St Catherine’s Church, BurbageFriday 22 May 2020Reflection for Morning Prayer“Hallowed be thy name”Isaiah 6: 1-86 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said:“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory.”4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”ReflectionParts of the Bible have experienced the Hollywood treatment by various cinematographers and directors, like Cecil B. DeMille and Ridley Scott. We have seen vivid recreations of ‘Noah’s Flood’, Moses and the ‘Parting of the Red Sea’, and ‘Samson and Delilah’, otherwise known as the most expensive haircut in history. Presentations of the life and times of Jesus Christ are firm favourites, though seldom do they appear on British television channels today, except, perhaps, at Easter time.Holy Scripture includes other events, which lend themselves wonderfully to large scale visual recreations. You have just heard one of them, a passage from Isaiah. It is glorious, isn’t it; you can almost imagine it in your mind’s eye. It recalls an occasion at the time when King Uzziah of Judah died, most likely in the middle of the eighth century BC. Isaiah came to the Temple, where he was met with something a little out of the ordinary, certainly something that would have made you think twice at any rate. Isaiah had a vision of the Lord in that space, which was filled with smoke, and God was accompanied by angelic winged-beings, seraphs, who sang out a hymn “Holy, holy, holy”, a hymn we repeat today in church in a modified form. We are told that the whole space was filled with the sight; the hem of the robe filled the Temple, which gives you an idea of the scale. The pivots of the thresholds shook because of the voices of heaven.This is clearly an extraordinary and unique event, one to be remembered and to be recorded. It reveals something of God. It shows something of the majesty of God, the wonder of God, the mystery of God and the greatness of God. It shows something of the ‘specialness’ of God. This occurrence marks out God as a god worthy of praise and thanksgiving. Something ‘holy’, just as the seraphs’ hymn reinforce.The word ‘holy’ is a very difficult one to define; once you start to get a grip on it, the definition then slips through your fingers, unhelpfully. Some words which are used to explain the term ‘holy’ include special, sacred, right and pure. Indeed, the word ‘holy’ marks out a God who is God above all gods.And this word ‘holy’ relates to another in the phrase ‘Hallowed be thy name’, a line from the ‘Our Father’ that we are thinking about today. The word ‘hallowed’ is related to holy. In other words, to ‘revere’ to ‘honour’ that special and sacred name. To reverence that glorious name of the Father which is above every other name. It teaches us to treat God, and his name, with the respect he deserves and not to be too ‘chummy’. But how to remember the ‘specialness’ of God; how to remember the ‘sacredness’, or ‘holiness’ of God, is a question worth keeping in mind. This is where worship plays a part, though sadly beyond our reach at present. Although Anglo-Catholic liturgy is sometimes criticised as being old fashioned by many in the church today, there is something about it that promotes the holiness of God, and a reminder that God is great, huge, enormous . . . better still, is very much the Almighty. The use of singing, the utilisation of incense, and the physicality of the sacred space, all contribute to that point and that is that the name of God is to be ‘hallowed’, or revered. Throughout history, churches have tried to achieve this and succeeded to greater or lesser extents. The Medieval church conducted it with aplomb, coming unstuck at the Reformation. In England, under the reign of Charles I in the seventeenth century, greater ritual was employed. And in the nineteenth century, the Anglo-Catholics, but also the ascending Roman Catholics, brought a sense of God’s majesty and awe into some of the most bleak and deprived parts of this country. This all went hand-in-hand with their endeavours to bring social justice to those communities dominated by those ‘dark Satanic mills.’So, that phrase in the Lord’s Prayer speaks of the great and holy God, whose name should indeed be revered. God is special and worthy of our honour. Isaiah’s encounter with God was dramatic to be sure. Our encounters with the holy God maybe very different. Who knows, you might receive a vision of clouds of smoke and singing cherubs in St Catherine’s. But whether our encounters be grand, or quieter affairs, be ready to respond as Isaiah did: “Here am I; send me.”
Thy Kingdom Come’ on Ascension Day, Thursday 21 May: ‘Our Father who art in Heaven’The Ascension Reading: A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 1.1-11In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ReflectionAscension Day marks the first day of Thy Kingdom Come – an annual invitation to prayer called by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. Lasting for eleven days, the focus is specific prayer in churches, households and as individuals for friends, families, communities and countries to come to know the saving love of God in Jesus Christ, and for ourselves that empowered by God’s Spirit we would grow in confidence to show and tell of God’s love. This year the focus is Prayer and Care particularly in view of the time in which we find ourselves, when our church buildings and other public buildings are closed and many people are feeling the strain of isolation and physical distancing.From now until Pentecost, during our Morning Prayer Zoom sessions, our short Reflections will be considering the Lord’s Prayer line by line. So today, we think about ‘Our Father who art in Heaven’. We are reminded that we are part of a family which extends through earth and heaven – the community of the Church. Isolation and loneliness are epidemics in our modern world. The more we are connected, the more alone we can feel. The Lord’s Prayer reminds us daily that we are not alone in the universe. We are called into a deep relationship with our Father in heaven. We are called into a meaningful community: a universal fellowship.Today especially, we are reminded of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Having completed his Father’s mission on earth, he was taken up to be reunited with His Father, to sit at His right hand, far above all earthly rule and authority. Today, like the disciples in the Acts 1, we can wait and pray for the Holy Spirit to empower us to be Jesus’ witnesses to our family, our friends and in our Parish community. May each of us be willing to ask God how we can share the love of our Father in Heaven with the people we know.AmenMary Tynan
JESUS AND THE BELOVED DISCIPLEGospel of St. John Ch.21 vs20-23As I have often said before, “we do not know a lot about this man”. Well, we do know quite a lot about Jesus through the Gospel of John, the Revelation to John and the three letters ascribed to his name, but who was John? According to the other Gospels, John was the brother of James who were the sons of Zebedee. Jesus referred to the brothers as "sons of thunder” so they were obviously dynamic followers from the start of his ministry. It is thought that John was perhaps the only disciple to die a natural death and most probably in forced exile on the island of Patmos. It was on this island that he received his Revelation, which is perhaps the most neglected book of the New Testament, but one that contains many jewels to help us with our faith. The Gospel of John refers to the very special loving bond that a disciple had with Jesus and it is assumed that the author is that disciple. John and his brother James were evidently very close to Jesus and this brought about some jealousy amongst the disciples, as was evident when their mother asks that they might sit one at his right hand and one at his left when Jesus comes into his kingdom. (Matthew 20 v20-28) Although Jesus rebukes them and tells all of them that it is his Father who will reward them accordingly. Christ's mission on earth is not to apportion people's rewards but to suffer for their salvation. This very end of John's Gospel in an appendix that was probably added after the text was originally finalised at the end of Chapter 20, is another reiteration by John of his closeness to Jesus and perhaps a clarification of his long life. Perhaps he still felt slightly hurt that his fellow disciples were jealous of his closeness to Jesus and uses words of the resurrected Jesus to rebuke them. However, the most important and shortest sentence in this passage is what Jesus wanted us all to do when he said. “Follow me!”This passage made me think about friendship and how important friends are to us. Having a close friend is important to all of us. For some of us that is our partner, or perhaps someone we have known for a long time. A true friend is someone who we know we can trust with confidences, someone who we can explain our faults and frailties to without feeling that we are being judged or condemned. A true friend is also someone who can bring their joys and griefs to you and expect them to be respected in confidence.I am very fortunate in having a wife I love and who is my best friend I then have family, and I have several other close friends who know me well. I then have friends I know through Church and other organisations, and then I have acquaintances. Having been a member of the clergy for 34 years the number of people who “know” me is probably enormous. Truly close friends have to be few in number and they may change in time, but they are friends who I treasure greatly and hopefully they reciprocate the feeling. One inevitability of getting older is that we lose friends through their death and through isolation, through illness or disability. The loss of a close friend or partner is devastating, it is almost as though a part of us has died – that is true love and only God can heal such pain. Jesus was a man as well as being the Son of God and true friends were precious to him. When I was preaching about Peter and John running to the empty tomb some weeks ago, I said that my instinct tells me that John was an introverted man. I still hold to that and think that his closeness to Jesus was because of that thoughtfulness and ability to empathise with him. The pain John must have felt when he watched Jesus die on the cross is unimaginable, but his pain was healed when he saw the resurrected and glorified Christ.In the farewell discourses at the last supper, John emphasises the words of Jesus “I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father”. (John 15 v15) We are indeed friends of Jesus and that is the most special of all friendships, but it has to be a two-way friendship. I don't think our best friends would be best friends for very long if we kept forgetting, or even worse, betrayed them. Our friendship with Jesus must always be sacred. He loves you - love him and do his will – FOLLOW HIM. Amen.Fr. Terry
The Thirteenth Station of the Resurrection Sunday 17th May 2020 John 21: 15-19Greetings everyone –and a big virtual embrace…..Have you heard any fishy stories recently? Sometimes they are called false news…. Like all fishy stories there is very often an element of truth within them. There was a lot of fish around in our gospel context this morning. No wonder the fish became the symbol of the early persecuted church when it went underground in the catacombs of Rome and even in Ephesus in the Icthus – the acrostic – Jesus Christ Son of God Saviour – the fish shape (sign of the fish). My new Testament tutor always said where there was a difficult saying or situation in the gospels – it was probably true. Fishy stories on the face of it…There was so much going on that morning. It had been a long night of fruitless fishing. Jesus was on the shore of Galilee and enquired ‘Friends, have you caught anything?’. The answer was ‘No’. ‘Throw out the net to starboard, and you will make a catch.’ This they did and as a result a full net of fish. Then John…recognised Jesus and Peter leapt out of the boat delegating the net pulling to his friends. This is the context of this encounter over breakfast-breakfast first – some that Jesus had prepared before the great catch. Jesus always made sure that those around him were fed in all sorts and conditions of need whether on a beach, up a mountain, on the plain or transforming those unwell in their home, in an upper room and in the community.The question of Jesus to Peter is ‘Do you love me?’ This was to the Peter – we have so much known about this future saint and rock of the early church (unlike other saints who we known so little about in recent times!)….Peter, the one of whom we have three different accounts of his call in three of the Gospels.Peter the fisherman, Peter who attempted to walk on water, Peter who witnessed the transfiguration and the agony of Christ in the garden, Peter who was reluctant to let Jesus wash his feet, Peter who messed up mightily in his denial of Jesus, Peter who ran to the tomb, Peter who preached with power on the day of Pentecost, Peter who went to the Gentiles, Peter who raised Tabitha from death, Peter who went to Rome and died there for Christ, Peter who gave his name to two books of the New Testament. A wealth of material that give an extraordinary picture of a human being nurtured by his maker, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. So why this question of the thirteenth station of the resurrection, addressing Peter by his name and lineage ‘Do you love me more than these?’ – ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you’ Jesus reply – ‘Feed my lambs’. ‘Peter do you love me?’ – Peter is showing signs of irritation as to why a second time the question is asked, ‘You know that I love you!’ – ‘Tend my sheep’ is Jesus reply. Simon Peter, son of John, do you love me?’ Now Peter turned to begin hurting for a third time this was the question he thought he had answered. The reply is ‘Feed my sheep…’. ‘When you were young you had as much freedom as you wanted – never take it for granted because one day you could be old and relying on other – never take for granted the freedom that we have enjoyed in the past….’I believe several things were happening here…Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times in very pressured circumstances. He wanted to keep warm around a fire and to keep a weather eye on his teacher companion and friend after his arrest. He denied that he knew Jesus, three times. When he realised what he had done he wept bitter tears.Around a breakfast fire Jesus, in front of all Peter’s friends, gave him the opportunity three times to affirm his love in a profound act of forgiveness and commission.The commission part was, ‘Feed my lambs, tend my sheep and feed my sheep.’Feed my lambs is to nurture those new to faith. Tend my sheep is to have pastoral care of the faithful progressing on their journey in order to strengthen them for service. Feed my sheep is to have a ministry of teaching and to deepen the spiritual lives of the flock.We are approaching Petertide at the end of next month when it is ordination time in the Church of England. We remember all those who are on different stages of this journey in our community and all of us who are following different vocations within the church community locally and further afield. Those being ordained in the next weeks one way or another will have a retreat of sorts maybe at a distance. We pray for them all….and as Peter was given his commission because he was transformed to be equipped to be a nurturing and challenging and encouraging presence. A speaker who could move hearts and minds because he had been in the presence of his risen Lord and, like all those who witnessed that first Pentecost, were transformed by the Holy Spirit. They became real, vulnerable but empowered, doubting yet full of faith, testing out what is actually ‘meant to be’ in any given circumstance.Today let us think of those Peter’s we know with all their gifts and flaws. In my electronic contacts I was surprised to see I have 24 Peters there – all very different…..The Peter who we remember today knew the telling eyes of Jesus who had at the core of his ministry the wonderful gift of forgiveness and love shared with his early disciples and with the whole world, starting from Galilee and Jerusalem. A fishy story, with a difference….Peter knew Jesus was the Messiah, for he said so when Jesus asked ‘Who do people say I am?’ Peter was a slow developer…I can identify with that. Jesu’s loving challenge to Peter, after a hearty breakfast, bread and fish over an open fire, inspires us each day to say ‘Yes, I love you Lord – thank you for your forgiveness and love for me and for each one of us and our purpose to follow you in life and at all times. Amen Canon Edward Pogmore
