#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Tuesday Judas weeps Holy Week: Tuesday Reading Matthew 27.3-10 When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to it yourself.’ Throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.’ After conferring together, they used them to buy the potter’s field as a place to bury foreigners. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.’ Reflection Judas takes his own life. This is a vivid and uncomfortable part of Scripture that isn’t often really expounded on. There is no explicit mention of him weeping but only an explanation of his deep guilt and remorse over betraying Jesus. But this is in keeping with such shattering experiences. Often the tears are silent. The despair is penetrating, and the sorrow is inexpressible. Suicide is taboo in most societies. Often it is discussed in ways that blame the victim. Little understanding and compassion are given for the situations that precede it, especially the deep feelings of guilt and shame. This is also something taboo in Black communities, but in reflecting honestly on the traumas of Black history, there can be some understanding here. What is also clear is that Jesus does not condemn or refuse to forgive Judas. There was space for Judas, too, even after his betrayal. Watch Take note of the ways in which suicide is talked about in our world. ...and pray for deeper compassion for victims and families in such situations. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray reflections - Holy Week: Monday Holy Week: Weeping Tears – whether silent or aloud – flow from the deepest of human experiences. Many of these are tears of heartbreak and despair, tears of the abandoned or forsaken. But tears also convey deep love. We will pay attention to the tears shed by Jesus and those around him during this Holy Week. Prayer for the Week We come to you, the One who weeps with us. Through your sorrows, soothe our deepest despair; through your sufferings, draw us into the comfort of your divine embrace. Amen. Jesus weeps Holy Week: Monday Reading Luke 19.41-44 As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’ Reflection Chapter 19 is pivotal in Luke’s Gospel narrative. It records Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He rides through the crowds on a donkey, a sign of humility and servanthood. He goes to the temple and turns over the tables of the money changers, declaring that God’s house should be a house of prayer, not a den for thieves and robbers. However, between these two dramatic scenes is a moment where Jesus weeps over the city. He weeps for the judgement and pain which will follow the people’s rejection of him. Luke’s Jesus is quite the weeper – deeply empathic, and in touch with the pain of those around him. He is the embodiment of a God who is not distant, but deeply weeps for his children. This is perhaps the most powerful image of the Jesus within Black Spirituality: the God who weeps with the forsaken, the broken and the crucified. Watch Notice what reactions you have to the idea that Jesus weeps. ...and pray for a faith that is filled with empathy and concern for our neighbour. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray Lent reflections - Week 5: Weekend Reaching for healing Week 5: Weekend Reading Mark 5.21-34 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’ So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ Reflection We saw Jesus’ healing power rejected by the people of Gerasa yesterday. But the miracle that immediately follows it – Jesus’ healing of the woman suffering from haemorrhages – shows us someone determined to receive it. Selina Stone writes in Tarry Awhile, “this story is as much about this woman’s determination as it is about the power of Jesus. Healing does not fall into her lap; it is passing by, and she has to literally be ready to grab it … “Was God working in her, to get her to this point, where she was willing to venture beyond the limits of tradition to fight for her own life? Did her healing begin as she began to recognise that her life mattered, and that she deserved to be well? … Her mind and spirit are healed enough, so that her body might also be.” Watch Reflect on moments when you missed opportunities for healing and transformation. ...and pray for the courage to "grab" future moments and opportunities for healing. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
#WatchAndPray Lent reflections - Week 5: Friday Rejecting the source of healing Week 5: Friday Reading Mark 5.14-20 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Reflection By the end of the story, the troubled man is at peace, healed and proclaiming how much Jesus has done for him. But the community – perhaps stirred up by the swineherds who have lost out financially by the drowning of the pigs – is now begging Jesus to leave their country. If we allow ourselves to see the irony of it, Jesus – even though he had brought healing and deliverance – is exorcised from the community. This healing miracle is not only about the social, political, and cultural ill-health of the Roman colonial world. It is also a mirror to all our communities, including communities of faith. Christian communities must always be mindful of the ways in which we can reinforce injustice, inequality and division -if we do not reflect on and challenge them. We cannot bring Christ’s healing to others if we do not recognise our own need of it. Watch Take note of the ways you find healing difficult. ...and pray for wisdom to recognise that all of us are in need of healing and forgiveness. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
