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.

Christianity is fire, passion, desire, longing, yearning

Here's the sermon that I shared this morning at St Mary the Virgin, Little Burstead:

What is it that you most desire? How would you answer that question? It could be another person that you desire; your current or a future partner. You might answer in terms of other relationships; time with children or grandchildren, for example. It might be money that you desire; a lottery win would do very nicely and give you wealth to do with as you please. You might answer in terms of opportunity; the chance to travel or to enjoy particular types of experiences. Some might answer in terms of dreams; the chance to make a difference in the world, be famous for 15 minutes or to prove they have the X Factor.

Some years ago I was at a conference on ‘The Holy Spirit in the World Today’ where the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said that the Holy Spirit is desire in us. He didn’t, of course, mean that the Spirit is any or all desires that animate us but instead a very particular desire; the desire, longing or yearning or passion for Christ and to become Christ-like. The challenge of the Archbishop’s homily was that we should be consumed with desire for that goal. He quoted St Symeon who prayed "Come, you who have become yourself desire in me, who have made me desire you, the absolutely inaccessible one!"

The desire that the Holy Spirit creates in us is a desire to be where Jesus is; in relationship with God the Father, in the stream of healing love which flows from the Father to the Son. In other words to know ourselves to be members of God’s family, brothers and sisters of Jesus, loved and accepted by God as his children and longing to grow up into the likeness of our brother Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God. When we are where Jesus is; in relationship with God the Father then we are able to use the same words and pray the same prayer as Jesus who called God, “Abba” or Daddy. This is the place of intimate relationship with God, this is what it means to be in God and it is the Holy Spirit who stirs up the desire in us to be in that place where we are able rightly and truly to speak intimately with our “Abba” Father.

By stirring up this desire in us, Graham Tomlin has suggested, the Holy Spirit provides the answer to one of the most fundamental questions of existence; the question of identity. We ask ‘Who are we?’ and the Spirit answers, we are beloved sons and daughters of the Father because the spirit has united us to Christ that we might live forever in the love that the Father has for the Son.

That answer to the question of our identity then leads to the question of our vocation – what are we here for? Again, the Holy Spirit is key because the Spirit is given to us as the first fruits of the kingdom of God. The kingdom is still to come but we have the Spirit as the guarantee that the kingdom will come. The Spirit comes from the future to anticipate the kingdom in the present by creating signs of what the kingdom will be like when it comes in full. So, the Spirit initiates the mission of God which is to bring humanity and creation to the completed perfection for which we were originally intended; the time when the whole world will freely return to God, worship him and become like him by living in him. As Colin Gunton has written, “the Spirit is the agent by whom God enables things to become that which they were created to be.”

Our role is to become involved in this work of the Spirit to heal the broken creation, bring it to maturity and reconcile it in Christ. We get involved by creating signs of the coming kingdom here and now in the present. In the conference, as an example, David Ford spoke of being in Rwanda with women whose families had died in the genocide. They spoke in a service about the pain of their loss and then a younger group of women danced. As they danced in praise of God, the older women cried and mourned their loved ones. Joy and grief were combined and both brought simultaneously to God.

Ford also gave the example of the L’Arche Community where those with learning disabilities and their Assistants live and work together. L'Arche is based on Christian principles, welcoming people of all faiths and none. Mutual relationships and trust in God are at the heart of their journey together and the unique value of every person is celebrated and both recognise their need of one another.

At the conference Rowan Williams also told the story of Mother Maria Skobtsova who on Good Friday 1945 changed places with a Jewish woman at the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp and went to her death in the gas chambers. Like L’Arche and the Rwandan women, Mother Maria was a sign of the coming kingdom in her passion and sacrifice. Mother Maria said that "either Christianity is fire or there is no such thing." Christianity is fire, passion, desire, longing, yearning for Christ and Christ’s mission. What is it that you desire?

If the Holy Spirit has stirred that fire, passion and desire in you then, like St Symeon, we need to cry out for the Spirit to come to us. To daily pray, “Come, Holy Spirit.” Come to stir up this desire and longing and yearning and passion in me. Come to make my heart restless till it finds its rest in you. Come to cause me to run into your arms of love. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Let us pray,

Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Together with believers all over the world,
We gather today to glorify Your Name.
Apart from You, we can do nothing.
Transform Your Church into the image of Jesus Christ.
Release Your power to bring healing to the sick,
freedom to the oppressed and comfort to those who mourn.
Pour Your love into our hearts and fill us with compassion
to answer the call of the homeless and the hungry
and to enfold orphans, widows and the elderly in Your care. Amen.

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Victoria Williams - Holy Spirit.

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.

(Still) Calling from the Edge

 

(Still) Calling from the Edge is on Saturday 16 October. It's our 10th annual conference on Disability & Church. Fiona MacMillan is giving the keynote talk and will share something of our story, learnings and where we are now.

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. It's a partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields and Inclusive Church, hosted online by HeartEdge.

This conference will 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.

Programme includes:

• Storytellers - Sarah Davies & Jemma Brown
• Keynote talk - Calling from the Edge - Fiona MacMillan
• Workshops:
• Reclaiming the Margins - Liberation theology - Hannah Lewis
• Vocation from the Edge- Tim Goode & Tim Rourke
• Out of the Deep - Hymn- & chant-writing on a theme of lament - Rev Professor June Boyce-Tillman & Rachel Noel
• Challenging Power - Krysia Waldock & Dan Barnes-Davies
• Called to the Feast - Art workshop imagining an inclusive Last Supper - Jonathan Evens
• Liturgy led by Emily Richardson
• and Godly Play with Sam Wells

We prioritise the voices of disabled people because they are rarely heard in church contexts, but warmly welcome family members, supporters and those with an interest in disability.

BSL & live captions. Detailed access information will be sent in advance as part of the conference pack.

Spaces available. Details and registration:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/still-calling-from-the-edge-tickets-164001249151?fbclid=IwAR1hNhC6S8lCKJHGtt75K_FsIp7LCS335vZqV_DtCMFq2o_F3asm_1sw5SM

Image description: drop of water falling into still blue water, ripples outward. Text - conference title, logos and eventbrite link

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Telling Encounters: Path Through the Woods.

Essential wisdom

Here's the sermon I preached at St Martin-in-the-Fields this morning:

At age 21 Roger Cecil walked away from a scholarship at the Royal College of Art after just one week to ensure he focused on his artwork without being influenced by other students. Was he wise or was he foolish? His decision attracted the attention of the BBC who interviewed members of his family, community, and college for the 1964 film ‘A Quiet Rebel’. Most of those interviewed, for differing reasons, expressed confusion and disapprobation at Cecil’s decision.

At age 30 Jesus began his public ministry knowing it would lead him to Jerusalem and to crucifixion. He repeatedly told his disciples what would happen to him and resisted any attempt to dissuade him. Was he wise or was he foolish? His teaching on his task was either not understood by his disciples or actively resisted, so much so that at the point of his death his disciples either betrayed or denied him or ran away.

The young King Solomon may have been around 20 when he became King and asked for wisdom instead of long life, riches, or the death of his enemies (1 Kings 2.10-12, 3.3-14). He is understood to have been wise. God was pleased with Solomon's request and personally answered his prayer. This has often been understood as being because Solomon did not ask for self-serving rewards. However, there is something deeper happening here, something which connects the destinies of the three people with which I have begun. I hope that by reflecting on their stories we can come to understand what gaining wisdom might look like for us.

We can firstly understand Solomon to be wise already, as he recognised his own limitations as a young man and an even younger King so asked for God's help and wisdom in ruling well. He recognised that he was facing a huge task – ruling a people who were so many that they could not be counted – and that he didn’t have the life experience or knowledge to carry out the task – “I am very young and don't know how to rule.” Wisdom starts with a realistic assessment of the situation we find ourselves in. It is only once we have a realistic understanding of where our starting point is that we can begin to find ways forward. So, Solomon showed wisdom before he asked for and was given wisdom.

Secondly, we can also understand Solomon’s request in terms of something essential to good governance. When the people of Israel first asked for a King, God told them, through Samuel, who was both prophet and Judge, that their Kings would be self-serving by centralising land and wealth in the hands of a few. Later in scripture, after Solomon’s reign, we see that this came to pass, as the majority of those that followed Solomon as King did not possess his wisdom. Instead, they used their position and power to exploit others for their own personal gain. They oppressed and exploited their people in ways that were unjust and when they were then criticised by the prophets God sent to denounce them it was lack of justice that the prophets highlighted. Solomon rejected that temptation by asking for wisdom instead of self-serving rewards and, by doing so, identified that the essence of good governance is that the one with power and resources acts justly for the good of all the people, not simply the few.

Identifying the essence of the role we are to play or the vocation we have in life is key to this story and to the finding of wisdom. Solomon writes in the Book of Proverbs that wisdom was a co-worker with God in creation. When the world and its creatures were being shaped, formed, and defined, wisdom was beside God, making sure everything fitted, delighting in the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family. (Proverbs 8. 30). We see this aspect of wisdom fleshed out in another of the creation stories of the people of Israel, a story about the wisdom of identifying essence. The Book of Genesis gives us the story of Adam, in partnership with God, naming the animals. Names in ancient cultures had power because they described the essence of what it was that had been named. So, in this story, Adam identified the essence of each creature that came before him in order to see and work with that creature’s place in the circle of life. In a similar way, Solomon had to identify the essence of being a monarch in order to understand the role he was to play for the people of Israel. That role was one of identifying justice, equity, and fairness for all. Solomon realised that wisdom involves working with God to identify essence and then working with the grain of that understanding.

Jesus came to a similar place as he explored the scriptures for himself as a child growing up in Nazareth. He identified scriptures about the role of the people of Israel as applying to himself, so that when he later read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth, he could say that that scripture had been fulfilled in their presence that day. He understood that, through his people, God wished to demonstrate that he is with all people through death into life. Jesus saw that the essence of incarnation was to live that reality, so knew his path through life - crucifixion, resurrection, ascension - and would not be distracted from it.

While on holiday I saw a retrospective exhibition of Roger Cecil’s work, the final exhibition for the foreseeable future in a series organised by the artist’s estate following his death in 2015. Entitled ‘A Secret Artist’ the exhibition provided answers to the central secret held by Cecil and his art. At its heart was a secret love to which he was devoted; a love that combined home, Wales, and the landscape of Abertillery.

When interviewed in 1964 for the BBC film ‘A Quiet Rebel’, Cecil spoke of his worry that at the Royal College of Art each artist would become 'a bit of everybody', each influencing the other. He left and went home to 'do painting my way ... the way I feel it.' At 21 he knew the essence of his art was the landscape of Wales and that of his home in Abertillery in particular. For him, to have been separate from that source of inspiration would have diluted his art.

45 years on from walking out of the Royal College of Art and after a career in which he made the art he wanted in the way he wanted and still found access to galleries and sales, he said: ‘I am very lucky, because ... ninety-nine per cent of people, they don't know what they do, all their life. You imagine that. Terrible, isn't it! To think they go through life and they don't know what they do. Now, I'm lucky. I'm very fortunate. I knew from when I was about ten. I wanted to do art. And I've done it.'

Wisdom comes from knowing who we are and who or what others are in God. Remembering we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God in our mother's wombs and therefore have unique contributions to life only we can make through the particular combination of gifts and talents and personalities we have been given. Such wisdom is gained by understanding essence and working with it.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes about the importance of remembering your creator in the days of your youth, “before the days of trouble come … and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12.1&7). I think one understanding of that statement is about finding the wisdom of essence early on in life, as was the case for Solomon, Jesus and Roger Cecil. We are most likely to do so if, like Solomon, we recognise the limitations of youth and use that understanding as motivation to cry out for insight, seeking wisdom like silver, and searching for it as for hidden treasures (Proverbs 2.3&4).

However, Solomon’s statement was not primarily about coming to that understanding early in life but instead more about finding that wisdom before death comes to us, in the time that we have available to us. For many, perhaps most of us, that is the journey of a lifetime.

That has certainly been my own experience. My call to ordination came in my forties and involved the recognition that my interests and experience in church, the Arts, social action, and employment, could all come together and be blended within ordained ministry. Experiencing that blend within my ministry in East London meant that when, in my fifties, I saw the advert for the role I now have here at St Martin’s - which through the 4 Cs brings together congregation, culture, compassion and commerce – I could see that this was a role that fitted perfectly with my experience and interests and through which the essence of who I am in God could be expressed. It took more than half a lifetime to reach that point but that was not wasted time, rather essential preparation for recognising and relishing the role.

Finally, the urgency of Solomon’s statement is because identification of essence is essential wisdom. It is wisdom that leads us to Christ, for the individual identity of any object is the stamp of divine creation on it. That was the great insight of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins; that the world is “news of God” and therefore “its end, its purpose, its purport, its meaning and its life and work is to name and praise” God.

How do God's creatures "give him glory"? Hopkins’ answer was “Merely by being themselves, by doing themselves”, by living out their essence. “Selfhood is not a static possession, but an activity:

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves-goes itself; myself it speaks and spells;
Crying What I do is me: for that I came.”[i]

All things, Hopkins wrote, “are charged with love, are charged with God and if we know how to touch them give off sparks and take fire, yield drops and flow, ring and tell of him.”[ii] By being our essential selves Christ is revealed in us. Hopkins concluded:

I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Christ — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

Hopkins claimed we are most Christ-like when we act as our essential selves because then we are most fully in touch with the person we were created to be. We have briefly considered how Solomon, Jesus and Roger Cecil each discerned their essence. Solomon considering his legacy as David’s son and as a child of God before then looking at the demands of the role he had to play. Jesus in searching the scriptures to understand the call on his life and Cecil realising his love for the landscape of his home before making that the essence of his art. What is it that characterises your life and loves? What is it that only you can do for God as a result? In searching for the answers to those questions, you will act in God’s eye what in God’s eye you are – Christ – and know wisdom, as Christ plays to the Father through the features of your face. Amen.

For more on essence see my Bread for the World reflection on 'Creativity and sacramental sight' by clicking here.

[i] The Creation of the Self in Gerard Manley Hopkins, J. Hillis Miller, ELH, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Dec., 1955), pp. 293-319
[ii] The Sermons and Devotional Writings of Gerard Manley Hopkins

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Leonard Cohen - Steer Your Way.

(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 Calling Window: ArtWay Interview with Sophie Hacker

I have had an interview with Sophie Hacker published by ArtWay. In our conversation we discussed the background to her commission for The Calling Window at Romsey Abbey, the development of the design, the techniques she has learnt from Tom Denny and the impact that the Covid-19 lockdown has had on the project:

'To be an artist is not a job, but a way of looking at the world. It is a great privilege to be invited to create a piece of public art. For me that includes an imperative to explore a public commission through 360 degrees. I try to understand how a commission might be mis-read, as well as read. There are already a number of public art works celebrating Nightingale’s nursing career, but I felt inspired to focus on how that career came about. The theme of vocation is very important to me. I’ve explored it from a personal perspective in my own artistic practice. So having the opportunity to express ‘calling’ through an image about another person’s vocation has been a real gift. We are all ‘called’ away from what we know to 'something beyond’. For some the path is brightly lit and clear. For others the way seems shrouded and impenetrable. The experience of ‘lockdown’ has brought this truth more sharply into focus.'

An additional interview with Sophie undertaken for HeartEdge explores her understandings of imaging the invisible.

My visual meditations for ArtWay include work by María Inés Aguirre, Giampaolo Babetto, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Alexander de Cadenet, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Terry Ffyffe, Antoni Gaudi, Nicola Green, Maciej Hoffman, S. Billie Mandle, Giacomo Manzù, Michael Pendry, Maurice Novarina, Regan O'Callaghan, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, Albert Servaes, Henry Shelton and Anna Sikorska.

My Church of the Month reports include: Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Churches in Little Walsingham, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Eton College Chapel, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling, and Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, St Mary the Virgin, Downe, and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.

Other of my writings for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Church Times can be found here. Those for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here.

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U2 - I Will Follow.

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.

Living and loving in truth

Here's the sermon that I preached this morning at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

Yesterday Sarah Mullally was installed at St Paul’s Cathedral as Bishop of London. This history-making service was a wonderful welcome to Bishop Sarah and an opportunity to give thanks for all that she will bring to the Diocese as the person that she is and as the first female Bishop of London. In her sermon, on the theme of ‘being subversive for Christ’, Bishop Sarah also recalled her first calling to follow Christ; to know him and make him known to the world. Earlier in the week Bishop Sarah had shared her vision for vocations at a wonderful Study Day for clergy in the Two Cities organised by Katherine Hedderly.

At this Study Day, I was reminded of my own call to ordination as the telling of our own stories of calling was part of the small group discussions. I was taken back particularly to the beginning of my training for ordination and the circumstances, changes and feelings involved for me and my family in the challenges of that new beginning. For me, my ministerial studies involved exploring my faith more deeply through theological study and responding to the challenge of exploring many different understandings of what ordained ministry would involve. I had fears about the impact that my change of vocation would have on my family, as they began to experience what life as a clergy family was going to involve. I was also unsure about the extent to which I could meet the expectations that others might place on me once I put on ‘the collar’.

Our Gospel reading (John 17. 6-19) takes us into a similar period of change for Jesus’ disciples. Our reading is part of the prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples on the night before he died and it is a prayer about vocation for those disciples. Chronologically this prayer comes before Jesus’ Ascension, but, in terms of its content, it is a post-Ascension prayer because Jesus’ concern is for his disciples once he has left them. Many of his disciples had been on the road with him for three years and had sat at his feet as disciples listening to his teaching, observing his example and imbibing his spirit. Following his Ascension, he would leave them and they would have the challenge of continuing his ministry without him there. He knew that that experience would be challenging and therefore he prayed for them to be supported and strengthened in the challenges they would face.

I want us to reflect today on three aspects of the section of Jesus’ prayer that we have as today’s Gospel reading. The three aspects are unity, protection and sanctification; but before considering those things, I want us to note that the prayer which Jesus began on earth continues in eternity. In Hebrews 7:25 we read that Jesus ‘always lives to make intercession’ for us and, in Romans 8:34, St Paul writes: ‘Christ Jesus … is at the right hand of God [and] intercedes for us.’ Many of us will have experienced the benefit, particularly in times of stress and trial, of knowing that others are praying for us and that we are, therefore, regularly on their minds and in their hearts. These verses assure us that we are constantly and eternally on the mind and heart of God and Jesus is consistently sending his love to us in the form of his prayers. That reality underpins this prayer and can be a source of strength and comfort to us, particularly when times are tough.

What Jesus prays in today’s Gospel reading, he continues to pray in eternity, so let’s think now about the first aspect of Jesus’ prayer for us, which is unity. Jesus prays that his disciples may be one, as he is one with God the Father and God the Spirit. In other words, we have to understand the unity that is the Godhead, before we can understand the unity that Jesus wants for his disciples. As God is one and also three persons at one and the same time, there is a community at the heart of God with a constant exchange of love between the Father, the Son and the Spirit. That exchange is the very heartbeat of God and is the reason we are able to say that God is love. Everything that God is and does and says is the overflow of the exchange of love that is at the heart of the Godhead. Jesus invites us to enter into that relationship of love and to experience it for ourselves. That is his prayer, his teaching and also the purpose of his incarnation, death and resurrection.

As Katherine shared last week, Jesus gave the command that we should love one another as we have been loved by God. It is in the sharing of love with each other that we experience unity and experience God. Unity, then, does not come from beliefs or propositions. It is not to do with statements or articles of faith. It does not involve us thinking or believing the same thing. Instead, unity is found in relationship, in the constant, continuing exchange of love with others within community; meaning that unity is actually found in diversity. Jesus prays that we will have that experience firstly by coming into relationship with a relational God and secondly by allowing the love that is at the heart of the Godhead to fill us and overflow from us to others, whilst also receiving the overflow of that love from others.

The second aspect of Jesus’ prayer is his prayer for our protection. Our need for protection is often physical and immediate. That is certainly the case for those featured in this year’s Christian Aid Week campaign whose homes have been destroyed by storms. Their need to be protected is one that can be met by aid and home building, underpinned by prayer. Similarly, our community here can provide tangible protection. Just this week a guest of our Sunday International Group said that this church has been a ‘shelter from the stormy blast’ for him. In his prayer Jesus asks that we will be protected in a different way, by being protected in God’s name. Jesus said that God’s name had been given to him and that he had then given that name to his disciples.

In our day, we have lost much of the depth and richness that names held in more ancient cultures. Names in Jesus’ culture and earlier were signs or indicators of the essence of the thing named. When we read the story of Adam naming the animals in the Book of Genesis that is what was going on; Adam was identifying the distinctive essence of each creature brought before him and seeking a word to capture and articulate that essential characteristic. It is also why the name of God is so special in Judaism – so special that it cannot be spoken – as the name of God discloses God’s essence or core or the very heart of his being. Jesus prayed that we might be put in touch with, in contact with, in relationship with, the very essence of God’s being by knowing his name. That contact is what will protect us. If we are in contact with the essential love and goodness that is at the very heart of God then that will fill our hearts, our emotions, our words, our actions enabling us to live in love with others, instead of living selfishly in opposition to others. Jesus prays that the essential love which is at the heart of God will transform us in our essence, meaning that we are then protected from evil by being filled with love.

The third aspect of Jesus’ prayer is to do with sanctification. Sanctification is the process of becoming holy. Jesus prays that we will be sanctified in truth, with the truth being the word of God. The Prologue to John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus himself is the Word of God. Therefore Jesus’ prays for us to become holy in Him. It is as we live in relationship to him, following in the Way that he has established, that we are sanctified. That is what it means for us to know Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is vital that we note that we are not sanctified by the Truth, meaning that sanctification is not about knowing and accepting truths that we are to believe. Instead, we are sanctified in the Truth, meaning that we are made holy as we inhabit, experience, practice and live out the Truth; with that truth being Jesus.

Knowing God is, therefore, like diving ever deeper into a bottomless ocean where there is always more to see and encounter. We are within that ocean – the truth of relationship with Jesus – and can always see and uncover and discover more of the love of God because the reality of God is of an infinite depth of love. God created all things and therefore all things exist in him and he is more than the sum of all things, so it is impossible for us with our finite minds to ever fully know or understand his love. However profound our experience of God has been, there is always more for us to discover because we live in and are surrounded by infinitude of love. St Augustine is reported to have described this reality in terms of God being a circle whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.

It was in my ordination training that I discovered and experienced the reality of these things in a new way for myself. Through debate and discussion with others on my course I was able to re-examine my faith while also being held by the sense of unity that we quickly developed despite our differences. Those relationships have proved extremely strong and necessary as our ordained ministries have later been lived out. My fears about my personal inadequacy and the pressures there would be for my family were eased through a sense that we were on an unfolding journey of discovering God’s love which protects and sanctifies.

I moved from an understanding of God as being there for us – the one who fixes us and who fixes the world for us – to an understanding that we are in God – that in him we live and move and have our being. Because we are with God and in God and God in us, we can and will act in ways that are God-like and Godly. That happens not because we hold a particular set of beliefs or follow a particular set of rules, instead it happens because we are so immersed in God and in his love that his love necessarily overflows from us in ways that we cannot always anticipate or control. Essentially, we learn to improvise as Jesus did, because we are immersed in his ways and his love. Jesus prays constantly for a continual and continuing immersion in relationship with Him so that we will experience unity by sharing love, protection by experiencing the essence of God and holiness through living in Him.

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Bruce Cockburn - Strong Hand Of Love.

Start:Stop - A life of significance in his kingdom work

Bible Reading

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around. He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. The landowner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. (Matthew 20. 1 – 16)

Meditation

The social situation in Jesus’ day was that many small farmers were being forced off their land because of debt they incurred to pay Roman taxes. Consequently, large pools of unemployed men gathered each morning, hoping to be hired for the day. They were the displaced, unemployed, and underemployed workers of their day, similar to illegal migrants seeking casual work today. Those still waiting at five o'clock would have had little chance of earning enough to buy food for their families that day. Yet the vineyard owner pays even them a full day’s wage. The owner in the parable ensures that all the workers are paid enough to support their families, as a denarius was a full day’s pay for a skilled worker.

So, unlike exploited illegal workers or gig economy workers today earning less than the minimum wage, the employer in this story is concerned that those he employs are paid a living wage. The landowner goes repeatedly to the marketplace himself and clearly cares about the predicament of the workers seeking to lift them out of their despair by providing work that meets their needs and the needs of those who depend on them. If God is like the owner of the vineyard then he cares about our hopeless situation as human beings. He comes looking for us. He goes on an all-out search to find workers for his vineyard. He longs to provide us with a life of significance in his kingdom work.

Michael Green says of this story: 'Length of service and long hours of toil in the heat of the day constitute no claim on God and provide no reason why he should not be generous to those who have done less. All human merit shrivels before his burning, self-giving love. Grace, amazing grace, is the burden of this story. All are equally undeserving of so large a sum as a denarius a day. All are given it by the generosity of the employer. All are on the same level. The poor disciples, fishermen and tax collectors as they are, are welcomed by God along with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. There are no rankings in the kingdom of God. Nobody can claim deserved membership of the kingdom. There is no place for personal pride, for contempt or jealousy, for there is no ground for any to question how this generous God handles the utterly undeserving. He is good. He sees that the one-hour workers would have no money for supper if they got paid for only one hour. In generosity he gives them what they need. Who is to complain at that?'

Yet there is always a danger that we do get cross with God over this. People who work or move in church circles can easily assume that they are the special ones, God’s inner circle. In reality, as we have seen, God is out in the marketplace, looking for the people everybody else tried to ignore, welcoming them on the same terms, surprising them (and everybody else) with his generous grace. In Ephesians 2:8-10 Paul says, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Is there anywhere in today’s church, I wonder, that doesn’t need to be reminded of that message?

Intercessions

O God, the Creator of all things, you have made us in your own image so that we may find joy in creative work: have mercy on all those who are unemployed, and those who find their work dull. Help us to build a society where all may have work and find joy in doing it, for the good of our world and the glory of your name. We thank you that you seek us out and provide us with a life of significance in your kingdom work.

O God, who made us in your image and intended us for creative work; look with love on those who are unemployed. Help them to enjoy life together with those who have work and help us to understand what kind of help we need to give one another, whether in paid employment or not. Guide the leaders of our country, that they may take wise decisions which will benefit us all. We ask you Lord to guide us in the knowledge that we all have worth in ourselves and that we are all of equal value in your eyes. We thank you that you seek us out and provide us with a life of significance in your kingdom work.

Lord God, you lavish gifts on all whom you call. Strengthen and sustain us and all ministers of your church, lay and ordained, that in the range and diversity of our vocation, we may be catalysts of your kingdom in the world. We thank you that you seek us out and provide us with a life of significance in your kingdom work.

The Blessing

O Lord, my God, may the work we do bring growth in this life to us and help extend the Kingdom of Christ. We ask your blessing on all our efforts. With Christ as our example and guide, help us do the work You have asked and come to the reward You have prepared. And the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon us and remain with us always. Amen.

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Gerald Finzi - My Lovely One.

Start:Stop - What is it that you desire?

Bible reading

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Acts 2. 1 – 4)

Meditation

What is it that you most desire? How would you answer that question? It could be another person that you desire; your current or a future partner. You might answer in terms of other relationships; time with children or grandchildren, for example. It might be money that you desire; a lottery win would do very nicely and give you wealth to do with as you please. You might answer in terms of opportunity; the chance to travel or to enjoy particular types of experiences. Some might answer in terms of dreams; the chance to make a difference in the world, be famous for 15 minutes or to prove you have the X Factor.

A few years ago I was at a conference on ‘The Holy Spirit in the World Today’ where the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said that the Holy Spirit is desire in us. He didn’t, of course, mean that the Spirit is any or all desires that animate us but instead a very particular desire; the desire, longing or yearning or passion for Christ and to become Christ-like. The challenge of the Rowan’s homily was that we should be consumed with desire for that goal. He quoted St Symeon who prayed "Come, you who have become yourself desire in me, who have made me desire you, the absolutely inaccessible one!"
The desire that the Holy Spirit creates in us is a desire to be where Jesus is; in relationship with God the Father, in the stream of healing love which flows from the Father to the Son. This is the place of intimate relationship with God, this is what it means to be in God and it is the Holy Spirit who stirs up the desire in us to be in that place where we are able rightly and truly to speak intimately with our “Abba” Father.

By stirring up this desire in us, the Holy Spirit provides the answer to one of the most fundamental questions of existence; the question of identity. We ask ‘Who are we?’ and the Spirit answers, we are beloved sons and daughters of the Father because the spirit has united us to Christ that we might live forever in the love that the Father has for the Son.

That answer to the question of our identity then leads to the question of our vocation – what are we here for? Again, the Holy Spirit is key because the Spirit is given to us as the first fruits of the kingdom of God. The Spirit comes from the future to anticipate the kingdom in the present by creating signs of what the kingdom will be like when it comes in full. As Colin Gunton wrote, “the Spirit is the agent by whom God enables things to become that which they were created to be.”

Our role is to become involved in this work of the Spirit to heal the broken creation, bring it to maturity and reconcile it in Christ. We get involved by creating signs of the coming kingdom here and now in the present. At the conference Rowan Williams also told the story of Mother Maria Skobtsova who on Good Friday 1945 changed places with a Jewish woman at the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp and went to her death in the gas chambers. Mother Maria was a sign of the coming kingdom in her passion and sacrifice. Mother Maria said that "either Christianity is fire or there is no such thing." Christianity is fire, passion, desire, longing, yearning for Christ and Christ’s mission. What is it that you desire?

If the Holy Spirit has stirred that fire, passion and desire in you then, like St Symeon, we need to cry out for the Spirit to come to us. To daily pray, “Come, Holy Spirit.” Come to stir up this desire and longing and yearning and passion in me. Come to make my heart restless till it finds its rest in you. Come to cause me to run into your arms of love. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, ignite in us your holy fire; strengthen your children with the gift of faith, revive your Church with the breath of love, and renew the face of the earth.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people, and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Holy Spirit, powerful Consoler, sacred Bond of the Father and the Son, Hope of the afflicted, descend into our hearts and establish in them your loving dominion. Enkindle in our tepid soul the fire of your Love so that we may be wholly subject to you. We believe that when you dwell in us, you also prepare a dwelling for the Father and the Son. Deign, therefore, to come to us, Consoler of abandoned souls, and Protector of the needy. Help the afflicted, strengthen the weak, and support the wavering. Come and purify us. Let no evil desire take possession of us. You love the humble and resist the proud. Come to us, glory of the living, and hope of the dying. Lead us by your grace that we may always be pleasing to you.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people, and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Sovereign God and eternal Father, daily your Spirit renews the face of the earth, bringing strength out of weakness, hope out of despair and life out of death. By the power of your Spirit, may your blessing rest upon us. Let us know your acceptance and adoption, your equipping and empowering. Form in us the likeness of Christ, that we may be witnesses of your astonishing love, and fill us afresh with life in all its fullness.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people, and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Blessing

The Spirit of truth lead you into all truth,
give you grace to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
and strengthen you to proclaim the word and works of God;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always.
Amen.

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Late Late Service - Our God In Heaven.