tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52442759617931438252024-03-05T04:02:45.458+00:00SeekerReflections on life and Christian faith.Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.comBlogger852125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-73072020709630273752022-02-09T09:39:00.012+00:002022-02-09T09:41:37.780+00:00Forgiving Others: a prayer<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgh9H5w6yrl1daXBTYTezxVQ-rz0hQbeBB9LZWXJ5QpwM-GhlkNUzCpNVT6I0nwrchfUz5Gtro2Zu3_j1fytrX9yiXz3FjCkjGxsBQ_K06LHtKEWvy-Buuy2HwZIg25K67Lx8QdLxVcx2mUMCGrV8zU_IvYgSo8T1ZkjGXaqoob_yWB5_9eu4R9A4QO=s529" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="529" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgh9H5w6yrl1daXBTYTezxVQ-rz0hQbeBB9LZWXJ5QpwM-GhlkNUzCpNVT6I0nwrchfUz5Gtro2Zu3_j1fytrX9yiXz3FjCkjGxsBQ_K06LHtKEWvy-Buuy2HwZIg25K67Lx8QdLxVcx2mUMCGrV8zU_IvYgSo8T1ZkjGXaqoob_yWB5_9eu4R9A4QO=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">O Lord Jesus,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">because, being full of foolishness,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">we often sin and have to ask pardon,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">help us to forgive as we would be forgiven;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">neither mentioning old offences committed against us,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">nor dwelling upon them in thought,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">nor being influenced by them in heart;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">but loving our sisters and brothers freely,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">as you freely loved us.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">For your name's sake. Amen.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Adapted by me from a prayer by <a href="https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-24139" target="_blank">Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)</a></i></div></i><br /> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1007941" target="_blank">Pixaby, CCO License, Public Domain</a></div></span>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-70213916072840773072022-02-01T12:20:00.000+00:002022-02-01T12:20:34.512+00:00Brigid, Abbess of Kildare<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRezYVY8etp2jMbEZWedpQdMgCMrKvjg5ugtS7gFWROClps5HVYma_CiBPnwr1RplCh8zUnfaNrViIXroTgiz_uYVuievWoGThJcm6uxoe2ei-mLpmtUwc2033av9k9pfpbxdqepen7NjiDf-nqKs5R1Y3Qpkh7cF5qaA8NcTKQz6_QHIEWYKcKLpn=s404" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="397" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRezYVY8etp2jMbEZWedpQdMgCMrKvjg5ugtS7gFWROClps5HVYma_CiBPnwr1RplCh8zUnfaNrViIXroTgiz_uYVuievWoGThJcm6uxoe2ei-mLpmtUwc2033av9k9pfpbxdqepen7NjiDf-nqKs5R1Y3Qpkh7cF5qaA8NcTKQz6_QHIEWYKcKLpn=s320" width="314" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">I know little about Irish saints. I've only recently discovered that the republic of Ireland now honours St Brigid along with St Patrick as the country's 2 patron saints. Today is St Brigid's feast day. Starting next year, in Brigid's honour there will be a public holiday on the Monday nearest to 1 February, giving her equal status (as far as public holidays go) with St Patrick whose feast day has been a public holiday there for a long time. In the Church of England she is commemorated today as Brigid, Abbess of Kildare, who died about 525 A.D.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I've chosen a cross of reed straw to illustrate this post. It's a cross associated with St Brigid because of the legend about her sitting with a dying pagan lord, possibly her father. As she sat in vigil by the bedside she picked up some rushes from the floor and wove them into a cross while explaining the meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ to the dying man. The story goes that the man died peacefully having converted to Christianity. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Brigid lived at a time of transition in Ireland between a pagan and a Christian culture, so it makes sense that her feast day coincides with the ancient Celtic Imbolc which was a day to honour a pagan goddess also known as Brigid and celebrated as a traditional 1st day of spring. There are very few facts about the Christian St Brigid. There is some evidence that she existed and was a friend of St Patrick. She may have founded a monastery in Kildare. There are numerous stories and legends about her, some of which seem to be a confusion between the Celtic goddess and the Christian St Brigid.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Many of the legends about St Brigid are about her generosity and concern for the poor. I like the story of when she rested by the path on a journey. While Brigid rested a rich woman gave her a basket of excellent apples. When some poor people came along and begged for food. Brigid gave them the apples. Her generosity was not appreciated by the the rich woman who complained she had brought the apples "for you, not for them." Brigid's answer was, "What is mine is theirs." According to legends of her childhood, her generosity included giving away not only her own possessions, but also those of others. There is a fun poem by Phyllis McGinley about this. You can find it quoted in my previous post about Brigid, </span><a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#"><span style="font-size: large;">'St Brigid and a fun poem'.</span></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;">Image Credit: </span><a href="https://draft.blogger.com/#" style="text-align: left;">Theresa Knott on Wikimedia Commons, CC License</a></div></span><p></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-77147493253469321972022-01-01T17:45:00.004+00:002022-01-01T17:57:42.372+00:00New Year's Day 2022<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwMe5vLBAiIQvOrmb3-hF_Wv548dRc5IuFMMVD_xIf8EbWymzql26fKYd61ZBtNJgF9ftFLsiGPuGqoPJ2paiNqEk52QsDvnIPMluMw6UJa2VrHdmEhPCQzWKSy4pTW7qX6pA69gFcrQQetcQU8CNbYnUUzHHnTp685nzrFtcB-zjroQtND51vsoS5=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="640" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwMe5vLBAiIQvOrmb3-hF_Wv548dRc5IuFMMVD_xIf8EbWymzql26fKYd61ZBtNJgF9ftFLsiGPuGqoPJ2paiNqEk52QsDvnIPMluMw6UJa2VrHdmEhPCQzWKSy4pTW7qX6pA69gFcrQQetcQU8CNbYnUUzHHnTp685nzrFtcB-zjroQtND51vsoS5=w640-h373" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Happy 8th day of Christmas. (No, Christmas isn't over yet.) And Happy New Year. 2021 is behind us and 2022 has begun. What will this year bring? Some things seem reasonably predictable, but I am not going to list what I think those might be. More things about 2022 are really unknown. Life has a habit of surprising us with the unexpected, both good and bad. The unpredictable and the unknown can make us anxious. I feel both hopeful and anxious about what this year will bring for me and the people I love and indeed the world in general.<br /><br />In the UK it's nearing the end of this first day of January and it is dark. A friend posted a quote on Facebook today from King George VI's 1939 Christmas broadcast. It was part of the preamble written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Louise_Haskins" target="_blank">Minnie Louise Haskins</a> to her 1908 poem called 'God knows'. That preamble is sometimes known as 'The Gate of the Year' and is usually only quoted in part. It has been an encouragement and inspiration to me since I first heard it as a child. It meant a great deal to my parents and others of their generation. It was read at my father's funeral, so whenever I hear it I tend to feel tearful. Here is that preamble in full:<br /><br /><blockquote>"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:<br />'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'<br />And he replied:<br />'Go out into the darkness<br />and put your hand into the Hand of God.<br />That shall be to you better than light<br />and safer than a known way.'<br /><br />So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God,<br />trod gladly into the night.<br />And He led me towards the hills<br />and the breaking of day in the lone East."</blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGPAfet20xHhADIdHPc83zyUMyxmALIArzuJD7IYyYHJejCSNR-8OZxao6v8JqltvTWAlHO-G8nlas8jTXHVnPq787jQp0uL6S6PfbviLZY97VG13-oG4ZNm1Ym-YCxb0c3rs1n0GKYX36O4r1vuxSH_-uOfTf9G1S9fN75zJV3L-DHE7PNF-qe1UJ=s1280" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGPAfet20xHhADIdHPc83zyUMyxmALIArzuJD7IYyYHJejCSNR-8OZxao6v8JqltvTWAlHO-G8nlas8jTXHVnPq787jQp0uL6S6PfbviLZY97VG13-oG4ZNm1Ym-YCxb0c3rs1n0GKYX36O4r1vuxSH_-uOfTf9G1S9fN75zJV3L-DHE7PNF-qe1UJ=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>And here is the rest of the poem 'God Knows':<br /><br /><blockquote>"So heart be still:<br />What need our little life<br />Our human life to know,<br />If God hath comprehension?<br />In all the dizzy strife<br />Of things both high and low,<br />God hideth His intention.<br /><br />God knows. His will<br />Is best. The stretch of years<br />Which wind ahead, so dim<br />To our imperfect vision,<br />Are clear to God. Our fears<br />Are premature; In Him,<br />All time hath full provision.<br /><br />Then rest: until<br />God moves to lift the veil<br />From our impatient eyes,<br />When, as the sweeter features<br />Of Life’s stern face we hail,<br />Fair beyond all surmise<br />God’s thought around His creatures<br />Our mind shall fill."</blockquote></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: right;"><i>Louise Minnie Haskins 1908, published in The Desert 1912</i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: right;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: right;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: right;">Image Credits: 1. Dawn image by <a href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2666358" target="_blank">Jonathan Billinger on Geograph, CC License</a>.</div><div style="text-align: right;">2. hands image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-hands-ascension-community-5216581/">David Jackson on Pixabay, CC License</a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></span></div></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-50709442081622980042021-12-22T16:41:00.000+00:002021-12-22T16:41:26.343+00:00Emmanuel: God with us<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPRnktn-TS004C4eymNAswR6OhbytAdxJYnFhU9tXezqMqTLxJ-FNrGjhsuH3LnC2x07INa7WVZvaQSoQQ84n62M5WQYnTYDr5WiVTXGk-MvwpWHJkgPAhOMgzoki40ihALYiDYrCbpbX9nCewLFOaPnclpqi9cktljcnar1atGFyiOYtrD_kyU-rU=s1000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPRnktn-TS004C4eymNAswR6OhbytAdxJYnFhU9tXezqMqTLxJ-FNrGjhsuH3LnC2x07INa7WVZvaQSoQQ84n62M5WQYnTYDr5WiVTXGk-MvwpWHJkgPAhOMgzoki40ihALYiDYrCbpbX9nCewLFOaPnclpqi9cktljcnar1atGFyiOYtrD_kyU-rU=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>One of my favourite names for Jesus is from Isaiah, <i>"Emmanuel"</i>. This, as Matthew's Gospel explains (Matthew 1: 23) means <i>"God with us"</i>. I like the name Emmanuel because I find comfort in its meaning. I believe that in Jesus' coming, God comes to live among us. That is good news. It means that even when life is dreadful we are not alone. God is with us, God has come, is always coming and will come to save. I realise that I would not find the idea of 'God with us' comforting if I did not believe that 'God is love'.<br /> <br /> What if your concept of God is of an entirely vengeful, destructive being, always looking for ways to punish people? Or if that is your gut feeling about God, so that when something bad happens in your life you think, 'what have I done to deserve this?'<br /> <br />During WW2 Nazi military uniform belt buckles had a design of an eagle symbol perched on a swastika. Over this was inscribed the words, 'Gott mit uns', the German for 'God with us'. I did an internet search to check out the buckle design and then wished I hadn't. Among other depressing finds I discovered how easily I could buy a new replica of such a buckle, not to mention many other similar artefacts such as Nazi flags. It would seem there is a big demand for such stuff. This is not good news, any more than the name 'Son of God' was good news for Jesus' people under the oppression of the Roman empire when 'Son of God' was a name for Caesar, the Emperor.<br /> <br /> The Nazi use of 'Gott mit uns' had been used in Prussia from the 17th century and the German Empire from 1870 - 1918. The Russian Empire's imperial motto was also 'God with us'. It is a common human failing for any tribe, state or empire to fall prey to the seductive idea that God is on 'our side' not 'their side'. You can find many examples of this thinking in the history of the British Empire. To invoke the idea that 'God is with us' but 'God is not with them' so whatever atrocities 'our side' commits are justified is a common practice throughout world history. And yes, you can even find these ideas in the Bible - but that is a discussion for another post.<br /> <br /> The point of identifying Jesus as revealing 'God with us' is that Jesus' life and teaching showed that God is with us in the sense of coming among us for the benefit all people, not just those we might call "people like us".</span><br />
<div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> Emmanuel, God-with-us,<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> come to us, abide with us.</span><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span> </span></span><br /></span></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-1216538317113399962021-11-28T18:34:00.000+00:002021-11-28T18:34:43.074+00:00Advent Unlocking<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIFoWfI9MAMBVZdSAnbWwqSwzgR0WT5sKE60q30IXOR7blfWTZbYXHykM0Zo6DaxO5R2NMo-vaKqUze10u5TYZ6Lu4RfpYKyXz21jKfExf-3EKc6J6W31xCFw4G8DIBgT2vtwyx2gzKw/s960/key.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="960" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXIFoWfI9MAMBVZdSAnbWwqSwzgR0WT5sKE60q30IXOR7blfWTZbYXHykM0Zo6DaxO5R2NMo-vaKqUze10u5TYZ6Lu4RfpYKyXz21jKfExf-3EKc6J6W31xCFw4G8DIBgT2vtwyx2gzKw/w640-h429/key.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Advent begins today, the 1st Sunday of Advent. Much has been spoken and written about what Advent (4 week season before Christmas) is about. One of its aspects is preparation for an expected coming, the coming of Christ, past present and future.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A few years ago, I attended an Advent retreat during which the retreat leader quoted these words from a prayer by a New Guinea Christian.</span><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>"At Advent we should try the key to our heart's door.</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>It may have gathered rust.</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>If so, this is the time to oil it,</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>in order that the heart's door may open more easily</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>when the Lord Jesus wants to enter at Christmas time!</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>Lord,</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>oil the hinges of our heart's doors</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>that they may swing gently and easily</i></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>to welcome your coming."</i></span></p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: right;">from The Lion Prayer Collection, Lion Books 1992, p. 321</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/old-key-lock-key-door-old-unlock-5380624/" target="_blank">Colinfoo, Pixabay Licence</a></p></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-1543921306034905892021-11-11T16:28:00.002+00:002021-11-11T16:32:19.936+00:00Armistice Day 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbdH2Y5bY1XunlkUPcvU4jXwTxLpF5-_70_ZM1Rls9cxhZMXwsO25e7flUbz8NSZLydk8Je4eNBubPcDbl1oXGN4sOEGbK-nQN33M-V6AYcvV-S7PtyYlYI3692h2-4u_yPVZhddkynA/s960/2014+lots+of+debris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLbdH2Y5bY1XunlkUPcvU4jXwTxLpF5-_70_ZM1Rls9cxhZMXwsO25e7flUbz8NSZLydk8Je4eNBubPcDbl1oXGN4sOEGbK-nQN33M-V6AYcvV-S7PtyYlYI3692h2-4u_yPVZhddkynA/w300-h400/2014+lots+of+debris.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div>Because this is Remembrance (Armistice) Day, I revisited this photo which I took in 2014, the year that saw the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1. It was in the grounds of the <a href="https://www.hoogecrater.com/en/" target="_blank">Hooge Crater Museum</a> in Flanders, Belgium.</div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>Ironmongery from WW1 left in the area of Hooge Crater near Ypres in Flanders is a poignant reminder of the waste of that war that was supposed to end all wars, but didn't. Waste of so many young men and boys, waste of horses, waste of material resources, waste of energy, destruction of farmland and woods. And what was that all for? What did WW1 achieve? And what did the Armistice and the Peace Treaty that followed achieve? The seeds of WW2 among other things.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Maybe like me you struggle in the silence to make sense of it all and to crave and pray for true peace to prevail. It's always hard when it seems there are always new wars, bloodshed and violence somewhere in the world today. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I think that's way this poem speaks to me so powerfully today as it has in previous years. In a <a href="https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2021/11/10/silence-a-sonnet-for-remembrance-day-11/" target="_blank">Sonnet for Remembrance Day, called 'Silence'</a>, Malcolm Guite writes:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">SILENCE</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />November pierces with its bleak remembrance<br />Of all the bitterness and waste of war.<br />Our silence tries but fails to make a semblance<br />Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for.<br />Our silence seethes instead with wraiths and whispers,<br />And all the restless rumour of new wars,<br />The shells are falling all around our vespers,<br />No moment is unscarred, there is no pause,<br />In every instant bloodied innocence<br />Falls to the weary earth ,and whilst we stand<br />Quiescence ends again in acquiescence,<br />And Abel’s blood still cries in every land<br />One silence only might redeem that blood<br />Only the silence of a dying God.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxEBgbJTWebRnbZU61cWarFOSK-2CJrmgHWokN9ZNksiuSW6O5wpFFMYNs675dKhYoZ3iYQbeDpQmepbxfER9l-LQNdJTfFnfy3iCEUYwBJpY-GyckQm9ltgnDPDcKbDmlWaqGmVe7qM/s960/remembrance+poppy.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxEBgbJTWebRnbZU61cWarFOSK-2CJrmgHWokN9ZNksiuSW6O5wpFFMYNs675dKhYoZ3iYQbeDpQmepbxfER9l-LQNdJTfFnfy3iCEUYwBJpY-GyckQm9ltgnDPDcKbDmlWaqGmVe7qM/w400-h266/remembrance+poppy.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><p><br /></p></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-33850823349758705892021-05-13T17:16:00.019+01:002021-05-13T19:00:33.543+01:00Ascension Day Prayer<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsc2XA3Awz68lNMsqXObK-ZG4O6XmoJLtjMV8ug8Yazt3gWHPXgdujm96Wn5fyqFAeaT8Y90D2rTs2tp6xHzkUfOdcabmx6Ud7nPZNRiwx9MF3hI8zJfdfqK2Wv9TUqq-1WVOh0WjfOc/s960/AscensionofChrist-EddeGuzman-960x480.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsc2XA3Awz68lNMsqXObK-ZG4O6XmoJLtjMV8ug8Yazt3gWHPXgdujm96Wn5fyqFAeaT8Y90D2rTs2tp6xHzkUfOdcabmx6Ud7nPZNRiwx9MF3hI8zJfdfqK2Wv9TUqq-1WVOh0WjfOc/w640-h320/AscensionofChrist-EddeGuzman-960x480.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Today is Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter and 10 days before Pentectost. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I seem to have written several posts for this feast day, So today, I will just share this wonderfully colourful image by Ed de Guzman, an artist's interpretation of what is described in Acts 1: 1 - 11 and a prayer based on that same Bible reading.</span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Risen Lord, draw us to you.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><div style="text-align: center;">Let your kingdom come</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><div style="text-align: center;">through us to the world</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><div style="text-align: center;">as we live as your witnesses</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><div style="text-align: center;">until you come again;</div></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><div style="text-align: center;">you live and reign, now and forever.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Amen.</div></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #333333; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">from <a href="https://acollectionofprayers.com/" target="_blank">A collection of Prayers</a></span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: Image of <a href="https://www.jmacreativegroup.com/arteddeguzman" target="_blank">painting by Ed de Guzman</a></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-90175626370586123002021-04-02T09:51:00.012+01:002021-04-02T11:47:24.830+01:00Good Friday 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7At5qfqSh1lHEepdCntuYP3yG-qIaAhdt95jSosUFv5O7X6ooDuwYBgz33Eft3S1vm7iQNtl0Nz_9QcXmnBnnPuQ-QQjqDN_gSsegwJSEoEfjXFypN5q3jqGOVn1V6oYuhEy3X9rTzIk/s700/cross+drawing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7At5qfqSh1lHEepdCntuYP3yG-qIaAhdt95jSosUFv5O7X6ooDuwYBgz33Eft3S1vm7iQNtl0Nz_9QcXmnBnnPuQ-QQjqDN_gSsegwJSEoEfjXFypN5q3jqGOVn1V6oYuhEy3X9rTzIk/s16000/cross+drawing.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">For Good Friday this year and conscious of so much suffering in the world today, here's some words by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mayne" target="_blank">Michael Mayne</a> that I find helpful:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">"Only the Passion and death of Jesus can reconcile those two apparently irreconcilable truths: that God is in love with us, and that at some point in our lives we all experience suffering, pain and dereliction. Either God was not in Christ and the Cross is the ultimate symbol of all the meaninglessness that can destroy us, the absence of God, the triumph of the secular powers. Or God was in Christ and the Cross is the final word of a God who shares the pain and the dirt, the loneliness and the weakness, even the frightening sense of desolation and the death we may be called upon to experience ourselves. That was the audacious claim of the first Christians, that God is now reveraled as the one who pours himself out in love, a serving, foot-washing, crucified God, whose love cannot be altered or diminshed."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Micheal Mayne, A Yea Lost and Found (Lond,: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1987)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> p. 56</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Previous Good Friday Posts here:</span></p><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2020/04/good-friday-reflection.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Good Friday Reflection</span></a><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="http://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/holy-week-good-friday.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Holy Week: Good Friday</a></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="http://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/good-friday.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Good Friday</span></a></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="http://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/good-friday-mother-and-child-meditation.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;">Good Friday: Mother and Child Meditation</a></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2015/04/wordless-good-friday-meditation.html" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Wordless Good Friday Meditation</span></a></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="http://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/good-friday.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;">Good Friday</a></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="http://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/giving-and-good-friday.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;">Giving and Good Friday</a></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="http://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/cry-for-help.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;">Cry for Help</a></span><br /><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><a href="http://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/looking-for-hope.html" style="background: transparent; color: #1c8bf2; text-decoration-line: none;">Looking for Hope</a></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixy.org/5763570/" target="_blank">CCO Public Domain</a></span></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-29893882230636412352021-03-28T06:30:00.007+01:002021-03-28T06:30:00.858+01:00Palm Sunday shouting<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqsq7aNiQO8SncmOF16Vg5xkp8q4QWMMrlcQ404C2YzVbD-7rSIlasUjEI2yx9LhDmlc2KvmEYChJdmWtOCyiMOcKPrXRJqEfUBt-4IJktL3MJ3siEXZVx5Ei7LRuzlDrywk0wE0GOqk/s900/Palm+Sunday.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqsq7aNiQO8SncmOF16Vg5xkp8q4QWMMrlcQ404C2YzVbD-7rSIlasUjEI2yx9LhDmlc2KvmEYChJdmWtOCyiMOcKPrXRJqEfUBt-4IJktL3MJ3siEXZVx5Ei7LRuzlDrywk0wE0GOqk/s16000/Palm+Sunday.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Between parades</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We're good at planning!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Give us a task force</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">and a project</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">and we're off and running!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">No trouble at all!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Going to the village and finding the colt,</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">even negotiating with the owners</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">is right down our alley.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And how we love a parade!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">In a frenzy of celebration</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">we gladly focus on Jesus</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">and generously throw our coats</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">and palms in his path.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And we can shout praise</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">loudly enough</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">to make the Pharisees complain.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's all so good!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's in between parades that</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">we don't do so well.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">From Sunday to Sunday</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">we forget our Hosannas.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Between parades</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">the stones will have to shout</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">because we don't.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/692670.Kneeling_in_Jerusalem" target="_blank">Ann Weems, Kneeling in Jerusalem</a> (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994) p. 69</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://trueafricanart.com/pages/evans-yegon" target="_blank">Palm Sunday, a painting by African artist Evans Yegon</a></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><br /></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-61273596853807918662021-03-25T12:38:00.004+00:002021-03-25T14:21:09.768+00:00How did Mary mother of Jesus get pregnant?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoKfELBd93j7ey5YP-YPRbdymi3TOeKcusA2LE8HVEAS411Tghpd3GYfndcIhH6e3nWzpXJavvrNnP57LWlgCypO-K7dGGgC4ph_wb20uE6QvcBbO3dTmGFs5M6aA5vfsOGesf6xPGPo/s1600/Wurzburg+Marienkapelle+immaculate+conception+10+September+2018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoKfELBd93j7ey5YP-YPRbdymi3TOeKcusA2LE8HVEAS411Tghpd3GYfndcIhH6e3nWzpXJavvrNnP57LWlgCypO-K7dGGgC4ph_wb20uE6QvcBbO3dTmGFs5M6aA5vfsOGesf6xPGPo/w640-h480/Wurzburg+Marienkapelle+immaculate+conception+10+September+2018.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Today is the Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin May, celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans and some other churches on 25 March each year. In England this used to be New Year's Day until 1752. It is also called 'Lady Day'. It is an approximate pregnancy length of time from the next Christmas, when Christians celebrate Jesus' birth. Today is about the Angel Gabriel’s astonishing announcement to Mary that she was to bear a son, to be called Jesus, who would be 'great'. You can read the account in <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=167995027" target="_blank">Luke 1: 26 – 38.</a></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Today's feast gives me an excuse to share a memory of a visit my husband and I made 3 years ago to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marienkapelle,_W%C3%BCrzburg" target="_blank">Marienkapelle, a church in Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany</a>. We were with a small group being shown around the church by a knowledgeable and entertaining local guide. Towards the end of the tour he asked us, 'how did the Virgin Mary get pregnant?' Somebody said 'by a miracle', another said, 'by the Holy Spirit'. Although I believe those answers, my answer was 'I don't know - it's a mystery'. The guide told us that we would know the answer to his question when he'd taken us outside the north door. He was going to show us a stone carving. He promised we would never forget it. I haven't.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">That 15th century stone carving above the exterior of the north door is shown in my photo at the head of this post. It symbolically depicts the mystery of how the Virgin Mary got pregnant with Jesus. It shows Mary on her knees holding an open book and the Angel Gabriel speaking to her. Above is God the Father, from whose mouth comes a tube. The bottom of the tube ends in Mary’s ear with the dove of the Holy Spirit. Sliding headfirst down the tube is a joyful baby Jesus. Because the carving is so high up from the pavement it took me a while to see the baby sliding down what reminded me of a fallopian tube, towards Mary's ear.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Like other tourists, I giggled when I saw some of the details of the carving. One or two couples muttered to each other, 'so, we've been doing it wrong all these years'. Later, when I looked at the photos on my phone, I pondered the meaningof that carved north portal. A prayerful Mary was open to receive the word that was breathed from the mouth of God. Through the Holy Spirit she heard God’s word and accepted it, although it disrupted what she had expected for her life.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Her ‘yes’ to God was to bring her great pain as well as joy. And yet, the Angel Gabriel called Mary 'blessed' and 'favoured'. Having God’s favour and blessing doesn’t mean life is easy. It certainly wasn’t for Mary. This year, 25 March falls just before </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Holy Week begins, when Christians remember Mary’s son’s last days and his arrest, crucifixion and burial. What a dreadful week for Mary. The angel had greeted her as ‘favoured one’, said God was with her and she was ‘blessed’. Did she feel blessed and favoured as she stood at the foot of her son’s cross through those long agonising hours? What a test of her trust in God.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We tend to look at what’s happening for us or those close to us and then say if we’re blessed or not. Trusting in God like Mary is to look beyond difficult circumstances and trust that God sees more about the circumstances than we see. Mary trusted God, even as she asked, “How can this be?” The favouring and blessing of God wasn’t around Mary in her difficult circumstances. It was within her. It was in the life of Christ she willingly nurtured within and through her body.</span></div><div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />I believe that this coming Holy Week and Easter, God invites us to receive his blessing in our lives, even if our circumstances seem to make that unlikely. For Christians, we may receive blessing as we allow the new life of Jesus to grow within us - a life that brings hope, love, even joy. Even when we don’t see or understand it, God is with us, working to create new life in unexpected ways.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">“For nothing will be impossible with God” is what the angel told Mary. Mary pondered and treasured the events she experienced as the blessed mother of the Saviour. As we approach Holy Week we can ponder and treasure God’s Word. We can be still and listen, be open and vulnerable to God’s life within our own. This is how we “let it be” according to God’s word. Who knows what blessings may come?<br /><br />You can read some of my previous posts on the Feast of the Annunciation through the links below:</span><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2014/03/lady-day-and-announcements.html" target="_blank">Lady Day and Announcements</a></span></li><li><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2011/03/pondering-announcement.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Pondering an Announcement</span></a></li><li><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2013/04/annunciation-2013.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Annunciation 2013</span></a></li><li><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-annunciation-of-our-lord.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The Annunciation of our Lord</span></a></li></ul></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Image: my photo of carved north portal of Marienkapelle in Wurzburg, Bavaria</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></span></div></div></div></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-49358206670068325902021-03-20T12:52:00.000+00:002021-03-20T12:52:37.593+00:00Kindness of St Cuthbert<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm1tez6I7CMIPd9sIHTPhYxYdEldyPRsd4hQqUTAk9cUxx5hmq15RkSr7VpfeXE6kh0JYAXQ5GXK9_cGaMDCzFkBJz_eKIy0fijf0TDAbcUeJfin48gcF_Vdg2Uk7mQp23mt3troYHfU/s1024/St+Cuthbert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="680" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm1tez6I7CMIPd9sIHTPhYxYdEldyPRsd4hQqUTAk9cUxx5hmq15RkSr7VpfeXE6kh0JYAXQ5GXK9_cGaMDCzFkBJz_eKIy0fijf0TDAbcUeJfin48gcF_Vdg2Uk7mQp23mt3troYHfU/w265-h400/St+Cuthbert.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div><div class="post-outer" style="border: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; position: relative;"><div class="post" style="margin-top: 0px;"><div class="post-body entry-content float-container" id="post-body-3193832591692909275" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 1.5em 0px 2em;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This Lent I am occasionally posting on the theme of kindness. Today is St Cuthbert's Day and I found myself thinking about the kindness of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne. He died on this day in 687 A.D.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Here is his statue near to Holy Island, Northumberland, England. Cuthbert is one of the most popular English/Scottish saints.<br /><br />Cuthbert was born around 640 in the Scottish lowlands (then part of the Northumbrian Kingdom). As a child he had a vision and decided to dedicate his life to God. He became a monk at Melrose Abbey. From there he began missionary work, which he continued from <a href="https://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/" target="_blank">Lindisfarne</a> where he became abbot. He became a bishop in 685 and continued travelling and preaching, walking all over the rough hills of his diocese, spending time as a hermit on Farne Island in between. On 20 March 687 he died and his body was eventually laid to rest in Durham.<br /><br />There are many stories about him. Here’s one that illustrates his kindly nature and his care to teach others to share what you have. It is written by <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bede_st.shtml" target="_blank">Bede</a>:<br /><blockquote>Cuthbert had gone out on one of his long journeys to preach, taking with him a boy for company. The day was long and the road steep, and they were tired and hungry. The boy grew worried. 'Learn to have constant faith and hope in the Lord' said Cuthbert. 'Whoever serves God shall never die of hunger.' They saw an eagle in the sky and Cuthbert said: 'God can send us food by that eagle.' Soon, by the river bank, they saw it settling on a rock. 'There is the servant I was telling you about. Run and see what God has sent and bring it quickly.' The boy returned with a big fish that the bird had caught. 'What?' said Cuthbert: 'Didn't you give the servant his own share? Cut it in two, and give half to the bird.' After a good meal of cooked fish with villagers nearby, Cuthbert praised God for his provision and said: 'Happy the one whose hope is in the Lord'.</blockquote><br />For Cuthbert, to be human was to live in dependence on God, aware of his constant presence. You could call this simplicity, being pure in heart and poor in spirit. Bede describes his character like this:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><blockquote>“like a good teacher he taught others to do only what he first practised himself. Above all else he was afire with heavenly love, unassumingly patient, devoted to unceasing prayer, and kindly to all who came to him for comfort…” </blockquote><br />In his youth Cuthbert had cared for sheep, either as a shepherd boy, or more likely as a military guard for the flock. For Cuthbert, the image that inspired his ministry was the <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=293868707" target="_blank">Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.</a> <br /><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Some years ago I visited St Cuthbert’s shrine in Durham Cathedral. The medieval riches of the shrine were removed under Henry VIII. Now there’s a simple stone slab with one Latin word ‘Cuthbertus’. Among the symbols of power of that huge cathedral, that simplicity tells us 'Whoever would be great among you, let them be your servant'. </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I had not expected to be moved by it, but I was. I had an overwhelmingly powerful sense of God's presence and a feeling of joy that made me cry. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that Christians have approached that place prayerfully for more than a thousand years and now silence is encouraged in that part of the cathedral. Or that there are those who pray daily for visiting pilgrims. Thanks to Cuthbert, it felt as if God had given me a great kindness that day, unexpected joy.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: </span><a href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4764424" style="font-family: verdana;" target="_blank">Philip Halling on Geograph, CC Licence</a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div> <br /><br /><br /></span><iframe allowtransparency="allowtransparency" class="blogger-iframe-colorize blogger-comment-from-post" data-resized="true" frameborder="0" height="90px" id="comment-editor" name="comment-editor" src="https://www.blogger.com/comment-iframe.g?blogID=5244275961793143825&postID=3193832591692909275&skin=contempo&blogspotRpcToken=7520054" style="margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;" width="100%"></iframe></div></div></div></div></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-74668693667319448592021-03-14T09:10:00.003+00:002021-03-14T09:11:47.698+00:00Mothering God: Mothering Sunday 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEtmRorN_mJ47XWUzEyeD3QdSrjgShvHhnry-P41VR8aCI45bWGPfz4U_I9RCzpp3EiLdFkg1bE-KZuRFdWCbAez5PzIwgSbpPZMeJhMIiOa64lK1IE_PIQNobSXFiSK3_rf9OKdMW7U/s700/hand+in+hand.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEtmRorN_mJ47XWUzEyeD3QdSrjgShvHhnry-P41VR8aCI45bWGPfz4U_I9RCzpp3EiLdFkg1bE-KZuRFdWCbAez5PzIwgSbpPZMeJhMIiOa64lK1IE_PIQNobSXFiSK3_rf9OKdMW7U/w300-h400/hand+in+hand.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Mothering Sunday is on the 4th Sunday of Lent, which this year is today. It was was once a day to return to the 'mother church' of your area or to honour Mary, mother of Jesus.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">On this day Lent fasting rules were relaxed. It was therefore sometimes known as 'refreshment' Sunday. At one time children employed as domestic servants or apprentices were given the day off to visit their mothers and perhaps take a cake or posy of flowers.<br /><br />Some people call today 'Mother's Day'. I'm not keen on that as the name 'Mothering Sunday' is a more inclusive way of looking at it. Not everyone is or can be a mother but we can all try to do what the best mother's do in the sense of providing a safe space for others to grow and flourish. And we all need to receive welcome, nurture and refreshment from others. I think that is part of what the church should be about - reflecting the perfect 'mothering' of God for all her children. (In saying that I am not denying the 'Fatherhood of God'.)<br /><br />"As a mother comforts a child<br />so will I comfort you, says the Lord." Isaiah 66: 13<br /><br />There is a beautiful hymn on this theme, written by Jean Janzen. It is based on some writing of Julian of Norwich about the motherhood of God. Here are the words:<br /><br />Mothering God, you gave me birth<br />in the bright morning of this world.<br />Creator, Source of every breath,<br />you are my rain, my wind, my sun.<br /><br />Mothering Christ, you took my form,<br />offering me your food of light,<br />grain of life, and grape of love,<br />your very body for my peace.<br /><br />Mothering Spirit, nurturing one,<br />in arms of patience hold me close,<br />so that in faith I root and grow<br />until I flower, until I know.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixy.org/4852796/" target="_blank">Meredith Nails, 'Hand in Hand Sculpture', CCO License</a></div><div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-84631490741624857832021-02-20T12:44:00.000+00:002021-02-20T12:44:05.150+00:00Kindness in courtesy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazUZZOYOf-mhestVNUyQBt8zKFRbwAM6qlUQ5R5NWr0YWVEP3X5k-BeR0PSnRBCPqs_GN_n0j8bw5eaGJd_wjJt-tLhWB1HQRr8145buo6glcs6g_eUb_kA2YOSt4_2jrgTSMoUmPhCo/s800/supermarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazUZZOYOf-mhestVNUyQBt8zKFRbwAM6qlUQ5R5NWr0YWVEP3X5k-BeR0PSnRBCPqs_GN_n0j8bw5eaGJd_wjJt-tLhWB1HQRr8145buo6glcs6g_eUb_kA2YOSt4_2jrgTSMoUmPhCo/w400-h266/supermarket.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">An act of kindness can be something simple, like an act of courtesy.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This morning I went on an adventure. Well, it felt adventurous. I entered a supermarket to do some shopping for the first time since December. It was a relief to find I'd not forgotten the behaviour protocols for Covid risk reduction. I'm grateful that other masked early morning shoppers were careful to observe the 2-metre apart distance rule. How strange that the kindess of courtesy now includes keeping physically distanced from other people.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The highlight of today's supermarket trip was provided by the young man working the checkout till. The staff in that particular place are always courteous, but he seemed especially so, going the extra mile in what he said to me and how he looked at me. Even though he was masked, the smile on his face was obvious by his eyes. I give him full marks for courtesy, because today his courteous behaviour felt like a kindness, a lovely gift just for me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">That young man's courteous kindness really cheered the start of my day as I am sure it would have done for his other customers. It also reminded me that courtesy, like kindness is catching. It sends out positive ripples far beyond the original kind action. It reminded me of the words of Jesus,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6: 31 </span></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coronavirus_COVID-19_face_mask_in_supermarket.jpg" target="_blank">Nikolai Romensky on Wikimedia Commons, CC License</a></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><br /></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-73651562984186244022021-02-19T12:52:00.001+00:002021-02-19T12:52:11.406+00:00Kindness through dogs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyBpX1rj8xPUzcvly1gN8K3i2ft8gzdKF3c_NBsRguL9tBsFyv6iKtt9Fb_TQ6jVTjPkcmy58941RFSCXnjqs6VOL6i55L_8_vVrKz80H8oXaoeamAlHfF5QAKMnHs0Sp_tW0VwHBFBI/s1280/labrador.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyBpX1rj8xPUzcvly1gN8K3i2ft8gzdKF3c_NBsRguL9tBsFyv6iKtt9Fb_TQ6jVTjPkcmy58941RFSCXnjqs6VOL6i55L_8_vVrKz80H8oXaoeamAlHfF5QAKMnHs0Sp_tW0VwHBFBI/w400-h225/labrador.webp" width="400" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Can dogs be kind? In my Lent series on the theme of kindness, I thought of entitling this post, 'Kindness of Dogs'. I decided that might be an anthropomorphic step too far. My experience of dogs is that they seem to be kinder than cats. If you are a cat lover you may disagree. I think that in a sense dogs can be kind. There are so many examples of loyal dogs doing good things for their owners, being faithful companions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I called this post 'Kindness through dogs' because people can find kindness through dogs, even if that was not the dogs altruistic intention.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Going back to my childhood, when I felt miserable there was always comfort to be found in stroking the family dog. Like most dogs our mongrel was sensitive to human moods or sickness. When our children were growing up, our pet labrador was there for any of us not feeling our best.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Kindness can be spread through posting images of dogs on social media. During lockdown I have enjoyed seeing photos and videos of the dogs of relatives and friends. One therapy dog owner Kerry Irving, who was helped in recovering from a serious car crash and depression by Max, a springer spaniel, has gone on to help thousands of others. Kerry Irving has done this by posting videos on social media of walks with Max in the Lake District. These have gone viral and have been experienced as therapeutic kindness by many. Today the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-56122795" target="_blank">BBC reported that Max is now the first pet to receive an Order of Merit from the animal charity PDSA</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When you can't go out because of lockdown, you might enjoy going on a virtual walk in Cumbria with Max and 2 other spaniels Paddy and Harry. Max has his own Facebook page, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/maxinthelakes/" target="_blank">Max Out in the Lake District</a> where you can see videos of beautiful walks that may lift your mood and come as a kindness to you today.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I thank God for the dogs I have known and for the kindness I have experienced because of them.</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/labrador-dog-pet-animal-portrait-4246322/" target="_blank">Mylene2401 on Pixabay</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-41851332604431984532021-02-18T06:30:00.001+00:002021-02-18T06:30:03.484+00:00Kindness and plum stones<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyvnY8YJzebL3sjzRh14LEzwf-AcDlGO9G8L0jS5SLOJpvFMfKnxeBSEDs0hjnEaorXsA0PUwAlsZjS-n6S-UE2Ql3IGnQYS2LxhNmoz-3dmtFd_jAIQME5dlhRCsVlcnXepPy88oOO8/s2048/Red-Plums.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="2048" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSyvnY8YJzebL3sjzRh14LEzwf-AcDlGO9G8L0jS5SLOJpvFMfKnxeBSEDs0hjnEaorXsA0PUwAlsZjS-n6S-UE2Ql3IGnQYS2LxhNmoz-3dmtFd_jAIQME5dlhRCsVlcnXepPy88oOO8/w400-h209/Red-Plums.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">During Lent, I've decided to post as often as I can about kindness. (See my post of yesterday, <a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2021/02/ash-wednesday-2021.html" target="_blank">Ash Wednesday 2021</a>.)</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">So today I'm starting with an early memory of how someone was kind to me. It involved plums and plum stones.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I was about 4 years old and attending a kindergarten school. Usually I went home for lunch. The day of my plum stone memory was, I believe, the first day that I had lunch at school. It was a hot meal cooked in the school kitchen. The dessert that day was stewed plums. I ate one. It tasted good, but it contained the plum seed, hard as stone. What was I supposed to do with the plum stone?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">At home I'd been taught to spit the plum stone into my spoon and place the stone on the rim of the pudding bowl. My immediate problem on that 1st day of staying for school lunch was that the school bowls had no rims. My longer term problem was that I was then a rather shy little girl. I didn't dare ask what I should do with the stone. I knew I shouldn't put it on the table or drop it on the floor. Reader, I ate the plum but kept the stone in my mouth. I did the same with the next plum and the next and so it went on until my cheeks bulged like a hamster's.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Thankfully, an older child noticed what I was doing. She quietly explained to me that I could just put the stones back in the bowl. As far as I remember, she did this without attracting the attention of other children, who would probably have laughed at me. It was a triple kindness, noticing my problem, helping me to solve it and not causing me humiliation in the process. I remember the sense of relief I felt as one by one I returned the plum stones to my bowl. I would like to think I thanked her, but I probably didn't. Today I thank God for that child and her kindness to me. She taught me a lot about kindness that day and I have never forgotten it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red-Plums.jpg" target="_blank">Photo by Evan-Amos on Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><br /></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-42182031284277603972021-02-17T09:36:00.000+00:002021-02-17T09:36:05.199+00:00Ash Wednesday 2021<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwgPWQrhPx6f9XmTUCphet_wQw0tYWADQ0WHrbR-gqfzy5xr2B77TGn7T2Vkh265OrZanAIHGubNvZtjZlW6-0zMEge1zRxzXo9-viLxLZjrS9a5SUIJdlqdpLBNTmMOYxgTRZSqhBrE/s1768/Ash+Wednesday+drawing.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1768" data-original-width="1721" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRwgPWQrhPx6f9XmTUCphet_wQw0tYWADQ0WHrbR-gqfzy5xr2B77TGn7T2Vkh265OrZanAIHGubNvZtjZlW6-0zMEge1zRxzXo9-viLxLZjrS9a5SUIJdlqdpLBNTmMOYxgTRZSqhBrE/w389-h400/Ash+Wednesday+drawing.jpeg" width="389" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Ash Wednesday feels very different this year. In the UK we are several weeks into another lockdown due to Covid and expect several weeks more.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Last year, just before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, someone asked me if I planned to give anything up for Lent. My answer was that I hadn't yet decided, but had a feeling that "something would emerge". I didn't in 2020 make any decision about giving something up. In the end, at the start of the 4th week of Lent our 1st lockdown began and that included closing all public worship where people physically gathered together. So what I eventually gave up was 'going to church' for the rest of Lent and many weeks afterwards.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I didn't give up church, just the regular habit of going to a church building to worship with others - at least temporarily. Church is a community of Christian believers. Those local communities have continued to worship, pray and care for others throughout the pandemic in all sorts of creative ways on and off line.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">So, how am I going to observe Lent this year? One thing I am going to try to do is focus on kindness, giving it and receiving it. The church, where I currently serve as a retired priest, is encouraging acts of kindness during Lent, with a different theme for each week's kindness focus. I aim to take part in that. In addition I aim to post something on the theme of kindness as often as I can during Lent. I hope to make these positive, a way to rejoice in the kindness of God and the kindness I have seen or heard about in others. I will not be telling you about any acts of kindness I have done. Also, I will not be telling you to be more kind, as for some reading this that might feel like a step too far just now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">If you came to this post hoping to read more about Ash Wednesday, you might like to look at previous Ash Wednesday posts, for example:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2019/03/ash-wednesday-grateful-for-ash.html" target="_blank">Ash Wednesday:grateful for ash</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2020/02/contemplating-mortality-on-ash-wednesday.html" target="_blank">Contemplating Mortality on Ash Wednesday</a> - this might help you to understand the drawing at the head of today's post.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixy.org/4383147/" target="_blank">Pixy clip arts, CC licence</a></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><br /></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-67455991905899202362021-02-12T15:59:00.000+00:002021-02-12T15:59:00.741+00:00Resting in God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmhSp68WWpHXZPdiW7XiFkMrCneslk2eYrqhRcJf03cpDwOx8A0N-ucXWIDWgHG5s8p9pp9p_4nJHokx8IDv5YDR3J02rCawqC6zNy3DhVwSkDkSaUiOI3i7sHkAZfp5XdlO5L9TIUKs/s529/sleeping-cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="529" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmhSp68WWpHXZPdiW7XiFkMrCneslk2eYrqhRcJf03cpDwOx8A0N-ucXWIDWgHG5s8p9pp9p_4nJHokx8IDv5YDR3J02rCawqC6zNy3DhVwSkDkSaUiOI3i7sHkAZfp5XdlO5L9TIUKs/w640-h429/sleeping-cat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I am not a cat lover, partly because of a slight allergy to them, especially the long-haired variety. That doesn't stop me admiring their beauty or their easy ability to completely relax.</span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Many years ago, I heard a Christian speaker refer to a 'pussy cat experience' as a way to describe relaxing into the sabbath rest of God. Jesus said,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The cat in the photo at the head of this post, seems truly at rest. I love D.H. Lawrence's poem called 'Pax' which uses the analogy of a sleeping cat in relation to the experience of being at home with 'the living God'.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">PAX<br /><br />All that matters is to be at one with the living God<br />to be a creature in the house of the God of Life.<br />Like a cat asleep on a chair<br />at peace, in peace<br />and at one with the master of the house,<br />with the mistress,<br />at home, at home in the house of the living,<br />sleeping on the hearth, and yawning before the fire.<br /><br />Sleeping on the the hearth of the living world,<br />yawning at home before the fire of life<br />feeling the presence of the living God<br />like a great reassurance<br />a deep calm in the heart<br />a presence<br />as of a master sitting at the board<br />in his own and greater being,<br />in the house of life.<br /><br /></span><i>D.H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930)</i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Image Credit:<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RedCat_8727.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons, CC Licence</a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div></span>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-1984596411975112712021-02-11T16:25:00.000+00:002021-02-11T16:25:54.959+00:00Seeing Snowdrops<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYy3CljiUEwD8kwDJIxHqY_R1ncvzgsRKi1XQAcqEWg76lQWH0Ooc4Yi9auHI4vUgXMIrHnyRHKTA6mcer6pv8y69zst4ogKHONpmiwgj24onCqBbCz2vc6Ll5VgA-da_ZNZnbmuWVtP8/s720/2021+Snowdrops+in+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYy3CljiUEwD8kwDJIxHqY_R1ncvzgsRKi1XQAcqEWg76lQWH0Ooc4Yi9auHI4vUgXMIrHnyRHKTA6mcer6pv8y69zst4ogKHONpmiwgj24onCqBbCz2vc6Ll5VgA-da_ZNZnbmuWVtP8/w400-h300/2021+Snowdrops+in+garden.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I really don't like cold weather and today is bitterly cold. Cold suits some people, but not others, certainly not me.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Some flowering plants can be at their best in winter. One example of this is the humble snowdrop.<br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">To see snowdrops gives me hope that spring is coming. In the words of the late <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52726188" target="_blank">Captain Sir Tom Moore</a>, they inspire me in lockdown to keep putting one foot in front of another, to keep going, in the hope that “tomorrow will be a good day”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Snowdrops are also called ‘Candlemas Bells’ because they often flower at the feast of ‘Candlemas’ (2 February). If you don’t know what that feast is about take a look at the post <a href="https://nancysblog-seeker.blogspot.com/2018/02/candlemas-2018.html" target="_blank">Candlemas 2018</a>. In our garden the earliest green shoots of snowdrops appeared just after Christmas. They were at their best on 2 February, but are still flowering now.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Towards the end of the dark cold winter, snowdrops are a sign of more new life to come when spring really gets going. For many months, they hide under the earth, beneath the dead leaves in the shady places. You would think they had died. Not so. The snowdrop bulbs have been feeding through their roots and growing new bulbs. As they start to flower, sometimes in snow, they look so fragile, but the plants are tough enough to survive the harshest winters.<br /><br />A few years ago, I was looking at snowdrops in a churchyard and told a friend I loved snowdrops. She said she especially loved the inside of the snowdrop flower. That was a jaw-dropping moment for me. I realized that although I had seen snowdrop flowers in late winter every year since childhood, I’d never bothered to look inside.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />How could I have reached senior years without ever looking inside a snowdrop? I suppose because, unlike other flowers like lilies, they don't ostentatiously display their stamens etc. The bell-like snowdrop flowers hang their heads shyly. As they are only about ankle height, I usually look down at them from above. Since that churchyard encounter, I’ve learnt also to get down really low to take a good look at the insides, which are beautiful, in every variety. I suppose some people are like that, protectively hiding some of their inner beauty or gifts, so others only see the outside as they look down on them.<br /><br />I thank God for the inside of a snowdrop and for the lovely person who showed me it was worth looking for. Next time you see snowdrops, don’t just look from above, stoop and look inside. Next time you see snowdrops, remember that God doesn’t look down at you from above, but is alongside you and looks at your heart. Whatever you want to hide from others or from God, God loves you much more than you can think or imagine. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Image Credit: Photo my own</div></span></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-70629554516759451592021-01-24T12:32:00.001+00:002021-01-24T12:32:43.855+00:00Heaven in Ordinary<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePv9tctDYKiVFJsG0REyAYqI0GeJKq8bs4KALbkbzcEo9Dd0x_dhmF9Jh-0Jo_WXscNVjKhxEADcMT7MefKWxMxzl1dVLvZ_xKz-Ju1I5BjWUACEmGkGu68FcnL9KSTDk6pWdX1UQa94/s2048/water+into+wine.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1640" data-original-width="2048" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePv9tctDYKiVFJsG0REyAYqI0GeJKq8bs4KALbkbzcEo9Dd0x_dhmF9Jh-0Jo_WXscNVjKhxEADcMT7MefKWxMxzl1dVLvZ_xKz-Ju1I5BjWUACEmGkGu68FcnL9KSTDk6pWdX1UQa94/w640-h512/water+into+wine.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">You may have seen recent reports of hospital workers overwhelmed by relentless work, physical and emotional exhaustion. </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Maybe you are one of them, or know someone receiving their care.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Running on empty is such a hard situation to find yourself in. Human resources do run out. And the joy can go out of life for all sorts of reasons, especially when burnt out, ill, or bereaved, or simply because we are weary of staying at home in lockdown. </span></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">One of the things keeping me going is the odd moment of joy in ordinary life: a blackbird singing; the snowdrops in our garden about to flower; in heavy rain, several woodpigeons using our flat garage roof as a spa facility. Even this morning, when it was snowing while we were out on a walk, the fallen snow made the ordinary and family seem more beautiful.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When we notice such things, they can become what the poet George Herbert described as “heaven in ordinarie”. Herbert was talking about prayer, which is one of the ways God’s heaven breaks through into everyday life. Prayer transforms the everyday. It can be as simple as “thankyou for the snowdrops” or “I’ve run out of resources, help me!”<br /><br />There is a story in John's Gospel about Jesus who transforms the ordinary into a sign of God’s kingdom breaking through in a difficult situation. You may know the story of the wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus, his mother Mary and his disciples were guests at a wedding feast. Suddenly, Mary said to Jesus, “they have no wine”. It wasn’t time for the party to end, but it would be over if the wine ran out. The bride and groom would be greatly embarrassed by a shameful failure in hospitality.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Jesus told the servants to fill to the brim the big stone water pots used for washing. When they’d done that, they followed Jesus’ instructions to draw out some water and take it to the chief steward, who tasted it and told the bridegroom “you have kept the good wine until now”. The party could go on. People could enjoy a very generous amount of good wine. In John’s gospel, it was Jesus’ 1st miracle. That story (<a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=478491146" target="_blank">John 2: 1 – 11</a>) is one of the signs of the kingdom of heaven. It shows how generous God always is. It reminds beleivers that because Jesus is God, Jesus can transform our failing resources. And often does that through ordinary people or things. <br /><br />There are times when we can’t help ourselves, but Jesus is able to help. In John 10:10 Jesus says,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><blockquote>‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Jesus is able to meet our drained resources with his generosity. Even strong people run out of energy and strength. Only God does not run out and only God can supply all our deepest needs. And yes, he may do that through ordinary people and things. Have you experienced that?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit:<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_James_the_Greater_Catholic_Church_(Concord,_North_Carolina)_-_stained_glass,_water_changing_to_wine.JPG" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-11617616587476527262021-01-08T10:11:00.000+00:002021-01-08T10:11:30.653+00:00Free me and fill me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUupYT0UPE9HApzW446tFpmG2yKlSxwRNbITkrdQHIvqSLGvNyBz4q7OBZ8fY6jaxngtvo4Vu7lq32MV205jqJaB6wHeh3hVWnK15s5-hAaws0iAujkN-_L3TCLjf0TLGk_6hLHL0wY0/s660/prayer-401401_1280.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="660" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUupYT0UPE9HApzW446tFpmG2yKlSxwRNbITkrdQHIvqSLGvNyBz4q7OBZ8fY6jaxngtvo4Vu7lq32MV205jqJaB6wHeh3hVWnK15s5-hAaws0iAujkN-_L3TCLjf0TLGk_6hLHL0wY0/w640-h480/prayer-401401_1280.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Here is a prayer I love. I should pray it more often. It is appropriate to pray at any stage of life, in any circumstances. The first 2 lines seem particularly appropriate just now with all the fear and anxiety around due to the current rapid spread in the UK of Covid-19. I do not know the author. If you do, please tell me.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Free me</b> </div></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">from all fear of the future, </div><div style="text-align: center;">from all anxiety about tomorrow, </div><div style="text-align: center;">from all bitterness towards anyone, </div><div style="text-align: center;">from all cowardice in the face of danger, </div><div style="text-align: center;">from all laziness in the face of work, </div><div style="text-align: center;">from all weakness when your power is at hand. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Fill me</b> </div><div style="text-align: center;">with love that knows no barrier, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with sympathy that reaches to all, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with courage that cannot be shaken, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with faith strong enough for the darkness, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with strength sufficient for my tasks, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with loyalty to your kingdom's goals, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with wisdom to meet life's complexities, </div><div style="text-align: center;">with power to lift my eyes up to You!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/prayer-spiritual-love-peace-holy-401401/" target="_blank">John Hain on Pixabay, Public Domain</a></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><p></p></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-23689729829250275802021-01-06T12:47:00.000+00:002021-01-06T12:47:15.643+00:00Perseverance in the season of Epiphany<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qKa5Q_qzNpgkF2DcMzmpuz9pufcPCpwPuXNdpD3hEOPUne94x-rso18FUJloyXuJLYqvfE8cr_0Obb0ysrrTGoB9W8KD1dsTm2ZM3_GHfw6tSahyphenhyphenETkXdvfsdTef7CC4LYqPh16U-K0/s275/light+in+forest.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qKa5Q_qzNpgkF2DcMzmpuz9pufcPCpwPuXNdpD3hEOPUne94x-rso18FUJloyXuJLYqvfE8cr_0Obb0ysrrTGoB9W8KD1dsTm2ZM3_GHfw6tSahyphenhyphenETkXdvfsdTef7CC4LYqPh16U-K0/w400-h266/light+in+forest.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I wonder how you feel at the start of the UK's 3rd Lockdown in an effort to stop the spread of Covid?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Thinking about what to write, conscious of people who are tired, anxious, ill or grieving, the word that came to mind was ‘perseverance’.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I write this on a gloomy Wednesday. It is 6th January and so the Feast of the Epiphany, a day to remember the 'wise men' from the east. You can read about them in <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=476936835" target="_blank">Matthew 2: 1 - 12</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">They followed a star, expecting to find a special king. To make that journey they must have needed much perseverance. Was it fuelled by hope? At the end of their journey, they found a young child with his parents, in an ordinary house in Bethlehem, on what was presumably for Mary, Joseph and their son Jesus, an ordinary day. Were the wise men disappointed? No, they were overwhelmed with joy. It was as if God opened a window in heaven to enable them to see what others could not. It was an ‘Epiphany’ moment. Did the memory of that revelation encourage them on their journey home ‘by another way’? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">In lockdown just now, we’re not allowed to make unnecessary journeys, but the pilgrimage of faith continues even if we’re stuck at home. At times, that pilgrimage is tough. Perseverance is needed to keep going, one step or one hour at a time, perhaps clinging on to faith by the skin of our teeth and looking for glimmers of hope to lighten our darkness.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">I love the story about the 19th century Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson. As a child in Edinburgh who was often ill, he used to watch the lamplighter lighting the gas streetlights below his house at dusk. He once said, "here comes the man who punches holes in the darkness". What a wonderful picture for the Epiphany season which lasts until Candlemas on 22 February.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">Epiphanies are when we experience a hole punched in darkness so we see something or someone in a new light. What we didn't or couldn't see before is revealed to us. Long ago, Jesus, the light of the world, was born into an ordinary family. Jesus came to punch holes in the darkness, to light the way we must take. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">While thinking about this, an old hymn keeps singing in my head. Perhaps God is reminding me of it, because it could be a way to punch a hole in the darkness for one of you reading this. It was written in 1833 as a poem called ‘The Pillar of the Cloud’ by a young priest called John Henry Newman. His return home from Italy was delayed, first by illness, then by lack of a boat home. When he finally got a ticket on a sailing ship carrying oranges, his frustration was increased when the ship was becalmed for a week. It was then that he wrote the poem which later became a hymn. I have found it encouraging during uncertainty or grief. Here is the 1st verse: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, <br />lead thou me on; <br />the night is dark, and I am far from home; <br />lead thou me on; <br />keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see <br />the distant scene: one step enough for me. </span></span></p><div style="font-size: x-large; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/light-darkness-forest-man-trees-3151723/" target="_blank">Pixabay, CC Licence</a> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div> <p></p>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-77312970279492644992020-12-29T16:28:00.000+00:002020-12-29T16:28:36.911+00:00Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuCH5CTraySlVHBfSIvFgCJ1_62AMQCZ8QfASMzvHOOa_lJaa1CqU5ePKcsR9BqH8FN7Vp9FIavrd1FTxSMdrzgz6KUMdMcgAMJDLqiYurl6OCNX2hqSvKl2ZqmQtCBeDXjDOjWd9ryU/s800/Pilgrim%2527s_Way_with_sign.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuCH5CTraySlVHBfSIvFgCJ1_62AMQCZ8QfASMzvHOOa_lJaa1CqU5ePKcsR9BqH8FN7Vp9FIavrd1FTxSMdrzgz6KUMdMcgAMJDLqiYurl6OCNX2hqSvKl2ZqmQtCBeDXjDOjWd9ryU/w400-h240/Pilgrim%2527s_Way_with_sign.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Growing up in Kent, England, I was familiar with parts of the <a href="https://www.pilgrimswaycanterbury.org/" target="_blank">Pilgrim's Way to Canterbury</a>. This leads to the site of the medieval shrine of Thomas Becket, a former Archbishop of Canterbury.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span>Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 850 year ago today, 29 December 1170 by 4 of King Henry II's knights. </span>The knights believed they were doing what the king wanted by getting rid of the man King Henry II had described as "this turbulent priest".</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Thomas Becket was a friend of King Henry II but defended the independence of the Church against the King's wish to have more monarchical control of the church in England. The disagreement over authority, fuelled perhaps by personality clashes, lasted for years. For more on the story leading up to the murder (or assassination) take a look at Richard Barber's article, <a href="http://www.historyextra.com/article/premium/unholy-feud-killed-thomas-becket">'The unholy feud that killed Thomas Becket'.</a><br /><br />Thomas was neither the first nor last Archbishop of Canterbury to be murdered, but he was the only one murdered in his own cathedral while engaged in prayer, probably saying Vespers since it was dusk.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Becket's shrine in the Trinity Chapel of Canterbury Cathedral became a popular and international pilgrimage destination during medieval times. Becket's shrine was dismantled by order of Henry VIII in 1538 and its treasures confiscated. Nowadays, a candle on the floor of Trinity Chapel marks the site of Becket's shrine.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The site of Becket's death is in the north-west transept where there is a simple altar, shown below in my photo. On the altar is a rose placed there by a friend.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2ZqFkTlnEWehhd4WFwcUAhxbPfSscITHI7QWORHeIkWmPw7szi70rA0UsqYWmZQaUoFd23KkbHNc7f7KXDWE9BY-TXudDwEi6Iu83IGILgJvaRM2NGDH-DnMJr8qiz8yy5OCP2XOsQQ/s4472/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4472" data-original-width="3268" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2ZqFkTlnEWehhd4WFwcUAhxbPfSscITHI7QWORHeIkWmPw7szi70rA0UsqYWmZQaUoFd23KkbHNc7f7KXDWE9BY-TXudDwEi6Iu83IGILgJvaRM2NGDH-DnMJr8qiz8yy5OCP2XOsQQ/w293-h400/019.JPG" width="293" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />Becket spent some years in exile, having fled to France, but returned to Canterbury knowing it might cost him his life.<br /></span><div><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Image Credit: <a href="Image Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pilgrim%27s_Way_with_sign.jpg" target="_blank">Ethan Doyle on Wikimedia Commons, CC Licence</a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-72846053207688038312020-12-26T09:50:00.000+00:002020-12-26T09:50:18.143+00:002nd Day of Christmas: St Stephen's Day<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryPlAiLRME-7ArjaS__NSKWvjB4tTjRM8sb8ZZj6VKWNDIFQtJTPm6xgIjFqyVUHJPbdkqUNU5FghKVAQAHjhaKfjN8hvLKxvK9YphybTBDlHveHkpeR7rEVIA7e0SVMO4xhdZUg9MUA/s960/christmas-1934670_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhryPlAiLRME-7ArjaS__NSKWvjB4tTjRM8sb8ZZj6VKWNDIFQtJTPm6xgIjFqyVUHJPbdkqUNU5FghKVAQAHjhaKfjN8hvLKxvK9YphybTBDlHveHkpeR7rEVIA7e0SVMO4xhdZUg9MUA/w640-h426/christmas-1934670_960_720.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>What do you call the day after Christmas Day?</span><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Boxing Day?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The 2nd day of Christmas?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Or St Stephen’s Day?</span><br /><br /></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Christians have observed the Feast of Stephen, Deacon and Martyr on 26 December since before the church chose to celebrate Christ’s birth on 25 December.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It is discomforting to remember the 1st known Christian martyr in the season of ‘comfort and joy’ that is Christmas.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a baby named Jesus, born to Mary, born to save. But if we stick only with nativity stories, we might forget the baby in the manger grew up. When Jesus grew up and began his good-news mission, some people rejected and others welcomed and followed him. <br /><br />Stephen followed Jesus. You can read Stephen’s story in the New Testament, <a href="http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=475976072" target="_blank">Acts Chapters 6 and 7</a>. That tells us Stephen was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”, “full of grace and power” who “did great wonders and signs among the people.”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Stephen didn’t choose to die a hideous execution. He did choose to be one of Jesus’ witnesses. ‘Martyr’ also means witness. Stephen witnessed to Jesus in word and deed. The early Christians in Jerusalem chose Stephen to administer welfare relief. He cared in practical ways for people in need. He also witnessed by speaking about Jesus. For that he was arrested.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Even the Council who tried him saw in Stephen’s face a look like that of an angel. He spoke the truth about Jesus that those in power didn’t want to hear, so the religious authorities condemned Stephen to death by stoning. <br /><br />There are consequences to following Jesus. Some are wonderful - finding meaning for life, a new community, an assurance of God’s love, an experience of peace and joy. Some consequences are hard to cope with. Today, in some places, Christians are still killed because of their faith. You may live in a place where you’re unlikely to be stoned to death, or otherwise physically persecuted because you’re a Christian. In which case, thank God. But If you are a Christian, not everyone will be supportive of your faith and some may be hostile. When people bear witness to Jesus, serve others for Christ’s sake, or speak up for the truth as Stephen did, a reaction comes that can hurt. <br /><br />Thank God for Christmas and the baby in the manger. But just as you can’t keep a child a baby for ever, so we can’t let our faith stop at the Bethlehem manger. To grow in Christian faith requires taking what Jesus offers and teaches seriously, welcoming him into every aspect of our lives, in wholehearted commitment. There’s great joy in that and also a cost to be counted.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This morning <a href="https://twitter.com/billbraviner" target="_blank">@billbraviner</a> tweeted this prayer for St Stephen's Day on Twitter.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></div><blockquote><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">You humbled yourself</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">to be born as one of us, Lord;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">stooping to earth,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">to lift us to you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Give us grace, like Stephen,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">to offer ourselves in your service;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">to be so filled with your love</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">that we overflow to all around us;</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">to love and pray</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">even for those who hurt us.</span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">May you have a grace-full St Stephen’s Day.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-35420611298109246642020-12-24T15:22:00.000+00:002020-12-24T15:22:17.602+00:00Christmas Eve 2020<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPL2kKXpznZjteQG6ricV7XdocXs7ADsLHOxBpmwyKQNWYE_xtKsUrEBilui50bmlzezEy3e3SznwH4sx6krxchz2ngDsn9awMgcOc_HW8TSDUNp1vxpmwRwJseH6p4nx1IrL_j6ee1OE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="480" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPL2kKXpznZjteQG6ricV7XdocXs7ADsLHOxBpmwyKQNWYE_xtKsUrEBilui50bmlzezEy3e3SznwH4sx6krxchz2ngDsn9awMgcOc_HW8TSDUNp1vxpmwRwJseH6p4nx1IrL_j6ee1OE/w640-h453/image.png" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">“First Coming”</span></span></h4><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">He did not wait till the world was ready,</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">till men and nations were at peace.</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">He came when the Heavens were unsteady,</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">and prisoners cried out for release.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">He did not wait for the perfect time.</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">He came when the need was deep and great.</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">He dined with sinners in all their grime,</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">turned water into wine. He did not wait</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">till hearts were pure. In joy he came</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">to a tarnished world of sin and doubt,</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">to a world like ours, of anguished shame</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">he came, and his Light would not go out.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">He came to a world which did not mesh,</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">In the mystery of the Word made Flesh</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">the Maker of the stars was born.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">We cannot wait till the world is sane</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">to raise our songs with joyful voice,</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">for to share our grief, to touch our pain,</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!</div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> </span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Madeleine L’Engle. From A Cry Like a Bell, 1987</i></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/christmas-star-happy-holidays-2871064/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Image Credit: Pixabay</span></a></div></span></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5244275961793143825.post-78339696900262555412020-12-21T15:34:00.016+00:002020-12-21T15:42:43.308+00:00Winter Solstice: The Darkest Day of the Year<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi656Ri5mTWK2-JJFPiFe28Wt9EoNe9Ogo85kv1Fwc1T2OqIybifDtHmBu9TVVMGKaqq6IP2L8_mz5XJIlH-Ynq5GcNBgpPWM8yDx3Zd9xzwJvKsgDOdZNBzf1XQW72l3vuIXIh5JVcPHE/s950/bright+star+and+nativity.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="950" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi656Ri5mTWK2-JJFPiFe28Wt9EoNe9Ogo85kv1Fwc1T2OqIybifDtHmBu9TVVMGKaqq6IP2L8_mz5XJIlH-Ynq5GcNBgpPWM8yDx3Zd9xzwJvKsgDOdZNBzf1XQW72l3vuIXIh5JVcPHE/w640-h362/bright+star+and+nativity.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> In the Northern hemisphere, today has the shortest number of hours of daylight. The further north you are, the less light you will see. I'm writing this in mid afternoon light, but today it is nearly sunset time. Where I am, the sky is heavy with rain clouds and it's raining, so there's even less light than usual. I'm longing to see evidence of the nights getting shorter and the days longer, a process that begins after today.<br /><br />After sunset today, it may be possible to see a 'Christmas Star', a bright light in the sky when the planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear close together, although in reality will still be 400 million miles away from each other. This is a very rare event. In the UK it may be possible for some people to see it by looking south-west from about an hour after sunset. But, given the current weather, I'm not expecting to see it.<br /><br />It is a dark time for the world in so many ways today. We are in the middle of a pandemic, which where I live is spreading fast and our lives our restricted in attempts to keep safe. We long for light at the end of the tunnel, or at least see more glimmers of hope. I am looking forward to celebrating Christmas, but not as usual. Our family will not be getting together to exchange presents or share food. It is still possible to celebrate with thankfulness the coming of Christ as the true light of the world, even if I can't see that rare bright 'Christmas Star' of the conjunction of planets tonight.<br /><br />We are now in the last few days of Advent. In many places where choirs sing or chant, there is a tradition on each of these last days to sing an antiphon as an addition to 'Mary's Song' (Magnificat) at Evening Prayer of Vespers. In Christian music an antiphon is a sung response to a religious text. The sequence of 7 antiphons sung during the 7 evenings before Christmas Eve are known as the 'O Antiphons' because they all begin with O. The well known Advent carol, 'O come, o come, Emmanuel' is based on the Advent sequence of antiphons. On this shortest day of the year, it is particularly fitting that today's 'O Antiphon' is 'O Oriens' meaning 'O Dayspring'. It is based on Isaiah 9:2<br /><blockquote>"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; </blockquote><blockquote>those who live in a land of deep darkness - on them has light shined."</blockquote>In one English translation, the words of the 'O Oriens' antiphon are;<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">"O Dawn of the East,</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Brightness of the Light Eternal and Sun of Justice, come and enlighten them that sit in darkness</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">and in the shadow of death."</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkAW7_hWvLU" target="_blank">You may like to listen to this version with accompanying images in the video:</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Image Credit: <a href="https://pixy.org/5923107/" target="_blank">CCO Public Domain</a></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div>Nancy Wallacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.com0