COMERFORD WAY: Patrick Comerford’s online journal on Anglicanism, theology, spirituality, history, architecture, travel, poetry, beach walks ... and more
The ‘Eastern journey of Nicholas II’ a journey of Nicholas II was a 51 million km the included a visit to the Acropolis in Athens
Patrick Comerford
Once more I am overwhelmed by the viewing and reading figures for this blog. These figures reached a total of 51 million shortly before midnight last night (5 September 2026), passing the million mark for the third time within a week. It comes soon after reaching the 50 million early the day before (4 September 2026) and 49 million four days previously (31 August 2026). These figures passed the million mark on three other days last month: 48 million (24 August), 47 million (17 August) and 46 million (9 August).
I continue to find these viewing and reading figures overpowering at times, and this blog continues to reach volumes of readers I never expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 30million hits or visitors in 2026 alone.
Half of all hits or reader figures have been in little more than six months, with 25.5 million hits since 28 February 2026. I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Throughout this year and last, the daily figures are overwhelming on many occasions. Of the 10 days of busiest traffic on this blog, three were this month (1, 4 and 5 September 2026), three were in May (1, 6 and 14 May 2026), three were the previous month (26, 29 and 30 April 2026), and one in March.
• 1,124,925 (1 May 2026)
• 647,187 (5 September 2026)
• 525,719 (14 May 2026)
• 509,644 (29 April 2026)
• 407,835 (4 September 2026)
• 356,335 (1 September 2026)
• 344,003 (30 April 2026)
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)
• 322,038 (26 April 2026)
• 318,835 (6 May 2026)
The daily average was about 118,700 hits a day throughout August, and has been about 400,000 a day so far this month. Yet, I recall how 10 years ago, back in 2016, the daily average was around 1,000, or 30,000 a month.
Souvenir Santas at St James’ Park … Matias Fernandez-Pardo has joined Newcastle United for a reported fee of £51 million (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
To put this new figure of 51 million into context:
Matias Fernandez-Pardo joined Newcastle United this month on a long-term contract from Lille. The 21-year-old forward arrived at St James’ Park for a reported fee of £51 million.
The figure of 51 million people is associated with an extraordinary, incredible and unbelievable claim by Trump that Vladimir Putin actually fought in World War II. In a claim that seems typical of the man’s fantasism, Trump said: ‘I talked to Putin. He lost 51 million people [in World War II] and he did fight … He fought with us in World War II and everybody hates him.’
Putin was born on 7 October 1952. Nor could Trump have ever fought in World War II – he was born on 14 June 1946, and, in any case, he had ‘bone spurs’ when it came to conscription.
More people than ever are listening to UK radio, with the latest figures reporting a record weekly audience of 51 million people.
51 million sq metres is 51,000 sq km – the size of both Bosnia Herzegovina and Costa Rica – and 51 million km is 51,000 km. The ‘Eastern journey of Nicholas II’ in 1890-1891 was a journey made by Nicholas Alexandrovich – then Tsarevich of Russia – around the greater part of Europe and Asia between October 1890 and August 1891.
His journey by rail and sea took him to Vienna, Athens, Alexandria and Egypt, and on to present-day Sri Lanka, India, Java, Singapore, Siam (Thailand) and China. The 51,000 km journey included 15,000 km by rail and 22,000 km by sea. In Japan, the future tsar survived a failed assassination attempt before travelling on to Vladivostok and back to St Petersburg.
51 million minutes, taking account of leap years, is 96 years, 352 days and 16 hours. This means that if this blog was receiving just one hit a minute, I would need to have started blogging back in late 1929.
I retired from active parish ministry about 4½ years ago, on 31 March 2022. These days, though, about 150 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning, or more than 1,000 people each week.
This evening, as this blog passes 51 million hits, I am truly grateful to the real readers among those 51 million hits. In particular I am thankful for the faithful core group of people who join me in prayer, scripture reading and reflections each day.
‘The people of Nineveh … repented at the proclamation of Jonah’ (Matthew 12: 41) … a whale depicted in the Saint Brendan window in Saint Michael’s Church, Sneem, Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and yesterday was the Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VII, 19 July 2026). Today, the calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship remembers Saint Margaret of Antioch, martyr in the fourth century, and Saint Bartolomé de las Casas (1566), Apostle to the Indies.
I stayed up last night watching the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina. I watched the first 90 minutes in the Old George in Stony Stratford, and then watched the rest of the game at home to see Spain 1-0 in extra time. Now I am on my way to Cambridge this morning. But, as the day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
‘The people of Nineveh … repented at the proclamation of Jonah’ (Matthew 12: 41) … a reconstruction of the gates of an Assyrian palace in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Matthew 12: 38-42 (NRSVA):
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, ‘Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.’ 39 But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. 41 The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!’
‘Hold up the sandal, as he has commanded us!’ (Monty Python, ‘The Life of Brian’) … two over-size sandals outside the Antika Irish bar on Arabatzoglou street in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s reflection:
Signs are part of the humour throughout Monty Python’s Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, a controversial 1979 film by the Monty Python team, including Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.
Scene 18, ‘The Holy Gourd of Jerusalem’, includes this dialogue:
FOLLOWERS: … Look! Ah! Oh! Oh!
ARTHUR: He has given us a sign!
FOLLOWER: Oh!
SHOE FOLLOWER: He has given us … His shoe!
ARTHUR: The shoe is the sign. Let us follow His example.
SPIKE: What?
ARTHUR: Let us, like Him, hold up one shoe and let the other be upon our foot, for this is His sign, that all who follow Him shall do likewise.
EDDIE: Yes.
SHOE FOLLOWER: No, no, no. The shoe is …
YOUTH: No.
SHOE FOLLOWER: … a sign that we must gather shoes together in abundance.
GIRL: Cast off …
SPIKE: Aye. What?
GIRL: … the shoes! Follow the Gourd!
SHOE FOLLOWER: No! Let us gather shoes together!
FRANK: Yes.
SHOE FOLLOWER: Let me!
ELSIE: Oh, get off!
YOUTH: No, no! It is a sign that, like Him, we must think not of the things of the body, but of the face and head!
SHOE FOLLOWER: Give me your shoe!
YOUTH: Get off!
GIRL: Follow the Gourd! The Holy Gourd of Jerusalem!
FOLLOWER: The Gourd!
HARRY: Hold up the sandal, as He has commanded us!
ARTHUR: It is a shoe! It is a shoe!
HARRY: It's a sandal!
ARTHUR: No, it isn't!
GIRL: Cast it away!
ARTHUR: Put it on!
YOUTH: And clear off!
How often do we pray for unusual signs as indications of God’s blessing, favour, approval or intervention, or even God’s judgment?
In this morning’s Gospel reading (Matthew 12: 38-42), Jesus faces this sort of request too in his own day. People wanted some spectacular sign from him to establish beyond doubt that he was who he said he was.
In today’s reading, Jesus addresses the crowds who gather around him as ‘an evil and adulterous generation’ (verse 39) because they are asking for a sign. Today people can be very impressed by visionaries who claim to have visions that are denied to the rest of believers.
The church has traditionally been very wary of all such claims. In the Gospel reading, Jesus accuses his contemporaries of failing to see what is there before them. They want signs and yet all they need already stands in front of them in the person of Jesus, someone greater than Solomon, greater than Jonah, greater than all the prophets and kings.
If the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah, and if the Queen of the South responded to Solomon, how much more should Jesus’ contemporaries respond to him?
God has already given us all we need in and through the church, in Word, in Sacrament and in the community of believers. There we find the living word of God. There we find the Eucharist and the other sacraments. There we find Jesus present among us and within his followers.
In the Eucharist, Christ is present to us in the bread and the wine, saying, ‘This is my body … This is my blood’.
In coming to Christ in the Eucharist, we are coming to one who is greater than Jonah or Solomon. He is present to us in other ways also. We take his presence seriously by responding to his call and following in his way, as the people of Nineveh responded to Jonah’s call. And, in response to Christ’s presence, we are called to respond to his presence by living in as a sign of his presence in the world.
A collection of cluttered signs and over-size sandals outside the Antika Irish Bar in Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Monday 20 July 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 19 to 25 July 2026 (pp 20-21), is ‘Flood Relief in Mozambique’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a programme update from the Revd Mauricio S Mugunhe, Executive Director Anglican Social Action, Igreja Anglicana de Moçambique e Angola (the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola).
The USPG prayer diary today (Monday 20 July 2026) invites us to pray:
Lord of all comfort, we pray for those who mourn loved ones lost in the floods. Hold them in your mercy and bring them your peace.
The Collect of the Day:
Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
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:
Lord God, whose Son is the true vine and the source of life,
ever giving himself that the world may live:
may we so receive within ourselves
the power of his death and passion
that, in his saving cup,
we may share his glory and be made perfect in his love;
for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.
Additional Collect
Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Saint Margaret of Antioch is commemorated on 20 July … the church in Vernazza in Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera is said to hold a relic of her finger (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The former Saint Michael’s Convent above the beach in Ballinskelligs … the preferred venue for discerning teenagers for the 1966 World Cup final (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
At the outset, as my own personal protest against the state of politics in Trump’s USA and the ways he and it are infecting, devouring and destabilising the world, I decided not to watch any 2026 FIFA World Cup matches broadcast from the US, although I was watching games played in the two other co-host nations, Canada and Mexico.
Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino, a pair of presidents, have come to embody everything that is wrong about this year’s competition. From the beginning, right up to its end this evening, this World Cup has been a complete disaster, one shambles after another. There has been nothing but one litany after another of controversies, from FIFA’s ticket pricing, to entertaining Trump’s political meddling, along with logistical and environmental problems, cost over-runs, disgraceful abuses of human rights and displays of ugly and unchecked racism.
Harsh US immigration and visa restrictions have targetted players, officials, journalists, referees and fans from several nations. A travel ban blocked fans from Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, and Senegal attending matches in the US, the Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was detained for seven hours on his arrival, and the Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US.
Trump wanted FIFA to give Iran’s place to Italy, and threatened that the safety of the Iranian team could not be guaranteed. That failed to stop Iran, but Iran’s team was forced to relocate its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, they constantly bullied and harassed each time they played in the US, the team’s ticket allocation was revoked, and many of the coaching and administrative staff were denied visas.
It was clear Infantino was never going to make good on his pledge that ‘any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup.’ But then this is the same man who presented a newly-invented ‘FIFA Peace Prize’ to Trump last December – whoever thought he would want signs of peace and goodwill at this World Cup?
The national teams from Senegal and Uzbekistan faced unusually strict security checks when they arrived in the US, including individual body searches, the Uruguay national team complained if excessive security checks, and security personnel in Atlanta searched Egyptian fans but not Argentinian fans. In Arlington, Texas, ahead of Egypt’s match against Australia, a Dallas police officer pushed Egypt’s assistant coach and other members of the Egyptian delegation.
Spanish-speaking reporters have been asked by FIFA moderators to use English and their questions have often been turned away, even though Spanish is one of FIFA’s seven official languages, Mexico, one of the three co-hosts, is the world's most populous Spanish-speaking country, and two countries in the final this evening are Spanish-speaking.
FIFA officials have been accused of making racist and white supremacy gestures. At the match between Paraguay and France, a former Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert referred to France as ‘a squad from Africa’, Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla made widely condemned racist comments in which she mocked Kylian Mbappé’s background and education.
Folarin Balogun’s red card and automatic one-match suspension ought to have ruled him out of the US match against Belgium. But Trumpphoned a friend, intervened directly with Infantino and then rejoiced that due to his special pleading FIFA had ‘made the right decision’. Belgium and UEFA condemned FIFA’s decision. That alone put an end to my personal boycott. I joined the world in watching and rejoicing when Belgium defeated the US.
I watched England’s defeat by Argentina on Wednesday night in the Old George in Stony Stratford, and I stayed up late last night at home to watch England’s 6-4 win over France in the third place play-off, a truly memorable match.
But my memories of this year’s World Cup are going to be distinctively different from my memories of the World Cup final 60 years ago in 1966.
It was a weekend in July, I was in my teens, it was summer, and it was 30 July 1966. It was the year Ireland had gone over the top in marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising in 1916.
My parents had a real fear that I might fail Irish in the ‘Inter Cert’ the following year. Failing Irish at the time meant failing the full exam outright, and the consequences for families were dire: repeat the full year, which still provided no guarantee of success a second time; leave school and find an apprenticeship, which was never considered in a family such as mine; or being sent to England to a school such as Downside or Ampleforth.
Three of us were packed off to Ballinskelligs for a month to learn Irish. I boarded with cousins from Co Cork and learned much from them too; and when I returned home and was asked whether I had learned much Irish I answered smartly, ‘No, but I learned a lot about French, eh, French kissing.’
During that month in Coláiste Mhichíl, I also remember learning Irish dancing, boring evenings listening to the old seanachaí, reading Anne Frank’s Diaries and JD Sallinger’s Catcher in the Rye, having my first smoke, being challenged to go ‘skinny dipping’, and my first kiss.
I was the butt of some slight humour – but all in good taste – because of what must have been a tinge of an English accent at the time. On the other hand, I remember feeling negative about that year’s commemorations of the Easter Rising in 1916. If Irish colleges were about shaping national identity then, despite my age, I realised already some people wanted to classify me as an outsider.
There was no doubt on Saturday afternoon, 30 July 1966, who I was going to support in the World Cup Final. The main adventure that weekend was finding a place to watch it. Ballinskelligs was then a remote part of Kerry, it was not only part of the Gaeltacht, but it was ‘single-channel land’ and – even then – there were few homes there with a television, and we were never going to risk being caught in a pub at that age.
Two first cousins, Dick and Tom Barrett from Millstreet, Co Cork, came up with a cunning plan. They knew some nuns from the Presentation convent in Millstreet who were staying in Saint Michael’s Convent, the nuns’ summer house above the beach in Ballinskelligs. There we would be hidden safely from anyone listening out for any teenagers at the summer college risking to speak English, to say nothing about cheering on the English football team.
Not only did the nuns welcome us, and allow us to monopolise the one television in their best room, but they even brought in biscuits, cake and soft drinks to keep us fuelled for the afternoon. For us, that alone was almost more memorable than Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick and England’s controversial third goal – did it go over the line fully?
England had a 4-2 win over West Germany after extra time. It was the first and only time that England hosted or won the World Cup and it remains England’s last final in a major international football tournament, and still is England’s only World Cup final to date.
We stayed right through to see Bobby Moore receiving the cup and the team receiving their medals.
We were not watching alone. The British television audience peaked at 32.3 million viewers, making it Britain’s most-watched television event ever.
When I returned in August after a month in Ballinskelligs, my parents never showed any evidence they had received any reports of my independent behaviour. And, yes, I passed Irish in the ‘Inter Cert’ the following year – albeit a pass on a pass paper – and went on to finish the ‘Leaving Cert’ in 1969 at Gormanston College, Co Meath.
I can still remember with joy, delight and glee, England’s first, and so far only, World Cup title back in 1966. As I wait for this evening’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, I know which team I am disappointed is not playing tonight.
I do not particularly want to see tonight’s half-time show, which is nothing less that the Americanisation and commercialisation of the game. But I going to be eager to see how uncomfortable Trump is as he finds himself sitting beside the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, the western politician he seems to dislike most, and hopefully to see Trump squirm as he presents the World Cup to Spain too.
And I shall be smiling too as I recall teenage memories of that summer afternoon in July 60 years ago.
A summer stroll on the beach in Ballinskelligs (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
‘There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 13: 42) … Gnasher and Gnipper in the ‘Beano’ always seemed ready to gnash their teeth
Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and today is the Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VII, 19 July 2026). Later this morning I hope to take part in the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles, Stony Stratford, singing with the choir and reading the first lesson.
Having stayed up last night to see England beat France 6-4 for third place in the World Cup, there are two interesting sporting events attracting my attention later today: the All-Ireland hurling final between Limerick and Galway this afternoon, and the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain this evening. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
A field ready for the harvest off Cross in Hand near Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43 (NRSVA):
24 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” 28 He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29 But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn”.’
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ 37 He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!’
Fields of green close to Comberford village, between Tamworth and Lichfield in Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
Today’s Reflections:
In my imagination, when I was a child, not only were the summers long and sunny, but weekend entertainment was simpler and less complicated. The highlights of the weekend seemed to be Dr Who and Dixon of Dock Green, and the weekly editions of the Eagle and the Beano.
I may have been just a little too old (16) for the first appearance of Gnasher (1968), the pet dog of Dennis the Menace in the Beano. The G- tagged onto the beginning of the name of both Gnasher and his son Gnipper is pronounced silently, just like the silent P at the beginning of Psmith, the Rupert Psmith in so many PG Wodehouse novels.
Most of the Beano speech bubbles for both Gnasher and Gnipper consist of normal English words beginning with the letter ‘N’ with a silent ‘G’ added to the beginning, as in ‘Gnight, Gnight.’
I was a little too old for the introduction of Gnasher, but nonetheless my friends in my late teens and early 20s loved Gnasher and Gniper, joked about those silent ‘Gs’ and even recalled how as children we had joked about ‘weeping and G-nashing of teeth.’
There is very little to joke about in today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 13: 36-43). The idea of people being thrown into the furnace of fire is not a very appealing image for children, and so to joke about it is a childhood method of coping.
But throughout history, humanity has stooped to burn what we dislike and what we want to expunge, and we have done it constantly.
We have been burning books as Christians since Saint Athanasius ordered the burning of texts in Alexandria in the year 367 CE. In the Middle Ages, and sometimes even later, we burned heretics at the stake. When that stopped, we burned anything deemed to be an occasions of sin.
They were burned publicly as an accompanying theme for the outdoor sermons of San Bernardino da Siena in the early 15th century. These included mirrors, cosmetics, fine dresses, playing cards … even musical instruments, and, of course, books, song sheets, artworks, paintings and sculpture. In his sermons, the book-burning friar regularly called for Jews and gays to be either isolated from society or eliminated from the human community.
Later in Florence, the supporters of Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of objects, including cosmetics, art, and books in 1497.
On the other hand, Franz Kafka’s last request to his friend Max Brod in 1921 was to ‘burn all my diaries, letters, manuscripts … completely and unread'.
But, more recently, the Nazis staged regular book burnings, especially burning books by Jewish writers, including Thomas Mann, Karl Marx and Albert Einstein.
Extremists of all religious and political persuasions want to burn the symbols and totems of their opponents, whether it is Pastor Terry Jones burning the Quran and effigies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in Florida or jihadists burning the Twin Towers in New York.
The limits of our extremists seem to be defined by their inflammatory words.
But who is being burned in this morning’s Gospel reading?
Who is doing the burning?
And who will be weeping and gnashing their teeth?
Contrary to many shoddy reading of this Gospel reading, Christians are not asked to burn anyone or anything at all. And, if we have enemies, we are called not to burn them but to love them.
Christ has been speaks by the lake first to the crowd, telling them the parable of the wheat and the weeds (verse 24-30). The word that we have traditionally translated as tares or weeds (verses 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 36, 38, 40) is the Greek word ζιζάνια (zizania), a type of wild rice grass, although Saint Matthew is probably referring to a type of darnel or noxious weed. It looks like wheat until the plants mature and the ears open, and the seeds are a strong soporific poison.
Christ then withdraws into a house, and has a private conversation with the Disciples (verses 36-43), in which he explains he is the sower (verse 37), the good seed is not the Word, but the Children of the Kingdom (verse 38), the weeds are the ‘Children of the Evil One’ (verse 38), and the field is the world (verse 38).
The harvest is not gathered by the disciples or the children of the kingdom, but by angels sent by the Son of Man (verses 39, 41).
It is an apocalyptic image, describing poetically and dramatically a future cataclysm, and not an image to describe what should be happening today.
It is imagery that draws on the apocalyptic images in the Book of Daniel, where the three young men who are faithful to God are tried in the fires of the furnace, yet come out alive, stronger and firmer in their faith (see Daniel 3: 1-10).
The slaves or δοῦλοι (douloi), the people who want to separate the darnel from the wheat (verse 27-28), are the disciples: Saint Paul introduces himself in his letters with phrases like Παῦλος δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ (Paul, a doulos or slave, or servant of Jesus Christ), (see Romans 1: 1, Philippians 1: 1, Titus 1: 1), and the same word is used by James (see James 1: 1), Peter (see II Peter 1: 1) and Jude (see Jude 1) to introduce themselves in their letters.
In the Book of Revelation, this word is used to describe the Disciples and the Church (see Revelation 1: 1; 22: 3).
In other words, the Apostolic writers see themselves as slaves in the field, working at Christ’s command in the world.
This is one of eight parables about the last judgment that are found only in Saint Matthew’s Gospel, and six of the seven New Testament uses of the phrase ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων) occur in this Gospel (Matthew 8: 12; 13: 42; 13: 50; 22: 13; 24: 51; and 25: 30; see also Luke 13: 28).
When it comes to explaining the parable to the disciples in today’s reading (verses 36-43), the earlier references to the slaves in the first part (verses 27-28) are no longer there. It is not that the slaves have disappeared – Christ is speaking directly to those who would want to uproot the tares but who would find themselves uprooting the wheat too.
The weeding of the field is God’s job, not ours. The reapers, not the slaves, will gather in both the weeds and the wheat, the weeds first and then the wheat (verse 30).
Farmers are baling the hay and taking in the harvest in many places already. In a few weeks’ time, many farmers will be seen burning off the stubble on their fields to prepare the soil for autumn sowing and the planting of new crops. In this sense, the farmer understands burning as purification and preparation – it is not as harsh as city dwellers think.
It is not for us to decide who is in and who is out in Christ’s field, in the kingdom of God. That is Christ’s task alone.
Christ gently cautions the Disciples against rash decisions about who is in and who is out. Gently, he lets them see that the tares are not damaging the growth of the wheat, they just grow alongside it and amidst it.
But so often we decide to assume God’s role. We do it constantly in society, and we do it constantly in the Church, deciding who should be in and who should be out.
The harvest comes at the end of time, not now, and I should not hasten it even if the reapers seem to tarry.
The weeds we identify and want to uproot may turn out to be wheat, what we presume to be wheat because it looks like us may turn out to be weeds.
We assume the role of the reapers every time we decide we would be better off without someone in our society or in the Church because we disagree with them about issues like sexuality, women bishops and priests, and other issues that we mistake for core values.
The core values, as Christ himself explains, again and again, are loving God and loving others.
It is not without good reason that the Patristic writers warn that schism is worse than heresy (see Saint John Chrysostom, Patrologia Græca, vol. lxii, col. 87, On Ephesians, Homily 11, §5). We do not need to demythologise this morning’s reading. Christ leaves that to the future. This morning we are called to grow and not to worry about the tares. That growth must always emphasise love first.
When some members of the Church have sought to ‘out’ or ‘throw out’ people because of their sexuality, they have caused immense personal tragedy for individuals and their families and friends – weeping and gnashing of teeth indeed.
When I want a Church or society that looks like me, I eventually end up living on a desert island or as a member of a sect of one – and there I might just find out too how unhappy I am with myself!
But if I allow myself to grow in faith and trust and love with others, I may, I just may, to my surprise, find that they too are wheat rather than weeds, and they may discover the same about me.
‘The field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom’ (Matthew 13: 38) … fields of green off Comberford Lane, between Wigginton and Comberford in south Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
Today’s Prayers (Sunday 19 July 2026, Trinity VII):
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 19 to 25 July 2026 (pp 20-21), is ‘Flood Relief in Mozambique’. This theme is introduced today with a programme update from the Revd Mauricio S Mugunhe, Executive Director Anglican Social Action, Igreja Anglicana de Moçambique e Angola (the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola):
Since late 2025, Mozambique has endured a severe cyclonic season that culminated in catastrophic flooding across the southern regions in January 2026. Following heavy rainfall, many rivers including the Umbeluzi, Maputo, and Incomati overflowed, while cities such as Matola, Xai-Xai, and Maxixe experienced severe flooding due to blocked drainage systems. The government declared a national red alert.
The scale of the disaster has been immense. According to national authorities, more than 720,000 people have been affected, over 120 lives lost, and tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed. In the Gaza Province in the south of Mozambique, where the new Anglican Diocese of Maciene is located, over 40% of its territory was submerged and over 150 km of roads destroyed. Communities remain displaced, with some cut off by damaged roads, and there is an increased risk of water-borne disease.
In the face of this suffering, the Church is called to respond. The Anglican Church in Mozambique has mobilised to provide food, clothing, blankets, mosquito nets, and other essentials, while also supporting the rebuilding of safer homes. With the support of USPG, we have been able to extend this ministry of compassion by offering immediate relief and contributing to longer-term recovery for displaced families. Even in the midst of loss, we trust in God’s presence among those who suffer, and in the calling of the Church to be a sign of hope and healing in the world.
The USPG prayer diary today (Sunday 19 July 2026, Trinity VII) invites us to pray as we read and meditate on Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43.
‘But gather the wheat into my barn’ (Matthew 13: 30) … a barn near Comberford Hall, between Tamworth and Lichfield in Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
The Collect of the Day:
Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
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:
Lord God, whose Son is the true vine and the source of life,
ever giving himself that the world may live:
may we so receive within ourselves
the power of his death and passion
that, in his saving cup,
we may share his glory and be made perfect in his love;
for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.
Additional Collect
Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11: 28) … ‘A Case History’ (1998) by John King, also known as ‘The Hope Street Suitcases’ in Liverpool (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and the week began with the Fourth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity VI, 12 July 2026). The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers Saint Osmund (1099), Bishop of Salisbury.
I'm disappointed with last night's result in the England v Argentina World Cup semi-final: I watched the first half in the Cock with choir members after our rehearsals in Saint Mary and Saint Giles; and I watched the second half in the Old George. Later today, I hope to take part in a playreading group that meets in the library in Stony Stratford this evening. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
‘For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’ (Matthew 11: 30) … pilgrim figures in a shop window in Santiago de Compostela (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Matthew 11: 28-30 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens’ (Matthew 11: 28) … the bells in Vlatadon Monastery in Thessaloniki (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflections:
Today’s Gospel reading at the Eucharist (Matthew 11: 28-30) is particularly short, but holds out the offer and the promise of hope.
In the law of contract, there are two important elements … offer and acceptance.
This morning Christ invites all of us who are tired, frazzled and bothered, weary and heavy-laden, to come to him and if we do he offers us rest. There’s the offer.
What about acceptance?
He simply asks that we take his yoke and learn from him.
‘Ah,’ you may ask, ‘but what about the terms and conditions?’
As you know – as the banks and our mobile phone services constantly remind us – all contracts are subject to terms and conditions.
Well, the terms and conditions are simple: for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
I still remember how the former Dean of Lismore, the late Bill Beare, once challenged the clergy of the Diocese of Cashel, Ossory and Ferns at a meeting in Kilkenny in words like: ‘Who said you couldn’t dump everything at the foot of the cross.’
This morning, we might think of dumping everything at the foot of the cross during the day … and then try to do it every day. And become confident of the offer and the promise of hope.
In a recent posting on social media, the Right Revd Steven Charleston, retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska, offers a reflection on the challenge of bringing hope to others:
Give the lonely heart a reason to be hopeful.
Give the weary traveller a place to rest.
Give the solo singer a chorus.
Give the troubled spirit room to breathe.
Give old poets a reason to keep writing.
Give young ones the same.
‘Come to me, all you that are … carrying heavy burdens’ (Matthew 11: 28) … suitcases as people prepare to leave a USPG conference in High Leigh (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Thursday 16 July 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 12 to 18 July 2026 (pp 18-19), is ‘The Land of the Highlanders’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a reflection by the Most Revd Mark Strange, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
The USPG prayer diary today (Thursday 16 July 2026) invites us to pray
God, we think of the young people forced to leave the Highlands in search of work and housing. We commit them to you and pray for their next steps.
The Collect of the Day:
Merciful God,
you have prepared for those who love you
such good things as pass our understanding:
pour into our hearts such love toward you
that we, loving you in all things and above all things,
may obtain your promises,
which exceed all that we can desire;
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 our pilgrimage,
you have led us to the living water:
refresh and sustain us
as we go forward on our journey,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect
Creator God,
you made us all in your image:
may we discern you in all that we see,
and serve you in all that we do;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and … I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11: 28) … religious goods in the Zindos workshop in Kalambaka, near Meteora in northern Greece (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
The Nikos Kazantzakis Stadium, also known as Ergotelis Stadium or Martinengo Stadium, is the traditional home of Ergotelis in Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
As we face into the semi-finals and finals of the World Cup, of course I am hoping for an England win tomorrow night, and then in the final on Sunday night. This is where I live, but I also remember the enthusiasm with which I supported England in the final back in 1966.
Ireland and Greece have not in this competition at all. But I recall many a holiday in Greece, especially in Crete, when holidaymakers from many countries and nations filled the bars at night, and laughed, shouted, cried and commiserated with one another during World Cup matches, always in good humour and always with a shared sense of fun and passion, poured out in good measures.
Despite the absence of Greece and Ireland from the competition, and even though there are few tourists from Argentina in Greece, those bars will be filled again tonight for the semi-final between France and Spain (Tuesday), tomorrow between England and Argentina (Wednesday), and for the final on Sunday night.
Among Greeks, football (ποδόσφαιρο, podósfairo) is the most popular sport, followed by basketball, and over half the people of Greece share an interest in football.
English fans may chant ‘Football is coming come’ on Wednesday night, claiming football as an English game. But it seems there was a classical Greek version of football too. The Ancient Greeks played many ball games, and some of them were with their feet.
These games appear to have resembled rugby football, but they have many similarities too with today’s football or soccer.
ἐπίσκυρος (Episkyros, ‘over the line’) was also known as ἐπίκοινος (epíkoinos, ‘over the public’). This Ancient Greek ball game was typically played between two teams of 12 to 14 players each, and was focussed on teamwork. The game allowed full contact and the use of hands. While typically it was men who played, women also took part occasionally.
Although it was a ball game, it was quite violent – at least in Sparta. The game is comparable to rugby or American football, at least in concept. The two teams tried to throw the ball over the heads of the other team. There was a white line, the σκῦρος or skŷros between the teams, and another white line behind each team. The teams often changed possession of the ball, until one team was forced behind its line. A form of Episkyros was played in Sparta during an annual city festival that included five teams of 14 players.
A depiction on a vase in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens shows a Greek athlete balancing a ball on his thigh. This image is reproduced on the European Cup football trophy.
The Romans later adapted the Greek game of Episkyros, or a similar game called Φαινίνδα (Phainínda),which took its name from Phaenides, who first invented it.
The Romans renamed and transformed the Greek games of football into harpastum, a latinisation of the Ancient Greek ἁρπαστόν (harpastón), meaning ‘snatched away’, from the verb ἁρπάζω (harpázō), meaning ‘to seize’ or ‘to steal’. The Roman game harpastum is said to have been adapted from the Greek team game known as ἐπίσκυρος (Episkyros) or Φαινίνδα (phaininda), a game that is mentioned by the Greek playwright Antiphanes (388-311 BCE) and later referred to by the Greek-speaking theologian Clement of Alexandria (ca 150-215 CE).
Modern football is said to have been introduced to Greeks by expatriate British communities and military personnel. The first Greek football teams were created as part of long-established athletic and gymnastic clubs in the major port cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as among the large Greek communities then living the Ottoman Empire, such as Constantinople and Smyrna, in the early 1900s.
In Athens, Panathinaikos played in red and white after they broken away from the sports club Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos in 1908 when it decided to discontinue its football team. The first name of the new club was Podosferikos Omilos Athinon or POA.
Panathinaikos adopted the shamrock as its emblem in 1918. The shamrock bears a closer resemblance to the emblem of Shamrock Rovers in Dublin. The shamrock was proposed by Michalis Papazoglou, an athlete, and was designed by George Hatzopoulos, director of the National Museum of Art and a member of Panathinaikos. But there are different popular myths to explain why Panathinaikos wears the shamrock as its logo.
Michalis Papazoglou had previously played for another Greek club, Chalkidona, who wore the green trefoil or τριφύλλι (trifylli) as their own emblem. Other accounts say Papazoglou was inspired by Billy Sherring, the Irish-Canadian athlete who won the Athens 1906 Olympic Marathon wearing a white shirt with a large green shamrock.
After the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922, which resulted in a large rnumber of Greeks being forcibly moved from Turkey to Greece, and several clubs, such as Panionios and Apollon Smyrnis, were moved too. Many athletes of other clubs, like Pera, formed new clubs in their new home. AEK Athens (Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Athletic Union of Constantinople) was founded in Nea Filadelfeia in 1923, and PAOK (Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, Pan-Thesalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans), was founded in Thessaloniki by Greek refugees in 1926.
It seems every large town and city in Greece also needs to have two decent, rival football teams, if not three.
The two main football clubs in Athens, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, are often referred to as ‘the Eternal Enemies’ because of their fierce rivalry. These two, along with AEK Athens, form the ‘Big Three’ (Οι Τρεις Μεγάλοι, Oi Treis Megaloi) in Greek football and are usually the main contenders for the title. Together they share a total of 82 out of 90 Greek Football Championships and they usually end up sharing the top three positions.
The two main football clubs in Thessaloniki are PAOK and Aris Thessaloniki FC. Fixtures between these two rivals are known as the Thessaloniki Derby. PAOK’s success has also added them to ‘Big Three’, making it the ‘Big Four’ in Greece.
In Crete, the two Super League clubs based in Iraklion, Ergotelis and OFI, share a rivalry that can be traced back to social and political roots. Their first-ever game was a friendly match in 1929 that ended after 35 minutes. Ergotelis were ahead by 1-0 when the game was abandoned after violence broke out between the players.
OFI, officially ΠΑΕ Όμιλος Φιλάθλων Ηρακλείου 1925 (Iraklion Sportsmen’s Club 1925 FC), is part of the OFI multi-sports club and celebrated its centenary last year. This year, OFI won the Greek Cup for the second time in its history, defeating PAOK 3-2 after extra time in the final at the Panthessaliko Stadium in Volos on 25 April 2026.
Ergotelis Football Club (ΠΑΕ Εργοτέλης) plays in the FCA Iraklion A1, the fourth tier of the Greek football league system, and home games are played at the Pankritio Stadium. But the club’s traditional home ground is the Nikos Kazantzakis Stadium, also known as Ergotelis Stadium or Martinengo Stadium. It is below the grave of Nikos Kazantzakis on the Martinengo Bastion on the Venetian fortifications surrounding the city.
Ergotelis was formed in 1929 and is part of Gymnastics Club Ergotelis (ΓΣ Εργοτέλης), named after the ancient Cretan Olympic runner. Ergotelis was formed mainly by refugees from Asia Minor, and the first recorded game was a 4-0 win for Ergotelis in a friendly against local side Leon (Λέων) at Chandax (Χάνδαξ) stadium on 4 August 1929. Ergotelis suffered retaliation under the colonels’ junta having previously allowed the songwriter and composer Mikis Theodorakis, later a key voice against the regime, to perform a concert at the Martinengo Stadium. When the colonels seized power, they branded Ergotelis an unpatriotic organisation, and club officials were accused of ‘deviating from the purposes for which they were elected, turning the club into an instrument servicing political, and sometimes unpatriotic objectives’.
As for the Greek national team, its first match was on 7 April 1929, in a 4-1 loss to Italy. Greece has qualified for the FIFA World Cup on three occasions, in 1994, 2010 and 2014, for the European Championship in 1980, 2004, 2008 and 2012, and were the reigning European champions when they failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2006.
Ergotelis Football Club (ΠΑΕ Εργοτέλης) now plays its home fixtures at the Pankritio Stadium in Iraklion (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
‘Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’ (Matthew 9: 38) … walking through the fields in Comberford, between Lichfield and Tamworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and this week began with the Fifth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity V, 5 July 2026). Last night or in the early hours of this morning, I went back on my pledge to watch only World Cup fixtures that were broadcast from the co-hosts Mexico and Canada. It was my lone, single protest against the Trump regime and the way it has corrupted the world of football, along with so much else in our world today. But over the last 48 hours, Trump has intervened in yet another blatant breach of the rules of the game, and yet again Infantino allowed Trump to play all the cards (pardon the pun). I felt I had stayed awake with the rest of the world, hoping Belgium would win, knowing at the end that 4-1 is justice not just for Belgians but for football fans everywhere.
Now, tired as I am, I am taking some quiet time this morning before this new day begins to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
‘By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons’ (Matthew 9: 34) … a gargoyle at Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Matthew 9: 32-38 (NRSVA):
32 After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.’ 34 But the Pharisees said, ‘By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.’
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’
‘He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd’ (Matthew 9: 36) … sheep on a small holding in Platanias, near Rethymnon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2025)
Today’s Reflections:
The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 9: 32-38) recalls the healing of the demoniac who is mute and then follows Jesus as goes through cities and villages, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news, curing the sick, and showing compassion for the crowds, for they are ‘harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’
Today’s reading brings us to the end of the section in Saint Matthew’s Gospel recounting 10 miracles of Jesus (chapters 8 to 9). The last of those miracles involves a man whose deafness results from being possessed by a demon. It follows immediately after the cure of two blind men, a story that is not read in this current cycle of readings but one that is told again in Matthew 20. It seems to correspond to the healing of the blind man Bartimaeus in Mark 10, although there are significant differences.
When the people bring this man to Jesus, he drives out the demon and immediately the man is able to speak. There is a double reaction. The people are astounded, but the Pharisees suggest Jesus casts out demons through the power of ‘the ruler of the demons’, an absurd and illogical suggestion.
This reading then summarises so much of what Jesus was doing. But behind all that he does is his deep compassion for the needs of the people, for they are ‘harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd’ (verse 36).
He sees their plight, and tells the disciples: ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’ (verses 37-38).
Ministry and mission must embolden the Church to name the needs of people who are ‘harassed and helpless’. This is not bringing politics into religion, but refusing to allow politics to silence us in the demands put on us by being faithful to our religious calling.
The labourers in the field cannot be confined to bishops and priests, to the members of church commissions and committees and to those who work with mission societies and development agencies.
The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few and the people are ‘harassed and helpless’ more than ever. How do I respond with compassion, vocally, practically and effectively?
‘Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’ (Matthew 9: 38) … walking through fields along Comberford Lane in Wigginton in Staffordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2026)
Today’s Prayers (Tuesday 7 July 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 5 to 11 July 2026 (pp 16-17), is ‘Faith in the Midst of Fractures’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a reflection by the Revd Godfrey Owino Adera, Anglican priest, theologian, and lecturer at Saint Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya.
The USPG prayer diary today (Tuesday 7 July 2026) invites us to pray:
God of mercy, bring healing to survivors of gender-based violence and comfort those who mourn. Stir the Church and wider community towards justice, protection, and lasting change.
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Grant, O Lord, we beseech you,
that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered
by your governance,
that your Church may joyfully serve you in all godly quietness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Almighty God,
send down upon your Church
the riches of your Spirit,
and kindle in all who minister the gospel
your countless gifts of grace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
‘He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd’ (Matthew 9: 36) … a window in Saint John-in-Hampstead Church, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
‘The Daughter of Jairus’ by James Tissot (1836-1902)
Patrick Comerford
We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and this week began with the Fifth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity V, 5 July 2026).
I stayed up until the early hours of this morning, long past 4 am, watching England’s 3-2 win over Mexico on television, including thee two goals from Jude Bellongham, Harry Kane’s penalty, and those nail-biting 11 minutes 11 minutes that were added on. The High Street below is now quiet, and before today begins I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Christ healing the woman in the crowd … a modern Orthodox icon
Matthew 9: 18-26 (NRSVA):
18 While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, ‘My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.’ 19 And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21 for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.’ 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well. 23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, ‘Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And the report of this spread throughout that district.
‘My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live’ (Matthew 9: 18) … ‘Spectral Child’ on Thomas Street, Limerick, by Dermot McConaghy (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Reflection:
The Gospel reading at the Eucharist today (Matthew 9: 18-26) tells the stories of how Christ responds to the plight of two very different people: a young girl who is on her deathbed, and a woman who has been suffering for the previous 12 years, as long as the young girl has lived.
The women in this reading remain unnamed, like so many women in the New Testament: three women in all, the dying girl, the older woman, and the girl’s mother.
The young girl who is on her deathbed and her mother are from a religious family; the older woman who interrupts this story, and who disrupts Jesus and intrudes on the crowd, has endured a lifetime of suffering. The two principal women in this story both suffer and are marginalised, are seen as not worth bothering about, because of their gender and because of their age.
This reading reminds us that Christ calls the unnamed, the marginalised, and the long-suffering from the outside into the community. They call out, just as the psalmist cries out, ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord’ (Psalm 130: 1).
God is attentive to our pleas, despite everything that has gone wrong, God forgives, God is merciful, God offers unfailing love and freedom, God’s love for us surpasses the love of any father or mother for their children.
In this Gospel reading, one of the key people is the daughter of a leading member of the local synagogue. We know him as Jairus because of the accounts in the other synoptic Gospels (see Mark 5: 21-43; Luke 8: 40-56), although he is not named in Matthew 9. Mark describes him as ‘one of the rulers of the synagogue’ (εἷς τῶν ἀρχισυναγώγων), Luke says he is ‘a leader of the synagogue (ἄρχων τῆς συναγωγῆς), while Matthew describes him simply as an ἄρχων (archon), and omits any reference to a synagogue, a word that has come to be inserted by convention in the English translations.
Matthew does not give the girl’s age, she has already ‘just died’ (ἄρτι ἐτελεύτησεν), and her father’s request is that Jesus lay his hand upon her ‘and she will live [again]’ (Matthew: καὶ ζήσεται). In other words, in Matthew he asks Jesus to reverse her death rather than prevent it, in contrast with the accounts of Mark and Luke.
The timings and settings differ in the Gospels: in Mark and Luke, the story follows the exorcism at Gerasa; Jairus comes up to Jesus as soon as he gets out of the boat. In Matthew, this event is first preceded by three others, healing the paralytic, the calling of Matthew, and the New Wine in Old Wineskins. In Matthew’s version, Jesus is in Matthew’s house, eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners and debating about fasting with Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist, when the distraught father arrives.
Mark and Luke report a large crowd (ὄχλος) following Jesus around and pressing against him (συνέθλιβον/συνέπνιγον αὐτόν) as he follows Jairus to his house. Matthew does not mention this, and it is only Jesus and his disciples (μαθηταὶ) who follow the ruler back to his house.
The narrative is interrupted with the arrival on the scene of a woman who had a haemorrhage (Matthew: αἱμορροοῦσα haimorroousa, having had a flow of blood that is vaginal or uterine. Mark and Luke say she has been οὖσα ἐν ῥύσει αἵματος (ousa en rhysei haimatos, being with a flow of blood), for 12 years. Mark and Luke tell us that during all this time nobody could heal her, with Mark dramatically adding she had spent all she had on physicians to no avail.
The woman touches the fringe of his cloak. Each tassel of the tallit or prayer shawl worn by pious Jews has eight threads (when doubled over) and five sets of knots, totalling 13; the sum of these numbers is 613. The 613 tzizit or knotted fringes are reminders of the 613 commandments, precepts or mitzvot in Jewish tradition. They include positive commandments, to perform an act (mitzvot aseh), and negative commandments, to abstain from certain acts (mitzvot lo taaseh). The negative commandments number 365, which coincides with the number of days in the solar year, and the positive commandments number 248, said to be the number of bones and main organs in the human body (Babylonian Talmud, Makkot 23b–24a). This reflects the idea that donning a tallit or prayer shawl with tzitzit reminds its wearer of all 613 Torah commandments.
When this woman touches Jesus’ cloak, her bleeding stops immediately, according to Mark and Luke, but in Matthew she is not healed until after Jesus tells her: ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well’ (verse 22).
Matthew’s account of the bleeding woman also ends there (Matthew 9:20–22). But for Mark and Luke, her act of touching his cloak appears to disturb Jesus, who seems agitated or even angry, and we are told that the woman came with φοβηθεῖσα καὶ τρέμουσα (phobētheisa kai tremousa, ‘in fear and trembling’) as he feels that power had gone out of him.
Jesus asks around the crowd who touched him or touched his clothes. Luke says all in the crowd deny doing this, and Peter says that crowds are pressing against Jesus; Mark has the disciples giving this explanation.
Jesus is not satisfied, and he keeps inspecting the crowd until the woman, trembling in fear, falls at Jesus' feet and admits that it was her. The accounts in Mark and Luke conclude with Jesus telling her ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease’, or ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace’ (see Mark 5: 25-34; Luke 8: 43-48).
In Mark’s and Luke’s narrative, people come (Mark: ἔρχονται, plural) or someone comes (Luke: ἔρχεταί τις, singular) with the news that that the daughter of Jairus had died, and Jairus is advised not to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus responds: ‘Do not fear, only believe’, with Luke extending the quote with ‘and she will be saved’ (σωθήσεται).
When he arrives at the house, Jesus does not let anyone follow him inside, ‘except Peter, James and John, the brother of James’ (Mark 5: 37), with Luke adding ‘and the father of the child and the mother’, later also added by Mark (Mark 5: 40; Luke 8: 49-50). For Matthew, the daughter is already dead from the start, so this part of the event does not unfold.
At the house, Mark and Luke report that Jesus ‘saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly’ (Mark 5: 38; Luke 8: 52); according to Matthew, he ‘saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion’ (Matthew 9: 23). He tells all present that the girl is not dead but asleep; in Matthew, Jesus even tells the crowd ‘Go away’. But the crowd laughs at Jesus. Mark says Jesus puts the crowd outside; Matthew says they were put outside, but witout mentioning who does it (verse 25); Luke does not report this, but instead emphasises that the crowd ‘knew she had died’.
Jesus then goes back inside the house (Mark, Matthew). He takes the girl by the hand, and she gets up. In Mark’s account, the Aramaic phrase Talitha koum – transliterated into Greek as ταλιθα κουμ and reportedly meaning, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’ – is attributed to Jesus (Mark 5: 41). In Luke, Jesus says ‘My child, get up!’ For Matthew, Jesus says nothing and is silent verse 25).
The accounts in Mark and Luke end with Jesus commanding that the girl should be fed and that Jairus and his wife should tell no-one what had happened. On the other hand, Matthew concludes by saying: ‘And the report of this spread throughout that district’ (verse 26).
Does it matter that Matthew’s account, which we are reading today, does not name Jairus, nor that it does not relate his status to the synagogue? Religious position and social status are of little value when a small child is struck with a death-threatening illness or disease.
In both cases these women are ritually unclean … a bleeding woman, a dying or dead women. Jesus should not touch them. Yet their plight touches his heart, and he reaches out to them with a healing touch.
One young woman is restored to her place in her family and in her community. One older woman, who has lost everything, who is at risk of being marginalised, even by the Disciples, is offered the hope of her proper place.
The crowd who gather around Jesus by the lake becomes a large crowd pressing in on him.
Too often in a crowd, it is those who get to the front first, who have the loudest voices, who are heard, whose demands are met.
But in this case, it is not the loud and the proud, the rich or the famous, who grab the attention of Christ – it is a weak, timid, neglected impoverished, exploited and sick woman. All her money has gone on quacks, and she has no man to speak up for her.
But look at what Christ does for her. Without knowing it, he heals her. And when he realises what has happened, he calls her ‘Daughter.’
In a society where men had the only voices, where to have a full place in society was to be known as a Son of Israel, she is called ‘Daughter.’ She too has a full and equal place in society, in the world, and before God.
It is shocking that when the unnamed girl dies the first reaction of some key local figures is to upbraid her father for seeking help, and not to offer him comfort and sympathy.
Their lack of compassion and sympathy contrasts sharply with the compassion Christ shows for both the older and the younger woman.
We were challenged each day to ask ourselves: how is the Gospel good news for those on the margins? The Gospel is Good News for those on the margins as we read in today’s Gospel story. But … only if we read it and if we put it into practice.
‘And the report of this spread throughout that district’ (Matthew 9: 26) … when and how is the Gospel good news for people on the margins? … newspapers at a kiosk near the Marina in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Monday 6 July 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 5 to 11 July 2026 (pp 16-17), is ‘Faith in the Midst of Fractures’. This theme was introduced yesterday with a reflection by the Revd Godfrey Owino Adera, Anglican priest, theologian, and lecturer at Saint Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya.
The USPG prayer diary today (Monday 6 July 2026) invites us to pray:
Gracious God, move theologians, church leaders, and all followers of you to be perceptive of the needs in our communities and how we can respond in your justice, truth, and wisdom.
The Collect of the Day:
Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Grant, O Lord, we beseech you,
that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered
by your governance,
that your Church may joyfully serve you in all godly quietness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Almighty God,
send down upon your Church
the riches of your Spirit,
and kindle in all who minister the gospel
your countless gifts of grace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
‘Christ raises the daughter of Jairus’ (left), in the Hardman window by JH Powell at the west end of the nave in Saint Nicholas Church, Adare, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
