Being used by God in uncommon, remarkable ways

Here's the sermon I shared this morning at St Andrew's Wickford:

Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to be perfect to do God's work. We need look no further than the twelve disciples whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Jesus chose ordinary people - fisherman, tax collectors, political zealots - and turned their weaknesses into strengths.

While Jesus had a large number of followers including women as well as men and those who remained at home to support those who were on the road with Jesus, this passage focuses our attention on the 12 who were amongst the first that were called to follow him, were amongst those closest to him and who became apostles following his Ascension.

Their names, as given here, are: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus (James the Less), and Thaddaeus (Judas, son of James); Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him. (Matthew 10:2-4, emphasis added)

What do we know about them? Peter and Andrew were fishermen in the town of Capernaum working alongside James and John. Peter and Andrew were early followers of John the Baptist. Andrew was the first to follow Jesus and his enthusiasm was evident as his desire to introduce his older brother to Jesus revealed what was already in his heart—a deep love for God. Once Peter was introduced to Jesus they left John and became followers of Jesus. Peter is portrayed as impetuous, always speaking his mind and acting on impulse. He is well known for denying Christ three times after Christ was arrested but became one of the key leaders of the early church after Jesus’ ascension.

James and John were both known for being men of intense passion and fervour. Because of this Jesus nicknamed them the Sons of Thunder. They asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to destroy a village which failed to show them hospitality and also asked if they could sit on either side of Jesus’ throne in heaven. Philip was the one who suggested that Nathanael come and see Jesus and who brought a group of Greek people from Bethsaida to Jesus. Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, expressed some local prejudice about Nazareth but was recognised by Jesus for the sincerity of his love for God from the beginning of their relationship. Jesus said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Matthew was a tax collector; tax collectors being the most despised people in all of Israel. They were known for taking extra money from the people of Israel to pay off the Romans and to pad their own pockets. Thomas is best known for his moment of skepticism after the Resurrection which earned him the nickname “Doubting Thomas,” a term for anyone who needs proof before they believe something.

James the Less is the son of Alphaeus. His mother’s name is Mary and he has a brother named Joseph. Except for a few details about his family, there is nothing more mentioned about him in Scripture. Maybe that is why he is referred to as James the Less in Mark 15:40. Simon the Zealot was probably a political activist in his younger years. Some have suggested that the fiery enthusiasm he once had for Israel as a Zealot was now expressed in his devotion to Christ. Judas, son of James, is the eleventh name on the list of disciples. Also known as Jude, Thaddeus, and Lebbaeus, he lived in obscurity as one of the Twelve. He is recorded as asking Jesus the question (in John 14:22), “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?” Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver but, by doing so, enabled the events of Christ’s Passion to occur as Jesus knew they would.

So, amongst those that Jesus chose are one who denied him, another who betrayed him; while all of them abandoned him at the last. Some were ambitious and some revengeful. Some had complicated and morally dubious backgrounds. They were primarily ordinary working people; none of whom held influence or power. Some were so obscure, even among the disciples, that we know virtually nothing about them.

They are, therefore, great encouragements to us ‘because they exemplify how common people with typical failings can be used by God in uncommon, remarkable ways.’ John McArthur writes, ‘What we know to be true about Jesus is that He chose [those who were] ordinary and unrefined … They were the commonest of the common. They were from rural areas, farmers, and fisherman. Christ purposely passed over the elite, aristocratic, and influential … and chose mostly … from the dregs of society. That’s how it has always been in God’s economy. He exalts the humble and lays low those who are proud.’

All of them were chosen, trained and used by Jesus. Even those who were in the background as disciples were valuable team members. This was so despite their personal failings and failures. None of those things were barriers to being called by Jesus, trained and used by him. That remains true for each of us.

This week some of us have taken part in formation sessions for the new ‘Being With’ course that is being developed here. The wonderings we used took me back to my teenage experiences and the shyness that impacted my personal development. An experience summed well in The Smiths song ‘Ask’, which begins ‘Shyness is nice / and shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life that you’d like to.’

Realising that God loved me unconditionally and as I was, with my shyness and reserve, was key to finding my way through life and using the mix of gifts, skills and interests I developed. Like Jesus’ disciples I wasn’t an obvious candidate to be called to ministry. But none of us are; that’s the beauty of the way God values each person as a unique creation, calling us to be with him so that, over time, our gifts, skills and interests are all utilised in his company.

(This reflection draws on material from https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/who-were-the-12-disciples-and-what-should-we-know-about-them.html and https://overviewbible.com/12-apostles/)

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Adrian Snell - Peace Be With You.

Travel light

Here's the reflection I shared at St Mary's Runwell (with an initial visual illustration involving lots of luggage as we had an All-age Service):

Did you notice the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples when he sent them out (Matthew 9: 35 - 10:8-23)? Jesus called the 12 to an itinerant ministry and they were to travel light as a result. Their focus was on going ahead of Jesus to prepare people for his coming and his message. So, they took nothing unnecessary with them, they weren’t distracted by small talk along the way, they welcomed hospitality when they received it but they simply moved on to the next place and the next person whenever they were not made welcome. No distractions, just a clear focus on their task and their message.

We also need to travel light in our individual lives and our corporate Church life in order that we are focused on our core task of sharing the good news about Jesus in actions and words. But there is a second reason for travelling light which is to do with the footprint that we leave on the world. By sitting light to possessions and by accepting hospitality as it was offered to them, they imposed as little as possible on the people, villages and areas through which they travelled. In our society, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we have done anything but. Our footprint has been heavy on our world as we have exploited its resources for our own gain and we are only now beginning to realise the consequences.

John V. Taylor's book, ‘Enough is Enough’, kickstarted the simple lifestyle movement. ‘Live more simply that others might simply live’ was their slogan and it is one that can be seen as coming out of the instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples before he sent them out on their mission. In ‘The Message’ Eugene Peterson translates part of this passage as: “You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.” Keep it simple. Travel light. These are the key messages of Jesus’ instructions. Why? To keep us focused on our message and mission and to tread lightly on the earth as we do so.

Travelling light
without
a purse
without
a bag
without
shoes
without
equipment
you are
the equipment
you are
all you need

Travelling light
no
special appeals
no
luxury hotels
no
looking
for the best
cooks
keep it
simple
keep it
modest
be
content

Travelling light
don’t stop
to make
small talk
with those
on the road
move on
reach
your destination
the harvest
is great
but the
workers
few

Travelling light
do stop
to bless
the homes
in which
you rest
for all
you receive
give thanks
and peace
don’t create
when made
unwelcome
shrug
your shoulders,
wipe
your feet
move on

Travelling light
don’t
fill your barns
simply
to eat,
drink
and
be merry
don’t
store up
riches
simply
to rust
and decay
don’t
store up
riches
simply
for others
to steal
your heart
will be
where
your riches
are

Travelling light
do
store up
acts
of love,
hope
and faith
do
store up
the things
that remain
do
store up
treasures
in heaven
your heart
will be
where
your riches
are

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Leonard Cohen - Travelling Light.

Counting the cost

Here's my reflection from today's Eucharist at St Andrew's Wickford:

From its earliest days, the Church has recognised as its foundation stones those heroes of the faith whose lives have excited others to holiness and have assumed a communion with the Church on earth and the Church in heaven. That is where the celebration of All Saints Day begins. We celebrated All Saints on Sunday, although the appointed day for All Saints was yesterday.

'The believer's pilgrimage of faith is lived out with the mutual support of all the people of God. In Christ all the faithful, both living and departed, are bound together in a communion of prayer.' This simple, agreed statement from the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission explains the purpose of the celebration on All Souls Day. Again, we held our annual All Souls Commemoration of the Departed on Sunday, although All Souls Day is today. Since its foundation, Christians have recognised that the Church, the ecclesia, the assembled people of God, is at its most perfect when it recognises its unity in God's redeeming love with all who have said, who say now, and who will say in the fullness of time, 'Jesus is Lord'.

In today’s Gospel reading (Luke 14. 27-33), Jesus says that we need to make our decision about saying ‘Jesus is Lord’ carefully, in a considered way. We have a choice. Do we want to become people and a society who are selfish regarding ‘greed as good’ or do we want to be people and a society that live in love? Our lives are not pre-determined and the decisions we make alter our lives for good or ill. Before we decide to say 'Jesus is Lord,' Jesus says we should first count the cost of making that claim.

Jesus tells two stories to illustrate this point. In the first, a man wants to build a tower but because he doesn’t make any plans he only gets as far as laying the foundations and then runs out of money. As a result, he becomes an object of ridicule. In the second, a King realises that he doesn’t have enough soldiers to win a battle against another King with a bigger army and so he asks for terms of peace. In the first story, the builder doesn’t plan ahead and can’t finish the job but in the second story the King does plan ahead and wins peace for his people.

As we reflect on these stories and the importance of planning ahead and counting the cost, we might also reflect on the mini-budget that Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss recently introduced and the negative effects it has had on our economy because they hadn’t planned ahead, thought it through or counted the cost. Jesus says that if we are to be a people and a society that seek to follow him and live in love then we have to do that; plan ahead, think it through and count the cost in order to see it through and stay the course.

It is not easy living in love with others because others are not easy to live with. Jesus says it is like carrying a cross and walking towards your own death because what you do is what he did; you sacrifice yourself for the sake of others. It is much easier the Bible says to live for yourself and try to make as much and keep as much for yourself as possible. Many people live their lives that way today but, if you are on the receiving end of someone else’s greed, if, for example, you lose your job because someone else has made money from the collapse of your employer, you quickly realise what a miserable way to live life selfishness actually is.

It is not easy living in love with others Jesus says. You need to sit down and count the cost first before beginning but, ultimately, it is the only way not to destroy ourselves, our society and our planet. Fortunately, there are many that have followed Jesus in carrying their cross and walking the narrow path.

Which will we choose? The current turmoil in the financial markets, the example of the mini-budget, this service, these readings, the example of the saints; these are all opportunities for us to count the cost of our life choices and to decide whether we believe that greed is good seeking to live our lives selfishly or whether we will hear the call of Jesus and take up our cross to live a life of love for others.

When we do the latter, we become saints and join ourselves with all souls - past, present and future - who have said, who say now, and who will say in the fullness of time, 'Jesus is Lord'.

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Mark Heard - Satellite Sky.

Vocation: interests, insecurities and arenas

Here's the sermon I preached today at St Catherine's Wickford:

In the film ‘Chariots of Fire’, Eric Liddell says “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.” Liddell was one of the most famous athletes of modern times and the Olympic glory of Scotland. He was also a Christian who refused to compete on Sunday and refused to compromise. And yet, more than anything else, Eric Liddell believed that “God made me for China.” After the Olympics in 1924 Liddell went to China to serve as a missionary teacher. He remained in China until his death in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945. In the Weihsien Internment Camp he was forced into a foretaste of hell itself but there he became legendary and his witness for Christ astounded even many of his fellow Christians.

We currently have another 100 metres runner who feels free when he runs, just as he does when he sings for God in church. Jeremiah Azu, bronze medallist in the 100 metres at the European Championships, puts his sporting success down to his faith in God. “My faith is massive for me. For me, it means athletics isn’t the be all and end all. It helps me take the pressure off myself by knowing I’ve got God on my side. I know there’s nothing to worry about.” The prophet Jeremiah is someone he says he would have liked to have met as he has his name, but also thinks there’s a lot of stuff in that book that relates to him. He says he prays most that God’s will is done in his life.

So, here are two people who believe, like Jeremiah, that they were born to do what they do for God, in their case to run. How do they know that? As the appropriately named Jeremiah Aze says, there is much in the Book of Jeremiah with which we can identify, not least the story of his calling. Let's look at that story now to see three ways in which we can identify our own individual callings and be confident that, like Jeremiah, we, too, are born to do the things we do for God (Jeremiah 1:4-10).

First, our calling is to be found in the unique people we are. Jeremiah was told by God, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Now, we might think that God has never said anything similar to us. If that is so, then I suggest reading Psalm 139 which begins: “O Lord, you have searched me and known me. / You know when I sit down and when I rise up; / you discern my thoughts from far away. / You search out my path and my lying down / and are acquainted with all my ways. / Even before a word is on my tongue, / O Lord, you know it completely.” The Psalmist continues: “it was you who formed my inward parts; / you knit me together in my mother’s womb. / I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. / Wonderful are your works; / that I know very well. / My frame was not hidden from you, / when I was being made in secret, / intricately woven in the depths of the earth. / Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. / In your book were written / all the days that were formed for me, / when none of them as yet existed.”

God knows each one of us intimately and prepares us for our calling before we are born, so we need to trust that our interests, skills and talents are gifts from God to be used for his glory. Then, as St Paul wrote to the Colossians, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3.17). Whatever our task, he wrote, we are to put ourselves into it, as done for the Lord (Colossians 3.23). The poet George Herbert wrote that this way of thinking is the “famous stone / That turneth all to gold.” So, this is where we begin with our calling, looking carefully at our natural interests, abilities and talents and putting them to use where we are doing what we do in the name of the Lord Jesus and for his glory.

Second, we consider our insecurities and look to increase our trust in God to resource as we need it. Like many of us and, like Moses before him, Jeremiah lacked confidence in his ability to speak publicly. He said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” God responds, “I have put my words in your mouth.” So, God promises to give him the words to speak. We see the same happening with Moses when he is called. Moses has at least four objections based on his insecurities, including being “slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Again, God promises, “I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall do” (Exodus 3 & 4). Jesus makes the same promise to his disciples, including us, when he says to them: “When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you will answer or what you are to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12.11-12) So, God promises to give us resources that we don’t think we have in the moment as we step out in faith by using the gifts and talents we have in God’s service and to God’s glory.

I’ve certainly found this to be true in relation to my ministry. As I went through training, I wondered how I would continually find new things to say in sermons about the same passages. I thought I would at some stage need to get up in the pulpit and say, well, I’ve got nothing new to say about this particular passage. That hasn’t happened yet. In practice, have found that God always provides new thoughts and insights as they are needed.

Finally, God gives Jeremiah a task to perform using the gifts and talents with which he was born and the insights and resources that God provides along the way. That task is to “pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” It sounds dramatic but it’s primarily about discerning what needs to stop and what needs to start; a task which is ever new and always relevant. Jeremiah took on that role for a whole people which made him a prophet but we can all contribute in someway to reflection on what has reached the end of its useful life and what needs to begin as a replacement.

So, ask yourself what you are able to see in regard to those two things? Are you someone with the courage to say that something has come to its natural end? Are you someone with the vision to start something new? Then, ask yourself whether there is an arena in which you can see or sense these things more readily. If that’s in relation to your own life and family, then your ministry will be primarily around home-making. If in relation to the church, then church leadership, whether lay or ordained. If in relation to your work, then you should probably be looking for some kind of managerial role. If in relation to the wider community, then you’re likely to be an effective community activist, and, if in relation to the wider society, then politics is going to be your sphere.

So, Jeremiah’s call provides us with some areas for reflection and questions that we can all explore including: identification of our natural interests, gifts and talents; insecurities that can hold us back from realising our God-given potential; and those arenas in which can discern most clearly what needs to be started and what needs to stop. I invite you to think about those three areas for reflection in the course of this week and then fill in our church questionnaire which in many respects is asking for your views on these things, including ways in which you can contribute to the ongoing mission and ministry of our Team Ministry.

Once you find your answers to these three aspects of calling, you will be able to say, with Jeremiah, Eric Liddell and Jeremiah Azu, I was born to do this and, when I do it well, I feel God’s pleasure.

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Delerious? - Find Me In The River.

Sophie Hacker's The Calling window dedicated

Great to see that Sophie Hacker's 'The Calling' stained glass window at Romsey Abbey commemorating Florence Nightingale has finally been dedicated after significant delays due to lockdown.

Sophie told me the story of the window in interviews for ArtWay and Church Times. We also filmed a short interview for HeartEdge at the same time. In the HeartEdge interview Sophie explores her understandings of imaging the invisible.

Sophie Hacker specialises in Church Art, including stained glass windows, vestments and re-ordering liturgical space. Since 2006 she has been Arts and Exhibitions Consultant for Winchester Cathedral, with particular responsibility for curating. Recent commissions include collaborations with musicians and poets, and numerous ecclesiastical projects.

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Wovenhand - 8 of 9.

(Still) Calling from the Edge

 

(Still) Calling from the Edge is the 10th annual conference on Disability & Church. It's a partnership between St Martin in the Fields and Inclusive Church, hosted online by HeartEdge.

Since 2012 these conferences have held space for disabled people to gather, to resource each other and the church. They are uniquely for rather than about disabled people, who are a majority of planners, speakers and delegates.

In this year's conference we explore call as challenge, lament and vocation. Through art, music, story and theology, in plenary talks, small groups, workshops and liturgy. It's a cry for justice that marks a milestone: 10 years of calling from the edge.

''Disabled people have a distinct prophetic ministry to the church. In order for the church to fulfil its prophetic ministry to society, it needs disabled people.” John Hull (Opening the Roof, 2012)



Details & Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/still-calling-from-the-edge-tickets-164001249151

Twitter @livingedgeconf #StillEdge

Image description: a drop of water falling into still blue water, creating a ripple outward



Two pre-conference workshops are also being held:

• Out of the Depths will explore the theme of calling from the edge in song and sound. Using Psalm 130, a psalm of lament, as the basis for musical creation in various shapes – chant, hymn or poem ready for musical setting. Participants will be helped with hymn metre and the repetition of chanting traditions.
• Called to the Feast will help create an exhibition of images and words for an inclusive Last Supper. These can be in any media (drawing, paintings, photographs, poetry, prose etc etc) and can focus on any aspect of the Last Supper i.e. the feast, the table, the guests, Jesus etc. The images and words shared will then be shown in an online exhibition during the conference.

Music - Out of the Depths- Friday 3 September 4.30pm - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/out-of-the-depths-tickets-165160309933

Art - Called to the Feast - Friday 10 September 4.30pm - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/called-to-the-feast-art-workshop-tickets-164816778421

(Still) Calling from the Edge - Saturday 16 October 10.00am - 10th annual conference on disability and church - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/still-calling-from-the-edge-tickets-164001249151

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The Style Council - Walls Come Tumbling Down!

The mission of Being With

Here's the reflection I shared in tonight's Bread for the World service at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

The Mission Summer School is a new initiative from HeartEdge and St Augustine's College of Theology exploring mission using the 4 Cs of commerce, culture, compassion and congregation and enabling a deeper engagement with the theology of mission by exploring how it relates to participant’s own practice.

Each morning of the Summer School we are using this passage (Luke 10.1-12) for our sessions of Dwelling in the Word. With Dwelling in the Word we stay with the same passage throughout our time together on the basis that we can always go deeper into the passage and that our shared reflection, inspired by God's Spirit, will always bring new insights.

The passage we have chosen is one which in the church traditions among which I grew up was used as a rallying cry for mission, a call to go forth and tell the good news because the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. The challenge was always for you or I to swell the ranks of those scarce labourers by sharing the gospel with others, whether here or overseas.

I now think that the emphasis such appeals placing on telling the good news to others is an example of the way in which we often overlay our preconceptions on Bible passages and see what we expect to see instead of paying attention to what is actually there. There isn't actually a lot of telling in Jesus' instructions to his disciples, instead there is a whole heap of being with.

So, let's journey with the disciples for a moment through the directions that Jesus gives for their mission. First we should note that he asks them to travel lightly taking nothing unnecessary with them, not being distracted by small talk along the way, welcoming hospitality when they receive it but simply moving on to the next place and the next person whenever they were not made welcome. So, no distractions, just a clear focus on their task.

By sitting light to possessions and by accepting hospitality as it was offered to them they also imposed as little as possible on the people, villages and areas through which they travelled. In our society, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, we have done anything but. Our footprint has been heavy on our world as we have exploited its resources for our own gain and we are only now beginning to realise the consequences. So, for ourselves, we will do well to reflect deeply on powerful slogans, such as ‘live simply that others might simply live’ and ‘touch the earth lightly,’ which challenge us about the footprint we leave on the earth and its inhabitants.

Travelling light didn’t mean travelling alone. Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs. 'By travelling together we bear one another’s burdens, share joys, and lighten the load of our journey.' Jesus’ expectation was also clearly that his disciples would find open doors and receive hospitality in many of the places to which they travelled. So, Jesus envisaged an evolving mission where they would knock on doors and enter wherever those doors were opened to them.

A key aspect of this approach was to find people of peace in the places to which they travelled. He asked this of his disciples in a context of hostility and challenge where they would be going out like lambs among wolves and yet, among the wolves, he was confident that they would find people of peace. Jesus also calls us to look outside our group or congregation to find people of peace within wider society. He calls us to do this however fractured or secular our communities may be because he is confident that such people can always be found. Ultimately, that is because God is always at work through the Spirit in the world and our task is to see where that is happening in our communities and networks and get involved.

In my previous parish in East London we found allies in those who were lobbying for improved facilities in the local area and those who were interested in setting up green businesses. Through those relationships we brought a library back to the area and step-free access to a local station but also drew new groups into hiring and use of the church centre and set up a social enterprise support service in that same centre. Finding people of peace in our area and joining with them brought much benefit to our church and the wider community.

What Jesus asked next of his disciples was that they spend time being with the people of peace they found, including sharing meals with them. Here at St Martin's, we have much experience of being with others in this way through our Sunday International Group which offers hospitality to those who have no recourse to public funds. In the International Group people are either hosts or guests but the distinction becomes increasingly blurred with guests becoming hosts as both groups come to know each other and as hosts receive insights from and understanding of those who have come as guests. At St Martin's many of those who first came as guests to the Sunday International Group have become treasured members of our community, congregation, Nazareth Community, PCC, volunteers and staff team. We have been renewed, revived, challenged and changed by their presence with us. It has truly been a case of renewal from the edge. The basis for this has been sharing a meal together.

When he introduces the concept of being with, Sam, our Vicar, often uses the example of a soup kitchen where all the time and effort goes into preparing the meal to the extent that those doing so never sit and eat with those for whom the meal is prepared. That ignores the deep need that each of us have for connection and the extent to which shared meals, being signs of heaven, enable us to live God's future now.

When we experience a depth of relationship over a shared meal not only are relationships deepened but misunderstandings and hurts can be healed, and a greater sense of integration and wellbeing can come into existence. That is why Jesus can then, in this passage, speak of healing occurring at this stage in his missional process. In thinking about healing it is vital to remember that, in the society of which Jesus was part, healing was the route to inclusion for many who had been excluded from the social and spiritual life of his society. It is that focus on inclusion and integration as the source of wellbeing that we need to mirror and emulate today, rather than notions of supernatural healing or cure.

When all this has happened - the recognition of people of peace, the being with people of peace, the sharing of meals, the welcome and integration of all - then we have something to say. What can then be said is that the kingdom of God has come near. That in our relationships, sharing and mutuality we have experienced together a taste of heaven. That is not something that we have brought or that is about something only we can offer to others. Instead, it is about real communion, a real sharing, a mutual sharing of selves that is welcoming and inclusive one of the other. In heaven there is only relationship with God, with ourselves, with one another and with the whole creation. It is only as we enter into real and deepening relationships with those who are other than ourselves that we anticipate heaven in the present and live God's future now.

All the talk in my past experience, of church of going forth to tell good news to others who were in need of the news that only I could bring to then if they were to be saved and go to heaven only served to obscure the relational mission to which Jesus called his disciples when sending out the 70 and to which he calls each one of us.

It's not a guilt inducing call that makes the salvation of others reliant on our response. It's a relationship affirming call to live in community, to form partnerships, to deepen relationships, to experience communion, and to live God's future now. As Rachel Held Evans once said, “This is what God's kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And there's always room for more.” 

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The Brilliance - See The Love.

Crossing boundaries to bring the possibility of change

Here's the reflection that I shared during today's lunchtime Eucharist for St Martin-in-the-Fields: 

Imagine for a moment what it would have been like to be Matthew, the tax collector (Matthew 9. 9-13). You would sit day-by-day in a hot little booth waiting for travellers to pay the toll as they passed from one province to the next, just like people used to do at the Dartford Crossing.

Just like today people didn’t enjoy paying tolls in order to continue on their journey, and it wouldn’t have been much fun for you either. On top of that, those who come to the toll booth and those in the villager or town where you live were constantly angry with you. Angry, because you were collaborating with the hated authorities and angry, because you were making extra money for yourself by collecting too much. As a result, tax collectors like you are lumped together with ‘sinners’ and ‘outcasts’ in the places where you live and work. And this went on day by day, year by year for most of your life.

Then think what it would be like to have a young prophet with a spring in his step and God’s kingdom in his heart coming past one day and simply asking you to follow him. How would that feel? Well, we are told in the story itself because when it says that Matthew responded by getting up and following Jesus, a resurrection word is used that means he arose, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. The act of getting up was for Matthew an entry into a completely new way of life. It was a coming alive all over again, a resurrection.

This is a story of resurrection. For Matthew, his work was a dead end. Jesus touched the life of Matthew in a way that transformed his existence and brought him back to life. And this story raises the same question for us this morning. Are there places in our lives where we are at a dead end?

Jesus brought the life of God into all that was dead about Matthew’s life. He was the catalyst for change. His arrival on the scene brought the opportunity for hope and faith and so we see Matthew getting up, leaving his work but not his friends, and following Jesus.

Jesus’ arrival and presence was the catalyst and opportunity for change and for the faith that life can be different, can be better than it is now. How will you respond to Jesus today? We are in the presence of Christ as we come together to worship, how will we respond? Will we ask for his help, reach out to touch his life, and get up to follow him this morning? He is here and his presence can be the catalyst for our change in our lives and communities. What change is it that we need to see?

Jesus becomes a catalyst for change because he crosses boundaries. Matthew was an outcast to his community because he was a hated collaborator with the Romans. People asked, ‘Why is Jesus eating with outcasts, with tax collectors and sinners?’, and the answer was that by crossing those boundaries he brought the opportunity for change. His work was not to protect himself from ‘outcasts’ but to bring the possibility of change into the lives of such people by crossing the barriers that kept other people out.

It was into this way of life – the crossing of boundaries in order to bring the possibility of change – that Matthew was called. Jesus called him to be a disciple. In other words, someone who sat at the teacher’s feet to hear his words and who followed the teacher everywhere to see his actions in order to learn what to say and do himself. As followers of Christ, we have the same calling; to see what Jesus does and get involved ourselves. As such we need to ask ourselves, ‘Who are the people considered as ‘outcasts’ in our workplaces, communities and nation?’ We need to know because, if we are to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, those are the very people with whom we should be meeting, eating, and seeking transformation. We need to ask ourselves, ‘What are the boundaries and barriers separating people from others?’ We need to know because those are the boundaries and barriers which we need to cross in order to bring the possibility of change?

And so, the story of Matthew’s call brings us both the possibility and the challenge of change. What are the dead-ends of our lives where we need to be brought back to life? What are the boundaries that we can cross to bring the possibility of change to those who our outcasts in our day and time?

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, you were despised and rejected by human beings, so we bring before you the needs of those who are despised and overlooked in our world, including ourselves. You value all and call us to put aside our sinful tendency to scapegoat and ignore others in order that we see what is unique and especially valuable both in those who are other than us and also in ourselves. Amen.

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Moby - God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters.

Jesus chose ordinary people

Here's the reflection I shared during today's lunchtime Eucharist for St Martin-in-the-Fields:

Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to be perfect to do God's work. We need look no further than the twelve disciples whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Jesus chose ordinary people - fisherman, tax collectors, political zealots - and turned their weaknesses into strengths.

While Jesus had a large number of followers including women as well as men and those who remained at home to support those who were on the road with Jesus, this passage focuses our attention on the 12 who were amongst the first that were called to follow him, were amongst those closest to him and who became apostles following his Ascension.

Their names, as given here, are: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew (Nathanael); Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus (James the Less), and Thaddaeus (Judas, son of James); Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him. (Matthew 10:2-4, emphasis added)

What do we know about them? Peter and Andrew were fishermen in the town of Capernaum working alongside James and John. Peter and Andrew were early followers of John the Baptist. Andrew was the first to follow Jesus and his enthusiasm was evident as his desire to introduce his older brother to Jesus revealed what was already in his heart—a deep love for God. Once Peter was introduced to Jesus they left John and became followers of Jesus. Peter is portrayed as impetuous, always speaking his mind and acting on impulse. He is well known for denying Christ three times after Christ was arrested but became one of the key leaders of the early church after Jesus’ ascension.

James and John were both known for being men of intense passion and fervour. Because of this Jesus nicknamed them the Sons of Thunder. They asked Jesus if they should call down fire from heaven to destroy a village which failed to show them hospitality and also asked if they could sit on either side of Jesus’ throne in heaven. Philip was the one who suggested that Nathanael come and see Jesus and who brought a group of Greek people from Bethsaida to Jesus. Nathanael, also known as Bartholomew, expressed some local prejudice about Nazareth but was recognised by Jesus for the sincerity of his love for God from the beginning of their relationship. Jesus said, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Matthew was a tax collector; tax collectors being the most despised people in all of Israel. They were known for taking extra money from the people of Israel to pay off the Romans and to pad their own pockets. Thomas is best known for his moment of skepticism after the Resurrection which earned him the nickname “Doubting Thomas,” a term for anyone who needs proof before they believe something.

James the Less is the son of Alphaeus. His mother’s name is Mary and he has a brother named Joseph. Except for a few details about his family, there is nothing more mentioned about him in Scripture. Maybe that is why he is referred to as James the Less in Mark 15:40. Simon the Zealot was probably a political activist in his younger years. Some have suggested that the fiery enthusiasm he once had for Israel as a Zealot was now expressed in his devotion to Christ. Judas, son of James, is the eleventh name on the list of disciples. Also known as Jude, Thaddeus, and Lebbaeus, he lived in obscurity as one of the Twelve. He is recorded as asking Jesus the question (in John 14:22), “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?” Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver but, by doing so, enabled the events of Christ’s Passion to occur as Jesus knew they would.

So, amongst those that Jesus chose are one who denied him, another who betrayed him; while all of them abandoned him at the last. Some were ambitious and some revengeful. Some had complicated and morally dubious backgrounds. They were primarily ordinary working people; none of whom held influence or power. Some were so obscure, even among the disciples, that we know virtually nothing about them.

They are, therefore, great encouragements to us ‘because they exemplify how common people with typical failings can be used by God in uncommon, remarkable ways.’ John McArthur writes, ‘What we know to be true about Jesus is that He chose [those who were] ordinary and unrefined … They were the commonest of the common. They were from rural areas, farmers, and fisherman. Christ purposely passed over the elite, aristocratic, and influential … and chose mostly … from the dregs of society. That’s how it has always been in God’s economy. He exalts the humble and lays low those who are proud.’

All of them were chosen, trained and used by Jesus. Even those who were in the background as disciples were valuable team members. This was so despite their personal failings and failures. None of those things were barriers to being called by Jesus, trained and used by him. That remains true for each of us.

This week some of us have taken part in formation sessions for the new ‘Being With’ course that is being developed here. The wonderings we used took me back to my teenage experiences and the shyness that impacted my personal development. An experience summed well in The Smiths song ‘Ask’, which begins ‘Shyness is nice / and shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life that you’d like to.’

Realising that God loved me unconditionally and as I was, with my shyness and reserve, was key to finding my way through life and using the mix of gifts, skills and interests I developed. Like Jesus’ disciples I wasn’t an obvious candidate to be called to ministry. But none of us are; that’s the beauty of the way God values each person as a unique creation, calling us to be with him so that, over time, our gifts, skills and interests are all utilised in his company.

(This reflection draws on material from https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/who-were-the-12-disciples-and-what-should-we-know-about-them.html and https://overviewbible.com/12-apostles/)

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The Smiths - Ask.

Preparing for the new thing God was doing

Here's my reflection for yesterday's lunchtime Eucharist for St Martin-in-the-Fields, on the Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1. 57-66, 80):

Our eldest daughter is expecting and she and her husband can’t agree on a name for their son. It’s not an unusual situation for the parents of a new born child. For Zechariah and Elizabeth it should have been relatively straightforward, as the culture of the time was for the child to be named after the grandfather.

Names were kept in the family and handed down from grandfather to grandson. This was part of a culture where the firstborn son inherited all that the family owned, whilst also being responsible for maintaining the family unit. That included the role or work undertaken by the father and grandfather before him, in this case as one of the priests at the Temple.

The naming of John was problematic because it signified something different was happening; a break with tradition. The name John was not in the family line and he would not become a priest like his father and grandfather before him; instead becoming a prophet preparing the way for the new thing that God was doing in the world in sending his Son to be one of us and save us from ourselves.

The new thing that God was doing in the world entailed a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit so, in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel we read of Gabriel promising that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit from before his birth and of his growing up strong in the Spirit. The Spirit comes upon Mary at the Annunciation, Elizabeth is filled with the Spirit at Mary’s arrival (and blesses her as a result), and Zechariah is filled with the Holy Spirit at John’s circumcision, prophesying about John and Jesus.

This fresh move of the Holy Spirit comes after a period of over 400 years during which there was no revelation from God by the Spirit. That had fulfilled the prophecy of Micah: “Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them” (3:6). The new thing that God was about to do was not possible without the preparatory work of the Holy Spirit or without there being a working together of the principal characters with the Holy Spirit.

Preparation is also seen in the upbringing of John through his separation for God’s service which involved the rejection of wine and other strong drink and time spent in the wilderness, where he wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. His calling as the one preparing the way for Jesus involved a particular kind of preparation, which may or may not have been individual to John, but which was the right preparation for the calling on his life.

What can we take from these reflections on the early life of John the Baptist and how might they bite for us? First, we can reflect on the call on our lives. That is not so dissimilar to that of John. He was preparing others to encounter Jesus. We are essentially called to do the same. When I was a young Christian I read writers like Francis Schaeffer who talked about the importance of pre-Evangelism. This involves discussion of our worldviews and the extent we live according to our beliefs, whatever those beliefs may be. Exploring inconsistencies in our lifestyles or inadequacies in our beliefs opens people to the possibility of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. None of us are evangelists. It is only God the Spirit who can bring people back into relationship with God through Jesus. Yet, like John, we can prepare people to encounter Jesus for themselves.

Second, the Holy Spirit was moving in a new way through the birth of John and Jesus, and Elizabeth, Zechariah and Mary were among those who discerned it and responded. Like them, we can seek to discern what the Holy Spirit is doing and how the Spirit is moving within our own day and time. When Jesus opened the scriptures and read ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me’ that anointing was for the bringing of good news to the poor, release for captives, recovery of sight for those who were blind, freeing of the oppressed and proclamation of the Jubilee when land and property was returned to those in debt. Where we see these things happening today, we can discern the work of the Holy Spirit.

Third, John needed a specific form of preparation for his ministry which involved him making commitments, not generally made by others. That is the approach we use here within the Nazareth Community as its members commit themselves for a year at a time to silence, sacraments, study, sharing, service, Sabbath and staying with. This kind of commitment, whether the Nazareth rule of life or something different can be a helpful practice and discipline enabling us to live out and deepen the calling on our lives.

As we reflect on our calling, the needs of our world and our practices as Christians, it may well be that John the Baptist is the role model in the Gospels to whom we most need to turn.

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Godspell - Prepare Ye The Way Of The Lord.

The Calling Window, by Sophie Hacker for Romsey Abbey

My latest article for Church Times is about The Calling Window, by Sophie Hacker for Romsey Abbey:

'Beginning her research into Nightingale’s life, she visited the Florence Nightingale Museum — designed, through a series of pods, to explore the key moments in Nightingale’s life — where she discovered that the first of these events involved a call from God...

The calling story was experienced as a gift from God because Hacker is very interested in the concept of calling. She has made paintings of the Annunciation, and “that sense of being summoned, being called away from what you know to something beyond your understanding, really does compel me.” She reflects, too, that “In this lockdown period, that sense of being called away from the familiar is quite a deep yearning.”

Other of my pieces for Church Times can be found here.

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Al Green - Chariots Of Fire.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Lent Programme 2017 – Abraham: A Journey Through Lent

This year at St Martin-in-the-Fields, using Dr Meg Warner as our guide, we will be journeying with Abraham, through his challenges, doubts, false turns and unbelievable promises. Our Lent Study will begin on Wednesday 8 March with an informal Eucharist in which Meg Warner will be joining us to introduce her book, Abraham: A Journey through Lent, followed by simple Lenten supper and study groups.
The cost of the course is £15 which includes a copy of the book and the study materials (or £8 if you already have the book). Join us for the 6 week programme: March 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 12.

Week one – An Introduction with Meg Warner
8 March: The Call: Genesis 12.1-18 (Chapter 1)

Week two
15 March: The Promise: Genesis 15 (Chapter 2)

Week three
22 March: The Visitors: Genesis 18.1-15 (Chapter 3)

Week four
29 March: The ‘Other': Genesis 21.1-21 (Chapter 4)

Week five
5 April: The Choice: Genesis 22.1-19 (Chapter 5)

Week six
12 April: The Legacy: Genesis 26 (Chapter 6)

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John Coltrane - Spiritual.

A covenant of fruitfulness

Today I was welcomed as the new Associate Vicar for Partnership Development at St Martin-in-the-Fields. As part of explaining the commission I have been given for this role by the Bishop of London I stated that: I understand partnership as a response to God’s endowing Spirit in which each party brings forth its unique gifts to make a relationship more than the sum of its parts. I understand development to mean working with all parties to advance partnerships at the pace and in the depth suitable to the relationship. I understand being an associate vicar to mean, as a priest, speaking to God for the people and for the people to God, and as a pastor helping the people of this place to grow in faith, holiness, ministry and mission.

In his sermon, the Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, said the following in setting out the significance of this new role for St Martins and St Stephen Walbrook:

"... like Abraham and Sarah we’ve been on a long journey. And we’ve made many precious and wondrous discoveries. And we’ve been called by God. And what we’ve been called to is a covenant of fruitfulness, which calls us both to be faithful to God and to bring forth fruit that heals the earth. We can’t do the second without the first. But we can’t be content with the first if we’re being offered the opportunity and we’re hearing the call to do the second.

And this brings us to the licensing of our new associate vicar for partnership development, and to the formal beginning of our partnership with St Stephen, Walbrook. If we were content to enhance our heritage, to strengthen our programmes, and to deepen our common life, we wouldn’t be hiring Jonathan and we wouldn’t be partnering with St Stephen’s. The reason we want today to mark the beginning of something special is because we’re exploring ways to convey our message and identifying how we can enhance our impact. St Stephen’s is an admirable church with faithful people and a glorious building; but by partnering with us, St Stephen’s is saying, ‘We want to walk a journey like the one you’ve been on, we want to find abundance in scarcity, we want to expand our programmes and deepen our common life so we too can be a blessing to communities beyond ourselves.’ And it’s the nature of partnership that at the same time St Martin’s will also grow and change and learn through what the people of St Stephen’s teach us about ministry and mission and faith.

Jonathan is here to walk with the people of St Stephen’s as they make this journey together. And Jonathan is among us to develop a range of partnerships with communities and communions near and far, of which St Stephen’s is, we hope, the first. With St Stephen’s we are making a covenant of fruitfulness inspired by the covenant God makes with Abraham. Our hope is not just that through this partnership St Stephen’s will develop its commercial, cultural, charitable and congregational life so as to become self-sustaining, but that before long it is partnering with other institutions to lead them on a similar path.

Over time we trust we will develop many such partnerships. In some we’ll offer services such as estate and HR oversight to institutions so they can concentrate attention on their programming and common life. In others we’ll walk alongside churches as they develop a model like ours of growing a commercial arm to galvanise their culture and make them sustainable. In others again we’ll be looking to bring our national profile alongside local initiative to enhance work around poverty and destitution. And in others again we hope to partner to help congregations grow in relation to disability issues or enhance other forms of inclusion like our Sunday International Group. In these and many other ways we’ll be looking to establish a covenant of fruitfulness with partners and friends all around the country and beyond.

We could settle for enhancing our resources, developing our programmes, and deepening our common life. Those are all fine and demanding things, and most churches in the country would be overjoyed to have such an aspiration. But we’re being called beyond that. We’re being called to share our message and to influence the wider church and world. And right now the way we’re seeking to do that is by making mutually-enriching partnerships and working with other institutions to help them better realise their vocations. Why? Because we believe that’s God’s way. God in Christ didn’t shout from afar or keep a light hidden on a hill far away. God in Christ made relationships one by one, some close and constant, some occasional and passing, and came alongside people of all kinds, opening up their hearts, setting their souls on fire, and lifting from them the burden of oppression or pain or guilt. That’s what a covenant of fruitfulness looks like. Today we cross that threshold and enter that covenant."

Listen to the full sermon by clicking here - http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/podcasts/a-covenant-of-fruitfulness/.

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Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields - Amazing Grace.

Baptism: Called by the Father, Empowered by the Spirit

The artist who created this painting, Rosalind Hore, is a sculptor and painter of Christian subjects – Christ figures, nativity sets, Ecce Homo, Stations of the Cross etc. She works in clay, plaster, concrete (figures can also be bronze cast at the foundry). Her paintings are mostly in acrylic of the events in the life of Christ. She has been an art teacher throughout her working life, has taken part in the Cambridge Open Studios (creating a sculpture garden and art gallery at her home) and has led art groups and projects in the parishes where she has lived. She has a sculpture in the Bible Garden at St Mary's Goring-by-Sea and another currently displayed at St Laurence’s Upminster, where her husband is Rector.

Rosalind’s painting of ‘The Baptism of Jesus’ sees water, fish, cross, crown, dove, fire and light – all the signs and symbols of Jesus’ future ministry – swept up together to coalesce around the baptised Jesus. Vigorous movement and vibrant colour combine to depict the glory of the Son who is here commissioned by the Father and empowered by the Spirit.

I would like us to reflect for a while on those two aspects of Jesus’ baptism – the Father’s call and the Spirit’s empowering. Let us pray …

Father God, you fulfilled your promise coming to our world so that every person, including us, can see you through Jesus Christ. Helpless God, as child and crucified, laid in a cradle and cradled on a cross. Help us to see in your submission, not weakness, but your passionate work of love for us here today. May the light and wonder of your living Holy Spirit come on us that we might all hunger and thirst to see your love and justice prevail in our world and in this community. Amen.

The call of God is firstly to explore new areas of ourselves and the world around us. This is the choice that God is always placing before us as a way to extend ourselves and our vision; to get off the old familiar track, break with old habits and experience the excitement of new ground and new vistas. Every now and again our eyes are opened and we see beyond the narrowness of our day to day vision into new spiritual dimensions of awareness and experience. In quite unexpected and even joyful ways showing us a world we never dreamed was there but which was with us all the time! It is not a new world that has been born rather that we have woken from a sleep to behold new things and new opportunities.

The call that God is giving us is also to see the wounds and become aware of the hurt of the people, their despair, their sin, the violent fear. To feel the brittleness, the defeat, the spirit of hopelessness in others. To share frustrations, griefs, and the loneliness of the deprived when surrounded by plenty; the anger, when expected to grin and cope with it, by the wealthy, the powerful, the protected. This is a heavy burden, particularly as we realise too our own ordinariness and the feebleness of our own personal nature to be any influence. We need God’s anointing and authority to respond to this call.

Eddie Askew has stated it very clearly:

"Lord, they're not easy,
the demands you make.
You come into my life
bringing joy and freedom and peace.
And it feels good.
But that's only the beginning.
Because along with that
you ask for commitment.
For loyalty. Discipline.
For all my time and energy.
My abilities, to be used in your work.
I'm no longer my own, but yours ..."

Being fully committed to the Jesus life means for Eddie Askew that he "never knows what will happen next!"

"I never know what will happen next
On the road you've shaped for me.
I only know that you make demands.
For some it's martyrdom. Suffering.
For some it's publicity. Or politics.
Maybe that's a kind of martyrdom
for those who do it honestly.
For most of us
it's just the struggle to keep our balance
as we walk along the footpath of faith."

The earthly situations of our everyday lives, our families, our work, our time should be filled with the Presence, life and power of the Holy Spirit. Not just when we come to a Church service!

The reality is that the abundant life in Jesus means that we do become poor in the eyes of the world around us. Yet, we become spiritually rich in our new found freedom in Christ because, through His Spirit, He shares with us the Presence of God; gives us gifts with which to serve Him; and the power we need. So, His Spirit, through the death, the crucifixion of our worldly nature, allows us to be resurrected and to grow into the stature of an adopted Son or Daughter of God Himself. We do die to ourselves, but in doing that rediscover our true life and identity as followers of Jesus Christ.

So, let us pray: May the Spirit of Jesus come upon us afresh today as His people here. May it be His presence within that makes us fervent for Him, and committed to living out the Good News. Your Spirit, Lord, is like the wind. We are conscious of Your Presence, but equally the Holy Spirit comes and goes where it will in today's world. Thank you Lord, that we do not control your movement or your will. We are not gods. We are, in faith, your adopted children. Help us to discern Your will and seek Your hand for our daily walk.

May we hear Your call. May Your hand clasp ours as we move each day along life's pilgrimage seeking to be close to You, close to Your Holy Spirit's incarnation among the people for whom Christ died. Renew us in Your love, and re-create that vision for people and their neighbours which reflects your longings for justice for the poor. Lord, may Your will be increasingly powerful in our land today.

And as we pray, we thank you for the vision of you which we see in this painting. We pray that it may inspire us to respond to the call of God on our lives and to pray to be filled with the Spirit in order that we live out that call in our daily lives. We thank you for Rosalind Hore and for her response to you which created this painting.

Jesus the Saviour, save us from sin.

Jesus the Way, watch, warn, walk with us.

Jesus the Truth, teach, tell, transfigure us.

Jesus the Life, lead, lighten, love us.

Jesus the Shepherd, seek, strengthen, save us.

Jesus the Door, direct, draw, deliver us.

Jesus my Peace, pity, pardon, purify us.

Jesus Risen, revive, recreate, renew us. Amen.

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David Fitzgerald & Dave Bainbridge - Though The Dawn Breaks.