Tag: greetings

This great cross hangs from the high ceiling between the nave and the chancel of Cirencester Parish Church of St John Baptist.

This cross was carved and carefully gilded by craftsmen from Cirencester’s past. It hangs on stout iron chains from the heavy timbers of the chancel roof and for centuries has been the focal point for worshippers sitting in the pews of the nave. At first glance it almost seems to have been studded with jewels, but in fact it’s plain wood with gilded ornamentation.

In the centre of the cross is a lamb carrying a banner marked with the cross of St George. This lamb represents Jesus, the sacrificial ‘lamb of God’. At the top of the upright timber is a winged St Matthew, author of Matthew’s Gospel, at the extreme left of the cross beam is St Mark portrayed as a winged lion and at the right hand end St Luke as a winged ox wearing a crown. Right at the bottom of the upright timber is St John, shown here as an eagle.

More about those images

The lamb with the banner of St. George represents the Agnus Dei (the Lamb of God), symbolising Jesus Christ, and later iconography mixes symbols of sacrifice and victory. Jesus Christ was seen as both sacrificial (the lamb) and a victorious king (the banner). 

The winged man represents St. Matthew because his gospel emphasises Christ’s human nature. His account begins with a genealogy of Jesus’ descent from Abraham highlighting his human, earthly origins. The winged aspect signifies divine inspiration of the gospel message and the angelic wings refer to Matthew’s task as a messenger of God’s word. 

St. Mark is shown as a winged lion because his gospel starts with the roaring voice of John the Baptist in the wilderness, (roaring like a lion) while the wings refer to the four winged creatures described in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation. The lion represents the strength of Mark’s message and the resurrection of Christ, the wings speak of the four evangelists being guardians of the throne of God.

St. Luke the Evangelist is traditionally symbolized by a winged ox (or bull or calf). The symbol is derived from the four living creatures in the Book of Ezekiel and Revelation, which early Christian tradition associated with the four Gospel writers. The ox was chosen for St. Luke because it was an animal of sacrifice in the Old Testament, representing the sacrificial aspect of Jesus’ ministry, which Luke emphasizes in his Gospel by beginning with the priestly duties of Zechariah. The wings signify that the Gospel message is to be spread throughout the world.

St. John is shown as an eagle because it’s his symbol as one of the four evangelists. His gospel is seen as soaring into theological heights, also true of his visionary writings in the Book of Revelation. And the eagle is associated with divine power, heavenly vision, and spiritual insight as seen in the book of Revelation. 

These medieval traditions are all very well, but the carved, gilded cross is also a distraction from the dreadful truth that a wooden cross was an instrument of torture and death. It’s easy to get wrapped up in traditions and forget that Jesus died to provide the opportunity for us to turn back from the brink. The heavy timbers to which Jesus was nailed to die were not ornate or gilded, and there were no traditions portrayed on them. Jesus (Yeshua, Isa) came in simplicity offering a simple opportunity and sharing simple truth. You don’t need a degree in history or theology to follow him, just an open, willing mind and a light touch from his spirit of love and truth.

In that vein, here’s something I add every year, I’ll offer it up to you again now. The UK is a rich mix of people from many cultural backgrounds. That’s why the title is not ‘Christmas Greetings’. Please accept the greetings and replace the word ‘Season’ with whatever you like. If you’re Hindu you could choose Pancha Ganapati, or Jewish friends might go with Hannukah in December, if you’re Muslim you might look forward to the start of the holy month of Rajab; Buddhists might consider Bodhi Day, and there are more groups of people I haven’t mentioned specifically. But whatever you celebrate, please take my greetings as a blessing for the whole of next year – spring, summer, autumn and winter. I’m not here to press you into a new and different tradition. I’m here to dismiss tradition in its entirety and offer love, peace and grace in its place. The teachings of Jesus are simple and there are thoughts about them throughout the articles on this website.

PS – If you like the photo, click the thumbnail for the full size version. Print it out, put it in a frame and hang it on the wall. Give a copy to friends if you think they’d like it; or send them a link to this message.

Other years

2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016

See also:

• Cirencester Parish Church – Wikipedia

This photo of the interior of Cirencester Parish Church reminds us of the dedication, hard work, and sheer skill put into building a church nearly 1000 years ago. That should stop us in our tracks and make us think – why go to so much effort?

Work on building Cirencester’s Parish Church of John Baptist began in the twelfth century. The chancel (where the altar stands) is the oldest part of the structure and replaced a previous Saxon Church, and perhaps a Roman one beneath that. Additions, alterations, repairs and improvements date to almost every century, the most recent change returning sculptures to two empty niches on the tower in 2019. It’s been a lot of work over a period of a thousand years.

Why? There will, of course, be many reasons. Wealthy townspeople have been willing to spend large sums of money from time to time, and masons, carpenters and other tradespeople will have worked for payment. Some people may have been motivated by their faith, others by a desire to contribute to something beautiful and special, perhaps some to say, ‘Thank you’, for answered prayer. We will never know the full detail, mostly we can only imagine.

But for me, this photo illustrates something quite different. My own understanding of Jesus’ teachings is that we have received a great treasure and should do whatever we can to share it freely with friends, family, neighbours, even enemies, with everyone who will listen. This is an altogether different kind of building work. We are raising a beautiful structure, not of stone and timber, brass and lead, stained glass, silver and bronze. We are building as Jesus builds, a structure of trust, love, grace and peace, of joy, precious thoughts, acts of kindness and caring, a work of self sacrifice, healing, truth, and acceptance. A drawing in as well as a raising up, a work that can always be extended further.

Am I good at it? No, not really. Only Jesus is truly good at this task. He came to reveal his Father, and to pour out his Spirit. And he told us (his followers, his apprentices) to carry on his work.

So, as a very small part of this task, I say to you my readers (if you are still reading at this point) whatever your faith, or religion or view of life, my wish for you, my prayer for you, is that these weeks as 2024 grows old, will be a time of growing peace in your heart. Life isn’t always easy, so my hope is that you will find something to smile about even in difficult times.

Here’s something I wrote last year, I’ll offer it up to you again now. More and more, the UK is a rich mix of people from many cultural backgrounds. That’s why the title is not ‘Christmas Greetings’. Please accept the greetings and replace the word ‘Season’ with whatever you like. If you’re Hindu you could choose Diwali as a reminder of your celebrations in October, or Jewish friends might go with Hannukah in December, if you’re Muslim you might look forward to Lailat al Miraj in February; Buddhists might consider Bodhi Day, and there are more groups of people I haven’t mentioned specifically. But whatever you celebrate, please take my greetings as a blessing for the whole of next year – spring, summer, autumn and winter.

And I apologise to my southern hemisphere friends whose new beginnings may come in June or July!

PS – If you like the photo, click the thumbnail for the full size version. Print it out, put it in a frame and hang it on the wall. Give a copy to friends if you think they’d like it; or send them a link to this message.

Other years

2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016

See also:

• Cirencester Parish Church – Wikipedia