Message of Abbot Paul - Friday 20th October 2023

It was so good to visit my mother yesterday and although the weather promised to be troublesome, in the end it was a calm, warm, dry day, at least in South Wales, the only heavy rain taking place once Toby and I were walking on the empty beach. We were so far from the car at that stage, there was no other option than to get wet and wet to the skin. Toby, of course, has a rainproof coat, so the heavy rain doesn’t affect him in the same way it does me. We enjoyed wonderful meals and I managed to get in a good siesta before venturing off to the beach. My mother was on good form and loved having me and Toby about the place.

 

​Today’s Gospel passage from Luke (Lk 12: 1-7) sees a crowd of thousands all “treading on one another” as they gather to hear Jesus. First of all, he speaks to his disciples “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. Everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Jesus demands integrity and truthfulness from his disciples, unlike the Pharisees, who say and teach one thing, yet do the opposite. All will be known, not necessarily at the end of time, but whenever the truth is out. He goes on to say, “To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Human beings are often afraid of their own kind. It was the French author Guy de Maupassant who wrote that, “Man is a beast to man.” This is based on the Latin proverb, “Homo homini lupus.” However, Jesus suggests that the only real fear his disciples should feel is the fear of God, with whom there is judgement and justice. Yet, lest we should be afraid of God, which is not the same as to fear him and hold him in awe, he adds, to show us God’s loving mercy, “Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.” We must fear, but not be afraid, for God loves us dearly, tenderly and with an unconditional love. Lord, help us to trust in you, relying on your providence and loving care for us, as do the birds of the air. Amen.