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
14th May 2020 Thought for TodayFrom the real world, sublime and challengingRio de Janeiro 2 – The great embrace…A number have asked Jane and I what was the greatest highlight of our travels around South America between January and March this year?One of them was the visit to ‘Christ the Redeemer’ on Friday 24th January, at 11.30am for the Eucharist in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Apparition, the Patron saint of Brazil. The Chapel is at the base of the amazing statue of Christ and was dedicated in 2006 to mark the 75th Anniversary of the completion of the 98 feet high landmark. Christ appeared out of heavy clouds on that morning with great glory as the photo illustrates. To arrive at the statue we had a twenty five minute walk through the urban rain forest of Tijuca Park.The statue was built by public subscription after an appeal from the Catholic churches of Brazil between 1922 and1931. The great arms of Christ which embraced us that morning are 92 feet in span.The statue weighs 635 tons of reinforced concrete lined with soapstone. Its designer was Parisian sculptor Paul Landowski and Brazilian Engineer Heitor da Costa. It is one of the seven modern wonders of the world and one of several UNESCO Heritage Sites we visited on our explorations.Seven passengers from the ship and three of the crew attended the service led by Brazilian Roman Catholic Priest Father Vel, assisted by Geronsi our server and theological student. Father Vel made us so welcome to the tiny Chapel (octagonal 6 x 6 metres) and to Rio. He asked me to sing the introit, and to lead ‘Spirit of the Living God’ at the end of the service. Also, at his request, I was invited to read Psalm 57 and a reading from Samuel 24. He reflected to us in his homily our unity in Christ and his embrace. It included words of wisdom on Lectio Divina and Brexit as well! The overwhelming beauty of the Communion was that whatever our denomination we were welcome to receive the sacrament. After the service I gave Father the Litany of Reconciliation from Coventry Cathedral and another couple gave him a memento of Scotland. We had our group photograph taken. The locals and visitors were allowed in to the Chapel for Communion and a blessing at the end of the service. It was a rare privilege to attend a service in that glorious place as the Chapel usually has a daily short service at 11am for prayers and the occasional wedding. It gave a new meaning to being at the feet of Christ and appreciating his embrace in a new way.Blessings,Edward and Jane
Wednesday 13th May 2020, Station 12: Jesus appears at the lakesideYou can almost image the scene as the apostle John tells it. Just as the sun is coming up the mist is clearing. Jesus had just instructed them to cast their nets and they are now full and heavy with fish that are big and plump. They see that really welcoming figure of Jesus by the warm fire with the aroma of fish cooking on it and bread by the side. How welcoming must that have been for those men who were hungry and yet glad to see their friend Jesus again. No longer dead but alive and eating with them like old times.Jesus spent a lot of His time on earth eating and drinking. For Jesus, it was important to gather people around the table and at that table both discipleship and evangelism took place. We see countless examples of Jesus eating with people throughout the Gospels particularly in the Gospel of Luke. For example, in Luke 5, Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners at home. In Luke 7, Jesus is anointed by a woman in the home of Simon the Pharisee during a meal. Then, in Luke 9, we see Jesus feeding the five thousand. There are also countless references to food throughout the Gospel, even when Jesus is not eating. During the last supper, Jesus uses the bread and wine, undertaking one of the most significant moments of His entire ministry. The meals Jesus shared with others were not only significant, but also life-changing. Here are five lessons we can learn from the meals Jesus shared.During Jesus’ ministry on earth, everything was centred around meals. There was the wedding at Cana, a dinner with the reviled Zacchaeus and the Last Supper. Jesus was even criticized for eating with the tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 12:16). Eating together is one of the most important and practical means for overcoming any barrier that separates us. It is also an incredible way to share and fellowship. Whether you are bringing one person to your table or many, you can honour the gifts God has given you and love people the way Jesus loves them. It doesn’t matter if the meals are fancy, home-cooked or take-out. What matters is that they involve other people and that they connect us.There is Power in Sharing a MealThe act of eating meals plays a significant role in the gospels. It’s important to note that Jesus shared meals with all sorts of people. There are even scholars who refer to this trend as Jesus “eating His way through the gospels.” When Jesus shared meals with people, it gave him the opportunity to enter the lives of the people with whom He was eating. Many of the meals that Jesus is recorded eating in the gospels are also accompanied by times of teaching, healing or other miraculous work. In short, we see that there is power in the time that we share meals with others. We too have the power to use our eating time to connect and share with those around us, even though at the moment we are unable to share the physical food, we can still share that spiritual food of gathering with each other albeit through zoom.We have the opportunity to not only feed the needy, but share in our eating with others. We live in a needy world and we should do everything we can to connect with others, especially those who are hungry and suffering. Galatians 6:10 says, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Sharing is not only our priority, but also our ministry. I think that it is amazing that even in this lockdown people are still willing to contribute food to the food bank, which helps families in need.Come and have breakfast Jesus says. Jesus is inviting us to be refreshed, renewed and nourished in and through him. Come and sit and eat with him.Let us PrayLord, the resurrection of Your Sonhas given us new life and renewed hope.Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the Christian ideal.Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,the will to want to do it, the courage to undertake it,the perseverance to continue to do it, and the strength to complete it.Amen.Pauline Cummins
Thought for the day Unconditional loveI have always been a cat lover and had cats since childhood. After my last cat passed away following a long life of chasing birds and bringing home the odd dead thing, I went through a period of really missing having a pet around. A year or two went by and I decided that I would bring the subject up with my husband and after a lot of persuasion he agreed to go down the route of having a dog.We went to several dog homes and finally chose a Jack Russell called ‘Sadie’ from the Dogs Trust in Loughborough. When we saw her, she was quivering in a corner and looked like she could do with a loving home.Little did we know that she was a bitey, snappy and fearful creature who had never been loved and knew nothing about how to play. 3 years later she is a loving softy. This I think is because we gave her a lot of love and attention and she in turn learned to trust us. I believe that we all want love and attention and Jesus tells us to love each other. Whether we are humans or animals, we are at our best when love is shown. I now have a dog that follows me everywhere and enjoys human company. What a change! I am never sure what I want in life is really what I need. My dog Sadie’s story is what I really needed at the time, and probably still need as there are times when I feel down and she really picks me up, giving that unconditional love.God is able to do that in our lives, giving us love unconditionally if only we put our full trust in Him. I know that God’s love for me is unconditional – even more than Sadie’s love.Pauline Cummins
