Whenever I visit the British Library in London I try to search out two very special manuscripts ~ The Codex Siniaticus and the Codex Alexandrinus. They are two of the rarest copies of Bible texts in Greek. In the case of Codex Siniaticus it is one of the most important books in the world. It is, arguably, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament that is still in existence, though not all of it is kept in London with a portion still being in Egypt, Russia and Leipzig. However, it has been digitally re-united so a complete copy now exists. From its text (and others which are less complete) all our translations of the New Testament are influenced.
It is also rather beautiful to look at in its handwritten script. To come close to what is the earliest known version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, lovingly scripted in the 4th century at the monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, is to come close to the Living Gospel. It is the closest we get to God’s Holy Word spoken by Jesus and the New Testament apostles and evangelists. Yet this is not the only example of the Living Gospel.
I write this on All Hallows Eve or ‘Halloween’ – a night when we try not to think of ghosts and scary things but rather of the Holy Ones of God—the saints whose lives God touched and who became, in the way they lived those lives Living copies of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I think not only of the many saints we commemorate in our Church Calendars but also those whose holiness is known to but a few, though always to God. People who, through the lives and values they have tried to lead and the faith they have proclaimed, been influential and an encouragement to others. Most, if not all, of us who embrace the Christian faith, can think of such people whose nurture of our Christian understanding and practice have laid the foundation of our belief in Jesus Christ and our love for Him. These are the unsung hero’s of our Church. These we remember at All Saints’ tide. But their specialness is not about them being unique. All of us are called to be the Holy Ones of God. We are all called to saintliness and to nurture and grow the faith of others by our example, our prayers and our living out of the Gospel—a Gospel we should know by heart because it is absorbed into our souls. Someone once said that we should remember that we may be the only copy of the Gospel that others may read!
As I keep the Hallowed (sacred) evening on the cusp of All Saints’ Day, I think of those holy ones of God who have made such a difference in my own life with their outflowing of God’s love. They have been the beacons which have illuminated my journey towards God. I am thankful that they were placed in my way to bring God’s heavenly glow to my pilgrimage to heaven. They are also a reminder that, as we can read in the Book of Wisdom (Chapter 3) “The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God.“ That includes all the Saints, and all who, today, are trying to live close to God and who continue to show us the way to God’s Heart.
Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum addressing the Church of England General Synod in York on July 15th.
The address given by Archbishop Hosam about the situation in the Holy Land was so moving that the Archbishop received two standing ovations and was held deeply in prayer. This is the Report from the Anglican Commmunion News Service (ACNS) and other sources.
In his address Bishop Naoum said that hospitals continue to be bombed in Gaza, with medical supplies in short supply and a ‘horrifying’ system of food distribution, comparable to the dystopian series The Hunger Games, with three sites open one hour a day for two million people. Calling for a restoration of humanitarian supplies including food and medicine, under UN supervision, Archbishop Hosam said there should be no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff. He called for the release of all hostages and captives and a permanent ceasefire for the end of the war and rebuilding of Gaza – ‘not ethnic cleansing that is presently being discussed by the Israeli and US Government.”
As always,the church is committed to peace building and reconciliation – a message that he has repeated ‘time and time again’ – but these are ‘alien terms’ that people across both sides of the divide refuse to talk about or even listen to, he said. “I realise that as a church we live and embody the gospel and we are not politicians. However, we need to speak out in the face of injustices and be prophetic for the sake of our people and our calling as Christians.”
“I’m grateful for the (Church of England) House of Bishops’ statements that have been taking our story as Christians in the Middle East and especially in Jerusalem, very seriously.”
Archbishop Hosam spoke of his desire for peace in the region, for the humanitarian aid system to be reformed and for an end to acts which oppose the Geneva Conventions. He stated that, “Medical supplies are in short supply. The food distribution system is horrifying.
“Advocacy is urgently needed for Israel’s adherence to the Geneva Conventions, as its current practices are unacceptable.” He called for “no bombing of hospitals, lifting of the siege, restoration of humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine, under UN supervision, no targeting of civilians, especially emergency workers and medical staff and the release of all hostages and captives.” In the face of this, Bishop Hosam said that “We are battered and bruised but not crushed.”. As a Church we must be committed to peace and reconciliation and be deeply committed to our Lord’s teaching of Peace and Love. We are called to a ministry of presence and resilience and of support, sustenance and healing. The Church is call to be a source of hope in an hopeless situation,but where a church is wounded and constrained, we need the wider body of Christ to help us to be the church in brutal and damaging times.”
The Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York in the Church of England, led a prayer for Archbishop Hosam at the conclusion of his address.
“Father, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We thank God for the faithfulness, friendship and ministry of our dear brother Hosam. We cry out to you for peace and justice in our world and especially in Israel, Palestine, in Gaza and in that whole region. We ask for the leading of your spirit, for the peace of your world. We ask this in Jesus’ name.”
In the words of Archbishop Hosam, with people around the world, we pray:
O God of all justice and peace we cry out to you in the midst of the pain and trauma of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land. Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths – Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all people of the land. While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence and the establishment of peace, we also call for you to bring justice and equity to the peoples. Guide us into your kingdom where all people are treated with dignity and honour as your children for, to all of us, you are our Heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum is the 15th Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, a role he has held since 2021. He was born in Haifa and grew up in Shefa’amr in Galilee.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem is home to about 7,000 Anglicans worshipping within twenty-eight different congregations. It is also responsible for more than thirty institutions, including hospitals, schools, clinics and rehabilitation centres. The Diocese is scattered across five separate countries or territories: Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
[photo from Gill Henwood – of the area near the Black Mountains, Bhutan]
Jesus prays in Gethsemane
On the night of his betrayal, Jesus took his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane, near the Mount of Olives. He asked them to pray for themselves and then went to a place by himself. He prayed to his Father that he might be released from the trial and crucifixion ahead of him. But he also prayed that his Father’s will should prevail. The humanity of Jesus cried out and his anguish caused his sweat to fall like drops of blood. An angel from heaven came to strengthen him. His disciples were fast asleep. Then the Roman soldiers came to the garden to arrest him…. (St Luke’s Gospel Chapter 22: 39-53)
Gethsemane
This is his Passion. Darkness wraps around his very being, not a warming cloak but a shroud. Silence, punctured by friends snoring off the wellbeing of food, minds sloshed with wine. Alone with the shivers of the night, everything in him protests.
Sometimes, when we know our destiny, our minds close. Not this! No! Never! But our hearts are our undoing: our resolve begins; ends there. So he battles with his need to say ‘Yes’, for himself, for others, for us. How else can the world know what it is to be loved?
Kneeling on the damp ground, tense, numb, scared, uncertain, he waits. And the Father waits too as demons and angels whirl, stirring up the black air, a vortex of cosmic battle. Below them, sweat drops as blood. And still the Father waits, listening expectantly, daring to hope…
God wrestling desperately with God with everything – just everything – at stake. This really is the Passion. He sighs, deeply, calm descends. “Yes, let it be.”
The Father wraps his love around him – and so too around us.
Four years ago, my friend Joyce wrote a little story about the Palm Sunday Donkey. It was specifically for the children of Ninefields Church of England School, near Waltham Abbey in Essex. Each child got a printed copy as a gift from Joyce. One or two others of us also got one. With Joyce’s permission, I was able to Blog it as an entry for March 28th 2021. Sadly since then Joyce died unexpectedly and though some will have read the story, it’s worth repeating as I pause in prayer and remember a delightful person who understood more than most, what it means to be child-like.
[Mr G # Palm Sunday 2025]
It promised to be a hot and sunny day as the early morning sunlight played on the little donkey’s face. Benji lazily opened first one eye and then the other, but although the sunshine was warm on his face, he shivered a little and huddled closer to his mother. It was, after all, only yesterday that he had seen the old donkey who lived along the road being cruelly beaten by his master. Benji’s mother gently nuzzled her son’s face and slowly licked one long ear followed by the other. Then, at the sound of their master’s voice, they trotted over to the edge of their field and had a long drink from the bucket of water he had brought for them, before turning to munch the hay which was piled up in the corner.
Even though their master was a kind man, Benji was still very frightened of the world outside his field and the scar on his mother’s back would always remind him of how cruel some people could be even to a donkey who had done nothing wrong. Sometimes, as Benji watched his mother carrying a person down the hill to the big city of Jerusalem, he could almost feel the pain of her scar and he longed to do something to help her. But the trouble was, whenever anybody asked for a ride on Benji, he was so frightened that he would begin to shake all over and no one wanted to ride him when he was like that. And so, in his short life, nobody had ever ridden on Benji’s back. But perhaps, just perhaps, today would be different……….
When Benji and his mother had finished eating, their master returned and, as he gently tickled their ears, he began to speak softly to them:
‘There will be lots of people going down to Jerusalem today to celebrate the Feast of the Passover’ he said ‘and I think that someone will need you to carry him today, Benji, so I’m going to get you both ready and I want you to stand quietly for me by the house.’
Then, using a long length of rope so that the donkeys could still graze from the grass, their master tied them to the trunk of a tree and they began to wait to see who might come by. They hadn’t been waiting long, however, when two men hurried towards the donkeys and, turning to their owner they said:
‘The Lord needs them’‘ That’s just fine’ said their master and as he untied Benji and his mother he whispered in their ears, ‘today will be your special day.’
The two men led the donkeys to the end of a dusty path and as they stood there, waiting, Benji turned his head and from where he was standing he could see right to the bottom of the big hill and all of the city of Jerusalem surrounded by big stone walls and lots of people, who looked as small as ants, hurrying around. Just then Benji’s gaze was arrested by a pile of rubbish outside the walls of the city and he began to tremble. He had often seen donkeys carrying rotting rubbish down to the tip and, sometimes, his mother told him, bad people were hung on crosses and killed there. At that thought, Benji shook even more, but just as he was beginning to feel so weak that he thought he would fall over, he felt a hand on his head and a gentle voice saying:
‘Not today, little donkey, not today; the rubbish tip’s not for today. Don’t be afraid little donkey, today I want you to carry me.’
Benji turned his head and found himself looking into the most understanding man’s face he had ever seen and suddenly his shaking stopped and he felt strangely calm. Yes, he would be able to carry this man because he knew he understood and he gently nuzzled Jesus’ hand. While his friends put their coats on Benji’s back, Jesus gently patted the scar on the older donkey’s back and this time she didn’t wince as she normally did, but she too, gently rubbed her head against him.
When they were ready, Jesus climbed on Benji’s back and began to ride down the hill towards Jerusalem. To his surprise, with this man on his back, Benji suddenly felt quite strong and sure of himself. Somehow, being with Jesus, had taken away his scary feelings and now he really did feel that he could carry him all the way to Jerusalem. And Benji’s mother was just a few paces behind trotting along quite contentedly. They hadn’t gone very far, however, when people started to come to the edge of the road and they began to cheer and wave palm branches as Jesus rode by on the little donkey. People even spread their cloaks and more palm branches on the ground so that Benji had a very soft road to walk on. People then began to shout:
‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest’
‘Yes, Jesus must be very special’ thought Benji, ‘ but I could have told all these people that from the moment he first spoke to me.’ And as he continued to trot down the road he, too, felt special and so happy.
But as we know, donkeys are very sensitive and after a little while, amidst all the cheering, Benji’s long ears began to pick up some whispers from people at the back of the crowd, people who said they didn’t like Jesus and even that they wanted to kill him. When he heard this, Benji began to shake again, but the man on his back gently patted him and said again; ‘Not today little donkey, not today.’ So, reassured once more, Benji trotted on right through a gate in the wall and into the city of Jerusalem, right up to the temple.
When they arrived there, Jesus jumped off Benji’s back, ‘ thank you, little donkey’ he said, ‘now you go back home with your mother and rest – well done little donkey, well done.’ Benji was so happy, he didn’t want to leave, but after rubbing Jesus’ arm with his muzzle one more, he turned and trotted back up the hill with his mother.
When he got home, he turned his head and looked at the city of Jerusalem once more and he wondered what Jesus was doing now. Then, as his gaze again took in the rubbish tip, a big tear rolled down his face and he heard that gentle voice saying ‘not today, not today, little donkey’ and he wondered what tomorrow might bring……
Mr G's Ponderings 