Here's the reflection I offered at today's lunchtime Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields:
Your face, set like flint,
set towards Jerusalem,
bears the mark of the cross.
You carry the cross
in the resolution
written on
your features.
Death is the choice,
the decision,
the destiny,
revealed
in the blood,
sweat and tears
secreted
from
your face
in prayerful questions,
prophetic grief,
pain-full acceptance,
then
imprinted on
Veronica’s veil.
The Gospels are each structured in two parts; first the early part of Jesus’ life focused on his ministry, then Holy Week and the events leading to it. In Luke’s Gospel one indication of the transition from part one of the Gospel to part two is the repeated phrase, his face was set toward Jerusalem.
This is a phrase which has echoes in today’s reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 50.4-9a) where we hear of the suffering servant - a figure the Church has always interpreted as being Jesus although the original meaning was the people of Israel - setting his face like flint on the path he has to follow. This character does not turn backwards despite being tortured and insulted - struck on the back, the hair pulled from his beard, and spat at. All, in the Christian tradition, seen as prefiguring what Christ experienced after his arrest and from which he did not turn back.
We see Jesus with his face set like flint in our Gospel reading (John 13.21-32), particularly when he says to Judas, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’ Jesus clearly knows what Judas is planning, but makes no attempt to dissuade Judas from his act of betrayal that will lead to Jesus’ arrest. What Judas is about to do is necessary to the path that Jesus is walking and therefore he accepts what is about to happen. To do so, took a huge degree of resolution.
Yet it was not a resolution that was unaware of the dangers he faced or that did not feel fear or anxiety at the prospect of facing those dangers. Instead, virtually the first thing that we read in today’s Gospel is that Jesus was troubled in spirit. Later, that same night in the Garden of Gethsemene, we read that he was sorrowful and troubled and said to his disciples that his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
We are seeing similar resolution in those who are on the frontline of the fight against Covid-19. During the Lent Oasis on Palm Sunday, Sue Wilson and I were wondering how Jesus might have felt at the point that he mounted the donkey to ride into Jerusalem. Later, Sue saw a TV news report and emailed to say, ‘I have just heard a young doctor on TV talking about that moment in the morning before he leaves his house, but knows he has to go to save lives … That’s the moment, that’s what Jesus would have felt. That moment when you steel yourself to do what you know you must despite the dangers involved. That’s what Jesus would have felt, that’s what lies behind these phrases of setting your face like flint and setting his face toward Jerusalem.
We need a similar resolution to get through these days; a resolution that faces our fears if we can, just as Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem knowing what awaited him there. A resolution based on knowledge of ourselves, just as Jesus washed the feet of disciples because he knew who he was and what he was about to do. By learning more about our fears or anxiety we can address the beliefs about ourselves that are behind our anxiety.
In addition to these factors, the Mental Health Foundation also suggest that our resolution can be helped by activity. The once-a-day exercise that the Government currently recommends requires concentration, and can take our mind off our fear and anxiety. Enjoying healthy food and drink in moderation, as Jesus clearly did when meeting with his disciples, will affect our mood. The kind of relaxation techniques that are encouraged in our meditation and silence sessions can help with the mental and physical feelings of fear. As can the feeling of being connected to something bigger than ourselves through faith and being within a valuable support network, like this congregation. We often think of the disciples in terms of their failure to support Jesus in his time of need, yet they were the people – however flawed - with whom he wanted to be at the Last Supper and those that he wanted with him in Gethsemene as he talked his fears and anxieties through with God.
Learning and practising a similar resolution to that of Christ is, this year, part of the act and art of following practically and actually in the Christ’s footsteps as he walks through Holy Week and we walk through this pandemic. We will need a similar resolution to come through the pandemic and the resulting lockdown, but we recognise that it is a resolution gained through facing fear, knowing ourselves, being good to ourselves, and being with others (virtually, if not in person). Jesus finds that resolution as he talks with God, spends time with his disciples, and knows himself. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Prine - When I Get To Heaven.
Wednesday, 8 April 2020
CHURCH LEADERS PLEDGE TO THE NATION
With Easter this weekend, HeartEdge partners YourNeighbourhood.org want to get the message far and wide that the Church is here for the nation. So, this Easter, together with them we are asking 1000 UK Church leaders to publicly commit to supporting their local communities, to bring a message of hope, so that no-one will be alone, without the help they need, during the COVID-19 crisis.
Here's a message about the pledge from Russell Rook:
Dear friends,
Please sign our YourNeighbour.org pledge to the Nation and encourage church leaders in your network to sign too.
Our nation is suffering, daily life is out of balance, the Covid-19 crisis is making life a challenge for everyone across the UK. For Churches in the UK this will be an unusual Easter. However, while our celebrations may look different, our message of hope remains the same.
This Easter we want to bring Churches together to send a united message to our nation; our pledge as church leaders across the UK. Our pledge is that we are committed to playing our role, alongside other groups, institutions and organisations, to bring hope to our communities.
With Easter this weekend, we want to get the message far and wide that the Church is here for the nation. We would like 1000 UK Church leaders to publicly commit to supporting their local communities, to bring a message of hope, so that no-one will be alone, without the help they need, during the COVID-19 crisis.
We are working with press and media to publish this pledge this weekend. Join us in spreading good news this Easter. You can read, and sign the full pledge here
Whatever the future holds, churches in the UK stand ready, willing and able to serve. We are praying for our country and our communities, and committed to caring for our neighbours in days and years to come.
Thank you for everything you are doing to support local churches at this time of crisis
Many blessings,
Russell Rook
Here's a message about the pledge from Russell Rook:
Dear friends,
Please sign our YourNeighbour.org pledge to the Nation and encourage church leaders in your network to sign too.
Our nation is suffering, daily life is out of balance, the Covid-19 crisis is making life a challenge for everyone across the UK. For Churches in the UK this will be an unusual Easter. However, while our celebrations may look different, our message of hope remains the same.
This Easter we want to bring Churches together to send a united message to our nation; our pledge as church leaders across the UK. Our pledge is that we are committed to playing our role, alongside other groups, institutions and organisations, to bring hope to our communities.
With Easter this weekend, we want to get the message far and wide that the Church is here for the nation. We would like 1000 UK Church leaders to publicly commit to supporting their local communities, to bring a message of hope, so that no-one will be alone, without the help they need, during the COVID-19 crisis.
We are working with press and media to publish this pledge this weekend. Join us in spreading good news this Easter. You can read, and sign the full pledge here
Whatever the future holds, churches in the UK stand ready, willing and able to serve. We are praying for our country and our communities, and committed to caring for our neighbours in days and years to come.
Thank you for everything you are doing to support local churches at this time of crisis
Many blessings,
Russell Rook
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Alarm - The Stand.
Monday, 6 April 2020
Early start - Sermon Preparation workshop
The weekly HeartEdge Sermon Preparation workshop will begin at the earlier time of 4.00 pm this Tuesday 7 April.
As usual, Sam Wells and Sally Hitchiner will discuss Sunday’s Lectionary readings for about 30 minutes and then there will be the opportunity to share and ask questions. They will select from the following readings for Easter Day: Acts 10.34-43 or Jeremiah 31.1-6, Psalm 118.1-2,14-24, Colossians 3.1-4 or Acts 10.34-43, John 20.1-18 or Matthew 28.1-10.
The workshop will take place on the HeartEdge Facebook page, however if we experience technical difficulties the Workshop will take place on zoom instead; details for this eventuality will be posted on the facebook page closer to the time, if needed.
We look forward to you joining us for inspiration and resources.
The workshop will take place on the HeartEdge Facebook page, however if we experience technical difficulties the Workshop will take place on zoom instead; details for this eventuality will be posted on the facebook page closer to the time, if needed.
We look forward to you joining us for inspiration and resources.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water.
The gratuitous, intuitive aroma of the love of Christ
Here's my reflection for today's lunchtime Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields:
As a child my faith was impacted by a musical drama of the life of Christ using scripture drawn from Genesis to Revelation which was called Yesterday Today Forever and was staged in Oxford in the mid-1970s. It was an ambitious production with three complete stage sets, a complicated lighting system, quadraphonic sound, a 50-piece choir, a 12-piece band, dance, narration, a great variety in music, and a back projected film. I was impressed by the integration of the Arts and scripture in a way that I had not seen prior to that point.
Included in the show was a beautiful ballad based on this story of Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair (John 12: 1-8). Called ‘Remember Mary’, the song imagines Mary’s thoughts as she carries out this extravagant gesture:
“I cannot look at your face - I dare not - for I have sinned so much and you know my heart. I want to look at you Jesus, but I have not the power to lift my eyes for I am guilty - oh so guilty. What can I do? For I am lost and yet you care - even for me. So I will pour this ointment upon your feet, dear Lord. The ointment smells so sweet; smells so. sweet; and yet I am a broken creature, I'm only but dust, only dust …”
Jesus responds: “You have done a beautiful thing to me Mary, in pouring this ointment on my body, you have prepared me for burial. Your sins are forgiven, for you have loved much.”
It was Mary’s own decision to pour ointment over Jesus’ feet and to dry his feet with her hair. No one expected her action – it was not done out of duty - and at least one person criticised her severely for it. It was entirely her decision, her personal way of giving to Jesus.
Giving in this way involved giving generously from her possessions because the ointment that she used was expensive (imported from countries such as India) and extravagant (half a litre was an enormous amount to use in this way). It also involved giving generously of herself as Jewish women traditionally kept their hair tied up in public and only unloosened their hair in the presence of their husbands. What Mary did in wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair was the ultimate sign of her love for and commitment to Jesus. She did all this, not with regret or out of a sense of duty, but gladly and generously.
In fact, her gift to Jesus is a response to the love that Jesus has shown towards her. She gives because Jesus has first given extravagantly and generously to her. This is the pattern that we see repeated in God’s dealings with human beings throughout scripture and which we see summed up in the most famous verse of scripture, John 3: 16: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son …” God so loved that he gave.
Love is the reason for giving, not duty, not regret, but love. In Jesus’ life, death and resurrection God gave everything he had for us. Philippians 2 tells us that, of his own free will, Jesus “gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death – his death on the cross.” This is the extravagant nature of Jesus’ love for us that he would give up all he had in order to all the path of obedience all the way to his death on the cross.
‘This is what Mary saw in Jesus and why she responded by giving extravagantly and generously to him. Jesus then astonished the disciples by giving Mary the highest commendation anyone receives in the pages of the Gospels:
“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Mark 14:6 -9)’
In reflecting on this story the artist Makoto Fujimura has said that he prays that, ‘there will be a new aroma in the air: an aroma of Mary of Bethany, who in response to Jesus’ tears in John 11 and 12 brought her most precious belonging, her most gratuitous, expensive nard. I pray that in the days to come, this aroma will fill the air whenever the words of Gospel are spoken, that outsiders to faith will sense this extravagant air and feel it, particularly for them. I pray that when our children speak of faith, this gratuitous, intuitive aroma of the love of Christ will be made manifest in their lives.’
May that be our prayer this day and throughout our lives.
As a child my faith was impacted by a musical drama of the life of Christ using scripture drawn from Genesis to Revelation which was called Yesterday Today Forever and was staged in Oxford in the mid-1970s. It was an ambitious production with three complete stage sets, a complicated lighting system, quadraphonic sound, a 50-piece choir, a 12-piece band, dance, narration, a great variety in music, and a back projected film. I was impressed by the integration of the Arts and scripture in a way that I had not seen prior to that point.
Included in the show was a beautiful ballad based on this story of Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair (John 12: 1-8). Called ‘Remember Mary’, the song imagines Mary’s thoughts as she carries out this extravagant gesture:
“I cannot look at your face - I dare not - for I have sinned so much and you know my heart. I want to look at you Jesus, but I have not the power to lift my eyes for I am guilty - oh so guilty. What can I do? For I am lost and yet you care - even for me. So I will pour this ointment upon your feet, dear Lord. The ointment smells so sweet; smells so. sweet; and yet I am a broken creature, I'm only but dust, only dust …”
Jesus responds: “You have done a beautiful thing to me Mary, in pouring this ointment on my body, you have prepared me for burial. Your sins are forgiven, for you have loved much.”
It was Mary’s own decision to pour ointment over Jesus’ feet and to dry his feet with her hair. No one expected her action – it was not done out of duty - and at least one person criticised her severely for it. It was entirely her decision, her personal way of giving to Jesus.
Giving in this way involved giving generously from her possessions because the ointment that she used was expensive (imported from countries such as India) and extravagant (half a litre was an enormous amount to use in this way). It also involved giving generously of herself as Jewish women traditionally kept their hair tied up in public and only unloosened their hair in the presence of their husbands. What Mary did in wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair was the ultimate sign of her love for and commitment to Jesus. She did all this, not with regret or out of a sense of duty, but gladly and generously.
In fact, her gift to Jesus is a response to the love that Jesus has shown towards her. She gives because Jesus has first given extravagantly and generously to her. This is the pattern that we see repeated in God’s dealings with human beings throughout scripture and which we see summed up in the most famous verse of scripture, John 3: 16: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son …” God so loved that he gave.
Love is the reason for giving, not duty, not regret, but love. In Jesus’ life, death and resurrection God gave everything he had for us. Philippians 2 tells us that, of his own free will, Jesus “gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness. He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death – his death on the cross.” This is the extravagant nature of Jesus’ love for us that he would give up all he had in order to all the path of obedience all the way to his death on the cross.
‘This is what Mary saw in Jesus and why she responded by giving extravagantly and generously to him. Jesus then astonished the disciples by giving Mary the highest commendation anyone receives in the pages of the Gospels:
“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Mark 14:6 -9)’
In reflecting on this story the artist Makoto Fujimura has said that he prays that, ‘there will be a new aroma in the air: an aroma of Mary of Bethany, who in response to Jesus’ tears in John 11 and 12 brought her most precious belonging, her most gratuitous, expensive nard. I pray that in the days to come, this aroma will fill the air whenever the words of Gospel are spoken, that outsiders to faith will sense this extravagant air and feel it, particularly for them. I pray that when our children speak of faith, this gratuitous, intuitive aroma of the love of Christ will be made manifest in their lives.’
May that be our prayer this day and throughout our lives.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11:59 - Psalm 107 Let Us Thank The Lord.
Saturday, 4 April 2020
11 years of commission4mission
commission4mission was set up in 2009 and became a registered charity (Charity no. 1161109) in 2011. commission4mission ended its work at the end of March 2020.
Between March 2009 and March 2020 we undertook the following:
Art Trails: researched, published and launched a Church Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area; and Faith in the City Art Trail leaflet for the Corporation of London focusing on modern and contemporary artworks in the City Churches.
Commissions: 13 commissions at Queens Hospital Romford; All Saints Hutton; St Peter’s Harold Wood; St Edmund’s Tyseley; St Paul’s Goodmayes; St John’s Seven Kings; St Margaret’s Great Ilford; Christ Church ThamesView; and Dagenham Park Church of England School.
Exhibitions: Chelmsford Cathedral; St Laurence Upminster; the Pentecost, West Ham and Leytonstone Festivals; E17 and Leytonstone Art Trails; Holy Trinity with St Augustine of Hippo Leytonstone; St Martin-in-the-Fields; St Mary Magdalene Billericay; Tokarska Gallery; All Saints West Ham, Strand Gallery (Pentecost Festival), Harlow Town Centre (pop-up exhibition for Barking Episcopal Area Arts Festival); All Saints Woodford Wells, Wimbledon Library Gallery; Hornchurch and Romford libraries (H’Art Festival – the Barking Episcopal Area Arts Festival); St Stephen Walbrook; Norwich Cathedral; St Saviour’s St Albans; All Hallows by the Tower; Coventry Cathedral; and Holy Trinity Sloane Square.
Events: Launch event hosted by St Alban’s Romford; Art Talks by David Hawkins, Fr Rodrick Hingley, Graham Gould, Mark Lewis, Jonathan Evens, Glenn Lowcock, Steve Scott, Stephen Cottrell, Rob Floyd, Richard D. North, Wendy McTernan, Irina Bradley, Anthony Hodgson; Networking evenings on the themes of ‘Spirituality – the heartbeat of Art?’ and ‘Stations of the Cross’; Study Day on the theme of ‘Perspectives on commissioning Christian Art’ at Chelmsford Cathedral and on the value of public art at St Paul’s Harlow; Art workshop at St Paul’s Harlow which produced a design for a frieze; Art demonstration by Harvey Bradley; Big Draw workshop led by Mark Lewis, Francesca Ross and Peter Webb; Performance evenings featuring Colin Burns, Tim Cunningham, Jonathan Evens, Jane Grell, Malcolm Guite, Alan Hitching, Jenny Houghton, Tamsin Kendrick and Steve Scott; Arts in Worship event at St Stephen Walbrook where Hayley Bowen, John Gentry, Mark Lewis, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb led art workshops and a series of visual multi-media meditations were shown; and Art Walks led by Mark Lewis to churches on the Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area and Faith in the City Art Trail.
Our partners have included: HeartEdge; New Roots; Oasis Trust; and The Worship Cloud.
Projects: worked with CANA and Veritasse on Run with the Fire, an international art project for churches in the 2012 Olympic year – Run with the Fire DVD containing a digital exhibition and event guidance materials – resulting in events run using the digital exhibition in Aldersbrook, California, Devonport, Harlow, Leicester, London, Sacramento, Streatham and Woodford; supported Stations 2017, a collaboration between Mark Dean (artist), Lizzi Kew Ross (choreographer) and Lucy Newman Cleeve (curator).
Publications: commission4mission catalogue (2010); Condemned, a creative reflection for Lent illustrated with contemporary art works by seven member artists, accompanied by the words of Isaiah 53; articles by Jonathan Evens, Helen Gheorghui Gould and Steven Saxby to a special arts edition of franciscan magazine; three collections of images by commission4mission artists available for download via theworshipcloud.com: Mark of the Cross (images by Henry Shelton and words by Jonathan Evens), The Passion: Reflections and Prayers features pictures, poems and prayers by Henry Shelton and Jonathan Evens, and Stations of the Cross by Valerie Dean.
Retreats: Mark Lewis organised three retreats held at the Othona Community in Bradwell.
Services celebrating the Arts at St Peter’s Chapel, Bradwell, All Saints Goodmayes and St Stephen Walbrook; two Stations of the Cross services held at St Martin-in-the-Fields; Irina Bradley, Valerie Dean, Tim Harrold and Henry Shelton spoke on inspiration in a Bread for the World service at St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Websites: Webpage (http://commissionformission.blogspot.com/) and website (https://www.commission4mission.org/).
Since we began our work we have donated over £12,000 to the following charities: The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields; The Salvation Army; The National Autistic Society; and PDSA (Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals), Oasis Trust, Rejuvenate Worldwide, St Francis Hospice, Safer Places, Sightsavers International, Smile Train UK and Haven House Children’s Hospice.
Our artists have included: Alan Hitching; Ally Ashworth; Andrew Vessey; Anne Creasey; Caroline Nina Phillips; Caroline Richardson; Christopher Clack; Clorinda Goodman; Colin Joseph Burns; Danielle Lovesey; David Hawkins; Elizabeth Duncan Meyer; Francesca Ross; Gillian Barritt; Harvey Bradley; Hayley Bowen; Henry Shelton; Janet Roberts; Jim Insole; Jonathan Evens; Joy Rousell Stone; Ken Ashby; Mark Lewis; Mbeng Pouka; Michael Creasey; Nadiya Pavliv Tokarska; Peter Webb; Richard Paton; Rosalind Hore; Ross Ashmore; Sergiy Shkanov; Valerie Dean; Celia Ward; Robert Enoch; Adeliza Mole; Anthony Hodgson; Barbara Harris; Cathie Chappell; David Millidge; Deborah Harrison; Dorothy Morris; Eugenia Jacobs; Fiona Hunter-Boyd; Irene Novelli; Irina Bradley; Jacek Kulikowski; Jacqui Parkinson; Jean Lamb; John Gentry; Laura Grenci; Lewis Braswell; Lucy Crabtree; Lucy Thomasin Morrish; Markos Kampanis; Martin Cosgrove; Mary Flitcroft; MaryJean Donaghey; Maurizio Galia; Michael Garaway; Rob Floyd; Rodney Munday; Susan Latchford; Sy Baker; Tim Harrold, Peter Shorer, Terry Ffyffe, Elizabeth Deane, Lisa Cunningham, Colin Riches, Judy Goring, Monica Thornton, Dorothy Gager, Sonia Veness, Beverley Barr, Jonathan Peter Smith, Victoria Norton, Nicolas Young, Emma Horsfield, Christine Garwood, Alexander Walker, Mari Hayman, and Sarah Ollerenshaw.
Mark Lewis, Chairman of commission4mission writes:
‘Further to our AGM in October and the decision made there to withdraw from registration as a Charity with the Charity Commission, we have regrettably had to take the further decision to dissolve commission4mission in its present form. I would like to thank all our members who have contributed to exhibitions over the last ten years and helped to make events a success.
This decision has not been taken lightly. Jonathan Evens has fulfilled the role of Secretary and Treasurer from the inception of commission4mission but, because of pressure of other commitments, will shortly step down from the Committee. Jonathan has undertaken these roles with exceptional dedication and commitment and we thank him sincerely for all he has done to develop and administer commission4mission. Given the demands of his current ministry we fully understand his wish to give up these committee positions.
Additionally, I had considered standing down as chairman at the next AGM because other life commitments are just making too many demands on me at present and in the foreseeable future. Harvey Bradley, has also decided to leave the committee for similar reasons. Harvey has been an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the committee since commission4mission began and we extend our heartfelt thanks for his valuable contributions.
Unfortunately without a fully constituted committee, a group becomes untenable and we know from experience that it will be difficult to fill these positions and maintain the organization and administration of commission4mission in anything like its present form. Many of our members live outside London, with other work and personal commitments and we feel it is unlikely that any would wish to take on the demands of these committee roles and be in a position to attend regular meetings.
The committee are meeting to decide on the disposal of commission4mission funds in order that we close commission4mission following the Charity Commission’s guidelines and to consider how we might continue as a community of artists in some other capacity. This will, of course, not be under the banner of commission4mission. Your ideas in this regard would be welcome.’
For further information or to share ideas, please contact Mark Lewis on mlewis342@googlemail.com.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Switchfoot - Where The Light Shines Through.
Windows on the world (272)
London, 2019
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M Ward - Heaven's Nail And Hammer.
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
God was with them as they went through
Here's my reflection for today's lunchtime Eucharist for St Martin-in-the-Fields:
But now thus says the Lord, / he who created you, O Jacob, / he who formed you, O Israel: / Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; / I have called you by name, you are mine. / When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; / and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; / when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, / and the flame shall not consume you.
These words from the beginning of Isaiah 43 are emblematic of the story we have heard today of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3). Their experience was of God with them as they passed through the flames; their time of trial and trouble. King Nebuchadnezzar and his counsellors saw four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire; and the fourth had the appearance of a god. God was with them as they went through their trial.
That is the story of the People of Israel; God was with them as they went through the waters of the Red Sea, God was with them as they went through the wilderness, God was with them as the crossed the waters of the Jordan into the Promised Land, and God was with them again as they went into exile in Babylon.
God was with them as they went through. That was their experience; an experience that they extended even into the experience of death itself. So, they sang with the Psalmist, ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, / I fear no evil; / for you are with me; / your rod and your staff— / they comfort me.’
Jesus came as Emmanuel, God with us, in order that we know that God is with us in all of life, not simply in the times of trial. For 90% of his time among us he lived an ordinary life as a child and young adult in Nazareth, that we might see God with us in every aspect of our day to day lives. He then experienced torment and trial himself, even unto death, as assurance that God remains with us in those times of trial too.
It was this reality that those he encountered in his ministry found hard to understand (John 8. 31-42). The reality of God being with us is what Jesus had experienced in God’s presence and is what he was sent into our world to show and share. We can readily understand why those encountering Jesus had difficulty in understanding, as their expectations of a Messiah had been shaped by dramatic stories of presence, such as that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace. They were looking for one who looked like a god and instead got Jesus, an ordinary man growing up in an ordinary family in an ordinary town. His ordinariness was a stumbling block to many and yet was the key to understanding what God was doing through the incarnation; as it was for understanding what God was revealing through the incarnation.
We continue in Jesus’ word and know the truth when we recognise the reality of God with us in our lives and world, especially in our trials and troubles, and as we seek to be the hands and feet, eyes and ears of God in our world by being with others. Being with is what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego experienced of God in the fiery furnace and is what God revealed to us through Jesus. Being with others is then our response to all that we have received from God.
We gain comfort from these stories by remembering that God is with us in our time of trial, as was the case with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. God will go through this time of trial with us, whatever it entails for us. We experience challenge through these stories as we explore what it means today to continue in Jesus’ word, life and truth by finding ways to be with others at this time.
‘thus says the Lord, / I have called you by name, you are mine. / When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; / and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; / when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, / and the flame shall not consume you.’
‘Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sofia Gubaidulina - The Canticle of the Sun of St Francis of Assisi part I.
But now thus says the Lord, / he who created you, O Jacob, / he who formed you, O Israel: / Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; / I have called you by name, you are mine. / When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; / and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; / when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, / and the flame shall not consume you.
These words from the beginning of Isaiah 43 are emblematic of the story we have heard today of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3). Their experience was of God with them as they passed through the flames; their time of trial and trouble. King Nebuchadnezzar and his counsellors saw four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire; and the fourth had the appearance of a god. God was with them as they went through their trial.
That is the story of the People of Israel; God was with them as they went through the waters of the Red Sea, God was with them as they went through the wilderness, God was with them as the crossed the waters of the Jordan into the Promised Land, and God was with them again as they went into exile in Babylon.
God was with them as they went through. That was their experience; an experience that they extended even into the experience of death itself. So, they sang with the Psalmist, ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, / I fear no evil; / for you are with me; / your rod and your staff— / they comfort me.’
Jesus came as Emmanuel, God with us, in order that we know that God is with us in all of life, not simply in the times of trial. For 90% of his time among us he lived an ordinary life as a child and young adult in Nazareth, that we might see God with us in every aspect of our day to day lives. He then experienced torment and trial himself, even unto death, as assurance that God remains with us in those times of trial too.
It was this reality that those he encountered in his ministry found hard to understand (John 8. 31-42). The reality of God being with us is what Jesus had experienced in God’s presence and is what he was sent into our world to show and share. We can readily understand why those encountering Jesus had difficulty in understanding, as their expectations of a Messiah had been shaped by dramatic stories of presence, such as that of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace. They were looking for one who looked like a god and instead got Jesus, an ordinary man growing up in an ordinary family in an ordinary town. His ordinariness was a stumbling block to many and yet was the key to understanding what God was doing through the incarnation; as it was for understanding what God was revealing through the incarnation.
We continue in Jesus’ word and know the truth when we recognise the reality of God with us in our lives and world, especially in our trials and troubles, and as we seek to be the hands and feet, eyes and ears of God in our world by being with others. Being with is what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego experienced of God in the fiery furnace and is what God revealed to us through Jesus. Being with others is then our response to all that we have received from God.
We gain comfort from these stories by remembering that God is with us in our time of trial, as was the case with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. God will go through this time of trial with us, whatever it entails for us. We experience challenge through these stories as we explore what it means today to continue in Jesus’ word, life and truth by finding ways to be with others at this time.
‘thus says the Lord, / I have called you by name, you are mine. / When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; / and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; / when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, / and the flame shall not consume you.’
‘Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sofia Gubaidulina - The Canticle of the Sun of St Francis of Assisi part I.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)