大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Right Rev Mary Stallard, bishop of Llandaff.

Good morning. For several years our family have holidayed in the same village on the Greek island of Kefalonia. We love walking there and I thought we鈥檇 come to know it quite well. This year we had a surprise; we walked barely a mile further along the coast than we鈥檇 previously ventured and discovered an amazing, horse-shoe shaped cove that鈥檚 far prettier and more dramatic than any we鈥檇 found before. We were amazed: it鈥檚 made us aware of how much we鈥檝e still got to learn about the area.

Similar learning happened for me recently when I attended a study day on Christian attitudes to protest. We were looking at the story of Jesus overturning the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple in Mark鈥檚 Gospel. It鈥檚 a story I thought I knew well; but I was amazed to hear, as though for the first time, the verse which says that Jesus stopped people from using the Temple as a short-cut, preventing them from carrying things through the holy space. I was so surprised that I鈥檇 never noticed this verse before. Like finding the beach on holiday, it felt as though something new suddenly opened up.

Each experience has reminded me there鈥檚 always so much I鈥檝e still got to learn. They underline for me the variety and beauty of creation, and the depth and scope of scripture, which constantly offers believers new and fresh perspectives.

God our maker, thank you for all the gifts you give us, for opportunities to grow each day. Bless us with humility, that we may be open to discover fresh meaning and purpose and become signposts of your joy for others. Amen.