Apparently the Christmas season has begun, I am writing in mid-November. So I was told by a young man I visited recently. Apparently the first Christmas adverts were on telly, the first house has their Christmas lights illuminated and so once Halloween was over the Christmas season had begun.
When does your Christmas season begin? What are the signs that you look for? Certainly in our house preparations are beginning, a festival is being planned; a cake has been stirred, food is being stored and plans for the purchase of presents are underway. Actually I am more comfortable with this early preparation than I used to be. Both the material and the spiritual preparations are important. In a few days’ time (for me) Celtic Advent will begin. The people who first brought Christianity to these shores always marked Advent for the full 40 days prior to Christmas. These days were to be days of preparation; of prayer and fasting as the festival was approached.
It is relatively easy to bemoan our society's preparation for Christmas, the excesses of consumption are clear for all to see. It is harder to work out how as Christians and as a church we can redeem the core of this "Winter Festival." As Dickens implies in his great novel a Christmas Carol, a mean minded Scrooge approach is not the answer. Judaism always celebrated festivals, memorials and reminders of God's decisive acts in the past. So too Jesus himself was reviled by some as too much of a "party" animal, mixing consistently with the "wrong" crowd. Our own calling as those who call upon the name of Jesus must then be to mirror that sense of inclusion and joy. We of all people have a very real reason to celebrate. Jesus instructs us to be light in the world, not damp squibs!
The Festival which is Christmas is a great opportunity to offer those around us a really alternative vision of society. I do not believe that vision should be as pious, "holier than thou" kill joys, but as those who have real and lasting hope in a God who we believe is good. We believe God himself has entered into the story of humanity, both his birth and indeed his teaching and death show the story of hope and redemption. We are called to co-operate and even become part of that story. Light has dawned; God has generously given us new hope. To a society where consumerism reigns; still dominant even though bruised by years of fiscal decline, we have a different story to offer. We celebrate love, because God has loved us, we celebrate gifts, because God has come as a gift to the world, we truly rejoice because this is a season to rejoice: hope has entered the world, and even though crucified it cannot and will not be defeated. We are called not simply to prepare for Christmas and indeed to celebrate Christmas, the invitation to us is deeper: we are called to BE Christmas, to become part of the message of Good News that infiltrates the world with light.
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light." And that light should be us, radiant joyful and hopeful: Christmas people with a lasting hope in our hearts. And please God a smile on our lips!
Stephen
PS Some of you will know that I have a Sabbatical planned for next year from Feb to April inclusive. I will be studying how the church must become more engaged with God's Mission in the world. I also plan to cycle to Lindisfarne: Holy Island as a sort of modern day pilgrimage. I am hoping as part of this I can raise money for two charities that I will visit next summer in Uganda: Mission Direct and Romans 1:11. I will also have some costs myself that I may need help with. If you would like to help me in any way please contact me stephen@zuchurch.co.uk. I will be cycling 400+ miles!!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Normal November
A reflection:
Lord, I want to be a disciple, a seeker, a follower.
Instead I find myself busy, distracted, and floundering.
Stop me Lord, tickle me, distract me with yourself.
So that finding you I can begin to know who I am again.
Lord we want to be a church, part of a kingdom, a light.
Instead we find ourselves in meetings, bickering, in darkness.
Stop us Lord, tickle us, remind us who you are.
So that finding you we can begin to see your light again.
November is the sort of month we could live without really. It has neither the allure of Christmas nor the beauty of October’s falling leaves; it can often be a damp squib. However I think for Zion, this November may be a really important month. We are at the stage that the whole Beacon Project has a great deal of momentum, many people are working away in the background with the hope that we can go out to tender and find a real company who will give us real prices that could then be tested against the finances that we have accumulated. More information will no doubt follow but please do pray that November is a break through month for the Beacon.
November is also a month where often nothing very major happens: there are no harvest celebrations or bank holidays, few of us take holidays in November. It could be described as just a “normal†month. As such I think it is a good opportunity to look at our “normal†Christian life. How is my discipleship, how am I expressing the blessing that I have received, what part am I playing in the normal blessing which is upon and through the church of Jesus Christ. For many of us a sober reflection of our “normal†Christian life and our “normal†engagement with the kingdom of God, will lead us to self-chastisement. That will probably only get worse if we were to read a devotional classic by a Chinese Christian from the 20’s watchman Lee. His book is entitled, “The Normal Christian Life.†It is an extraordinary call for Christian discipleship, as the “normal†Christian life. Rather than making us feel bad, Nee, a man who spent over 20 years in prison for his faith, would rather have us realise that through Christ we can actually please God; we can bring joy to his heart. By studying Romans 5-8 Nee: “walks you beautifully through all that and leaves you with an assurance that (in Christ) we can live a life that pleases our Father in heaven. “
Our discipleship is often a lot like November; unspectacular. On the other hand, November is a month where we can please our Father in heaven; he gives us 30 whole days to do so. Each normal day is a chance to watch what God is doing, and so to join in with Christ’s help. I trust you will all have a very normal November.
Stephen
Lord, I want to be a disciple, a seeker, a follower.
Instead I find myself busy, distracted, and floundering.
Stop me Lord, tickle me, distract me with yourself.
So that finding you I can begin to know who I am again.
Lord we want to be a church, part of a kingdom, a light.
Instead we find ourselves in meetings, bickering, in darkness.
Stop us Lord, tickle us, remind us who you are.
So that finding you we can begin to see your light again.
November is the sort of month we could live without really. It has neither the allure of Christmas nor the beauty of October’s falling leaves; it can often be a damp squib. However I think for Zion, this November may be a really important month. We are at the stage that the whole Beacon Project has a great deal of momentum, many people are working away in the background with the hope that we can go out to tender and find a real company who will give us real prices that could then be tested against the finances that we have accumulated. More information will no doubt follow but please do pray that November is a break through month for the Beacon.
November is also a month where often nothing very major happens: there are no harvest celebrations or bank holidays, few of us take holidays in November. It could be described as just a “normal†month. As such I think it is a good opportunity to look at our “normal†Christian life. How is my discipleship, how am I expressing the blessing that I have received, what part am I playing in the normal blessing which is upon and through the church of Jesus Christ. For many of us a sober reflection of our “normal†Christian life and our “normal†engagement with the kingdom of God, will lead us to self-chastisement. That will probably only get worse if we were to read a devotional classic by a Chinese Christian from the 20’s watchman Lee. His book is entitled, “The Normal Christian Life.†It is an extraordinary call for Christian discipleship, as the “normal†Christian life. Rather than making us feel bad, Nee, a man who spent over 20 years in prison for his faith, would rather have us realise that through Christ we can actually please God; we can bring joy to his heart. By studying Romans 5-8 Nee: “walks you beautifully through all that and leaves you with an assurance that (in Christ) we can live a life that pleases our Father in heaven. “
Our discipleship is often a lot like November; unspectacular. On the other hand, November is a month where we can please our Father in heaven; he gives us 30 whole days to do so. Each normal day is a chance to watch what God is doing, and so to join in with Christ’s help. I trust you will all have a very normal November.
Stephen
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Preparation
Pastor’s Ponderings!
Preparation
Sometimes I simply have to sit down in astonishment when I realise how different we all are! The Bible says we are made in the image of God, but yet that image expresses itself in so many varied hues. Let me take the issue of preparation as an example. Some people prepare, others don’t, and kind of erupt into action with approximately one minute to go. Sadly by nature I fall into the latter category. If a holiday or a trip is approaching, I carry on blissfully unaware of the need to ensure that, for instance, there are even enough pairs of clean underwear to see me through the adventure ahead. (I fear I may have just exploded any opportunity of shared holidays with any of our friends!) On the other hands there are the “planners;†people so organized that even before they have decided on the trip, a bag is already packed with everything that could possibly be needed for the visit that will ensue. There is a strong part of me that longs to be like these people, but sadly that longing does not appear to be strong enough for me to do anything about it!
Preparation is actually quite a rich Christian concept. It has to do with formation, as we prepare so we are formed and moulded. Events such as Lent and Advent are placed into the Christian year to ensure that we do not simply tumble into Christmas and Easter unaware of the impending festivals. Rather we are asked to take stock, to become mindful of both the season and the reality we are to celebrate. Forty days to prepare indicates both the importance of the festival and also the reality that we ought not to simply throw a few bible verses into a bag in order to be ready to encounter the meaning that is revealed. In the same way we need to prepare for other events: In the New Year we are hoping that the “Beacon†project will commence, also at the end of January I will be on Sabbatical for three months. If your understanding of church is based around a building or being led by a single leader, then you are about to be challenged. Our home will be out of action for roughly six months and the leader that you called will be absent for three of those months. My understanding of church is not based around either a single leader or a building. It is based around people growing together under God’s guiding hand. This will be a time of change for us of course, but I also believe if we prepare correctly it can become a time of opportunity.
Details of the Beacon Project will be shared soon via a leaflet given out at church. For my sabbatical, which comes every ten years of ministry, I will be studying “Missional Leadership.†This is a course designed to challenge my thinking which I hope will result in us developing some more relevant approaches to the society of which we are a part. I will be writing at least three assessed essays. I must confess that I am very nervous about this, as although relatively competent as a science student, writing and reading was always harder for me. You will be glad to know that I am already “preparing,†with the dream that I can manage to write at least one essay even before I begin the sabbatical.
Finally as the autumn evenings draw in, I wish to challenge everyone reading this about their own preparation. Whilst we all prepare for holidays, or work in different ways, I believe we are all called to prepare our hearts with God. Our “religion†is not simply a static belief that we either have or do not have. We are asked to, “search†our own hearts, “to make every effort†to maintain unity, to “work out†our salvation with fear and trembling. We prepare carefully for so many things, and yet often we neglect to listen carefully with God. If we all prepare our hearts then I believe this season can indeed be a time of great blessing, even despite the changes and challenges we face. A church with no minister and indeed no building may just become a church prepared and ready to receive a fresh touch of the marvellous love of God, and a church able to express that love willingly back out into the world.
Preparation
Sometimes I simply have to sit down in astonishment when I realise how different we all are! The Bible says we are made in the image of God, but yet that image expresses itself in so many varied hues. Let me take the issue of preparation as an example. Some people prepare, others don’t, and kind of erupt into action with approximately one minute to go. Sadly by nature I fall into the latter category. If a holiday or a trip is approaching, I carry on blissfully unaware of the need to ensure that, for instance, there are even enough pairs of clean underwear to see me through the adventure ahead. (I fear I may have just exploded any opportunity of shared holidays with any of our friends!) On the other hands there are the “planners;†people so organized that even before they have decided on the trip, a bag is already packed with everything that could possibly be needed for the visit that will ensue. There is a strong part of me that longs to be like these people, but sadly that longing does not appear to be strong enough for me to do anything about it!
Preparation is actually quite a rich Christian concept. It has to do with formation, as we prepare so we are formed and moulded. Events such as Lent and Advent are placed into the Christian year to ensure that we do not simply tumble into Christmas and Easter unaware of the impending festivals. Rather we are asked to take stock, to become mindful of both the season and the reality we are to celebrate. Forty days to prepare indicates both the importance of the festival and also the reality that we ought not to simply throw a few bible verses into a bag in order to be ready to encounter the meaning that is revealed. In the same way we need to prepare for other events: In the New Year we are hoping that the “Beacon†project will commence, also at the end of January I will be on Sabbatical for three months. If your understanding of church is based around a building or being led by a single leader, then you are about to be challenged. Our home will be out of action for roughly six months and the leader that you called will be absent for three of those months. My understanding of church is not based around either a single leader or a building. It is based around people growing together under God’s guiding hand. This will be a time of change for us of course, but I also believe if we prepare correctly it can become a time of opportunity.
Details of the Beacon Project will be shared soon via a leaflet given out at church. For my sabbatical, which comes every ten years of ministry, I will be studying “Missional Leadership.†This is a course designed to challenge my thinking which I hope will result in us developing some more relevant approaches to the society of which we are a part. I will be writing at least three assessed essays. I must confess that I am very nervous about this, as although relatively competent as a science student, writing and reading was always harder for me. You will be glad to know that I am already “preparing,†with the dream that I can manage to write at least one essay even before I begin the sabbatical.
Finally as the autumn evenings draw in, I wish to challenge everyone reading this about their own preparation. Whilst we all prepare for holidays, or work in different ways, I believe we are all called to prepare our hearts with God. Our “religion†is not simply a static belief that we either have or do not have. We are asked to, “search†our own hearts, “to make every effort†to maintain unity, to “work out†our salvation with fear and trembling. We prepare carefully for so many things, and yet often we neglect to listen carefully with God. If we all prepare our hearts then I believe this season can indeed be a time of great blessing, even despite the changes and challenges we face. A church with no minister and indeed no building may just become a church prepared and ready to receive a fresh touch of the marvellous love of God, and a church able to express that love willingly back out into the world.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
View from a lovely warm summer
I’m sure as some of you read this you will have had a lovely week of warm hot weather. For the rest of us stuck in the UK, well just maybe August will turn out warmer than July! The year does have seasons and even though the weather sometimes confuses us, August is often a season of rest, a chance to recharge batteries and get some refreshment.
Today I set the leadership team: Myself, Peter, Mel and Sam the task of a summer of spiritual refreshment. To become people who are full of God, because we have spent time quietly in his presence, either in quietness, or reading or praying. One of the problems we have is that in our crazy world of 24/7 availability this stillness can be mistaken for laziness. One thing that helped me to counteract this understanding was when I heard teaching describing the “work of prayer.†I would argue that the most “productive†hour of my day is the hour which I try to spend in quietness praying amongst other things for all of you ïŠ
What about you? Will this summer be significant for you? I hope that it may be, and I believe if it is to be a spiritually significant summer, then you will in some way need to address the issue of your availability to God. Communication is possible to India and Turkey, to schools and offices, very easily. Texts and emails, facebook updates and twitters fly here there and everywhere, I know, I use them. However God prefers a slower pace of communication, if we would hear him, we are called to “stop†to “wait†to “listen†for his “still small voice.†I am not against modern communication, in a sense it reminds me that God is always able to hear us, that he knows our thoughts from afar, but I also believe that “the old†ways, of prayer and stillness, of quietness and peace are vital for us to maintain and grow our relationship with Christ, and in a sense come to “know†ourselves. A Japanese theologian, Kosuke Koyama summed this up very well in his book, “Waterbuffalo Theology†he describes God as walking at three and a half miles per hour, the very speed of a man walking with his waterbuffalo, that’s the speed we must go to catch God!
As a church we have been investigating the nature of Church recently. I wonder what has struck you. I have enjoyed thinking about our values, suggesting that availability, vulnerability and solitude are good values to guide us. I wonder what part solitude has in your life? Many people describe me as an extrovert (and I’m quite sure a lot else besides) in truth I have discovered that I am also an introvert, a man who needs times of quietness and peace to refresh my batteries. (Maybe I’m just getting old!)
I pray that for all of us, this summer may be a time when we discover "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.†Isa 30:15
The Peace of the Lord, be always with you
Stephen
Today I set the leadership team: Myself, Peter, Mel and Sam the task of a summer of spiritual refreshment. To become people who are full of God, because we have spent time quietly in his presence, either in quietness, or reading or praying. One of the problems we have is that in our crazy world of 24/7 availability this stillness can be mistaken for laziness. One thing that helped me to counteract this understanding was when I heard teaching describing the “work of prayer.†I would argue that the most “productive†hour of my day is the hour which I try to spend in quietness praying amongst other things for all of you ïŠ
What about you? Will this summer be significant for you? I hope that it may be, and I believe if it is to be a spiritually significant summer, then you will in some way need to address the issue of your availability to God. Communication is possible to India and Turkey, to schools and offices, very easily. Texts and emails, facebook updates and twitters fly here there and everywhere, I know, I use them. However God prefers a slower pace of communication, if we would hear him, we are called to “stop†to “wait†to “listen†for his “still small voice.†I am not against modern communication, in a sense it reminds me that God is always able to hear us, that he knows our thoughts from afar, but I also believe that “the old†ways, of prayer and stillness, of quietness and peace are vital for us to maintain and grow our relationship with Christ, and in a sense come to “know†ourselves. A Japanese theologian, Kosuke Koyama summed this up very well in his book, “Waterbuffalo Theology†he describes God as walking at three and a half miles per hour, the very speed of a man walking with his waterbuffalo, that’s the speed we must go to catch God!
As a church we have been investigating the nature of Church recently. I wonder what has struck you. I have enjoyed thinking about our values, suggesting that availability, vulnerability and solitude are good values to guide us. I wonder what part solitude has in your life? Many people describe me as an extrovert (and I’m quite sure a lot else besides) in truth I have discovered that I am also an introvert, a man who needs times of quietness and peace to refresh my batteries. (Maybe I’m just getting old!)
I pray that for all of us, this summer may be a time when we discover "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.†Isa 30:15
The Peace of the Lord, be always with you
Stephen
Monday, June 11, 2012
The Church God's Brilliant Idea
Welcome to my blog. I want to begin with an apology. Our Annual General Meeting, went a bit wrong! When I was being trained as a minister one of the things I was taught was this, “Bad Administration is Bad Pastoral Care.†At the AGM things went a bit awry, the right paperwork was not in front of people and the church were asked in effect to vote about things that they couldn’t understand. We have examined what went wrong as an eldership and I believe we have learnt lots of things. So on behalf of the whole eldership we issue an apology.
In light of the above statement, can the church really be God’s brilliant idea. We get it wrong we don’t communicate together; we are perceived sometimes as judgemental or out of touch. How can we possibly be God’s brilliant idea? Well I believe the church bears wider examination, as a people movement that has changed the world for good. Even in this country it is the church who have stood behind missions and movements that bring hope and light into communities near and far. Take Bristol Noise, a movement of churches together who give 1,000’s of hours each year of community service to some of the poorest communities in Bristol. (Check it out on http://www.thenoise.org.uk/ ) Or we could examine the way in which churches are behind or supporting countless projects overseas. As a church here at Zion we support many such initiatives. These are wonderful things that we can celebrate. (If you are interested in getting involved with these “mission†projects, then consider joining the World Mission Group which Chris Burley chairs. We have space for at least two more people. Speak to Chris or myself.) Of course as a Pastor I see the wonderful way in which the church supports ordinary people in all sorts of ways, be it through bereavement, ill health, depression, life changes etc etc. It is for me a truly beautiful thing when I see the church supporting one another.
So if the church is God’s brilliant Idea, does that mean that being, “Church†is the most important thing? I think there is something wonderful about being part of church; it is amazing to feel that we are somehow connected to Christian’s all over the world. It is great to feel that here at Zion or in a fellowship group we are somehow part of a family, with Christ as the head, and a unity which comes from the fact that God the Father is a father to each of us. However I’m not sure that just being church is the whole of God’s brilliant idea. The idea for which I believe he created all of creation, and for which he particularly sent Jesus, to both live and die is relationship. God’s thing is relationship. This is the way I understand (however one can ever “understandâ€) God. God is from the beginning a relationship, he is a relationship without beginning and end, a trinity of love in complete harmony, and if we are to believe Jesus in John 17 he invites us into the very heart of that relationship to be partners with him. (This echoes the marriage idea in Genesis… it is not good for “man†to be alone.. we are designed for relationships.) Paul sums up this huge and central plan in Eph 1:10… “a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.†That’s the whole point of life, that we be in “fellowship†in relationship that we be united together.
So if that relationship, that “Shalom†in all creation is “God’s brilliant idea†where does the church come in? We are meant to be a “foretaste†of that, a deposit guaranteeing the beauty that is to come. If you like we should be the “firstfruits†of the eventual earthly harmony. That’s why Paul argues that there should not be even any “hint†of disagreement among us, we are no longer, male or female, white or black, slave or free, young or old, rich or poor. In the church we are one, a sign of a deeper unity that will (as sure as eggs is eggs…. and as sure as God raised Jesus from the dead) come. As those of you who heard me preach about this recently will testify, I got pretty excited about this! I even felt that it helped me understand some of the “trickiest†passages in scripture. Being the firstfruits, bringing the will of God from heaven to earth is what God has made us to do, it’s what we were designed for (even before we were born!). To offer to the world a different picture of what it is all about, not a picture of selfishness and greed, but a new picture of grace and hope and purpose and relationship that we are all invited to be a part of. Actually to go into a bit more Old Testament stuff, that is exactly what Israel, God’s chosen people were made for: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob…. I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth:†Isa 49:6. The church, you and I linked with people all over heaven and earth, with Christ as our unity are the sure fire way that this promise of God, will one day be fulfilled…. He’s predestined it, and also our part in it.
So go on, be yourself…. part of God’s BRILLIANT idea of love that is reaching our all around you each and every day.
Stephen
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Relationship: God's BRILLIANT idea
My whole aim in life really is to give everyone I meet riches beyond measure. I am a very rich person. I have so much treasure, even if I was successful in giving it away to every person I ever met my own treasury would not dry up.
I read recently that Ghandi is reported to have said, “Become the change you want to see.†I thought about this and I decided what I really liked seeing was generosity. Along with hospitality it is a beautiful gift that we just don’t see enough of. As I reflected I realised that God is generous beyond measure. As creator his generosity is seen in that he does not simply create, but he gives creation away. He made us so that we can create. Humanity, even nature, trees and animals are never merely functional, we have the capacity to create more. Through relationship with others, which is in effect through relationship with God, we can procreate. Through awareness of our surroundings we become creative, art, music, dance, architecture, gardening….. all of these are expressions of the creativity God so richly blessed us with. I could go on and say how God is creative as both redeemer and sustainer, but I’ll allow you to be creative and think those thoughts for yourself!
Of course I am not God, and my earthly generosity has limits. If I choose to give away too much time, I burn out. If I choose to give away too much money I become broke. It is only when I begin to think of giving away love that I am caught up in a different mathematics. Time and energy appear strictly limited, money and earthly gifts, run out and wear out. Love on the other hand seems to refresh itself. It is simply not the case that if you love there is a finite amount of it. The very act of love seems to be self-refreshing. The more I love the more I love, simple as! This is simply not the case with other emotions. Well at least not the case in a win-win way. Take hatred for example, or grief. It is true that the more we hate, or grieve, the more we grieve or hate. But these things rather than refreshing us, actually consume us. So that for most of us we reach a point where we simply cannot bear to hate or grieve anymore. Perhaps you think this can be the same with love, but I think this is a misunderstanding of the fundamental nature of love. If we misinterpret love as an attempt to possess or to control, or even to be loved back, then yes in that circumstance, to “love†can also consume and ultimately drain us. However where love is simply to set free, to let go, to see flourish, to delight in; then this love as the Bible says, never ends. For many of us, loving in this way does not seem to come easy. Rather as people have been miss-sold pensions, or insurance, we have been miss-sold devotion. Our society exchanges this beautiful love of which I speak, for a series of possessions or experiences. It slyly whispers in our ears, that a good holiday, a certain car, a particular friendship group, a range of possessions can actually match the beauty and fulfilment of love itself. In essence we allow the “gods†of this world to mask us to trick us away from that for which we were made: to love and be loved.
So what is the answer? Ummmhh simple really; to love and be loved! In this creative mathematics to which we are called, we are not even asked to love first to show ourselves worthy of being loved. The love of which I speak is lavished upon us from God. There is only one requirement on our part; to open the door. God is so generous in his love, so rich in his mercy that although he longs to love us, he creates us with free will and will not violate that will. If you choose to keep your heart closed, the love will remain forever all around you, but you will not be refreshed. God’s love will grieve for you, mourn for you, weep for you but only at your invitation will he fill you.
I wish I was more successful at giving away the treasure that I have. I would love to be able to persuade people to open the hatch of their heart and allow the soft, beautiful, healing mercy of the love of God to fill them. I will though keep trying, keep praying and keep hoping. I am also going to take Gandhi’s words to heart, and “become the change I want to see:†If God desires a relationship with others and with me, I am going to make sure that I open my own heart and let him fill me. Of course as I allow this a strange thing happens, I have so much love for others as well.
“Oh Lord, help me to express your love, this day and each day in words and actions that will really bless all those around me. Amenâ€
PS I have pretty much expressed the way that I understand the “Gospel†the good news of God’s love. I have done so without even mentioning Jesus. Mind you I don’t think that I could even imagine the love of which I speak, if I had not first “seen it†in him. For his is the story of true self giving love, redemptive love which simply goes on redeeming.
Stephen Newell
I read recently that Ghandi is reported to have said, “Become the change you want to see.†I thought about this and I decided what I really liked seeing was generosity. Along with hospitality it is a beautiful gift that we just don’t see enough of. As I reflected I realised that God is generous beyond measure. As creator his generosity is seen in that he does not simply create, but he gives creation away. He made us so that we can create. Humanity, even nature, trees and animals are never merely functional, we have the capacity to create more. Through relationship with others, which is in effect through relationship with God, we can procreate. Through awareness of our surroundings we become creative, art, music, dance, architecture, gardening….. all of these are expressions of the creativity God so richly blessed us with. I could go on and say how God is creative as both redeemer and sustainer, but I’ll allow you to be creative and think those thoughts for yourself!
Of course I am not God, and my earthly generosity has limits. If I choose to give away too much time, I burn out. If I choose to give away too much money I become broke. It is only when I begin to think of giving away love that I am caught up in a different mathematics. Time and energy appear strictly limited, money and earthly gifts, run out and wear out. Love on the other hand seems to refresh itself. It is simply not the case that if you love there is a finite amount of it. The very act of love seems to be self-refreshing. The more I love the more I love, simple as! This is simply not the case with other emotions. Well at least not the case in a win-win way. Take hatred for example, or grief. It is true that the more we hate, or grieve, the more we grieve or hate. But these things rather than refreshing us, actually consume us. So that for most of us we reach a point where we simply cannot bear to hate or grieve anymore. Perhaps you think this can be the same with love, but I think this is a misunderstanding of the fundamental nature of love. If we misinterpret love as an attempt to possess or to control, or even to be loved back, then yes in that circumstance, to “love†can also consume and ultimately drain us. However where love is simply to set free, to let go, to see flourish, to delight in; then this love as the Bible says, never ends. For many of us, loving in this way does not seem to come easy. Rather as people have been miss-sold pensions, or insurance, we have been miss-sold devotion. Our society exchanges this beautiful love of which I speak, for a series of possessions or experiences. It slyly whispers in our ears, that a good holiday, a certain car, a particular friendship group, a range of possessions can actually match the beauty and fulfilment of love itself. In essence we allow the “gods†of this world to mask us to trick us away from that for which we were made: to love and be loved.
So what is the answer? Ummmhh simple really; to love and be loved! In this creative mathematics to which we are called, we are not even asked to love first to show ourselves worthy of being loved. The love of which I speak is lavished upon us from God. There is only one requirement on our part; to open the door. God is so generous in his love, so rich in his mercy that although he longs to love us, he creates us with free will and will not violate that will. If you choose to keep your heart closed, the love will remain forever all around you, but you will not be refreshed. God’s love will grieve for you, mourn for you, weep for you but only at your invitation will he fill you.
I wish I was more successful at giving away the treasure that I have. I would love to be able to persuade people to open the hatch of their heart and allow the soft, beautiful, healing mercy of the love of God to fill them. I will though keep trying, keep praying and keep hoping. I am also going to take Gandhi’s words to heart, and “become the change I want to see:†If God desires a relationship with others and with me, I am going to make sure that I open my own heart and let him fill me. Of course as I allow this a strange thing happens, I have so much love for others as well.
“Oh Lord, help me to express your love, this day and each day in words and actions that will really bless all those around me. Amenâ€
PS I have pretty much expressed the way that I understand the “Gospel†the good news of God’s love. I have done so without even mentioning Jesus. Mind you I don’t think that I could even imagine the love of which I speak, if I had not first “seen it†in him. For his is the story of true self giving love, redemptive love which simply goes on redeeming.
Stephen Newell
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Meaning and Mystery
I am writing this article just days after the tragic coach crash in Switzerland which killed so many children.
The mist of the last few mornings along with the terrible events in Switzerland has led me to do some reflecting. There is something intrinsically human about asking the question why? Why did this happen, why did that person die? The logical answers, of human error or human sickness or accident, are often not enough; we are craving to find a meaning beyond the mystery. If you like to see the sun that we know is somewhere behind the mist.
I do not suggest that I have the answers to these questions, if I’m honest my own faith is often rocked and shaken by tragic circumstance. But I do cling to the foundation that all of life and love is not simply meaningless. I read this week of an old British seafarer; Saint Brendan. He wrote after one particularly difficult voyage: “Stormy seas make weathered sea-men, those who proved God in the deep.†Sometimes keeping going is all we can do, that perseverance in itself weathering us and showing to others that just maybe there is a path through their mist.
Our family received a rubix cube key ring for Christmas… an annoying little thing, and I have taken to toying with it. (Or is it toying with me!) Many hours have been spent trying to figure it out. So far I have failed, I’ve been defeated… but I carry on trying because I know that this cube is solvable, there is the possibility of joy breaking through the mist… I’ve been mighty close a few times, who knows perhaps I’ll have cracked it by Easter day!!
My Christian faith affirms that life is the same, despite the tapestry of disappointments and sadness we do not quite lose hope. Our symbol of hope is of course the cross of Christ, in our tradition an empty cross. The blackest day of all, the execution by human hands of the most fully human life that ever lived. Yet our cross is empty and the remembrance is known as “Good†Friday, for this horrific event is a meeting and meaning point. God’s love meets humanities ultimate selfishness, and thankfully beyond even death, good and God are triumphant; nothing not even death can now defy hope. Love life and meaning henceforth have the victory, even if we surrounded yet by mists cannot see it. I pray that you and those that you love will have a good Easter, and though events can “weather†us… may we like Jesus, “prove God in the deep.â€
Stephen
The mist of the last few mornings along with the terrible events in Switzerland has led me to do some reflecting. There is something intrinsically human about asking the question why? Why did this happen, why did that person die? The logical answers, of human error or human sickness or accident, are often not enough; we are craving to find a meaning beyond the mystery. If you like to see the sun that we know is somewhere behind the mist.
I do not suggest that I have the answers to these questions, if I’m honest my own faith is often rocked and shaken by tragic circumstance. But I do cling to the foundation that all of life and love is not simply meaningless. I read this week of an old British seafarer; Saint Brendan. He wrote after one particularly difficult voyage: “Stormy seas make weathered sea-men, those who proved God in the deep.†Sometimes keeping going is all we can do, that perseverance in itself weathering us and showing to others that just maybe there is a path through their mist.
Our family received a rubix cube key ring for Christmas… an annoying little thing, and I have taken to toying with it. (Or is it toying with me!) Many hours have been spent trying to figure it out. So far I have failed, I’ve been defeated… but I carry on trying because I know that this cube is solvable, there is the possibility of joy breaking through the mist… I’ve been mighty close a few times, who knows perhaps I’ll have cracked it by Easter day!!
My Christian faith affirms that life is the same, despite the tapestry of disappointments and sadness we do not quite lose hope. Our symbol of hope is of course the cross of Christ, in our tradition an empty cross. The blackest day of all, the execution by human hands of the most fully human life that ever lived. Yet our cross is empty and the remembrance is known as “Good†Friday, for this horrific event is a meeting and meaning point. God’s love meets humanities ultimate selfishness, and thankfully beyond even death, good and God are triumphant; nothing not even death can now defy hope. Love life and meaning henceforth have the victory, even if we surrounded yet by mists cannot see it. I pray that you and those that you love will have a good Easter, and though events can “weather†us… may we like Jesus, “prove God in the deep.â€
Stephen
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