Courage to love

 There were once two little boys who decided to buy their mother some flowers. So they went out to look for a nice bouquet, however the only one that they really liked was too expensive, so they thought that they would buy her a nice house plant instead. They did this and presented it to their Mum who was really pleased. Then the younger of the two boys explained, “Well, Mum we saw a lovely bouquet, it was really pretty and you would have loved it, it had a huge ribbon across the top of it on which were the words, ‘rest in peace’, we know that you always ask us to give you a chance to rest in peace so we would have bought it for you but we didn’t have enough money.” The Mum reassured her sons that a house plant was a much better idea!

Today is, of course, Mothering Sunday, a day when we give thanks for Mums, and all those who have loved us and cared for us as Mothers. We think also of our own role in loving and caring for others, and we are reminded of the greatest love of all. The love of God for us, His children.

Today we also give thanks for our mother Church, which is Newport Cathedral, and of course Mary, the mother of Jesus. I like to think of the Church that I grew up in as well, this Church nurtured me and helped me grow in my faith.

Our readings this morning have reminded us not just of mothers but also of our call to love and get alongside those in need.

In the Old Testament reading (Ex.2:1-10.) we heard of a mother protecting her child. She knew that if the Pharaoh of Egypt at the time had known that she had a son he would have killed him. This was because Pharaoh felt threatened by the people he had as slaves. These people were Hebrews and Pharaoh was worried that if they grew in number they would turn on him and enslave him instead.

The mother of the baby had kept him hidden, but she knew she couldn’t do this forever. She placed him in a basket and his sister took him to the Nile. It is the type of story which would have you hanging on for more if you didn’t already know what happened.

Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby, and then ended up asking for his own mother to look after him in the Pharaoh’s palace. It really is an amazing account. The man who would have killed the baby boy ended up with the boy being brought up in his palace by his own birth mother. Incredible!

Moses, the little boy, was protected and looked after. He then grew up and was used by God as someone who would help to set the Hebrew people free from slavery.

When you hear this you can never believe that God wasn’t looking after His children, the Hebrews. In the same way that Mothers look after their children despite all setbacks God does the same for us.

In the reading from the gospel according to Luke (2:33-36) we heard of a mother being warned of awful things to come. Mary was warned that she would be hurt. This happened when Jesus was a Baby. He had been taken to the Temple and a man named Simeon had realised that in Jesus was the salvation that they were waiting for. Not just this, but after this moment of excitement he then told Mary and Joseph that their son was going to suffer.

I came across a little poem the other day, which talked of some of the Mums in the Bible and it said,

Had I been Joseph's mother

I'd have prayed

protection from his brothers

"God, keep him safe.

He is so young,

so different from

the others."

Mercifully,

she never knew

there would be slavery

and prison, too.

Had I been Moses' mother

I'd have wept to keep my little son:

praying she might forget

the babe drawn from the water

of the Nile.

Had I not kept

him for her

nursing him the while,

was he not mine?

--and she

but Pharaoh's daughter?

Had I been Mary,

Oh, had I been she,

I would have cried

as never mother cried,

"Anything, O God,

Anything...

--but

crucified."

In the reading that we heard from the 2nd letter to the Corinthians (1:3-7) we heard the word console. I have often thought of that word as quite a weak word, almost, ‘ah never mind, you’ll be ok’, but it is actually so much more than this. It expects more than a pat on the back, to truly console someone is to get alongside them, to be there for them, it is about showing true love and care. It can be easy to think that we are saying and doing the right thing for someone in need, but it is about more than this, it is about getting alongside a person. It is about going the extra mile. It is about giving things up for others.

It’s a little like the bravery of two women, the unconditional love of God and the knowledge that today as we give thanks for the example of love so we are to love in the ways that we have been loved. In the case of God’s love for us, this is unconditionally. As we give thanks today, may we also ask God to help us to love as He loves.

I am proud to be a member of the Mothers Union. This is a Christian organisation that is dedicated to ending poverty, violence and social injustice in the UK and around the world. For 150 years the Mothers Union has worked to help children, families, parents, all those in need by offering support and guidance. It was begun by a Mother who wanted to support other mothers, from different backgrounds in bringing up their children. Her name was Mary Sumner and she wrote a prayer which I would like to finish with. This prayer reminds us of our call to love, and support others.

Let us pray:-

All this day, O Lord,

let me touch as many lives as possible for thee;

and every life I touch, do thou by thy spirit quicken,

whether through the word I speak,

the prayer I breathe,

or the life I live.

Amen.

Overflowing Joy !

 I am the youngest child in my family. This means that growing up I had a brother and sister to advise me. It turns out that not everything they told me was true. Anyway, I remember a place in Chard where we used to stay. It was a house in which there were toys including toy boats. I was very little and my brother showed me that if you put enough water in the sink you could sail one of these boats. I liked the idea and later on decided to have a go myself. Then we all went out for the day. When we got back there was water everywhere. I had turned the tap on to play, but I hadn’t turned the tap off. 

I thought of that because we have come across overflowing and everlasting water in our readings today.

In the reading from Exodus (17:1-7) we heard of the people complaining as they travelled with Moses to the land that they had been promised. They were thirsty, so perhaps this seems fair enough.

After hearing this, Moses appealed to God, who used him to perform a miracle. By using a staff he was able to strike a stone and water came out. The place was named Massah and Meribah because the people had argued and questioned if God was with them.

In the Psalm (95) we heard of another theme in the readings this morning which is rejoicing because of all the good things God has done. I rather like the salutary warning that remembered Massah and Meribah. It is almost a warning to behave better, keep rejoicing because otherwise you will be known as arguing and complaining.

Keeping this idea of rejoicing in the letter to the Romans (5:1-11) we were reminded of the fact that because of what Jesus has done for us we can boast in His goodness. It is wonderful, my favourite verse is in this passage, “God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

It’s amazing and worth rejoicing in the fact that before God even knew if we would accept Him, He died for us. 

So far, there is a feeling of joy and hope in the readings. Hope in terms of a warning not to argue as bad things can happen. Joy that God helped the people and gave them another chance, joy in celebrating all that God has done and then as if that wasn’t enough we have the joy and reassurance that Jesus died for us. 

The gospel reading (John 4:5-42) reminds us that God loves us and wants to bring us all new life. I always picture the woman at the well running around afterwards and telling everyone about her encounter with someone who told her everything she ever knew about herself.  She wondered if He was the Messiah, the One promised by God who would help them.  After all, Jesus told her that she would gain new life and could receive more than water from the well, she could have everlasting life. 

We are offered this as well. God provides new life, and He promises that this life is everlasting. 

This is another need for us to rejoice, because just as Jesus did for the woman so He does for us. Jesus brings life, and everlasting water to us and all those for whom we pray.

In the reading from the gospel of John we did not hear just about a woman at the well but a non Jewish woman. Jesus a Jewish man speaking to a non Jewish woman would have been  scandalous.

Jesus was never bound by tradition, and he was never prepared to accept that people couldn’t reconcile their differences with God and with other people. He showed that God’s transforming love, grace and mercy are available to all. 

A while ago my husband and I went to Rome. We went to the Trevi fountain on Valentine’s Day. Our female friends were cross with their husbands that they hadn’t thought of something so romantic. The husbands breathed sighs of relief when they discovered that we were really going to watch the rugby !! 

Anyway in Rome there are many famous fountains at which people have their photos taken, and throw their coins in as they make a wish, but something that is not so well known is that these fountains also all have perfectly clean drinking water, and that’s what they were originally designed for. Water was a scarce commodity at one time in the city, and clean water was almost impossible to get, and so the authorities built the fountains. 

And in many places fountains or wells became the centre of a community, and even today this is still the case in some of the poorest parts of the world. People come to get their water, they share the local news and gossip, they chat to people about friends and family, they even discuss the local politics and so on.

The wells were a hugely important place where people found not just physical water, but met with people with whom they could discuss spiritual or physical needs or problems, as well as just those little bits of news which helped to keep communities going. 

They were a place of living water, and yet Jesus was saying that he was offering something even better ! And that is still what he is offering us today. He is calling us to look at ourselves, and to spend some time reflecting on who we are and what we are really called to do.  

Jesus saw potential in this woman, and he sees potential in every one of us. 

Jesus gives us that living water… An unnamed woman who was not a Jew, in spite of her hesitation and misgivings, she was drawn to the well to encounter Jesus, who gave her that drink of living water. So we also are drawn to encounter Jesus, that we too might drink of living water and never thirst again. We are called to rejoice, not to complain. God showed His love for the people on their journey by miraculously giving them water, they rejoiced, He died for us and He is always there to give us the living water. The water that is the best ever. 

I think that perhaps rather than thinking of water overflowing, we should be full of overflowing joy. Amen. 

Hop on board the Wilderness express.

 If you were to write a holiday brochure for places in the Bible, I wonder where you would choose. Jerusalem would be an obvious choice. Perhaps Rome might feature too. The wilderness, however, would probably not make the list. It does not sound appealing or comfortable, and yet the wilderness appears again and again in Scripture as a place where God meets His people.

In our Gospel reading (Matt 4.1-11) today, we heard of Jesus going into the wilderness. He went there to prepare for His ministry, and while He was there, He was met by the devil, who tempted Him with promises of an easier and more attractive way. We are not told how long Jesus had already been in the wilderness before these temptations came. He may have been thinking about food or reflecting on how demanding His work would be. We rightly believe that Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully human. I am not sure that I would have coped so well in the wilderness.

To me, the word wilderness suggests emptiness and danger. I picture wild animals, insects, rough ground, and uneven paths—if there is even a path at all. It does not sound like a place that would sell well in a travel brochure. Yet many people in the Bible experienced the wilderness in different ways, and reflecting on their stories may help us to see why the wilderness might deserve a place in a biblical brochure after all.

I want to take us to the wilderness experienced by Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament. God told Abraham to leave his home and travel with Sarah to a new place. They did not know where they were going; they only knew that God had told them to go. As they travelled, they may have been tempted to settle somewhere comfortable. Instead, they continued to listen for God’s guidance. They also lived through the long wilderness of waiting for a child. After many years of disappointment, Sarah was promised a son, even though she and Abraham were far beyond the expected age. Abraham was eighty-six years old when his child was born, twenty years after God’s promise was first made.

Abraham and Sarah had journeyed through an emotional wilderness and came out the other side. They experienced the joy that God had promised them. Their story suggests that the wilderness can be a place where faith grows and hope is renewed.

It is difficult to think about the wilderness without also thinking about the desert. Thinking about Moses helps us here. Moses led the people of Israel through the desert towards the land that God had promised them. Along the way, the people complained, doubted God, and longed for their old lives. I doubt that Moses always enjoyed this journey or trusted that everything would work out in the end. Yet when the people eventually reached the promised land, there was great joy.

One place that might seem certain to appear in a biblical travel brochure is the Garden of Eden. It was beautiful, and everything was as it should be between God and the first humans, Adam and Eve ( Gen 2.15–17; 3.1-7).

However, the serpent tempted Adam and Eve to turn away from God by encouraging them not to listen to Him. Because of this, the garden became a place of warning rather than welcome.

Jesus entered the wilderness without any brochure or promises of comfort. When He was tempted, He did not rely on His own strength alone. Instead, He fell back on the Scriptures He knew so well. 

We also heard from the letter to the Romans (Rom 5.12-19) this morning. Rome might sound like a good destination for a biblical travel brochure, but to understand the passage we heard, we need to remember the story of the Garden of Eden. As the letter explains, just as Adam brought sin into the world, Jesus made everything right again.

As it says in the letter:

“Just as by the one person’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

These words remind us that through Jesus, we all have the opportunity to be made right with God.

Perhaps the wilderness can be included in a biblical travel brochure when we think about Jesus’ time there. It may still sound empty and frightening, but it reflects times in our own lives when things may feel uncertain or overwhelming. The wilderness can be a time when we learn to rely fully on God, just as Abraham and Sarah, and Moses, did before us.

Lent is a time to rely intentionally on God. We know that we should be doing this throughout the year, but it is not always easy. Reflecting on the wilderness can remind us to slow down, listen, and trust God.

In the wilderness, Jesus prayed, and that is an important lesson for us. Lent reminds us to pray more and to think about God more. We may not feel as though we are in a wilderness, and the idea of being tempted by the devil may not feel as dramatic as it was for Jesus. However, temptation is anything that draws us away from God. It can be something small, such as praying less than we used to, or failing to show kindness and patience.

As believers, we are called to be more like Jesus, whom we follow. That means trying to act as He did. When we face difficult times, or when other things seem more appealing than spending time with God, we are encouraged to put things right. Jesus survived temptation by pointing back to God. Every temptation He faced was answered with Scripture that reminded Him of who God is and what God can do.

If we set aside the idea of a biblical travel brochure, we might think of the wilderness as a place where Jesus encountered His Father. He was close to God, relied on Him, and trusted Him completely.

Today is the first Sunday of Lent, and we are reminded not only of Jesus in the wilderness, but also of Jesus making it possible for us to be right with God again.

I am not sure how you are keeping Lent this year, but I would like to suggest one thing. The most important part of Lent is taking time to grow closer to God in prayer. May we make the most of Lent as we spend more time praying and trusting in God’s love, together as believers.

That’s the Glory of Love

 This week we will see the beginning of Lent… the time when we draw closer to God, the time when we spend moments thinking of things that we can change in our lives, and the ways that we want to see the World change and to pray for the World.

It is a very serious time but before lent begins I want to tell you a story about a rabbit.  There is a reason and that is that the story relates to our readings this morning and it is a very good story plus the story talks about spring which cannot come too soon !  The rabbit in the story is called Mr Hopewell.  Hope – well, hop-well ?

Mr Hopewell had been born into a particularly cold environment with a lot of snow.  He was always cold but he heard the other rabbits talking about spring.  Mr Hopewell thought that spring sounded good and he assumed that Spring was a person, a ‘Mr.Spring’. So he asked the other rabbits about when Mr.Spring would arrive and they all laughed at him.

He did not ask any more questions until he saw a daffodil, and he asked the daffodil ‘are you Mr.Spring?’ ‘no’ replied the daffodil ‘but without spring I would not be here’.  Then the daffodil explained that spring was all around Mr.Hopewell and that was why it was warmer.

Now Mr.Hopewell was a very clever rabbit and he became a man.  Not only did he become a man but he kept hearing people talking about life being better with God.  So Mr Hopewell hunted for someone to ask who Mr. God was and where he might be found as Mr Hopewell wished to meet him… 

Then all of a sudden he found himself on a mountain and saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen and someone came up to him and said “wow, that’s the glory of God”.  Mr Hopewell asked “where ?” and the man answered ‘the glory of God is everywhere’. The man went on, ‘God made you and His glory is with you, and is wrapped all around the world’.

The readings today have spoken about glory, the glory of God.  Moses met with God in the Old Testament reading (Exodus 24:12-end) and was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights as he was overcome with the glory of God. 

Then in the reading from the second letter to Peter  (2 Peter 1:16-21) we were reminded of the power, majesty and glory of God that follow Him. 

In the Gospel reading (Matthew 17:1-9) we were reminded of the transfiguration, the moment when Jesus dazzled the disciples with Him as He met with Moses and Elijah.

Moses and Elijah were very important figures, Moses had brought the law of God to the people of Israel, and Elijah had taught them how to continue their relationship with God.  Both of them had shown to the people of Israel the glory of God in His law, and in His teaching.  Jesus showed the glory of God in a different way.

His way was not a way that ignored the law, but His was better because His glory was the glory of love.  A love for us that was so great that He would die for our sins, that he would die for us.

As we worship God we are worshipping One who doesn’t just love but is love.  He is also the God of glory and to Him belongs our worship and our praise.

I am not sure about you but there have been times in my life when I have been particularly aware of the presence of God and have seen the glory of God all around me. These are those times when you just want to stay in the place you are, so that you do not lose that feeling.  

One such time for me was the first time that we went to the Holy Land, I have to admit that I was a little nervous about practical things such as being a fussy eater ! I found crowds a lot to deal with as they seemed to get in the way of my reflection time. I was so wrong as one day we went to the beach where Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection and you can almost imagine that the disciples were desperate to ask Jesus questions and all He said was,’lets eat breakfast.’ To be in that place was incredible and I could have stayed there for hours looking at the sea of Galilee and thinking of the love of God. 

However, reality meant that there was more to see and more to do- which to be honest was definitely worthwhile. 

In the gospel reading Peter knew that something incredible had happened, and was happening and somehow, he wanted to catch that moment and to hold onto it forever. 

I can understand that feeling, it is what you might call a mountain top experience, that is those times in life when it seems that things cannot get any better.

Reality can often be different to those wonderful mountain top experiences that we can have.  The reality is that somehow we have to take something of those wonderful experiences into our everyday lives.  It is as if God gives us something good to re-energize us to go and do His work.  As we prepare to enter Lent, a solemn time, a time where we don’t say the Gloria, we enter with the reminder we have had of God’s glory this morning. It is almost a picture memory to get us ready for the next time we celebrate God’s glory as we celebrate Resurrection. 

God is a God of glory, He is not just the God of love.., He actually is love; following Him and trying to be more like Him we cannot help but face reality with the love that He gives, because the more time we spend trying to be like God, is the more time we spend becoming like a mirror through which the glory of God can shine in the world and into the pain of those around us dispelling fear.

May we approach Lent ready to transform our lives to become more like God and thereby to transform the lives of all those around us with His love and His glory. 

Clouds, Lilies, and the Creator’s Joy - A REFLECTION

The Old Testament reading for this week is a long one (Genesis 1:1–2:3). It’s the account of creation, and it always sets my mind wandering back to how I understood creation and the weather as a little girl. I believed thunder wasn’t scary because it was simply the clouds bumping into each other. Snow fell because it got cold in heaven. The wind was God letting out a big breath, and the rain… well, I was convinced that even God needed to go to the toilet sometimes.

People hold many different views about how creation happened and how it all works, but for me the most important thing is this: God was behind it all.

Thinking that way allows my imagination to run wild. I love picturing God looking at the world He was forming and thinking, “Not bad—I did that.” I can imagine Him like an artist seeking perfection, almost playful in His creativity. “Let’s see what happens if I separate the waters,” I imagine Him saying. “Let’s see what else I can make.”

When God created, He also created us—and this is where things became less perfect, as humans began to drift away from Him. Creation lost some of its original beauty because sin had entered the world.

The reading from Romans (8:18–25) helps me connect with the concerns of those who recognised that the world was no longer as God intended. When I look at suffering and at wars, it would be easy to become discouraged. But, like the people who first received Paul’s letter, I wait with the assurance that God is in control. All the suffering I see now is nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed when I see God face to face.

And yet, it’s the gospel reading (Matthew 6:25–34) that helps me most as I think about creation today. I find myself imagining the scene: the disciples sitting and listening as Jesus told them not to worry. He didn’t leave them with just the instruction—He pointed to creation to explain why.

This is where I’m helped again, because I imagine Jesus speaking with joy and wonder as He looked at the world around Him. He noticed the birds—free, unworried, provided for. He saw the lilies—growing beautifully without fear or striving.

Jesus used creation itself to show the joy God felt in making it. That should encourage me not to worry. I know that trusting God can be difficult in hard times, but these readings remind me of God’s delight in creating and His love for me. That should be a source of hope.

Worry won’t disappear completely, but it becomes easier to bear when I remember that the God who created with such joy wants me to experience that joy too. As I turn to Him and become more like Him, He protects me, loves me, and invites me into the freedom He intended from the beginning.

When the season ends, the light remains

 

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Can you remember what you were doing 40 days ago? Most likely you were celebrating Christmas. Now, 40 days later, the Church gently closes the Christmas season. The decorations are packed away, ready to re‑emerge when Christmas 2026 arrives.

At Christmas we say, “Happy Christmas!” But today? “Happy end of Christmas season” doesn’t quite land. And yet, like every wonderful holiday or special moment, even Christmas comes to an end. But for the Church, I’m not sure we can—or even should—say the season truly ends.

Because as the celebrations fade, one constant remains: Jesus and His unfailing love for us. Jesus came, and because He died and rose again, and because of Pentecost, we know He is with us always.

During Christmas, you may have heard those majestic opening words of John’s Gospel: “We have seen his glory…” Today we celebrate the moment when Simeon and Anna saw that glory in the temple. And how incredible that we, too, can see the glory of Jesus—in creation, in God’s healing and helping, and perhaps even in the ways others see Him reflected in us.

So what does God’s glory look like? It looks like someone trying to become more like Him. It looks like those moments when we encounter something so beautiful, so holy, that words fall short. Like holding a newborn baby. Or being moved by a piece of music or art that touches something deep inside.

When I picture Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the temple, I wonder what they expected. Probably not what happened next.

As soon as they arrive, they meet Simeon. The moment he greets them, he recognises Jesus as the One the world had been waiting for—the Messiah who would change everything. This doesn’t surprise us, but for Mary and Joseph it was yet another extraordinary encounter. They knew Jesus was different; they knew God had spoken; they knew they were part of something far bigger than themselves.

Simeon realised that the promise he’d waited his whole life to see—God stepping into the world—had finally arrived. He saw that Jesus was the light who would transform the world and make life new.

And that light caused Simeon to rejoice: his eyes had seen God’s salvation. In Jesus, the light of the world, we too can celebrate the salvation He brings. We can know and experience the glory of God.

Mary and Joseph then meet Anna, a faithful presence in the temple. She prayed constantly, longing for freedom for her people, longing for God to act. And into her long waiting, the unexpected happened—everything she prayed for arrived in the form of a child.

Two faithful people waited. A baby arrived. And the promises of God began to unfold before their eyes.

Sometimes I wonder: did Simeon ever doubt? Did Anna ever grow weary? Yet even after a lifetime of waiting, God broke into their world—and hope burst forth again.

We can share in that same unshakeable hope. It doesn’t remove every struggle, but it does give us the certainty of salvation—something to receive, and something to share.

Simeon declared that in Jesus he had seen salvation. When we turn to Jesus, when we pray, we too can know His forgiveness and salvation.

Of course, Simeon had more to say. He saw that Jesus’ coming would stir hearts and force choices. He also warned Mary that she would feel deep pain—through what people said about Jesus, and through what He would suffer.

If I were advising Simeon, I might suggest stopping at the joyful part about glory. But he spoke the truth: following Jesus would bring both wonder and sorrow.

Mary stayed faithful anyway. She had said yes to God. She knew the ancient stories of God’s love and calling. Even when she didn’t understand, she held fast.

And now, as the Christmas season ends and we turn again to the constant—the glory of Jesus—it’s worth remembering that the same glory Simeon and Anna saw, the same love and faithfulness Mary and Joseph lived, still guide and inspire us. As we think of Jesus, may we see His glory, know His love, and share it freely with those around us. May we point others to God’s glory always. AMEN.