Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, Ardnamurchan Point, Kilchoan, Argylle & Bute. Photo: Mr G.
LIGHTHOUSE
I was built only to serve; to warn; to guide; reassure; prevent.
I was built on rock. I am stability in a shifting world of uncertainty and fragility; reliability in a sea of change.
I can withstand wind and wave, crashing storms, skies rent asunder with electric light. I can be drenched with wild rain; withstand angry skies; resist swirling mist; be brave in deepest dark.
I can wave at stars, bathe in the sun; befriend the moon.
You may take me for granted, even find me beautiful, solid but slender; be at peace because I am there.
I am a lighthouse; keeping mariners safe, focused and at the beck and call of all who sail by.
(Inspired by the Hundredth Anniversary of the BBC Shipping Forecast July 4th 2025)
St.Thomas shares his thoughts on the eve of his feast day. (July 3rd) See: John’s Gospel Ch20. v. 24-29
I was not there when the Lord in Risen Glory broke the locked door of the upper Room. Brilliantly alive and carrying joy. Resurrection Joy!
Full of a renewed sense of their call by God my friends loved telling me what I had missed. Had they made it up as a way of dealing with their grief? Mourning takes interesting forms sometimes. They were quite smug though so was it a but of one-upmanship?
Yet I wanted to believe them! It was too good to be true, so I was filled with uncertainty. That is when I doubted what they told me and that moment was to define me not just then but for all time. I gave my name to all doubters. Even those who did not share faith.
I don’t know what made me do it. I really wanted to believe what my friends told me. “Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands… I will not believe!” My longing was so deep. But with those words, I had missed the chance. My heart was heavy, my soul seemingly cast adrift.
Eight days later we gathered again, to pray; to break bread; to find in each other’s company, a kind of solace.
Then, like a whirlwind of sheer light, HE came again. He looked at me, not with sadness, or anger or in a dismissive way. “Thomas”, he said, “my dear delightful Thomas. Always loyal, always a bit too eager, always sure. Come here.” He beckoned me to his side.
Gently, lovingly, he invited me to inspect his wounds. “Don’t doubt Thomas. Believe!”
My inner spirit burst with joy, my soul reached out to heaven. From the seed-bed of my praying I placed words around a thought I had long been praying silently in my heart. A praying which became so strong because I had wrestled with doubt.
It was a prayer that flowed from the deepest faith possible. “MY LORD AND MY GOD!”
There! I had prayed it! Aloud!
People may still use my doubting to justify their unbelief but I had reached beyond that into the very depth of my soul and I said that word which is all Jesus needs to lift us up into the beauteous light of eternal life. Here, Now and Always! Yes, Lord!
Jesus, our Risen Master, our Lord, Our God held me in his radiant smile and looked around at all of us gathered there. “I am indeed your Lord. I am indeed your God, but never forget to tell people what I tell you now, I love you. I am your most loving friend!
Today, the Christian church keeps the festival day of St. John the Baptist. There is another feast day later in the year when we mark his beheading at the hands of King Herod. Today, however, it is a joyful day, possibly helped by the fact that in the Northern Hemisphere it is Mid-Summer!
One of the things that marks this as a special time for all sorts of people is that it is also associated with a special flower, The Hypericum, or to give it its posh name, Hypericum perforatum. A native of Europe but now flowering in many other places worldwide (except for Siberia and other cold extremes),it is a bright flower marking bright summer. The dominant colour is vivid yellow, its petals often decorated with black dots. It generally has five petals with five smaller leaf-like sepals below them.
Hypericum is made up of two words from Greek – Hyper meaning above and eikon meaning picture. This may well date back to a custom, in earlier times, of hanging the flower over an Icon (sacred picture) in the home.
This really introduces us the other name for this plant which is St John’s Wort.There is a direct association with St John the Baptist in the flower itself. It has been suggested that the five petals form a halo, a symbol of saintliness. The red juice which is released when the stem is crushed, represents the blood of the martyred saint.
St John’s Wort is also known for its healing properties and in various forms is awort or salve (0intment). In earlier times it was used, therefore to ward off evil spirits; safeguard against sickness, protect against the bad things in life. This made the plant special in the nature of healing and it is still offered as an alternative medicine. It is however toxic to some animals and even humans so should be used carefully and advisedly. Its power and that of St John the Baptist, is, however feted in an anonymous 14th Century Old English poem:
St Johns wort doth charm all the witches away. If gathered at midnight on the Saints holy day. And devils and witches have no power to harm Those that do gather the plant for a charm. Rub the lintels and post with that red juicy flower No thunder nor tempest will then have the power.
The ministry of healing, offered by John the Baptist to the people who heard his message was a more powerful salve. He was known in the Gospel as the Forerunner the one who prepared the way of Salvation through God’s Son, Jesus.This Salvation is God’s healing of a broken and unloving world and Jesus his beloved Son His Salve, is the ointment of God’s Saving Love. John the Baptist led the way to Jesus through his baptism of Repentance, a Baptism which Jesus enhanced through his own life and ministry, death and resurrection. It is possible to say that it is in Baptism that we receive the Healing of God, the Salve which invites us to partake of the Salve of eternal life.
Another title by which St John the Baptist is known is that of Friend of the Bridegroom. He knew Jesus through a life lived in friendship with God. Friendship brings its own healing and when we are in friendship with God we are touched by the salve or Wort of his love and friendship for us.
Often when we visit friends we take them flowers. Receiving flowers can brighten and change the direction of our day and even our life. Giving them is even better! The love behind them is better still.
St John the Baptist offers us not St John’s Wort but the love and friendship of the giver, the Lord, our SALVE-ation, who loved us a into being created us to be bright with His image.
Pope Leo XIV: ‘Humanity cries out and pleads for peace’
Pope Leo XIV appealed for an end to the tragedy of war, especially in the Middle East, and recalls that war only amplifies problems and creates deep wounds without providing lasting solutions. “Alarming news continues to arrive from the Middle East, especially from Iran,” said Pope Leo on Sunday at the Angelus address. The Holy Father’s words came just hours after US bombers struck nuclear sites in Iran, as Israel and Iran carry out strikes on each other’s territory. “In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine,” continued the Pope, “the daily suffering of the population—especially in Gaza and other territories—risks being forgotten, even as the need for adequate humanitarian aid becomes ever more urgent.” “Today more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace,” he said. The Pope said the cry for peace “demands responsibility and reason and must not be drowned out by the roar of weapons or by rhetorical words that incite conflict.” Pope Leo urged every member of the international community to take up their moral responsibility to “stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss.” When human dignity is at stake, he said, no conflict is distant. “War does not solve problems,” noted the Pope. “On the contrary, it amplifies them and causes deep wounds in the history of peoples—wounds that take generations to heal. No military victory can ever compensate for a mother’s pain, a child’s fear, or a stolen future.” In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV expressed his hope for the din of arms to fall silent. “Let diplomacy silence the weapons!” he said. “Let nations shape their future with works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflicts!”
Mr G's Ponderings 