Patrick Comerford
We have reached the end of September and are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar. The week began with the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVIII). The Church Calendar today remembers Saint Jerome (420), translator of the scriptures and teacher of the faith, which makes today an appropriate day to mark as International Translation Day.
This is also Michaelmas time, and the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels may be marked today if it was not observed yesterday (29 September).
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 9: 46-50 (NRSVA):
46 An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, 48 and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.’
49 John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ 50 But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’
Today’s Reflection:
Today’s lectionary reading for the Eucharist is Saint Luke’s account of the story we heard in our Gospel reading (Mark 9: 30-37) the Sunday before last (22 September 2024, Trinity XVII).
In Saint Matthew’s version of this story (Matthew 18: 1-14), Christ tells us: ‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven … it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost’ (verses 10-14).
The disciples are arguing with one another about who is the greatest. Christ tells them not to seek position or prestige.
Then, one of the Twelve, John, complains that someone who is not part of their inner circle has been casting out demons in Christ’s name. But did the disciples welcome him? Did they praise him for bringing comfort to distressed people and for restoring them to a good quality of life?
Christ now rebukes the disciples for attempting to stop this exorcist who is curing in his name, a reminder that that God can work through those who are not followers of Christ.
Instead of being smug among themselves, arguing about who among them was the greatest, the disciples should have been like this man, bringing comfort to those who were in trouble, looking after those who were thirsty both physically and spiritually.
I worked for almost 30 years as a journalist with The Irish Times. The Revd Stephen Hilliard, a former colleague there who was ordained a priest in the Church of Ireland a few years before me, was visiting me one evening. I asked him what the difference was between the two – being a journalist and being a priest. With a wry grin, he told me: ‘Not much. I continue to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.’
Perhaps not in so many words, but in this Gospel reading Christ tells the disciples that they should be afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.
Between 2010 and 2023, the number of children displaced by conflict and violence increased from 18.8 million to 47.2 million. Between 2018 and 2023, more than 2 million children were born into refugee status. In figures calculated in April 2024, almost 7.5 million children in Syria needed humanitarian assistance, while the number of children in Sudan in need of humanitarian aid was put at about 14 million.
In the year ending September 2022, the UK received 5,152 applications for asylum from unaccompanied children. It is estimated that 1.5 million children are born into refugee status, meaning that their parents fled and became refugees before they were born.
All children in these situations and these dilemmas are innocent. There is no such thing as a child being the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. All children should feel safe, in all places, at all times.
But we need to move from Victorian Sunday School images of the children being brought to Jesus, and ask how he would hear the voices of children today and how he would respond to those who plot to do them harm.
Would Christ challenge us to hear the cries of children in the refugee camps, the children needing humanitarian assistance, the children in the slums, in the sweat shops and in the brothels, to hear the cries of children suffering behind the bedroom doors of respectability?
Today’s Prayers (Monday 30 September 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘One God: many languages.’ This theme was introduced yesterday in reflections by Rachel Weller, Communications Officer, USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 30 September 2024, International Translation Day) invites us to pray in these words:
We lift in prayer all those who dedicate their skills and talents to the vital work of translation and interpretation, asking for God’s guidance and inspiration as they bridge linguistic gaps and foster communication among nations.
The Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind
and reaching out to that which is before,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
We praise and thank you, O Christ, for this sacred feast:
for here we receive you,
here the memory of your passion is renewed,
here our minds are filled with grace,
and here a pledge of future glory is given,
when we shall feast at that table where you reign
with all your saints for ever.
Additional Collect:
God, our judge and saviour,
teach us to be open to your truth
and to trust in your love,
that we may live each day
with confidence in the salvation which is given
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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