are taken from Psalm 31:6, a confident prayer:

“O Dad, i’th ddwylo di yr wyf yn cyflwyno fy ysbryd.”

‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ (Lk 23:46)

Immediately afterwards the centurion in charge of the Crucifixion acts in a surprising manner, praising God and declaring Jesus to be innocent:

‘Pan welodd y canwriad yr hyn oedd wedi digwydd, dechreuodd ogoneddu Duw gan ddweud, “Yn wir, dyn cyfiawn oedd hwn.”’

‘Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”’ (Lk 23:47)

The gathered crowds also do something unusual:

‘Ac wedi gweld yr hyn a ddigwyddodd, troes yr holl dyrfaoedd, a oedd wedi ymgynnull i wylio’r olygfa, tuag adref gan guro eu bronnau.’

‘And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.’ (Lk 23:48)

In acting in this way they are expressing contrition and repentance, the necessary prerequisite to the acceptance of God’s grace. Salvation has become a reality and it is changing people’s lives. Just as it did two thousand years ago, it is still doing so today, and will continue to do so until the end of time itself.

Let us then, as followers of Jesus, hold up our palms as we rejoice in the generous love of God and prepare ourselves to celebrate Christ’s Passion. Let us give thanks for the fact that we are loved by God. And let us give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. To God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. Amen. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Lent V

THE past sixty years in Britain and the West have seen societal change on a scale arguably never witnessed before in the history of humanity. The world in which we live has changed, and people have become used to the changes. On the whole, despite becoming more permissive, society is still judgemental. We put people on pedestals, and then we are surprised when they fall off. More than that, the media constantly encourages us to be critical of others. This is deeply corrosive, because it sets us up to think that we are somehow better than others. However, we too make mistakes. We all, each and every one of us, myself included, say and do things which we should not, which hurt others, and for which we need forgiveness.

Thankfully, we can ask God and each other for this forgiveness. Because of what Christ did for us, taking our sins upon himself, on the Cross, we are forgiven. God loves us. In turning to God for forgiveness, we are turning away from sin and trying to live our lives in a new way. The Christian life is, like the season of Lent, a constant repetition of this process: failing and trying again, and keeping going. So that bit by bit, gradually, we let God be at work in us, to transform us. This helps us to be less judgemental, more loving, and more forgiving. Drawing on God’s love, we can build up a community that is filled with this radical transforming love. We can become a force for good, a beacon of hope, sharing Christian love with the world around us.

Today’s Gospel finds Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. According to the law of Moses the woman caught in adultery should be punished by being stoned to death. However, the Roman occupiers had taken from the Jews the power to put anyone to death. Jesus’ response shows the world that there is another way: a way of love and not of judgement. Interestingly, this passage is the only time when the Gospel writers record Jesus writing. After the Scribes and Pharisees have brought the unnamed woman to Him:

‘Plygodd Iesu i lawr ac ysgrifennu ar y llawr â’i fys.’

‘Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.’ (Jn 8:6) 

This verse has puzzled people for centuries. What exactly did Jesus write? We cannot know for certain. An answer to this intriguing question may come from Scripture. A few verses earlier in John’s Gospel, Jesus talks of rivers of living water. In the prophet Jeremiah we find the following words:

‘O Arglwydd, gobaith Israel, gwaradwyddir pawb a’th adawa; torrir ymaith oddi ar y ddaear y rhai sy’n troi oddi wrthyt, am iddynt adael yr Arglwydd, ffynnon y dyfroedd byw.’

‘O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.’ (Jer 17:13)

We can speculate that at least part of this verse from Jeremiah is what Jesus wrote in the earth. Writing these words would both fulfil the prophecy of Jeremiah, and shame the woman’s accusers. Jesus is showing that the Scribes and Pharisees have turned away from God, towards legalism and judgmental behaviour. Those gathered would know the prophecy of Jeremiah, and also that Jesus has recently mentioned streams of living water. This verse is the key to understanding what is going on. Jesus is fulfilling Scripture, and demonstrating that God should be characterised by love, mercy, and forgiveness. 

The Religious Authorities have not quite understood the situation. They continue to press Jesus for an answer, which He does not give. Instead Jesus challenges them:

‘ymsythodd ac meddai wrthynt, “Pwy bynnag ohonoch sy’n ddibechod, gadewch i hwnnw fod yn gyntaf i daflu carreg ati.”’

‘he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”’ (Jn 8:7)

Jesus’ position is non-judgemental, and highlights the hypocrisy of the accusers. Christ then returns to His writing:

‘Yna plygodd eto ac ysgrifennu ar y llawr.’

‘And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.’ (Jn 8:8)

It is possible that Jesus was finishing the verse from Jeremiah. We cannot be sure, but what we do know is that the combination of His words, both written and spoken have a profound effect:

‘A dechreuodd y rhai oedd wedi clywed fynd allan, un ar ôl y llall, y rhai hynaf yn gyntaf, nes i Iesu gael ei adael ar ei ben ei hun, a’r wraig yno yn y canol. Ymsythodd Iesu a gofyn iddi, “Wraig, ble maent? Onid oes neb wedi dy gondemnio?” Meddai hithau, “Neb, syr.” Ac meddai Iesu, “Nid wyf finnau’n dy gondemnio chwaith. Dos, ac o hyn allan paid â phechu mwyach.”’

‘But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”’ (Jn 8:9-11)

It is interesting that the older (and wiser) ones are the first to grasp the full implications of what Jesus is saying. Christ does not condemn the woman: God is a God of mercy. However, Our Lord does say, ‘Dos, ac o hyn allan paid â phechu mwyach’ ‘go, and from now on sin no more’ (Jn 8:11). Forgiveness goes hand-in-hand with contrition and repentance. We are loved, healed and restored by God, but with forgiveness comes a challenge. As Christians we are to turn away from wrongdoing, from the ways of the world, and instead find life in Christ.

Lent gives us the opportunity to take a long, hard look at ourselves and at our lives. It is a time to recognise that we need to become more like Jesus — to live, and think, and speak like Him. We need to be nourished, healed and restored by Christ, so that we can live lives which proclaim His love and His truth to the world. Lent is also a time for us to realise that we are loved by God, and that God is merciful, forgives our sins, and longs for us to experience life in all its fulness.

It is interesting that today is Passion Sunday when we begin in earnest our commemoration of Jesus’ death and Resurrection. This morning’s Gospel speaks of a different type of passion (sexual desire) which when uncontrolled could lead to death — either of a person condemned for committing adultery or a relationship between a husband and wife.

As we pray today for couples preparing for marriage we also pray for those whose relationships are under strain and for all who have experienced marital breakdown. Let us be slow to judge, and quick to show compassion and mercy to those whose lives are not perfect.

Let us, as followers of Jesus, rejoice in the generous love of God and prepare ourselves to celebrate Christ’s Passion. Let us give thanks for our families and relationships and give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. Amen.

Christ and the sinner, A Mironov 2011
Posted on by atfurse

Lent IV

IT may seem strange that on the day in the year when we particularly remember mothers, the Gospel reading focuses on a father. However, given that the theme is love and generosity, the two are not as far apart as they may seem at first glance.

In the Gospels Jesus is often criticised for the company He keeps. Our Lord is shown associating with the ‘wrong sort of people’: sinners and tax collectors, those shunned by ‘polite society’. So, to make a point, Jesus tells a parable. 

A man has two sons, and the younger of the two asks his father for his inheritance:

‘Fy nhad, dyro imi’r gyfran o’th ystad sydd i ddod imi.’

‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ (Lk 15:12)

At one level it is clear what is going on. The young man is asking for his inheritance, which he would normally receive after his father’s death. When he is given the money he goes off into the big, bad world. He is young, inexperienced, and not terribly wise. Like most young people he makes mistakes, and does foolish things. I know that I did, and I suspect that I’m not alone in that.

‘ymfudodd y mab ieuengaf i wlad bell, ac yno gwastraffodd ei eiddo ar fyw’n afradlon.’

‘the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.’ (Lk 15:13)

The impetuous nature of youth has not changed much in two thousand years. We can see that things are going to go wrong, and they do.When the money runs out, the young man does try to get himself out of his mess by gaining employment, looking after someone’s pigs. For those of us living in the countryside this seems like a very sensible idea. However, under Jewish ritual law, animal husbandry was suspect, and those who did this work were deemed to be ritually impure. Also, swine were considered unclean animals. What the son has done is beyond the pale, and completely unacceptable to Jesus’ Jewish audience. 

Despite getting a job, the young man’s situation is not good:

‘Buasai’n falch o wneud pryd o’r plisg yr oedd y moch yn eu bwyta; ond nid oedd neb yn cynnig dim iddo.’

‘And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.’ (Lk 15:16)

What is noticeable is that nobody is doing anything to help him: there is a distinct lack of charity and compassion amongst the people. The son, therefore,  decides to return home, and ask his father for forgiveness:

“Fe godaf, ac fe af at fy nhad a dweud wrtho, ‘Fy nhad, pechais yn erbyn y nef ac yn dy erbyn di. Nid wyf mwyach yn haeddu fy ngalw’n fab iti; cymer fi fel un o’th weision cyflog.’”

“I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’” (Lk 15:18-19)

The son makes the journey back to his home. However, his father sees him a long way off, and runs to meet him. This behaviour, while normal and understandable to us, would have appeared strange to Jesus’ audience. Running wasn’t something that adults did. The father is breaking the rules, and acting in a way which defied the conventions of society. He has given away his property to his two sons, and now risks destroying his social capital. But he doesn’t care; it doesn’t matter. What is important is that his son has returned. The father embraces his lost son, kisses him, and then tells his servants:

‘Brysiwch! Dewch â gwisg allan, yr orau, a’i gosod amdano. Rhowch fodrwy ar ei fys a sandalau am ei draed. Dewch â’r llo sydd wedi ei besgi, a lladdwch ef. Gadewch inni wledda a llawenhau, oherwydd yr oedd hwn, fy mab, wedi marw, a daeth yn fyw eto; yr oedd ar goll, a chafwyd hyd iddo.’

“Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” (Lk 15:22-24)

The younger son is returned to his former state. He is accepted back into the family he left, he is treated with honour, and he is given respect. The calf that is slaughtered could potentially feed an entire community. The father is throwing a party for everyone to celebrate. However, the elder brother is (understandably) unhappy at his father’s reckless generosity. However, the purpose of Jesus’ parable is to teach people about the generous love of God, who longs to see prodigal humanity reconciled. God loves us enough to send His Son to die for us, to reconcile us to God, and to each other. 

In some ways, we are all like the prodigal son, and God is like the father in the parable. God loves us, and will do anything to see us return to where we belong: back home, embraced, restored, and made whole again. This is the central message of the Christian Faith: GOD LOVES US! We don’t deserve to be loved, we often turn away from God’s love, but God doesn’t abandon us, or reject us. Instead, our Heavenly Father welcomes us back, so that we may be transformed by His love. Love and forgiveness have the power to change us like nothing else. This love transforms the world. Like the prodigal son’s father, God is generous, extravagant, and loves us more than we can know or fully understand. As Christians, we experience that love, through the Church, when we read the Bible, in our Baptism, in the forgiveness of sin, and in the Eucharist, where we taste God’s real love and generosity. We receive it and are transformed by it. These things change and make us more generous and loving. They build up a community of faith, transformed by love, which can change the world.

So, my brothers and sisters, let us rejoice in the generous love of God and prepare ourselves to celebrate the Paschal mystery. Let us give thanks for our families and give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. Amen.

James Tissot: The Return of the Prodigal Son (Brooklyn Museum)
Posted on by atfurse

Lent III

SOME of you may have visited the Egypt Centre on the campus of Swansea University. This small museum contains a fascinating collection of artefacts from a civilisation which is both strange and intriguing. In Ancient Egypt, gods were everywhere. Almost everything was worshipped as a god. This included the River Nile, which brought life, crops and fertility. Also there was the bull Apis in whose likeness the Israelites fashioned a Golden Calf. Another was Anubis with his black dog’s head, who was responsible for funerary rites. But in order to worship a divinity you first needed to know their name, and know who they were. 

In this morning’s first reading we hear that Moses is shepherding his father-in-law’s flock in the wilderness of Sinai. It is a difficult place: arid, rocky and mountainous. In the Ancient World, mountains were places for encounter with the divine. So when Moses sees a bush that is burning, but is not consumed by the fire, he wants to investigate what is going on. This leads to a meeting with God which will result in the Exodus, the journey from slavery to freedom; from Egypt to the Promised Land. 

God begins by saying who he is:

“Duw dy dadau wyf fi, Duw Abraham, Duw Isaac a Duw Jacob.”

‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ (Exod 3:6)

God has heard the cry of His people and is preparing to do something about their situation. He will lead them from Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. Moses then tells God that if he explains to the people that the God of their Ancestors has sent him, they will ask, ‘What is his name?’ The point of addressing a divinity by name was that then they would then listen to your prayers. This leads God to reply:

“Ydwyf yr hyn ydwyf. Dywed hyn wrth bobl Israel, ‘Ydwyf sydd wedi fy anfon atoch.’”

‘I Am Who I Am.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I Am has sent me to you.”’ (Exod 3:14)

God refuses to be named. God is who God is: the Creator of all, God of all. Almighty God is not to be reduced to a name or a category. However, He loves His People and intends, through Moses, to lead them from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. This journey is the event that will establish the people of Israel, and it also will provide the template for Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. 

Lent, at its heart, is a penitential season for Christians to prepare to celebrate the Passover which offers salvation to the whole world. This is why St Paul uses the story of the Exodus to remind the faithful of the importance of humility, and of knowing and acknowledging our need of God. As the Israelites were fed with spiritual food — manna — so Christians are fed with the Living Bread — Jesus Christ. As the Israelites were refreshed with spiritual drink, Christians drink the Blood of Christ, and are washed in the waters of Baptism. As Moses strikes the rock at Massah and Meribah, the Rock is Christ, upon whom we can build with sure foundations, against the storms of this world. Nourished by the Eucharist, we are fed by God, with God, so that He may transform us, so that we can share His Eternal Life. The Corinthians are taking this for granted, hence Paul’s warnings in the Epistle. Like the people of Corinth, we need to avoid sin, and turn back to God, and be sustained and upheld by Him, so that we can grow in faith.

Turning to this morning’s Gospel, we do not know who the Galileans that Pilate killed were. Galilee was renowned as a hotbed of political revolutionaries, full of people who wanted to free the Jewish people from Roman Rule. Forty years after Christ’s Passion, Rome will crush a revolution in Judea, and slaughter many people. Our Lord’s message to His followers is simple: repent. Repentance means changing your mind. Repentance means loving your enemies, and Repentance means living your life in a radically different way.

Once again, Jesus tells people a parable. A fig tree has not borne fruit in three years A man makes three visits to the fig tree. These visits represent the Patriarchs, the Prophets and the Gospel — the warnings given in Scripture to repent — and also the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Despite the guidance, the fig does not bear fruit, therefore it should be cut down

However, the unproductive tree is not cut down, but instead it is given a reprieve. The gardener allows the fig tree another chance. This is grace: the free gift of God, granted and not earned. Only through God’s grace can we hope to bear fruit. God, the gardener who created humanity in Paradise, will offer himself as both Priest and Victim upon the Tree of Life, to bleed and die for love of us. This gardener will meet Mary Magdalene by the empty tomb on Easter Day so that we, and all humanity, may share Christ’s risen life. The fact that we are here today is proof that for two thousand years this tree has borne fruit in the Church.

God loves humanity, which is why — like the fig tree — we are given another chance. We are granted the opportunity to repent, to turn back to the God who loves us, and who longs to see us flourish. Our lives as Christians are a continual cycle of falling short, and turning back in repentance to the source of grace, love, and mercy: God. We receive God’s gifts, even though we are not worthy of His generosity, but that’s the point. Our Heavenly Father satisfies our deepest needs and desires out of love for us, so that, enfolded in His love, we might become more lovely, and be filled with God’s infinite love and grace. Only when we are watered by God’s love can we truly bear fruit. We are all forgiven, and we are all loved. That is what the Cross demonstrates: God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. Jesus’ willing sacrifice stands for all time, and fundamentally changes our relationship with our Creator and each other. Ours is a faith rooted in love, freely given for the life of the world and for every individual human being.

So, my brothers and sisters, let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the Paschal mystery so that we, and all the world, may give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. Amen.

Posted on by atfurse

Lent I

The first reading this morning taken from the book of Deuteronomy, is part of the account of the Feast of First-fruits, called Shavuot. This feast celebrates the grain harvest in Israel, seven weeks after Passover. ‘What?’ you say, “Harvest Festivals?’ This seems a strange topic when we have just begun a six-week penitential season which is characterised by, amongst other things, fasting, abstaining from food. Yes, at first glance it does appear somewhat strange, but there is a reason. 

The reading from Deuteronomy is mostly an account of the words and actions made by the person offering the fruits of the earth to God. This includes a narration of preceding events: Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt to Freedom in the Promised Land. It is a prayerful retelling of the Passover story, which gives thanks to God for His mighty acts. At the same time that the Jews re-live salvation history, we as Christians are preparing to do the same. Lent precedes Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection (around the time of Passover), and also commemorates Jesus’ fasting in the desert at the beginning of His public ministry. 

The Christian journey through Lent is something of a trek through the desert. It is characterised by fasting, penitence and charity. These are the ways by which we prepare our souls and bodies to celebrate Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. We take time to solemnly ask forgiveness for all our wrongdoings, but we are also joyful knowing that Christ has overcome sin and death. There is a joy in what we do, and who we are, because of all that Christ has taught us and done for us. Lent is a hopeful and a healing time. And the world certainly needs hope and healing at the moment! These six weeks are both an opportunity to give ourselves a bit of encouragement in our spiritual lives, and they are also a time to prepare. As Christians, we travel with Christ from the wilderness of sin to the promised land of reunion with God the Father, and with each other.

The reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans also begins by quoting from Deuteronomy (30:14), just before Moses offers Israel the choice between life and death, good and evil. But for Paul:

‘Os cyffesi Iesu yn Arglwydd â’th enau, a chredu yn dy galon fod Duw wedi ei gyfodi ef oddi wrth y meirw, cei dy achub.” Oherwydd credu â’r galon sy’n esgor ar gyfiawnder, a chyffesu â’r genau sy’n esgor ar iachawdwriaeth.’

‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.’ (Rom 10:9)

This is the heart of our faith as Christians: Jesus is Lord, not Caesar, nor any power of this world. Christ alone saves us, by His Death and Resurrection. We believe this and bear witness to our belief. 

Today’s Gospel takes us back to the time immediately after Jesus’ Baptism, when He begins His public ministry. Christ goes out into the desert to be alone, to be quiet, to fast and to pray, and to be close to God the Father. While He is in the desert, Jesus is tempted by the Devil. Satan uses three different approaches, beginning by saying: 

‘Os Mab Duw wyt ti, dywed wrth y garreg hon am droi’n fara.’

‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’ (Lk 4:3)

This is a temptation to be relevant, Jesus is hungry. The Devil is saying, ‘If you are the Son of God then do this’. This is the same thing that the crowd will say to Our Lord as He goes to be crucified. The Devil and the crowd both demand that God prove Himself, rather than accepting the presence of the Holy Spirit and the voice of God the Father at Christ’s Baptism: ‘Ti yw fy Mab, yr Anwylyd; ynot ti yr wyf yn ymhyfrydu.’ ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ (Lk 3:22) Jesus is pleasing to God because He is obedient, but Satan is all about disobedience; not listening to God, not obeying Him. Whereas Adam, the first man, causes sin to enter into the world by eating forbidden fruit. Christ, who is the second Adam, conquers by abstaining. The desert is the exact opposite of the garden of Eden. While Eden was full of plants, trees and animals, the desert is an empty, lifeless place.However, it becomes the setting for obedience, reconciliation and healing.

The second temptation put to Jesus is the allure of earthly power. The Devil says to Our Lord: 

‘I ti y rhof yr holl awdurdod ar y rhain a’u gogoniant hwy; oherwydd i mi y mae wedi ei draddodi, ac yr wyf yn ei roi i bwy bynnag a fynnaf. Felly, os addoli di fi, dy eiddo di fydd y cyfan.’

‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ (Lk 4:6-7)

Jesus chooses heavenly glory and the salvation of humanity rather than worldly power. The Devil can only offer a false god and fleeting influence, whereas Christ stands for what is true and eternal. The temptation to seek influence, and prestige, symbolised here by worshipping the Devil, leads to the misuse of power. It’s a very human failing. One that we see all too clearly in our world today.

The third temptation for Jesus, is to put God to the test. Here Christ is encouraged to be spectacular and self-seeking. Whenever we say, ‘look at me’ we are not saying, ‘look at God’. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16: ‘Peidiwch â gosod yr Arglwydd eich Duw ar ei brawf’ ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’. God does not need to prove anything. He loves us, and sent His Son for us. If Jesus threw himself from the Temple it would be a great spectacle, but it wouldn’t achieve anything. The high place which Jesus will go up to is the Cross on the hill of Calvary. Here He will suffer and die to save humanity. This is where God shows His love for the world, through humiliation rather than by a glory-seeking stunt. 

Eventually the Devil gives up and departs. Christ’s faith and trust in God is stronger than temptation. We face the same temptations in our lives, but Jesus shows us that we can resist them. This isn’t easy — quite the opposite — but it is possible. This should encourage us as we try to follow Christ’s example, and grow in holiness this Lent. God does not ask the impossible of us, instead we try, and, when we fail, we ask for forgiveness. We grow in holiness in Lent through prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. Prayer offers us the opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. It is more about quality than quantity: expressing true repentance, for what we have done and failed to do, and resolving to do better in the future. Almsgiving helps us to be charitable and generous, to care for those in need, just as God is generous towards us.

Fasting is key, because it helps us to master our bodily cravings, to control what we eat and what we do, rather than being controlled by our appetites. This doesn’t mean that we should starve ourselves, but that we should be mindful of our actions and not give in to all our desires. Just as prayer is not about getting God’s attention or changing His mind, but rather changing who and what we are, making us more loving, humble and dependant on God. In the same way fasting stops us being slaves to our desires. It sets us free, and helps us to listen to God, and draw closer to Him. Through abstinence we enter into Christ’s suffering, so that we can follow the way of the Cross. We do this joyfully, because we are following Christ. We are learning to resist temptation, aided by prayer and a generous heart. Our aspiration is that this Lenten season will help us to grow in faith, hope, and love, and enable us to celebrate Our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection with greater joy. 

So, my brothers and sisters, let us prepare ourselves to celebrate the Paschal mystery so that we, and all the world, may give glory i Duw Dad, Duw y Mab, a Duw yr Ysbryd Glân. I’r hwn y priodoler pob gogoniant, arglwyddiaeth, a gallu, yn awr, ac yn oes oesoedd. Amen.