28 October 2024

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2024:
171, Tuesday 29 October 2024

‘The kingdom of heaven … is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened’ (Luke 13: 20-21) … three trays of bread in a baker’s shop in Bologna (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the Last Sunday after Trinity (27 October 2024). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today recalls James Hannington (1847-1885), Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, Martyr in Uganda.

Before the day 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.

‘The kingdom of heaven … is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened’ (Luke 13: 20-21) … varieties of bread on a stall in a market in Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 13: 18-21 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 18 He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’

20 And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

‘World’s Smallest Seed,’ 40”x30” oil/canvas, by James B Janknegt

Today’s Reflection:

Have you ever found yourself lost for words when it comes to describing a beautiful place you have visited?

If you have ever been to the Bay of Naples or Sorrento, how would you describe what you have seen to someone who has never travelled very far beyond where they live?

You might try comparing the first glimpse of Vesuvius with looking at Carrigtwohill, Croagh Patrick or the Great Sugarloaf … but that hardly describes the experience of climbing the rocky path, looking into the caldera, or the experience of the sulphuric smell.

You might want to compare the Bay of Naples with the vista in Dingle Bay or across Dublin Bay from the Dart passing through Killiney … but does that reflect the majestic scope of any one of these views?

You might want to compare the church domes of Venice or the Greek islands with the great copper dome in Rathmines … but that goes nowhere near describing the intricate artwork on those Italian domes or the impact on the Greek skyline.

You might compare the inside of the duomo in Florence with the inside of your favourite parish church … but you know you are getting nowhere near what you want to say.

And as for Capri … what other island conveys the romantic allure of Capri.

Comparisons never match the beauty of any of the places that offer us a snatch or glimpse of heaven.

And yet, we know that the photographs on our phones, no matter how good they seem to be when we are taking them, never do justice to the places we have been when we get back home.

We risk becoming bores either by trying to use inadequate words or inadequate images to describe experiences that we can never truly share with people unless they go there, unless they have been there too.

I suppose that helps to a degree to understand why Jesus keeps on trying to grasp at images that might help the Disciples and help us to understand what the Kingdom of God is like.

Christ tries to offer us a taste of the kingdom in this reading, as he continues to speak in parables. The two parables in this reading – the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Yeast - are really similes that must have seemed incredible on the day because of Christ’s use of exaggeration and hyperbole.

A mustard seed is very small, but it grows into a large shrub, rather than a tree. Birds do not nest in it.

Bread made with three measures of flour would feed 100 people, so once again we have hyperbole. The Kingdom of God Kingdom will grow from small beginnings to something beyond our measure or imagination.

We have a romantic imagination that confuses gardens with Paradise, and Paradise with the Kingdom of Heaven. But perhaps that is a good starting point, because I have a number of places where I find myself saying constantly: ‘This is a little snatch of heaven.’ They include:

• the road from Cappoquin out to my grandmother’s farm in West Waterford.

• the train journey from outside Ferns to Wexford, along the banks of the River Slaney.

• the view from Stowe Pool across to Lichfield Cathedral at sunset.

walking along Cross in Hand Lane on the north fringe of Lichfield.

• the Backs in Cambridge.

• sunset at the Fortezza in Rethymnon on the Greek island of Crete.

• the sights and sounds on some of the many beaches I like to walk on in Ireland and in Greece.

I could go on. The Kingdom of Heaven must be so like so many of these places where I find myself constantly praising God and thanking God for creation.

But … but it’s not just that. And I start thinking that Christ does more than just paint a scene when he describes the kingdom of heaven.

Later today, you might challenge yourself to think of three places, three gifts in God’s creation, that offer glimpses of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to think of three actions that symbolise Christ’s invitation into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Give thanks for these small seeds or fistfuls of yeast, and share them with someone you love and cherish.

An evening’s walk in winter along Cross in Hand Lane in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 29 October 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 ‘All Saints’ Day’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update by the Revd Dr Duncan Dormor, General Secretary, USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Tuesday 29 October 2024) invites us to pray:

Lord, we pray for churches across the Anglican Communion. May they continue to flourish as they seek to praise your name.

The Collect:

Most merciful God,
who strengthened your Church by the steadfast courage
of your martyr James Hannington:
grant that we also,
thankfully remembering his victory of faith,
may overcome what is evil
and glorify your holy name;
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:

God our redeemer,
whose Church was strengthened by the blood of your martyr James Hannington:
so bind us, in life and death, to Christ’s sacrifice
that our lives, broken and offered with his,
may carry his death and proclaim his resurrection in the world;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

‘The kingdom of God … is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden’ (Luke 13: 18-10) … the Mustard Seed is a restaurant in a country house setting in Ballingarry, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

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

2 comments:

Craig Comerford said...

if faith is a seed: it grows into a sapline of hope; which become a hug trees and which ear fruits like pomegranit; which are the agape fruts thate the lord press to macke is wine!

Craig Comerford said...

you messages confirme the above understanding!