Our different reactions

Do not be afraid

Click here to watch the video of goats roaming the streets of Llandudno yesterday. It gave many of us a much needed laugh! The story seems to have brought much needed cheer around the world. But inevitably, many of us are frightened by the main news of the continued escalation of coronavirus, and its impacts on those we love. This morning we hear from Clive Addison, who has just started lambing on their little smallholding on the hills above Conwy. Enjoy this picture of a newborn lamb, greeting her first day! She’s enjoying the sunshine, closely attended by her doting Mum.

The lamb of course for the Christian has great symbolism, not least of Christ himself as the sacrificial lamb, dying that our sins might be forgiven. But this picture also shows us a lamb, safe in its Mother’s care, looking out in confidence at all the wonders the world has to offer. It is not afraid, it is not anxious, it knows it is safe.

In the world we live in at the moment, we might not be sure that we are safe. As we are told to stay indoors, practice social distancing, or even self-isolate and shield those most vulnerable from the disease, it is easy for us to become anxious about the future, and even fearful, for ourselves and for our loved ones.

Anxiety and fear are unpleasant emotions, which we can experience when we feel under threat, but the Bible tells us again and again that as we follow God, as we trust in Jesus, then we need not be afraid. This is a constant theme, we are told not to be afraid 366 times in Scripture, that’s once for everyday of the year – including the leap year!

So as we lead our lives day by day, in the very new and challenging situations many of us find ourselves in, let us follow Government guidelines carefully, let us do our bit to help those in need, but remember most of all, as we do so, we also have the peace of God and the presence of God to help us through. We are safe in his care.

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For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7

Dydy Duw ddim wedi rhoi ei Ysbryd i ni fod yn llwfr, ond i’n gwneud ni’n gryf, yn llawn cariad ac yn gyfrifol.

2 Timotheus 1:7

Memories

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Peace and quiet

‘Peace and quiet’ is not a phrase we usually associate with a Monday morning! Setting ourselves up for the week ahead may well, in more normal times, mean writing ‘to do’ lists.  Many front-line workers have never been busier, of course, and we do pray for them and their enormous workload. But for many others, a second week of living through these extraordinary times, seems strangely empty. The temptation is to fill that emptiness with just as much busy-ness of another kind. Reverend Tom Saunders reflects below how Jesus withdrew to pray. Maybe this is our invitation to use our time of imposed confinement to gain some peace and quiet with our heavenly father – even on a Monday morning.

Reed Desert
photograph by Angela Saunders

But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.

Luke 5: 15-16

Ond yr oedd y sôn amdano yn ymledu fwyfwy, ac yr oedd tyrfaoedd lawer yn ymgynnull i wrando ac i gael eu hiacháu oddi wrth eu clefydau. Ond byddai ef yn encilio i’r mannau unig ac yn gweddïo.

Luc 5:15-16

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Prayer (Isaiah 49:14-15)

But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me,
my Lord has forgotten me.’
Can a woman forget her nursing-child,
or show no compassion for the child of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.

Amen.

Gweddi (Esaia 49:14-15)

Dywedodd Seion, ‘Gwrthododd yr Arglwydd fi,
ac anghofiodd fy Arglwydd fi.’
A anghofia gwraig ei phlentyn sugno,
neu fam blentyn ei chroth?
Fe allant hwy anghofio,
ond nid anghofiaf fi di

Amen.

 

A reflection for Passion Sunday

Click here to watch the video.

Jesus sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’

Luke 9: 21-22

Ond dyma Iesu’n pwyso’n drwm arnyn nhw i beidio dweud wrth neb. Dwedodd wrthyn nhw, “Mae’n rhaid i mi, Mab y Dyn, ddioddef yn ofnadwy. Bydd yr arweinwyr, y prif offeiriaid a’r arbenigwyr yn y Gyfraith yn fy ngwrthod i. Bydda i’n cael fy lladd, ond yna’n dod yn ôl yn fyw ddeuddydd wedyn.

Luc 9: 21-22

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Prayer
We pray for all who suffer. Heal the sick in body or mind and those who are weary with long illness. Comfort those who are sorrowful. When we do not know how to help others, accept our silent care for them and our trust in your mercy.
We pray in the name of Christ for patience and hope in all our troubles.
Amen.

Gweddi
Gweddïwn dros bawb sy’n dioddef. Iachâ’r claf o gorff neu feddwl a’r rhai sydd yn lluddedig ar ôl salwch hir. Cysura’r rhai sy’n galaru. Pan nad ydym yn gwybod sut i helpu eraill, derbyn ein gofal tawel amdanynt a’n hymddiriedaeth yn dy drugaredd di.
Yn enw Crist gofynnwn am amynedd a gobaith yn ein holl adfyd.
Amen.

Blessing the space between us

We are getting used to ‘social distancing’. We are denied the ability to visit one another and gather together. We are to stay at home. If we are able to venture out, we are to obey the markings on the floor of the supermarket. We stand two metres apart.

This creates space between us. Today, Reverend Susan Blagden gives us a wholly different way of viewing space, and the way it can bless us and those we love – even at a physical distance!

Christ in the Wilderness: Stanley Spencer

‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…’  (Ephesians 1:3)

‘Clod in Dduw a Thad ein Harglwydd Iesu Grist!  Mae wedi tywallt pob bendith ysbrydol sy’n y byd nefol arnon ni sy’n perthyn i’r Meseia …’  (Effesiaid 1:3)

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‘Bless the space between us’ is a phrase that was coined by the contemporary priest and poet, John O’Donohue. In the painting by Stanley Spencer of ‘Christ in the Wilderness’ we get a sense of just how de-stabilising the wilderness, with all its seemingly wild space, can be.  

So what might it mean to bless the space, particularly as we find ourselves forced into keeping a distance from friends, family and places that are dear to us?

To bless someone, is to hold that person in God’s unending love. 
To bless is to offer grace. 
It is this grace that is transformative.

Of course Lent has traditionally been a time when Christians have attempted to ‘clear some space’ in their lives. It is no coincidence that a ‘spring clean’ of the home would often be undertaken at this time too. It can be hugely helpful to notice what has crept into our lives and our thoughts over time, and now threatens to choke the life out of some part of us or our relationships. We may have previously been simply too busy to notice this subtle encroachment on our space, be that physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual space.

So as we come to prayer: take some time to honestly reflect on where there needs to be more space in your life. Take a moment to confess to God whatever you sense you need to receive his forgiveness for. Then take some time to become aware of the spaces that have been forced upon you.

That leaves us space to live in a way that can express God’s love, more fully and deeply.  Find your own words to pray a blessing – for yourself and those God places on your heart.

To bless that person is, indeed, to hold them in the space that is God’s unending love. 

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Prayer
Christ of the Wilderness,
teach me how to live for a while in this spacious, yet sometimes frightening and de-stabilising wilderness landscape. 
Help me to clear space in my life to leave the worrying details behind and trust the new space that You will bring me into. 
Give me courage to step into this space and to experience a new depth of encounter with those whom I love. 
May your love and grace bless each of those in-between spaces. 
In Christ’s name. Amen.

 

Treasuring ordinary things in extraordinary times