Beholding God’s Glory

*The Transfiguration. Icon written by the late Sister **Sr Irène** of the Community of Le Bec.*

August 6^th is the Christian feast of Our Lord Jesus’s Transfiguration on the Holy Mountain. (Luke 9: 28-36).
There, the three chosen disciples, Peter, James and John, were given a glimpse of the glory of God when Jesus was transfigured—when he became bathed in glorious light. It foreshadowed the Resurrection when God’s glory would be fully revealed in the Risen Christ but it also was a comment on the Crucifixion which would seem less than glorious and yet was part of the glory of God who transformed the world with love.
It is the capacity of God to transform (or transfigure) darkness that is the hope Christians and those who belong to other faiths, must always hold on to.

By a quirk of fate, this feast is also the day when America dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima 79 years ago. There is an irony that nuclear energy which is at the heart of the world and is part of the great earth energy that sustains life should have been used to destroy so much life. It also gave birth to the modern age where nothing seems to be safe anymore. Human innocence was finally laid to rest in Hiroshima. We now have the power not only to destroy each other but also the very planet itself. As we know only too well, this terrible responsibility is not necessarily safe in human hands. We are now capable of blowing this fragile earth to smithereens at the whim of a handful of despots whose exercise of power and terror threatens us all.

So in our present darkened world, we need to return to the Mountain of Transfiguration and the subsequent Hill of Calvary and discover another way—a better, more glorious way which is also the costliest way—that of love. We are being called afresh by God to be Companions of the Transfiguration.
Some years ago, one of the marks of a Companion was said to be this:

“To stand within the redemptive and re-creative energies of God; to stand with Christ at the place where Divine Love and evil meet; to stand alongside individuals in their need and in their pain; to put hands and heart to some work of help and healing within reach.”
Never more so is this needed than today. Never more do we need to pray and to identify ourselves with this Transforming work.

[Mr G, The Icon of the Transfigurtion was written by Sister Irène of the Community at Le Bec Heloine. Traditional methods were used. Between each stage, prayer and contemplation interspersed the work. It was a private commission.
A similar Icon on the same subject and with the same style is in the Chapel of the Transfiguration in the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Epping.]

Mr Deakins’ Bread

LAMMAS, the blessing of the First Loaf

Rural Britain has a number of festivals which in earlier times were celebrated much more fully than is the case today. Lammas which falls on the 1st August is one of these.
Lammas is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word, hlafmæsse, which means loaf-mass and from the 9th century a church festival was celebrated in which a newly baked loaf was presented in church for use at the Mass or Eucharist.

Rural Festivals take us back to our roots and help us to remember the close affinity we have with nature and the earth, on which we depend for our sustenance. In these days of supermarkets and fast-food shops it is easy to forget this dependence though nature has ways of reminding us.
Many are bemoaning the apparent absence of summer or rather of warm sunshine, this year. Our weather is much more erratic and less seasonal. Some, including myself would cite ‘global warming’ for this. We might easily blame humanity for the way we have exploited creation and taken for granted those with whom we share this volatile earth – the animals, birds, sea creatures and Nature generally. We certainly bear a lot of responsibility for that. Add to that the devastating wars and violence at present which suggests we are not at ease with ourselves let alone with the natural world, or with God.

So we need to get back in touch with the delicate balance of our planet which God has ordered so magnificently. We play with this balance at our peril. The planet is a volatile ball floating in a vast universe. Humanity occupies such a small part of this and if we stand in a clear spot on a dark night and look at the stars we realise our smallness in the midst of such vastness.
Our forebears understood this and lived in healthy respect of nature’s force. They also remembered that the author of creation, God, is to be thanked and praised. That is why the Agricultural Year was punctuated with festivals such as Lammas. It would do us no harm to follow their example.

In the modern Lammas Church Service, there is a bidding which is made as a new loaf is presented to God.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the people of God in ancient times presented to the Lord an offering of first-fruits as a sign of their dependence upon God for their daily bread…
and this is followed by a Prayer which roots our lives back into both God and His Creation.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation;
you bring forth bread from the fields
and give us the fruits of the earth in their seasons.
Accept this loaf, which we bring before you,
made from the harvest of your goodness.
Let it be for us a sign of your Godly care.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, worthy of our thanksgiving and praise.
Saying this prayer as we are about to eat bread would remind us of God’s goodness to and help us to respect and celebrate Creation.

A little while ago, I wrote this poem which has become my homage to Real Bread!

Mr Deakin’s Bread

The oven door opens in Mr Deakin’s bakery.
Wafts of delicious, tantalizing
aromas fill the air, tempting the nostrils
with the unmistakable freshly baked bread.
Sacks of flour wait quietly for their turn.
Mr Deakin knows the Miller
who lives near the farmer,
who gathers the crop dancing
in the breeze of his own fields.
We take home the bread still warm.
Crusty yet yielding if pressed,
giving off a rich enticing smell,
whetting the appetite.
Held in trembling hands of expectation,
we break off a little, raise a morsel to our lips.
And another.
Real bread!

[Mr G]

The Universal Language of the Olympics

*Photo from ‘So Perth, Western Australia*‘

The Paris Olympics – a longing, a prayer and a blessing from Pope Francis.

“Sport is a universal language that transcends frontiers, languages, races, nationalities and religions; it has the capacity to unite people, to encourage dialogue and mutual acceptance; it stimulates the surpassing of oneself, forms the spirit of sacrifice, fosters loyalty in interpersonal relations; it invites people to recognize their own limits and the value of others. The Olympic Games, if they remain truly “games”, can therefore be an exceptional meeting place between peoples, even the most hostile. The five interlinked rings represent the spirit of fraternity that should characterize the Olympic event and sporting competition in general.

I therefore hope that the Paris Olympics will be an unmissable opportunity for all those who come from around the world to discover and appreciate each other, to break down prejudices, to foster esteem where there is contempt and mistrust, and friendship where there is hatred. The Olympic Games are, by their very nature, about peace, not war.

It was in this spirit that Antiquity wisely instituted a truce during the Games, and that modern times regularly attempt to revive this happy tradition. In these troubled times, when world peace is under serious threat, it is my fervent wish that everyone will take this truce to heart, in the hope of resolving conflicts and restoring harmony. May God have mercy on us! May He enlighten the consciences of those in power to the grave responsibilities incumbent upon them, may He grant the peacemakers success in their endeavours, and may He bless them.”

“I ask the Lord to bestow His gifts upon all those who will participate in any way – whether athletes or spectators – and also to support and bless those who will host them, especially the faithful of Paris and elsewhere.”

Pope Francis

This hymn, sung at a service of preparation for the games at The Anglican Church, Trinity Church, Maisons-Laffitte ,
near Paris. last Sunday expresses the hope of Pope Francis.
It is a prayer which we can use to feed our own hopes and longings about what the Games may achieve

In Christ there is no East or West,
In Him no South or North;
But one great fellowship of love
Throughout the whole wide earth.

In Him shall true hearts everywhere
Their high communion find;
His service is the golden cord
Close binding humankind.

Join hands then,people of the faith,
Whate’er your race may be;
Who serves my Father as his child
Is surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both East and West,
In Him meet South and North:
All Christlike souls are one in Him
Throughout the whole wide earth.

(Original words by John Oxenham, 1908, amended)

[Mr G. July 26th 2024]

Water’s Edge

Water’s Edge.

I look along the shoreline.
My eyes travel that uncertain, ever-changing border,
dividing land and sea.
The waves lap and caress the sand,
though, sometimes the sea pounds ferociously,
as if angry; always powerful.

People are strolling, some with dogs;
others are skimming carefully chosen stones,
bouncing on the waves.
There are others running, racing against the elements,
seeking fitness and health,
or just enjoying the sense of motion.

Clusters of rocks gather pools of water,
becoming safe havens for sea-creatures
hiding from the tide.
Birds dip and soar, calling to each other
greetings with elegant wings.

My eyes travel towards a hub of activity further along.
Fishermen struggling to spread out nets in need of mending.
Hardworking men, intent, purposeful, together.
They are who I seek.

I need them to be with me
I bring love and God to the marginalized people
shunned and pushed to the edge.
I have come to show them where God’s Kingdom
laps and teems with new hope; new life for them.
The fishermen will help.

[Mr G 21^st July 2024]