14th May 2020 Thought for TodayFrom the real world, sublime and challengingRio de Janeiro 2 – The great embrace…A number have asked Jane and I what was the greatest highlight of our travels around South America between January and March this year?One of them was the visit to ‘Christ the Redeemer’ on Friday 24th January, at 11.30am for the Eucharist in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Apparition, the Patron saint of Brazil. The Chapel is at the base of the amazing statue of Christ and was dedicated in 2006 to mark the 75th Anniversary of the completion of the 98 feet high landmark. Christ appeared out of heavy clouds on that morning with great glory as the photo illustrates. To arrive at the statue we had a twenty five minute walk through the urban rain forest of Tijuca Park.The statue was built by public subscription after an appeal from the Catholic churches of Brazil between 1922 and1931. The great arms of Christ which embraced us that morning are 92 feet in span.The statue weighs 635 tons of reinforced concrete lined with soapstone. Its designer was Parisian sculptor Paul Landowski and Brazilian Engineer Heitor da Costa. It is one of the seven modern wonders of the world and one of several UNESCO Heritage Sites we visited on our explorations.Seven passengers from the ship and three of the crew attended the service led by Brazilian Roman Catholic Priest Father Vel, assisted by Geronsi our server and theological student. Father Vel made us so welcome to the tiny Chapel (octagonal 6 x 6 metres) and to Rio. He asked me to sing the introit, and to lead ‘Spirit of the Living God’ at the end of the service. Also, at his request, I was invited to read Psalm 57 and a reading from Samuel 24. He reflected to us in his homily our unity in Christ and his embrace. It included words of wisdom on Lectio Divina and Brexit as well! The overwhelming beauty of the Communion was that whatever our denomination we were welcome to receive the sacrament. After the service I gave Father the Litany of Reconciliation from Coventry Cathedral and another couple gave him a memento of Scotland. We had our group photograph taken. The locals and visitors were allowed in to the Chapel for Communion and a blessing at the end of the service. It was a rare privilege to attend a service in that glorious place as the Chapel usually has a daily short service at 11am for prayers and the occasional wedding. It gave a new meaning to being at the feet of Christ and appreciating his embrace in a new way.Blessings,Edward and Jane
Wednesday 13th May 2020, Station 12: Jesus appears at the lakesideYou can almost image the scene as the apostle John tells it. Just as the sun is coming up the mist is clearing. Jesus had just instructed them to cast their nets and they are now full and heavy with fish that are big and plump. They see that really welcoming figure of Jesus by the warm fire with the aroma of fish cooking on it and bread by the side. How welcoming must that have been for those men who were hungry and yet glad to see their friend Jesus again. No longer dead but alive and eating with them like old times.Jesus spent a lot of His time on earth eating and drinking. For Jesus, it was important to gather people around the table and at that table both discipleship and evangelism took place. We see countless examples of Jesus eating with people throughout the Gospels particularly in the Gospel of Luke. For example, in Luke 5, Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners at home. In Luke 7, Jesus is anointed by a woman in the home of Simon the Pharisee during a meal. Then, in Luke 9, we see Jesus feeding the five thousand. There are also countless references to food throughout the Gospel, even when Jesus is not eating. During the last supper, Jesus uses the bread and wine, undertaking one of the most significant moments of His entire ministry. The meals Jesus shared with others were not only significant, but also life-changing. Here are five lessons we can learn from the meals Jesus shared.During Jesus’ ministry on earth, everything was centred around meals. There was the wedding at Cana, a dinner with the reviled Zacchaeus and the Last Supper. Jesus was even criticized for eating with the tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 12:16). Eating together is one of the most important and practical means for overcoming any barrier that separates us. It is also an incredible way to share and fellowship. Whether you are bringing one person to your table or many, you can honour the gifts God has given you and love people the way Jesus loves them. It doesn’t matter if the meals are fancy, home-cooked or take-out. What matters is that they involve other people and that they connect us.There is Power in Sharing a MealThe act of eating meals plays a significant role in the gospels. It’s important to note that Jesus shared meals with all sorts of people. There are even scholars who refer to this trend as Jesus “eating His way through the gospels.” When Jesus shared meals with people, it gave him the opportunity to enter the lives of the people with whom He was eating. Many of the meals that Jesus is recorded eating in the gospels are also accompanied by times of teaching, healing or other miraculous work. In short, we see that there is power in the time that we share meals with others. We too have the power to use our eating time to connect and share with those around us, even though at the moment we are unable to share the physical food, we can still share that spiritual food of gathering with each other albeit through zoom.We have the opportunity to not only feed the needy, but share in our eating with others. We live in a needy world and we should do everything we can to connect with others, especially those who are hungry and suffering. Galatians 6:10 says, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Sharing is not only our priority, but also our ministry. I think that it is amazing that even in this lockdown people are still willing to contribute food to the food bank, which helps families in need.Come and have breakfast Jesus says. Jesus is inviting us to be refreshed, renewed and nourished in and through him. Come and sit and eat with him.Let us PrayLord, the resurrection of Your Sonhas given us new life and renewed hope.Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the Christian ideal.Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,the will to want to do it, the courage to undertake it,the perseverance to continue to do it, and the strength to complete it.Amen.Pauline Cummins
Thought for the day Unconditional loveI have always been a cat lover and had cats since childhood. After my last cat passed away following a long life of chasing birds and bringing home the odd dead thing, I went through a period of really missing having a pet around. A year or two went by and I decided that I would bring the subject up with my husband and after a lot of persuasion he agreed to go down the route of having a dog.We went to several dog homes and finally chose a Jack Russell called ‘Sadie’ from the Dogs Trust in Loughborough. When we saw her, she was quivering in a corner and looked like she could do with a loving home.Little did we know that she was a bitey, snappy and fearful creature who had never been loved and knew nothing about how to play. 3 years later she is a loving softy. This I think is because we gave her a lot of love and attention and she in turn learned to trust us. I believe that we all want love and attention and Jesus tells us to love each other. Whether we are humans or animals, we are at our best when love is shown. I now have a dog that follows me everywhere and enjoys human company. What a change! I am never sure what I want in life is really what I need. My dog Sadie’s story is what I really needed at the time, and probably still need as there are times when I feel down and she really picks me up, giving that unconditional love.God is able to do that in our lives, giving us love unconditionally if only we put our full trust in Him. I know that God’s love for me is unconditional – even more than Sadie’s love.Pauline Cummins
Thoughts for TodayFrom the real world, sublime and challengingRio de Janeiro 1 – and the Sugar Loaf Mountain – Sweet….Salvador gave us a first taste of Brazil in all its diversity. After a three day sailing we arrived at dawn in the Guanabara Bay of Rio de Janeiro. It was the Portugese explorers who named the place ‘River of January’ as it was discovered on 1st January 1502.The extraordinary statue of Christ the Redeemer appeared out of the clouds and said ‘Hello and Welcome!’ The granite and quartz Sugarloaf mountain beckoned us from a height of 1290 feet. Two cable car rides took us first up Urca Hill (now connected to the mainland by reclamation) followed by the three minute last leg in the bubble car to the summit of Sugarloaf. The photo shows this last leg.Sugarloaf? The name emanates from Rio, and there are many mountains around the world so named. The 17th century practice of transporting refined sugar by ship in clay conical moulds resembled a ‘Sugarloaf’. As we looked over to the ‘loaf’ we were greeted with the sign ‘Where brands meet people’. At our destination we also shared the ‘loaf’ with the Marmoset monkeys.The slogan had me thinking of where advertising leads us? I was looking for soft brown sugar the other day, along with flour of any sort. Every time I see sugar now I think of the ‘loaf’. The essentials of life have taken on a new significance in recent times. Brands have taken a back seat. I left the supermarket empty-handed and sugar-free on that occasion! I have since sorted it out with patience. We are so used to immediate supply of so many commodities. The history of sugar supply is ancient, a rare commodity and it was transported many miles before sugar beet factories came about in Britain.I used to take in the aroma of the British Sugar factory in Newark-on-Trent when I was a young man ‘on the beat’ there.We human beings enjoy sweet things, but of course nothing in excess.The prophet Jeremiah mentions sugar cane in the Lord’s words “What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land?” (Jeremiah 6:20)We remember what gives us sweetness. Very often it is words of encouragement, affirmation and forgiveness. These may be from family, friends or strangers, through whatever platform of communication - enriching sweetening and transforming us.Thank you Rio for your insights from the ‘loaf’…as the sweet words from Proverbs (16:24) inform us “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body”.Rio 2 next time from Christ the Redeemer…..…….Blessings! Edward and Jane
