Daily prayer in Christmas 2025-2026: 31, Saturday 24 January 2026

‘And the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat’ (Mark 3: 20) … the crowd at the Battle of Cable Street 90 years ago in a mural in the East End (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February). Tomorrow is the Third Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany III, 25 January 2026), and is also the Festival of the Conversion of Saint Paul, although this may be transferred to Monday (26 January).

The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva and Teacher of the Faith. Today too is the seventh day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from 18 to 25 January. This year’s theme is ‘One Body, One Spirit’ – from Ephesians 4: 1-13 – which was prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches.

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read 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.

Saint Thomas Becket in the Saint Thomas Window in All Saints’ Church, York … TS Eliot’s ‘Murder in the Cathedral’ is based on the murder of Thomas Becket (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 3: 20-21 (NRSVA):

[Then Jesus went home;] 20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’

‘Time present and time past / Are both perhaps present in time future / And time future contained in time past’ … a sundial in Church Street, Stony Stratford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Today’s Reflections:
TS Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral is based on the events leading up to the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, on 29 December 1170 at the behest of King Henry II. The play focuses on Becket’s internal struggles. As he reflects on the martyrdom he faces, his tempters arrive, like Job’s comforters, and they question the archbishop about his plight, echoing in many ways Christ’s temptations in the wilderness.

The first tempter offers Becket the prospect of physical safety. The second offers him power, riches and fame in serving the king so that he can disarm the powerful and help the poor. The third suggests the archbishop should form an alliance with the barons and seize a chance to resist the king. Finally, the fourth tempter urges Thomas to look to the glory of martyrdom.

Becket responds to all four tempters and specifically addresses the immoral suggestions of the fourth tempter at the end of the first act:

Now is my way clear, now is the meaning plain:
Temptation shall not come in this kind again.
The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason.

Saint Mark’s Gospel is sparse in its account of the story of Christ’s temptations in the wilderness – just two verses (see Mark 1: 12-13). In the much fuller accounts (see Matthew 4: 1-11, Luke 4: 1-13), Christ is tempted to do the right things for the wrong reasons.

What would be wrong with Christ turning stones into bread (see Matthew 4: 3; Luke 4: 3-4) to feed the hungry?

What would be wrong with Christ showing miraculous powers (see Matthew 4: 3; Luke 4: 9) to point to the majesty of God (see Matthew 4: 4; Luke 4: 10-11)?

What would be wrong with Christ taking command of the kingdoms of this world (see Matthew 4: 9; Luke 4: 5-7) to usher in justice, mercy and peace?

Let me not deceive myself, these are real temptations. For all who are morally driven there is always a real temptation to do the right thing but to do it for the wrong reason.

In today’s reading in Saint Mark’s Gospel, we are at the point where Christ is about to be challenged in two fundamental ways: about whether his work is the work of God or the work of the Devil (Mark 3: 22), and to think about what his family thinks about what he is doing (Mark 3: 32). In today’s short reading of two verses, immediately before these challenges the family of Jesus came to one of his gatherings and try to distract him and prevent him from teaching, perhaps hoping to preserve their own reputation.

Christ brings hope and the boundless goodness of God into people’s lives. For that to happen, a certain degree of openness is needed on the part of the onlookers. Without that sincerity, growth in body, mind and spirit is unlikely to occur. But those who know Jesus well seem to be surprised by how he lives and acts. I pray for the freedom that I need not to be hemmed in by my habits or by the expectations of others.

To live freely is to challenge those who accept constraints and it needs courage to be led by the spirit of God.

The family members ask whether Jesus ‘has gone out of his mind.’ The melée around Jesus embarrasses them, they feel he is making a show of them, and they want to take control of him.

Can you think of those times in your life when you are drawing aware of your family’s embarrassment, disapproval or concern?

His family does not like what is happening to Jesus and seem to be embarrassed. He is breaking conventions, both religious and cultural. Perhaps they feel they are in danger or under suspicion because of him. People like Jesus who dare to be different cause suspicion, embarrassment and general unease for those who are close to them.

It is true to say that wounds from a friend can be trusted but it is true too that insults from close family members can bite bitterly.

How often do parents compare siblings with one another in a way that becomes belittling rather than encouraging?

How many children hear that their goodness, instead of being in-born, innate and God-given, is defined by their parents’ assent and approval?

How often has a child who says s/he is doing her/his best hears the critical response of a parental figure: ‘But your best is simply not good enough!’

It is heart-breakingly sad but so often true, as I have come to know, that too many adults who had a sibling die realise that one or both parents have thought it would have been preferable that a surviving child had died instead.

Sweet words bring gentle healing but insults from those closest sting hardest.

Some things in life are irretrievable, such as the opportunity to do another good being let go because it is inconvenient or because of fear that a close family member would express bewilderment or question your motivations.

Growing up without appropriate affirmation and independent decision-making can leave some people, when they are offered the opportunity to do the right thing or to make a difference in this society in this world, asking instead: ‘What’s in this for me?’ or: ‘What would my parents think of me?’

When I am asked to speak up for those who are marginalised or oppressed, this should be good enough reason in itself. But then I wonder how others are going to react – react not to the marginalised or the oppressed, but to me.

How often do I see what is the right thing to do, but find an excuse that I pretend is not of my own making?

How often do I think of doing the right thing only if it is going to please my family members – perhaps even a dead parent – or to please the neighbours?

How often do I use the Bible to justify not caring about the pain of others or ignoring or devaluing justice for others?

How often do I use obscure Bible texts to prop up my own prejudices, forgetting that any text in the Bible, however clear or obscure it may be, depends, in Christ’s own words, on the two greatest commandments, to love God and to love one another.

We can convince ourselves that we are doing the right thing when we are doing it for the wrong reason. A wrong decision taken once, thinking it is doing the right thing, but for the wrong reason, is not just an action in the present moment – it forms habits and it shapes who we are, within time and eternity.

Sophia Scholl (1921-1943), a German student who was active in the White Rose nonviolent resistance to the Nazis, was first arrested by the Gestapo when she was 16, and was beheaded in prison in Munich on 22 February 1943 at 21. She once wrote:

The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive.’ The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonising their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves – or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.’

How many protesters on the streets of Minneapolis and other cities across the US are thinking bravely in similar ways today?

What we do today or refuse to do today, even if we think it is the right thing to do but we do it for the wrong reasons, reflects how we have formed ourselves habitually in the past, is an image of our inner being in the present, and has consequences for the future we wish to shape.

As TS Eliot writes in ‘Burnt Norton’:

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future
And time future contained in time past

How is the Church to recover its voice and speak up for the oppressed and the marginalised, not because it is fashionable or politically correct today, but because it is the right thing to do today and for the future?

Surely all our actions ought to depend on those two great commandments – to love God and to love one another.

As the Post-Communion Prayer today asks, ‘help us to lay aside all foolishness and to live and walk in the way of insight, that we may come … to the eternal feast of heaven.’

The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive’ (Sophie Scholl, 1921-1943)

Today’s Prayers (Saturday 24 January 2026):

The theme this week (18-24 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), has been ‘Freedom Theologies’ (pp 20-21). This theme was introduced last Sunday with Reflections from Dr Thandi Gamedze, poet, theologian, and senior researcher at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Saturday 24 January 2026) invites us to pray:

Gracious God, we thank you for the power of education. We pray especially for those who face barriers to education – open doors, remove obstacles, and give every child and young person the chance to grow, flourish, and contribute to a more just world.

The Collect:

Holy God,
who called your bishop Francis de Sales
to bring many to Christ through his devout life
and to renew your Church with patience and understanding:
grant that we may, by word and example,
reflect your gentleness and love to all we meet;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
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 of truth,
whose Wisdom set her table
and invited us to eat the bread and drink the wine
of the kingdom:
help us to lay aside all foolishness
and to live and walk in the way of insight,
that we may come with Francis de Sales to the eternal feast of heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Collect on the Eve of the Conversion of Saint Paul:

Almighty God,
who caused the light of the gospel
to shine throughout the world
through the preaching of your servant Saint Paul:
grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion may follow him in bearing witness your truth;
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 Collect on the Eve of Epiphany III:

Almighty God,
whose Son revealed in signs and miracles
the wonder of your saving presence:
renew your people with your heavenly grace,
and in all our weakness
sustain us by your mighty power;
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.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘The Temptation of the Lord’ … an icon in the Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral (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

Daily prayer in Christmas 2025-2026: 30, Friday 23 January 2026

‘And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles’ (Mark 3: 14) … the Twelve Apostles depicted in an icon in a church in Panormos, east of Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February). This week began with the Second Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany II, 18 January 2026), with readings that continue to focus on the Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist, one of the three great Epiphany themes, alongside the Visit of the Magi and the Wedding at Cana.

Today is the sixth day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from 18 to 25 January. This year’s theme is ‘One Body, One Spirit’ – from Ephesians 4: 1-13 – which was prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches.

Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read 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 Glorious Company of the Apostles … six of the 12 apostles in a fresco in Saint Barnabas Church in Jericho, Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 3: 13-19 (NRSVA):

13 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, 15 and to have authority to cast out demons. 16 So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

A modern icon of the Communion of the Apostles

Today’s Reflection:

The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Mark 3: 13-19) tells of the appointment by Jesus of the 12, ‘whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.’

In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, this episode takes place shortly before the miracle of the man with a withered hand, but both Mark and Luke place it appears shortly after that miracle.

The liturgy for the Ordination of a Bishop in the Episcopal Church includes an examination at the beginning of which the candidate is reminded that ‘A bishop in God’s holy Church is called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings.’

Then follows a series of questions and answers for the candidate for ordination, including:

Bishop: Will you boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of your people?

Answer: I will, in the power of the Spirit.

These questions were put to Mariann Edgar Budde when she was being consecrated as Bishop of Washington in Washington National Cathedral on 12 November 2011. Last year (21 January 2025), the day after Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president, Bishop Budde preached at the interfaith prayer service in the same cathedral.

She urged Trump, who was sitting in the first pew, to show mercy and compassion to vulnerable people, saying: ‘Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now.’ She specifically cited the LGBTQ+ communities, immigrants, and refugees fleeing from war in their countries.

Her sermon shows that Bishop Budde takes her ordination vows seriously, and answering her call ‘to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ’s resurrection and interpreting the Gospel, and to testify to Christ’s sovereignty as Lord of lords and King of kings’, seeking to ‘boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ, enlightening the minds and stirring up the conscience of your people’.

The Communion of the Apostles is an image that I find only in Orthodox iconography. In Greek it is generally known as Η Θεια Κοινωνια (He Theia Koinonia), ‘the Holy Communion’, while in Slavic it is known as ‘the Communion of the Apostles.’

This icon of the Communion of the Apostles is often found as a fresco in the apse in Eastern Orthodox churches, below images of the Theotokos or Virgin Mary as ‘Wider than the Heavens’, but is also found the icon screens on the ‘Royal Doors’ leading into the altar.

The icon shows Christ standing at an altar, giving communion to the Twelve, who approach from left and right. Christ is often depicted twice, at the left in the so-called μετάδοσης (metadosis, imparting) of the bread, and at the right in the so-called μετάληψις (metalepsis, partaking) of the wine.

When inscriptions are included in icons or frescoes with this image, they are generally words from Matthew 28: Λάβετε φάγετε, τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου (Labete phagete, touto estin to soma mou), ‘Take, eat; this is my body’; and, Πίετε ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες, τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης τὸ περὶ πολλῶν ἐκχυννόμενον εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν (Piete ex autou pantes, touto gar estin to haima mou tes diathekes to peri pollon ekkhunnomenon eis aphesin hamartion), ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’

In some instances, the icon may also include an excerpt from the Liturgy of Saint Basil: ‘Unite us all, who receive of one bread and chalice, one with another in the communion of one Holy Spirit.’

In some versions of this icon, the number of apostles included is indistinct, but usually they are 11, six to the left and five to the right, excluding ‘Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him’ (Mark 3: 19). Judas is generally omitted, because this is a liturgical icon showing a scene ‘in eternity’, and Judas is not considered part of that eternal celebration. Other icons have included Judas, who may be shown turning away, or even in some cases, with a black halo to distinguish him from the other, remaining 11.

In this icon, Christ has the bread at his right hand, and the chalice or sometimes a jug at his left. But, instead of the room of the Last Supper, the setting is usually in a church. Instead of Christ being at the table with the Apostles around it, he is at the altar, often with a canopy above the altar.

In this way, Christ is seen as giving the Communion in and to the Church on earth, the Church as one related communion, which makes it an appropriate icon to reflect on during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

‘And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles’ (Mark 3: 14) … the Twelve Apostles depicted in the East Window in Saint Editha’s Collegiate Church, Tamworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Friday 23 January 2026):

The theme this week (18-24 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Freedom Theologies’ (pp 20-21). This theme was introduced on Sunday with Reflections from Dr Thandi Gamedze, poet, theologian, and senior researcher at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice.



The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 23 January 2026) invites us to pray:

Lord, we thank you for the Fellowship of Anglican Scholars of Theology (FeAST) and its work in encouraging encounter and fresh thinking. Bless this network with creativity, insight, and courage, building up scholarship that serves the Church and the world.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
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 of glory,
you nourish us with your Word
who is the bread of life:
fill us with your Holy Spirit
that through us the light of your glory
may shine in all the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Collect on the Eve of the Conversion of Saint Paul:

Almighty God,
who caused the light of the gospel
to shine throughout the world
through the preaching of your servant Saint Paul:
grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion
may follow him in bearing witness to your truth;
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.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

The Twelve Apostles … an icon in the Cathedral in Rethymnon in Crete (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

Daily prayer in Christmas 2025-2026: 28, Wednesday 21 January 2026

‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored (Mark 3: 5) … ‘Hands of Healing’, a sculpture by Shane Gilmore at Ennis Cathedral, Co Clare (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February 2026). This week began with the Second Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany II, 18 January 2026), with readings that continue to focus on the Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist, one of the three great Epiphany themes, alongside the Visit of the Magi and the Wedding at Cana.

Today is the fourth day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from 18 to 25 January. This year’s theme is ‘One Body, One Spirit’ – from Ephesians 4: 1-13 – which was prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches. The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Agnes (304 CE), child martyr in Rome.

Later today, I hope to return the choir rehearsals in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read 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.

Signs and symbols of healing for holding in hands … in the chapel at Milton Keynes University Hospital (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 3: 1-6 (NRSVA):

1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come forward.’ 4 Then he said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A doctor’s sign in Hersonissos in Crete … the healing stories in the Gospels involve physical and spiritual healing (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

In the Gospel reading at the Eucharist yesterday (Mark 2: 23-28), we heard a debate about the detailed interpretation and application of faith and practice on the Sabbath. That continues in today’s reading (Mark 3: 1-6), with a discission about healing and the Sabbath. The story of Jesus healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath is found in all three synoptic Gospels (see Matthew 12: 9-13, Mark 3: 1-6; Luke 6: 6-11).

In his hymn ‘Songs of thankfulness and praise’, Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885) links the three traditional Epiphany narratives of the Visit of the Magi (verse 1), the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan and the Wedding at Cana (verse 2), with the miracles of ‘making whole / palsied limbs and fainting soul’:

Manifest in making whole
palsied limbs and fainting soul;
manifest in valiant fight,
quelling all the devil’s might;
manifest in gracious will,
ever bringing good from ill:
anthems be to you addresst,
God in man made manifest.

Several Gospel passages involve controversies over healing and observing the Sabbath, including: casting an ‘unclean spirit’ or demon out of a man (Mark 1: 21-28; Luke 4: 31-37); healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8: 14-15; Mark 1: 29-31; Luke 4: 38-39); the controversy over grain (Matthew 12: 1-8; Mark 2: 23-28; Luke 6: 1-5); today’s story of the healing of a man with a withered hand (Matthew 12: 9-13; Mark 3: 1-6; Luke 6: 6-11); the healing of the woman in the synagogue (Luke 13: 10-16); the healing of a paralytic man (John 5: 9-18); the discussion about circumcision on the Sabbath (John 7: 22-23); and the healing of the man born blind (John 9: 1-33).

Once again, as with yesterday’s reading, we are faced today with an example of rhetorical humour on the part of Jesus. Of course the Pharisees were not opposed to doing good on the Sabbath, still less were they likely to object to healing on the Sabbath.

The word Pharisee has become a byword for hypocrisy, and was challenged last year by Giles Fraser in a ‘Beyond Belief’ BBC discussion with Professor Amy-Jill Levine of Vanderbilt University, co-author of The Pharisees, the Catholic theologian James Alison and Dr Stephen de Wijzeoft Manchester University (14 January 2025).

The Pharisees were not like some judgmental evangelicals and Free Presbyterians who wanted to keep the playgrounds, parks, golf clubs, sports venues and pubs in Northern Ireland locked up and closed on Sundays. Works of necessity and works of mercy are allowed, even encouraged on the Sabbath day, even for animals. Indeed, healing is intrinsic to the sabbath.

A work of necessity readily given as an example is when the Jews decide to continue fighting in the Maccabean war even on the Sabbath (see I Maccabees 2). Healing is an act of mercy and so does not violate the Sabbath. The rabbinic tradition teaches clearly, ‘Any danger to life overrides the prohibitions of the Sabbath’ (m. Yoma 8: 6). The question here, then, is whether the man's condition is life-conditioning: could he, and Jesus, not wait until the next day?

A man with a withered hand faced the regular barrier of being perceived as ritually unclean, because he was unable on his own to carry out the ritual obligation of washing both hands on many occasions throughout the day, including before and after eating a meal with bread, before eating dipped fruit or vegetables, before prayer, after sleeping, or after touching certain parts of the body. This involved pouring water over both hands, something a man without the use of one hand could not do on his own.

Today’s reading says Jesus sees this man as he enters the synagogue, not inside the synagogue. The man is not only healed, but he can now wash both hands and enter the synagogue, taking his rightful place in the community of faith, and in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He has been restored both physically and spiritually.

Cardinal Karl Lehmann, who died in 2018, was described as the face and voice of Catholicism in Germany for over 35 years. He was the Bishop of Mainz and former Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the University of Mainz, and in the 1960s he was an assistant to Karl Rahner, the Jesuit theologian, during the Second Vatican Council.

The German theologian Professor Johanna Rahner of Tübingen University told the German weekly Die Zeit that Cardinal Karl Lehmann ‘interpreted the Church’s teaching as a seelsorger (a ‘carer of souls’ – the German word for priest) and not in the narrow, doctrinal, sense.’

I like the idea of seeing the priest or the pastor as the physician or doctor of souls. The German theological journal, Seelsorger describes itself as a ‘Journal for the Contemporary Cure of Souls,’ and the topics on pastoral care it discusses range from sexuality to post-modernity, the conscience to the use of story, vice, virtue, and baptism and the dangers and blessings of a long-term pastorate.

The soul is the deepest centre of the psyche. Problems at the level of the soul radiate out to all levels of the psyche and even the body.

The priest, the soul doctor, traces the problem to its deepest point. A hurting person should be addressed at all of those levels, but it is the soul doctor who addresses the very deepest level.

Among the Patristic writers, Saint John Chrysostom says that every priest is, as it were, the father of the whole world, and therefore should have care of all the souls to whose salvation he can co-operate by his labours. Besides, priests are appointed by God as physicians to cure every soul that is infirm. Origen has called priests ‘physicians of souls,’ while Saint Jerome calls us ‘spiritual physicians.’ Later, Saint Bonaventure asks: ‘If the physician flees from the sick, who will cure them?’

Canon 21 of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 drew an analogy between the physicians of the body and the physicians of the soul. This analogy between medical or physical care and spiritual or pastoral care was enthusiastically developed in mediaeval sermons and penitential literature, opening the door to many further comparisons.

The English word curate refers to a person who is charged with the care or cure (cura) of souls in a parish. In this sense, ‘curate’ correctly means a parish priest. In France, the cure is the principal priest in a parish, as is the Italian curato and the Spanish cura. But in English-speaking places, the term curate is commonly used to describe priests who are assistants to the parish priest.

However, the word curate in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer means the incumbent of a benefice, who is licensed by the bishop to the ‘cure of souls.’ The shared cure of souls is made clear by the traditional wording of the bishop’s deed of institution to a new incumbent, ‘habere curam animarum, et accipe curam tuam et meam, receive the cure of souls which is both mine and thine.’

In other words, when a parish priest begins his or her new ministry, the bishop is sharing the care of the parish – described traditionally as ‘the cure of souls’ – with the priest, but the bishop does not give it away. The 43 Canons of the Church of Ireland, listed in Chapter IX of the Constitution, refers specifically to cures rather than parishes.

The soul is just as complicated as the body, just as rich and strange and puzzling. And it needs just as much attention. That does not mean that any priest can necessarily address these soul problems. But the true soul doctor is the depth psychologist.

When we think about salvation, it is worth recalling that the English word ‘salve’ is derived from the Latin salvus, which means healing. The priest, as an alter Christus is seen as one who mends broken hearts, heals hurting souls, and applies God’s soothing balm on pained and wounded lives.

The priest truly is the ‘doctor of souls.’ Perhaps theology is the technical language of soul doctoring. But the prescription is the word and the medicine is the Eucharist, regular confession and daily prayer. The proper exercise is found in prayer, regular good deeds and acts of kindness.

The popular German word for priest means ‘carer of souls’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 21 January 2026):

The theme this week (18-24 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Freedom Theologies’ (pp 20-21). This theme was introduced on Sunday with Reflections from Dr Thandi Gamedze, poet, theologian, and senior researcher at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 21 January 2026) invites us to pray:

Father, we give thanks for Dr Thandi Gamedze and the creative ways her research brings untold stories to life. Bless her, we pray.

The Collect:

Eternal God, shepherd of your sheep,
whose child Agnes was strengthened to bear witness
in her living and her dying
to the true love of her redeemer:
grant us the power to understand, with all your saints,
what is the breadth and length and height and depth
and to know the love that surpasses knowledge,
even 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:

Eternal God,
who gave us this holy meal
in which we have celebrated the glory of the cross
and the victory of your martyr Agnes:
by our communion with Christ
in his saving death and resurrection,
give us with all your saints the courage to conquer evil
and so to share the fruit of the tree of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

Saint John Chrysostom says priests are appointed by God as physicians to cure every soul that is infirm (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

Daily prayer in Christmas 2025-2026: 27, Tuesday 20 January 2026

‘As they made their way [through the cornfields] his disciples began to pluck heads of grain’ (Mark 2: 23) … walking through the fields in Farewell, near Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February). This week began with the Second Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany II, 18 January 2026), with readings that continue to focus on the Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist, one of the three great Epiphany themes, alongside the Visit of the Magi and the Wedding at Cana.

Today is the third day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, from 18 to 25 January. This year’s theme is ‘One Body, One Spirit’ – from Ephesians 4: 1-13 – which was prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches. The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Richard Rolle of Hampole, Spiritual Writer, 1349.

Later today, I have another rehearsal with the playreaders in Stony Stratford as we prepare for our readings in this year’s Stony Words Festival, with a sense of fun and enjoyment of life. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read 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.

‘He entered the house of God … and ate the bread of the Presence’ (Mark 2: 26) … 12 loaves of bread in two rows of six (see Leviticus 24: 5-9) in a fresco in the 17th century Kupa Synagogue in Kazimierz in Kraków (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 2: 23-28 (NRSVA):

23 One sabbath he was going through the cornfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ 25 And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.’ 27 Then he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’

‘As they made their way [through the cornfields] his disciples began to pluck heads of grain’ (Mark 2: 23) … grainfields near Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

In the Gospel reading at the Eucharist yesterday (Mark 2: 18-22), we heard a wedding feast being used to illustrate a debate about feasting and fasting. That debate about the detailed interpretation and application of faith and practice continues in today’s reading (Mark 2: 23-28) about eating and the Sabbath.

We saw yesterday how feasting and fasting, food and ascetism, are important themes in the three Abrahamic faith – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Today’s reading (Mark 2: 23-28) begins when Christ is bypassing the grainfields and the disciples make their way through the fields. The religious law of the day accepted that as long as they are plucking the heads of grain and not harvesting it, they are allowed to do this, and there is no question of any theft (see Deuteronomy 23: 24-25).

We have all done something like this in a field: picked fruit growing on hedges or on trees; or we have done something like this in the kitchen, pouring cereal into a bowl and snatching a few lumps before even sitting down to eat breakfast.

So, what concerns the Pharisees in this story is not theft. They are worried that the disciples are gleaning on the Sabbath, and they challenge Christ about this. They claim this behaviour ignores the command to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy (see Exodus 20: 8; Deuteronomy 5: 12). Perhaps they thought the disciples could have prepared food the previous day to take with them.

Jesus disagrees, not because he is trivialising the laws about the Sabbath, but because he sees the Sabbath in a different light. He turns to a story about David when he is fleeing Saul who is plotting to kill him (see I Samuel 21: 1-6). David takes consecrated bread that was supposed to be part of the 12 loaves reserved for the priests (see Leviticus 24: 5-9) and feeds it to his followers who are on the journey with him.

By meeting the needs of David’s hunger, the priest sustains the life of a weary traveller and contributes to David’s quest to fulfil his calling to be the king anointed to replace Saul (see I Samuel 16: 1-13).

Why, in this story, does Jesus identify the priest who assists David as Abiathar? The Old Testament account (I Samuel 16) names the priest as Ahimelech. Who is mistaken in this passage … Jesus? Saint Mark? An unknown and unidentifiable redactor?

There are details here that are not in the original story: David was not explicitly acting from hunger, and he does not enter the house of God to eat the bread of the presence.

I have read many attempts to reconcile this Gospel account and the story of David, most of them setting out with the premise that the ‘inerrancy’ and ‘infallibility’ of Scripture must be defended at all costs, without seeking to debate the literary genre found in this passage.

Instead, I understand in this reading that Christ is displaying a sense of irony and a sense of humour. In a perfect example of what lawyers know as he loaded question, he asks his protagonists: ‘Have you never read what David did … when Abiathar was high priest?’ (verses 25-26).

If they say no, they show they have not read this story; if they say yes, they show are not truly familiar with the details of the story.

Christ then offers a legal opinion derived from scripture itself. He argues that sometimes certain demands of the law are rightly set aside in favour of greater values or needs, especially when those needs involve someone else’s well-being, and this can bring God’s blessings.

With his subtle sense of humour, Jesus challenges us when we are too straight-faced and humourless, and puts our minor interpretations of petty values before the real needs of others, and their sense of fun and enjoyment of life.

‘As they made their way [through the cornfields] his disciples began to pluck heads of grain’ (Mark 2: 23) … walking through cornfields in Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 20 January 2026):

The theme this week (18-24 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Freedom Theologies’ (pp 20-21). This theme was introduced on Sunday with Reflections from Dr Thandi Gamedze, poet, theologian, and senior researcher at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Tuesday 20 January 2026) invites us to pray:

God of truth, we pray for the Anglican Church in South Africa. Strengthen its leaders and communities as they serve you and act as bold witnesses to your love.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, ow and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God of glory,
you nourish us with your Word
who is the bread of life:
fill us with your Holy Spirit
that through us the light of your glory
may shine in all the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Eternal Lord,
our beginning and our end:
bring us with the whole creation
to your glory, hidden through past ages
and made known
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘As they made their way [through the cornfields] his disciples began to pluck heads of grain’ (Mark 2: 23) … summer fields in Chicheley, near Newport Pagnell (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

Daily prayer in Christmas 2025-2026: 25, Sunday 18 January 2026, Second Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany II)

The Lamb of God on the throne (see John 1: 36) … a stained glass window in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February). Today is the Second Sunday after the Epiphany (Epiphany II, 18 January 2026), with readings that continue to focus on the Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist, one of the three great Epiphany themes, alongside the Visit of the Magi and the Wedding at Cana.

Later this morning, I hope to be involved in the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, singing with the choir and leading the intercessions.

Today is also the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU), from 18 to 25 January. This ecumenical celebration provides an opportunity to focus our prayers on Christian unity and to know that we are joining with international brothers and sisters in Christ. This year’s theme is ‘One Body, One Spirit’ -- from Ephesians 4: 1-13 – which was prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church, along with the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches.

The opening Ecumenical Service for the week in Milton Keynes is in Saint James Church, New Bradwell, at 6 pm. The preacher is Doral Hayes of Churches Together in England, and music is from One Voice, the MK Christian Community Choir. The Hope for the World Concert in Christ the Cornerstone Church, also this evening, is raising funds for two local charities, Camphill MK and Bridgebuilder Trust.

Meanwhile, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read 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.

‘This is the Lamb of God’ … Saint John the Baptist (left) with Christ in the centre depicted as the Good Shepherd and the Virgin Mary (right) … a window in Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 1: 29-42 (NRSVA):

29 The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ 32 And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ 39 He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

The Lamb of God depicted in a stained-glass window in Charleville, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections

Saint John’s Gospel has no story of the first Christmas, no child in the crib, and no Visit of the Magi. The manifestation of the Incarnate Christ in Saint John’s Gospel is revealed with the witness of Saint John the Baptist to Christ as the Lamb of God, the one who ‘existed before me,’ and as ‘the Son of God’ or ‘God’s Chosen One.’

In the Fourth Gospel, Christ first walks onto the stage, like the principal character in a Greek drama, as Saint John the Baptist is baptising in the River Jordan and talking about what is to be. And, in good dramatic style, letting us know what to expect as the drama unfolds on this stage, Saint John the Baptist uses three ways to describe Christ.

He is:

• ‘The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1: 29 and 36);
• ‘A man … who was before me’ (John 1: 30);
• ‘The Son of God’ (John 1: 34).

That manifestation of the Christ in Saint John’s Gospel will close with the witness of the Beloved Disciple – the other John – to the Paschal Lamb dying on the Cross on the eve of Passover.

His description of Christ as the ‘Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ presents Christ as the Servant of God described by the Prophet Isaiah as being led without complaint like a lamb before the shearers, a man who ‘bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors’ (see Isaiah 53: 7-12).

With the benefit of hindsight, this is also as a reference to the Lamb sacrificed at the Passover – in Saint John’s Gospel, the crucifixion takes place at the same time as the Passover.

But the Lamb of God is taking away not just my sin, not just our sin, not just the sin of many, of Christians, or those we judge as transgressors, those we still have a grudge against – not even the sin of the world, but the sin of the κόσμος (cosmos), which means not merely planet earth, but the whole created order.

Secondly, Saint John the Baptist describes Christ (verse 30) as the one who ‘existed before me’ (RSV) or who ‘was before me’ (NRSV), which reflects a recurring theme in Johannine literature of the pre-existence of the Word.

Thirdly, he describes him as ‘the Son of God’ or ‘God’s Chosen One’ (verse 34). This is the first time in this Gospel that Christ is given the messianic title of ‘the Son of God.’ This title, ‘The Son of God’ is another reference to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah.

We then move on in this reading to find the disciples of Saint John the Baptist turning to follow Christ. So this reading links the baptism of Christ with the call of the Disciples, links seeing and believing, being and doing, baptism and discipleship.

The first two disciples are called to follow Jesus (verse 37) in word and action, ‘Come and see’ (verse 39). In Saint John’s Gospel, ‘seeing,’ in the true sense, means believing. Think of the later insistence by Saint Thomas that he cannot believe unless he also sees (see John 20: 24-29). And to come and see is to abide in Christ. Those first disciples come, see and stay (verse 39).

But who do the disciples say Christ is?

They have three very different descriptions from those given by Saint John the Baptist. They describe him as:

• Rabbi or Teacher (verse 38)
• the one to see and follow (verse (verse 39)
• the Messiah or the anointed one (verse 41)

Who is Christ for you?

This is a question each and every one of us must ask ourselves anew time and time again.

He must be more than a good rabbi or teacher, because the expectations of a good religious leader or a good teacher change over time.

Who is the Messiah for you?

Again, many people at the time had false expectations of the Messiah.

But who is Christ for you?

George Fox, the founding Quaker, challenged his contemporaries: ‘You may say Christ saith this, and the apostles say this, but what canst thou say? Art thou a child of the Light and hast thou walked in the Light, and what thou speakest is it inwardly from God?”

Who is Christ for you?

Is he a personal saviour?

One who comforts you?

Or is he more than that for you?

Who do you say Christ is?

It is a question that challenges Saint Peter later in Saint Matthew’s Gospel (see Matthew 16: 15, which is part of the reading on 22 August 2026, the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 16: 13-20).

Not who do others say he is, but who do you say Christ is?

There is a difference in translations that speak of the ‘sins of the world’ and the ‘sin of the world.’

The word in this Gospel reading (see verse 29) is the singular sin of the cosmos (ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου). The word indicates being without a share in something, in this case God’s intention or design … missing the mark.

So often the world has missed the mark in terms of shaping up to Gods plan and intention for the whole creation, the whole cosmos.

Christmas has passed, and the Epiphany season concludes with the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, Candlemas, in two weeks’ time (2 February 2026).

Today’s Gospel reading is a reminder at Epiphany time that Christ has come, not just as a cuddly baby at Christmas, not just to give me personal comfort, not just to give me a personal revelation, but to confront the whole created order, and to reconcile the whole created order to God’s plan.

I find it is a beautiful presentation in this Gospel that the beginning of Christ’s ministry is set out over six days. And on the seventh day of that new beginning we have a sabbath – God rests; Christ goes to the wedding at Cana, the third of the Epiphany moments. And there we have a sign, a sacrament, a token of the complete transformation of the created order, a sacramental or symbolic token of the heavenly banquet (John 2: 1-12; see John 2: 1-11, the Gospel reading on Sunday 1 February 2026, Epiphany IV).

Who is Christ for you? He confronts the evils of the world; he suffers with us; he invites you and me to come and see; he calls us into the new Creation; he makes us equal in the Kingdom of God; and we are guests at his banquet. He is God among us.

As Saint John the Baptist says, ‘I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God’ (John 1: 34)

Robert Spence (1871-1964), ‘Woe to the Bloody City of Lichfield,’ depicts George Fox preaching barefooted in the snow in Lichfield in 1651 … George Fox challenged his followers to say who Christ is for them (Lichfield Museum)

Today’s Prayers (Sunday 18 January 2026, Epiphany II):

The theme this week (18-24 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Freedom Theologies’ (pp 20-21). This theme is introduced today with Reflections from Dr Thandi Gamedze, poet, theologian, and senior researcher at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice:

‘Growing up in South Africa, I was surrounded by the Church, but I didn’t know the full story of its role in our history. For decades, the voices of Black South Africans who resisted apartheid were often silenced or forgotten, even within faith communities. One of the most powerful examples is the Kairos Document, written in 1985 during a State of Emergency. It boldly confronted the Church’s complicity with apartheid and called people of faith to stand for justice. Reading it was like discovering a hidden heartbeat of courage and hope.

‘These stories inspired me to create Freedom Theologies: South Africa, a card game that brings these untold stories to life. Players explore moments like the Peace March of 1989 or the Christian Institute Agape meals, swapping stories and mapping them on timelines to see how the movement grew.

‘The game grew out of a simple idea: learning can be participatory and fun, but still deeply meaningful. These stories of everyday prophetic theologies and actions are really important because all of us have different roles to play in this work of ‘world making’. Whether that happens through art, or a march, or even something as simple as a weekly meal. That’s what the Cape Director of the Christian Institute did. The meals he hosted were more than food. It was a lively space where people connected, prayed, and planned together, fuelling the fight against apartheid with shared spirit and action. We could do with more of that.’

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 18 January 2026) invites us to pray as we read and meditate on John 1: 29-42.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
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 of glory,
you nourish us with your Word
who is the bread of life:
fill us with your Holy Spirit
that through us the light of your glory
may shine in all the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Eternal Lord,
our beginning and our end:
bring us with the whole creation
to your glory, hidden through past ages
and made known
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

The Lamb of God … a surviving detail in Saint Senanus Church, Foynes, 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

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2025: 91, Friday 8 August 2025

‘Whosever will come after me, let him take up their cross and follow me’ (Matthew 16: 24) … Station V in the Stations of the Cross by Irene Ogden in Saint Julian’s Church, Norwich (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and the week began with the Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VII, 3 August 2025). Today, the calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship recalls Saint Dominic (1221), Priest, Founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, 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.

‘Let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’ (Matthew 16: 24) … Simon of Cyrene takes up the Cross, Station 5 in the Stations of the Cross in the chapel of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 16: 24-28 (NRSVA):

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

27 ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’

‘For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?’ (Matthew 16: 26) … torn and ragged banknotes in a tin box outside an antiques shop in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

This morning’s reflection:

In this Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 16: 24-28), Christ and the disciples are near the villages of Caesarea Philippi, in today’s Golan Heights. Christ has both commended Peter for his faith and warned him of the danger of being a stumbling block.

To their dismay, Christ now speaks openly about his imminent death and resurrection. He then describes true discipleship: first, a disciple must follow him and renounce self-centeredness (verse 23). Those who are prepared to give even their lives for his sake and for the sake of spreading the good news will find true life verse 24). But those who opt for material well-being deny their true selves and lose out (verse 26).

There is a cost to discipleship, but the challenge to take up the Cross and to follow Christ is open to all.

God in Christ has come to enfold humanity. The cross will not stop the proclamation of the Good News, nor will it keep salvation history from breaking into the cosmos.

So often, in the face of criticism, the Christian response is either to shut down or to retreat to a different understanding of God and Jesus. But Christ tells the people that if they want to follow him on the journey, there is a cost to discipleship.

We are challenged to take up our cross and follow Christ on that journey.

Christianity cannot be reduced to an individual mental or philosophical decision. It is a journey with Christ and with not only the disciples but with the crowd, the many, who are also invited to join that journey.

If Saint Peter knew what was ahead of him, perhaps he might have been even more vocal in rebuking Christ in yesterday’s Gospel reading. But the triumph comes not in getting what we want, not in engineering things so that God gives us what we desire and wish for, so that we get a Jesus who does the things we want him to do. The triumph comes in the Resurrection.

True discipleship and true prayer mean making God’s priorities my priorities: the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the isolated, the marginalised, the victims, the unloved. If that is difficult, nobody said that being a Christian was going to be easy, that being a Christian would not cost anything.

As the German martyr and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer might have put it, being a disciple means having to pay the cost of discipleship. There is no cheap Christianity and there is no cheap grace.

The late Pope Francis once put it another way. Referring to discipleship and the traditional Lenten fast, he asked, ‘Do you want to fast this Lent?’ And then, he answered:

Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.

Fast from anger and be filled with patience.

Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.

Fast from worries and have trust in God.

Fast from complaints; contemplate simplicity.

Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

Fast from bitterness; fill your hearts with joy.

Fast from selfishness and be compassionate.

Fast from grudges and be reconciled.

Fast from words; be silent and listen.

‘Let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’ (Matthew 16: 24) … the Stations of the Cross in Saint Gregory’s Armenian Church, Singapore (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Today’s Prayers (Friday 8 August 2025):

The theme this week (3 to 9 August) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Indigenous Wisdom’ (pp 24-25). This theme was introduced last Sunday with reflections from Dr Paulo Ueti, Theological Advisor and Regional Manager for the Americas and the Caribbean, USPG.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 8 August 2025) invites us to pray:

Lord, we pray that our prayers rise like incense, not just in words, but in action, as we walk the path of faith and justice.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
whose servant Dominic grew in the knowledge of your truth
and formed an order of preachers to proclaim the faith of Christ:
by your grace give to all your people a love for your word
and a longing to share the gospel,
so that the whole world may come to know you
and your Son Jesus Christ 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:

Merciful God,
who gave such grace to your servant Dominic
that he served you with singleness of heart
and loved you above all things:
help us, whose communion with you
has been renewed in this sacrament,
to forsake all that holds us back from following Christ
and to grow into his likeness from glory to glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A Cross outside the Church of the Holy Cross in Iraklion, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

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

The Armenian Church, Singapore’s oldest church, is a masterpiece by the Irish architect George Coleman

The Armenian Apostolic Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator on Hill Street is the oldest surviving church in Singapore (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Patrick Comerford

During our stopover in Singapore last month, I visited a number of cathedrals, churches, chapels, synagogues, mosques and temples in the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Taoist and Buddhist traditions.

The Christian places of worship I visited include Anglican, Roman Catholic and Armenian Orthodox cathedrals and churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator on Hill Street is the oldest surviving church in Singapore. It was designed by the Irish-born architect, George Drumgoole Coleman (1795-1844) from Drogheda.

Coleman was Singapore’s pioneer colonial architect, and he played a key role in designing and building much of early Singapore after it was founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. They include the original Saint Andrew’s Anglican Cathedral, Maxwell’s House, later the Old Parliament House, Caldwell House and, perhaps, the Jamae Mosque that gives its name to Mosque Street. But the Armenian Church is considered one of his masterpieces.

Inside the Armenian Church on Hill Street, designed by George Drumgoole Coleman from Drogheda (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Coleman gives his name to Coleman Street and Coleman Bridge in Singapore. He had a long-term relationship with Takouhi (Thagoohi) Manuk, a sister of Gvork Manuk, a wealthy Persian-born Armenian merchant in India and Java, and he built a mansion for her beside his own. Their daughter, Meda Elizabeth Coleman, was born on 10 March 1829, and the girl was baptised in Saint Andrew’s Cathedral on 30 July 1837.

Takouhi Manuk and her sister Mary Arathoon later inherited their brother’s entire wealth and in 1854 they funded the rebuilding of Saint John’s Armenian Church in Calcutta. It is possibly because of his relationship with Takouhi Manuk that Coleman came to design the Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator on Hill Street in 1835, and she donated much of the silverware and furnishings in the church.

The church, known locally as the Armenian Church, is dedicated to Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the first Patriarch of the Armenian Church.

Inside the Armenian Church on Hill Street,dedicated to Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the first Patriarch of the Armenian Church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The Armenians were among the earliest merchants and traders to arrive in Singapore after Raffles established it as a trading port in 1819. The community was holding services in Singapore by 1821, and the first priest, Father Krikor Hovhannes (Gregory John), arrived in July 1827.

A temporary chapel was set up at the back of John Little and Company at Commercial Square, now Raffles Place. The community started to raise funds to build a new church in 1827. Over half the building cost was donated by the Armenian community in Singapore, with the rest coming from Armenians in Java and India, and a small portion from European and Chinese merchants in Singapore.

The Armenian community was very small – the 1824 census counted only 16 members, and 34 in 1836 when the church opened – its contribution to the Armenian Church indicates the prosperity and religious devotion of the Armenian community in Singapore.

They included lawyers, merchants, and entrepreneurs, such as the Sarkies Brothers, who built and managed the Raffles Hotel, Agnes Joaquim who hybridised the orchid Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’, named as Singapore’s national flower, and Catchick Moses who founded the Straits Times.

A memorial plaque in Armenian on the church walls (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The Armenian community requested a site for a church in 1833, and the government granted land at the foot of Fort Canning in 1834. The foundation stone was laid on 1 January 1835 by Father Thomas Gregorian, who opened and consecrated the new church on Easter Sunday 1836, assisted by Father Khachig Hovhannes.

The east front of the church has a bowed apse with a pediment supporting a spire. The date ‘1835’ commemorates the year the foundation stone was laid.

The altar and east apse in the church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The Armenian Church is primarily in the English neoclassical style with a few eclectic influences, and it is centrally-designed in the manner of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of Armenia.

The interior is circular and is said to resemble the round Holy Sepulchre in Cambridge. However, the circle is imposed within a square-cross plan, with projecting square porticos in Roman Doric orders. The Palladian-style design may have been inspired by the circular plan for Saint Andrews’s Church in Chennai (Madras), which in turn is derived from one of James Gibbs’s designs for Saint Martin-in-the-Fields, London.

Coleman’s original symmetrical design included neither tower nor spire, but featured an octagonal cone supporting a small bell turret with Ionic columns.

Each of the Tuscan Doric porticos on the north, south and west fronts of the church is topped with a triangular pediment. Originally the east front simply had a bowed apse with Tuscan Doric pilasters, however the bowed apse has since been boxed in by the portico on which the spire was built.

The north, south and west porticos were designed to allow horse carriages to pull into the porches, where women might then alight and step directly into the church without soiling their dresses.

The pews are backed with woven rattan, a lighter, cooler and more comfortable material that suits Singapore’s tropical climate (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

Coleman’s design is adapted to suit Singapore’s tropical climate. The wide verandahs give shade and protect the timber-louvred windows on the ground floor from heavy downpours. The windows, in turn, diffuse the sunlight and induce cross ventilation. The pews are backed with woven rattan, a lighter, cooler and more comfortable material.

The painting above the altar is of the Last Supper.

The church has undergone many modifications since it was first built (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The church has undergone a number of modifications since it was first built. A bell turret designed by Coleman was deemed structurally unsound, and it was replaced first by a square tower in 1846-1847, then again replaced in 1853 with a square tower with Doric pilasters, designed by the Welsh-born architect George Vaughan Maddox (1802-1864). Maddox replaced the pitched roof with the present roof.

To support the tower and spire, he added the east portico around the apse where the chancel is. The semi-circular chancel with the raised grand altar is located opposite the main entrance. Probably at the same time the main entrance on the west portico was also widened.

The parsonage, built in 1905, houses the Armenian Heritage Gallery (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The parsonage, a two-storey bungalow in the church grounds, was built in 1905 by Nanajan Sarkies in memory of her late husband, John Shanazar Sarkies. Today, it serves as the administrative offices of the Armenian Church and houses the Armenian Heritage Gallery.

In 1909, the church became the first building in Singapore with electricity.

The Armenian population in Singapore dwindled in the early 20th century, and the last Armenian parish priest left in the late 1930s.

The square tower designed by Maddox was replaced in 1953 by the present spire that sits on an octagonal tower, and it is topped with a ball and cross.

Relocated gravestones in the churchyard (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

When the Christian cemetery at Fort Canning was cleared for a park in the late 1960s, early Armenian tombstones there were moved into the Memorial Garden at the church ground. Tombstones from Bukit Timah-Cavenagh Road cemetery were also moved there.

The tombstones, moved by an American-Armenian Levon Palian, include tombstones of members of the Sarkies family of Raffles Hotel fame, Agnes Joaquim, who bred Singapore’s national flower, and Catchick Moses, who founded the Straits Times. However, the Memorial Garden was never used as a burial ground.

The Armenian Church was gazetted as a national monument in 1973.

The khachkar memorial was erected in 2015 to mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)

The church had been abandoned religiously for decades when Father Daron Djerejian, an Armenian priest from Nice in France, visited the church in 1979 and conducted the Divine Liturgy.

The Armenian Church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1985. Archbishop Aghan Baliozian of Australia led a group of Armenian pilgrims from Australia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and the US to Singapore in June 1985.

A celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the church in 2001 marked the 1700th anniversary of the official adoption of Christianity in Armenia. On 27 March 2011, 160 Armenians from 20 countries gathered at the church to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the church.

The Armenian Patriarch, Patriarch Karekin II, appointed Father Zaven Yazichyan, a monk from Etchmiadzin, as the pastor of the Armenian communities in Singapore, Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2016. He is based in Yangon, Myanmar, and visits Singapore five or six times a year.

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Divine Liturgy several times a year, presided over by visiting Armenian priests from around the region. The Armenian Christmas celebrations take place from 10 am to 12 noon on Sunday 12 January 2025, to be presided over by Archbishop Haigazoun Najarian.

The Armenian Church also hosts a number of religious groups that occasionally conduct Divine Liturgy and prayer sessions at the Church, including Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Church on the first Saturday evening and Sunday morning of each month; Saint Flannan Mission; and the Taizé Prayer Group.

The church grounds are a tranquil oasis in the busy heart of Singapore (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)