THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – Protest  14^th June 2020

Our thoughts this week start I’m afraid on a rather serious note. They’ve been prompted by the events in America that have spilled over into the UK and other places. I don’t, however, want to consider those specific events, but rather the wider issues of violence and protest, negative and positive whether Individual, Institutionalised, Public, or Mob.

We’ve seen, during this period of isolation and lockdown, the most amazing acts of kindness, compassion, courage and more… Sadly though we’ve also see acts of selfishness, opportunism, domestic violence and more… This polarization of behaviour often brings with it the spectacle of protest. This protest can manifest itself in many ways, marches, letters to the editor, angry exchanges on TV’s question time, angry confrontation in the House of Commons! Yes, and more….

When it comes to protesting I think we have to begin by asking not only, what are we protesting about? But also, what are we trying to achieve? The most obvious answer and the one I suspect most people would give is ‘Justice’ but justice for who?

It’s always dangerous to categorise people but for the moment I’d like to consider three types of protestor: The Peaceful – The Angry- The Opportunist. Let’s consider these three types and their search for justice. Here, of course, we can only do this at a very superficial level, but I think it’s worth doing. We’ll start with the negative and work to the positive.

The Opportunist: Nearly always violent. It’s sad to say but there will always be those who take advantage of a difficult or contentious situation for selfish and malicious reasons. They’re bent on causing mayhem, violence and destruction, using the situation to loot and steal and I think it’s fair to say, there is very little focus on justice of any description. Having said all that – and I do believe it to be the case – I also think as a society we must ask ourselves, what is it in people’s lives – or what’s missing – that drives them to such behaviour? Are all of them entirely malicious and nasty, or have some of them been damaged by us? And by ‘us’ I mean society. Another thing to consider, are they not all God’s children? More on that later.

The Angry: There are many people who will join in protest with anger, or become angry and sometimes violent as time goes on. As with the opportunist, the violence can’t be condoned, but can it be understood? Well yes, I think perhaps it can. Most who are likely to read this will, I suspect, never have suffered the levels of violence, brutality, oppression, abuse…… that lead to such protest and demonstration. Nor have we known family members or friends who have. Do we know how we would react? I suspect not. So no, we can’t condone violence but we can try to understand the anger that causes it, brought on through the frustration of injustice and the lack of progress to put it right.

The Peaceful: For me the finest form of protest is the one that is strong, passionate and peaceful. Where there is a clear focus on truth and a genuine search for justice. What I find so poignant is how often the families of victims, of all kinds of violence, are the ones who call for calm and an end to further violence. They’ve seen enough of it, they’ve seen its result in their own lives, the loss of a loved one, trauma, the devastation to entire families. Their search is for truth and understanding. Not just understanding of what happened, but for people to understand them and the position they now find themselves in. They desperately want to break the cycle.

Justice is a word I’ve used a few times here, but what is true justice and how can it be achieved? Again a huge subject but one thing I’m sure of – True justice cannot be achieved without truth, understanding, forgiveness and reconciliation,

When I decided to tackle this subject I started to read (for the second time) a wonderful book recommended by a friend ‘GOD HAS A DREAM’ subtitled ‘A VISION OF HOPE FOR OUR TIME’ by Desmond Tutu. I thought I would pick my favourite quotes from the book and share them with you but soon realised I would end up typing in half the book! It’s a book that takes on this subject, among others, and is full of honesty, compassion, understanding, humour, faith and hope. Tutu’s love for humanity, indeed all of God’s creation in its entirety comes flooding through. His dependence on God and his desire to follow the teachings of Jesus are clear, how all of us, each and every human being is special to God, all God’s children are to be loved and have dignity. God is wanting to embrace each one of us, regardless, Like the Father in The Prodigal Son story mentioned last week. We won’t always agree, but we can try to understand, to be reconciled even in our differences, to live in harmony. It’s a big ask, but we can all make a difference. Desmond Tutu talks about a statue in a church in Rome, it’s a statue of Jesus with no arms!

‘When you ask why you’re told that it shows how God relies on us…Without us, God has no eyes; without us, God has no ears; without us, God has no arms. God waits upon us, and relies on us.’ ¹

It’s up to us.

Below are references to a few of many Bible passages that may help on this subject. In the meantime, Jesus tells us to ‘love our enemies’ (Matthew 5:44). When we try to resolve a conflict we sometimes say ‘let’s bury the hatchet’….. This is what Desmond Tutu asks:

‘How then do we embrace our enemies? How do we get rid of the hatchet forever instead of just burying it for a time and digging it up later?’ ¹

A thought to ponder, but it seems to me, truth, understanding, compassion and forgiveness might be a good start.

‘… for every act of evil there are a dozen acts of goodness in our world that go unnoticed. It is only because the evil deeds are less common that they are “news”.’ ¹

¹Tutu, D. (2005) God Has A Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Times. London, Rider. – Pages 60, 52 and 13 respectively.

Matthew 5: 21-26                Concerning anger.

Matthew 5: 38-48               Retaliation and Love for Enemies (also Luke 6:27-36)

Matthew 7: 1-5                     Judging others (also Luke 6:37-42)

Matthew 7: 12                     The Golden Rule (also Luke 6:31)

Finally

A number of Astronauts have looked back at the earth and wondered at God’s creation. Some have wondered how it is we cannot live in harmony on our wonderful planet. On Christmas Eve 1968 the crew of Apollo VIII (William Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman) broadcast a Christmas message from space including the creation story from Genesis. The following, is a Prayer offered in space by Frank Borman (commander of the mission) the same night.

A Prayer from space

Give us, O God, the vision which can see Thy love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust Thy goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we continue to pray with understanding hearts, and to do what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace. Amen.

Frank Borman was also a lay reader in the Episcopalian Church.

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – Trinity Sunday 7^th June 2020

The Trinity, what a mine field of opinion! This Three in One nature of God (Father Son and Holy Spirit) that we celebrate in the Christian faith is often hotly debated, and I fear it will continue to be so for some considerable time!

On occasions I’ve had discussions with a friend of mine when we’ve talked about how, sometimes, people try to describe someone, or something, which in essence is indescribable, maybe try to encapsulate it in a little box, word or phrase that cannot possibly do it justice. I think the Trinity is one such concept. At the other extreme, some scholars and theologians will come up with such complicated and convoluted theories that it can leave you reeling. Worse still is when those theories become cause for division and resentment, flying in the face of messages at the very heart of the Gospels, messages of love, compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation. This is not to say I don’t think we should study, and seek a deeper understand of scripture, we should, I’ve been blessed by the writings of many scholars and theologians – But….

I’d like to share with you a few thoughts that have helped me in relation to the trinity and what it means to me. These are not statements of doctrine, or great theological insights, simply a small selection of the many ways our wonderful Three in One God can be viewed – trying to bear in mind the dangers of over simplification or complication described above.

The Father: There is a relatively common view of God the creator and maker who sustains all things – ‘The Head’. But fatherhood in the intimate sense of the Aramaic word ‘Abba’ used by Jesus and Paul in the New Testament, a word closer to daddy in English, a word the disciples were encouraged to use in The Lord’s Prayer? This is something so very special. Perhaps one of the most amazing and comforting images Jesus gave us (a favourite of another friend of mine), is in the story of the prodigal son. That wonderful account of the father welcoming home his wayward son with open arms, loving, forgiving, restoring and with such joy and enthusiasm. No matter how wayward we may have been, that is how The Father wants to welcome each one of us. It’s up to us!

The Son: Sometimes described as begotten of the Father. God, yet man, human yet divine. I’ve used this image a few times now, but I think it bears repeating. One of the ways Greek philosophers of old tried to reconcile this ‘new religion’ with their own understanding of God – was to describe Jesus like this:

‘A being other than the Father, but being derived from him with the intimacy of a flame which lights one torch from another; torchlight from torchlight, a phrase which in the fourth century became embedded in what we now know as the Nicene Creed. ‘God from God, light from light, true God from true God of one being with the Father….’¹

In Jesus God shares our humanity, all its joys and sorrows, all its comforts and hardships. He came to us as a person we can relate to, teaching us in words we can still understand today , living a life of service and sacrifice as an example to us all, and finally suffering the pain of crucifixion on the cross, paying the price for our wrongdoing in order to reconcile us to Him.

The Holy Spirit: People often refer to ‘Breathing New Life’ into something. That’s certainly something we saw in events on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came on the disciples (see last week’s thoughts). Because of those events it’s easy to think this is a post resurrection phenomena, however we see the Holy Spirit at work before Jesus death on the cross and referred to in the Old Testament. I commented last week on the Spirit’s versatility and it seems to me the Holy Spirit appears not just when there’s need for comfort, strength, wisdom or guidance, but also when there is great joy e.g. (Luke 1:41). The Holy Spirit is described as proceeding from the Father and the Son; a gift from God, and from Jesus, freely given to those who ask (Mark1:8, Luke 11:13, John 14:26).

A gift, once offered needs to be accepted, and this is true of the Holy Spirit. But I also believe that in God in His infinite mercy will impart His Spirit to those in need and whose hearts are open. Have you ever felt an unexplained feeling of strength, calm, confidence, or of being guided? It seems to come from nowhere, yet it sees you through an extraordinary episode in your life. As the name suggests (Spirit) it is not a tangible thing in the physical sense, but it is very real and can produce a physical change in the person who receives it.

My prayer is that through all the babble, (and yes, that’s what some of it is) we will all come to a greater knowledge of the love, mercy and forgiveness of The Father, experience the grace and humanity of The Son, benefiting from His teachings and example, and confidence in His redeeming act on the cross. And finally find fellowship and a palpable sense of the gift of The Holy Spirit in our lives, knowing its comforting, healing, strengthening and guiding power.

Now may the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

The Love of God

And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Be with each one of us today,

Tomorrow and in whatever the future holds.

Amen.

A Penny for your Thoughts. 7^th June 2020

“And the people stayed home, read books, listened, rested, and exercised.

They made art, played games, learned new ways of being, and were still.

And they listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced.

Some met their shadows. People began to think differently.

And the people healed and, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, made new choices, dreamed new images and created new ways to live……

And to heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”       (Unknown)

Dear All,

Sadly, we won’t be sharing worship together on Sunday morning at Cooksmill Green, however, Karen has asked if I would like to send a message or a ‘Thought for the Day’. Firstly, ‘Hello’ and I hope that you are all still staying safe and well, especially as we go to the new phase of lifting some restrictions to ‘Lockdown’. This pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways and I feel it will continue to do so for some time to come…..we have a ‘new normal’ to get used to!

I have to admit to loving this ‘lockdown’! Despite everyone thinking that I would be going ‘stir crazy’, I have found this to have been a valuable time to rest and recover from a usually busy life. As in the words above ‘and the people healed’. Yes, I have stayed home, isolated, sat, thought, healed and pondered a lot and even read a whole book!!!!!!

While I, and many others, stay at home, my heartfelt thanks go to all those who have, and are, working constantly on the front line, caring and healing, and to all those providing all of the goods and services that we need to carry on our lives. As I sit in my ‘isolation bubble’, I thank you all.

As I have sat in my ‘isolation bubble’, I have considered how fortunate I am to have my home, with a garden, in a nice area, among supportive neighbours, friends keeping in touch and a loving family that I can soon meet up with again. I thank God for the sunshine and the wonders around me, as I watch the wonderful birds flitting on and off the bird feeders; robins, blue tits, resident fat pigeons and the magpies who seem to have adopted me. I am in God’s garden and in His loving care.   I have felt somewhat euphoric and content and at peace.

Every day I walk with Willy Woo around Oakland’s Park and gaze at the strong, tall trees, blowing in the wind. Trees that shelter, house, produce, provide and are vital to the earth’s survival. As I walk (and bag up other people’s rubbish) and I think many thoughts, it dawned on me that, to disrespect God’s creation and the beauty that it gives us in nature; trees, flowers, birds, bees and the diversity of His wonderful creatures, is to disrespect God.

Every day, during this ‘lockdown’, I am lifted by the quiet streets, the empty roads, the clear skies. The earth ……HIS earth …..is having a chance to recover even for just this short time. Nature is coming out to meet us, we have a chance to breathe purer air, look up into clearer skies. The Himalayas are visible in parts of India, 125 miles away, for the first time in 30 years after the coronavirus restrictions saw pollution levels drop!

Maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance……….

“……and then ‘lockdown’ eased. Then the people went out, picnicked, went to the beaches, went to the beauty spots, queued up in their cars, ate their long-awaited for burgers, left their rubbish strewn around…….                 And the earth wept!!!!”

What are the answers? What do we do?

We are all good people, we love God, we worship in love and fellowship.

We know how much Jesus loves us and will never leave us through all of our ups and downs of life. He is our rock, our heart, our salvation, our everything, the one who loves us the most. He wants the very best for us all and, as His people, we want to do our best for Him.

We know how much God loves us and His world and we understand the message that God gave us charge and makes us custodians of His world and I have no doubt that we all do our very best to look after His creation, the environment, and ultimately the planet!

From Genesis 1 “……I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small……..”

• But how do we get that message out there that His world is suffering mis-use and abuse, and that it is worth looking after for now and for future generations?
• How do we maintain the lessons learned in ‘lockdown’?
• How do we balance it all against the needs of the modern world, economics and the requirements of daily life?

               How do we do it …….without making the earth weep!!!!  

Yes, we trust in God’s Plan for each one of us, and ultimately for the world, but It is in our hands too!

Maybe we could consider one thing, one lesson learnt that we can take from our ‘lockdown’ experience and make one change for the better in our lives.

Have we ‘made new choices’, ‘dreamed new images’, ‘learned new ways of being’? Have we begun to ‘think differently’? One change, one small step for our own lives, for our environment and for the planet! Worth a ‘ponder’ I hope.

“And just like that, money, fame, power and beauty are worthless.

Mother nature’s message to us all…….The air, earth, water and sky are fine without you.

When you come back, remember that you are my guests, not my masters”   (unknown)

Prayer:    

Dear Lord, loving Father and Creator, we come to You to say how deeply grateful we are for Your creation. As we look around, we are amazed at the greatness and majesty of all that You have made. Nature around us speaks of Your greatness – the sky, the mountains, trees, lakes and streams speak of Your great design. You have given us such beauty in the colours of the rainbow, the beauty of flowers and fields, the creatures of land, sea and sky. Words are not enough to express Your wonder. Psalm 8 “O Lord, Our God, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.”

Lord, may we show our love and reverence to You, by caring for all that You have created.

Help us to love and cherish Your world. It is Your gift to us all.

Amen.

God Bless and love to all.

Penny xx

This morning’s hymn:   Think of a World without any Flowers 

“Think of a world without any flowers, think of a wood without any trees.

Think of a sky without any sunshine, think of the air without any breeze.

We thank You, Lord, for flowers and trees and sunshine.

We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name.

Think of a world without any people, Think of a street with no-one living there.

Think of a town without any houses, no-one to love and nobody to care.

We thank You, Lord, for families and friendships

We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name

Think of a world without any worship, think of a God without His Only Son,

Think of a cross without a resurrection, only a grave and not a victory won!

We thank You, Lord, for showing us our Saviour

We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name.

Thanks to our Lord, for being here among us, thanks be to Him for sharing all we do.

Thanks for our church and all the love we find here.

Thanks for this place and all its promise true.

We thank You, Lord, for life in all its richness

We thank You, Lord, and praise Your Holy Name.”

Thank You, Lord. Amen.

Bunty Newport and the children from Emmanuel Junior Church, Cambridge 1966

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – Pentecost? 31^st May 2020

What is Pentecost and how did it start? There’s only limited space here, so a truncated version. The original Day of Pentecost is a Jewish festival, coming fifty days after Passover (when the Jews made their great escape from Pharaoh in Egypt). Jews in Jesus’ time would flock to Jerusalem and celebrate in a style akin to our Harvest Festival. They’d bring the first sheaves of corn harvested, give thanks and pray for the remaining harvest to be brought in safely. They also looked back to their great escape from Egypt and how, fifty days into their wanderings in the desert, they reached Mount Sinai where Moses received the law. This was a time when God gave the Jewish People a new direction, clear guidance on how he wanted them to think and behave as His people, moving forward to a promised land. Ultimately this festival became centred on the temple in Jerusalem. It’s here, at one such festival, that we hear of the incredible events recorded in Acts that became what Christians now regard as ‘Pentecost.’ The account is in ‘Acts’ chapter 2.

Crowds from all over the known world had gathered in Jerusalem, many, but perhaps not all, would have been aware of the events that had taken place some seven weeks before. A charismatic man had created a real stir in Galilee and Jerusalem making, it seemed, messiahship and kingly claims. He’d been put to death by the authorities on the request of the crowd, goaded on by the religious hierarchy. This man was Jesus. His followers had dispersed and although some had remained together they’d gone into hiding, or at least gone strangely quiet. Danny reminded us last week that Jesus’ followers were now in their own kind of lockdown following his crucifixion, and that the Holy Spirit he’d promised would have to be something special to get them kick started again. Well it was! Pentecost was to take on a new meaning, a new significance.

The Holy Spirit came on the disciples who were gathered together. They described it as being like a violent wind, tongues of fire – something extraordinary was happening. The people gathered in Jerusalem were now hearing the message about Jesus, what he said and what he did and they heard it in their own languages, from people who were clearly Galilean. This was the start of something new.

There is much that could be said here, but what I want to consider now is what – among many other things – the Holy Spirit can mean to us today. Let’s start by being honest and say that for many it’s a very hard concept to take in. For some it’s a scary thought, especially the thoughts of violent winds, tongues of fire and such drama. But remember, the Holy Spirit is a gift from God, it’s a source of strength, it can be our guide and prompter if we would but allow it. Let me remind you of another story you may or may not be familiar with. The great prophet Elijah had been in quite a scuffle with Jezebel and the prophets of Baal, had fled for his life and ended up hiding in a cave….

⁹ …. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

 Elijah Meets God at Horeb

¹¹ He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”       (1Kings 19: 9-14)

It was in the calm silence that Elijah heard God’s voice cutting through all the noise and commotion. Elijah, strengthened and with confidence went back to carry on God’s work. He’d been alone and afraid, but through the presence and guidance of God’s spirit, his life became meaningful again.

The same thing happened to the disciples, they felt alone and afraid. Then the Spirit of God intervened – life changed. Energy, strength, confidence in what Jesus had said and done became an urgent message to deliver. Here we are, over 2000 years later still speaking about it. So I guess we can say when it came, the Holy Spirit was in deed something special, it still is today and it can be in our own lives too, Young, old, male, female, rich or poor.

It doesn’t have to be like a great violent wind, or tongues of fire, it can be in the still small voice of calm. If we stop, stay quiet and listen we can often feel, even hear that comforting voice, prompting, guiding, strengthening. If we embrace the stillness, especially if we’re feeling alone or afraid, God can and will see us through, but we have to open our hearts and ears and eyes to hear – and let him speak.

A Prayer from Nick Fawcett

Almighty and loving God,

We gather together today

As those joined by your Holy Spirit.

We come remembering your ancient promise

To send your Spirit upon all people,

Young and old

Male and female

Jew and Gentile

Move within us we pray.

We come remembering that first Pentecost

When your Spirit was given to the apostles,

Renewing their faith and transforming their lives.

Move within us we pray.

We come, on this Pentecost Sunday,

Reminded of the constant work of your Spirit,

Inspiring,

Guiding,

Challenging

Refining.

Move within us we pray.

Almighty God, Spirit of truth,

Come as you promised

And reveal to us more of the way of Christ.

Come and fill us with deeper faith and greater love.

Give us the gifts we need to work for your kingdom,

Inspire us with new vision and purpose,

And breathe your power into our lives.

Move within us we pray.

Almighty and loving God,

Open our hearts and minds and souls to our Spirit,

Whoever we may be,

And so equip us to live as your people,

Not just this but every day,

Our lives reflecting your glory

And proclaiming your love.

Move within us we pray.

To the glory of your name.

Amen.

Nick Fawcett (1998) Prayers for All Seasons. 1500210 edition ed. Bury St Edmunds, Kevin Mayhew Ltd.