Midnight 2016 - Being Evergreen

Lord, take my lips and speak through them;
Take our minds and think through them;
Take our hearts and set them on fire with love for Yourself,  Amen.

What a year this has been! A year full of the unexpected. 

A Brexit vote from the British people; Trump as America’s president elect, and Bake Off moving to channel 4 -but without Mary Berry, Mel, and Sue. Who on earth would have seen that lot coming. 

And people....

we have lost so very many people. 

David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Caroline Aherne, Victoria Wood, and many many more, the litany of names dropping like autumn leaves falling in the water. And that’s not even to mention the litany of sorrow greeting us almost every time we switch on the news. I don’t know about you but sometimes I really long for the dying to end. For someone to come to earth, to stretch out their hands and say ENOUGH. 

But what if...

what if there was a way to put a stop to this litany of death and sorrow once and for all, and people falling to the earth like autumn leaves. And more than that. What if there was a way to undo the deaths that had already happened and bring back those we have loved and lost.   What if, what if, there was a way to be evergreen? 

And that, in a nutshell is what Christmas is about. Jesus Christ was that someone. The one who came to earth not just to preach a few sermons and disappear, but to conquer the biggest problem the human race has on their hands; the problem of death itself. How?  By putting death itself to death on the cross and by coming back to life to change death itself into something different, something temporary;  heaven giving our dying earth the kiss of life. 

This is the real magic of Christmas and why we take the trouble to bring such a massive Christmas tree into the middle of the cathedral. You should have seen the difficulty our works department had getting a tree that size through the door. Feel free to turn and look at it, standing proud and green in the middle of the surrounding winter; bathed in light. The evergreen tree which has no fallen leaves. The symbol of Jesus who is ever green, ever alive, ever faithful, ever loving and most of all 

ever-with-us. 

Emmanuel: As well as being a carol it is one of his names. It means the immanent El; the one who is God but also one of us. 

So much one of us that he did not appear on earth as an adult. He was born as a baby. He had to learn to walk, to smile, to play and to talk. And why on earth was that? Why did The Word stay so quiet for almost 30 years?

Well he wasn’t doing nothing. He ate with us human beings, drank with us, grazed his knee, sneezed in a dusty room and just spent time being with people and learning to understand what it is like to live on this wounded planet that people sometimes call the valley of tears . And then, and only then, after thirty years, did he speak! And his words rang out through the centuries because they made sense. And they made sense because he'd spent so much time listening to the people around him. He spoke with same accent they did and told stories and jokes about the things that they found funny. "Have you heard the one about the camel that tried to fit through the eye of a needle?"

God grew skin, and skin bruises. God looked through human eyes, and eyes weep. God grew muscles, and muscles shiver when its cold. God gained hands, and hands miss the touch of someone they love when they die. Yet he has promised that the time will come, that those same hands who wriggled in the cradle, and were wounded on the cross will reach out and pull you into a world where you too can be evergreen and ever alive. If you want to come. 

And so the tree is not just a symbol of Jesus. It is a symbol of us too, and what we can be. it is a symbol of the glorious future that is ours for the taking. So this Christ-mass I invite you to gather around God’s table, and meet the one who longs to give us the most amazing gift, the gift of being evergreen. Amen. 

The Unusual Story of the 3 Kings

The old monk opened a big dusty storybook as the schoolboys sat around him on the cathedral floor. He was going to tell them a story of Christmas. 

“Once, a very long time ago, there were three travelers from the East who went to see the Christ-Child. Balthazar, Mechior...and Doris!”

“Doris?” the biggest novice said. “Wasn’t the third king called Caspar?”

“Ah well, thereby hangs a tale,” the old monk said, and then he began to tell it....

Mrs Caspar opened the flap of the tent and had a good look at her husband who was complaining he had a headache. She peered at his face and sure enough there were big red spots all over it. “You’ve got measles” she said “you can’t possibly go on a journey looking like that”. 

“But I’ve got to go” he said “Three of us have been gazing at the sky for ages and ages. We knew that something really important was going to happen and then we saw a sign in the night sky. An enormous star. It was a sign that a new king is going to be born. A really special king.  We have to bring him gifts. It is really important that we pay him homage, that is kneel before him, and bring him gifts. 

“Well, I’ll just have to go instead of you” she said. “I can borrow your head-dress, your crown and your camel and no-one else will notice the difference. Now what you need is some hot soup and a nice long rest and I’ll get your present wrapped.”

“What have you bought him anyway? You have to be very careful with presents for babies. 

Did you get him a nice soft cuddly toy? Or a rattle (they’re good) or some nappies. You can never have too many nappies.”

“I got him frankincence,” Caspar said. 

“What? Frankincense. You bought him air freshener?! Air freshener! Are you trying to tell his mum he is smelly or something. Do you want to get yourself executed? Why don’t you get him something sensible like a nice little blanket to put in his crib.”

“But,” said Casper, “This is a special baby. He needs a special present.”

And then, in between mouthfuls of hot chicken soup, Casper explained why he had to bring the baby frankincense. 

“Frankincense isn’t just air freshener. The priests use it in the temple. They light it and the smoke goes up into the sky, symbolizing our prayers going up to God. I need to bring him frankincense because he is going to be a bit like a priest too. He is going to teach us how to pray and get close to God. We have gone very far from God’s way of love and we’re not good at praying and he will help us become holy again.” 

“I see” said Doris. “Well I suppose it will also come in handy next to the nappy bucket”

I’d better go and see what the other kings have brought. I hope they haven’t brought silly presents.

She went off to see Balthazar. “I’m coming with you to see the baby” She said. “Caspar is ill and I have his present. What have you brought as a gift for him?”

“I’ve brought him myrrh” Balthazar said. “Myrrh?” She sighed “You kings are useless at buying presents. You got him antiseptic. I suppose you brought him a syringe as well. Why didn’t you get him a nice toy?”

Balthazar tried to explain. “But this is a special baby king. He needs special symbolic presents. Caspar brought him frankinsence because he is going to be like a priest, helping us to pray. An I brought him myrrh because he is going to be like a prophet, a healer, who will make us better when we are ill, just like the antiseptic myrrh does when we fall over and graze our knees. Also it reminds us of the spices they put in tombs because he will  heal us from death too. 

“He will heal us from death. That’s amazing. Ok you can bring him myrrh.” Said Doris. Then she went to see Melchior.

Melchior had brought the baby gold. “Ah. That’s better” said Doris. “Now mum and dad can get him anything they like.” But, said Melchior. “Gold is a symbolic present too. Casper got the baby frankincense because he will teach us to pray. Balthazar got him myrrh because he will be a healer, and I got him gold because he will be a king and kings always need lots of gold for building roads and that sort of thing. 

“ I see” said Doris. “Frankincense for a priest, myrrh for a healer-prophet, and gold for a king.” So he is going to be a super-baby who does all these things. 

“Yes he will be a super-baby. You just wait and see when he grows up.”

And so they travelled a very long way, and met the new-born king. And Mary and Joseph loved the presents even more because they were unusual ones, because Jesus was a very special baby indeed.

Walking on the water

I feel the inspiration to repost this sermon I wrote on the subject of the miracle of the walking on the water in August 2014.

A vicar, an evangelist, and a Methodist minister were in a rowing boat in the middle of a pond fishing. None of them had caught anything all morning. 

Then the evangelist stands up and says he needs to go to the bathroom so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He comes back ten minutes later the same way.
  Then the minister decides he needs to go to too, so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He, too, comes back the same way ten minutes later.
      The vicar looks at both of them and decides that his faith is just as strong as his fishing friends and that he can walk on water, too. He stands up and excuses himself. As he steps out, he makes a big splash down into the water.
      The evangelist looks at the minister and says,"I suppose we should have told him where the rocks were."

The walking on water miracle is one which has caught the imagination of our society so much that it still makes its way into jokes, cartoons and stories. Yet like many of the miracles of Christ it is there for a purpose, to show us something deeper about the nature of Christ and even God’s call upon us as human beings. 

You may wonder about the miracles of Christ: Why certain miracles are written about in detail within the gospels and other miracles are consigned to the smallprint of “He healed all their diseases”. The reason is that the miracles, as well as being acts of Christ’s power in themselves,  are all signs which point to something deeper. So what might Christ be signaling through this miracle of the walking on the water. 

The first and most obvious thing is that He has power over the elements, in this case, the waves, and in this sense the miracle is linked to the calming of the storm in chapter 8 of Matthew’s gospel. Yet there is more to this sign. Jeffrey John reminds us that these signs are most easily understood in reference to the Old Testament stories and prophesies. They are to be read within a certain worldview. 

The sea within the Hebrew culture, was strongly associated with chaos and evil powers, Hebrew rabbis believed in a fiery and a watery hell. Yet this miracle is also referring to ancient texts which describe the power of the Almighty to walk on or through the waves. For example in Job 9 “Yahweh alone stretched out the heavens, and trampled the waves of the sea” or in Psalm 77 “your way was through the sea, your path through the mighty waters; yet your footsteps were unseen.” In many Old Testament passages, time and time again, the point is made that God alone can rule the waves and walk through the waters. Thus, the conclusion that we are inevitably drawn to make is that the sign here, is actually a sign of Christ’s divinity,  that Jesus is God, because only God can do these things. 

You may have wondered in this passage why Jesus seems to be about to pass the disciples by rather than go into the boat when his intention had been to talk towards them. Once again, Jeffrey John says the meaning behind this is symbolic. It references the old testament passages and miracles where God reveals himself in passing by his people or prophets. For example in Exodus 33 where Yahweh passes by Moses and discloses to him his glory and his name. 

And this is where things get deeper still - because the name that is disclosed to Moses, is Yahweh, I AM, and when Jesus speaks to his disciples in this passage what he actually says to them isn’t really the mundane words we have just heard. “Take heart, it is I” - rather the Greek (as our resident scholar Father John will confirm) has “Iesous legon tharseite ego eimi me phobeisthe”

which literally means - “Jesus saying ‘Be courageous I AM. Don't be frightened.”

Ego eimi: I AM. The eternal name of God is claimed here by Christ, just as it was in John’s gospel when they tried to stone Christ for blasphemy when he said “before Moses was I AM” 

But if it is the case that Jesus is claiming his divinity and the power of walking on water is given to God alone, what are we to make of Christ allowing Peter to step out of the boat and join him on the waves? 

For me, it seems to be a classic example of what Orthodox Christians call theosis. In Eastern Christian theology Christ became human not just to save humanity from death, but, even more amazingly, so that human beings can actually participate in the divine life. The concept is beautifully summed up in a prayer that is often silently prayed at the offertory as water is mixed with the wine. Once mixed it can never be unmixed just as Christ’s divine and human natures are eternally intertwined; and so the priest prays: “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

This is the part of the miracle for me, that is utterly staggering. Perhaps so staggering that no wonder Peter sinks before the waves when he realizes the enormity of what he is doing. He is doing something that only the eternal Godhead can do and God himself has invited him to do so. 

Yet that is the invitation that is given, not just to Peter, but to all of us, every single one of us who are looking for God. We are invited to participate in the Divine Life. We have been given a Royal Invitation to feast around the table of the One who was present when time began and we, even you and me, are being called into a closeness, an intimacy with God which was utterly unimaginable before the coming of Christ.  

Yet the only way this seemingly blasphemous thing is possible is because of what Christ has done in coming to us. For we need to take courage and step out of the safe, secure boat when God calls us in order to experience this fully, and  we need not be afraid, because if we begin to sink we will find strong arms pulling us up out of the waves, the same strong arms that hold the universe,  and they will continue to grasp us tightly until we reach the eternal place of safety. And so, let us praise the Eternal God who has given us so great a gift , for even the wind and the waves obey him. Amen. 

Great is thy faithfulness - New Verses

"Great is thy faithfulness" is a popular hymn for ordinations, however in the cathedral we need longer hymns than most churches due to the fact that our nave is so long and collections and processions take some time. This often limits our choice of hymns at services such as ordinations where we try to have particularly popular and well-known tunes.

 In order to solve this problem over a lack of verses I have written two more verses to Great is thy faithfulness, taking Lamentations 3 as the basis for these verses. This chapter of the bible was Thomas Chishom's original inspiration for the hymn.

Please feel free to use in a worship context as you wish, and if you need to make little tweaks for any reason, please also feel free to do so. I suggest that these verses go in the middle of the hymn if you use them.

Steadfast the love of the Lord never ceases
Quietly we wait for salvation to come.
Let us seek out and examine the Lord's ways
Woe and injustice he will overcome.

Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies we see....(etc)

Grieving I cried in the depth of the dungeon,
"Come to my aid, O Lord give me relief."
Thou hast redeemed me and saved me from sorrow,
from my assailants, their taunts and my grief.

Great is thy faithfulness.....(etc)

Meditations for Holy Week 2015

The People on the Edge of the Passion

Holy week is coming up very soon. During Holy Week we focus our attention upon the events leading up to the passion and death of Christ before celebrating the joy of his resurrection.  There are many characters within the passion narratives of the gospels. Some of these characters are obvious. Pilate, Herod and Judas all had important roles to play with the drama of our salvation and it is often useful to reflect upon their motives and actions because these teach us things about ourselves and help us to pray for our suffering world. Yet there are other characters hovering on the fringes of the biblical narratives who also have stories to tell and things to teach us. This prayer booklet focuses our attention upon some of these people. Many of these characters are completely silent. Other characters only have a sentence to say, and yet that sentence can be an important one as it was in the case of the centurion who sums up the nature of Christ within a few brief words at the foot of the cross. This series of meditations is designed to be used over a week beginning on a Monday and finishing on a Sunday, but can be used anytime during the Lenten period. You may wish to use them during Holy Week. Each meditation contains  a biblical passage, some thoughts upon the passage and some questions to think and pray about. 

Monday 

The Terrified man.

Jesus came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."

Immediately, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.  Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard."  So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.  But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled."  All of them deserted him and fled.

A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him,  but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.  (Mark 14:39-51)

This mysterious young man only appears once in Marks gospel. Given that Mark is extremely economical with his words, the fact that he has devoted an entire sentence to this stranger is interesting and his identity has intrigued and puzzled Christians for centuries. Some people say that the man was Mark himself, others think that he was another disciple such as James or John. The other puzzling fact is why is the man only wearing a loincloth? Some explain this by saying that he has been recently roused from slumber by the noise of the marching guards and is running to warn Jesus. Yet whoever this stranger was, he did not stay with Christ. He was so keen to get away from the arresting soldiers that he left all of his clothing behind him. 

Pause for thought. 

Do you ever run away from difficult situations? 

When you do so, are you losing something? If so, what are you losing? 

What is it that makes you feel exposed or vulnerable? 

Share some of these thoughts with God in prayer, but in the knowledge that you are clothed and surrounded with the goodness and love of Christ himself. 

Tuesday

Malchus: a tale of healing and forgiveness. 

While Jesus was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, "Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?"  When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, "Lord, should we strike with the sword?"  Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him.  Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, "Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?  (Luke 22: 47-52) 

I find this one of the most moving stories in the gospels. Jesus is in the middle a most terrifying experience. He is helpless; he is surrounded by brutal guards; he has just sweated blood whilst praying the garden of Gethsemane and he is at his most vulnerable. Then Simon Peter tries to defend his master. St John amplifies these words of Luke and tells us that it was Peter who committed this crime and also gives this nameless slave a name, Malchus.  Peter’s defence of his master is brutal, clumsy and ultimately pointless. He strikes this slave of the high priest and cuts off his ear, maiming and scarring him. Yet Malchus is a slave. He has no choice but to obey the orders of his master who owns him as if he were a piece of property or be brutally punished himself.  This act of Peter is nasty and violent,more reminiscent of  the ways of war, and so different to Christ’s command to turn the other cheek. Yet, even in the midst of being arrested, Jesus has compassion for Malchus. He does not see a man who is threatening him, but rather a slave who has been injured and is bleeding in the garden, and so he offers his healing touch to the wounded man, restoring his ear to him. This is not just a healing act, it is an act of forgiveness and understanding, and what makes it so moving is that even at this most vulnerable point in his life, Jesus is thinking of others rather than himself. 

Pause for thought.

What other stories of Christian forgiveness have you heard lately?

Is there anything or anyone you need to forgive? 

Pray for a greater awareness of the needs of other people around you. As you go about your daily life pray for the people you pass in the street or see in the shops. 

Wednesday 

The bullying soldiers

Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.  (Mark 15:16-20)

The context of this incident, (which is mentioned by all of the gospel-writers) is that Jesus has just been condemned to death and some soldiers (we do not know their story or motives) call together the whole cohort to bully this condemned man. A cohort was a large number of soldiers, perhaps 600. This was not an small act of intimidation, it is a public and shameful spectacle. Many of us have seen the television footage or pictures of the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  Yet when we compare these images to this account of the “coronation” of Christ the awareness how shamefully he was treated strikes us afresh. Christ is crowned alone, with no supporters whatsoever; his crown is a twisted device of torture with two inch long thorns, a mockery of a victors laurel wreath; and he is bullied and saluted in jest. Yet the soldiers’ words “Hail, King of the Jews”, spoken in mockery, were actually true! We can only wonder at the motives of these soldiers who did this; those who crowned him with thorns, gave him a reed as a sceptre and dressed him in a purple cloak. Were they all as evil as they seem? Perhaps some of the soldiers were as horrified as we are but were afraid to speak out and contradict those who had the power. 

Pause for thought.

Are there times when you are swayed by pressure from others into doing things you do not want to do? 

Am you afraid to speak out when you see injustice? 

Spend some time praying for innocent victims of oppressive regimes and prisoners of conscience. 

Ask God to help you have the courage to speak out against injustice when it is necessary to do so. 

Thursday 

Pilate’s wife

Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted.  At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas.  So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?"  For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him." … So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves."  (Matthew 27:15-19, 24)

We know the name of Pilate’s wife from other historical documents. Her name was Claudia Procula, and it was said that she was a granddaughter of Augustus Caesar. She is a puzzling figure within the passion narrative with her vivid dream about Christ’s innocence and suffering. I find myself willing her to persuade Pilate to let Jesus go, and yet if her words had been truly heard and Pilate had let Jesus go, then the act of our salvation would not have taken place. Despite her high class ancestry she remains nameless in this narrative and her words are not truly listened to. She knows that Jesus is innocent and yet there is nothing that she can do to prevent him being crucified. 

Pause for thought.

Pray for women throughout the world who feel nameless, powerless and voiceless. 

Are there times when you feel that your voice isn’t being listened to? 

Do you truly listen to the voices of others? Resolve to listen to other people’s voices, particularly the quieter voices around you. 

Friday

The centurion 

Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.  At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.  After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.  Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, "Truly this man was God's Son!"  (Matthew 27: 50-54)

The centurion was charged to keep watch over Jesus. Given that centurions normally lead a cohort of one hundred soldiers it is curious that someone in such a senior position was charged to keep watch over a lowly condemned criminal. Perhaps the authorities were still a little afraid of Christ, even though he was helpless upon the cross. It must have been a grim task, watching while someone slowly bled, suffocated and died. Yet at the moment of Christ’s death, the signs accompanying his passing were so spectacular that this man calls Jesus the Son of God. Luke adds that the soldier “praised God” (Luke 23: 47) We don’t know what happened to this particular centurion after these events. Did he become a follower of “The Way” of Christ? Or did he simply view Jesus as the son of a deity in a similar way to the heroes of ancient Greek and Roman legend?

Pause for thought.

Pray for those who wait and watch by the dying today.

Pray for those members of the armed forces and the general public who have had to witness terrible and traumatic events.

Have you ever perceived the glory of God in an unusual place or at an unusual time? Give thanks for those moments in your life. 

Saturday 

Joseph of Arimathea

After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body.  Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.  They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews.  Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid.  And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.  (John 19: 38-42)

There are many legends of Joseph of Arimathea such as the legend that he was Jesus’ uncle and visited Glastonbury, but ultimately we don’t really know all that much about him. We know that he was a rich man and  a prominent member of the Jewish council. We also know that he was a secret follower of Jesus, yet the death of Christ made Joseph step out of the shadows. We also know that Nicodemus and Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus with an enormous amount of spices. Perhaps the lavish nature of this generosity expresses the fact that they were trying to give him as royal a funeral as they could given the shortage of time before the Sabbath began. Yet this generosity perhaps expresses the levels of their devotion to him, especially as handling a dead body would make them ritually unclean and unable to participate in any of the Passover or Sabbath devotions. At this point in time Joseph has nothing to gain and everything to lose by publicly declaring his faith in Jesus, yet he courageously goes straight to Pilate and requests the body of Jesus. He is brave, generous and humble, being willing to get his hands dirty to follow his master. 

Pause for thought.

Pray for those who have to be disciples of Christ in secret and those who risk their lives to follow Christ. 

Is God calling you to be more generous or courageous in your faith? How might you do this? 

Sunday

Mary the wife of Clopas.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ (John 19: 25-26)

Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Matthew 27:55-56) 

There were so many women standing at the foot of the cross. These two passages list just a few of them. Sometimes I wonder if the reason that Christ first appeared to these women after his resurrection was because they were the ones who had stayed and experienced the full horror of his crucifixion. Yet it was probably easier for them than for the men. They were not considered a threat by the Roman authorities and 

they were more easily able to melt into the background. Some biblical scholars link Clopas in this passage of John to Cleopas in the gospel of Luke. Perhaps this Mary was therefore the other unnamed disciple on the Emmaus road. We do not know this for sure, but we do know that Mary, the wife of Clopas was faithful to Christ and stayed at the foot of the cross whilst he was dying, offering what help and comfort she could by her very presence in this place.  

Pause for thought

Sometimes the greatest thing we can do is to stay somewhere or stick to something, even though it is difficult to be there or hard to watch. 

Pray for those who are determinedly staying in a difficult place at this moment in time. 

The word “consolation” comes from the Latin con solus being with the one who is alone. Think of someone who has been with you when you have gone though difficult times and give thanks for them. 

Ask God how you can be a better help and consolation to others. 

The Jerusalem Magnificat

This is a version of the Magnificat that I wrote for the Archdeacons' conference at Swanwick this year. I have changed the second line from the version in the Archdeacons' worship book as the previous version didn't scan all that well. I have also realised that the first verse and second verses scan slightly differently. For this version I suggest that accompanists play the first verse 3 times and then move to the coda.

The tune is "Jerusalem" which in itself is quite apt, because this is the kind of Jerusalem that God promises. 

“The Lord is great” my soul proclaims 

to celebrate his saving name.

He looked upon my lowliness,

And generations call me blest.

Our mighty God has done great things 

and holy is the name we sing.

His mercy stretches from age to age

through family trees on history's page.

His power-ful arm has shown great might

through sca-tter-ing the proud from sight.

The mighty despots lose their crowns;

the lowly raised, the proud cast down: 

The hungry have been banqueted;

the rich and powerful are not fed.

He sends the rich away from his door,

the hungry ones are given more

He has recalled his promises 

to Abraham and to his heirs.

His words of mercy shall endure

to help his people evermore. 

All glory to the Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit, Three-in-One,

who was, and is, and shall ever be

beyond the edge of history.

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Week of Prayer 7 - The Place of the Skull

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23: 33-34) 

For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. (Hebrews 13:11-12) 

Golgotha was known as the place of the skull. It was the place that no-one wanted to go, the rubbish heap where the scum of society was disposed of.  We don’t know why it was called the Place of the Skull, perhaps because the rock of the hill was skull-shaped, or perhaps, more chillingly, the remains of previous executions may just have been lying around, bones bleached white in the rays of the unrelenting sun.

Yet it was in that horrific place that our own rubbish was dealt with and death itself was put to death in a way so wonderful, so mysterious that “In vain the first born seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine”.

Pause for thought

Think of places where no-one wishes to live, but where people are living nonetheless. Pray for those people and all who feel that they are worthless.

Simply spend some time giving thanks for the fact that Jesus was willing to be tortured and to die to save us from our own destructiveness.