Daily prayer in the Kingdom Season: 13, Wednesday 13 November 2024

As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him … they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ (Luke 17: 12-13)

Patrick Comerford

We are in the Kingdom Season, the time between All Saints and Advent, and this week began with the Third Sunday before Advent, which was also Remembrance Sunday.

The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Charles Simeon (1759-1836), priest and evangelical Divine. Before today begins, before having breakfast, I am taking some quiet time early this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

James Tissot (1836-1902), ‘The Healing of Ten Lepers’ (‘Guérison de dix lépreux’), 1886-1896, Brooklyn Museum

Luke 17: 11-19 (NRSVA):

11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ 14 When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ 19 Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

The ‘Leper’s Squint’ and the Arthur Memorial behind the organ in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s reflection:

Today’s Gospel reading at the Eucharist (Luke 17: 11-19) provides many opportunities to reflect on faith and healing, inclusion and exclusion, how Christ meets our every need, how we need conversion, on the connection between healing of the body and healing of the soul, perhaps even on the value of good manners and learning to say thank you.

Many of the reflections on this reading emphasise the one Samaritan who returns and says thank you. Some may think about the other nine lepers who did exactly as they were told, went and showed themselves to the priests, received a clean bill of health and were restored to their rightful place in the community of faith.

But which is the greatest miracle for you: the healing of these ten people? Or their restoration to their rightful places in the community of faith?

Perhaps it is worth noting that it is the ten men, not Christ, who keep their distance on the outskirts of the village, because they are forced to behave in this way, to be marginalised and to live on the margins.

Christ keeps his distance, as might be expected. Yet, from that distance, he sees. Many Bibles translate verse 14 to say that ‘he saw them.’ But the Greek says simply, καὶ ἰδὼν, ‘and having seen,’ without any object, there is no ‘them’.

For Christ, we are not mere objects; and for Christ there is no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ He sees the future without the limits of the present.

This is a story about trusting in God’s plans for the future, rather than living in the past, living with the fears of the present, living without hope for the future.

But we foil those plans, we quench those hopes, we continue to live in the past, when we continue to limit Christ’s saving powers with our own limitations, continue to look at him with our own limited vision.

Christ sees … sees it as it is in the present, and as it could be in the future.

Perhaps that is why Saint Luke has placed this story in a location that is an in-between place, the region between Galilee and Samaria. The place between Galilee and Samaria is neither one place nor the other, neither this earthly existence nor what the future holds, but still on the way to Jerusalem.

Even the village here is not named.

We should not forget that not one but ten were healed. Christ does good – even for those who will not be thankful.

And even then, we do not know why the other nine did not return to say thanks. It took an eight-day waiting process for a person with leprosy to be declared clean by the priests. After those eight days, did they then go and give thanks to God in their local synagogues?

Did they first breathe sighs of relief and return to the families they loved but had been isolated from for so long?

Did they return to that unnamed village, and find that 10 days later Jesus had moved on … the next named place we find him in is Jericho?

Surely Christ does good without expecting a thanks that comes straight from some Victorian book on good manners.

How often when we give a gift to someone do we want to control how they use it?

I give a Christmas or birthday gift, and then I am upset when they do not like it, when they trade it in for something else, or pass it on to someone else, or simply just never say thank you or acknowledge what I have done for them.

But who was the gift supposed to benefit: me as the giver, or you as the receiver? What was it a token of: my love for you, or my need for you to acknowledge how important I am to you?

A begrudging attitude to how others receive and use the gifts I give, or taking offence when I feel they have not thanked me enough, amount to a passive aggressive attitude on my part, a desire to control. If we give gifts only to be thanked, are we truly generous?

And if I only say thank you so I remain in someone else’s esteem, perhaps even to be rewarded again, to be kept on their invitation list, am I truly grateful?

Christ is not passively aggressive in this story. He is not seeking to control. He sends the ten on their way … and they go. If he had expected them to return, he would not have been surprised that one returned; he would have waited around in that unnamed village until the other nine had time to make their humble ways back there to thank him.

Instead, it is more important what Christ frees them for, and where he frees them.

He frees them to regain their place in the community, in the social, economic and religious community that is their rightful place.

For the Samaritan, his ‘faith has made him well’: ἡπίστις σου σέσωκέν σε, or, more accurately, your faith has saved you, rescued you, restored you. The word σῴζω is all about being saved, rescued, restored, ransomed, and not just about regaining health and physical well-being.

That land between Samaria and Galilee is where we find Christ today. The in-between place, the nowhere land, the place where people need to be saved, rescued, restored, ransomed.

We all find ourselves in the in-between place, the nowhere land … to borrow a phrase from TS Eliot, wandering in the ‘Waste Land.’

Perhaps, just for one moment, it is possible to imagine that Christ has arrived in that particular in-between place for a reason. For the land between Samaria and Galilee is neither one place nor the other.

And that in-between place is a place where I might find myself unsure of who belongs and who does not, where I might be uncertain, untrusting, even frightened and afraid. It is a place where the usual rules may not apply, where I do not know my place, where I do not fit in, where I appear not as the person God see as the true me, but as others want to see me.

This is the place where Christ is travelling through in this Gospel story. It seems to me that I am often travelling in that place every day, today.

It is difficult travelling in this in-between land. When we realise we are there, then it may be easier to identify with the ten lepers, cast out into the in-between land, not knowing where to go, rather than with those who appear certain about where they are going.

When we get to where you are going, we should remember how we feel about the present unknown, whether it is fear – ‘I will show you fear in a handful of dust’ – whether it is trepidation, anticipation, or joy that is tinged with all of these, in this in-between time, this nowhere place.

Shakespeare reminds us, in the words of Portia in The Merchant of Venice,

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven … (The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene 1)

These ten lepers were cut off from all they knew and loved, all the certainties they once enjoyed or took for granted.

And when we move from an in-between place and nowhere land, we should not hold back from the call to join the task of cleansing, healing, restoration. We do it not for ‘Thank Yous’ and plaudits. It is not about you, it is not all about me.

Indeed, it is not this one man’s thanks that is important, but that his thanks is expressed in turning around, conversion, and praising God, bowing down before Christ as his Master and as the Lord God.

Martin Luther was once asked to describe the nature of true worship. His answer was the tenth leper turning back.

Christ invites us into that region between Samaria and Galilee, that space between wrong-doing and right-doing, between them and us – and bids us find our healing and salvation – and theirs. And in doing that we find ourselves engaged, quite naturally, in true worship. And in Christ we realise that there is no us and them – there is only us.

Christ heals the ten lepers … an Orthodox icon

Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 13 November 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 ‘A Look at Education in the Church of the Province of Myanmar’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Nadia Sanchez, Regional Programme Coordinator, USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 13 November 2024) invites us to pray:

Let us pray for community health programmes, both in Myanmar and across the Anglican Communion. For the healing and care they provide.

The Collect:

Eternal God,
who raised up Charles Simeon
to preach the good news of Jesus Christ
and inspire your people in service and mission:
grant that we with all your Church may worship the Saviour,
turn in sorrow from our sins and walk in the way of holiness;
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.

Post Communion Prayer:

God, shepherd of your people,
whose servant Charles Simeon revealed the loving service of Christ
in his ministry as a pastor of your people:
by this eucharist in which we share
awaken within us the love of Christ
and keep us faithful to our Christian calling;
through him who laid down his life for us,
but is alive and reigns with you, now and for ever.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

‘He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan’ (Luke 17: 16-17)

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

The Brooke legacy in Kuching survives in old palaces and fortresses and the Old Court House

The Astana at night … the palace was built in 1870 by the second Rajah Charles Brooke as a wedding gift for his wife Margaret (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

The Brooke era in Sarawak lasted for more than a century, from 1841 to 1946. Almost 80 years after the Brookes ceded Sarawak to Britain, Brooke-era buildings continue as an important part of the architectural legacy of Kuching.

These Brooke buildings in Kuching include Fort Margherita and the Astana or former Brooke palace, both on the north side of the river; the Old Court House facing them on the south side of the river and once the seat of Sarawak’s government; the Round Tower and the Square Tower, which I wrote about last week; the Brooke obelisk; and the Brooke Dockyard.

In addition, the story of the Brooke family is told in museums in Fort Margherita and at the Old Court House run by the Brooke Foundation.

Fort Margherita is a monumental landmark on a hill on the north side of the Sarawak River (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Fort Margherita stands out as a monumental landmark on a hill on the north side of the river. It was built in 1879 by Charles Brooke, the second Rajah of Sarawak, in the style of an English castle and designed to protect Kuching from pirates and invaders.

Brooke named Fort Margherita after his wife, Margaret Alice Lili de Windt (1849-1936). When they were married at Highworth, near Swindon, Wiltshire, on 28 October 1869, she was given the title of Ranee of Sarawak and the style of Her Highness.

The fort was built facing the then fast-expanding town centre of Kuching. The three-storey tower block has battlements with a watchpoint on top. Set into the wall itself are wooden windows from which the cannons were fired.

The courtyard is surrounded by a high wall inlaid with sharp glass shards for protection. Prisoners continued to be executed in this courtyard, up until the Japanese occupation and World War II.

The three-storey tower block of Fort Margherita has battlements and a watchpoint (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The fort was used as a police museum from 1971 before being handed over to the Government of Sarawak. Today, it is a tourist attraction housing the Brooke Gallery, an exhibition showcasing the history of Sarawak under the Brooke dynasty.

The Brooke Gallery opened in Fort Margherita on 24 September 2016, the 175th anniversary of the founding of the State of Sarawak. The gallery is an initiative by Jason Brooke, a grandson of the last Rajah Muda of Sarawak, Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke. Jason Brooke grew up in Dublin, went to the High School, studied at UCD and has an MPhil from Trinity College Dublin.

The Brooke Gallery runs the Aspire Programme as part of a community outreach to schools, giving pupils an opportunity to learn more about the history of Sarawak, the Brooke administration and the heritage of Sarawak.

The Astana, a former Brooke palace, is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Fort Margherita is separated by the New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building from the Astana, a former Brooke palace that is now the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak.

The name Astana is a variation of istana, meaning palace. It was built in 1870 by the second Rajah, Charles Brooke, as a wedding gift for his wife Margaret. She arrived in Sarawak in 1870, and the royal couple then lived in the Astana as their main home. She later reminisced about life in the Astana and colonial Borneo in her memoir My Life in Sarawak (1913).

The Astana was originally three separate buildings that were interconnected by short and narrow passageways. It has undergone major renovations and alterations to make it the official residence of the Governor of Sarawak. The palace is not normally open to the public, although the landscaped gardens are, and they can be reached by a boat across the Sarawak River.

The Old Court House was built in 1871 as the seat of government in Sarawak (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

On the facing, south bank of the river, the Old Court House was built in 1871 as the seat of Sarawak’s government, and replaced an earlier wooden court house built in 1847. The first building on the site was a two-storey wooden building erected in 1847 as a church and day school by a Lutheran Missionary named Rupe. However, Rupe returned to Germany and his church and school did not survive.

When Dr Francis Thomas McDougall, who later became the first Anglican Bishop of Borneo, arrived in June 1848, he and his family stayed at the upper portion of the building until the Bishop’s House was completed in 1849. The building was then taken over by the Rajah, James Brooke, who converted the classrooms into a court.

There are no further records of the original court building until the Insurrection of the Bau Gold Mine Chinese Kongsi between 18 and 21 February 1857. Liu Shanbang, the leader of the Chinese Kongsi, captured Kuching, proclaimed himself king for the day on the Rajah’s seat in the court, and ordered Brooke’s men to appear before him and report on Brooke’s position.

That first court building was demolished in 1858 on the instructions of Charles Brooke, who later succeeded as the Second Rajah in 1868. He commissioned a new building to house the courts and other government offices under the same roof, but it took seven years to complete the building.

The Court House was one of the most majestic buildings built in Kuching during the Brooke era (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The Court House was officially opened 150 years ago by Major William Henry Rodway (1836-1924), the Acting Resident of Sarawak, on 3 June 1874, with parades and guards of honour also marking Charles Brooke’s birthday.

The Court House was one of the most majestic buildings built in Kuching during the Brooke era. It is symmetrically arranged, with four main buildings surrounding an internal courtyard, with two smaller annexes protruding towards the Sarawak River.

This is a superb collection of buildings, possibly influenced by Roman courthouse design, with magnificent belian or ironwood roofs, massive columns enclosing outer galleries and beautiful detailing inside and out, reflecting local art forms.

The paneling of the courtroom ceiling bore Dayak motifs depicting the tradition of the people from Baram who helped to design and complete it in 1951. Huge tapering columns support the roof along the corridors.

The clock in the court house clock tower was added in 1883 … it is to have been installed and maintained for generations by the Mok family (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The main entrance has a colonial-baroque clock tower that was added in 1883. The clock is said to have been installed and maintained by the Mok family of clockmakers of Carpenter Street.

The clock is supported by twin columns at each corner of the square corridor below it. The unique carvings on the railings of its balcony are believed to be of Roman influence. There used to be a small room in the tower where the Kuching Municipal Council often held its meetings. However, it was closed after World War II.

Beside the building were the Resident’s office, the Surveyor’s office and the Government Printer’s Office. The Treasury Office, Post Office, Audit Office and Shipping Office were at the far end of the building towards Tun Haji Openg Road.

The General Council met in the court house from 1878. It was known as the Council Negeri from 1903, and continued to meet in the court house until 1973. The building was later used as the Administrative Centre of the High Court of Borneo, now the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak.

The Court House is arranged symmetrically, with four main buildings surrounding an internal courtyard (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The Old Courthouse has recently been transformed into a cultural and art space, with frequent exhibitions, concerts and other activities. One wing of the building is home to the Commons restaurant and the Den bar.

The complex also houses the Ranee Museum with a unique collection of artefacts telling the story of the life, legend and legacy of Ranee Margaret Brooke, wife of the second Rajah, Charles Brooke.

The other buildings in the court complex include the Japanese Building separating Carpenter Street and Kuching’s China town from India Street and built by the Japanese when they occupied Sarawak in 1941-1945.

Three other Brooke-era buildings in the vicinity are the Round Tower and the Square Tower, and the Brooke Dockyard.

The Brooke Memorial or obelisk in front of the Old Court House was designed by the Irish-born architect Denis Santry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The Brooke Memorial or obelisk in front of the Old Court House was designed by the Irish-born architect Denis Santry (1879-1960) of Swan and Maclaren Architects Singapore, the same architectural practice that designed Saint Thomas’s Anglican Cathedral in Kuching. Santry’s principal work in Kuching is the General Post Office (1931), with the Brooke coat-of-arms crowning the pediment.

The obelisk was unveiled 100 years ago on 13 October 1924 by Charles Vyner Brooke (1874-1963), the third and last Rajah of Sarawak in memory of his father, Charles Brooke, who had ruled as the second Rajah from 1868 to 1917.

The granite obelisk is about 24 ft with a base measuring 18 ft in diameter. On each of the four supporting pilasters are bronze tablets designed by FJ Wilkinson, showing four different ethnic groups in Sarawak, the Dayak, Malay, Chinese and Kayan, and bronze tablets with descriptive inscriptions in various languages.

On the front is a profile of Charles Brooke in marble, a replica of the bust of Brooke by Baroness von Gleichen, and the heraldic arms of the Brooke family.

Charles Brooke depicted on the Brooke Memorial, with the heraldic arms of the Brooke family above (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Almost 80 years after the rule of the Brooke Rajahs came to an end in Sarawak, the family’s legacy continues in the many fine buildings erected in Kuching during the Brooke era.

The Brooke coat-of-arms continues to be seen throughout Kuching, sometimes cropping up in the most unexpected of places, including shopfronts and on street corners.

The Brooke coat-of-arms continues to be seen throughout Kuching … images from Carpenter Street (above) and a street corner, below (Photographs: Patrick Comerford, 2024)