Today we hear once again those famous words from Thomas; “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hands in his side. I will not believe.”Fair enough, you may think, well done Thomas for saying out loud what we and the disciples must all have thought at the time. I think that all the disciples needed a certainty about whether Jesus was alive and the fact that Thomas was absent when he first appeared gives them another opportunity to require that proof, that concrete physical proof as it were.Once again Jesus offers the opportunity for the disciples to reach out and come to him. Scripture doesn’t say whether Thomas actually puts his fingers in the scars, or his hand into the spear wound, but this is a direct command from Jesus and tradition has assumed from Jesus’ words that Thomas did take this step. In the painting by Caravaggio, which is on our service sheet today, we graphically see Thomas’ forefinger entering the gash in Christ’s side. Indeed Christ is guiding Thomas’ fingers into the wound with his left hand, while his right hand pulls back the tunic that covers his chest. Christ’s calm expression contrasts with the intense and surprised reactions of Thomas and the other two disciples (the figure on the left is most likely Peter with John next to him). The dramatic tenebrist light further accentuates the moment in which Thomas encounters the bodily wounds of the risen Christ. Caravaggio’s figures, are painted in earth tones, and are meant to be representative of the common man. This painting by Caravaggio is most wonderful, he uses common people to show us this holy moment, no halos or angels bathed in light, just common folk, bathed in light and shade as is our life and in a very theatrical form, with simple and torn clothes. there’s a thought to ponder?Notice the light on Thomas’ forehead, which gives us the insight that man receives enlightenment by Christs’ reflected light. Notice too that Thomas is almost scientifically examining Jesus’ body, Christ not wanting to withhold anything from him, that too should speak to us today.This picture does seek to answer the questions we all have thought, from time to time. For me, it helps me navigate my thought processes, we must have the confidence to “ask, seek and knock” as Jesus says in Matthew 7:7In doing so the door of understanding, of enlightenment will be opened to us and out of this enlightenment we can then, like Thomas, say. “My Lord and my God.!” Whether Thomas makes this response on behalf of the whole group of disciples or it is his own personal insight is not easy to tell. What is true is that group of believers is growing, first Mary Magdalene, then John and Peter, now Thomas.But for each of them it is only the start, for revelation is only a beginning; how you make it live and breathe in your own being is what counts. Thomas took his new found knowledge of Jesus into his heart and carried it across continents into the heart of India. Christ was his fuel for the journey, indeed the truth that Thomas told still lives on in India to this day. This Truth told then now lives with us; Where will we carry it, to our neighbours, our nation or perhaps even to our enemies?One thing for sure is, this truth we cannot, must not and shall not keep it to ourselves.Jesus Christ is risen.He is risen indeed, Alleluia.Let us Pray.King of glory, while we doubt, we fail, we turn away, yet your faith in us remains strong.May we experience that divine strength coursing through our souls and bodies and minds, so that our doubts may become the source of new knowledge, leading us to see you more clearly and be drawn into the heart of your love for all creation.Amen
St Catherines Burbage & St Peters Aston Flamville VE Day ServiceAddress 8th May 2020At a cabinet meeting on 9 April, Churchill decided that there could be a day of celebrations to mark the end of the war in Europe, and hoped that it would be known as VE (Victory in Europe) Day. Shortly thereafter, the public, commercial, and religious institutions began to prepare for, and the press (including the Christian press) to report in expectation of, this long-awaited day. It eventually proved to be Tuesday 8 May 1945, midway between Rogation Sunday and Ascension Day.Besides celebrations in Europe, there was also a powerful sense of what peace might mean after nearly six years of war, and what opportunities and challenges it would present. By the middle of April, the Church of England had decided that there should be a dedicated day to mark deliverance and give thanks to God for victory. All church collections that day would be for Christian work in liberated Europe. Gifts received could be earmarked for a specific country or continental denomination, or else allocated by the reconstruction committee of the World Council of Churches, pending Treasury approval for sterling to leave the UK.Germany had already requested one million Bibles, and English, Swiss, and American theological books, because the Nazis had denied the occupied countries access to the latest scholarship.The Roman Catholic periodical The Tablet announced on 5 May that whenever VE Day occurred there would be Benediction with a Te Deum in all churches and chapels. A votive mass of the Most Blessed Trinity was likely to be held the following Sunday, and a special collection taken for the Catholic European Restoration Fund.On May 7th, General Jodl signed the instrument of surrender at General Eisenhower’s headquarters. All fighting was to cease by midnight on 8 May. Only a matter of hours before this, at 7.40 p.m., the BBC interrupted a piano recital to announce that the next day would be VE Day and a holiday.The ships in harbour ushered in the day with three short blasts and one long one — the Morse code for the V-sign. Searchlights did the same across the sky. Among the first signs that peace was returning was the first weather forecast to appear in the press and on the BBC. It promised “bright intervals”, but warned of a large depression approaching.The opening moments of that morning was fresh, followed by a sunny afternoon, when temperatures rose into the 70s.The ringing of church bells, an ancient symbol of community spirit and celebration, had mostly been banned throughout the conflict. Now the bells were heard throughout the land, drawing in worshippers in abundance.From our Old Testament reading, the Israelites in Zechariah’s time were subjects of the Persian empire, post-exilic Israel lacked national autonomy. They lacked a Davidic king ruling from the throne in Jerusalem. Though the temple was eventually rebuilt, this second temple lacked its former glory so that those who had seen Solomon’s temple wept at the sight of it (Ezra 3:12; Hag 2:3). Understandably, the post-exilic community struggled with discouragement, doubt, and despair as they wondered if God’s promises of future glory would ever become a reality. Into this situation God sent the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to speak powerful words of challenge and comfort to his world-weary people, words which are just as relevant and powerful for Christians today. In our Old testament reading the prophet Zechariah hears God say words that were both refreshing and hope filled, the old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem and the streets shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. The Apostle Paul says equally encouraging words in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians that it is through Christ we are reconciled with God. The old ways are gone and everything has been made new. I love the plain speaking of this passage taken from The Message: “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.”So how wonderful and amazing it must have been to finally hear that war is over, that young and old can go into the streets and celebrate this new world. The world that we are now living in 75 years later. We owe the greatest debt of thanks remembering the lives lost, lives lived in fear, to the brave, the selfless deeds, the men and women who defended our liberty.Out of VE Day came an extraordinary new world. This post-war age is not perfect as the discrimination of certain groups still occur, but it is thankfully not tolerated by the masses. Personal autonomy, political freedom and just basic human rights are now afforded to the vast majority of people. We are living in extraordinary times and extraordinary events create extraordinary people. Let us be Gods people today.Pauline Cummins
Thought for the Day 8th May 2020 VE Day 1945I am amazed to think that 75 years have passed since victory in Europe was finally declared. I am sure that there are some older members of our church that remember more than I do but I have been asked to write this, so here we go!I was nearly 11 years old and in the top class at Earl Shilton Junior School. We had been waiting in anticipation for several days but on the evening of May 7th, 1945, there was an announcement on the wireless that the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill would speak to us at 3 o'clock the following afternoon, May 8th.At about 3.15 our Head Mistress, Mrs Clark came in to our classroom and told us that the war was over at last. We all cheered and shouted!We were sent home early. Nobody cared that parents weren't home in those days! I was a latch key kid anyway! We all ran shouting and laughing down the street!My Mam and Dad, who worked in hosiery factories, came home earlier than usual and after we had our tea, we went for a walk to see what was happening. Everyone was out in the streets, all smiling and laughing and talking to each other.The next day was a holiday and we listened to the wireless about everything that was happening in London. A man who lived at the bottom of our street, who was an electrician, had a gramophone which he brought out and the grown ups were dancing to his records and then we all did the "conga" in a long line up and down the road. That was when I learnt to do the "pally glide", a dance of sorts!On the Friday afterwards, we had a street party for us kids in Mrs Peggs garage, the only house in the street that had one! Just in case it rained! All our parents made something for tea, we took our own cups, saucers, plates, and dishes and had jelly and blancmange and wore paper hats we had made out of newspaper! After tea we had races in the street. Running, three legged race, and wheelbarrow races!Some people hung flags out of their windows and the church bells were ringing, the first time I could remember hearing them.Of course, the war in the middle east was still going on, only to be ended after the awful atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th and Nagasaki on August 9th, forcing Japan to surrender on August 15th.We children expected everything to suddenly be available because we had been promised for 5 years, that all kinds of things, would be available "after the war"!Yet, when everything settled down, materially, nothing much changed, in fact food was still rationed when I went to teachers training college from 1952 to 1954! As were clothes until 1949!However, our spirits were lighter, people in our cities were no longer afraid to go to bed at night because of bombs, fathers came home to their families, blackout curtains came down and street lights came on again. There was a tremendous amount of work for everyone, to rebuild and to pay off the national debt. After such a long dark time, hopes were high and people set to work with a will to make the world a happier, brighter place.Could this happen when this Coronavirus is over? Many of us have had time to take stock of our lives, appreciate the kindness of others, the hard work and self-sacrifice of the NHS. Look at all the wonderful gifts of nature, listen to the birds, breathe clean air. As John Bevington suggested in his article on Monday's "Thought for the Day", so much good can come out of this difficult time, if we will let it!I am remind of this verse which brings comfort and hope of a better future.James 1:12-18 New Living Translation (NLT)God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.Pat Robinson
Thought for the day 7th May 2020Fear ……. whats’ that?Tomorrow the 8th of May, Her Majesty the Queen will broadcast to the Nation on the 75th anniversary of the end of hostilities in Europe. On the 15th of August 1945 Japan surrendered, bringing World War II to an end. Just twelve days prior to the Japanese surrender I was born, so have no recollection of air raids, sirens and the fear that both had engendered among the people of this country during six long years. My arrival initially came as a joyful interlude for Mum and Dad, who had endured all those years of bombing, death, destruction and hardship. However, this respite from worry and stress was fairly short-lived, as it was soon discovered I had a weak respiratory system and my early years were plagued with frequent attacks of asthma and bronchitis, not to mention several spells in hospital.Although my asthma is now controlled, I still carry the legacy of those bygone days, so when I learned of the symptoms and possible outcome of catching Coronavirus, I wasn’t sure how I would react emotionally. Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body. Some people become overwhelmed by fear and want to avoid situations that might make them frightened or anxious. Can you imagine people being gripped by fear during the war with bombs dropping all around them?So why, since we were first told about Covid-19, have I not felt afraid? How often have we heard the phrase “Keep calm and Carry on”? Last Sunday during our ‘Zoom’ service, the choir sang for us the hymn ‘Trust and Obey’ by John H Simmis. It was a favourite of my mother’s and in fact we sang it at her funeral. I find the second verse to be particularly meaningful at this time: “Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, But His smile quickly drives it away; Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear, Can abide while we trust and obey.During my Christian journey I have come to greatly believe in the power of prayer, that when we pray, we admit that God’s ways are higher than ours. We need to show that we are leaving our troubles and burdens in His capable hands, and in fact the Bible promises that when we reach out to Him in prayer, He hears us. So that, ladies and gentlemen, is why, throughout all this, I have not felt afraid. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that I feel the presence of His guardian angels around me. In Deuteronomy 31: verse 8 we read “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Carol Hope.
