Bro Ardudwy

17 hours ago

I think I am in trouble with my granddaughter. She put a post on Facebook yesterday ‘If you’re happy and you know it stay in bed, getting up will surely blow it, if you’re happy and you know it stay in bed.
I responded ‘No get out of the bed and live life to the full’ to which she responded with the Facebook equivalent of a raspberry!
I will concede that there are some days when an extra few minutes in bed seems like a luxury, but to stay in bed because getting up will ‘blow’ your happiness is an alien experience for me. But as odd things do it got me thinking. What is happiness?
Contentment, pleasure, bliss, exhilaration, ecstasy, joy, delight are all possibilities in the Thesaurus, but they do not all mean the same do they?
So what is happiness? Below are some quotes Some, all or none of those may resonate with you.
“The true secret of happiness lies in the taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”– William Morris
“The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness.”– William Saroyan
“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Every minute should be enjoyed and savoured.”– Earl Nightingale
There are very few references to happiness in the Bible and all 7 occur in the Old Testament, however there are 171 references to the word joy, which is one alternative to the word happiness. It occurs 41 times in the Psalms when we are often exhorted to shout with joy to the Lord – the equivalent of if you’re happy and you know it clap your hands, because the Psalms also call for us to do that.
The angel ‘s message to the shepherds was “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Luke 2:10 and Jesus says there is joy in heaven when a sinner repents. Joy it appears is something shared by heaven, for our benefit.
Jesus in his final prayer shares with his Father these words ‘But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.’ John 17:13 There is of course joy at the Resurrection and also in Acts as new people join the ever- expanding group of believers. However we find it revealing itself fully in the greatest and most meaningful gift for us as Christians, namely that joy is one element of the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:23
Scripture encourages us to rejoice in the blessings of our life and give glory to God in all things. So, filled with the fruit of the spirit may we get out of bed and live life to the full knowing Jesus is in our lives.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" Romans 15:13. … See MoreSee Less

Bro Ardudwy

2 days ago

The hymn Crown him with many crowns and the tune ‘Diademata’ which I found myself humming yesterday were the catalyst for today’s thought
Corona Virus gets its name from the Latin for crown because of the series of spikes on the surface which it is said make it look like a crown. In many ways it is unfortunate that such a destructive force should bear such a name, although it certainly seems to be ruling our lives at the moment.
A crown is a traditional symbolic form of head adornment worn by a monarch or by a deity (as distinct from a hat), for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, victory, triumph, honour, and glory, as well as immortality, righteousness, and resurrection. None of these it seems to me applies to Covid 19
We have just celebrated the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, as one wag posted on Facebook ‘Jesus is now working from home’
Above the altar in St John’s Barmouth in the centre of the enormous stained glass window there is one panel depicting Christ in his glory on his throne. ( pictured below).
The head that once was crowned with thorns,
is crowned with glory now
A royal diadem adorns
the mighty Victor’s brow.

The highest place that heav’n affords
is his, is his by right,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
and heav’n’s eternal Light

The cross he bore is life and health,
though shame and death to him;
his people’s hope, his people’s wealth,
their everlasting theme.

It is often said that Jesus has three crowns, past, present and future.

The Crown of Thorns – The Past Crown
“Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!” John 19:5

The Crown of Glory and Honour – The Present Crown
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every human.” Hebrews 2:9.

The Crown of the Word of God -The Future Crown
“His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” Revelation 19:12&13

As the risen, conquer over death as pictured in the window Jesus now is triumphantly reigning in heaven crowned with glory and honour.
He alone has earned the right to wear this glorious present crown. … See MoreSee Less

Bro Ardudwy

3 days ago

Today is my middle sister’s birthday, she probably would not forgive me for revealing her age!
My youngest sister had her birthday 12 days ago, mine is on 27th December, not an ideal time for a birthday party, so my mother, canny as she was, used to allow us one big joint celebration on 17th May. We would all be allowed to invite three friends to tea and have sandwiches, jelly with ice cream and cake washed down with home-made lemonade. We would then play games like ‘pin the tail on the donkey and pass the parcel.
It was always great fun, but I think I can speak for my sisters and say we all felt we missed out by not celebrating on the actual date.
Today is the Sunday after Ascension. The lectionary (book which tells us what readings to have at which services) allows us to observe the Ascension today rather than last Thursday.
Next Sunday, 50 days after Easter, we celebrate the birth of the church, namely Pentecost. Like at the Easter Vigil it is a popular time for baptisms among some Christian churches.
The title Pentecost comes from the Greek word ‘Pentekostos’, meaning ’50’.
I expect many of us older people will remember it being referred to as Whit Sunday. This was traditionally the name for the celebration. ‘Whitsun’ is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘wit’, meaning ‘understanding’, and was called so to celebrate the disciples being filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
To mark its importance, it also used to be the weekend of the Whit bank holiday. On the Monday many places would hold Whit Monday pilgrimages for example Walsingham where it is recorded that in 1939 1200 people attended. This has continued to be held, although of course not this year because of Covid 19. You may recall some years ago the Bangor Diocese Whit pilgrimage to Ynys Enlli, when some of our young people crossed over to the island in the boat with the Bishop.

However, the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, moved this bank holiday to the last Monday in May, following a trial period of this arrangement from 1965 to 1970. So, it is 50 years this year since Pentecost/Whitsun was duly celebrated on the right day.
Have we lost out on both counts by not celebrating Ascension on Thursday (when it is still possible for children to ask for time off school to attend church) and by the loss of the Whit bank holiday?
Personally, I believe we have. They have just become days like any other, nothing to mark them out in the public eye as special. We as Christians and the church have lost the opportunity to explain what they are all about because people do not even know they are on the calendar.

Bit like my birthday when I was a child! … See MoreSee Less

Bro Ardudwy

4 days ago

So how is your hair faring? Mine is growing and the sun has bleach it quite grey, but no roots showing as it is all my own colour. I think I may have to take the scissors to my fringe soon, I am getting to look like a shaggy sheepdog.
Now you may wonder where this is leading? I am not sure where it will lead us, but it started with the reading from the Acts of the Apostles yesterday. ~
After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. Acts 18:18
What the vow was or the reason for it is not revealed in this passage, we know that Paul had really upset the Jewish population whilst he was in Corinth. Had he taken the vow to prove to the Jewish population that although he was preaching Jesus Christ that it was not incompatible with him being Jewish? It would seem that the reason for the hair cut was that the period of the vow had ended. There is great debate amongst commentators over this.
Numbers 6:2ff gives the rules covering a Nazarite vow, when a man or a woman set themselves aside for a particular purpose in the service of God. it seems to convey the idea of a person’s acting from extraordinary zeal for God and religion. That could certainly fit with Paul.

Growing or cutting of hair, binding and unbinding of have all have significance in the Bible. They may be the sign of a vow undertaken or ended, those serving as priests in the temple were not permitted to have their hair hanging loose but it had to be bound. A woman whose morals were in question, particularly a married one, would have been shamed by having her hair unbound and let hang loose, this would have happened to the woman brought to Jesus accused of having been caught in the act of adultery.
Perhaps the two best known stories concerning hair are those of Samson, who was tricked by Delilah into revealing the secret of this strength, Judges 16 and of course the incident where Jesus feet are dried by Mary’s hair (Luke 7:38ff & John 12:3)
Then of course we have the passages which for centuries meant that women wore hats in church, a very few still do, and it can be a challenge to administer the chalice when they are wide brimmed. (1Corinthains 11:6 etc)
But where has all this led? To what is probably the most important passage concerning hair in the whole of Scripture 1 Peter 3:3-4
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewels or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Prayer: God grant that others will find you hidden in the depths of my heart and come to know that they too are precious in your sight, AMEN … See MoreSee Less

Bro Ardudwy

5 days ago

An overcast windy morning this morning, and guess what? A wet Bank holiday forecast, not that many of us will be going anywhere.
The weather headline yesterday morning revealed that ‘thunderstorms lit up the skies over Wales after the hottest day of the year so far’. It continued but the sunny weather gave way to dramatic thunder and lightning overnight.’
Lightning has fascinated people for hundreds of years. My grandmother believed the old wives’ tale: “Thunder in winter brings snow in seven days.” If it thundered in February, she would say that it would snow in May. More often than not she would be right on both counts!! She had no idea of the science behind her predictions.
Now I could go on at length about the physics of lightning because that was Gerry’s field of expertise. We spent many hours sat in aircraft hangers simulating lightning strikes to aircraft to test their hardness to the immense power and energy produced by a lightning strike. All I will bore you with is that a single bolt of lightning contains 5 billion joules of energy, enough to power a household for a month. The energy of an average thunderstorm equals that of an atom bomb.
So where am I going with this? to lightning being used to try to describe God in the Bible.
It was how they perceived God speaking to Moses in Exodus 20:18 when God gave the ten commandments. Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off.
Several times Job refers to lightning as the method God uses to communicate with humankind.

It is recalled in the Psalms as a tool God uses against the enemies of the Israelites in Psalm 105 & 144. But also as a natural element that gives praise to its maker.

It is used to describe the appearance of the angel sat on the rolled away stone at the resurrection. Matthew 28:3
(I love that sequence: Job done stone moved, Resurrection complete, I’ll just sit on it)
Jesus himself uses it as a description of his own power Luke 17:24
For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
And if you thought that heaven was all puffy clouds and soft harp music think again! Read Revelation 8:5 or 11:19 or ponder on Chapter 16:17-18 below
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.
We can never adequately describe God in human terms, but perhaps the use of lightning which is at one and the same time terrifying in its power but awesome in its energy and stunning in its beauty has something to offer us. … See MoreSee Less