Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 33, Tuesday 9 June 2026

‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste how can its saltiness be restored?’ (Matthew 5: 13) … ‘Sal Sapit Omnia’ (‘Salt Savours All’), the motto of the Worshipful Company of Salters at the former gates of Salters’ Hall in London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and this week began with the First Sunday after Trinity (Trinity I, 7 June 2026).

The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remember Saint Columba (597), Abbot of Iona, Missionary, and Saint Ephrem of Syria (373), Deacon, Hymn Writer, Teacher of the Faith. 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, reading 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.

‘But if salt has lost its taste how can its saltiness be restored?’ (Matthew 5: 13) … salt on a café table in Cobh, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 5: 13-16 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden’ (Matthew 5: 14) … the lights of the Monastery of Serra do Pilar in Vila Nova de Gaia above Luiz I Bridge, the River Tagus and the city of Porto (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 5: 13-16) continues a series of weekday readings from the Sermon on the Mount that began with the Beatitudes yesterday. The scene opens with Christ leaving the crowds and climbing up the mountain, like Moses in the Book Exodus leaving the crowd behind him, and climbing Mount Sinai. In the Sermon on the Mount in Chapters 5 to 7, Saint Matthew presents us with a covenant renewal document.

The images of salt and light as explanations of true discipleship and true religion offer interesting illustrations of what true religion is.

In today’s reading, Christ uses two metaphors to show the disciples the essential qualities of being his followers.

The disciples are to be ‘the salt of the earth’ (verse 13). In reality, despite what is said here, salt does not easily lose its taste. However, in Judaism, salt symbolised purity and wisdom and was used to season incense and offerings to God in the Temple. Should it become ritually unclean, it had to be thrown out and was no longer to be used by the worshipping community or in its liturgies. Similarly, if Christians lose their faith they are no longer part of the worshipping community and its liturgy, and may as well be discarded or thrown out.

Roman soldiers were given salt rations and this sal is the origin of the word ‘salary.’ A soldier failing in battle or falling asleep at his post was ‘not worth his salt.’

The disciples are to be ‘the light of the world’ (verses 14-16). They are to stand out, like a city on a hill, and to lead others to Christ, who is a light to the Gentiles (see Luke 2: 32) and the true Light of the World (see John 8: 12).

As people of faith, let us be worth our salt; let us never lose our taste for justice, let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven.

‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket’ (Matthew 5: 15) … candles in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Rethymnon on the Greek island of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 9 June 2026):

In Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), the theme this week, from 7 to 13 June 2026 (pp 8-9), is ‘Safe Churches in Zambia’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update from Fran Mate, Senior Regional Manager for Africa, USPG.

The USPG prayer diary today (Tuesday 9 June 2026) invites us to pray:

God of hope, bless the knowledge being shared across the Church in Zambia. Raise up a new generation committed to safeguarding, justice, and faithful witness.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who filled the heart of Columba
with the joy of the Holy Spirit
and with deep love for those in his care:
may your pilgrim people follow him,
strong in faith, sustained by hope,
and one in the love that binds us to you;
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:

Holy Father,
who gathered us here around the table of your Son
to share this meal with the whole household of God:
in that new world where you reveal
the fullness of your peace,
gather people of every race and language
to share with Columba and all your saints
in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5: 16) … light lights up the parish church in Laytown, Co Meath, in the darkness (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: 32, Tuesday 10 June 2025

‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste how can its saltiness be restored?’ (Matthew 5: 13) … ‘Sal Sapit Omnia’ (‘Salt Savours All’), the motto of the Worshipful Company of Salters at the former gates of Salters’ Hall in London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The 50-day season of Easter, which began on Easter Day (20 April 2025), came to an end on Sunday with the Day of Pentecost or Whit Sunday (8 June 2025), and once again in the Church Calendar we are in Ordinary Time.

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, reading 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.

‘But if salt has lost its taste how can its saltiness be restored?’ (Matthew 5: 13) … salt on a café table in Cobh, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Matthew 5: 13-16 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden’ (Matthew 5: 14) … the lights of the Monastery of Serra do Pilar in Vila Nova de Gaia above Luiz I Bridge, the River Tagus and the city of Porto (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 5: 13-16) continues a series of weekday readings from the Sermon on the Mount that began with the Beatitudes yesterday. The scene opens with Christ leaving the crowds and climbing up the mountain, like Moses in the Book Exodus leaving the crowd behind him, and climbing Mount Sinai. In the Sermon on the Mount in Chapters 5 to 7, Saint Matthew presents us with a covenant renewal document.

The images of salt and light as explanations of true discipleship and true religion offer interesting illustrations of what true religion is.

In today’s reading, Christ uses two metaphors to show the disciples the essential qualities of being his followers.

The disciples are to be ‘the salt of the earth’ (verse 13). In reality, despite what is said here, salt does not easily lose its taste. However, in Judaism, salt symbolised purity and wisdom and was used to season incense and offerings to God in the Temple. Should it become ritually unclean, it had to be thrown out and was no longer to be used by the worshipping community or in its liturgies. Similarly, if Christians lose their faith they are no longer part of the worshipping community and its liturgy, and may as well be discarded or thrown out.

Roman soldiers were given salt rations and this sal is the origin of the word ‘salary.’ A soldier failing in battle or falling asleep at his post was ‘not worth his salt.’

The disciples are to be ‘the light of the world’ (verses 14-16). They are to stand out, like a city on a hill, and to lead others to Christ, who is a light to the Gentiles (see Luke 2: 32) and the true Light of the World (see John 8: 12).

As people of faith, let us be worth our salt; let us never lose our taste for justice, let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven.

‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket’ (Matthew 5: 15) … candles in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Rethymnon on the Greek island of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 10 June 2025):

‘Pentecost’ is the theme this week (8-14 June) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel). This theme was introduced on Sunday with reflections by Dr Paulo Ueti - Theological Advisor and Regional Manager for the Americas and the Caribbean, USPG.

The USPG prayer diary today (Tuesday 10 June 2025) invites us to pray:

Lord, help us to practise humility, truly listen to silenced voices, and recognise the worth and dignity of all people.

The Collect:

O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Gracious God, lover of all,
in this sacrament
we are one family in Christ your Son,
one in the sharing of his body and blood
and one in the communion of his Spirit:
help us to grow in love for one another
and come to the full maturity of the Body of Christ.
We make our prayer through your Son our Saviour.

The Collect on the Eve of Saint Barnabas:

Bountiful God, giver of all gifts,
who poured your Spirit upon your servant Barnabas
and gave him grace to encourage others:
help us, by his example,
to be generous in our judgements
and unselfish in our service;
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

‘Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5: 16) … light lights up the parish church in Laytown, Co Meath, in the darkness (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: 25, Thursday 27 February 2025

‘Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?’ (Mark 9: 50) … salt on café table in Cobh, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar. This week began with the Second Sunday before Lent (23 February 2025), and Lent begins next week on Ash Wednesday (5 March 2025).

The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today celebrates the life and work of George Herbert (1633), Priest, Poet. Before this day 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.

‘And if your eye causes you to stumble’ (Mark 9: 47) … the London Eye (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 9: 41-50 (NRSVA):

41 For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

42 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’

‘It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell’ (Mark 9: 47) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

In the Gospel reading at the Eucharist (Mark 9: 41-50), I should point out that verses 44 and 46 are omitted in most translations. This is not an error on my part or on the part of the translators or publishers, but because these are identical to verse 48, and are not found in the best ancient authorities.

To put the story in its context or setting, Christ and the disciples are in Capernaum. But on the way there, as we heard earlier this week (Mark 9: 30-37), the disciples were arguing with one another about who is the greatest. Christ has told them not to seek position or prestige.

We then read yesterday how one of the Twelve, John, complains that someone who is not part of their inner circle has been casting out demons in Christ’s name. But did the disciples welcome him? Did they praise him for bringing comfort to distressed people and for restoring them to a good quality of life?

Christ then rebukes the disciples for attempting to stop this exorcist who is curing in his name. On the other hand, Christ warns us against putting an obstacle or stumbling block in the way of ‘little ones.’ He reprimands the disciples for being smug and jealous and unwelcoming. Instead of being smug among themselves, arguing about who among them was the greatest, the disciples should have been like this man, bringing comfort to those who were in trouble, looking after those who were thirsty both physically and spiritually.

The disciples are warned against their enthusiasm and their values, like salt losing its saltiness (verse 49).

In reality, despite what is said here, salt does not easily lose its taste. However, in Judaism, salt symbolised purity and wisdom and was used to season incense and offerings to God in the Temple. Should it become ritually unclean, it had to be thrown out and was no longer to be used by the worshipping community or in its liturgies. Similarly, if Christians lose their faith they are no longer part of the worshipping community and its liturgy, and may as well be discarded or thrown out.

Roman soldiers were given salt rations and this Sal is the origin of the word ‘salary.’ A soldier failing in battle or falling asleep at his post was ‘not worth his salt.’

As people of faith, let us be worth our salt; let us never lose our taste for justice, let us be at peace with one another, and seek to bring peace and justice into this world, in season and out of season.

Stavropoleos Monastery in Bucharest is known for its Byzantine library and music … the reflections in the USPG prayer this week are from the Church of the Resurrection, Bucharest (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Thursday 27 February 2025):

This week marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 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 Grain of Wheat.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by the Revd Dr Nevsky Everett, chaplain of the Church of the Resurrection, Bucharest, Romania.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Thursday 27 February 2025) invites us to pray:

Lord, in the face of suffering, we ask for hope. Comfort the people of Ukraine, especially those who feel despair and grief. Let them experience your presence and hold fast to the hope that you bring, even in the darkest of times.

The Collect:

King of glory, king of peace,
who called your servant George Herbert
from the pursuit of worldly honours
to be a priest in the temple of his God and king:
grant us also the grace to offer ourselves
with singleness of heart in humble obedience to your service;
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, shepherd of your people,
whose servant George Herbert 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

The church and the monastery of Stavropoleos in Bucharest are richly decorated … the reflections in the USPG prayer this week are from the Church of the Resurrection, Bucharest (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 prayers in the Kingdom Season with USPG: (28) 2 December 2023

Eric Gill’s last work is the Crucifixion in the Chapel of Saint George and the English Martyrs in Westminster Cathedral, showing the Crucified Christ as Christ the King (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

In this time between All Saints’ Day and Advent Sunday, we have been in the Kingdom Season in the Calendar of the Church of England. Advent begins tomorrow with Advent Sunday or the First Sunday of Advent (3 December 2023).

There is a lot of activity in Stony Stratford later today, including street dancing and music, the Christmas Fayre in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, the Lantern Parade this afternoon and switching on the lights on the Christmas Tree in Market Square at 5 pm.

But, before this day begins, I am taking some time for prayer and reflection early this morning.

Since the Feast of Christ the King last Sunday (26 November), I have been reflecting each day this week, I have been reflecting on Christ the King, as seen in churches and cathedrals I know or I have visited. My reflections have followed this pattern:

1, A reflection on Christ the King;

2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

The Byzantine-style mosaic in the tympanum in Westminster Cathedral shows Christ as the enthroned Pantocrator (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Christ the King in five cathedrals:

To conclude this week’s series of reflections on the theme of Christ the King, this morning I am looking at six images of Christ the King in five cathedrals: Westminster, Coventry, Llandaff, Cobh and Torcello, in four countries – England, Wales, Ireland and Italy.

I know of at least two images in Westminster Cathedral depicting Christ as Christ the King. John Betjeman once called the cathedral ‘a masterpiece in striped brick and stone in an intricate pattern of bonding, the domes being all-brick in order to prove that the good craftsman has no need of steel or concrete.’ HS Goodhart-Rendel, in his English Architecture since the Regency, says it is ‘a work of extraordinary beauty and grandeur.’

After two false starts, building started in 1895 under Cardinal Herbert Vaughan (1832-1903) Archbishop of Westminster, with John Francis Bentley (1839-1902) as the architect. The cathedral was dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Latin dedication above the portal arch reads: Domine Jesus Rex et Redemptor per Sanguinem tuum salva nos, ‘Lord Jesus, King and Redeemer, heal us through your blood.’

The Blessed Sacrament Chapel was decorated in 1960-1962 in a traditional, early Christian style. The mosaics were designed, Boris Anrep, also known for his decorations in the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

One image of Christ the King in Westminster Cathedral is by the English sculptor Eric Gill. The Stations of the Cross and the carving of the Crucifixion in the Chapel of Saint George and the English Martyrs are among the finest examples of Gill’s work.

The Crucifixion above the Altar in the Chapel of Saint George and the English Martyrs is the last work by Gill, who died in 1940. It shows Christ not as a victim but gloriously triumphant over death. On the left stands Saint Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, and on the right Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, both executed on the orders of King Henry VIII in 1535.

The second image of Christ the King in Westminster Cathedral is in the deeply recessed arch over the main, central entrance. The tympanum shows in a Byzantine-style mosaic (from left to right), Saint Peter kneeling with the Keys of Heaven, the Virgin Mary, Christ as the enthroned Pantocrator, Saint Joseph holding a lily, and King Edward the Confessor kneeling in royal regalia.

Christ blesses the world with his right hand, and in his left hand he holds the Book of Life, with the Latin inscription: Ego sum ostium per me si quis introierit salvabitur, ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved’ (John 10: 9).

In Coventry Cathedral, Graham Sutherland’s powerful tapestry. ‘Christ in Glory,’ depicts the risen Christ in the glory of God in Heaven. The tapestry is in the Lady Chapel and dominates the view along the cathedral nave.

The design depicts Christ seated in a mandorla or almond-shaped aura of light – often used in mediaeval art to show Christ as a divine being. The figure of Christ is surrounded by beasts representing the four evangelists – Mark (winged lion), John (eagle), Luke (calf) and Matthew (winged man) – as well as an image of Saint Michael, to whom the cathedral is dedicated.

The design and creation of the tapestry preoccupied Sutherland for almost a decade. The tapestry measures 23 metres tall, 12 metres wide, weighs about a ton and has over 900 colours. It was woven in one continuous piece by hand, from behind, on a 500-year-old loom made from two tree trunks, in a workshop near Aubusson in France. It is made from Australian and French wool that was hand-dyed using water from the local river.

Sir Jacob Epstein worked closely with Sir Basil Spence and Graham Sutherland in Coventry Cathedral.

Epstein’s ‘Majestas’ in Llandaff Cathedral was commissioned by the Dean and Chapter with funds allocated to replace stained glass lost in bombing during World War II. Christ looks not at the congregation at his feet but through the clear glass of the cathedral west to the wider world beyond. The aluminium figure is 16 ft high, weighs 7 cwt and was cast by the Morris-Singer works in Lambeth.

On the eve of the rehallowing of the nave on 10 April 1957, Bob Evans, the new curate of Llandaff, found himself sitting silently in the nave alongside Epstein. He asked the sculptor: ‘Was it difficult for you, a practicing Jew, to create a Christ for a Christian congregation?’

Epstein replied, ‘All my life I have searched for truth and beauty and, in the end, I discovered that it is in the idea of the Christ that they are to be found.’

After Epstein died in 1959, the original plaster figure from which his Majestas was cast was gilded and moved to Riverside Church in New York.

Christ the King is depicted in in the central tympanum of Saint Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh, Co Cork. Christ is seen with the emblems of the four evangelists: Matthew (winged man), Mark (lion), Luke (bull) and John (eagle). The composition includes Saint Patrick (right) and Saint Ita (left). The Twelve Apostles are in the lintel (from left): Philip, Thomas, James the Greater, John the Apostle, Simon the Zealot and Peter; and right Paul, Matthew, Matthias, Andrew, Bartholomew and James the Lesser.

On the island of Torcello in the lagoon of Venice, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is a magnificent Byzantine-Italian cathedral. It rises above the island, with the Bell Tower and Church of Santa Fosca alongside.

The cathedral was founded in 639, and underwent radical rebuilding in 1008. The basilica includes many earlier features, and has much 11th and 12th century Byzantine work.

The mosaic in the right apse depicts Christ Pantocrator enthroned between two archangels, Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel, with the Lamb of God in a medallion of the vault.

‘Christ in Glory’ … Graham Sutherland’s powerful tapestry in Coventry Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 21: 34-36 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] 34 ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’

Sir Jacob Epstein’s figure, ‘Christ in Majesty,’ is raised above the nave in Llandaff Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Saturday 2 December 2023):

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), has been ‘Preventing Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission.’ This theme was introduced last Sunday.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (2 December 2023) invites us to pray in these words:

As we prepare for Advent Loving Lord, let us be reminded that you are a light to the world.

Christ the King in the central tympanum of Saint Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Collect:

Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people;
that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by you be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This Post Communion Prayer may be used as the Collect at Morning and Evening Prayer during this week.

Additional Collect

God the Father,
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, one glory.

Collect on the Eve of Advent I:

Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Yesterday’s Reflection (Church of Christ the Saviour, Ealing Broadway)

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

Christ Pantocrator enthroned between the Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel, in the south apse of the basilica in Torcello in Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Praying with the Psalms in Ordinary Time: 22 June 2022 (Psalm 119)

‘I am deeply troubled; preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word’ (Psalm 119: 107) … street art in Plaza de la Judería in Malaga (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

In the Calendar of the Church, we are in Ordinary Time. Before today begins, I am taking some time this morning to continue my reflections drawing on the Psalms.

In my blog, I am reflecting each morning in this Prayer Diary in these ways:

1, Short reflections on a psalm or psalms;

2, reading the psalm or psalms;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

‘Do not let me stray’ (Psalm 119: 10) … street signs in Cobh, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 119:

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible; with 176 verses, this is also the longest chapter in the Bible. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, this is counted as Psalm 118. It is often known by the Latin name it takes from its opening words, Beati inmaculati in via qui ambulant in lege Domini.

The psalm is a hymn psalm and an acrostic poem, in which each set of eight verses begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The theme of the verses is the prayer of one who delights in and lives by the Torah, the sacred law. Psalms 1, 19 and 119 may be referred to as ‘the psalms of the Law.’

The 176 verses are divided into 22 stanzas, one for each of the 22 characters in the Hebrew alphabet. In the Hebrew text, each of the eight verses of each stanza begins with the same Hebrew letter. This feature was not maintained in the Septuagint, except that many manuscripts have placed at the beginning of each stanza the name of the corresponding Hebrew letter. For example, א (ʾalef) is the first stanza (verses 1-8), and ת (taw) is the last (verses 169-176).

Because of this structure, the Psalm was one of the main occurrences of the Hebrew alphabet in mediaeval texts.

The name of God appears 24 times in this psalm. Almost every verse uses is a synonym for the Torah, such as dabar (‘word, promise’) or mishpatim (‘rulings’).

The acrostic form and the use of the Torah words constitute the framework for an elaborate prayer. The grounds for the prayer are established in the first two stanzas (א alef and ב beth): the Torah is a source of blessing and right conduct, and the psalmist pledges to dedicate himself to the law.

The prayer proper begins in the third stanza (ג gimel, verse 17-24).

Like many other psalms, the prayers includes dramatic lament (see verses 81-88), joyous praise (see verses 45-48) and prayers for life, deliverance and vindication (see verses 132-34).

Psalm 119 is unique in the way that these requests are continually and explicitly grounded in the gift of the Torah and the psalmist’s loyalty to it.

The first and fifth verses in a stanza often state the same theme followed by a statement of opposition, affliction or conflict, and the final (eighth) verse tends to be a transition introducing the next stanza.

Psalm 119 incorporates several dozen prayers. The themes found in this psalm include human opposition, affliction, delight in the law and the goodness of God, which sometimes run into each other.

At times, the psalmist seems to appeal to God’s sovereignty, so that God as sovereign is invoked (see verse 36), while the Psalmist also takes personal responsibility (see verse 112). The psalm ends with an appeal to God to seek his servant who strayed.

The whole psalm is in praise of the Law, the expression of God’s covenant with humanity in the Old Testament, and of keeping it. The emphasis is on the love and desire for the word of God in Israel’s law, rather than on legalism.

The Psalmist too is challenged to consider his own need for patience and endurance, to see not his immediate predicament but to look to the future. He thinks he is a failure because of his present circumstances, but does the rejection he feels today shape his tomorrow?

‘Your statutes have been my songs wherever I make my home’ (Psalm 119: 54) … a £119 price tag on a violin in a shop window in Cambridge … Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Psalm 119 (NRSVA):

א, Alef

1 Happy are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord.
2 Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 O that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous ordinances.
8 I will observe your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.

ב, Beth

9 How can young people keep their way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

ג, Gimmel

17 Deal bountifully with your servant,
so that I may live and observe your word.
18 Open my eyes, so that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
19 I live as an alien in the land;
do not hide your commandments from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments;
22 take away from me their scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your decrees.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your decrees are my delight,
they are my counsellors.

ד, Daleth

25 My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to your word.
26 When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28 My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
29 Put false ways far from me;
and graciously teach me your law.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your ordinances before me.
31 I cling to your decrees, O Lord;
let me not be put to shame.
32 I run the way of your commandments,
for you enlarge my understanding.

ה, He'

33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,
and I will observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
36 Turn my heart to your decrees,
and not to selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
give me life in your ways.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,
which is for those who fear you.
39 Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
for your ordinances are good.
40 See, I have longed for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life.

ו, Waw

41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,
your salvation according to your promise.
42 Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your ordinances.
44 I will keep your law continually,
for ever and ever.
45 I shall walk at liberty,
for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will also speak of your decrees before kings,
and shall not be put to shame;
47 I find my delight in your commandments,
because I love them.
48 I revere your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.

ז, Zayin

49 Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.
51 The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.
52 When I think of your ordinances from of old,
I take comfort, O Lord.
53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
those who forsake your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
and keep your law.
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
for I have kept your precepts.

ח, Ḫeth

57 The Lord is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.
58 I implore your favour with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
59 When I think of your ways,
I turn my feet to your decrees;
60 I hurry and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous ordinances.
63 I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes.

ט, Ṭeth

65 You have dealt well with your servant,
O Lord, according to your word.
66 Teach me good judgement and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was humbled I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
70 Their hearts are fat and gross,
but I delight in your law.
71 It is good for me that I was humbled,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

י, Yudh

73 Your hands have made and fashioned me;
give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your judgements are right,
and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
76 Let your steadfast love become my comfort
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
so that they may know your decrees.
80 May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.

כ, Kaf

81 My soul languishes for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
I ask, ‘When will you comfort me?’
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they flout your law.
86 All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth;
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love spare my life,
so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

ל, Lamedh

89 The Lord exists for ever;
your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand today,
for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my misery.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

מ, Mem

97 Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
101 I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
102 I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.

נ, Nun

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
107 I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word.
108 Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
and teach me your ordinances.
109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your decrees are my heritage for ever;
they are the joy of my heart.
112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes
for ever, to the end.

ס, Samekh

113 I hate the double-minded,
but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding-place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
115 Go away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope.
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually.
118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;
for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;
therefore I love your decrees.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgements.

ע, ʿAyin

121 I have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee your servant’s well-being;
do not let the godless oppress me.
123 My eyes fail from watching for your salvation,
and for the fulfilment of your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
so that I may know your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
for your law has been broken.
127 Truly I love your commandments
more than gold, more than fine gold.
128 Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;
I hate every false way.

פ, Peʾ

129 Your decrees are wonderful;
therefore my soul keeps them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
131 With open mouth I pant,
because I long for your commandments.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your custom towards those who love your name.
133 Keep my steps steady according to your promise,
and never let iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may keep your precepts.
135 Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears
because your law is not kept.

צ, Ṣadheh

137 You are righteous, O Lord,
and your judgements are right.
138 You have appointed your decrees in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your law is the truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your decrees are righteous for ever;
give me understanding that I may live.

ק, Quf

145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord.
I will keep your statutes.
146 I cry to you; save me,
that I may observe your decrees.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I put my hope in your words.
148 My eyes are awake before each watch of the night,
that I may meditate on your promise.
149 In your steadfast love hear my voice;
O Lord, in your justice preserve my life.
150 Those who persecute me with evil purpose draw near;
they are far from your law.
151 Yet you are near, O Lord,
and all your commandments are true.
152 Long ago I learned from your decrees
that you have established them for ever.

ר, Resh

153 Look on my misery and rescue me,
for I do not forget your law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me;
give me life according to your promise.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Great is your mercy, O Lord;
give me life according to your justice.
157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
yet I do not swerve from your decrees.
158 I look at the faithless with disgust,
because they do not keep your commands.
159 Consider how I love your precepts;
preserve my life according to your steadfast love.
160 The sum of your word is truth;
and every one of your righteous ordinances endures for ever.

ש, Śin/Shin

161 Princes persecute me without cause,
but my heart stands in awe of your words.
162 I rejoice at your word
like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous ordinances.
165 Great peace have those who love your law;
nothing can make them stumble.
166 I hope for your salvation, O Lord,
and I fulfil your commandments.
167 My soul keeps your decrees;
I love them exceedingly.
168 I keep your precepts and decrees,
for all my ways are before you.

ת, Taw

169 Let my cry come before you, O Lord;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 Let my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.
171 My lips will pour forth praise,
because you teach me your statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of your promise,
for all your commandments are right.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.
175 Let me live that I may praise you,
and let your ordinances help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.

‘Hebrew Columns’ painted by schoolchildren in the ‘Holy Writ’ exhibition in Lichfield Cathedral in 2014 … the 176 verses in Psalm 119 are divided into 22 stanzas, one for each of the 22 characters in the Hebrew alphabet (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayer:

The theme this week in the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) is the Swarupantor programme in the Church of Bangladesh. This theme was introduced on Sunday.

Wednesday 22 June 2022:

The USPG Prayer invites us to pray today in these words:

Let us pray for those around the world who have been affected by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. May they be supported to find secure and fair employment.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

At 176 verses, the composer of Psalm 119 has written the longest chapter in the Bible … the composer Eric Coates lived at Flat 176 in Baker Street, London (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 Hebrew letters inserted by Patrick Comerford, 2022.

Welcoming Christ as King in the week before Advent

‘Christ in Glory’ … Graham Sutherland’s tapestry above the High Altar in Coventry Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday 21 November 2021

The Sunday before Advent, the Kingship of Christ

9:30 a.m.: Morning Prayer, Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick

11:30 a.m.: The Parish Eucharist, Saint Brendan’s Church, Kilnaughtin (Tarbert), Co Kerry

The Readings: II Samuel 23: 1-7; Psalm 132: 1-12 (13-18); Revelation 1: 4b-8; John 18: 33-37.

The readings can be found HERE.

Sir Jacob Epstein’s figure, ‘Christ in Majesty,’ is raised above the nave on a concrete arch designed by George Pace (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

The Christmas decorations, including trees and lights, are up in the streets and the shops in the city centre in Limerick. We are still more than a full calendar month away from Christmas Eve, but already the Shopping Centres would have us believe Christmas has arrived as shop owners and traders try to breathe a festive air into our lives.

They badly need that business this year, I suppose, after the experiences of last year.

Unlike some friends in England who have already got their first Christmas card, I have yet to receive one.

Despite the lights and the late nights, Christ is at the heart of Christmas, and that waiting for Christ, anticipating Christ, should be at the heart of the Advent season, which begins next Sunday (28 November).

Advent is the season of preparing for Christmas, and in the weeks before Advent we even prepare for Advent itself, with readings telling us about the Coming of Christ.

We have made Christmas a far-too comfortable story. It was never meant to be, but we have made it comfortable with our Christmas card images of the sweet little baby Jesus, being visited by kings and surrounded by adoring, cute little animals and hosts of fluffy white angels. The reality, of course, is that Christmas was never meant to be a comfortable story.

Christmas is a story about poverty and about people who are homeless and rejected and who can find no place to stay.

It is a messy story about a child born surrounded by the filth of animals and the dirt of squalor.

It is a story of shepherds who are involved in dangerous work, staying up all night, out in the winter cold, watching out for wolves and sheep stealers.

It is a story of trickery, deceit and the corruption of political power that eventually leads to a cruel dictator stooping to murder, even the murder of innocent children, to secure his own grip on power.

But these sorts of images do not sell Christmas Cards or help to get the boss drunk under the mistletoe at the office party.

That is why – in these weeks before Advent – we have readings that remind us what the coming of Christ into the world means, what the Kingdom of God is like, and how we should prepare for the coming of Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

The promise of Advent is emphasised in the reading from the Book of Revelation: ‘Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him’ (Revelation 1: 7).

Marking the Sunday before Advent by crowning Christ as King helps us to focus on Advent from next Sunday, and Advent is supposed to be a time and a season of preparing for the coming of Christ.

Kings may not be a good role model in this part of Ireland or for people living in modern democratic societies where the heads of state are elected. Nor are the models of kingship in history or in contemporary society so good. It is worth asking some questions:

What do you think a good king or a good ruler – a good president or good prime minister – should be like?

Without descending into party politics or party favouritism, how do you think a good ruler should behave in the interests of his or her people?

Do you remember how, as children, we would play games like ‘three wishes’? If you had to make decisions for this country – indeed, if you had to make decisions for the future of the world – what three priorities would rise to the top of your list?

Our Psalm this morning (Psalm 132: 1-12) tells us of King David’s determination to build a house for God. God is asked to remember David’s diligence in finding a proper place for God’s sanctuary.

But, if I had the task of building a house for God, who would be welcome there? And who am I in danger of excluding?

In our second reading (Revelation 1: 4b-8), Saint John writes to the Church as if we are gathered before the throne of God, and reminds us that God has made us a kingdom and made us priests serving God, mediators between God and the rest of humanity.

Christ comes again at the end of the age as judge and king, he is the beginning and the end, the Alpha (Α) and the Omega (Ω), the sovereign over all, the one who was, and is, and is to come. Do my three wishes reflect his hopes and his love for humanity, for creation?

Our Gospel reading (John 18: 33-37), at the moment when Christ is on trial before Pilate, might, at first reading, seem a more appropriate reading for Holy Week than the week before Advent, a more appropriate preparation for Easter than for Christmas.

But at this stage, Pilate demands to know whether Christ is a King: ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ (John 18: 33).

And he answers: ‘My kingdom is not from this world … For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice’ (John 18: 36-37).

Christ comes not just as a cute cuddly babe wrapped up in the manger and under the floodlights of a front window in a large department store. We are also preparing for the coming of Christ as King.

In this reading, Christ rejects all dysfunctional models of majesty and kingship. He is not happy with Pilate trying to project onto him models of kingship that are taken from the haughty and the aloof, the daft and the barmy, or the despotic and the tyrannical.

As he is being tortured and crucified, his tormentors and detractors still try to project these models of kingship onto Christ as they whip him and beat him to humility, as they crown him with thorns and mock him, and finally as he is crucified for all the world to see.

What sort of a king did Pilate expect Christ to be?

Indeed, what does majesty and graciousness mean for you today?

If I had three wishes for my community, my country, my continent, my world, would they, in truth, reflect my own selfish interests and those of my own inner circle?

Or, in truth, would they reflect the values of Christ, the coming King whose reign is marked by justice and mercy, peace and love?

Would I be found among those who belong to the truth and listen to his voice?

And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Christ the King … a stained glass window in Mount Melleray Abbey, Cappoquin, Co Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 18: 33-37 (NRSVA):

33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ 34 Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?’ 35 Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?’ 36 Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ 37 Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’

‘Condemned’ … Christ before Pilate in Station 1 of the Stations of the Cross in the Chapel at Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield, Pilate condemns Jesus to die (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical Colour: White (the Kingship of Christ)

The Collect:

Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
Keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Collect of the Word:

Everlasting God,
whose will is to restore all things
in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King:
grant that the people of earth,
now divided and enslaved by sin,
may be freed and brought together
under his gentle and loving rule;
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Post-Communion Prayer:

Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people;
that plenteously bearing the fruit of good works
they may by you be plenteously rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Post-Communion Prayer (Mission):

Eternal Giver of love and power,
your Son Jesus Christ has sent us into all the world
to preach the gospel of his kingdom.
Confirm us in this mission,
and help us to live the good news we proclaim;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ the King, surrounded by the Four Evangelists, saints and apostles above the West Door of Cobh Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2020)

Hymns:

6, Immortal, invisible, God only wise (CD 1)
263, Crown him with many crowns (CD 16)
321, Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty (CD 19)

Christ enthroned between two archangels, Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel, in the south apse in the Church of Santa Fosca in Torcello in the Lagoon of Venice (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

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

‘Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’

The Scroll of Esther in a synagogue in Prague … this is the only book in the Bible not to mention God’s name (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday 26 September 2021

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVII)

9.30 a.m.: Morning Prayer, Castletown Church

11.30 a.m.: Parish Eucharist, Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale

Readings: Esther 7: 1-6, 9-10, 9: 20-22; Psalm 124; Mark 9: 38-50.

The Megillah or Scroll of Esther (bottom right) in an exhibition in a synagogue in Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

May I speak to you in name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Our first reading this morning, despite its tragic background, is part of a book that creates entertaining and rowdy occasions in synagogues to this day.

But there is a more serious context to this reading, and both our first reading and our Gospel reading are serious warnings against the consequences of plotting and scheming that could destroy the innocence of children and the quality of life in wider society.

The first reading is one that creates entertaining and rowdy occasions in synagogues to this day. As the story of Esther is read at the festival of Purim, usually in March [16 to 17 March 2022], synagogues are crowded, the adults wearing their best Sabbath clothes, and the children, and some adults too, dressed up in colourful costumes, funny beards and playful masks.

Children in particular enjoy dressing up as the characters in the Book of Esther, including King Xerxes, the banished queen Vashti, Queen Esther, her cousin Mordecai and the evil, scheming Haman.

In some communities, they still burn an effigy of Haman. So for Jewish communities, Purim is like Hallowe’en, Carnival, Mardi Gras and Guy Fawkes Night … all rolled into one, and usually focussed on children.

Purim and Hanukkah are two Jewish festivals that are not prescribed in Mosaic law. Indeed, the Megillah or Scroll of Esther is the only book in the Bible not to mention God’s name. It tells the story of the villain Haman who plots the genocide of the Jews in Persia.

Whenever his name is mentioned during the reading, everyone in the synagogue boos and hisses and stamps their feet, and they make a racket with graggers or rattles and cymbals. We have done this once before. This is the only time we get to read from the Book of Esther, so let’s do it again this morning.

The purpose of all this fun is to blot out the name of Haman. Originally, when his name was read, the congregation would shout ‘Cursed be Haman,’ or ‘May the name of the wicked rot!’

Any noise will do, and it is a mitzvah that Jewish people should eat, drink and be merry at Purim. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until they cannot tell the difference between ‘Cursed be Haman’ and ‘Blessed be Mordecai’ … although opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is.

In this morning’s reading, we can tell the difference, for we have the end of the story: Haman the villain is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai, and Mordecai is given Haman’s job.

There is no reference to God at all throughout this book. But a later tradition grew up in Judaism that Esther was protected by the Archangel Michael, whose feast day falls on Wednesday [29 September 2021].

So, why is the story of Esther so important, even though there is no reference to God in this story?

This story of Xerxes and Esther, Mordecai and Haman, is not relevant for Jews alone today. It is a story that reminds us constantly, with or without reference to God, that there are always people who plan and plot evil on a grand scale, happy to wallow in the misery and deaths of millions, men, women and children.

The fate of Haman – and of the 70,000 Persians over three days – may seem unconscionable by today’s standards. But it is not their executions, but rather the plots they planned to execute that faithful Jews are asked to recall at Purim.

During the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions, Jews who had been forced to convert to Christianity, proclaimed their hidden identity to one another by having domestic shrines to Saint Esther … an insider symbol of resistance to prejudice and persecution.

On a recent visit to Berlin, I was reminded that while Haman and Hitler planned and plotted on a grand scale, there are always people who plot and plan evil and the destruction of innocence on varying scales of intensity and application.

We would be naïve to ever underestimate the capacity of people to do evil, nor ever undervalue the importance of our contribution to protecting the vulnerable, the frightened and the victimised children in our society today.

When we realise that we have been saved from disasters or from our enemies. When sorrow has been turned into gladness and mourning into a holiday, we should not only feast and celebrate among ourselves but also mark these as ‘days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor’ (Esther 9: 22).

I sometimes wonder how the story of Esther was read by Jews during the Holocaust, how they could possibly have sung the words of this morning’s Psalm:

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side
– let Israel now say –
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us … – (Psalm 124: 1-3)

But during that visit to Berlin, I came across a story told by Professor Menachem Rosensaft, who was born in the displaced persons camp at Bergen-Belsen.

He later learned how Janusz Korczak, ‘the Good Doctor of Warsaw,’ had set up an orphanage in Warsaw. When the Nazis came, he had an opportunity to leave the children behind and escape himself. Instead, he stayed with these children on the train to Treblinka and the gas chambers.

Abandoned by the world, Janusz did not want these children to feel they had been abandoned by him too.

At Bergen-Belsen, Menachem Rosensaft’s own mother and several other Jewish women took care of the abandoned children in the concentration camp. She said, ‘We gave them all our love and whatever strength was left within us.’

Many years later, Menachem Rosensaft could write:

‘If God was at Treblinka, I want to believe that he was within Janusz Korczak as he accompanied his children to their death. I feel certain that the mystical divine spark … was within my mother as she and other women in her group rescued 149 Jewish children from almost certain death at Bergen-Belsen.’

The story of Esther is a reminder that even when God’s name is not mentioned or invoked, even when we think God is absent, God can act through the decisions of others and through the ways of the world to protect the rights of the vulnerable, the abused and the violated.

For, as the Psalmist says this morning:

Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. (Psalm 124: 8)

In the Gospel reading (Mark 9: 38-50), one of the Twelve, John, complains that someone who is not part of their inner circle has been casting out evil in Christ’s name.

But did the disciples welcome him?

Did they praise him for bringing comfort to distressed people and for restoring them to a good quality of life?

Christ rebukes the disciples for attempting to stop those who challenge evil and who do good. Just as the Book of Esther makes no mention of God, we are reminded in this Gospel reading here that God can work even through those who are not followers of Christ.

And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

‘… the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday … they should make … days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor’ (Esther 9: 22) … trinkets on sale in the Jewish Quarter in Kraków (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 9: 38-50 (NRSV):

38 John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ 39 But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

42 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

49 ‘For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’

‘Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?’ (Mark 9: 50) … salt on café table in Cobh, Co Cork (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical Colour: Green.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God:
Increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Collect of the Word:

O God,
your Son has taught us
that those who give a cup of water in his name
will not lose their reward:
open our eyes to see those who are in need,
and teach us to set no store by riches
and earthly rewards,
so that, in surrendering ourselves
to serve you in your children,
we may labour for the treasure that endures;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

All praise and thanks, O Christ,
for this sacred banquet,
in which by faith we receive you,
the memory of your passion is renewed,
our lives are filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory given,
to feast at that table where you reign
with all your saints for ever.

Hymns:

372, Through all the changing scenes of life (CD 22)
553, Jesu, lover of my soul (CD 32)



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