Everybody is into building community at the moment. I doubt this is quite what David Cameron has in mind, but a few weeks ago, I visited a Christian community near Nonnington in Kent, who are trying to live out Acts 4:32 “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” There must have been about 200 people living there. In return for doing a daily shift in the on-site furniture factory or on their farm, members of the community are given modest accommodation and food. Even the clothes they wore were communal property.

 

Going there was like entering a different world. I could not imagine living there, yet there was something attractive about their lifestyle – the simplicity of it and the intentional interdependence on one another. And I really respected their whole-hearted commitment to living out the Gospel, without watering down the really difficult bits. It’s not easy living there, they explained; you cannot avoid people who you find difficult, because you have to work, eat and play with them every day.

 

The Christian faith is about a personal relationship with God, but it is always lived out corporately, in relationship with others. We need other people to learn how to love, to hold each other accountable, to meet our need to belong, and to share our gifts with. Try to imagine Jesus’s ministry without his disciples. And nearly all Paul’s letters are addressed to groups of Christians in which he constantly urges them to love, encourage, admonish and bear with one another. Our dependence on one another is supposed to mirror our dependence on God. How, after all, will we ever learn to surrender everything to God, if we do all we can to avoid ever depending on other people?

 

So, I wonder, is there a different way of living in Ashtead, one that would capture the essence of Acts 4 in a contemporary context, assuming we are not going to migrate to Nonnington had just finished writing down some ideas during a break at a conference in Lancaster, when the guest speaker and Christian author, John Bell, of the Iona Community sat down at the same table. I expect you are more interested in his wisdom on the matter than mine! He said you don’t create community by intentionally setting out to create community. If you go down this route, then you can easily end up creating a self-satisfied, inward-looking community. What you need, instead, is a “demanding, common task” that inspires and unites people. Community is built as a by-product of working together towards something larger and more challenging than we could achieve in our own strength. (That, at least, this is best attempt to paraphrase what he said.)

 

Which  made me think of The Act10n that many of us took part in a few weeks ago – 200 people serving the local community by gardening, cleaning, painting, visiting, teaching, repairing and then gathering to celebrate and worship together. There was a real sense of being part of something bigger than the sum of our individual parts – the body of Christ, working together in unison. And, as we weeded and painted together, people told me about their family, about how they fell in love or came to faith – the kind of conversations I very rarely have during coffee times after the Sunday service. We set out to bless our community and, in the process, we were richly blessed ourselves through a deepening of relationships - a glimpse, perhaps, of God’s Big Society

 

Lord, just as you and the Father are one, may we be one with you and with each other. May we be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent Jesus and have loved us even as you loved your own Son. Amen.

When I was at School I always thought that Christianity and serving was for girls and weak men who couldn’t get real jobs! Having now devoted a whole year planning, and a few days doing the Act10n event with the sole purpose of serving you might ask has my thinking changed? Well, for a start,I now accept I am a weak man without a real job, so maybe I was right after all! Seriously though, my understanding has dramatically changed and that started with recognising the difference between serving and being a servant.

 

You might “serve” a meal or “serve” in a role that needs doing, but being “a servant” is very different in both status and demands. Christians must understand that we are not asked to serve occasionally but to be servants for life. A dictionary definition of a servant is, “One who expresses submission, recognisance, or debt to another.” To serve often entails us willingly choosing to do an act of kindness to someone we like or care about. However, being a servant is about being in lifelong submission to others whom we may not like and doing things we would not choose to do. Our culture does not look up to servants or want to express submission to another, so how do we get there?

Secondly the Bible says to consider others better than ourselves. (Ph. 2:3) This is against everything our colonial history and status-obsessed culture teaches us. However status is all about our security. We need to understand as Christians that our identity and security is in heaven with God, not on here earth. Jesus came into poverty, was homeless during his ministry, never held any position of authority or status and yet knew his position with his heavenly Father. When we are secure in whom God intended us to be and our heavenly status with Him, only then will we be free to be the servants God always intended us to be. True status gives us true freedom.  

Prayer two: “ Lord help me to know my true identity in you that I might be free to consider others better than myself.”

As I write this, the country nervously waits for the 3^rd and final England match of the Football World Cup in South Africa. B the time you read this the England team will be on its way home or feeling extremely lucky to have scraped through into the next round.

As someone said to me before the whole thing began, the best time to be an England supporter is just before the first match, when hopes are high, dreams of victory are in the air and anything seems possible. But then the matches start and reality starts to dawn. Perhaps are dreams of winning were just that – dreams, and our hopes are dashed again.

But I suspect that these kind of unfulfilled hopes and dreams are not just the life of the football supporter. I suspect that most of us have these kind of high hopes and beautiful dreams in many areas of our lives. Who isn’t longing that this time that relationship will work out just right? Who isn’t hoping that this holiday will bring that longed for peace and inner refreshment? Who doesn’t yearn for something more, something better in the midst of their everyday life?

What do we do with these longings, these desires? Do we just squash them down and tell ourselves that we’re very lucky with all that we have. Is it just that we don’t know how blessed we are and we should be more thankful? Well, I’m not sure. Often it’s not that we aren’t grateful for all the good things that we have, it’s just that we’re longing for something more, something deeper, something more real, more satisfying, more lasting.

I wonder if instead of trying to squash these longings, we should embrace them. Perhaps they are in fact glimpses of eternity, the sighs of our hearts as they yearn for more than our world offers. They are the hints to something deeper; clues that life is not as it was meant to be, traces of heaven. We’re longing for life as it was intended to be, longing for that ultimate relationship – love as it was supposed to be.

Jesus said “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10, the Message).  Jesus came to bring us real and eternal life, both now and after our time on this earth is done. But our experience of that life right now, while wonderful and exhilarating, is only partial. We still live in the reality of housework, bills, sickness, imperfect families and plain hard work. Our hopes are still partially unfulfilled. But we must not despair or grow hard, feeling that this world and its people will always disappoint. No, somehow we need to work out how to keep our hearts soft and open, turning those unrealised dreams into prayers and crying out to our Father God.

I was thinking recently about all the different aspects of my life, the good things that help me and bring me joy, like walking on a sunny day and noticing the new leaves and blossom on the trees. It’s seems the ordinary, simple things are sometimes the most joyful.

Then I thought about the balance of my life, how much do I work, spend time with those who matter to me, come before God, and how much time do actually give me?

 

I wonder if you have ever considered how balanced your life is? Do you spend to much time with people, giving. Or maybe you spend too much time alone, not receiving, only you will know.

Try drawing a circle and divide it into four parts:

a) Work (paid or voluntary)

b) Family and intimate friends

C) Other people and interests   

d) Me

Fill in these parts, and then have a look at the proportion of them, ask yourself, what are you living for, and what is stopping you living more fully, that life you so desire?

I believe that God has made us all in his image and that by his spirit we can live in perfect balance. However, we need to be willing to be open and to seek that balance in our lives.

 

Perhaps, I dare to ask, can we live in perfect balance without God? Try and take some time out this week to be still and to listen to what’s going on at your core, and ask God to show you how you find him, maybe for the first time, or maybe for you to find him in a deeper way

 

Do you sometimes think why you are here and what purpose you have? Do you ever feel deep inside a small voice bringing wisdom and a sense of what is good to you?

 

You may like to pray this prayer

 

““Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”” (Matthew 27:46b, NLT). 

It would have suited my purposes if the scholars responsible for the New Living Translation had opted for “rejected” rather than “abandoned”, but to me this is the ultimate Biblical reference to rejection. Thankfully, for our sakes, the rejection was very brief and the reconciliation that followed – the acceptance of the sacrifice – has literally sealed our eternal futures. 

 

This is but one example from the Bible. If you will forgive me playing slightly fast and loose it started with the rejection of Adam and Eve when “the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden” (Gen 3:23). At least I imagine that for Adam and Eve it felt pretty much like rejection, rather than like a reasonable theological response to a previous misdemeanour. I also have sympathy for Moses, whose own people rejected his first attempt to help them. The scars, I believe were still visible 40 years later when being commissioned at the burning bush – “but what if…?” was Moses’ repeated response. After that you can almost dip into the Bible at will and find rejection – the Israelites repeated turning away from God (you wouldn’t catch us doing that, surely).  How about Samson? “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time.” (Judges 16:28). Fancy trying on Hosea’s shoes? Commanded by God to marry a prostitute who would later return to her old ways. However, I will finish my list with Elijah who is a personal favourite as I believe he battled with melancholy. After an epic victory over (and slaughter of) the prophets of Baal, a 125 mile run, and then a 200 mile walk he felt utterly alone: “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” (1 Kings 19:14b).

 

Now the eagle-eyed will have spotted that the above list includes only one unarguable, objective case of a human suffering rejection (Hosea rejected by his wife’s adultery). But isn’t that one of the major points – that rejection is an entirely subjective matter. It is about how the ‘rejectee’ feels. Objectively Elijah was wrong – he was not the only one left; God had 7,000 in reserve. And yet, he felt rejected by the entire nation, and utterly alone. And rejection doesn’t have to be big to cut deep. For someone whose self-esteem has already been bruised, a simple put down can be rejection enough.

 

There are no simple cures for rejection, no sticking plasters to be applied. But we do have Yahweh Rapha (the Lord who heals – Exodus 15:26) on our side. And He is the master of restoration and second chances. And for those of us not currently suffering the pain of rejection? Our job is to “to love our neighbour as [much as we love] ourselves” (Matthew 22:39b, paraphrased).

 

The wind blows where it chooses and you hear the sound of it but you do not know where it comes from of where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8)

 

I was watching the class finals of BBC young musician of the year last week when Lara age 16 played the Chopin impromptu on C Sharp minor. Several people confessed they were moved to tears – she went on to win the whole thing. She touched people’s hearts. Music has the power to move us

 

This week is Pentecost, the festival of The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit  too has the power to move. But from what we read about him or her The Holy Spirit is not a well managed logical predictable and orderly kind of spirit. Rushing wind, tongues of fire, babbling voices acts of power – not what we normally expect at all in our well ordered Anglican worship!

 

Yes, worship too can be moving. It may be the thrilling sound of a large choir and mighty organ – or we may be moved by the stillness – that special kind of silence that comes when a lot of people come together, and are totally silent.

 

I often meet people who say they like to go into a church when it is empty. They like the peace, the sense of history. You can just sit quietly and reflect. Nobody bothers you. No organised religion.

 

Well of course in one way they are right – you cannot organise the Holy Spirit, nor know when he may come by. We can work very hard to arrange our worship services and have beautiful words and music; yet even then, we cannot be sure that the Spirit will come.

But what the person alone in the church is missing out on is the beauty of worship. Whatever kind of worship it is, traditional or modern, it has the potential to be a channel for the Holy Spirit

 

The Christian Year -Seasons of Welcome series at St. Gile Evensong  is centred on the image of a welcoming God, one who is always drawing people into this circle of divine hospitality, the love of God that has been waiting for them for all time.  How can we co-operate with God's welcoming Spirit? 

 

First, we must not get in the way, make our worship and our way of doing things so busy, that there is or room for anything else. We must give the Spirit space.

 

And second we must get the balance right. Not too much noise, nor too much quiet. Worship, teaching, singing, praying that has room to breathe, so that the breath of the Spirit can be heard, and will touch those He wants to find.

 

 

(Taize chant – Veni Spirito Creatore )                        

He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbour as yourself”. St Luke ch. 10 vs. 27

I have been visiting Cathedrals again this week: our own in Guildford and Coventry. Both were in connection with my Mothers’ Union friends. One of the biggest joys in my life has been, and I know will continue to be, the friendships I have made with MU members and their families around the world. I always relish an opportunity to meet up with them even if only for a short time and worshipping together is a great joy. MU can certainly fill a cathedral and sing with gusto. This fellowship is important to us but it is not the most important thing we do.

The Mothers’ Union is a mission organisation, aiming to demonstrate the Christian faith in action by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of family in its many forms. We have 3.6 million members, women and men, living in over 78 countries who believe in the importance of families. As well as encouraging and supporting families and marriage, members work to reach out as God’s family to those who are isolated, in trouble, or in need of help. Through fellowship, programmes, policy and prayer, Mothers’ Union members around the world change lives and bring Christ’s hope.

This is Christian Aid Week here in the UK. Much of the work that Christian Aid does is very similar. I have seen projects run by MU to help a village dig and maintain a well to provide water for a village, or providing chickens and information on how to keep other animals on small plots of land. I have helped to bring a herd of goats’ home at the end of the day along with a group of widows able to feed their children and send them to school because they were given a goat and taught to care for it properly. I have seen Nursery Schools, Clinics, Literacy and Numeracy Groups run by members to help a community devastated by the HIV/ aids virus. These and many other programmes and projects are also run by Christian Aid and sometimes the two charities come together in a community and are then able to provide an even better service. Christian Aid works in partnership with local people to help to bring wholeness to communities.

There are so many ways we can “love our neighbour” and this week each home in our parish will have an opportunity just to give a little so that the charity that is Christian Aid can give a lot in some part of the world where the needs are greater than here in Ashtead.

“Heavenly Father, help everyone to experience the joys of worship and fellowship. At the same time Lord, we pray that our hearts and minds will be opened to share what we have with those who have less. Amen “

I have been unwell for several months recently and the effect has been life changing.  Before last Christmas I was very active, joining in everything and fully involved in all that life presented to me. Now I am waiting for surgery and expect to spend the early part of the summer recovering in the care of family and friends.

 

The most interesting part of all this has been the effect it has had on those around me. Most people have been as expected—wonderfully caring and kind. They have made offers to help and have been very supportive all the time. This makes me so glad that I belong to such a loving and caring church family. I have had plenty of time to think and pray and to encourage others in their work and I have felt supported and loved through the prayers of friends, thank you.

 

But sadly some people in the church seem to think that if someone is ill it is somehow their fault. They have done some great sin and God is slowing them down in order to remind them of their sins. People can be really insulting in the way they imply that if someone had behaved differently they would have had time for God and would not have sinned so much. They seem to think that God is now teaching the sick person a lesson.

 

I simply cannot believe in a God who sends illness to punish sinners. If he did we would all be ill all of the time. Those who tell others to take it easy and pray and read the bible are simply preaching to themselves. It is not only those who are ill who should be reminded to do this but all of us.

 

However when something life changing like this does come along we are given the opportunity to make the most of it. We can sit back and complain about our illness or we can use the time in the best possible ways. We may have extra time to pray and consider the small things in life. We may be able to write to people or telephone them where before we were too busy. The good that can be done by someone who can truly empathise with another person is dramatic.

 

So as you consider the way your life is changing and the new things on your horizon. Spare a thought for others and what is happening in their lives. Together change can be a great good.

 

A prayer:- Father help me to value others and to help and support them in their times of change. Help me to see that I am changing too and that you are there—loving caring and supporting as a true friend should. Bless all our church family today and everyday. Amen

Why does God not answer my prayers? Have you ever asked that? Probably everyone who has ever prayed has! All Christians want to pray regularly, but somehow we don’t. The will and desire is there, yet guilt (rather than prayer) usually results. Our next step can then be to conclude that God does NOT answer prayer at all, (except for the prayers of very holy people, who of course do not really exist now that Mother Teresa has died!)  Our last step can then be to conclude that God probably does not exist (to quote our buses!) Therefore a God who does not exist cannot love me and answer my prayers! This then resolves the problem of my unanswered prayer, or should I say the lack of my prayer life!

Having an underlying view that God  does not really exist and guilt, are really not helpful to the Christian who longs to pray but does not know where to start. Actually, most of us do not pray because of the rubbish we have been told about prayer NOT because God does not answer prayer. So the first thing is to remove the rubbish and then to pray anyway!

Where do I start? PRAY is the answer. Here is the first prayer to pray

“God help me to get rid of the rubbish and guilt about prayer and to pray.”

This admits that we cannot do it without God, which is vital to prayer. We will fail at prayer without God’s help. At the heart of the Christian message is humility and weakness. How many of us have been told “you must pray a lot every day” but however hard you try you find you fail? We cannot pray without God’s help - we were designed to be dependant on God.

Secondly PRAY! Here is the second prayer,

Now we have accepted that it is not us who answers prayer but God. A quote from Mother Teresa to help us, “God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try”. God does not require that our prayers are all answered, just that we pray. We wrongly decide that no immediate answer means we are bad at prayer, rather than God has simply said wait or no.

Thirdly PRAY! Here is the third prayer.

 It is only out of God’s love that we can be effective in anything. Christian effectiveness is not measured in success as the world knows it. Back to Mother Teresa , “I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.”  We think we should have super strength but God meets us where we are and reveals His love. Only out of God’s love can we act. Just a warning though, love is not so much a warm feeling but a truth and action revealed on the cross.

When released from guilt, a need for success, self strength and when we simply respond to God’s love, prayer starts to happen. Like any language, prayer takes time to learn.

If you struggle to know what to pray I am gathering e mails to send around specific urgent prayer needs in our church family. Remember no guilt if you do not pray for some! However I promise to send around answers as well and nothing builds pray faith but specific answers to specific requests.

Wouldn’t it be so much easier if there were a Party For Christians To Vote For?  The fact is that we will have to make political decisions as individuals -there is no one, ‘party’ choice for Christians. Wherever we are on the spectrum of opinion, we will soon be called upon to make a decision: will it be Gordon, David or Nick? Where will you put your cross on polling day?

            Voting is one of the things Jesus never had to do. But wherever we decide to place our cross on polling day, let’s make it a decision to place our Cross, - to vote with our understanding of the Cross. Jesus supported no political party but said so much about:

·         ethical, responsible leadership

·         the treatment of the poor and disadvantaged

·         counting the cost before we undertake a project

·         loyalty to those in authority

·         his anger at the abuse of children;

·         God’s provision for us in the Earth

·          lawlessness and violence on the one hand, and prison-visiting on the other

·         debts and debtors.

Our task is to take these ideas and think how we would want to see them applied in our society, for its benefit. The policies by which we might achieve them will vary, but let’s    remember the principles, as we make our Party decision on polling day.

            The Cross of Jesus was the culmination of a life given up in loving, sacrificial servanthood. It’s a Cross that we are now invited to take up in order to follow him. What will ‘taking up our Cross’ mean, in practice, on May 6^th? It may mean voting against our own economic advantage in order to see more given to those who have less; or being realistic about our expectations of any one party, after the recent economic down-turn that we’ve all suffered. We may have to weigh carefully the balance between justice and mercy when we are trying to prevent violence on our city streets. Whatever the outcomes of these questions, will we have arrived at them only from the perspective of our own well-being and advantage? Or are we being asked to act against our personal self-interests at a time of national difficulties?

            So, armed with our knowledge of the present and past needs of our society, and with our personal convictions of how best to meet them; and with the words of Jesus about justice and the poor, ringing in our ears, let’s go forward on May 6^th, and plant our Cross where we pray it will have most effect.

 

 

Note: This is the second article on the General election!  There will be prayer at St. George's on election day between 8 and 9 pm - after which there will be time to vote!  So do join us then. - AMW

Well, the inevitable has happened and within a month we will have to choose our new MP from the candidates on offer. As a Christian I always feel slightly uncomfortable when it comes to marking the cross on the ballot paper. Should I choose a candidate who is pro-Christian (or actually a Christian), even if I don’t like the sort of policies they want, or should I go for the policies – even if my choice is heavily influenced by the policies that seem to benefit me and my family? Do I make the effort and go to a meeting where all the candidates are present and pick the one that seems most genuine? This time round I can even use the debates on the television to ‘choose’ the Prime Minister I prefer.

The problem is the Bible doesn’t really help a great deal when you are trying to select a leader. The Old Testament Jewish nation relied on God at first to choose the next leader. Once they had a King (again selected by God) they followed the Royal line. In the New Testament, Jesus tells his followers that His Kingdom is not of this world. Does this mean we should chicken out and not vote at all?

Then of course I remember that until the late 19^th century people like me (and probably you, unless you come from a rich family) didn’t have the vote, and had to rely on our ‘betters’ to vote for the right people. That was true for everyone in the New Testament as well, where they had to accept the Roman Empire as the ultimate ruler. Paul was only too aware of this when he wrote to Timothy saying:

 ‘I urge that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness’ [1 Tim.2:1-2]. 

He knew that for the Church, which had no choice in the matter, it was far more important to pray – to ask God, who ultimately makes the choice to give us leaders that enable us to continue living our Christian lives.

So as I make my way to the ballot box perhaps what I should do is pray before making a choice – forgetting all my own personal ‘wants’ in a politician, and looking to God to ‘choose’ rulers who will enable us to live our Christian lives peacefully. After all God answered the New Testament Christians’ prayers by eventually by bringing to power a Roman Emperor who became a Christian and made Christianity the worldwide religion it is today. At the time I would not have chosen Constantine – but God knew what he was doing!

Having choice really makes it hard to actually choose the right way. In politics, and in life too, we should ask God to guide us in our choices.

 

I have found the current Sermon series on Prayer really helpful. It appears that all Christians seem to struggle with this aspect of their faith journey.  Hearing some of the Bible stories of those who were faithful in prayer even in the most desperate situations is really encouraging to us. Hannah’s situation in 1 Samuel  in particular spoke to me. 

For many years Hannah had been praying for a child, staying faithful in prayer even though her situation seemed hopeless.

 There are times when the problems we face overwhelm us so much that we don’t know where to start with our prayers, and even maybe question where God is in this situation.

I recently watched a programme titled “Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children” and it quite literally broke my heart. When faced with trying to bring this to God I was simply lost for words, the issues are so complex, the suffering so great that I really did not know where to begin.    One little girl was 9 years old, too poor to attend school or, on some days, buy food, she was nursing her dying mother, looking after her 1 year old sister and racked with pain herself as she was also HIV positive. I could not get the image out of my head and was quite honestly left feeling pretty hopeless.   

When discussing another matter with a Christian friend she told me about some words that were given to her through prayer “What breaks my heart should break your heart”. It took a day or so for this to sink in but I suddenly understood that God can call us to action by making us feel the way He feels about suffering, by literally breaking out hearts. When we call to Him in desperate, heart-felt prayers, pouring out our souls, it is often the times when we feel His presence most.     

There are times in my life when I have hit a barrier and quite simply dropped to my knees knowing that I desperately need God’s guidance. At these times you stop trying to control the situation yourself and hand it to God, and often this can represent a new beginning.

For Hannah her prayers were answered after such a time of desperate prayer:

After being beaten and humiliated how must Jesus have felt as he was taken for Crucifixion, and during the extreme pain and suffering his desperate prayer from the soul was:

 

As we approach Easter and remember the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross my prayer is that God keeps driving us to action by touching our hearts and forcing us to our knees to ask for His guidance.  

Dear Friends,

          This statement from God appears now for a second time.  The first was at Jesus’ baptism: And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17).  What comes to my mind is the question why God had not said this all along in thirty years of Jesus life, until the time of his baptism, and now on the Mountain of Transfiguration.  The issues are that when God said this at his baptism Jesus was immediately led to the most excruciating experience of a forty day fast with temptations in the wilderness by Satan.  Thank God, Jesus not only passed the test, but did so in a way that makes it possible for all who follow in the steps of Jesus Christ also to pass the test.  We know that at the end of the story, Jesus conquered Satan on the cross, defeated death, released the power of God’s forgiveness on every repentant sinner and opened the door of freedom to all who believe with an assurance of an open access to God.

          On the Mountain of Transfiguration, God repeats the statement, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, and after this experience Jesus was to face the greatest temptation of life: the testing of one’s faith when coming face to face with death.  With the privilege of the canons of the Bible we are grateful to know that Jesus is the Messiah, and only he, the chosen One of God, is that Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  He did die, but on the third day he was raised from the dead, and having conquered death he has given us assurance that death does not have the last say.  It is God who has the last say over death:

            I have wondered why it took God so long (30 years) before making such mighty declarations about Jesus.  Perhaps the answer can be found in Luke 2:51-52:

          Jesus was obedient to God in all things and was obedient to his earthly, guardian parents, Mary and Joseph. The distinguishing mark on Jesus was that his entire life was a life of OBEDIENCE!  God did not have any difficulty at all in pointing Jesus out as the one who pleases him in every way.  His obedience even led him to death in the cross.   His obedience made him ask for only the will of God to be done.  He has become our pattern, our model and our ideal Saviour.  I have wondered what God will say when he looks at me right now.  Will he be able to say the same thing that he said to Jesus?  Yet we know that it is obedience that marked Jesus out for God to approve of him so highly.

          My assurance is that when one chooses to obey God, one surrenders to God and whoever chooses to deal unjustly and wickedly against anyone who is obedient to God will have to contend with God, whether now or later.  Let it be known by men here on earth that we are children of obedience because we are children of God through Jesus Christ whose obedience is marked out by love for God and love for humanity.

          Will we obey him?  Will we refuse the paths of evil, wickedness, gossip, slander and deliberate sinning?  We learn who God is by obeying him.  We may never understand in advance why we are to obey but when we do obey then we will understand.

The Lord be with you,

 

+The Most Rev. Dr. B. A. Kwashi

Archbishop of Jos

 

One of my favourite TV programmes is Secret Millionaire, because it’s one of the few programmes that celebrates acts of generosity and doesn’t glamorise wealth and success. This week’s episode featured a 42 year-old multi-millionaire entrepreneur – a nice guy, but a workaholic who doesn’t spend much time with his children and isn’t very good at expressing his feelings.

He is sent ‘under-cover’ to Derby in search of worthy causes to support. There he meets an 11-year old girl who is caring for her mother who has the degenerative disease, Huntingdon’s. It’s hard work, but she displays amazing resilience. The relationship she has with her mum is beautiful to watch – tragic, yet full of love, tenderness and joy. He also meets a couple who are trying to raise £300,000 to pay for treatment for their young son who has a rare form of cancer. Their tight-knit community is doing all it can to help. He joins them for a rowdy evening in the local pub where men are having various parts of their body waxed to raise money in aid of the young boy.

His last stop is to meet a woman who set up her own charity to arrange special outings for families whose children are suffering from a serious illness or disability. The woman is severely disabled herself, but fits her charitable work around regular visits to the hospital. “Because caring for others and showing love to others is what really matters” she says (or words to that effect). When the secret millionaire eventually reveals his true identity and hands over substantial cheques to each of the people he has met, there is a certain irony. He has the money and the power, but what they have is much more valuable. He returns home determined to live differently, because of what he has seen in these people.

What struck me most about this was the transformative power of generosity – for those who receive, those who give, and those who witness it. Money and wealth is the currency that drives the world economy, but generosity is the currency in God’s Kingdom. As the Christian writer, Rob Bell, writes in his book, Velvet Elvis:

 

What exactly should I be doing? What should I not be doing? There are so many things to be done, how do I know which ones God wants me to do? These are the kinds of questions that frequently buzz around in my head and maybe they do in yours too!

In the last few weeks I have had to think about some of these things especially clearly as I have been working with Bob on annual appraisals and job descriptions – yes the church has these too! There are so many good things happening here in Ashtead and we are fortunate enough to have so many opportunities to reach out– it can be tricky to know exactly which path to take.

Most of the things clamouring for attention are good things, it would be great to do them. But I was reminded of some advice I was given early on in my Christian life, not to be so busy with “The Good” as to miss The Best. There is a danger for us that we get so busy doing good things that we miss doing the best thing which is the one that God really wanted us to do. I find this particularly true as I wrestle with fitting the roles of good wife, good mother and good curate into one life! The truth is I cannot do it all. It is not possible and the sooner I recognise this, the better: the better for me, and the better for all around me!

In chapter 1 of Mark’s gospel, we find Jesus sneaking off very early in the morning to pray alone. He’d had a full-on day the day before: casting out an evil spirit in the synagogue, healing Peter’s mother in law, and after sundown, ministering to the whole town who flocked to him. His role as a healer extrordinaire seemed clear!

And yet after his time alone with his heavenly father, when Peter eventually finds him, things seem to have become clearer for him, for he declares: “Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”  In his time with God, Jesus realises that while healing was always going to be a part of his ministry, it was not going to be his core thing. It was good, very good, but for Jesus is was not the best. He was called to preach the good news of the kingdom, and of course later to die that the kingdom might come in. This was the best.

So if even Jesus needed to take time out to reassess his priorities and filter out some of the good for the best, it is not really surprising that you and I cannot do it all either. The key is to spend that time with God to discern the best from the good.

The chosen heading is taken to suggest unity and commitment  in shared purpose. The current congregational teaching theme is “People at Prayer”. It may therefore seem questionable that thoughts for The Well should this time focus on shepherds and dogs? On the other hand, Jesus called Himself “The Good Shepherd” (John 10 v 14) going on to say “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice”. It is the matter of listening, of communication, and of acting upon commands which brought to mind a possible analogy to be found in the TV programme “One Man and His Dog”. .

 

Any of us viewing that programme cannot have failed to be deeply moved by the obvious close relationship, mutual affection, and unity of purpose shared twixt shepherd and dog. Also the contrariness, even stubborn behaviour of the sheep! A key feature of the exercise is that the shepherd must stay at the stake (in olden times actually tied to it) and distanced from hands on control.   He will understand the nature of the sheep and wish to see them safely within the fold. He will recognise the hazards in achievement of purpose. The vital point is that his only resource, his only means of success, is close partnership and communication with, and obedience by his dog. Achievement demands mutual understanding and obedience to command. The dog sits at the feet of the master, looking upwards with expectancy of action. Given the word, the dog speeds away on the ‘outrun’, careful not to scare the sheep. There follows the ‘lift’ and the ‘drive’ with various hazards to be negotiated. Throughout the exercise and at appropriate points, the dog pauses with ears cocked, listening for the next signalled directions of the master. ..   Here patience is required as master and dog work in unison. Not uncommonly, a sheep may break from the flock, choosing to go its own way. It is then the task of the dog to act on its own initiative and to shepherd the stray back to the fold. Such is the unity in partnership, that master and dog act as being of one mind in shared purpose. When the course is run, and the flock safely gathered in, the dog returns to sit at the feet of the master, often to receive a stroking hand and an implied if not spoken commendation “Well done, you true and faithful servant”

 

Not to stretch the analogy too far, may we recognise possible application for our personal witness and prayer life? The master (shepherd) and disciple (dog) appear so closely attuned that they function in tandem or harmony on the basis of shared purpose, with communication, command, listening, obedience and discipline as key features of the relationship. A major difference is of course that we have a voice and a mediator and advocate in Jesus Christ though whom we may make our concerns and felt needs known to God although scripture tells that such matters are already known to Him. With the Holy Spirit working within us, our task and duty is to listen to the command and obey.

 

In 2 Corinthians (13v11) Paul signs off his letter: “Finally brethren, farewell, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you”

 

Maybe we take our disappointments, failures and mistakes too seriously? This can happen when we decide to hold onto them and do nothing about them, easier to sweep them under the carpet, than face and deal with them? The trouble with this is that they become an essential part of how we are described, known, we become labelled. This can be a gradual process and we don’t even realize it’s happening, but what happens often is that we lock ourselves in, becoming what we think we are and others reinforce this in us. The short cut to this spiral is not to try to not make mistakes, we are all human!

Perfectionism is not the answer to despair

Instead, we need to try to learn to come to terms with our disappointments, failures and mistakes, acknowledging them. God does not require a pure heart before embracing us. We are loved as we are, and we are invited dispite what has happened to us. We can come home even though we may have wandered, we can start again, we do not need to stay trapped in the prison we may have imprisoned ourselves in.

The spiritual life is not about achieving, it is about recognizing that God loves and welcomes us, not to pity us but to inspire and transform us, with new hope and a real acceptance.

An acceptance that will last and carry us through the times we fail.

 

You might like to pray this prayer?

 

At the risk of this forum becoming a form of counselling session for me, I thought I would return to the subject of doubt. Last summer in this space I admitted that I was struggling with the evolution versus creation thing. A friend gave me a book (Creation or evolution: do we have to choose? by Denis Alexander¹) and I am happy to report that it helped me immensely – I felt closer to my creator, lighter, freer (the book may not have the same effect on you; share prices can go down as well as up / always read the label etc etc). But doubt still lurks in the shadows.

 

As I sat in church one Sunday morning, being impressed by the genuine passion of the preacher, I caught myself thinking “but what if even he/she is wrong? What if Christianity isn’t true?”. I didn’t take it any further. I just logged the fact that I asked myself the questions. I then watched the History of Christianity series and remember being impressed by the fact that Christianity was the world’s largest religion – but caught myself asking “but what if this is just a delusion on a massive scale?” and “why so many other religions?”. Maybe this is nothing more than healthy questioning, or an over-active mind, but the doubt is annoying. I would prefer to be doubt-free.

 

My wife also bought me a book (I have occasionally bought my own reading material) – and that too blessed me². It took me on a journey on which I was able to see that I did not consider God as my loving Father, more of a slightly distant, somewhat stern Father. As I considered my relationship with my now late father, of whom I had always spoken highly and fondly, it became clear that there was a wound there. The short version of the story is that I was conscious of God doing an amazing healing work. It prompted me to make a journal entry – 1 of only 3 entries for 2009! – in which I wrote “I am not sure I have ever felt such a strong feeling of God’s presence and his utter love for me”. Powerful stuff.

 

So what’s with the doubt? And how can faith and doubt co-exist? I don’t know the answer to these questions. I guess I must learn to become comfortable with that, and in the meantime just keep journeying…

 

 

¹    See Amazon for some good book reviews. My quick review would be ‘a fairly hard read unless you are au fait with genetics, but an excellent bridge between science and religion’

After preparing to preach on Moses two weeks ago (‘Moses – Shining faces’ Exodus 32 and 33) the image of Moses coming down the mountain and breaking the stone tablets in his fierce anger has stayed with me. The tablets were the work of God – how did he dare to do it? What would be the consequences of such a terrible deed?

 

In this week’s reading in Daniel 9 we have moved forward some centuries to the time of the prophets and leaders of exile, Ezekiel and Daniel. Daniel’s job was to begin a line of trusted Jewish royal servants and administrators, who would in due time organise the return home.

 

Ezekiel’s job was to explain to God’s people their intense suffering, and give them a new heart (Ez 36:26). His problem was that they were a broken people – they felt crushed by a burden of guilt. Had not God promised Moses in Ex 34:7 that he would visit the iniquity of the parents on the children, to the third and fourth  generation? The exile lasted 70 years – three generations.

 

Daniel’s prayer in Chapter 9 echoes closely this context

Daniel does not seek to excuse the people. The heart of his prayer is in verse 19

 

Daniel urges God to act because of his mercy and because his people and city bear his name. It is the same argument that Ezekiel uses in Ez 36: 22

 

We too are a people that bear God’s name. In the second covenant of Sinai (new stone tablets), God promised that through his people he would perform marvels, so that all the people around would see the work of the Lord (Ex 34:10)  But this covenant was soon broken as the first had been. The people could never, and would never keep their side of this agreement.

 

The writer of Hebrews compares Jesus and Moses; in Hebrews 8:6 - Jesus ‘is the mediator of a  better covenant which has been enacted through better promises’.

 

The artist Sieger Koder has painted a picture of the last supper.  In it the disciples are seen from Jesus perspective gathered round the table. On the table is the bread, broken into pieces, with a cross shaped shadow falling on the pieces. The message is clear: through these fragments broken bread broken body, new life will come. The disciples seem bemused and confused: they have not understood.

 

Daniel’s prayer is heard because Daniel is greatly loved (v 23) and he is given a vision of the future. But his hope, the full restoration of God’s city and God’s covenant, was never realised. The exiled people still had to pay the price, until the seventy years was over.

But we have a different covenant: for us the price is already paid, there is no condemnation. And we are free to take our place in his kingdom.

I’ve been up at St Giles Church Pew polishing! Yes, I know you are surprised. Polishing anywhere is not really one of my strong points. Sometimes I polish my furniture on the first really lovely spring day, or just before Christmas, or, maybe, when I am expecting visitors!! But it seemed a pleasant way I could help especially as I seem to be failing on the Church Yard clearing jobs these days.

It was warm and quiet, a haven from the cold snow and real danger of the outside world. I enjoyed reading the plaques on the walls commemorating fallen parishioners; I admired the poppies left at Remembrance time and the flowers so beautifully arranged. I sat down to read the papers left on the table in the North Aisle, a little box holding prayer requests. There was a ladybird inside the box. Was she praying for those mentioned? I helped her.

Then I got on with the job. I found a stone maybe left behind from the Meditation we had at one of our 10 am Sunday Services. Whose stone was this? Why was it left here? I prayed for the person as I polished and dusted. One pew was sticky with sugary deposit. Was it left by the sticky fingers of a child comforted with sweets at one of our services? I thanked God for the children and young families we have in our congregations. So many churches I go to are only filled with older people. I prayed for all our children, those who come to our children and young people’s groups and those we hope will come. Then I found a red earring under a cushion. How had this come to be here I wondered? Maybe the person who was wearing this earring had slumped in her seat, head in her hands in despair praying for God’s help. Maybe that was how the earring had become dislodged and fallen to this dark corner. I prayed with her, I prayed for an answer to her prayer. God’s will be done.

Soon the congregation will come for the Thursday Service. They are usually older people, members here for many years. Maybe they came as children and now are still here in their retirement. Perhaps they will be glad when they smell the polish. I hope their experience here today will be good and that they will return home strengthened and empowered for another week. I prayed for them too.

Then I dropped my duster down behind a pew. Oh, dear. I stopped work. Any excuse!! I sat down to rest and thanked God that I had been able to get to church today. I prayed for myself, for my family, for my dreams.

That’s how I pray.

It’s not really like Abraham, or Jacob, or Moses, or Job.

It’s just me.

How do you pray?