Message of Abbot Paul - Wednesday - 22nd May 2024
Abbot Paul • May 21, 2024
Tomorrow I will be travelling to Thessaloniki, Greece, to visit old friends for a few days. As a student in the mid 1960s I studied at the university in that wonderful city and have never lost the love I have both for the city and its people. I will endeavour to send a message each day, as I have done in the past, but that will depend on circumstances and commitments. Be assured of my prayers for you as I follow in the footsteps of St Paul.
Our short Gospel passage today comes from Mark, (Mk 9: 38-40), in which John tells Jesus about something the disciples saw during the mission they had been sent on. “John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us, we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.’” He talks of a “man who was not one of us”, but who was this man and who had given him the power of healing in the name of Jesus? There is no indication of his identity, but there is evidence in the Gospels that Jesus had many disciples, some of them cryptic disciples for fear of the Jewish or Roman authorities. Cleopas and his companion, for example, are only mentioned in the account of that Easter encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. The disciples are vexed to find others casting out devils in Jesus’ name, but Jesus himself is much more relaxed about it. He replies that anyone who is an enemy would hardly be casting out demons in his name or speaking ill of him. He concludes with the maxim, “Anyone who is not against us is for us.” Perhaps we could remember that when we meet Christians of other traditions and learn to accept those who preach or heal in the name of Jesus, although they might not be of our particular denomination. Sometimes there is rivalry and worse even among those who are of the same ecclesial body. Today’s Gospel invites us to pray for unity and charity among Christians of the same Church as well as between Christians of different communions.
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Good Shepherd, Good Priest “I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed; I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” Those words, spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Ezekiel, describe the heart of God, the Good Shepherd — but they also describe the life and ministry of a good monk and priest. They could well be written of Fr Stephen’s years of service as a pastor in Abergavenny, Swansea, Hereford, and Weobley. In each of those places, he shared in the Shepherd’s work: seeking out the lost, binding up the wounded, strengthening the weary, and leading God’s people with quiet faithfulness. And like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who came close to his people, Fr Stephen did not serve from a distance. He knew his people; he was among them. He shared their sorrows and their joys, their hopes and their disappointments. He bore their burdens with prayer and patience he brought the joy of the Gospel and the grace of the Sacraments. His mission amongst us is complete. He has served God’s good purpose. So today we ask Christ the Good Shepherd to take Stephen on his sacred shoulders and carry him home to the house of the Father. Bind up his wounds, give him eternal rest and lead him at last to the green pastures and still waters of eternal life.