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Christmas 2023

How do you remember the significant people and events in your lives? Since the nineteenth century, with the invention of photography, we have tended to use photographs, and stored the pictures in albums. Nowadays, however they are more likely to be online or on a mobile phone or tablet. From the first ultrasound scans of a baby in the womb, and throughout life, we have visual reminders. But photography has only been widespread for about 150 years. Before then only the rich could afford to have pictures painted to record something for posterity. If we wished to recreate an event from the past, then a dramatic retelling was the only option available. This is exactly what St Francis of Assisi did to remember the events and people of the first nativity and to inspire the devotion of all those who saw it. 

The first nativity took place exactly 800 years ago this month. The year was 1223, and the location was a cave at Greccio in Italy, around 100km north of Rome. St Francis of Assisi was inspired to recreate the first nativity in Bethlehem in an Italian village with real animals and humans playing various parts — exactly like we did in Maenclochog last night. There are good reasons why such recreations are appealing. They remind us of the reality of the Incarnation, that God took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary and was born in Bethlehem. The new-born baby Jesus was surrounded by an ox and an ass, and sheep, and was laid in an animals’ feeding trough. As the prophet Isaiah says:

‘The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib’ 

‘Yr ych a edwyn ei feddiannydd, a’r asyn breseb ei berchennog’(Isa 1:3)

By this humble beginning God embarked on the journey of sharing our life, so that we might come to share His. Christ begins His life being laid on stone feeding trough. He will end it, taken down from the Cross and laid in a stone tomb. Such parallels are not mere coincidence. Instead, they point us towards a God who has made himself manifest, discoverable through signs, fulfilling prophecies, and declaring love for humanity. 

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and the embodiment of the Gospel of Salvation. He comes to bring comfort and redemption to the whole world.

‘for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.’

‘canys yr Arglwydd a gysurodd ei bobl, efe a waredodd Jerwsalem.’ (Isa 52:9)

Today our salvation has dawned, prophecy is fulfilled, and the Saviour of the world is born. The message of Isaiah is one of joy. The birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is Good News. This is because He comes to bring true peace to humanity. That such peace currently eludes our world, is exactly why He came: to heal our wounds and to show us a new way to live. Throughout His life, all that Christ says and does shows us how much God loves us. The Word becomes flesh, ‘A’r Gair a wnaethpwyd yn gnawd’ and enters the world. He dwells among us ‘ac a drigodd yn ein plith ni’: a wondrous mystery which provokes us to worship, to kneel with the shepherds and to adore the God who comes among us. Jesus shares our human life so that we might share His divine life, not because we asked, and not because we are deserving, it is not something we have earned. Rather, it is the free gift of a loving and merciful God. This then is the glory of God — being born in simple poverty. Jesus, the Son of God comes to call humanity to a new way of being together, where the old order is cast aside, turning the world upside down .He offers us the possibility of living in a radically different way. Instead of war, misery and hatred, He shows us the way of peace, joy, and love.

Such is the reality St Francis sought to inspire in the hearts and lives of people eight hundred years ago. It is a message which can still inspire us, a mystery which can still transform us. So that through the grace of God we can come to share in the Divine life, born among us, in a stable not a palace. God surprises us with generosity which we cannot fathom. God subverts human expectations. Christ’s first breaths are taken surrounded by animals and shepherds. Not what one would expect of a royal birth! 

God is a God of mystery and paradox. We know that we can never fully understand Him, but we can experience His love. To quote from Sir John Betjeman’s poem ‘Christmas’:

No love that in a family dwells,

No carolling in frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

Can with this single Truth compare —

That God was man in Palestine

And lives today in Bread and Wine.

May we greet Our Lord, born among us, and may we feed on His Body and Blood at the Altar. Given to transform us, so that we may join with the choir of angels in singing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Nadolig Llawen i chi gyd!

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Advent IV – Trust!

Those of you who are fans of The Sound of Music will know that to begin at the beginning is a very good place to start. This morning’s Gospel does exactly that, by going back to the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the beginning of the story of Christmas. As we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth this evening and tomorrow, it is only natural to return to the point of Our Lord’s Conception to help us to ponder the wonderful mystery which God accomplishes for our sake. 

At its heart, Christianity is a religion which declares that God becomes a human being, so that humanity can share in the life of God. This is what we believe as Christians, and why we proclaim this truth to the world. The greatest news in human history is a teenage pregnancy — something that is shocking and scandalous, is how God saves us. This is why St Paul can write to the Romans:

the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations (Rom 16:25-26)

This is the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. It starts with an encounter in Nazareth. A young woman is engaged to be married and receives a visitor, who says:

“Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” (Lk 1:28)

Mary is confused, she cannot understand what is going on. Biblical accounts of the interaction between God and humanity show us that ours is a God who takes risks. Mary could refuse, she could say no, and human history would be profoundly different. So the angel Gabriel says, ‘Paid ag ofni, Do not be afraid’. Mary does not need to be afraid because God is doing something wonderful. She will bear a son and call him Jesus, which means ‘God saves’. Jesus the Son of God will save God’s people from their sins, and will fulfil the promise made to David, which we heard in our first reading. 

Mary cannot understand how this will happen. The Holy Spirit, God active in the world, and the bond of love between God the Father and God the Son, will overshadow her. God will take flesh in her womb and be born as one of us. So Mary replies:

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38)

Mary says ‘Yes’ to God. This is a ‘Yes’ which undoes the ‘No’ of Eve. It brings about the salvation of humanity, through the Life, Death, and Resurrection of her Son. Mary’s obedience to the will of God, ‘the obedience of faith’ (Rom 16:26), both trusts God to be at work, and makes it possible. We can be joyful because of Mary’s ‘yes’ to God. In her we have a pattern of obedience to the will of God which all Christians are to follow.

In the first reading this morning King David is worried. He says to Nathan the prophet:

“See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” (2 Samuel 7:2)

Since the Exodus from Egypt, the Ark of the Covenant has resided in a  tabernacle, a tent, a temporary dwelling. This worries David, but God is not concerned whether he lives in a tent or a temple. It does not matter. God’s response is not to accept David’s offer, but instead to make David an amazing counter-offer:

Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom…  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son… And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me. Your throne shall be established for ever.’” (2 Samuel 7:11-12, 14, 16)

God offers David a family, a Royal House. This is a promise which bears fruit with the coming of Jesus, born of the House of David, and the Son of God. Jesus’ mother Mary will be the living Ark of the New Covenant. This will be a covenant that is not made in stone, but rather in flesh; the flesh of the Son of God, who is born for us, and who dies for us. Mary’s womb will be the place where the Son of God will begin to dwell with us:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isa 7:14)

Immanuel in Hebrew means ‘God (is) with us’ and this is what we are preparing to celebrate at Christmas: God being among us. Let us then follow Mary’s example of obedience, listen to God, and trust Him to be at work in us. Let us welcome Jesus both in Bethlehem and here upon the altar, where God, who became flesh and blood in the womb of Mary, offers us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, so that we might share His Life. Let us, like Mary, say, ‘Yes’ to God, welcome him into our hearts. Let us be beacons in the world, shining with God’s love. May all this Christmas come to believe and trust in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Sr. Grace Remington OCSO, Mary and Eve, crayon and pencil, 2005
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Advent III – Rejoice!

THIS morning many of us will have opened door №17 on our Advent Calendars. The Countdown to Christmas is well underway and seems to be moving even more quickly this year when Advent is only 3 weeks and 1 day long. There is much to prepare for. Most importantly, as Christians, we joyfully prepare to meet Jesus, both as a baby born in Bethlehem, and as our Saviour and our Judge. During this season our readings focus on both the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist. This is because they both look to Jesus, as the fulfilment of prophecy: the Messiah, God’s anointed, who will save God’s people from their sins. 

In the Gospels, the religious authorities, the Scribes, Pharisees, and priests, tend to receive a fairly negative portrayal. Much of this is for good reason, but, this morning, I have to admit that I find myself agreeing with their questioning. The Gospel passage set for today takes two passages from the first chapter of St John’s Gospel. The first is quite straightforward. The evangelist writes:

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 

Yr ydoedd gŵr wedi ei anfon oddi wrth Dduw, a’i enw Ioan. Hwn a ddaeth yn dystiolaeth, fel y tystiolaethai am y Goleuni, fel y credai pawb trwyddo ef. Nid efe oedd y Goleuni, eithr efe a anfonasid fel y tystiolaethai am y Goleuni. (Jn 1:6-8)

John the Baptist is the forerunner, the one who comes to bear witness to Christ, the Light of the World. He proclaims the Good News of God’s Kingdom by calling people to repentance. John calls us all to turn away from our sins, and to turn back to the God who loves us, and will save us. Today’s Gospel then shifts to the interaction between John and representatives from the Temple in Jerusalem:

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 

A hon yw tystiolaeth Ioan, pan anfonodd yr Iddewon o Jerwsalem offeiriaid a Lefiaid i ofyn iddo, Pwy wyt ti? (Jn 1:19)

At one level John’s response to this question could have been purely factual: ‘I am John, the son of Zechariah the priest’. John would have known Temple priests, being the son of one, and they in turn would have known him. The priests and Levites are interested both in John’s identity and in what he is doing. 

As we heard last week, John has been baptising people in the Jordan. He stationed himself near Bethany where the road from Jerusalem to Jericho meets the Jordan. It is somewhere where you can cross the river, the water is shallow, you and your animals can drink and rest. It is an ideal place to have a break — the first-century equivalent of a motorway service station. John has been preaching repentance, and he has washed people in flowing water, to signify forgiveness. The religious authorities are trying to understand what exactly is going on. The conversation continues:

He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 

Ac efe a gyffesodd, ac ni wadodd; a chyffesodd, Nid myfi yw’r Crist. A hwy a ofynasant iddo, Beth ynteu? Ai Eleias wyt ti? Yntau a ddywedodd, Nage. Ai’r Proffwyd wyt ti? Ac efe a atebodd, Nage. (Jn 1:20-21)

John’s answer is clear. He is neither the Messiah, nor is he Elijah — though he does look somewhat like him. Those questioning the Baptist ask him to explain himself, so that they can tell the religious authorities in Jerusalem who and what he is. In answer John quotes from the Fortieth Chapter of Isaiah, which we heard read last week. 

He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’, as the prophet Isaiah said.” 

Eb efe, Myfi yw llef un yn gweiddi yn y diffeithwch, Unionwch ffordd yr Arglwydd, fel y dywedodd Eseias y proffwyd. (Jn 1:23)

While this might appear a slightly cryptic response, what John is saying is: ‘I am fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy’, in other words: ‘the Messiah is coming!’ This is Good News. It is also the reason why today’s reading from the prophet Isaiah contains the very passage that Jesus reads out in the synagogue at Nazareth at the start of his public ministry (Lk 4:16-19). John the forerunner proclaims that the Messiah is coming, this is a reason to be joyful!

The priests and Levites cannot quite understand what is going on. If John the Baptist is not the Messiah, nor Elijah returned to earth, why then is he baptising people? 

John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 

Ioan a atebodd iddynt, gan ddywedyd, Myfi sydd yn bedyddio â dwfr; ond y mae un yn sefyll yn eich plith chwi yr hwn nid adwaenoch chwi: Efe yw’r hwn sydd yn dyfod ar fy ôl i, yr hwn a aeth o’m blaen i; yr hwn nid ydwyf fi deilwng i ddatod carrai ei esgid.(Jn 1:26-27)

John sees himself as not even worthy to untie his cousin Jesus’ sandals, something that a servant would do. He is a model of humility. The Baptist does not seek power or prestige, all he wants is to do is God’s will. Christ is unknown to the religious authorities, and to all who do not follow Him. But we know Him and love Him, as Our Lord and Saviour, and we wait for His coming filled with joy and expectation. 

Even in the depth of winter, we know that God is someone whom we can trust, who keeps His promises. Our Heavenly Father offers the world the greatest present we could ever hope for: true love and eternal life. Today, the peace which the Messiah came to bring seems as elusive as ever, with the human capacity to create misery in the most dreadful ways continuing relentlessly. We know that humanity still has some considerable distance to travel. One possible answer is to embrace the need for repentance: to change our hearts and minds and to follow Christ. We also prepare to meet Him as He will come again, as our Saviour and our Judge. It is a daunting prospect, yet we know and trust that Jesus saves us. By His Wounds on the Cross we are healed, our sins are forgiven. 

As Christ’s followers we rejoice in a God who loves us, who heals us, and who and restores us. In Him, and through Him, we are given real hope for the future. In the midst of human pain and sorrow we can place all our hope and trust in God, who both loves us, and saves us. We draw close to Jesus in His Word, and in the Sacrament of the Altar. Today we are fed with His Body and Blood, so that we can be sanctified by God, and share in his divine life and joy.

Like Jesus and John the Baptist, may we be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us proclaim God’s Truth so that all the world may come to believe and trust in Him. May we, this Advent time and always, sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

John the Baptist: 12th cent. Mosaic in Cappella Palatina di Palermo
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Advent II – Repent!

ONE of the most important tasks for anyone bringing up children involves teaching them right from wrong, encouraging good conduct while avoiding bad behaviour. Children and adults alike learn by example, and we need people to teach us. The prophets of Ancient Israel take on this role, showing the people of God where they have gone wrong, and what they should do. John the Baptist is the last of the prophets, and points people towards the Messiah, Jesus. John is the last person to call Israel to repentance, and the first to proclaim the Kingdom of God, which finds its fulfilment in Christ. The Baptist looks back to the prophetic tradition of the Old Covenant, and forward to the New Covenant. Like the prophets of earlier generations, he educates God’s people and announces the reality of God’s saving love. Prophets can be divisive and unsettling figures because they speak with clarity and urgency. They tell it like it is, and are convinced of the importance of their message, because it comes from God.

Our first reading this morning from the prophet Isaiah is joyful and optimistic. Through the prophet, God speaks words of comfort to His people. Today we go back to the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. Here we find the words of Isaiah are quoted because they look forward to the coming of the Messiah:

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)

Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of biblical prophecy. In Him the glory of the Lord is revealed. Mark also quotes from the prophet Malachi:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1)

Mark includes both of these prophetic texts in his Gospel to show us that, from the beginning, prophecy is being fulfilled in Jesus. John the Baptist is the messenger, preparing the community for the coming of the Messiah: Jesus, who is God.

From his first appearance in the wilderness, John proclaims a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Such a rite of initiation was usual for people converting to Judaism, but not for those who were already Jewish. It looks something like a revival: people are encouraged to take their faith more seriously, and to live it out in their lives. John then positions himself at a point where the busy road from Jerusalem crosses the River Jordan. There he challenges all those he meets to change their ways. The Baptist calls people to repentance, to turn away from sin and to turn back to God. It is good to be reminded that God’s love and mercy are available to all of us, even when we fall short of what Our Heavenly Father wants us to be. This is why the story of Jesus’ public ministry begins with His Baptism in the Jordan, and at the same time points to Golgotha. The place where Christ will die taking our sins, and those of all humanity upon Himself. Christ’s Death demonstrates God’s love for us and His mercy towards us. It is hard to comprehend how God could love us that much. And yet Christ gives us Himself in the Eucharist, so that His Body and Blood can transform us, so that we can share in His life on Earth and in Heaven.

John the Baptist is the last of the prophets and the voice crying in the wilderness of which the prophet Isaiah spoke. He has a challenging and uncompromising message: repent for the Kingdom of God is close at hand. This may not be what many people today want to hear, but it is, however, what people need to hear. Those who flock to him are aware of their sin, and aware of their need of God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. The Baptist’s message may not be an easy one, but it is actually Good News. Our prayers are answered: that for which we hope, for which our soul deeply longs can be ours. Through our own baptism, we share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and we are washed from sin and given the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is difficult to make a proclamation similar to John’s in today’s society, where the Church is increasingly marginalised. Yet our message must still be ‘Repent!’. This is because the world needs to repent, to turn away from sin and selfishness, and back to a God of love, who longs for us to have life in all its fullness.

Repentance is both an event and a process. It is something that we need to do continuously, and do together. This is the life of faith which Christ calls us to live. Repentance is the work of a lifetime, we need to keep turning away from sin and turning back to God. The season of Advent is a good time for repentance. As we prepare to meet Jesus, we need to return to the God who loves us. As the prophet Isaiah wrote:

He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isa 40:11)

We have been given clear instruction in how to live. The prophets tell us to return to the Lord. They too look forward to the coming of the Messiah. As we prepare to meet Him, let us prepare our hearts, our souls, and our lives. Let us, along with John the Baptist and all the saints, sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

James Tissot – The voice in the desert (Brooklyn Museum)
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The First Sunday of Advent

THE recent changes to speed limits on the roads in Wales have made everyone who drives much more interested in reading road signs. Gone are the old certainties, and instead we are left unsure. Not long ago things used to be relatively simple, now they have become far more complex. At times, it can be hard to know exactly what speed we are supposed to be doing, and we can end up concentrating more on the signs than on the road ahead. This situation is far from ideal, but in some ways it mirrors the confusion and lack of certainty that many Christians feel regarding the second coming of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But we are given signs to follow.

The season of Advent begins today. Four weeks of preparation, of getting ready. At this time of year the Church prepares to meet Christ in two ways. Firstly, in the annual celebration of His Birth at Christmas, and also by preparing for His Second Coming as our Saviour and our Judge. During the four weeks of Advent the Liturgy encourages us to ponder the Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. It is important to think about such things. Our earthly lives are finite, but afterwards we have an eternal destiny. Christians believe that Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again to give us the hope of eternal life in Him. In the grand scheme of things, what really matters are our lives and our souls: who we are, what we are, what we do, and where our motivations come from.

Our readings over the last few weeks have been preparing us for the change of season with their focus on judgement and Our Lord’s Return. They highlight a paradox. We do not know when Christ will return, but we are told that the signs will be clear. 

Jesus says:

“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.” (Mk 13:32-33)

There is no way that we can know exactly when Jesus will return, so all we can do is be vigilant and be alert. We can live lives that demonstrate our readiness by living out our faith, here and now, every single day. We have only one life to live here on Earth, and we must try, with God’s grace, to do the best we can. In today’s world, the idea of living for today is frequently seen as more important than caring about what will happen to us when we die. However, as Christians, we know that how we live our lives matters not just for today, but for eternity. Jesus calls all people to repentance — to turn around and change the whole of their lives and follow Him in their thoughts, their words, and their deeds. We need to follow Jesus’ teachings for the Kingdom of God is close at hand.

What matters is not when Our Lord returns, but whether we are ready to meet him, when that day comes. The words of Isaiah from this morning’s first reading can help us. The prophet is looking forward to the redemption of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, and a new future after exile. Against a picture of human sin, and rebellion against God, there is the implicit possibility of something better. God has plan, a plan for good things, and this plan is for our well-being, brought about through Jesus. Isaiah is convinced of both the power and the love of God, to remake us, and restore us, to enrich us with His grace.

We are not left alone in all this. God both tells us the nature and source of the problem, and provides us with a solution. He helps us along our way: strengthening and encouraging us to turn our lives around, and follow Him. Jesus instructs us to be vigilant, to keep awake, and be ready to greet Him, when He comes.

Our Lord will return, and we look forward to this as each year we celebrate His first coming as a baby in Bethlehem. The prophet Isaiah eagerly anticipates the Incarnation, when he asks God:

‘Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,’ (Isa 64:1)

This is exactly what God does at the Annunciation, when Mary conceives through the power of the Holy Spirit, so that He can be born in Bethlehem. Christ comes among us, as a weak and vulnerable child, to show all humanity that we are loved and valued. His birth demonstrates that healing and reconciliation are possible. Scripture is fulfilled, and we can have hope for the future. Christmas, Christ’s birth, should fill us with joy, and wonder. What greater present could we offer to the Infant Jesus than hearts filled with love and lives lived in the true freedom proclaimed by the Gospel. At one level, it doesn’t matter when the Second Coming is. What matters is living lives infused with the values of the Kingdom of God, here and now.

Christ’s first coming in Bethlehem was proclaimed through signs, in the prophecy of Isaiah and others. The star proclaimed the Messiah’s birth, guiding wise men from the East. In a similar way, Our Lord’s Second Coming will be announced in the celestial realms:

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” (Mk 13:24-26)

When Jesus comes the signs will be clear, just as the fig tree heralds the start of summer. God gives us signs so that we can be sure and ready to meet Him when He comes.

This Advent, God asks us, to turn our lives around, and prepare ourselves to meet our Lord, just as He meets us today. We encounter Him at the altar in His body and blood, in His words proclaimed in Scripture, in the yearly remembrance of His Nativity, and in His coming in glory as our Saviour and our Judge. God was prepared to go to any length to meet us, to be with us, and to heal us. In turn we need to prepare ourselves, our souls and our lives to meet Him. We do this so that we may be united with Him forever. In anticipation of this day we sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed all glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Michelangelo The Last Judgement, Sistine Chapel
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Lent III John 4: 5–42

 

‘God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us’

Hyperichius said, ‘The tree of life is high, and humility climbs it.’

He also said, ‘Imitate the tax-collector, to prevent yourself being condemned with the Pharisee. Follow the gentleness of Moses, and hollow out the rocky places of your heart, so that you turn them into springs of water.’

 

People can be strange, stubborn infuriating creatures, and the picture given to us of the Israelites in Exodus should strike something of a chord. We can recognise something of ourselves in it: stubborn, wilful, and sinful. But lest we get too disheartened it is important to recognise that Moses strikes the rock at Horeb, as the Lord commands him, and out flows water. This water, like the parted water of the Red Sea prefigures Christ, the living water, our baptism, through which we enter the Church. Through it we are regenerate, born again to eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, whose side was pierced on Calvary, and whence flowed blood and water. This water speaks to us of the grace of God poured out upon us, his people, to heal us and restore us, to help us live his risen life.

So as we continue our Lenten pilgrimage, we can do so joyfully because God’s love has been poured into our hearts – what matters is what has been done to us, by God, out of love, so that we can be like him. He is the reconciliation which achieves what we cannot: restoring our relationship with God and each other, healing our wounds, and giving us eternal life in Him.

Picture the scene – it’s the middle of the day, the sun is blazing overhead, he’s been walking for hours, days even. Jesus is tired – as a man, a human being, he is no different from you or me – he ate and drank,  he was thirsty, and he was knackered. Mid-day is certainly no time to be drawing water from a well – it’s something you do first thing in the morning, as the sun is rising. What sort of a woman is drawing water at mid-day? Hardly a respectable one, but rather someone shunned, someone beyond the pale, cast out of polite society as an adulteress who is living in sin. Jesus asks the woman for a drink – he’s defying a social convention – he’s breaking the rules. She’s really surprised – Jews are supposed to treat Samaritans as outcasts, they’re beyond the pale: they’re treated something like the Roma in Eastern Europe – outcasts, second class, scum, to be despised and looked down upon. And yet Jesus asks her for water, he initiates the conversation and the encounter, with an outsider, to bring her in.

Jesus offers her living water, so that she may never be thirsty again. The woman desires it, so that she will never be thirsty again, or have to come to the well to draw water, she’s fed up of the work, and fed up of being an outcast, and having to do it at antisocial hours when the community can see who and what she is. Jesus knows who and what she is – he recognises her irregular lifestyle. He also sees her need of God – her need for the water of grace to restore her soul, and inspire her to tell people the Good News. Her testimony is powerful because she has experienced God’s love as a living reality and she simply has to tell people about it. She brings them to Christ so that they can be nourished, so that they too can experience the grace of God.

People are interested in who and what Jesus is, what he’s got to say, and they believe and trust in Him as the Messiah the Anointed of God, as the Saviour of the World, a title recently taken up by the Roman Emperor, big claims to make, and dangerous ones, which along with His healings will soon lead to His condemnation and death. In plenty of parts of the world the proclamation of the Good News still leads to imprisonment, torture and death, even today. And yet as Christians we are called to bear witness regardless of the personal cost, so that the world may believe. Here in the West we have as a church become comfortable, we forget about persecution, or view it at a safe distance. We’re not involved, it doesn’t matter that much to us. Are we far from the grace of our baptism, have we not encountered Jesus in Word and Sacrament? Are we too afraid of the World? The world which Christ overcomes on the Cross.

To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often. If we are changing into Jesus Christ, then we’re on the right track. If we listen to his word; if we talk to him in prayer and let him talk to us; if we’re fed by Him in the Eucharist, by Christ both priest and victim, to become what He is – God; if we’re forgiven by Him, through making confession of our sins, not only do we come to understand Jesus, we become like him, we come to share in his divine nature, you, me, all of humanity ideally. We, the People of God, the new humanity, enter into the divine fullness of life, we have a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

Lent should be something of a spiritual spring clean, asking God to drive out all that should not be there, preparing for the joy of Easter, to live the Risen Life, filled with God’s grace. In our baptism we died with Christ and were raised to new life in the Spirit. Let us prepare to live that life, holding fast to Our Lord and Saviour, clinging to the teachings of his body, the Church. Let us turn away from the folly of this world, the hot air, and focus on the true and everlasting joy of heaven, which awaits us, who are bought by his blood, washed in it, fed with it. So that we too may praise the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever…

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Guercino Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 1640-1

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Lent IV

Let those who think that the Church pays too much attention to Mary give heed to the fact that Our Blessed Lord Himself gave ten times as much of His life to her  as He gave to His Apostles.

Fulton Sheen, The World’s First Love, 1956: 88

As human beings we believe  that we have been created in the image of God, and thus human love should reflect something of that divine love. Most of us, though sadly not all, experience self-giving, sacrificial love from our parents, and particularly our mothers: they nourish us, care for us, comfort and love us, just as they have given birth to us: it is a wonderful thing, which should be celebrated and held up as an example.

When the Church seeks to understand and celebrate mothers she does so by considering the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is cared for through the love of his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who in her love, service, and obedience, stands as the model for all Christians to follow. She is the first Christian, and the greatest: a pattern for us to imitate, and a foreshadowing of our great mother the church, which seeks to offer the world a moral framework, within which to live its life; and to offer the world an alternative, a new way of living and of being through which to have life, and have life in all its fullness.

Mary’s is a love which will see her stand at the foot of the Cross and experience the pain of watching her Son die, for love of us. Any parent will tell you that they would do anything to save their children from hurt or harm, and yet there she stands, and is initiated into a new relationship where she becomes a mother to John, the beloved disciple, and through him, a mother of all of, the mother of the church, someone who loves, prays, and cherishes.

It is this love which St Paul expects of the church in Colossae, and which God expects of us: it describes what love looks like: it isn’t easy, it’s difficult, costly and frustrating, but through it we can grow in love, of God and each other.

The salvation and eternal life which Christ offers freely to all, comes through the church, which we enter in our baptism, where we are nourished in word and sacrament, where we given food for the journey of faith, strengthened and taught, to live his risen life, to share in the joys of Easter.

God cares so much about the world and its people that he takes flesh, and lives a life of love, amidst the messiness of humanity, to show us how to live lives filled with love, life in all its fullness. Not to condemn the world but to offer it a way of being. God has made us for himself , and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in him. The spiritual needs and searching which characterise people in the world around us, can be satisfied in God and in God alone, through the church. So we can rejoice, and relax our Lenten discipline for a little while to give thanks for the wonderful gift of God’s love in our lives, in the church, and for the world.

But we also need to trust God, to listen to what he says through Scripture, to be fed by him, and to live lives in accordance with his will and purpose, together, as a family, as a community of love, cared for and supported by our mother, the church. And in so doing we look to our Lady as mother of our Lord and mother of the church, as a pattern for love and obedience, as a model for all mothers: loving and tender, putting the needs of others before self, self-giving, sacrificial, and open to both joy and pain.

This, as any mother can tell you, is not easy, it’s difficult, really hard, but its rewards are likewise great. So let us, as we continue our Lenten journey towards the cross, where God shows his love for us most fully and completely, giving his body to be broken and his blood be shed for us, a sacrifice which will be made present here today under the outward forms of bread and wine, to strengthen us to live the risen life of Easter, to offer the world and alternative to selfishness, to self-centredness, to the sin which continues to separate us from God and each other, an alternative seen in the self-giving love of mothers, and in our mother, the church. So that we may join the Angels in our song of love and praise to the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to whom…

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Homily for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: 1 Peter 2:9-10

Hold me worthy , O Lord, to behold your mercy in my soul before I depart from this world; may I be aware in myself at that hour of your comfort, along with those who have gone forth from this world in good hope. Open my heart, O my God, by your grace and purify me from any association with sin. Tread out in my heart the path of repentance, my God and my Lord, my hope and my boast, my strong refuge, by whom may my eyes be illumined, and may I have understanding of your truth, Lord. Hold me worthy, Lord, to taste the joy of the gift of repentance, by which the soul is separated from co-operating with sin and the will of flesh and blood. Hold me worthy, O Lord, to taste this state, wherein lies the gift of pure prayer. O my Saviour, may I attain to this wondrous transition at which the soul abandons this visible world, and at which new stirrings arise on our entering into the spiritual world and the experience of new perceptions.

St Isaac of Nineveh

The Apostle Peter is writing to a church which is undergoing persecution on account of their faith in Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. While you could argue that this is not happening to us here, now, openly, it does nonetheless happen to our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are called to bear witness to Christ regardless of the cost. If anything the persecution in this country is more to do with apathy, ignorance, and our dismissal from public discourse unless we are in agreement with popular whim or sentiment: such is the tyranny of secularism, which we must, as Christians resist, as we are called to conform the world to the will of God.

We are called to be a holy nation and a chosen race, not in exclusive ethnic terms, like the people of Israel, but rather because we are one in Christ, through our common baptism, having passed through that water greater than the Red Sea, which gives freedom to all the world: we can look beyond the simplistic divisions of the world to something greater, and far more wonderful, and while we are certainly not there yet, we are all nonetheless travelling on a journey towards unity, because it is the will of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and his prayer to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest in John 17.

Our highest allegiance then is not to the powers of this world, for we recognise a higher power, the King of Heaven and Earth, which is Christ. He makes us royal, he gives us entry into that greatest of palaces, that is heaven, through His Precious Blood which was shed to heal us and restore us, there is as the hymn puts it power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb. It is through Christ’s priesthood, a priesthood of the new covenant in His Blood, after the order of Melchisedech, that the church continues a cultic priesthood to offer continually that one perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, so that the people of God may be made holy, by being fed with His Body and Blood so that our human nature may be transformed into his divine nature: Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐνηνθρώπησεν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς θεοποιηθῶμεν· ‘He became human so that we might become divine’ Athanasius De Incarnatione Dei Verbi 54.3.

We are holy, set apart for God’s service and the proclamation of His Kingdom , proclaiming the saving acts of God in Christ, and calling the world to repent, to turn away from the ways of sin and self, and to believe and trust in a God who loves us and saves us. Christ calls us out of the darkness of sin, of the world into the glorious light of His Kingdom. This is the fulfilment of the prophesy of Hosea 1:6 and 1:9 Once we were no people, now we are God’s people (cf. Hosea 1:9 Call his name lo-ammi [not my people] 1:6 Call her name lo-ruhamah [who has not received mercy]) We are God’s people, God claims us for His own, through His Son, who shows us in His life, Death, and Resurrection exactly what mercy is: A God who suffers and dies for love of us, poor sinful humanity, that we might become something better, something greater. God sees that human sinfulness is such a problem that only an outpouring of Divine Love in the sacrifice of His Son can save us.

And having received mercy, love and forgiveness in Christ, we show it in our lives so that ours is a proclamation not only of words but of deeds, so that we play an active part in the reconciliation of the world to God in Christ. Mercy, with joy and peace are the fruit of charity: our love of God and our neighbour, we love because God loved us first, and as we show mercy, we shall receive mercy, we harvest what we sow.

As St Isaac says ‘Do not hate the sinner. Become a proclaimer of God’s grace, seeing that God provides for you even though you are unworthy. Although your debt to him is very great, there is no evidence of him exacting any payment from you, whereas in return for the small ways you do manifest good intention he rewards you abundantly. Do not speak of God as ‘just’, for his justice is not in evidence in his actions towards you. How can you call God just when you read the gospel lesson concerning the hiring of the workmen in the vineyard? How can someone call God just when he comes across the story of the prodigal son who frittered away all his belongings in riotous living — yet merely in response to his contrition his father ran and fell upon his neck, and gave authority over all his possession? In these passages it is not someone else speaking about God; had this been the case, we might have had doubts about God’s goodness. No it is God’s own Son who testifies about him in this way. Where then is this ‘justice’ in God, seeing that, although we were sinners, Christ died for us? If he is so compassionate in this, we have faith that he will not change.’

We show this love first in obedience, like Our Lord’s Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as we heard in this morning’s Gospel in her words to the servants ‘Do whatever he tells you’ If we are obedient, like Mary, then model disciple and mother of the Church, the first and greatest Christian, then we can truly be salt and light to the world, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom.

The Good News is the announcement of God’s mercy, shown to us in Christ, in Him we see what God is really like, in Him we experience love, healing, forgiveness, reconciliation. Through Him we are healed and restored, we become God’s people, and proclaim God’s Kingdom, so that humanity may come to experience God’s love and mercy, and believe and give Glory to 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 unto the ages of ages.