Pilgrimage visit to Lichfield Cathedral

The figures on the West Door of Lichfield Cathedral, carved by the Victorian sculptor Mary Grant, link Christmas and Easter, the Incarnation and the Resurrection (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford

Before Lent began this year, I paid one of my regular visits to Lichfield and Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire, in the English Midlands. I am a life-long regular visitor to Lichfield, which played a formative role in shaping my Anglicanism and my spirituality.

The cathedral dates back to Saint Chad, who had a large following, founded his monastery at Lichfield. There he was abbot and bishop and he was credited with converting the Kingdom of Mercia to Christianity. When he died in AD 672, he was proclaimed a saint, and people reported miracles at his tomb in Lichfield.

The ornate west front of Lichfield Cathedral includes a remarkable number of ornate carved figures of apostles, saints and English kings and queens. It is an almost over-powering statement in art and sculpture that the Communion of Saints is made up of all strands of humanity.

This carved west front was the vision of the Gothic revival architect Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878). He was influenced and inspired by AWN Pugin, and his pupils included George Edmund Street. Scott restored the west front in the 19th century, 100 years after most of the statues on the west front were removed and the stonework covered with Roman cement.

Working with original materials where possible or creating fine new imitations and additions, Scott’s sculptors replaced almost all the 113 figures on the west front. The architectural historian, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, dates them to 1876-1884, ‘replacing cement or stucco statues of 1820-1822.’ Most of the statues were produced locally from the Bridgeman workshop nearby in Quonian’s Lane. The only exceptions were a likeness of Queen Victoria on the main façade, by her sculptor daughter Princess Louise, and those around the central doorway by Mary Grant (1831-1908). A mediaeval carving of Christ in Glory remains in place in the canopy over the doorway.

The Virgin Mary stands with the Christ Child in the centre of the west door of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Linking Christmas and Easter

Visitors viewing the west front seem to pay less attention to the figures around the central doorway by Mary Grant. These include her sculpture of the Virgin Mary, who supports her lifelike infant gently. The Christ Child has one arm raised in blessing. Behind them stand the two Marys who visit the tomb on Easter morning: on the left is Saint Mary Magdalene, holding ointment; to the right the ‘other Mary’ (Matthew 28: 1) or Mary the Mother of James (Mark 16: 1, Luke 24: 10).

In her composition of the figures at the West Door of Lichfield Cathedral, Mary Grant links the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child with the two women who visit the grave at Easter morning; the porch of the West Door becomes symbolic of both the cave of birth at Christmas and the grave of death at Easter; the Incarnation leads us on to the Resurrection, Christmas invites us to move towards Easter.

Mary Magdalene at Easter … a sculpture by Mary Grant at the west door of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mary Grant was once described as ‘one of the busiest of lady-sculptors.’ She was born in 1831 in Kilgraston, Perthshire, into a distinguished family. Her grandfather was Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin, who pilfered the Parthenon Marbles from the Acropolis in Athens and sold them to the British Museum in London. Her aunt, Mary Anne Grant, and her uncle, Sir Francis Grant, were artists too. Sir Francis was a successful portrait painter and became President of the Royal Academy and a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery.

Sculpture was a profession that required a degree of physical strength; on the other hand, her aristocratic and artistic background probably were advantages for a woman seeking to work in what was virtually an all-male preserve in the Victorian era.

Mary Grant studied in Florence, Rome and Paris before she set up a studio in London in the late 1860s. Her work includes a portrait of Queen Victoria for India and a bronze bust of the Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell for the Royal Academy in London. Her other works include the screen of Winchester Cathedral and the marble reredos in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh. She never married and died in Chelsea on 20 February 1908.

A place of pilgrimage

Lichfield and Lichfield Cathedral have been a place of pilgrimage and retreat for me since I was a teenager. As a 19-year-old, I found myself – by accident or coincidence – visiting the chapel of the Hospital of Saint John the Baptist without the Barrs.

Saint John’s Hospital was established in 1135 and provided hospitality for mediaeval pilgrims who travelled from far and wide to Lichfield to visit the cathedral and the tomb of Saint Chad. When the city gates of Lichfield were closed at 9 p.m. every night, pilgrims who arrived later had to stay at the Hospital of Saint John Baptist without the Barrs – the ‘barrs’ being the city gates.

Saint John’s Hospital was established in 1135 by Bishop Roger de Clinton (1129-1148). It was built beside to the Culstrubbe Gate, one of the four gates erected on the perimeter of Lichfield, at what is now Saint John Street. Saint John’s provided overnight accommodation for pilgrims for several hundred years while it was a house of the Augustinian Friars.

In many mediaeval towns in England, the friaries, convents and religious foundations often stood side-by-side, providing the surrounding communities with the equivalent of hospitals, hostels, and places of hospitality and welcome.

In the 13th century, the Augustinian community at Saint John’s consisted of a prior, brothers and sisters, with a chapel and community buildings. Travellers and pilgrims ate and slept in a long mediaeval hall, with an undercroft below.

The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral was redesigned by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 19th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

For 300 years or more, Saint John’s provided hospitality for travellers and pilgrims, while local people used the chapel as a place of worship. These neighbours were served by a chaplain, and in turn they endowed the hospital and built a chantry chapel. These benefactors included William de Juvenis, still remembered each year with a red rose on the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John Baptist (24 June).

By the mid-15th century, the ditch and ramparts around Lichfield had fallen into disuse and the gates remained open at night for late arriving pilgrims. Times were changing, and when William Smyth became Bishop of Lichfield in 1492, he put Saint John’s to new uses, re-founding the priory in 1495 as a hospital for aged men and as a free grammar school.

New statutes provided for a Master who was a priest appointed by the Bishop of Lichfield. The hospital was to house ‘13 honest poor men upon whom the inconveniences of old age and poverty, without any fault of their own, had fallen.’ They were to receive seven pence a week, they were to be honest and devout, and they were to attend prayers every day.

The canons’ and pilgrims’ hall was enlarged to provide a house for the master and a new wing was added to the old building. This new ‘almshouse,’ with its row of eight chimneys, provided each almsman or resident with his own room and fireplace.

Saints in a row … on the ornate west front of Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Many of these religious houses came to an end in the 16th century, with the Reformation and the Dissolution of the monastic houses. The estates often enriched political supporters of the Tudor dynasty, but their loss also deprived many people of access to health care and education. But the changes introduced by Bishop Smyth a generation earlier ensured the survival of Saint John’s as a hospital or almshouse and as a school.

The grammar school was separated from the hospital in 1692, but the school continued to use the chapel, and the schoolboys included literary figures such as Joseph Addison, Elias Ashmole, Samuel Johnson and David Garrick. Edward Maynard rebuilt the Master’s Hall once again in 1720 to keep up with modern Georgian architectural tastes, and the stone tablet above the doorway dates from this period.

By the early 19th century, Saint John’s must have had the character and the problems described by Anthony Trollope in his novels, including The Warden and Barchester Towers. In 1829, a north aisle was added to the chapel and a new three-bay arcade was built. In another major restoration in 1870-1871, the Master, Philip Hayman Dod (1810-1883), repaired and renovated the chapel, raising the walls of the nave, building a new roof, and adding buttresses outside and a stone bell-cote and bell.

In 1929, the almsmen’s rooms at Saint John’s were rearranged to overlook the court or quadrangle, giving them more light and modern heating and sanitation. The Master’s House was renovated in 1958, new flats were added in the mid-1960s, and the inner quadrangle was completed with a new building. In the 1960s too, for the first time, married couples were allowed to take up residence in the hospital.

After Lichfield Theological College in the Cathedral Close closed in 1976, new accommodation was provided in what became the Hospital of Saint John’s within the Close. At the beginning of 21st century, the 1495 east wing of Saint John’s was renovated, enlarged and updated. Recent work on building 18 new apartments was delayed briefly when the skeletal remains of 50 mediaeval pilgrims – adults and children– were found in shallow graves.

Saint John’s Hospital, facing unto Saint John Street, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Since the Tractarian Revival, the chapel of Saint John’s has stood in the Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and it has shaped my own Anglicanism and spirituality. When I was a 19-year-old, attracted by the distinctive row of eight Tudor chimneys fronting Saint John Street, I walked into the hospital one summer afternoon in 1971. Accidentally, I stepped into the chapel and soon felt filled with the light and the love of God.

At the time, I had no idea of how to respond, and so found myself sitting in the choir stalls at Choral Evensong in Lichfield Cathedral. Later, a residentiary canon asked whether a young man like me was considering coming to church because I was thinking of ordination.

That afternoon is a sensation that remains a living, daily experience. I often refer to it as my ‘self-defining existential moment.’ On my regular return visits to Lichfield, I continue to visit both the chapel and the cathedral.

The chapel continues to provide daily and weekly services, and regularly draws a congregation of residents and visitors, and the grounds offer an oasis of peace and calm in the heart of the cathedral city.

The Choir Stalls in Lichfield Cathedral after Choral Evensong on a recent evening (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

John Piper’s magnificent stained glass depicting ‘Christ in Majesty,’ was placed in the east window of the chapel in 1984. It too provides an appropriate focus for Lent and Easter. Christ has his arms outstretched, as if he is the Crucified Christ, with the cross of the Diocese of Lichfield behind his shoulder. But this is the Risen Christ, his eyes are opened, he is surrounded by the symbols of the four evangelists, and the two angels with trumpets are proclaiming the joy and triumph of the Resurrection.

When morning light streams this window, it reminds us that not only Lent but our whole life is lived in the joyful hope and expectation of the Resurrection.

(Revd Canon Professor) Patrick Comerford is Priest in Charge of the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes in the Church of Ireland, and Canon Precentor of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick

The colourful triptych that forms the reredos in the Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral tells the full Christmas story (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

This four-page feature is published in Koinonia, Vol 11, No 36, Trinity I (Kansas City, Missouri, July 2018), pp 20-23.

Thessaloniki: the ‘Mother of Israel’ and once the greatest Jewish city

The Jewish community of Thessaloniki is unique because of its continued presence throughout the city’s 2,300-year history (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford

I spent some time after Easter in Thessaloniki, enjoying the Greek celebrations of Easter, which came a week later this year, visiting monasteries, churches and archaeological sites, meeting friends, and retracting the steps of my grandfather, who was stationed in Thessaloniki during World War I.

This is the city of Aristotle and of Alexander the Great. With its walls, towers, churches and historical and archaeological sites, Thessaloniki remains a Byzantine city. But it was once the largest Jewish city in the world.

The Jewish Museum tells the story of a unique community (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

The Jewish community in Thessaloniki so influenced the Sephardic world both culturally and economically, that the city was known among Jews for centuries as ‘la Madre de Israel’ or ‘the Mother of Israel,’ and was known to non-Jews as ‘the Jerusalem of the Balkans.’

This is the second city of Greece, and in Byzantine times it was second only to Constantinople as a f political and cultural city. Until World War II, Thessaloniki had a major Jewish community, and for centuries it was the only major European city with a Jewish majority.

A unique Jewish presence

The Jewish Memorial at the Aristotelean University of Thessaloniki, on the site of the ancient Jewish cemetery (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

I was staying in the old Jewish quarter, close to the Jewish Museum and the city’s only surviving synagogues. In the Jewish Museum, I was reminded that the Jewish community of Thessaloniki is unique because of its continued presence throughout the city’s 2,300-year history, a rare fact in Jewish history, even for Jerusalem or Alexandria.

Alexander the Great granted equality under the law to Jews in 331 BC. This new freedom attracted many Jews to settle in Hellenistic cities and to become Hellenised. Jews settled in the newly-established Thessaloniki in 315 BC and there were new Jewish arrivals from Alexandria in 145 BC.

The Jewish Studies Centre at the Aristotelean University of Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

There were Jews in Thessaloniki when Saint Paul preached in the synagogues on three successive Saturdays in 50 AD, and when he wrote his first Letter to the Thessalonians. Some of these Jews probably formed a minority within the church he was writing to.

A small Jewish population was living in the city during the Byzantine period, and Rabbi Benjmain of Tuleda reported 500 Jewish families living in Thessaloniki at the end of the 12th century, engaged mainly in silk production.

When the Ottoman Turks finally captured Thessaloniki in 1430, the Jewish population was still small. Although four synagogues had been founded in the 14th and 15th centuries (1376, 1391, 1394 and 1423), few Jews were left in Thessaloniki at the time of the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Sephardic arrivals from Spain

Jews started arriving in Thessaloniki in large numbers following the expulsions from Spain in 1492 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Sephardic Jews began to migrate to the city in large numbers when they were expelled from Spain in 1492. The first Sephardic Jews to arrive were said to have come from Majorca and were ‘repentant’ Jews returning to Judaism after forced conversions to Christianity. Later arrivals came from other parts of Spain, Portugal and Italy, and each new group set up its own synagogue, with names such as Castilla, Aragon, Old Catalonia, Old Italy, Sicily, Apulia, Lisbon, Portugal and Otranto.

The 20,000 Sephardim or Spanish and Portuguese Jews who settled in Thessaloniki brought an economic revival to the city. They were engaged in international trade, finance, medicine and pharmacology and introduced new crafts such as manufacturing arms and gunpowder, as well as textiles.

By the turn of the 16th century, when other Greek cities were in decline, Thessaloniki had 29,000 inhabitants. More than half of them were Sephardic Jews, and there were 31 independent synagogues. The new arrivals gave Thessaloniki an international character and made it the second most important port in the Ottoman Empire.

The 16th century was the ‘Golden Age of Salonica,’ when the Sephardic communities established libraries, an important Talmudic academy, a printing press and a conservatory for Jewish religious music and singing. Almost all the Jews of Thessaloniki spoke Ladino or Judaeo-Spanish. For more than four centuries, 50 per cent of the city’s population was Jewish, so Ladino was the main language, spoken too by many Christians or Muslims.

The Sephardic Jews of Thessaloniki were so highly educated and widely respected that by the 16th century they were supplying rabbis for synagogues from Venice to Amsterdam. They were soon joined in Thessaloniki by Ashkenazic Jews from the Austrian empire.

Secret Jews or Muslims?

The Ahmet Kapantzi Villa … built by a prominent family in the Dönmeh community (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Later in the 17th century, Ottoman territorial losses in Europe and the discovery of new commercial routes brought about an economic decline, and Thessaloniki’s Jewish community lost its former glory. But the city continued to attract new settlers and Jews, Christian Greeks and Muslim Turks lived side-by-side, usually in harmony and often without discrimination, with a variety of languages and three days of religious observance each week.

The Jewish community was divided by schism in the 17th century with the arrival of a charismatic and mystical preacher from Smyrna. Shabbetai Zevi (1626-1676), a kabbalistic rabbi, claimed he was the long-expected messiah, and gathered thousands of disciples. But the new group was disowned by the rabbis of Thessaloniki and the Ottoman authorities saw them as a threat to social stability in the city.

He was imprisoned in 1666 and accused of sedition, but his followers continued to grow in numbers. He was brought before the Sultan and was offered three choices: to test his claims before a firing squad of archers, to be impaled, or to convert to Islam.

To the horror of his followers, he converted to Islam in 1666. Most of them abandoned him, but about 300 families followed him in becoming a Muslim. After his conversion, Zevi continued to preach many of his old beliefs, and a new Kabbalist cult, slightly influenced by Sufism, was born.

The Jews of Thessaloniki who followed Zevi into Islam became the Dönmeh. The Turkish word dönme means to turn, to convert or to betray and was used in a pejorative way. But they knew themselves by a Hebrew name that means ‘the Believers.’

Despite their conversion to Islam, the Dönmeh secretly remained close to Judaism and continued to practice Jewish rituals covertly. They prayed in Hebrew and Ladino, maintained links with other Sabbateans who had not converted to Islam, and Jewish rabbis often secretly settled community disputes. They built their own mosque and although outwardly they were Muslims, secretly they were Jewish Sabbateans.

Modern revival

The Modiano Market … built by the Modiano family (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

In the mid-19th century, Jewish educators and entrepreneurs migrated in large numbers from Western Europe to Thessaloniki to develop schools and industries, bringing new European ideas that changed the culture of the city.

From 1878, Thessaloniki was connected to Europe by rail, the port was renovated and the city was modernised. New banks stimulated commerce and contributed to economic growth. Between 1865 and 1940, more than 50 Jewish newspapers were published in the city, most of them in Ladino, but several also in Turkish, French and Greek.

The former Olympos-Naussa restaurant … a once-elegant Jewish-founded establishment on the seafront (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Between 1878 and 1914, flour mills, hotels, cafés, brick factories, breweries, soap-works and silkworm nurseries, carpet and shoe factories and several large tobacco workshops were established, mainly by Jews. They built markets, such as the Modiano Market, synagogues, schools and orphanages. All four theatres established then were owned by Jews.

Yet most of the Jewish population was working class and lived in poverty. The Workers’ Union, formed in 1909 by a group of Jews in Thessaloniki, became the most important socialist organisation in the Ottoman Empire.

The mansion built by Josef Modiano, who created the largest commercial company in the Balkans (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

By the early 20th century, the Dönmeh numbered no more than 15,000. The brothers Mehmet and Ahmet Kapantzi, who founded schools and built elegant mansions, were prominent members of this community, and several Dönmeh were also leading members of the Young Turks, who would bring down the Ottoman Empire.

After Thessaloniki was incorporated into the modern Greek state in 1912, Jews became full citizens of Greece, but the Dönmeh community was forced to move to Turkey in the 1920s.

The former Bank of Thessaloniki founded by the Allatini family … now the Malakopi Arcade (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

The devastating fire that raged through Thessaloniki in 1917 destroyed two-thirds of the Jewish districts, 45 synagogues, schools, shops and businesses. About 52,000 Jewish people were made homeless and most Jewish monuments and archives were destroyed.

In the rebuilding programme, the historic centre of Thessaloniki lost the Jewish character that had enriched it for centuries. But the city’s port continued to close on Saturdays as well as Jewish holidays until 1923.

Holocaust and destruction

The old customs house in the port was built by the Jewish architect Eli Modiano (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

In the inter-war period, new laws were passed aiming to Hellenise the city. Slowly the Jews became segregated and turned into second-class citizens. This policy legalised anti-Semitic activities and drove many Jews to emigrate. Between World War I and World War II, the Jewish population of this city fell from 93,000 people to 53,000 on the eve of the war.

With the arrival of the Nazis, hundreds of Jews joined the Greek resistance, while many others tried to go into hiding. On 11 July 1942, the ‘Black Shabbat,’ all Jewish men in Thessaloniki aged from 18 to 45 were rounded up in Plateia Eleftherias (Liberty Square) in the city centre. Throughout the afternoon, they were forced at gunpoint into humiliating physical exercises.

The old railway station in Thessaloniki … more than 46,000 Jews were sent by rail to Auschwitz and Belsen in 19 convoys in 1943 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

In 1943, the Nazis forced the Jews in Thessaloniki into a ghetto near the railway station, and began deporting them by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen and other concentration camps and labour camps, where most of the 60,000 deported died.

In all, 96 per cent of the members of Thessaloniki’s Jewish community were murdered in 1941-1945. Jewish cemeteries were erased, and most of their cultural wealth and surviving Jewish character of the city was destroyed.

The loss of more of the remaining traces of the Jewish presence came with the post-war reconstruction of Thessaloniki, which reached its peak in the 1960s, and the earthquake of 1978.

The tracks to Auschwitz … old railway tracks at the port where the convoys left for the death camps (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

A surviving synagogue

The Monasterioton Synagogue at the top of Syngrou Street is the only surviving, pre-war working synagogue in Thessaloniki. It was built in 1927 by Jews from Monastir in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The synagogue was saved during World War II because it had been requisitioned by the Red Cross as a warehouse. The building was structurally damaged by the earthquake in 1978, but it was restored by the Greek government and is one of the three functioning synagogues in Thessaloniki.

In all, there are three surviving synagogues, some surviving Jewish mansions on Vassilisis Olgas Avenue, the Modiano Market, and a new Jewish Cemetery in Stavroupoli.

The Jewish Holocaust Memorial at Liberty Square … a bronze sculpture by Nandor Glid of a menorah whose flames are wrapped around human bodies (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

The Jewish Holocaust Memorial at the south-east corner of Plateia Eleftherias (Liberty Square) recalls the 50,000 Greek Jews exterminated in the Holocaust. The memorial is a bronze sculpture by Nandor Glid of a seven-branch menorah whose flames are wrapped around human bodies in death.

The names of Holocaust victims on the pavement in Vassilisis Olgas Avenue (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Only 1,200 Jews live in Thessaloniki today. But the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris, and the President of the Jewish Community, David Saltiel, are partners in honouring the pre-war Jewish presence and contribution to the city and ensuring the story of Jewish presence in Thessaloniki continues to be told.

This feature was first published in June 2018 in the ‘Church Review’ (Dublin and Glendalough) and the ‘Diocesan Magazine’ (Cashel, Ferns and Ossory).

The Monasterioton Synagogue is the only surviving, pre-war working synagogue in Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ (9): Celebrate, Psalm 130: 5-6

Patrick Comerford

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is an invitation to pray with Christians around the world during the nine days between Ascension Day [10 May 2018] and the Day of Pentecost tomorrow [20 May 2018], using art and scripture.

‘Changed Lives → Changing Lives’ is the guiding theme this year as people are invited to pray afresh for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In doing so, people are joining thousands of others around the world as part of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – an initiative encouraging people to explore through prayer how they might courageously witness to God’s life-changing work.

As the Apostles prayed together following Christ’s Ascension, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost, we too are invited to wait and pray today. They prayed in obedience, trusting that the way ahead would be revealed. May we, like the disciples, pray anticipating that the Spirit will show us new ways of living and loving. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ asks that we may we be open to where God leads us, to be the change God wants to see in the world – whatever that might require.

As God is at work in us, he is also at work through us changing the lives of others. Please join with us as we pray together: ‘Come Holy Spirit: thy kingdom come’ and may our waiting and praying this Novena open our hearts afresh to God’s possibilities.

The ‘Pocket Prayers’ for 2018 for these nine days have been inviting readers each day to:

LOOK at images and meet the characters caught up in life-changing moments, where the future is shaped by their encounter with God. They suggest letting those images reveal new possibilities for God’s Word to transform us and others.

WAIT prayerfully for the Holy Spirit. Pause, creating a space into which God can speak.

READ the Bible text, allow it to enliven your heart, stir your soul and spark your imagination.

LISTEN for insight through idea or image, through recollection or curiosity. Let that Word dwell within you, as you listen for yourself and your community.

RESPOND to the prompting of the Word, with an action that leads to life-giving change. Let the words of the collect gather up and bless these moments of prayerful waiting upon God, so his Kingdom might be seen more fully in you.

Saturday 19 May: Silence

LOOK … and be curious.

WAIT … with prayerful expectation.

Come Holy Spirit: Thy Kingdom Come

READ … the text with an open mind.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. (Psalm 130: 5-6)

LISTEN … for a word with a willing heart.

RESPOND … with prayer and action. Oh God of the new day, Your Son Jesus knew what it meant to watch and wait through the dark silence of the longest night. Teach us how to wait with heaven’s indrawn breath on tiptoe with anticipation, until all of our being reaches towards you, all our desire is for you, and all our onward movement is for your Kingdom coming.

Amen.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ (8): Celebrate, Isaiah 25: 6-10

Patrick Comerford

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is an invitation to pray with Christians around the world during the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost, using art and scripture.

‘Changed Lives → Changing Lives’ is the guiding theme this year as people are invited to pray afresh for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In doing so, people are joining thousands of others around the world as part of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – an initiative encouraging people to explore through prayer how they might courageously witness to God’s life-changing work.

As the Apostles prayed together following Christ’s Ascension, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost, we too are invited to wait and pray today. They prayed in obedience, trusting that the way ahead would be revealed. May we, like the disciples, pray anticipating that the Spirit will show us new ways of living and loving. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ asks that we may we be open to where God leads us, to be the change God wants to see in the world – whatever that might require.

As God is at work in us, he is also at work through us changing the lives of others. Please join with us as we pray together: ‘Come Holy Spirit: thy kingdom come’ and may our waiting and praying this Novena open our hearts afresh to God’s possibilities.

The ‘Pocket Prayers’ for 2018 for these nine days invite readers each day to:

LOOK at images and meet the characters caught up in life-changing moments, where the future is shaped by their encounter with God. They suggest letting those images reveal new possibilities for God’s Word to transform us and others.

WAIT prayerfully for the Holy Spirit. Pause, creating a space into which God can speak.

READ the Bible text, allow it to enliven your heart, stir your soul and spark your imagination.

LISTEN for insight through idea or image, through recollection or curiosity. Let that Word dwell within you, as you listen for yourself and your community.

RESPOND to the prompting of the Word, with an action that leads to life-giving change. Let the words of the collect gather up and bless these moments of prayerful waiting upon God, so his Kingdom might be seen more fully in you.

Friday 18 May: Celebrate

LOOK … and be curious.

WAIT … with prayerful expectation.

Come Holy Spirit: Thy Kingdom Come.

READ … the text with an open mind.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. (Isaiah 25: 6-10)

LISTEN … for a word with a willing heart.

RESPOND … with prayer and action.

Oh gentle God, You cross all the barriers of separation; longing to be near us, you wipe away our tears, you shower us with precious gifts; your comfort soothes away our shame. May we spread the word that you have spread a table – and that all are welcome at your feast.

Amen.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ (7): Help, Luke 2: 8, 13-18, 20

Patrick Comerford

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is an invitation to pray with Christians around the world during the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost, using art and scripture.

‘Changed Lives → Changing Lives’ is the guiding theme this year as people are invited to pray afresh for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In doing so, people are joining thousands of others around the world as part of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – an initiative encouraging people to explore through prayer how they might courageously witness to God’s life-changing work.

As the Apostles prayed together following Christ’s Ascension, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost, we too are invited to wait and pray today. They prayed in obedience, trusting that the way ahead would be revealed. May we, like the disciples, pray anticipating that the Spirit will show us new ways of living and loving. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ asks that we may we be open to where God leads us, to be the change God wants to see in the world – whatever that might require.

As God is at work in us, he is also at work through us changing the lives of others. Please join with us as we pray together: ‘Come Holy Spirit: thy kingdom come’ and may our waiting and praying this Novena open our hearts afresh to God’s possibilities.

The ‘Pocket Prayers’ for 2018 for these nine days invite readers each day to:

LOOK at images and meet the characters caught up in life-changing moments, where the future is shaped by their encounter with God. They suggest letting those images reveal new possibilities for God’s Word to transform us and others.

WAIT prayerfully for the Holy Spirit. Pause, creating a space into which God can speak.

READ the Bible text, allow it to enliven your heart, stir your soul and spark your imagination.

LISTEN for insight through idea or image, through recollection or curiosity. Let that Word dwell within you, as you listen for yourself and your community.

RESPOND to the prompting of the Word, with an action that leads to life-giving change. Let the words of the collect gather up and bless these moments of prayerful waiting upon God, so his Kingdom might be seen more fully in you.

Thursday 17 May: Adore

LOOK … and be curious.

WAIT … with prayerful expectation.

Come Holy Spirit: Thy Kingdom Come.

READ … the text with an open mind.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night … And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’ The shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them … The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2: 8, 13-18, 20 abbreviated)

LISTEN … for a word with a willing heart.

RESPOND … with prayer and action. Oh revealing God, as we stand transfixed in an unexpected place, crumpled and surprised to find ourselves here, invited, yet uncertain on the threshold, help us to recognise our gorgeous Lord Jesus. Drawn in, may we kneel in wonder. May we go away changed. May we draw others to the stable too.

Amen.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ (6): Help, Mark 2: 1-5, 11-12

Patrick Comerford

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is an invitation to pray with Christians around the world during the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost, using art and scripture.

‘Changed Lives → Changing Lives’ is the guiding theme this year as people are invited to pray afresh for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In doing so, people are joining thousands of others around the world as part of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – an initiative encouraging people to explore through prayer how they might courageously witness to God’s life-changing work.

As the Apostles prayed together following Christ’s Ascension, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost, we too are invited to wait and pray today. They prayed in obedience, trusting that the way ahead would be revealed. May we, like the disciples, pray anticipating that the Spirit will show us new ways of living and loving. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ asks that we may we be open to where God leads us, to be the change God wants to see in the world – whatever that might require.

As God is at work in us, he is also at work through us changing the lives of others. Please join with us as we pray together: ‘Come Holy Spirit: thy kingdom come’ and may our waiting and praying this Novena open our hearts afresh to God’s possibilities.

The ‘Pocket Prayers’ for 2018 for these nine days invite readers each day to:

LOOK at images and meet the characters caught up in life-changing moments, where the future is shaped by their encounter with God. They suggest letting those images reveal new possibilities for God’s Word to transform us and others.

WAIT prayerfully for the Holy Spirit. Pause, creating a space into which God can speak.

READ the Bible text, allow it to enliven your heart, stir your soul and spark your imagination.

LISTEN for insight through idea or image, through recollection or curiosity. Let that Word dwell within you, as you listen for yourself and your community.

RESPOND to the prompting of the Word, with an action that leads to life-giving change. Let the words of the collect gather up and bless these moments of prayerful waiting upon God, so his Kingdom might be seen more fully in you.

Wednesday 16 May: Help

LOOK … and be curious.

WAIT… with prayerful expectation.

Come Holy Spirit: Thy Kingdom Come.

READ … the text with an open mind.

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven … I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’ (Mark 2: 1-5, 11-12)

LISTEN … for a word with a willing heart.

RESPOND … with prayer and action.

Oh faithful God, help us to find our way through the crowd to you. Grant us faith to rip off the roof so we may see your face; help us not to mind the mess when we bring others into your presence for the first time. And if we should ourselves be paralyzed by fear and indecision bless us with friends who will place us before your eyes and entreat your healing.

Amen.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ (5): Pray For, Matthew 7: 7-12

Patrick Comerford

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is an invitation to pray with Christians around the world during the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost, using art and scripture.

‘Changed Lives → Changing Lives’ is the guiding theme this year as people are invited to pray afresh for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In doing so, people are joining thousands of others around the world as part of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – an initiative encouraging people to explore through prayer how they might courageously witness to God’s life-changing work.

As the Apostles prayed together following Christ’s Ascension, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost, we too are invited to wait and pray today. They prayed in obedience, trusting that the way ahead would be revealed. May we, like the disciples, pray anticipating that the Spirit will show us new ways of living and loving. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ asks that we may we be open to where God leads us, to be the change God wants to see in the world – whatever that might require.

As God is at work in us, he is also at work through us changing the lives of others. Please join with us as we pray together: ‘Come Holy Spirit: thy kingdom come’ and may our waiting and praying this Novena open our hearts afresh to God’s possibilities.

The ‘Pocket Prayers’ for 2018 for these nine days invite readers each day to:

LOOK at images and meet the characters caught up in life-changing moments, where the future is shaped by their encounter with God. They suggest letting those images reveal new possibilities for God’s Word to transform us and others.

WAIT prayerfully for the Holy Spirit. Pause, creating a space into which God can speak.

READ the Bible text, allow it to enliven your heart, stir your soul and spark your imagination.

LISTEN for insight through idea or image, through recollection or curiosity. Let that Word dwell within you, as you listen for yourself and your community.

RESPOND to the prompting of the Word, with an action that leads to life-giving change. Let the words of the collect gather up and bless these moments of prayerful waiting upon God, so his Kingdom might be seen more fully in you.

Tuesday 15 May: Pray for

LOOK … and be curious.

WAIT … with prayerful expectation.

Come Holy Spirit: Thy Kingdom Come.

READ … the text with an open mind.

‘Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!’ (Matthew 7: 7-12)

LISTEN … for a word with a willing heart.

RESPOND … with prayer and action.

Oh God of invitation, as we stand at the door, as we ask the hard questions, as we search you out, may we sense you already at work preparing a feast of answers, drawing us over the threshold and satisfying all our hungers.
Amen.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ (4): Offer, 1 Samuel 1: 25b-28

Patrick Comerford

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is an invitation to pray with Christians around the world during the nine days between Ascension and Pentecost, using art and scripture.

‘Changed Lives → Changing Lives’ is the guiding theme this year as people are invited to pray afresh for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

In doing so, people are joining thousands of others around the world as part of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – an initiative encouraging people to explore through prayer how they might courageously witness to God’s life-changing work.

As the Apostles prayed together following Christ’s Ascension, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost, we too are invited to wait and pray today. They prayed in obedience, trusting that the way ahead would be revealed. May we, like the disciples, pray anticipating that the Spirit will show us new ways of living and loving. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ asks that we may we be open to where God leads us, to be the change God wants to see in the world – whatever that might require.

As God is at work in us, he is also at work through us changing the lives of others. Please join with us as we pray together: ‘Come Holy Spirit: thy kingdom come’ and may our waiting and praying this Novena open our hearts afresh to God’s possibilities.

The ‘Pocket Prayers’ for 2018 for these nine days invite readers each day to:

LOOK at images and meet the characters caught up in life-changing moments, where the future is shaped by their encounter with God. They suggest letting those images reveal new possibilities for God’s Word to transform us and others.

WAIT prayerfully for the Holy Spirit. Pause, creating a space into which God can speak.

READ the Bible text, allow it to enliven your heart, stir your soul and spark your imagination.

LISTEN for insight through idea or image, through recollection or curiosity. Let that Word dwell within you, as you listen for yourself and your community.

RESPOND to the prompting of the Word, with an action that leads to life-giving change. Let the words of the collect gather up and bless these moments of prayerful waiting upon God, so his Kingdom might be seen more fully in you.

Monday 14 May: Offer

LOOK … and be curious.

WAIT … with prayerful expectation. Come Holy Spirit: Thy Kingdom Come.

READ … the text with an open mind.

They brought the child to Eli. And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him.

‘Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.’ She left him there for the Lord. (1 Samuel 1: 25b-28)

LISTEN … for a word with a willing heart.

RESPOND … with prayer and action.

Oh self-surrendering God, you are glad for each gift we offer up to you. As Hannah let go of everything she had prayed for, everything she had longed for, everything you blessed her with, it seems her heart did not break and that you blessed her more. So in our letting go of everything we pray for, and everything we long for, may we too know your blessing breaking in our lives. Amen.

Four days of voting and four days of listening and a test for democracy

Saint Matthias in a roof boss in Saint Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate, Norwich

Patrick Comerford,

Sunday 13 May 2018, The Seventh Sunday of Easter

11.30 a.m.: Morning Prayer, Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Co Limerick.

Readings: Acts 1: 15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1; I John 5: 9-13; and John 17: 6-19.

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

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. It is a sort of in-between day. This day comes between Ascension Day and the Day of Pentecost, it is a day of doubt and deliberation for the disciples, caught between awe and wonder, the wonder of the Ascension the previous Thursday, and the awe of the descent of the Holy Spirit on Sunday next, the Day of Pentecost.

In this in-between time, the remaining 11 disciples have to vote. They have to choose a successor to Judas, who is now dead. None of us would like to be counted as the successor of Judas. But this reading from the Acts of the Apostles recalls the successor to Judas as one of the Twelve, the Apostle Matthias. Indeed, his feast day falls tomorrow [Monday 14 May 2018.].

I sometimes wonder whether Saint Matthias saw the humour in being second choice. After all, he was the second choice – not the first choice, but the second choice – to succeed Judas among the Twelve.

Imagine how Saint Matthias might have felt: the first time round, he was not good enough to be among the Twelve, but Judas was. The second time round, his name is not mentioned first; instead, the first name to come forward is that of Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus. But nobody ever remembers him, and his saintly life has passed into oblivion. I hear very few boys being called Barsabbas, as in: ‘Hey Barsabbas, pass the ball over here.’

And then, to compound matters, nobody has the foggiest idea who Saint Matthias was, before or after his election. His name, identity and life story have been forgotten, apart from making him the patron saint of alcoholism and smallpox, and of a few small towns. We are not even sure where or how he died, or where he is buried.

This reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that Saint Matthias is the Apostle chosen by the remaining 11 of the 12 to take the place of Judas following his betrayal of Christ and his subsequent death (Acts 1:15-26).

The 120 assembled believers come forward with two nominations: their first choice is Joseph Barsabbas, or Joseph Justus. It may only be an afterthought that someone suggests the name of Matthias.

And then, they cannot make up their minds. Instead, they cast lots, and the lot falls to Matthias. I doubt any of us would be happy to hear we have been elected to any role in life by tossing a coin, drawing straws or rolling a dice as others pray about whether we are suitable or qualified.

But it seems I have spent the last four days doing nothing but vote: a full day of voting in London at a meeting of the trustees of the Anglican mission agency USPG on Wednesday, and three days of voting at the General Synod of the Church of Ireland, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The voting in London was important in terms of the future of USPG, which has a new general secretary, the Revd Duncan Dormor, and is about to confirm the appointment of a new chair of trustees, John Neilson, at a council meeting in July.

The voting in Armagh directly affects the life and future of this diocese. We voted on proposals that prepare the Church for the possibility of amalgamating the Diocese of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert with the Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.

We have not been amalgamated, yet. But this vote means that when one or other of our bishops resigns, retires, moves on or dies, the electoral college for that diocese will be suspended.

How we have a say in electing our new bishop or bishops is now going to be more complicated.

But last week’s voting at the General Synod also involved proposals to change how we vote for and elect members of the General Synod, including representatives of this diocese.

When we vote we must be careful and informed. It is not always a straight choice between Barsabbas and Matthias, certainly not a choice between Barabbas and Jesus, in front of a crowd on Good Friday.

Nor should it ever be by lot: tossing a coin, rolling a dice, drawing straws, or, like Grand National Day, sticking a pin into paper with eyes blindfolded.

Being careful and being informed means that before last week’s meetings I read all my papers in advance of the meeting of the trustees of USPG in London and in advance of the meeting of the General Synod in Armagh.

But being informed did not mean I was necessarily going to be wise. I also needed to seek God’s will, and prayed each morning before each meeting, before each day’s voting.

That does not mean I got it right each day. And even if I was right, it does not mean that I was on the ‘winning side’ in each vote. But it does mean I had to respect the vote, the process, and the views of those I disagree with, even if I think they are thoroughly wrong – and I expect them to respect me and to respect my conscience too.

If that mutual respect breaks down, then the whole process of voting, of democracy, loses the confidence of all involved.

I have good reason to suspect that Barsabbas is named in our reading this morning because he respected and accepted the choice of Matthias. I cannot imagine he would be named if he had gone off in a huff, if he had bad-mouthed Matthias afterwards, if he had decided to return to the synagogue and the Pharisees or another Jewish tradition.

We are faced with a major vote on the future direction of Irish society later this month [25 May 2018]. It is a vote not just about private ethics but also about public morality.

Everybody agrees – and this is not meant to be a pun – that this referendum is going to be life-changing and life-altering.

Let me say immediately that I am (1) not going to tell anyone how to vote; and (2) not going to tell anyone how I am going to vote. I am not being evasive; I am not avoiding the thorny issues; and I am not trying to abdicate my responsibility to speak with a moral and ethical voice at this time .

But there are some things that sadden me about the referendum campaign. I think it is fair to say that many campaigners, on each side, are not listening to each other. There has been a paucity of debate. Debate involves both speaking and listening, hearing and being heard. However, it seems that the argument on each side is often characterised by people rehearsing pre-referendum positions, characterising the other side in the debate by the most extreme arguments put forward on each side rather than listening to the more rational argument put on each side, and by trying to paint people into corners.

It is not extreme to want to protect all human life, from conception to death. Nor is it extreme to argue that a woman’s life needs to be protected and that every child should be a loved child.

But at the extremes, we have people who think human life begins at conception, but who have no problem with being proponents of the death penalty or sympathising with Donald Trump’s nuclear madness; and people who vegans and pacifists, but who think the conceived child’s life has no value until the infant is born.

These are extreme positions, and I too may be in danger of exaggerating.

During this referendum campaign there are many hurt people who are too hurt to allow their voices to be heard publicly. They are living once again through moments from the past that continue to hurt, and for which there is no healing.

But after this referendum, there are going to be many hurt people, who feel they have not been listened to, and many triumphant people who will all too easily forget the hurt and divisions that referendums like this inevitably create.

Be informed. Read all the material that comes your way, especially the impartial material from the Referendum Commission. Do not end up on the day rolling a dice, or using your pen like a pin on Grand National Day.

Be respectful. Remember that other people, including people in your own family or your own workplace may vote differently, but for very good moral and ethical reasons.

Be prayerful. It is not just enough to think and ponder on the issues. These are major ethical and moral issues that are going to effect Ireland for a full generation. Pray for God’s guidance on 25 May. Indeed, sometimes we hear the voice of God in what others have to say.

Be a voter. Democracy comes at a price, and there is no point in me moaning about the present state of society if I am not willing to vote, even when I consider none of the choices being offered reflects my hopes. Second best is always better than what is going to be the worst.

Continue to have hope. Things are never as they should be, as they ought to be. This time between Ascension and Pentecost is a reminder that we always live in the in-between time. Nothing is going to be perfect until the Kingdom comes. But in the meantime we try to be signs of what the kingdom is going to be like in how we show our love for one another.

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

This sermon was prepared for Sunday 13 May 2018.

‘The lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles’ (Acts 1: 17) … Christ and the twelve apostles in the East Window in Saint Flannan’s Cathedral, Killaloe (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

John 17: 6-19

[Jesus said:] 6 ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Peter stood up among the believers … and said, ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled’ (Acts 1: 15) … Saint Peter depicted in a window in the north nave in in Saint Flannan’s Cathedral, Killaloe (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Liturgical Colour: White, or Gold.

The Greeting (from Easter Day until Pentecost):

Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Penitential Kyries:

God our Father,
you exalted your Son to sit at your right hand.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you are the way, the truth and the life.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit, Counsellor,
you are sent to be with us for ever.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect (Easter 7):

O God the King of Glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
Mercifully give us faith to know
that, as he promised,
he abides with us on earth to the end of time;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

Jesus said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives (John 14: 27, 28)

Blessing:

Christ our exalted King
pour on you his abundant gifts
make you faithful and strong to do his will
that you may reign with him in glory:

Dismissal: (from Easter Day to Pentecost):

Go in the peace of the Risen Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Hymns:

461, For all thy saints, O Lord

518, Bind us together, Lord

527, Son of God, eternal Saviour

Saint Peter depicted in one of the paired east windows in Saint Brendan’s Cathedral, Clonfert, Co Galway (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

‘I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy’

‘The lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles’ (Acts 1: 17) … Christ and the twelve apostles in the East Window in Saint Flannan’s Cathedral, Killaloe (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Patrick Comerford,

Sunday 13 May 2018, The Seventh Sunday of Easter

9.30 a.m.: The Parish Eucharist (Holy Communion 2), Castletown Church, Kilcornan, Co Limerick.

Readings: Acts 1: 15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1; I John 5: 9-13; and John 17: 6-19.

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

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. It is a sort of in-between day. This day comes between Ascension Day and the Day of Pentecost, it is a day of doubt and deliberation for the disciples, caught between awe and wonder, the wonder of the Ascension the previous Thursday, and the awe of the descent of the Holy Spirit on Sunday next, the Day of Pentecost.

In this in-between time, the remaining 11 disciples have to vote. They have to choose a successor to Judas, who is now dead. None of us would like to be counted as the successor of Judas. But this reading from the Acts of the Apostles recalls the successor to Judas as one of the Twelve, the Apostle Matthias. Indeed, his feast day falls tomorrow [Monday 14 May 2018.].

I sometimes wonder whether Saint Matthias saw the humour in being second choice. After all, he was the second choice – not the first choice, but the second choice – to succeed Judas among the Twelve.

Imagine how Saint Matthias might have felt: the first time round, he was not good enough to be among the Twelve, but Judas was. The second time round, his name is not mentioned first; instead, the first name to come forward is that of Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus. But nobody ever remembers him, and his saintly life has passed into oblivion. I hear very few boys being called Barsabbas, as in: ‘Hey Barsabbas, pass the ball over here.’

And then, to compound matters, nobody has the foggiest idea who Saint Matthias was, before or after his election. His name, identity and life story have been forgotten, apart from making him the patron saint of alcoholism and smallpox, and of a few small towns. We are not even sure where or how he died, or where he is buried.

This reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that Saint Matthias is the Apostle chosen by the remaining 11 of the 12 to take the place of Judas following his betrayal of Christ and his subsequent death (Acts 1:15-26).

The 120 assembled believers come forward with two nominations: their first choice is Joseph Barsabbas, or Joseph Justus. It may only be an afterthought that someone suggests the name of Matthias.

And then, they cannot make up their minds. Instead, they cast lots, and the lot falls to Matthias. I doubt any of us would be happy to hear we have been elected to any role in life by tossing a coin, drawing straws or rolling a dice as others pray about whether we are suitable or qualified.

But it seems I have spent the last four days doing nothing but vote: a full day of voting in London at a meeting of the trustees of the Anglican mission agency USPG on Wednesday, and three days of voting at the General Synod of the Church of Ireland, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The voting in London was important in terms of the future of USPG, which has a new general secretary, the Revd Duncan Dormor, and is about to confirm the appointment of a new chair of trustees, John Neilson, at a council meeting in July.

The voting in Armagh directly affects the life and future of this diocese. We voted on proposals that prepare the Church for the possibility of amalgamating the Diocese of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert with the Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.

We have not been amalgamated, yet. But this vote means that when one or other of our bishops resigns, retires, moves on or dies, the electoral college for that diocese will be suspended.

How we have a say in electing our new bishop or bishops is now going to be more complicated.

But last week’s voting at the General Synod also involved proposals to change how we vote for and elect members of the General Synod, including representatives of this diocese.

When we vote we must be careful and informed. It is not always a straight choice between Barsabbas and Matthias, certainly not a choice between Barabbas and Jesus, in front of a crowd on Good Friday.

Nor should it ever be by lot: tossing a coin, rolling a dice, drawing straws, or, like Grand National Day, sticking a pin into paper with eyes blindfolded.

Being careful and being informed means that before last week’s meetings I read all my papers in advance of the meeting of the trustees of USPG in London and in advance of the meeting of the General Synod in Armagh.

But being informed did not mean I was necessarily going to be wise. I also needed to seek God’s will, and prayed each morning before each meeting, before each day’s voting.

That does not mean I got it right each day. And even if I was right, it does not mean that I was on the ‘winning side’ in each vote. But it does mean I had to respect the vote, the process, and the views of those I disagree with, even if I think they are thoroughly wrong – and I expect them to respect me and to respect my conscience too.

If that mutual respect breaks down, then the whole process of voting, of democracy, loses the confidence of all involved.

I have good reason to suspect that Barsabbas is named in our reading this morning because he respected and accepted the choice of Matthias. I cannot imagine he would be named if he had gone off in a huff, if he had bad-mouthed Matthias afterwards, if he had decided to return to the synagogue and the Pharisees or another Jewish tradition.

We are faced with a major vote on the future direction of Irish society later this month [25 May 2018]. It is a vote not just about private ethics but also about public morality.

Everybody agrees – and this is not meant to be a pun – that this referendum is going to be life-changing and life-altering.

Let me say immediately that I am (1) not going to tell anyone how to vote; and (2) not going to tell anyone how I am going to vote. I am not being evasive; I am not avoiding the thorny issues; and I am not trying to abdicate my responsibility to speak with a moral and ethical voice at this time .

But there are some things that sadden me about the referendum campaign. I think it is fair to say that many campaigners, on each side, are not listening to each other. There has been a paucity of debate. Debate involves both speaking and listening, hearing and being heard. However, it seems that the argument on each side is often characterised by people rehearsing pre-referendum positions, characterising the other side in the debate by the most extreme arguments put forward on each side rather than listening to the more rational argument put on each side, and by trying to paint people into corners.

It is not extreme to want to protect all human life, from conception to death. Nor is it extreme to argue that a woman’s life needs to be protected and that every child should be a loved child.

But at the extremes, we have people who think human life begins at conception, but who have no problem with being proponents of the death penalty or sympathising with Donald Trump’s nuclear madness; and people who vegans and pacifists, but who think the conceived child’s life has no value until the infant is born.

These are extreme positions, and I too may be in danger of exaggerating.

During this referendum campaign there are many hurt people who are too hurt to allow their voices to be heard publicly. They are living once again through moments from the past that continue to hurt, and for which there is no healing.

But after this referendum, there are going to be many hurt people, who feel they have not been listened to, and many triumphant people who will all too easily forget the hurt and divisions that referendums like this inevitably create.

Be informed. Read all the material that comes your way, especially the impartial material from the Referendum Commission. Do not end up on the day rolling a dice, or using your pen like a pin on Grand National Day.

Be respectful. Remember that other people, including people in your own family or your own workplace may vote differently, but for very good moral and ethical reasons.

Be prayerful. It is not just enough to think and ponder on the issues. These are major ethical and moral issues that are going to effect Ireland for a full generation. Pray for God’s guidance on 25 May. Indeed, sometimes we hear the voice of God in what others have to say.

Be a voter. Democracy comes at a price, and there is no point in me moaning about the present state of society if I am not willing to vote, even when I consider none of the choices being offered reflects my hopes. Second best is always better than what is going to be the worst.

Continue to have hope. Things are never as they should be, as they ought to be. This time between Ascension and Pentecost is a reminder that we always live in the in-between time. Nothing is going to be perfect until the Kingdom comes. But in the meantime we try to be signs of what the kingdom is going to be like in how we show our love for one another.

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

This sermon was prepared for Sunday 13 May 2018.

Saint Matthias in a roof boss in Saint Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate, Norwich

John 17: 6-19

[Jesus said:] 6 ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Peter stood up among the believers … and said, ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled’ (Acts 1: 15) … Saint Peter depicted in a window in the north nave in in Saint Flannan’s Cathedral, Killaloe (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Liturgical Colour: White, or Gold.

The Greeting (from Easter Day until Pentecost):

Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Penitential Kyries:

God our Father,
you exalted your Son to sit at your right hand.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus,
you are the way, the truth and the life.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit, Counsellor,
you are sent to be with us for ever.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect (Easter 7):

O God the King of Glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
Mercifully give us faith to know
that, as he promised,
he abides with us on earth to the end of time;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

Jesus said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives (John 14: 27, 28)

Preface:

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who after he had risen from the dead ascended into heaven,
where he is seated at your right hand to intercede for us
and to prepare a place for us in glory:

Post Communion Prayer:

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.

Blessing:

Christ our exalted King
pour on you his abundant gifts
make you faithful and strong to do his will
that you may reign with him in glory:

Dismissal: (from Easter Day to Pentecost):

Go in the peace of the Risen Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Hymns:

461, For all thy saints, O Lord

518, Bind us together, Lord

438, O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray

Saint Peter depicted in one of the paired east windows in Saint Brendan’s Cathedral, Clonfert, Co Galway (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)