Bible Image a Day 8th April
KISS
The kiss of Judas. A kiss of betrayal. All the more appalling because it violates the intimacy of a kiss. “Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ and kissed him fervently.”1 The word used here, katephileisen, is an intensification of the usual word phileisen, and means kiss tenderly, fervently or again and again. Jesus expresses his shock at the way Judas has chosen to betray him: “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” Yet he still calls Judas friend: “Do what you came for, friend.”2 In Giotto’s painting, the moment of the kiss is the still point of a turbulent scene. As Judas enfolds Jesus in his yellow robe, the colour of deceit, and holds him there, the painter depicts the poignant moment before the kiss when their eyes meet in mutual recognition.
Judas is not the only one to betray the trust which a kiss signifies. When Jacob kisses Isaac and steals his father's blessing he is committing a deception which leads to his banishment from the family. “So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, ‘Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.”3
Jacob meets his relations, Rachel and Laban, and greets them both with a kiss. But after serving Laban for 14 years Jacob leaves secretly without a farewell kiss. Laban complains: “You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing.”4 There are many Grandparents today who are deprived of the kisses of their grandchildren owing to an acrimonious divorce. Jacob fears for his life as he approaches the fateful meeting with his brother, but their reconciliation is sealed with a kiss, initiated by the aggrieved brother: “But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept."5
There is an echo of this scene in the return of the prodigal son, who also fears a harsh reaction, but receives instead love and restoration: "So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms round him and kissed him again and again.”6 Kissing and weeping often go together. In the reconciliation scene between Joseph and his brothers, it is the wronged brother who takes the initiative: "And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them."7 A woman anoints Jesus’ feet: “She stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them tenderly, and anointed them with the perfume." Simon the Pharisee host criticises Jesus for allowing her to do this, but he turns the tables: “You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.”8
As CS Lewis wrote in The Four Loves, kisses can be given for filial and family love, storge; for friendship, philia; romantic love, eros; and self-giving love, agape. Peter commends the exchange of kisses expressing this agape love: “Greet one another with a kiss of love.”9
1 Luke 22:48
2 Matthew 26:49-50
3 Genesis 27:27
4 Genesis 31:28
5 Genesis 33:4
6 Luke 15:20
7 Genesis 45:15
8 Luke: 7:38, 45
9 1 Peter 5:14
Bible Image a Day 7th April
LAMB
In 1432 Jan van Eyck painted the Mystic Lamb standing on an altar, its blood pouring into a chalice, surrounded by worshippers in a vision of heaven inspired by the Book of Revelation but located among the Flemish people and their landscape. In 1640 the Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán painted a poignant picture of a lamb trussed up with rope. The lamb is both the innocent victim of sacrifice and the victorious focus of worship in heaven.
The significance of the lamb begins with the story of Exodus, when the blood of lambs was smeared over the lintels of doorways to protect the people of Israel from death, before their escape from Egypt.1 That story is remembered in the annual Passover festival.
The books of the Law, Leviticus and Numbers, describe in forensic detail the procedures for the atonement of sin through the sacrifice of bulls, rams, goats and lambs, or doves and pigeons for the poor. Sacrifice is still a part of the practice of some religions. At Hittin in Israel, at the shrine of Nabi Shuaib, the prophet Jethro worshipped by the Druze, there is a sign pointing to the place of sacrifice.
For a society who valued livestock, the killing of prize animals was a real not a token sacrifice, and reflected the cost of atonement for the gravity of sin.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus is recognised by John: “Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”2 A similar connection is made in Luke’s story of Philip and the Ethiopian, who is reading Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering Servant: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”3 Jesus’ death on the cross took place at the same time as lambs were being sacrificed in the temple for the Passover meal. Both Paul and Peter make the lconnection: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”4
“You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”5
Their reflections on the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice are reinforced by the image of the Lamb in the Book of Revelation; “looking as if it had been slain at the centre of the throne”, surrounded by worship and adoration: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!’”6
Only the Lamb has the power to open the seven scrolls: “And when the Lamb ripped off the seventh seal, Heaven fell quiet, complete silence for half an hour."7
In apocalyptic imagery the lamb is seen as victorious in the battle against evil: “The Kings will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of Lords and King of kings – and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.”8
The lamb is also seen in gentler terms as shepherd and bridegroom: “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”9
“Then the angel said to me, Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”10
The image of the lamb links the sacrificial lamb in the Old Testament with the crucified and risen lamb of God in the New Testament. The Book of Revelation provides a symbolic crescendo which heralds the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. In the New Jerusalem the Lamb becomes the locus of worship and the focus of light: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.”11
The image of the lamb is also applied to followers of Jesus. After his resurrection Jesus recommissions Peter: “’Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’”12 At the heart of the image of the lamb is love and nurture, forgiveness and restoration.
1 Exodus 12:7
2 John 1:29
3 Acts 8:32
4 1 Corinthians 5:7
5 1 Peter 1:19
6 Revelation 5:13
7 Revelation 8:1 The Message
8 Revelation 17:14. The Message
9 Revelation 7:17
10 Revelation 19:9
11 Revelation 21:22-23
12 John 21:15
The lamb is depicted with amazing realism.
We are so grateful for the courage and dedication of all those working in the National Health Service and all key workers and volunteers, who keep us going with healing, hope and practical help.
Bible Image a Day 6th April
GARDEN
At a time when more people than ever live in cities, a garden is a luxury. Gardens come in all shapes and sizes from a small plot at the back of a house to the magnificent collection of plants cultivated at Kew Gardens. Ideally a garden can provide an oasis of seclusion, peace and rest:
"Annihilating all that’s made
To a green thought in a green shade."1
The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city. Both have rivers flowing through them and at their centre the Tree of life. In the last book there is a symbolic fusion of architecture and nature: "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life."2 The gardens of Genesis and Revelation are influenced by the design of the Persian walled garden, from which the word paradise is derived. Often placed in desert landscapes these gardens would be created around intersecting streams of water, with the emphasis less on the beauty of flowers and more on the interplay of light and shade, the productivity of fruit trees, the refreshing coolness of flowing water. The gardens of the Alhambra exemplify this style.
With its vast scale, Eden appears to be more of a landscape than a garden, with its four great rivers and large trees: "A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers.The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters."3 The word Eden may come from the Akkadian word, edina, meaning plain, referring to the flood plain between the Tigris and Euphrates. Eden is a habitat with a purpose, where humankind could look after the resources of the earth entrusted to them: "God took the Man (Adamah) and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order."4 The garden was also a place of companionship between human beings and with God, a freedom only fully appreciated after it had been lost: "When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God".5
This garden is a place of grace, where permission is given to enjoy the fruit of every tree, except the one tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gives humankind responsibility to do something - work for a living, and warns them not to do something - eat of a tree that would confer god-like power. The garden is flawed as it harbours evil in the form of the snake. The consequence of disobeying God leads to a life of bitter toil rather than fruitful labour, a life of pain, conflict and death. It took the work of a second Adam, to make amends for this first misdeed.
From the ordered paradise garden to the tortured olive trees of Gethsemane, the place of the olive-press, Jesus wrestled with the enormity of what he had to do; "‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground."6
The disobedience of the first Adam in the Garden of Eden is redeemed by the obedience of the second Adam in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in a rock-hewn tomb in a third garden. "There was a garden near the place he was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed."7 On the first day of the week Mary Magdalen visited the tomb while it was still dark. No wonder she mistook him for the gardener. When he calls her by her name the light dawns.
In the book of Revelation the ultimate paradise garden is envisioned, combining symbolic elements of God’s grace and provision. It is a place of fruition and healing: "On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. They will see his face."8 Above all, it is a place of meeting with God, face to face, restoring the freedom of that first friendship in the garden of Eden.
1 The Garden, Andrew Marvell.
2 Revelation 22:1-2
3 Genesis 2:8-10
4 Genesis 2:15. The Message
5 Genesis 3:8 The Message.
6 Luke 22:42-4
7 John 19:41
8 Revelation 22:2
Beautiful images - reminding us of the peace and blessing to be found in our gardens - thank you 😊
All looks so peaceful
Beautiful images and lots to reflect on at a difficult time.
Worship Songs for Palm Sunday
with Mark Taylor at 10.15am.
1.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is
thy health and salvation!
All you who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Praise him in glad adoration!
Gloria, Gloria, ah, ah
Gloria, Gloria, ah, ah
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper
thy work and defend thee,
Surely his goodness and mercy
will daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
If with His love he befriend thee.
Gloria, Gloria, ah, ah
Gloria, Gloria, ah, ah
Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that
is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come
now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly for ever adore Him.
Gloria, Gloria, ah, ah
Gloria, Gloria, ah, ah
2.
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord
Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest
When mouths stay closed the stones will cry out
Majestic is the King who comes in the name of the Lord
Triumphant is the King who comes in the name of the Lord
3.
Hallelujah, hosanna!
Hallelujah, hosanna!
Hallelujah, hosanna!
Hallelujah, hosanna!
God has exalted Jesus to the highest place,
and given him the name
that is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,
and every tongue confess that he is Lord.
4.
You are here, moving in our midst
I worship you, I worship you
You are here, working in this place
I worship you
I worship you. x2
Way maker
Miracle worker
Promise keeper
Light in the darkness
My God, that is who you are. x2
You are here, touching every heart
I worship you, I worship you
You are here, healing every heart
I worship you, I worship you
You are here, turning lives around
I worship you, I worship you
You are here, mending every heart
I worship you, I worship you
You wipe away all tears
You mend the broken heart
You're the answer to it all, Jesus. x2
On the Sandal Magna Parish page click on the bell icon top right hand corner and a few posts down you can click on "Mark Taylor was live."
Was I supposed to be able to hear Mark/ If so How?
Bible Image a Day 5th April
Palm Sunday
DONKEY
In 2003, the tomb of King Narmer, the first Egyptian pharaoh, was excavated and the skeletons of ten donkeys were found buried in a manner usually associated with that of high ranking officials The domestication of the donkey, like that of the camel, increased the mobility of pastoral peoples, having the advantage over ruminants of not needing time to chew their cud. They were vital in the development of long-distance trade, and are still used in many countries. There are 41 million donkeys in the world; 11 million in China, with only 1 million left in Europe. Donkeys still provide milk and meat in countries such as Italy and China, and white donkeys are bred in Damascus for riding.
Robert Louis Stevenson writes about the qualities of a donkey, in Travels with my Donkey: “What I required was something cheap and small and hardy, and of a stolid and peaceful temper; and all these requisites pointed to a donkey.”
Most of the references to donkeys in the Bible concern the wealth of their owners, but there are two significant moments when the donkey takes centre stage.
The first concerns the surprising and comic story of Balaam’s Ass, referred to by Peter who was criticising false teachers and comparing them to the prophet Balaam, “who was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey – an animal without speech – who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness."1 Balaam had been ordered by the Moabite leader Balak to curse the people of Israel who were occupying the neighbouring land. Reluctantly Balaam sets out to do so, but his path is blocked by the Angel of the Lord, whom only the donkey can see. After resisting three attempts to be budged, the donkey is given the power of speech and begins to upbraid his master: “Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?’
Balaam answered the donkey, ‘You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you here and now.’
The donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?’ ‘No.’ he said.”2
Eventually Balaam is allowed through, and being obedient to God, finds it impossible to curse the People of Israel, and ends up blessing them three times, much to the anger of Balak.
The second key role played by a donkey is to carry Jesus into Jerusalem as prophesied by Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”3 Riding a donkey is a sign of humility befitting the arrival of the Messianic king, whose example and teaching challenges the rich and powerful while lifting up the poor and disadvantaged.
"They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’
The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’"4
1 2 Peter 2:16 The Message
2 Numbers 22:28-30
3 Zechariah 9:9
4 Matthew 21:7-14
A symbol of God's love and promise to all humankind has become a wonderful symbol of gratitude for the life-saving work of our National Health Service, all key workers and those who are tirelessly helping others during this difficult time.
Photograph taken in the Yorkshire Dales near Linton.
Wow x
Audrey asks us to pray for all in the NHS who are serving faithfully and fearlessly to save lives.
Bible Image a Day 4th April
BREAD
The smell of sourdough rye bread freshly baked by my Grandmother reminds me of my childhood, hearing her tell stories of crossing no-man’s land between the Red army and the German army, surviving the war in occupied Poland and fleeing again from the advancing Soviets. Bread is associated with survival and flight, refuge and safety.
Bread had that connotation for Jesus when he said: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.1 In making this audacious claim, he is referring to the unleavened bread that the Israelites took with them on their escape because they had no time to let the yeast rise, as well as to the miraculous provision of manna to feed them. Manna means what is it? Possibly it is the sticky residue of the Tamarisk tree that can be dried and ground into flour for baking. Jesus is also saying; I am all that you need to sustain you in your life. I AM, God’s cryptic name, can provide the equivalent of manna through the broken bread of the body of Christ. Bread becomes sacred. It has lasting significance as a sacrament of God’s grace, freely given to those who are in need of sustenance: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."2
That sacramental quality is brought out at the conclusion of the poem, Moor, by the priest and poet R.S.Thomas:
"I walked on,
Simple and poor, while the air crumbled
And broke on me generously as bread."
In the breaking of bread at the Last Supper, Jesus looks back to the Exodus from Egypt and forward to his sacrifice on the cross. In the breaking of bread he is recognised as the risen Christ by the two disciples at their shared meal in Emmaus.
Bread is the focus of another miracle recorded in each of the four Gospels, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. The young boy brings his picnic of five barley loaves and two fish. Most bread would have been made of cheaper barley, with wheat being reserved for those who could afford it. Jesus is prepared to work with the humblest of materials among the poorest of people to reveal God’s provision for humankind.
In Matthew’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, the petitions "Give us this day our day bread" and "Forgive us our debts" referred to the problem of hunger and debt caused by the appropriation of land by landowners. Tenants were forced off their smallholdings to become wage-earners on the equivalent of zero-hours contracts, with their debts often leading to slavery. Luke spiritualises the prayer by turning the word debts into sins. Bread, like any symbol, it can harbour both meanings, and can include the idea of bread for the future, shared in the heavenly banquet. "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God."3
At his last meal, Jesus took the passover bread and broke it to become a symbol of his own broken body on the cross, and his liberating resurrection. The breaking of bread became a practice of the early church at mealtimes: "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, enjoying the favour of all the people, happy presumably because they had been invited to join in the meal."4 The greedy behaviour of some in the church at Corinth leads Paul to remind them of its sacred origin and meaning: "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"5
We may not be able to meet to share in Communion in our churches for some time. Perhaps now is the time to rediscover the breaking of bread in our homes as a reminder of the presence of Christ in our everyday lives.
1 John 6:35
2 John 6:51
3 Luke 14:15
4 1 Corinthians 10:16
5 Acts 2:4:46
Thank you for our daily bread x
Bible Image a Day 3rd April
BURNING BUSH
Brother Andreas pointed out the overgrown bush in the courtyard of the Monastery of St Catherine, Sinai, said to derive from the original bush which Moses saw burning but not consumed by fire. Next to it was a bright red fire extinguisher.
It was an ordinary bush, nothing special, although everything suffused with God is special. Anything can catch fire in our imagination and become a sign of God’s presence. In her poem, Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:
"Earth's crammed with heaven and every common bush
afire with God, but only he who sees
takes off his shoes."
The story of the burning bush is unique, but it can prompt us to see the divine in the ordinary, to be surprised by God in our everyday lives, and ready to stop, turn aside and act upon his abrupt and challenging call.
