Rainbow - Rainbow

Rainbow.


We've had each individual colour... and now the whole rainbow.

A symbol of hope.

So bright... but at either end, there is more - ultraviolet and infrared light that we can't see. Perhaps a reminder that even when we can't see the hope in a situation, it doesn't mean there is no hope?






For reflection today? -


May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15.13

♫  Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Today the Church remembers the Apostle Thomas...

'Doubting Thomas'


In the middle of a pandemic, as we look to this weekend's easing of the lockdown and the beginning of the reopening of churches for public worship, a theme of 'doubt' seems quite timely... after all, no one knows what will happen in the days and weeks to come.

Perhaps some of the story of the one who acquired the adjective 'Doubting' would be helpful to reflect on, today: 

John 20.24-29

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

A prayer for today:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

(A Franciscan prayer, from here.)

♫ No Doubt - Don't Speak

Rainbow - Violet

Violet.


A colour for preparing, for bishops, and for royalty.



Jesus said, 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

John 14.1-6,27

A prayer for our bishop, today:

Almighty God,

the light of the faithful and shepherd of souls,

who set your servant [John] to be a bishop in the Church,

to feed your sheep by the word of Christ

and to guide them by good example:

give us grace to keep the faith of the Church

and to follow in the footsteps

of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

(Prayer from the Church of England)

♫  Prince - Purple Rain

Rainbow - Indigo

Indigo.


Ink, denim, 'indigo carmine' food coloring...

The night sky also comes to mind:

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We will go with you.’ They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

(From John 21)

And perhaps to prayerfully mull over today...?

Psalm 8.3-4

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

♫  My Indigo - My Indigo

Rainbow - Blue

Blue.


(Not that water is blue really, but...)

Mark 4:35-41

Jesus Stills a Storm

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

And, to perhaps inspire prayer today:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine

Isaiah 43.1b

♫  Electric Light Orchestra - Mr Blue Sky

Rainbow - Green

Green.


Green... for growth, creation, vibrancy and life:

From Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3     he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.





And perhaps for prayer, today:

I am like an olive tree
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
    for ever and ever.

(from Psalm 52)



♫ Green Day - She

Rainbow - Yellow

Yellow.

Exodus 3.1-6a

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

For reflection and prayer today - A Song of Ephrem the Syrian

1    Behold: Fire and Spirit in the womb that bore you:  ♦

Behold: Fire and Spirit in the river where you were baptized.

2    Fire and Spirit in our baptism:  ♦

In the Bread and the Cup, Fire and Holy Spirit.

3    In your Bread is hidden a Spirit not to be eaten,  ♦

In your Wine dwells a Fire not to be drunk.

4    Spirit in your Bread, Fire in your Wine,  ♦

A wonder set apart, yet received by our lips.

5    How wonderful your footsteps, walking on the waters!  ♦

You subdued the great sea beneath your feet.

6    Yet to a little stream you subjected your head,  ♦

Bending down to be baptized in it.

7    The stream was like John who performed the baptism in it,  ♦

In their smallness each an image of the other.

8    To the stream so little, to the servant so weak,  ♦

The Lord of them both subjected himself.

♫  Coldplay - Yellow

Rainbow - Orange

Orange.


At traffic lights, orange (or amber) means 'Stop, but be prepared - things are about to change'...


Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1.13

A suggestion for reflection and prayer:

From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised!

Psalm 113.3

♫  Nat King Cole - Orange Colored Sky

Rainbow - Red

Red



For each colour of the rainbow, I thought I'd give a suggestion of a Bible passage that makes me think of that colour.

As it's the first colour of the rainbow, let's begin at the start of the Bible...
Adam, which literally means 'man', stemmed from a word meaning 'red/to be red'...quite probably because of the red clay of the ground.

(Tenuous link time...!)

From clay, how about this passage today, from 2 Corinthians, chapter 4:

It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 

A prayer for today:


Strike the rock of our hard hearts, O God,
and let our tears of joy and sorrow
mould us to bear the imprint of your love,
given in Christ our risen Lord.

(Prayer from the Church of England)

And a quote to reflect upon, from Groucho Marx:

'Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the light.'



♫ Red Hot Chilli Peppers - My Friends

Today the Church remembers the Birth of John the Baptist...

The birth of John the Baptist - who came to prepare the way for Jesus.


As we have just had the news that church services, will be possible in church buildings again soon, a theme of preparing seems apt.

So much was thrown up in the air because of lockdown, and preparations (and re-preparations) for all kinds of things we made - meetings online, recorded and live services, leaflets and prayer booklets to deliver to people.

It has been a prompt, I think, too reflect on what Church really is, and what it is for.

The lockdown was, necessarily, rushed.
As we begin to get some sense of the old 'normal' back (for as long as the virus levels stay relatively low), John the Baptist reminds us, I think, to not do everything with haste... there is wisdom and fruit that can be found in the reflections and events of the past few weeks and months.




For reflection and prayer today:

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 3.1-2

♫   John wore clothes made of camel's hair...    Camel - Song within a song

Today the Church Remembers St Etheldreda...

St Etheldreda

St Etheldreda, or Audrey lived in the 7th century. She became a nun, and founded a double monastery - for men and women - at Ely.

When the 'Audrey lace', sold to pilgrims at a annual fair in Audrey's name, dropped out of fashion many years later (in the 17th century), the word 'tawdry' was born.

Ely has a special place in my heart. It was our 'go to' place to get out of the Cambridge 'bubble' when Hannah and I were students. It where I was confirmed (by the same bishop who made me deacon and ordained me priest in the last couple of years), and it was where my 3-day bishop's advisory panel for selection for training for ordained ministry was held.

Thinking about Etheldreda has made me reflect on other places that have significance on my life. Perhaps even more so because I also held a meeting today to discuss the details of reopening one of our church buildings, for private prayer.

As well as giving us a fine example of a life dedicated to God, Etheldreda's day also invites us to think about the places that are special to us, and the reasons why they are.


A prayer for today:

Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your disciples, ‘I am with you always’. Be with me today, as I offer myself to you. Hear my prayers for others and for myself, and keep me in your care.
Amen.



♫  Memories - Shawn Mendes

Today the Church remembers St Alban...

St Alban.

(Here's a short video about St Alban)


The first martyr in Britain.

It's said that his first executioner miraculously converted, and refused to execute Alban. The second killed Alban, then immediately his eyes fell out(!)

It's also said that Alban was keen to be swiftly martyred...
People often strive to be first - for all kinds of things, from first in the queue, to first on the moon.
I'm not sure many of us would be so keen to for martyrdom!

As we remember St Alban today, how about thinking about other 'firsts' that are memorable and meaningful for you? - both in the world, and in your own life.

What do they tell you about God and your faith, today?



For reflection and prayer... some words of St Alban:

I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things



♫ The final hymn from yesterday's St Alban's day service at St Alban's Cathedral
Thine be the Glory

Pentateuch - Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy means 'second law'. It is largely Moses repeating the law found earlier in the Pentateuch, just before the Israelites will enter the Promised Land.


It's through repetition through life that teachings, habits, prayer and faith become second-nature to us. And when they do, they become part of who we are, because we truly inhabit them.

 That message from Deuteronomy reminds me of this verse:

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 

(1 John 4.16b)

God is in all things, but through abiding in God we will see God's glory - around us, and within us.




For reflection and prayer today:

Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’

Deuteronomy 15.11

♫ A repeat of the very first music suggestion I made in this blog... Bless the Lord, my soul - Taize

Pentateuch - Numbers

Numbers.

The Book of Numbers describes more about the Israelites' wandering in the wilderness, waiting for the time to enter the Promised Land.

It's called Numbers because there are two censuses in it... the first at the very beginning of the book.

Before I reflect on censuses (well, more labelling people) briefly, here are the words of the 'priestly blessing' from Numbers 6 - which I've included in this blog before, but I think it's worth having them again, as a reminder that we are all blessed by God, that we are all being prayed for, and that God is with us throughout all of this...

The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
25 the Lord make God's face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn God's face toward you
    and give you peace.”’



Counting people up, and dividing them up according to different criteria...  censuses are very useful, but it's also something we do at a smaller scale, far more widely and more frequently... attaching labels and putting people 'into boxes' - which at best either does nothing or is mildly irritating, but at the very worst can lead to all kinds of stereotypes, discrimination and abuse.

For example, does being female, or gay, or black, or disabled, or trans, or poor, or unable to keep good personal hygiene, or young, or having a different accent, make no difference to the way people are treated?   

As the answer is a clear 'No, it makes a massive difference to peoples' lives' (however equally we, personally, might treat everyone), today's words to reflect and pray with...

Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness”



♫ Music, for Numbers? Let's 'turn it up to 11' -

One - U2

Song 2 - Blur

Three Little Birds - Bob Marley

4 in the Morning - Gwen Stefani

5 Minutes Alone - Pantera

6/8 - Blink 182

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Eight Miles High - The Beatles

9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

Perfect 10 - The Beautiful South

Eleven - Primus

Pentateuch - Leviticus

Leviticus.


Leviticus is full of rules and practices and laws to help the Israelites keep pure, and holy.

The book is named after the priestly tribe of the Israelites, the Levites (named after Levi).

While we don't stick to many of the rules found in Leviticus any more (cutting beards, eating shellfish, and wearing mixed fibres aren't uncommon, for example), one example Leviticus gives, that there might be a pattern/list of things to follow to help us be all that we can be, to be as close to God as possible, and to have the deepest possible relationship with God, is one worth exploring.

Personally, I find the rhythm of the daily offices to be enormously beneficial to my spiritual life/health. Morning and evening pray (along with the Eucharist) form the bedrock that gives energy and meaning to everything else. Other things, from saying compline (night prayer) some evenings, to keeping things that are meaningful and that remind me to pray in my pocket, to stopping for a brief moment throughout the day to intentionally acknowledge that I hope live, in all that I do, for God's glory - all these things, and more, help me to try to make prayer something I am as well as something I do, so that my life, as well as my times of prayer, is a prayer.



For prayer and reflection - the English translation of today's music suggestion:

This is the day the Lord has made
let us rejoice and be glad in it
Alleluia


♫ Byrd - Haec dies

Pentateuch - Exodus

Exodus.

The Book of Exodus describes the flight from Egypt of the Israelites, and begin many years of wandering in the wilderness before they will, one day, reach the Promised Land.

As well as telling us a huge amount about God, and our relationship with God, Exodus also reminds us that we, too, are pilgrim people, travelling through this life to the promised land of heaven that awaits, beyond.

It's also a reminder that pilgrimages - journeys made intentionally to encounter God - can be incredibly powerful experiences.
It's difficult to go on a pilgrimage at the moment, but here are a couple of resources for 'pilgrimages at home':

Pilgrimage guide, from the Diocese of Oxford

Pilgrimage at home, from the Diocese of Portsmouth



For reflection and prayer today, how about the beginning of the 'prayer over the water' at Baptism services, in which those who are baptised begin a new journey...?

Loving Father,

we thank you for your servant Moses,

who led your people through the waters of the Red Sea

to freedom in the Promised Land.

We thank you for your Son Jesus,

who has passed through the deep waters of death

and opened for all the way of salvation.

♫ Travelling music is often a good plan. Here's a couple of departure-related musical suggestions:

Manic Street Preachers - A Song for Departure

Parry - Songs of Farewell
(all six of them...there are details of when each start, if you want a particular one or don't have time to listen to all 30+ minutes of them.)

Pentateuch - Genesis

Five days until the next Saints day, which sounds like the perfect gap for looking at the Pentateuch - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

Genesis today.

'The origin/source/beginning'

The Book of Genesis starts, 'In the beginning...'

How about using that as a prompt to reflect on where your faith began?
…What is your first memory of your relationship with God? Who helped you on the way, right at the start of your faith journey? How has your faith developed, from that beginning?



A prayer you might like to use at the beginning of each day:

May today there be peace within.
May I trust God that I am exactly where I am meant to be.
May I not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May I use those gifts that I have received, and pass on the love that has been given to me
May I be confident knowing I am a child of God.
May this presence settle into my bones, and allow my soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.

- Adapted from prayers of St. Therèse of Lisieux and St. Theresa of Avila


♫  A different Genesis as a music suggestion...     Genesis - Land of confusion

Today the Church remembers St Richard...

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.


A prayer of St Richard.


Bishop, and also canon law expert and diocesan chancellor.

Through legislature he improved many things, particularly in protecting clergy from abuse but also expecting clergy to stick to high standards of morals and ethics.

His legacy is, amongst other things, a reminder that good laws - and good governance - really matter.

(They perhaps could all stem from the last of St Richard's prayer...    may laws help us to know God more clearly, love God more dearly, and follow God more nearly...)



♫ The prayer above, set to music... Prayer of St Richard

The Patriarchs - Jacob

Jacob.

Genesis 32.24-31

'Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.'

(Peniel means 'face of God')

Another story full of meaning. Today, the thing that jumps out at me about it is the idea of wrestling with God, and what this might mean for us.

It's certainly easy to wrestle with - or even try to run away from - what God is calling us to do, and who God is calling us to be.

And it's perhaps even easier to wrestle with faith, and with prayer... there are inevitably days when it feels harder than other times - a chore rather than a pleasure, barren rather than fruitful.

One thing Jacob teaches us, other than to stick with that wrestling - is that in all things, God is with us, and will bless us.



For reflection and prayer today - A Canticle, from Isaiah 2.3-5

1    Come, let us go up to the mountain of God,  ♦

to the house of the God of Jacob;

2    That God may teach us his ways,  ♦

and that we may walk in his paths.

3    For the law shall go out from Zion,  ♦

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4    God shall judge between the nations,  ♦

and shall mediate for many peoples.

5    They shall beat their swords into ploughshares,  ♦

and their spears into pruning hooks.

6    Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,  ♦

neither shall they learn war any more.

7    O people of Jacob, come:  ♦

let us walk in the light of the Lord.

♫  Today's music suggestion... Bri - Jacob's Song