Reflection from Rev Trevor LloydReflection for June 22, 2026This is the day we remember Alban, first Martyr of Britain, who died around 250ADToday’s Gospel is something Jesus says recorded in John chapter 12 verses 24-26:Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. (NIV)What is the value of a life? What is the legacy of a single life? Contemporary questions for discussion in a war-torn world or when politicians are anxious about their legacy. To some, life seems cheap and a legacy only for the rich and powerful.Alban was an ordinary Roman citizen living in the town of Verulamium in what is now Hertfordshire. I went there often as a teenager, admiring things like the amazingly modern underfloor heating systems unearthed by archaeologists as well as the vast cathedral at the centre of the city named after Alban, St Albans, which had grown out of Verulamium. Alban the ordinary man with an extraordinary legacy and challenge. This is where he was beheaded for sheltering a Christian priest fleeing from persecution and refusing at his trial to deny Jesus. Instead of bowing to the pressure to worship pagan Roman gods he said ‘I worship and adore the true and living God who created all things’. Are we so convinced of the truth of Jesus, so determined to follow him and worship him, that we are willing to make statements like that in our ordinary everyday conversations? One grain of wheat, one martyr’s blood or for us the risk of an embarrassing conversation – and look at the potential for growth. Scared? Jesus says ‘where I am, my servant also will be’ . Practice the presence of Jesus. Be Jesus in that awkward situation.We pray for Christians being martyred todayfor courage and boldness for ourselves, for sensitivity in talking about Jesus, for national leaders and politicians Eternal Father, when the gospel of Christ first came to our land you gloriously confirmed the faith of Alban by making him the first to win a martyr’s crown: grant that, following his example, in the fellowship of the saints we may worship you, the living God, and give true witness to Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England (2000) (including the Psalter as published with Common Worship), material from which is included here, is copyright ©The Archbishops' Council 2000
