Thought and Prayer for the Day
by
Rev. Dr. Gary Gannon

Sometimes, it is the power of fewer words contained in a letter, than its overall length, that seems to personally resonate with the reader. I witnessed this phenomenon recently in an Anglican morning prayer service.

Letters, or epistles, are the earliest documents in the New Testament and its most literary form. There are twenty-one separate letters contained in this part of the Holy Scriptures. One of the longest of these is the Letter of Paul to the Romans. It is comprised of sixteen chapters. However, what recently caught my eye on that morning was a three-verse passage found in the sixth chapter of that letter. These mere fifty-five words, also seen in the Christ our Passover prayer – (page 50 in the Book of Alternative Services of The Anglican Church of Canada) – summed up for me the power and wonder of the Eastertide season.  The passage, Romans 6: 9-11, reads,

Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So, also consider yourselves dead to sin, and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Alleluia!

As I often do in trying to understand the impact a certain Biblical passage has had on me, I turn to the British theologian, N.T. Wright. He states that Paul’s aim in this particular Scripture reading is to learn, or be reminded of, a new identity we have as baptized Christians, as a result of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Wright explains,

“We are now ‘in the Messiah’ so that what is true of him is true of us, however unlikely it sounds and however much it doesn’t yet feel true. Jesus is alive again with a life that death can no longer touch. He hasn’t come back into the same life. He has gone on through death and out the other side into a new bodily life beyond the reach of death – a concept we find difficult to grasp. Paul’s point is that, if we are “in the Messiah”, then that is where we are too.”

He goes on to explain that you and I, of course, are not yet bodily raised from death as one day we will be. That remains in the future. Yet, part of being a Christian, as is reinforced for us at Easter, allows one to see that this future has come forward into the present in the person and achievement of our Lord and Saviour, so that as his followers we already may “taste” the reality of that future while living in the present.

Why this short passage from Romans hit home for me in the recent Morning Prayer service, and upon further reflection with the help of N.T. Wright, is that through our faith in the reality of Jesus, his death and resurrection, along with our standing as baptized and believing Christians, you and I again find ourselves renewed “in the Messiah” at Easter. We are also now called to remember who we really are as faithful believers and followers of our Lord, so that we can act accordingly in the future days of our lives here on earth.
Amen.

Prayer
Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.
Give us grace to love one another and walk in the way of his commandments, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

From: Collect for the 5^th Sunday of Easter, The Book of Alternative Services, p. 340.

This coming Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday.  Always on the fourth Sunday of Easter and as part of our celebrations of the resurrection, we hear psalm 23, reminding us that, “The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want”

As we read it, there is such a universal message within.  The Lord is My Shepherd – but that means the Lord is your shepherd as well. The Lord is for us all.  The desire of God and God’s people is that no-one should be in want.

This year, Good Shepherd Sunday coincides with FaithWorks Sunday. FaithWorks is a charitable program operated by the Anglican Diocese of Toronto which offers support to ministry partners to meet the needs of people who are Indigenous, homeless, or hungry; at-risk women, children or youth, immigrants or refugees, or those struggling with HIV/AIDS.  FaithWorks funding helps partner organizations build communities of compassion and hope by providing opportunities for dignity to grow, so that fewer people will be in need.

Encampment explores the desire we all have for a place to dwell where we are known and valued – not for what we have, but for who we are, including our struggles. Part of the core work of St. Stephens in the fields is to get to know by name those who many others would rather ignore, walk past, or wish were not there.  In other words, recognizing every sheep in the flock. This reflects the Gospel of St. John, where Jesus states, “I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep keep me.”

There’s no need for me to tell you that the world is in crisis! Wars are raging on many fronts; poverty and homelessness are rampant; the climate crisis is responsible for extreme weather events and their accompanying devastation; hatred and cruelty are destroying the world order. In such times it is challenging to stay positive and to hold fast to the hope we find in Jesus.

There is a general feeling of helplessness about what is happening, which deepens with every newscast. As Christians we are called to keep praying and attending worship, and do what we can to help others. We are challenged to stand firm in our faith, but no one said it would be easy.

One way I have found to alleviate this stress is to escape into the world of books, both in print and audio. Some books are like a cozy duvet, evoking a world which is safe and kind. A few years ago, I discovered one such work. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a unique and beautifully illustrated story for readers of all ages, by British artist Charlie Mackesy. The message is simple: love, kindness, friendship and self-acceptance. A sequel, Always Remember, was published last year. Every page tells a truth in its own right…here are few examples:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Kind”, said the boy.
“What do you think is the biggest waste of time?” “Comparing yourself to others,” said the mole.
“Everyone is a bit scared,” said the horse, “But we are less scared together.”
“Nothing beats kindness,” said the horse. “It sits quietly beyond all things.”
“What’s your best discovery?” asked the mole. “That I’m enough as I am,” said the boy.

These books sit in my living room to be dipped into any time I feel like a hug. Charlie Mackesy is an extraordinary artist, who was a confirmed atheist and skeptical of Christianity until the mid-1990s. He describes his conversion following the death of his best friend as a quiet journey, feeling guided by Jesus to see the beauty in people. His mission is to spread the news that all people have God’s unconditional love. He lives in the UK, helps run a homeless project in London, and is an ambassador for Mama Buci, a beekeeping social enterprise in Zambia.

According to Bear Grylls, “Love, friendship and kindness. This book speaks a universal language.”
And finally, from reviewer Alice Vincent, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse may not be able to solve the world’s problems, but it has reminded thousands of people of the qualities that can.”

I am thankful for this opportunity to find comfort and solace between the pages of a book. Of course, there are other ways to find joy: appreciating the natural beauty of our surroundings and the creatures who share our earthly home; building relationships with friends and family; small acts of kindness we do or receive; sharing a meal with someone special … glimpses of God are all around us. May it be so!

PRAYER (Excerpts from the 24/7 Global Call to Pray for Peace)
Lord Jesus, we dare to believe that you are the Prince of Peace. Faced with the horror of war, we are confident that you still reign and are in control. You are the only answer to the turmoil of nations.
We pray, come Lord Jesus, come and reign in peace at this time. Lord, we pray that in nations where conflict abounds, you would raise up righteous leaders, leaders who care for the people they serve and who are willing to pursue peace over power. May your kingdom come on earth. AMEN

Thought & Prayer

By the Rev. Geoff Lloyd

 When I was growing up in Truro in the UK I was a Wolf Cub in a troop from Highertown C of E. At this time of the year we celebrated St George with all the other Boy Scout and Wolf Cub troops in Truro. We had a great parade through the city and a big service in Truro Cathedral. Being not long after the victorious Second World War there was a real sense of triumph and patriotism in the service and we listened in awe as we heard about St George slaying the dragon and possibly also the sea monster. What an exciting time it was!

You can imagine my dismay, therefore, when a few years later I and my fellow Wolf Cubs were told the true story about St George. He was not English at all and was probably a soldier living in Palestine at the beginning of the fourth century. He was martyred at Lydda in about the year 394, the beginning of the Roman Emperor Diocletian’s persecution and became known throughout the East as the ‘Great Martyr’. There were churches dedicated to St George before the Norman Conquest.

The story of his slaying the dragon is probably due to his being mistaken in iconography for St Michael, himself usually depicted wearing armour; or it may be a mistaken identity representing Perseus’s slaying of the sea monster, a myth also associated with the area of Lydda.
George replaced Edward the Confessor as Patron Saint of England following the Crusades when returning soldiers brought back with them a renewed cult of St George. Edward III made St George patron of the Order of the Garter which seems finally to have confirmed his position. He commanded his tribute day be April 23^rd every year.

From my boyhood days I still love celebrating St George’s Day and I much prefer him to have been a real person living in Palestine than a doubtful English historical figure. Long may we and the Church celebrate him and his contribution to the Gospel through his martyrdom!

Prayer:

God of hosts, who so kindled the flame of love in the heart of your servant George that he bore witness to the risen Lord by his life and his death; give us the same faith and power of love that we who rejoice in his triumphs may come to share with him the fullness of The Resurrection. Amen.