Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 121, Sunday 6 September 2026, Creation in Christ, Trinity XIV

‘All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being’ (John 1: 3) … Christ the Pantocrator in the dome of the parish church in Panormos in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and today is the Festival of Creation in Christ or the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIV, 6 September 2026).

This weekend includes the Festal Weekend in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, coming between the Feast of Saint Giles (1 September) and the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September). There were children’s activities in the church yesterday, a Festal Eucharist this morning at which I hope to sing with the choir, and Calverton Fete is at All Saints’ Church, Calverton, this afternoon.

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.

‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’ (John 1: 5) … light pours into the darkness in the Church of the Transfiguration in Piskopiano in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 1: 1-14 (NRSVA):

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

The statue of Pythagoras (1989) by Nikolaos Ikaris (1920-1994) on the harbour front in Pythagóreio on the Greek island of Samos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

The Prologue to Saint John’s Gospel is the traditional Gospel reading on Christmas morning. Now we hear it again this morning (John 1: 1-14), when the Church Calendar in the Church of England marks Creation in Christ.

These opening verses in Saint John’s Gospel are like the opening verses of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis. They talk of a new creation, and a creation in which God is pleased, God is very pleased.

In this reading, we are introduced to key concepts in Saint John’s thinking: word or logos (λόγος, logos), life (ζωή, zoe), light (φῶς, phos), belief and being sent, testimony or witness, truth, and the cosmos (κόσμος, cosmos).

The word cosmos appears in this passage four times, and later, when Saint John goes on to tell us that ‘God so loved the world …’, he actually says ‘God so loved the cosmos that he sent his only Son …’ (John 3: 16).

The cosmos is the Universe, but the word specifically refers to a complex and orderly system or entity, the very opposite of chaos. The word cosmos gives us words in the English language like: cosmology, trying to understand the reasons for existence and its significance; or, more simply, cosmetics, an equal presence of order and beauty, an attempt to bring order or even beauty to the chaos of our skin, our facial appearance.

The term was first used by the Greek philosopher Pythagoras (ca 570 BCE to ca 495 BCE), the philosopher we remember because everyone in school learned the theorem to which he gives his name: ‘The square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.’

Pythagoras lived on the Greek island of Samos, and he influenced every Greek philosopher who came after him, including Plato and Aristotle. He is said to have been the first to prove that the earth is a sphere; he shaped how we think of numbers and musical notation, the perfect consonances of music; he taught the immortality of the soul; … and he was the first philosopher to develop the concept of the cosmos, the harmony of the created universe.

His followers, the Pythagoreans, believed in a superior divinity, the One God, above all other gods. Because of this belief in one God, and their rejection of the pantheon of mythical Greek gods, Pythagoras and his followers were labelled as atheists.

He was the first philosopher to give the word cosmos to the universe on the basis of his concepts of order and harmony which he believed govern all things.

He said that humanity and the universe are made in the image and likeness of God, and that understanding God, the universe and humanity are inter-connected.

In Pythagorean thinking, the cosmos is not just the whole world, but the whole universe, the whole created order; it is the earth and all that encircles the earth like its skin.

For Pythagoras, all things are related, just as in an ecosystem. In this thinking, the universe is a living organism and not an inanimate machine.

His followers compared a just and well-ordered society to a well-tuned lyre. While each note retains its individuality, all are proportionally linked together in a larger whole to form a musical scale, and all are interdependent in terms of their reliance on one another (Plato, Republic 443 D-444). Justice is present in any well-functioning organism, society, and the soul.

The word cosmopolitan, an important concept in modern philosophy and political discourse, is, of course, derived from the κοσμοπολίτης (kosmopoliítes) found in classical and koine Greek, formed from the words κόσμος (kosmos), world, universe, cosmos or created order, and πολίτης (politês), citizen, one of a city.

Contemporary usage defines the term as ‘citizen of the world’. But the word cosmopolitan was coined by the Greek philosopher Diogenes the Cynic or Diogenes of Sinope in the fourth century BCE. When Diogenes was asked from what city he hailed, he replied that he was a citizen of the world, κόσμος πολίτης (kósmos polítēs), or κοσμοπολίτης (kosmopolites), a citizen of the world, rejecting narrow local loyalties.

The plural, κόσμου πολῖται (kosmou politai), means ‘citizens of the world’ or even ‘citizens of the universe’, of the whole created order. The phrase originates from Cynic and Stoic philosophy, describing the idea that human beings belong to a single, universal community rather than being defined solely by their local city-state or nation. At the time, the broadest basis of social identity among Greeks was either the individual city-state or the culturally and linguistically homogeneous Hellenic group.

Diogenes lived from ca 413/403 to ca 324/321 BCE, and he was one of the founders of Cynicism. He was renowned for his ascetic lifestyle and radical critiques of social conventions, and he became a legendary figure whose life and teachings have been recounted, often through anecdote, in both antiquity and modernity. He Diogenes advocated a return to nature, the renunciation of wealth, and introduced early ideas of cosmopolitanism by proclaiming himself a citizen of the world. Rather than declaring his lineage, city, social class, or gender, he defined himself as a human being, implicitly asserting the equal worth of all human beings.

When Saint John the Divine wrote the Book of Revelation, he was in exile on Patmos, the neighbouring island of Samos, where Pythagoras was born, and like Pythagoras, he too was in exile in a cave.

So, is it any wonder that the idea of the cosmos, the harmony of the created universe, is a key concept in the writings of Saint John?

The word cosmos occurs 188 times in the New Testament, and the vast majority of these occurrences (104) are in Saint John’s Gospel and his three letters.

The first use of the word cosmos in the New Testament is in the Gospel reading this morning. When Saint John uses the word here – ‘He was in the cosmos, and the cosmos came into being because of him’ (John 1: 10) – he is referring not to humanity, not to the world as our planet Earth, but to the created universe, the sum total of everything, not here and now but past, present and future, the orderly universe created by God to be in harmony.

When we care for the cosmos, the created order, we reflect the life of Christ. It is not a marginal, side issue for the Church, but it is at the heart of the mission of the Church, because it is at the heart of why the Word has become flesh and dwells among us (John 1: 14).

The fifth of the five marks of mission agreed in the Anglican Communion is: ‘To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and re-new the life of the earth.’

As we celebrate Creation in Christ and continue to mark Creation Time, it is good to be reminded that the care of creation, the cosmos, is not an added-on extra to our priorities in mission; rather, it underpins and explains all we do in mission. When we care for the cosmos, the integrity of creation, we are being like Christ.

The Tower of Lysicrates in the Plaka in Athens was once known as the Lantern of Diogenes (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Sunday 6 September 2026, Creation in Christ):

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 6 to 12 September 2026 (pp 36-37), is ‘Turning Pain into Glory’. This theme is introduced today with a Reflection by Nolene Sheppard, Leader of a Women’s Empowerment Group, Magnificat, and Ukraine Aid Project Support Lead at Saint Thomas à Becket, Hamburg, Germany:

It was a deep pain that hurt so bad it made me feel sick. I looked into the mirror and saw black and brown lines. The image couldn’t possibly be me - an unrecognisable, swollen face. My head continued to spin out of control. All I felt was helplessness, anger and frustration.

Traumatic experiences like these are not an unusual experience – a first for me, but nothing that other women haven’t experienced. Could I find my way back from the depths of such overwhelming despair? How can I do this when I am in a country where I am a foreigner, and at a disadvantage in every aspect of the word.

“Are other women going through this same emotional and psychological torture due to similar experiences?”, I asked myself. The findings were overwhelming. With the power of prayer, I knew I was not walking the journey back to the top on my own. God was at my side every step of the way. He showed me the path, gave me wisdom, strength and vision.

Now on a road better than I could have ever imagined, in the same country, I created a group within the English Anglican Church in Hamburg called “Magnificat”. This group is all about empowering women. We give financial support to Ukrainian refugees, made up of women and children, in Romania and put on activities for women in Hamburg too. I listen to each of their stories. It’s been a year now and the bond is still there. Magnificat continues to uplift them, as it does me.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 6 September 2026, Creation in Christ) invites us to pray as we read and meditate on Matthew 18: 15-20.

‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’ (John 1: 4) … by Minster Pool in Lichfield at night (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Collect of the Day:

Holy and eternal God,
you are the Maker of heaven and earth,
you are the Word through whom all things were made,
and you are the Spirit, the giver of life:
draw us into the mystery of your love,
that with all creation we may proclaim your praise,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

or

O God and Father of all that was, is and ever shall be,
help us to be thankful for all that is made
at the hands of your Son
and through the wisdom of your Spirit,
that we may care in heart and in deed for the life of our world,
to the praise and glory of your holy name.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God our Creator,
by your gift the tree of life was set
at the heart of the earthly paradise,
and the bread of life at the heart of your Church:
may we who have been nourished at your table on earth
be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s cross
and enjoy the delights of eternity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’ (John 1: 4) … My Village Barok by the Sarawak River in Kuching at night (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 2026: 120, Saturday 5 September 2026

‘While Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain’ (Luke 6: 1, NRSV) … walking through the fields along Comberford Lane between Wigginton and Comberford in Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and tomorrow is the Festival of Creation in Christ or the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIV, 6 September 2026).

This weekend includes the Festal Weekend in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, coming between the Feast of Saint Giles (1 September) and the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September). There are children’s activities in the church this morning, a Festal Eucharist tomorrow morning, and Calverton Fete at All Saints’ Church, Calverton, tomorrow afternoon.

Later this morning, I hope to go to Το Στεκι Μασ / Our Place, the ‘pop-up’ coffee shop in the Greek Orthodox Church in Stony Stratford, from 10:30 to 3 pm today. 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.

‘While Jesus was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain’ (Luke 6: 1, NRSVA) … cornfields near Lismore, Co Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 6: 1-5 (NRSVA):

6 One sabbath while Jesus was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ 3 Jesus answered, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?’ 5 Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’

The 12 loaves of shewbread or Bread of the Presence depicted in a fresco in the 17th century Kupa Synagogue in Kraków (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections:

There are two minor details that continue to puzzle me about today’s Gospel reading (Luke 6: 1-5).

On this Saturday morning, I am slightly puzzled about the timing or the day when this event takes place. The NRSV and NIV translations refer to ‘one sabbath’, although footnotes explain that other ancient authorities read ‘on the second first sabbath.’ The KJV and similar translations refer to ‘the second sabbath after the first’.

But the KJV is based on the Textus Receptus, and the phrase in question, ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ (en sabbáto deuteropróto) only exists in the Textus Receptus, a later text, and not in the earlier manuscripts or the critical versions. The phrase is omitted by many manuscripts, including the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus.

In any case, what day did this event occur on?

When was ‘the second first sabbath’ or ‘the second sabbath after the first’?

Is the second sabbath after the first not the third sabbath?

Because the Greek word δευτερόπρωτος (deuteróprotos) is limited to Luke 6: 1, it is not found in all the manuscripts – or in other, contemporary Greek texts – and it is difficult to define and it is impossible to agree on its meaning.

One suggestion is that it refers to the Sabbath following the first day of Passover or Pascha, the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Some of the other efforts to provide explanations include:

• the first Sabbath in the second year of a seven-year cycle comprising the period from one Sabbatical year to the other;
• the first Sabbath after the second day of Passover;
• the second Sabbath after the Passover has taken place;
• the first of the seven Sabbaths the people were to ‘count unto’ themselves from ‘the morrow after the sabbath’ until Pentecost (see Leviticus 23: 15);
• the first Sabbath in the Jewish religious calendar of the time – about the middle of March;
• the Sabbath during Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks;
• the first Sabbath in the civil year – about the middle of September;
• the Sabbath for the presentation of the second offering of the first fruits;
• or, simply, some ‘technical expression of the Jewish calendar’ – without asking or explaining what that may be.

Indeed, the term δευτερόπρωτος (deuteroprotos) is an awkward, clunky combination of the words δεύτερος (deuteros, ‘second’) and πρω̑τος (protos, ‘first’). Its use may point to unskilful work and textual emendations on the part of copyists. If so, then it is not necessary to try to unravel this conundrum.

The phrase has confounded scholars from as early as the fourth century, when Jerome, in a letter to Nepotianus, confesses that he consulted Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, and was unable to determine what the phrase meant:

‘My teacher, Gregory of Nazianzus, when I once asked him to explain Luke’s phrase σάββατον δευτερόπρωτον, that is ‘the second-first Sabbath,’ playfully evaded my request saying: ‘I will tell you about it in church, and there, when all the people applaud me, you will be forced against your will to know what you do not know at all. For, if you alone remain silent, everyone will put you down for a fool’ (Jerome, Letter LII, 2).

I suppose I may simply accept it is not essential that we know the precise meaning of this calendar term. It is more important to get to the heart of what this story is about.

The second minor detail that continues to puzzle me about today’s Gospel reading is why Luke’s account does not include a peculiar detail in Saint Mark’s version of this event (Mark 2: 23-30).

In Saint Mark’s account, Jesus and his disciples are criticised for ‘harvesting grain’ on the Sabbath. They are simply plucking some heads of grain to munch on as they walk through a grainfield (verse 23). When the disciples are challenged about what they are doing on the Sabbath, Jesus cites an event in I Samuel 21: 1-6, and refers to a time when ‘Abiathar was high priest’.

In that event, David and his men ate the 12 loaves of shewbread from the tabernacle in Nob. David approaches Ahimelech the priest in Nob and asks for food for his men They were on the run from King Saul, but David keeps that fact from Ahimelech. Ahimelech gives David some of the ‘bread of the Presence’ (verse 6) and then, at David’s request, he gives him Goliath’s sword, which was being kept in Nob (verses 8-9).

Later, when Saul summons the priests to Gibeah to question them, Ahimelech is the priests’ spokesperson (I Samuel 22: 6-14). The passage implies that Ahimelech is the chief priest during the time David fled from Saul. Abiathar fled to join David and served as his priest all through David’s years of wandering and exile. He was appointed high priest after David became king, and he shared the high priesthood with Zadok, Saul’s appointee, until David’s death.

Neither Matthew (Matthew 12: 1-8) nor Luke mention Abiathar. Did Matthew and Luke eliminate the reference to Abiathar, realising there was an error in the original source?

To explain why in Saint Mark’s account Jesus refers to Abiathar as the high priest, several theories are put forward, although each one is equally tortuous and difficult. They include:

• Since Abiathar was the son of Ahimelech, it is possible that both men took part in high priestly duties.
• Abiathar was more closely associated with David than Ahimelech and was a long-time high priest during David’s reign.
• Abiathar, being present in Nob when David visited the tabernacle, is called the ‘high priest’ in anticipation of his future title.

Each explanation is eager to avoid accepting a literal reading of the conflicting or irreconcilable texts. To accept that there is a conflict between the passages means accepting that I Samuel is wrong, that Mark’s text is wrong, or that Jesus has made an historical error.

In addition, this event took place not in ‘the house of God’ (verse 4), for the Temple in Jerusalem had not yet been built, but in ‘the Tent of Meeting’.

It is interesting that the people who are most likely to refuse a literal exegesis of one or both passages are those who are most likely, in a very contradictory way, to demand a very literal exegesis of their own concoction when it comes to their interpretation of passages, for example, on sexuality.

Is it any coincidence that these self-styled ‘conservative evangelicals’ are also those most likely to reject a literal exegesis of the Eucharistic passages in the New Testament?

Both Jesus and the Pharisees regard the decision to provide the shewbread as righteous on the part of both Jesus and the Pharisees.

The important points in this reading are not in the debate over the day on which the events took place, nor are they to be found in debating who knew who was once the high priest and when.

The important points in this morning’s reading are that the Sabbath is most sacred when it is about God and about people rather than about the minutiae of interpreting rules and regulations. And one of the most important emphases in Jesus’ ministry is to feed the hungry: the physically hungry with bread, and the spiritually hungry with him as the true Bread of Presence, the Bread of Life.

‘While Jesus was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain’ (Luke 6: 1, NRSVA) … cornfields near Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire, with the tower of Saint Mary’s Church in the background (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Saturday 5 September 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 30 August to 5 September 2026 (pp 34-35), has been ‘Anglican Youth Tackle Waste in Madagascar’. This theme was introduced last Sunday with a Programme Update by Ialy Tongasoa, Community Development Lead, Diocese of Toliara, Madagascar.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Saturday 5 September 2026) invites us to pray:

Lord, may this initiative continue to grow, reaching more parishes and bringing hope, care, and practical solutions to Madagascar and across the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

God our creator,
you feed your children with the true manna,
the living bread from heaven:
let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage
until we come to that place
where hunger and thirst are no more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Almighty God,
you search us and know us:
may we rely on you in strength
and rest on you in weakness,
now and in all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Collect on the Eve of the festival of Creation in Christ:

Holy and eternal God,
you are the Maker of heaven and earth,
you are the Word through whom all things were made,
and you are the Spirit, the giver of life:
draw us into the mystery of your love,
that with all creation we may proclaim your praise,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

or:

O God and Father of all that was, is and ever shall be,
help us to be thankful for all that is made
at the hands of your Son
and through the wisdom of your Spirit,
that we may care in heart and in deed for the life of our world,
to the praise and glory of your holy name.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

‘While Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain’ (Luke 6: 1, NRSV) … walking through the fields in Comberford, Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)

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

‘While Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain’ (Luke 6: 1, NRSV) … walking through the fields along Cross in Hand Lane near Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 118, Thursday 3 September 2026

The Miraculous Draught of Fish … a fresco in the Church of Saint Konstantinos and Saint Eleni in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford; click on image for full-screen view)

Patrick Comerford

We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and the week began with the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIII, 30 August 2026). The Season of Creation began on Tuesday (1 September 2026), and it continues until 4 October.

Today, the Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship remembers Saint Gregory the Great (604), Bishop of Rome and Teacher of the Faith. The Stony Stratford Playreaders are meeting in the library this evening. But, 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.

The Miraculous Draught of Fish … a window by Heaton, Butler and Bayne in Saint Mary’s Church, St Neots, Cambridgeshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 5: 1-11 (NRSVA):

1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ 5 Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

An icon of the Church as a boat, including Christ, the Apostles and the Church Fathers (Icon: Deacon Matthew Garrett, www.holy-icons.com)

Today’s Reflections:

As I continue to go through some very difficult times personally, I find myself asking whether we ever ask whether we are worthy of the call of Christ – the call to follow him, the call to be a disciple, the call that was first answered for us, on our behalf, at our own baptism?

I am without permission to officiate (PtO), and there are times in recent years when I have had to question my worthiness to be priest. I am not a priest because I think it is my right to be one, or because I thought at one stage it would be a good career move. I am a priest because, despite my resistance to the call over many years, I believe God called me – called me many years ago, perhaps 55 years ago, at the age of 19.

This morning, in the Gospel reading (Luke 5: 1-11), we hear how the renewed call to some of the disciples, including Peter, James and John, comes not to them because they are worthy of this call, or have inherited a call, or have a right to speak on God’s behalf.

Peter, James and John are called not only to speak on Christ’s behalf, but to do what he commands and to follow him. In his response, Simon Peter expresses his feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness, yet accepts the call to speak in Christ’s name, unconditionally and in faith.

Our Baptism has ethical implications for our discipleship: in the community of the baptised, ethnic and social barriers are shattered, for ‘Christ is all and in all.’

In our Gospel story, we hear a story of commitment to Christ, to his message and to discipleship. Christ calls Simon or Simon Peter to be a disciple, promising him he is to be a ‘fisher of men,’ and Peter, James and John leave everything and follow Christ.

This story begins by the ‘lake of Gennesaret,’ on the south-west shore of the Sea of Galilee. The crowd is pressing in to hear Christ, the Word of God, preach the ‘word of God’ or the Christian message.

Christ gets into the boat with Simon Peter. There are two boats in this episode, and James and John are also fishing in one of the boats.

They not only listen to Christ, but they do what he tells them to do, and they are amazed at the consequences. Simon Peter acknowledges Jesus as ‘Master’ or teacher, and responds by falling down before Jesus in humility, pointing to himself as a sinful man, and calling Jesus ‘Lord,’ which becomes an expression of faith.

Peter, James and John make a total commitment to Christ, they leave everything, and they follow him.

In Christian art, the boat is often used as an image of the Church, while the fish is an image of Christ.

In the Early Church, the fish came to symbolise Christ because the Greek word Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ), meaning ‘fish’, is an acrostic for Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ, ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.’

Some years ago, when I was visiting Kaş, a pretty town on the south coast of Turkey, I visited the former Church of the Annunciation. Kaş had once been a Greek-majority town known as Andifli, but the Greek ethnic community was expelled in 1923 in one of the early examples of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in 20th century Europe.

For 40 years, the Church of the Annunciation on the acropolis or hilltop above the town lay deserted and crumbling. But in 1963, 40 years after these people were expelled from Andifli, their former parish church was requisitioned as a mosque, and – despite its age – was renamed Yeni Cami (New Mosque). A minaret was added, along with a fountain with a quotation in Turkish, rather than Arabic, from the Quran: ‘We made from water every living thing’ (Surat al-Anbiyya, the Prophets, 21: 30).

Inside, the church was aligned facing east, a new mihrab or prayer niche facing Mecca and a minbar (pulpit) were inserted into the south wall, the frescoes were stripped away and the icon screen was removed. All obvious Christian symbols, including crosses, were picked out of the hoklakia or pebble mosaic in the courtyard. But no-one noticed the significance of the fish, symbolising the Greek word Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ), so that dozens of fish symbolising Christ and the Christian faith are still scattered though this pebble mosaic.

This is, truly, the story of the ‘big fish that got away.’

Have you ever spoken of someone or some thing as a ‘good catch’? A person you had an emotional or romantic interest in? A job or promotion at work you hoped for? A house you wanted to buy?

Can you imagine how Christ sees you as ‘a good catch’?

If the Church is the agent of Christ, do we do a good job in drawing in his ‘good catch’?

Are we trusting enough to do what he asks us to do as his disciples?

And are we trusting enough to know that he sees you, you and me, as ‘good catches’?

But there are more and more ‘good catches’ that he wants us to draw into the boat, into the Church. And the way to do this is to listen to what he says and what he asks us to do. ‘When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him’ (Luke 5: 11).

What he has been asking us to do in the readings this week – what he asked us to in his reading from the Prophet Isaiah, which we read as the Gospel reading on Monday morning (Luke 4: 16-30, 31 August 2026) are:

• to bring good news to the poor
• to proclaim release to the captives
• to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind
• to let the oppressed go free
• to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

The Ichthus symbol remains discreetly unnoticed in the pebble mosaic of the former church courtyard in Kaş (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Thursday 3 September 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 30 August to 5 September 2026 (pp 34-35), is ‘Anglican Youth Tackle Waste in Madagascar’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Ialy Tongasoa, Community Development Lead, Diocese of Toliara, Madagascar.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Thursday 3 September 2026) invites us to pray:

Lord, guide bishops, parish leaders, and clergy to support and nurture youth initiatives. Remind us, as Psalm 24:1 says, that ‘The Earth and everything in it is the Lord’s,’ and inspire us to promote sustainable practices in care for creation.

The Collect:

Merciful Father,
who chose your bishop Gregory
to be a servant of the servants of God:
grant that, like him, we may ever long to serve you
by proclaiming your gospel to the nations,
and may ever rejoice to sing your praises;
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 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 Gregory to the eternal feast of heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

‘When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him’ (Luke 5: 11) … fishing boats on a shore at Mount Athos (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

Saint Gregory in a stained-glass window in Saint Giles Church, Cambridge … the Church Calendar in ‘Common Worship’ today remembers Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 116, Tuesday 1 September 2026

‘For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!’ (Luke 4: 36) … a gargoyle at Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We have arrived at the beginning of a new month, the beginning of September, and the beginning of Autumn. Creationtide begins in the Church Calendar today (1 September) and continues until 4 October. Meanwhile, we are continuing in Ordinary Time and the week began with the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIII, 30 August 2026).

The Church last year celebrated the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 CE. One of the decisions at Nicaea was that the New Church Year begins on 1 September, a tradition still observed by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Rite Catholics.

The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Giles of Provence, Hermit, who died ca 710. Saint Giles is the co-patron of Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford. But, 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.

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.

‘A man who had the spirit of an unclean demon … cried out with a loud voice’ (Luke 4: 33) … an image at La Lonja de la Seda in Valencia (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 4: 31-37 (NRSVA):

31 He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. 32 They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 ‘Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. 36 They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, ‘What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!’ 37 And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.

‘And a report about him began to reach every place in the region’ (Luke 4: 37) … newspapers on sale at a kiosk in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflection:

We began reading a series of readings in Saint Luke’s Gospel yesterday (31 August). In yesterday’s Gospel reading, Jesus began his public ministry in the synagogue in Nazareth, the small town where he had grown up.

As he finished the reading, people began wondering why he was not doing in Nazareth what he had been doing in Capernaum and other places. His remarks so angered the people of Nazareth that they thought of killing him and drove him out of that synagogue and out of town.

But, as our readings in Saint Luke’s Gospel continue, we see how Jesus continues to bring good news to the poor, he releases this poor captive, he can now see things as they are and as they ought to be, the oppressed may go free, and all are amazed.

In today’s reading, the good news for the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed, continues to be put into action by Jesus, not just in words, but in deeds, as he returns to Capernaum, which seems to have been his home town after Nazareth.

Capernaum, was a prosperous town on the Sea of Galilee, and once again Jesus visits the synagogue on the sabbath, where they were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority’ (verse 32).

Jesus speaks directly, confident of his authority and of his very essence. The Greek word here, ἐξουσία (exousía), has the same roots as the word in the Nicene Creed that is translated as ‘being’ or ‘substance’: ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί (‘of one substance with the Father’).

The man with ‘the spirit of an unclean demon’ (verse 33) was, we might say, possessed, or under the influence of evil forces. In the understanding of the time, he was under Satan’s direction, separated from God.

The demon, speaking through this man (see verse 34), asks what Christ is doing meddling in the domain of evil: ‘Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’

He recognises who Christ is and that his coming spells the end of the power of the devil. He understands the significance of the coming Kingdom. Wonder-workers of the day healed using ritual or magic, but Christ exorcises simply through verbal command (verse 35), so clearly he is divine.

Are we comfortable with identifying or naming evil forces that are entrapping people in society today?

Do these malign forces manage to get a hearing in our places of worship today?

How would you name and identify them?

Would you include racism? Homophobia? Sexism? Class discrimination? Recent far-right rioters and protesters, the people who egg them on and who flags or paint over roundabouts as signs of provocation? Support for war and violence?

What inner demons in myself have I failed to cast out? My prejudices, my misjudging of people, my failings in relationships and friendships that continue to cause hurt? My self-indulgence and personal vanity? My failure so often to speak out on behalf of the hurt, the marginalised, the oppressed, the victim?

It is interesting that in his response, Christ leaves the man unharmed (verse 35). What harm could he have come to at the hands of Jesus? Is this saying that the innate integrity of the man is respected and remains intact?

We are not told what happened to this man afterwards. All we know that he is still there, standing among the people of faith, in the community of faith, that Saturday morning. The evil in him has been cast out, but he has not been cast out of the community of faith himself. I too can be forgiven and restored.

But how happy are we with the idea that compassion for the victims of hatred and violence and appropriate responses to the people trapped in a world of hatred and violence both find expression in Christ’s ministry, message and mission?

‘Be silent …’ (Luke 4: 35) … a message in the porch of the chapel in Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 1 September 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 30 August to 5 September 2026 (pp 34-35), is ‘Anglican Youth Tackle Waste in Madagascar’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by Ialy Tongasoa, Community Development Lead, Diocese of Toliara, Madagascar.

.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Tuesday 1 September 2026, Global Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) invites us to pray:

Lord, we confess that much of this crisis comes from both broken systems and our own failure to act; have mercy, and turn our hearts and communities to sustainable care.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love,
that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross,
and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

God our creator,
you feed your children with the true manna,
the living bread from heaven:
let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage
until we come to that place
where hunger and thirst are no more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Almighty God,
you search us and know us:
may we rely on you in strength
and rest on you in weakness,
now and in all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s reflections

Continued tomorrow

The icon of Saint Giles by Brother Leon Lidderment of Walsingham in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford (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

Sexagesima Sunday and the hope for that day when‘heaven may be renewed’ and ‘Earth shall be very good’

‘Earth may not pass till heaven shall pass away’ (Christina Rossetti) … a February sunset at Minster Pool in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Today [8 February 2026] is the Second Sunday before Lent, which is also known in some parts of the Anglican Communion as Creation Sunday. In the past, this Sunday was known as Sexagesima, one of those odd-sounding Latin names once used in the Book of Common Prayer for the Sundays in Ordinary Time between Candlemas and Lent: Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima.

These weeks, between the end of Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, are known as Ordinary Time. We are in a time of preparation for Lent, which in turn is a preparation for Holy Week and Easter.

The Sunday known as Sexagesima, although falling 57 days before Easter, was given this name representing 60 days before Lent. In the Western Church, these Sundays before Lent were a preparation for Lent: the refrain alleluia was forbidden in services, and the Alleluia acclamation at the Eucharist was replaced by the Tract, usually verses from the Psalms. The liturgical colour was also changed, so that purple or violet vestments were worn.

In very visible and audible ways, the three Sundays before Lent became an extension to Lent, and the longer period was often called ‘the Greater Lent.’ However, while their traditional names have a certain nostalgic beauty associated with them, they have no real logical, liturgical foundation and they make no sense numerically.

In recent years, the ‘-gesima’ Sundays before Lent have become part of Ordinary Time, and from the late 1960s on they were no longer regarded as a pre-penitential season, and this Sunday is now counted as the Second Sunday before Lent.

Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘Sexagesima’ takes its title from this Latin name once used for the Second Sunday before Lent. We are more likely to associate Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) with Christmas rather than Ordinary Time or Lent because two of her poems, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ and ‘Love came down at Christmas,’ are among the best-loved and most popular Christmas carols.

She was born in London, the daughter of Gabriele Rossetti, an exiled Italian poet, and she was a sister of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the Pre-Raphaelite artist and poet. Their brother William Michael Rossetti and sister Maria Rossetti were writers too.

At the age of 14, Christina Rossetti suffered a nervous breakdown and left school. Bouts of depression and related illness followed. During this period she, her mother and her sister became absorbed in the Anglo-Catholic movement that developed in the Church of England, and religious devotion came to play a major role in Christian Rossetti’s life.

She spent much time spent alone, in prayer, in a single life, devoted to Christ and to working with the marginalised. Her writings have strongly influenced writers such as Ford Madox Ford, Virginia Woolf, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Elizabeth Jennings and Philip Larkin. She is honoured in the liturgical calendar of the Church of England and other Anglican churches on 27 April.

Christina Rossetti, by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Sexagesima, by Christina Georgina Rossetti:

Yet earth was very good in days of old,
And earth is lovely still:
Still for the sacred flock she spreads the fold,
For Sion rears the hill.

Mother she is, and cradle of our race,
A depth where treasures lie,
The broad foundation of a holy place,
Man’s step to scale the sky.

She spreads the harvest-field which Angels reap,
And lo! the crop is white;
She spreads God’s Acre where the happy sleep
All night that is not night.

Earth may not pass till heaven shall pass away,
Nor heaven may be renewed
Except with earth: and once more in that day
Earth shall be very good.

‘… and once more in that day / Earth shall be very good’ (Christina Rossetti) … a February walk along Cross in Hand Lane on the northern edges of Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2026: 6, Sunday 8 February 2026, Second Sunday before Lent

‘Look at the birds of the air …’ (Matthew 6: 26) … birds in the air at sunset at Malahide Castle, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent are ten days away (18 February 2026), and today is the Second Sunday before Lent. Later this morning, I hope to be involved in the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford, reading one of the lessons.

But, before my 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.

‘Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink’ (Matthew 6: 25) … tables set for dinner at Pigadi restaurant in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)

Matthew 6: 25-34 (NRSVA):

25 [Jesus said:] ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34 ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’

‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1: 1) … ‘on the seventh day he rested from all his work’ (Genesis 2: 2) … sunrise at Igoumenitsa in northern Greece (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Reflections

The three Sundays before Lent once had special Latin names in the Book of Common Prayer, names that were shared in most traditions in the Western Church. These Sundays were known as Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima. The names were based on counting up seventy days to Easter, perhaps in some ways paralleling the seven days of creation.

This Sunday, the Second Sunday before Lent, was known as Sexagesima Sunday – a bit of a tongue twister, even for those of us who did Latin at school. I find it much easier that in many parts of the Anglican Communion, including the Church of Ireland and the Church in Wales this is known as ‘Creation Sunday.’ It is so appropriate, with our growing awareness about climate change and the threats to God’s creation – emphasised by recent weather fluctuations, including the storms and floods in recent weeks in both England and Ireland, and the debates about carbon emission and climate change.

Care for the creation is not a marginal concern for the Church, nor a matter of the Church keeping up with current social and political trends and fashions. The fifth of the Five Marks of Mission accepted throughout the Anglican Communion is:

• To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth.

The first reading this morning (Genesis 1: 1 to 2: 3) is a celebration of creation, a poetic description of God’s creation, reaching its climax or fulfilment in the creation of humanity and God’s relationship with us.

Like all good stories, this story begins at the beginning: ‘In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1: 1).

At first, there was chaos, ‘an empty, formless void’ (verse 2). However, the life-giving power of God, the ‘wind’ or Spirit ‘from God’, sweeps over this chaos. The creation story is then told in the form of a poem or hymn, with a refrain, ‘And God saw that it was good’ (verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 20, 25).

God then says, ‘Let us’ (26), invoking the royal plural. The creation of humanity is the climax of the creation story. We are made in God’s image and likeness: the Hebrew words used here are צֶלֶם (Tselem), referring to a shadow, outline, or representative figure, emphasising the functional role of humans representing God on earth and דְּמוּת (demuth), suggests a resemblance in form or character. The Greek word in the Septuagint (LXX) is εἰκόνα (eikona, accusative of eikon), ‘image’, denoting es a likeness, portrait, or representation, and implies an exact copy or reproduction.

Because of God’s blessings, we have procreative power, we are to be fruitful and to multiply, and to have dominion over the earth, acting as God’s regents, taking responsibility for a just rule in and care for the creation.

And we are told not only that ‘God saw that it was good’ – as on the other days of creation – but, ‘indeed, it was very good’ (verse 31).

The seventh day is then the day of rest, a reminder of the Sabbath. God blesses the seventh day, and God sets it apart or makes it holy. There is no evening at the end of this day – this relationship between God and humanity is to continue for ever, to the end of the story (see Revelation 21 and 22).

The late Chief Rabbi, Lord (Jonathan) Sacks has pointed out that few texts have had a deeper influence on Western civilisation than the first chapter of Genesis, with its momentous vision of the universe coming into being as the work of God. Set against the grandeur of the narrative, what stands out is the smallness yet uniqueness of humans, vulnerable but also undeniably set apart from all other beings.

The psalm (Psalm 136) this morning echoes the wonder and humility we might feel as we realise the splendour of creation and know and find the love of God in this creation.

God who made the heavens and the earth, who spread out the waters, who made the great lights, the sun, moon and stars, is the loving God whose steadfast love endures for ever.

The honour and glory that crowns the human race is possession of the earth, which is the culmination of God’s creative work: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over [it]’ (Genesis 1: 28).

While the creation narrative in Genesis clearly establishes God as the Master of the Universe, it is humanity who is appointed master or guardian of the earth.

But this raises fundamental questions about our place in creation and our responsibility for it. A literal interpretation suggests a world in which people cut down forests, slaughter animals, and dump waste into the seas at our leisure, much as we see in our world today.

On the other hand, Rav Kook (1865-1935), the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, says any intelligent person should know that Genesis 1: 28, ‘does not mean the domination of a harsh ruler, who afflicts his people and servants merely to fulfil his personal whim and desire, according to the crookedness of his heart.’

Could God have really created such a complex and magnificent world solely for the caprice of humans?

Genesis 1 is only one side of the complex biblical equation. It is balanced by the narrative of Genesis 2, which features a second creation narrative that focuses on humans and their place in the Garden of Eden. The first person is set in the Garden ‘to till it and keep it’ or ‘to work it and take care of it’ (Genesis 2: 15).

The two Hebrew verbs used here are significant. The first verb – le’ovdah (לעובדח) – literally means ‘to serve it.’ The human being is thus both master and servant of nature.

The second verb – leshomrah (לשמרח) – means ‘to guard it.’ This is the same verb used later in the Bible to describe the responsibilities of a guardian of property that belongs to someone else. This guardian must exercise vigilance while protecting and is personally liable for losses that occur through negligence.

This is, perhaps, the best short definition of humanity’s responsibility for nature as the Bible presents it.

We do not own nature; ‘The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it’ (Psalm 24: 1) We are its stewards on behalf of God, who created and owns everything. As guardians of the earth, we are duty-bound to respect its integrity.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) put this rather well in an original interpretation of Genesis 1: 26, ‘Let us make humankind in our image according to our likeness.’ Us? Who would God consult in the process of creating humans?

Rabbi Hirsch suggests the ‘us’ in this verse refers to the rest of creation. Before creating us as humans, destined to develop the capacity to alter and possibly endanger the natural world, God sought the approval of nature itself. This interpretation implies that we would use nature only in such a way that is faithful to the purposes of the Creator and acknowledges nature’s consent to the existence of humanity.

The mandate in Genesis 1 to exercise dominion is, therefore, not technical, but moral: humanity would control, within our means, the use of nature towards the service of God. This mandate is limited by the requirement to serve and guard as seen in Genesis 2. The famous story of Genesis 2-3 – the eating of the forbidden fruit and the subsequent exile of Adam and Eve – supports this point.

Not everything is permitted. There are limits to how we interact with the earth. When we do not treat creation according to God’s will, disaster can follow.

We see this today, Rabbi Sacks says, as scientists predict more intense and destructive storms, floods, and droughts due to human-induced changes in the atmosphere. If we do not take action now, we risk the very survival of civilisation.

In the Gospel reading (Matthew 6: 25-34) this morning, we continue reading from the Sermon on the Mount. In verse 24, Christ tells us not to be anxious, to be troubled with cares, in a way that gives priorities to my own interests, that is preoccupied with or absorbed by my own self-interest.

Our self-preoccupation and self-absorption cannot lengthen our lives (verse 27). And he points to examples from nature, simple examples from creation, like lilies on the hillsides, grass in the fields, and the birds of the air, to illustrate God’s care for all creation.

‘Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today’ (verse 34).

I have been musing on recent evenings about the way we use the word tomorrow, both in Greek, where the word αύριο (avrio) seldom conveys a sense of immediacy or urgency, and in Irish folklore, where the word tomorrow is sometimes deployed to advantage against malign or even evil forces.

In today’s Gospel reading, Christ is saying that being self-absorbed about our own petty needs will not give us a new tomorrow. But caring for the little details of nature, like God cares for the little details of creation, will ensure that our tomorrows reflect God's plans for the creation.

The Midrash says that God showed Adam around the Garden of Eden and said, ‘Look at my works! See how beautiful they are – how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy my world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it.’

Creation has its own dignity, and while we have the mandate to use it, we have none to destroy or despoil it. Rabbi Hirsch says that Shabbat was given to humanity ‘in order that he should not grow overbearing in his dominion’ of God’s creation. On the Day of Rest, ‘he must, as it were, return the borrowed world to its Divine Owner in order to realise that it is but lent to him.’

If we see how we have a unique opportunity to truly serve and care for the planet, its creatures, and its resources, then we can reclaim our status as stewards of the world, and all these things will be given to us as well.


‘Even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these’ (Matthew 6: 29) … watching a mother sparrow feed her chicks in a nest in the ceiling of Aghias Anna Church, Maroulas, near Rethymnon in Crete (Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Sunday 8 February 2026, Second Sunday before Lent):

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: ‘Safe Routes’ (pp 26-27). This theme is introduced today with a Programme Update by Bradon Muilenburg, Anglican Refugee Support Lead, who writes:

‘I’m writing from Calais, where I have spent five years working with refugees. Many people ask me, “What can be done about the small boats?” From what I’ve seen, the only real answer is to create safe routes across the English Channel – ways for people to claim asylum without having to risk their lives. The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, with freezing waters and dangerous currents. Lifejackets for the crossing are hard to obtain and often confiscated by authorities. When legal pathways are available – like family reunion visas or humanitarian corridors – people use them, because they are safer and cheaper.

‘The right to seek sanctuary was hard-won after World War II. We must remember that history, because if we forget it, we risk repeating the same mistakes.

‘One of the most important parts of justice is keeping families together. It is deeply painful when children are separated from their parents for years, even after asylum is granted. This is not right, and it can be changed. There is hope on the horizon: the Refugee Family Reunion Bill currently in the House of Lords. While it is only a first step, it is a crucial step toward a more just world, the world Jesus calls us to pursue.

‘I want to encourage everyone to take action – not only through donations, but by standing with families, writing to MPs, and advocating for safe and humane policies. Together, we can ensure that hope, justice, and compassion guide the choices we make. Every small act of advocacy brings us closer to a world where families are safe, reunited, and valued.

‘As a first step, watch and share the video Victims of the Border: A Memorial on YouTube @USPGglobal. Hear some of the stories of those who journeyed in hope.’

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Sunday 8 February 2026) invites us to pray as we read and meditate today’s Gospel reading.

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God,
you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things,
now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God our creator,
by your gift
the tree of life was set at the heart of the earthly paradise,
and the bread of life at the heart of your Church:
may we who have been nourished at your table on earth
be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s cross
and enjoy the delights of eternity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Additional Collect:

Almighty God,
give us reverence for all creation
and respect for every person,
that we may mirror your likeness
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday's Reflections

Continued Tomorrow

‘But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today …’ (Matthew 6: 30) … green fields and countryside at Cross in Hand Lane, north of Lichfield (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

‘Holy pandemonium’ and exuberant celebrations of the cycle of life and death at Simchat Torah

The Torah scrolls in Milton Keynes and District Reform Synagogue, including scroll No 970 (left) from Pacov in the Czech Republic (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The paired Jewish holidays of Shemini Hag’Atseret and Simchat Torah, which follow immediately after Sukkot being this evening. Shemini Hag’Atseret starts at sunset this evening (Monday 13 October), Simchat Torah starts at sunset tomorrow (Tuesday 14 October), and the celebrations end at nightfall the following evening (Wednesday 15 October).

The seven joyous days of Sukkot in the Jewish calendar are followed by these celebrations that mark the completion of one annual Torah reading cycle and the immediate beginning of the next Torah reading cycle.

Traditionally these are joyous milestones and they are marked with dancing with the Torah scrolls in seven circuits of the synagogue, known as hakafot, when the Torah scrolls are held aloft in procession. The celebrations include lighting candles each night, festive meals at both night and day and avoiding work. Among Reform Jews and in Israel, Simchat Torah is generally celebrated on the same day as Shemini Atzeret.

Sukkot, which finishes with these celebrations, is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Ingathering, and recalls the 40 years the fleeing slaves wandered in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Sukkot is also regarded as a harvest festival, marking the end of the agricultural year.

The Jewish calendar and the western secular calendar are calculated in different ways. But every Jew celebrating Simchat Torah will remember that the surprise attack launched from Gaza by Hamas two years ago on the morning of 7 October 2023 coincided with Simchat Torah. Simchat Torah two years ago fell between sunset on 6 October and nightfall on 7 October. A day that was meant to be filled with joy, singing and dancing became the darkest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Simchat Torah means ‘Rejoicing with the Torah’ and is meant to be a joyous holiday that celebrates the Jewish love of Torah and study – a day of exuberant celebration of Torah and its centrality to Jewish life.

But that joy is tempered this year with memories of the horrors of events two years ago and mixed anxieties and hopes now this year about the ceasefire in the Middle East, the release of the last remaining hostages and the bodies of those who did not survive, and anxiety too about finding a just, lasting and sustainable peace in the Middle East and an end to the cycle of violence that has continued not just for decades, but for generations and for centuries.

The rabbis understood that time is both cyclical and linear. Cosmic time has a linear quality in which God acts to redeem people in History. Our life span is also linear, we are born and one day we will die. But, life continues around us, history continues to unfold, even when we are no longer a part of it.

Time, however, also exists cyclically. The seasons and religious festivals come round and are repeated year after year. Regardless of what happens on the historical stage to us or to those we know and love, these cycles will continue. The moon will continue to mark our days, weeks and months, the sun and the rains will nourish our crops, and the Torah will continue to inspire, instruct and comfort generations year after year.

Simchat Torah marks the end of one cycle of Torah readings and the beginning of a new cycle of Torah readings. The concluding section of the fifth book of the Torah, Deuteronomy (D’varim), is read, and immediately following that the opening section of Genesis (B’reishit) is read, representing this eternal cycle of living and our relationship with God.

To look at the Torah’s beginning immediately after its end presents an important perspective. By the end of veZot haBerakha (Deuteronomy 33: 1 to 34: 12), 613 commandments have been given and received, frameworks for every aspect of life have been outlined, and people have found themselves truly immersed in religious, moral and ethical issues.

But many people may find they have not made a connection between those issues and creation and the natural world. Reading about the prohibitions against charging interest and delaying payment to workers does not necessarily mesh in our with the creation of stars and planets. By the end of the cycle of readings, it may be easy to forget the beginning.

The reading on Simchat Torah is an opportunity to see Torah not simply as a book of diverse commandments, but as a unified framework for life that sees the earliest origins of the universe and our complex developments as humans as part of an entire system.

In its own subtle way, the reading of Simchat Torah highlights an important question: Do the scholars and adherents of the God’s law also genuinely see it embedded in God’s world? Indeed, can we properly study the laws and ideas of Torah without paying close attention to nature?

As one cycle of Torah reading ends with reading about the death of Moses, a new cycle begins immediately with reading about the days of Creation. Death and birth, ending and beginning, the cycle continues on for another year, and this is celebrated joyfully.

The highlight of Simchat Torah is the hakafot, held on both the eve and the morning of the festival, in which people process and dance with the Torah scrolls while circling round the synagogue seven times, singing and dancing but making sure that everyone who wants to is able to dance with a scroll. These celebrations are expected to be wholehearted and exuberant, and the effect is one that has been described as ‘holy pandemonium’.

It is a custom in many synagogues to invite specific members of the community who have been noteworthy for their contribution to community life in the past year to read the end of Deuteronomy and the beginning of Genesis. In many communities the remaining aliyot or calls to reading will be offered to as many people as possible, often needing the repetition of sections of the Creation story so that as many people as possible can take part. Simchat Torah is also the only time in the year when children are also called up to the Torah.

Despite the fragility we so often experience in life, Simchat Torah is a traditional celebration of the joy of living, of hope in which life continues. It celebrates our relationship with God, who looks to us to embrace all that life has to offer as we look to God to share it with us.

Torah crowns and mantles on the scrolls in the Aron haKodesh or Ark in Milton Keynes and District Reform Synagogue (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)