Thought for the Month March 2023

Those of you who have got to know me will also know by now that, whilst I see benefits in the lectionary, our Christian festivals and seasonal periods, such as Advent and Lent (I adore Christmas and Easter), I also have concerns that we’re sometimes in danger of putting elements of our faith into neat little boxes to be taken out at the appropriate time.

Lent could be seen as one such season. The definitions of Lent cover things such as penance, fasting and self-denial, It’s a time when we reflect, among other things, on our own wrong doing and short comings, a time to re-evaluate our lives, a time to look ahead to the Passiontide. I’m not suggesting for one moment that we shouldn’t have Lent, in deed I think it’s a good idea. But this is not the only time in the year we should be thinking about these things. In fairness of course, if you are in a church that follows a liturgy, you will be reminded of many of these elements on a weekly basis (as we all should be). We’re also reminded of Easter every time we come to the Lord’s Table for Communion. Hopefully Lent helps us to re-focus that liturgy so that it doesn’t just become a parrot fashion chant!

While we reflect on a theological Lent as described, while we think of the terrible devastation occurring in the world, be it through war or natural disaster we shouldn’t forget the bible does not promise us a perfect world. In fact, quite the opposite it expressly warns us the opposite is true.  We do not live in a perfect world.

One of this week’s lectionary readings is John 1 1-17 which reminds us that God and Jesus have been there from the very start of creation. At the end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells His disciples ‘remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20) NRSV. Throughout time God has been and will be here and while he is here, in spite of what the world and its inhabitants might do, we read in Genesis ‘As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.’ (Genesis 8:22) NRSV.

The 1^st of March was the start of the Meteorological Spring. As cold as it at the moment, new life is already springing from the ground, some birds seem to be busy building nests (the pigeons in our garden are), blossoms will soon be in evidence. God’s promises are good.

Every day is an opportunity to repent and reflect. At the same time every day is an opportunity to rejoice in the seeds of God’s creation. In reality of course, these things are difficult to rejoice in when you are burdened by life’s many pressures, illness, stress, homelessness… the list is endless. So for those of us that can, it is up to us to plant the seeds of God’s love, plant seeds of kindness and compassion support those who seek to bring relief and comfort. so that all God’s people can experience their own Meteorological Spring, which can start on any day, not just the 1st of March. We don’t have to wait for any day, or season or lectionary period to reflect on and spread God’s word.

Steve.

Prayer

Dear God

As we rejoice in the New Life of Spring,

As we start to look forward to the

Hope of Easter and the Cross,

Help us to be instruments of hope,

To bring courage and expectation

And New Life in you to those in despair.

In Jesus Name. Amen

Thought for The Month February 2023

Her indoors

Do you have a soul? If so, what’s it like? What do you do about it?

I imagine a number of you will simply answer “yes” to the first question and send this “thought” to the recycling bin. Some of you may feel angry that I am turning my thought inward at a time following the earthquake in Turkey when the thoughts and prayers of most of the world are outward bound. In which case apologies; yet, I would claim, this is possibly the most important question in your life and will need an answer long after the world has moved on to the next tragic news story.

Let’s start with the Virgin Mary and her song called the Magnificat. “My soul doth magnify the Lord…” Not my “voice”, not my “feelings”, not my “thoughts”, but my soul. Everything about the annunciation was bad news – a pregnancy outside marriage, with all the difficulties with your husband, your family, your in-laws, the local community that that involves. Not to mention morning sickness and the rest of it. It would not have been surprising if feelings and thoughts had given voice to dismay. That’s what your “flesh” would say; but her “spirit” spoke of pride, of trust in God, of exaltation.

I always used to tell my students not to include a dictionary definition of a topic in an essay, so here, breaking my own rule: “soul” can simply mean a person. Old King Cole was a merry old soul – not that he had a merry soul of whatever age-group, but that is the kind of person that he was. I think if he consumed all that tobacco and alcohol he wouldn’t have stayed a merry soul for many years. And if I were a king, I would want a full scale orchestra, chorus and soloists to keep me entertained, not some scrawny string trio.

So I don’t buy that definition. Let’s turn instead to Sir Thomas More in “A Man for all Seasons” talking about his refusal to countenance Henry VIII’s divorce: “And what would you do with a water spaniel that was afraid of water? You’d hang it! Well, as a spaniel is to water, so is a man to his own self. I will not give in because I oppose it—I do—not my pride, not my spleen, nor any other of my appetites but I do—I!”  That is a definition I do buy.

Or another unlikely authority from the same period, Sir Toby Belch, talking about a famous duellist: “souls and bodies hath he divorced three”. This refers to the Elizabethan view embedded deep in our view of Man that the soul is like a partner that stays with us through life, from which we are only separated at death. Is it true? Theologians have tried to prove it by weighing a body at the moment of death, seeing if there is a change of weight at this crucial moment of departure of the soul. A futile attempt, given that a quantity air is also lost at this point – from more than one orifice! You might like to think of it though as what W. S. Gilbert calls a “legal fiction” – even if you can’t prove that there is such a thing as a soul, it is better to act as if there is.

If there is a soul, then we all, Christian or otherwise, have one. Including Walt Whitman, who looked forward to the journey into eternity with his soul:

Sail forth — steer for the deep waters only,
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

O my brave soul!
O farther farther sail!
O daring joy, but safe! are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!

And so, as Valentine’s Day comes around, my advice to you is to be good to your soul. I don’t know what things yours goes for – mine is uplifted by music, performing it and listening to it. And sometimes by complete withdrawal and emptiness, for God is there too. Know your own soul and her needs: treat her well, with affection and the things that she loves. She deserves it for putting up with you all these years.

David

Thought for the Month January 2023

The beginning of a New Year has dawned and I pray it will be happy one for each and every one of you.

I think it’s true to say that each year brings mixed blessing for many people. We all have our highs and our lows, our triumphs and tragedies. This is not only true of individuals but for families, communities, nations, indeed the world. In some years the triumphs outweigh the tragedies – sometimes not.  2022 has sadly been a ‘sometimes not year’ for many people, with wars, economic crisis, fears over health and welfare… it seems to have been more tragedy than triumph!  and it would seem 2023 may be a continuation of the same.

It’s all too easy to feel like giving up and spiral into a sense of doom, we all start to blame leaders and politicians – sometimes with real justification. I appreciate that this is easier for some than others, but we all have a part to play in how our own lives, the lives of those around us and of society generally feels and develops. We don’t need to be like Private Frazer in Dad’s Army crying ‘We’re doomed Captain Mainwaring!’ We can be part of the solution, especially with God’s help.

In December’s ‘Thought for the Month’ and in in our Christmas Morning Service, we thought about the messages Christmas brings, How Jesus came to bring peace on earth, forgiveness, reconciliation and hope. The angels declared ‘Glad tiding of great joy.’ In the few days that surround Christmas, even in an increasingly commercially led world, signs of love, generosity, can still be found, people reconnect with one another. We also considered how we receive and how we respond to those messages. And I’d like to finish the season in the same vein.

Although the next few weeks may contain more bad news, harsh weather, wind, snow, ice… gradually spring will appear, green shoots, blossoms, new life springing forth. One of the earliest promises in the Bible is in Genesis 8: 22

²² As long as the earth endures,
    seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night,
    shall not cease.’

In spite of how it may seem sometimes, God is consistent and he keeps his promises. It is us I fear that are inconsistent.

Variety is the spice of life they say and yes, it’s truly wonderful, the seasons being just one example. In the church we move from Advent to Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, all events marking hugely significant events in Jesus’ Life, primarily His Birth, Death and Resurrection. And it’s right and proper that we acknowledge and celebrate these events. In between the main festivals, the church has what is sometimes referred to as ‘Ordinary Time.’ Ordinary! Really? This ‘Ordinary Time’ is an opportunity to reflect on Jesus’ teachings, surely anything but ordinary and surely anything but seasonal.

So for one last time, then I promise to get off my hobby horse for a while, let’s not allow the message of Christmas, or Easter come to that, just have a seasonal affect. Let’s make Jesus’ teachings consistent in our lives. Not ordinary, not seasonal, but holy. Spreading compassion, love, forgiveness, reconciliation and hope throughout all the year.

Steve

Heavenly Father

Make this coming year, a year of

Peace, harmony and hope we pray.

Give us all the strength to face

Whatever it may bring

Knowing you will be there beside us,

All the way. Amen.

Thought for the Month December 2022

Well here we are again, Advent. Now let’s get a little moan out of the way first. It’s probably an age thing with me, but time really does seem to be going faster and faster. Not only that, so many things seem to be changing and not always for the better, yes good progress has been made in many areas of life, but why for example, in too many circumstances, can’t we speak to a real person anymore, at least not without filling out an on line form that very often asks unnecessary or irrelevant questions? Alternatively, we have to go through an automated telephone system where one question is totally inaudible (especially if you have a hearing problem) requiring you to start all over again from the beginning. Yes, I know, that’s probably an age thing too, but not entirely. Then there are the really big things. The world still faces wars, financial crisis, hunger, homelessness, abuse… the list goes on, and so it could be said that somethings never change.

Thankfully there are good things that never change, ‘God’ – Father, Son and holy spirit – and the teachings and message the Son, Jesus, brought into the world. It was and is a message of love, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation with God and with each other – and you don’t have to fill in an on-line form to speak with him! Each year, in this season of Advent, for a brief moment in time, countless people will feel and receive that message, some will respond. The poor, the lonely, the disadvantaged will be seen, comforted, fed and their existence acknowledged, we become generous to charities. Then sadly we get to January, and after a few days many of those people will be forgotten and ignored, sent back into obscurity erased from the mind – thankfully not by everyone – many organisations and people work 24 hours a day seven days a week 52 weeks of the years to help others

Over the last two nights – at the time of writing this thought – our choir ‘People of the Green’ have been performing their ‘Christmas Concert’. In it they sang the wonderful song ‘Living Hope’, it’s not particularly a Christmas song, but it reminds us of what Jesus, the baby whose birth we celebrate, did in adulthood. It reminds us that ultimately He will make things right.

In the meantime, Jesus has given us many teachings and parables to show how we can bring a little bit of heaven to earth. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reminds of the faith hope and love which marks out true message of Christianity. Wars, famine, poverty and all the other ills of the world will continue, but the more we can all trust in Jesus and his teachings, the more we live and share His message of love, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation, the more hope we will bring to the world and less people will be forgotten and ignored, and more justice will be achieved, even in this fragile world. We may only be able to do small things, but every little helps, and let’s not make it a seasonal event

As I mentioned above, there are people and organisations who do work tirelessly and continuously throughout the year to help others, and one thing we can do is support them in their work. Two particular charities we are supporting at Cooksmill Green this year are ‘Sanctus’ (for the homeless in Chelmsford) and ‘Families in Focus (Essex)’ If you’d like to find out more about what they do, and help spread a little hope, please visit our web site www.cooksmillgreenchurch.org

Thank you. Steve

A Prayer

Heavenly Father,

As we prepare in this season of Advent 

To celebrate the birth of your precious Son Jesus,

We thank you for all that His birth means to us.

For His life, teachings,

Death and resurrection.

Help us now live the lives you would have us lead;

To show Your love and compassion, manifest in Jesus,

In all we do, not just this Christmas, but for all time.

We ask it in His precious name. Amen.

Thought of the Month November 2022

Cast your mind back to early August. The Queen was still alive and Boris was still Prime Minister. So recent, but it seems an age ago, doesn’t it?  Newspaper headlines then were dominated by the Archie Battersbee case. It was also the time of the Lambeth Conference, with Justin Welby grappling to keep incompatible wings of the Christian Church somehow together. The Supreme Court in America had just overturned the legal right to abortion. And Jean-Luc Godard decided to seek assistance to end his own life. How could I not write about these things? 

I did. Excuse the fact that this is belated. It still says things that I believe are universally relevant; they matter to me, and I hope they strike a chord with you too.

Archie, of course, was the 12 year old boy over whom there had been a legal battle between his parents and hospital authorities as to whether, in a state where he was “probably brain-dead” with all bodily functions artificially maintained, these life-support mechanisms should be withdrawn. The “quality” press gave full coverage at every stage of the legal process to the arguments of each side and to the reasons given by every court where the case was considered behind the judgment given. There were certainly strong points on both sides of the argument, weaknesses as well, so that it was not possible to say that either conclusively proved its case over the other. Given a choice between prioritising the rights (and duties) of parents or those of society, the judges at every point gave precedence to what they called the “interests” of Archie. And they concluded, controversially, that those “interests” did not necessarily involve keeping him alive. The case was allowed to go to the highest courts in the land and was referred to international bodies as well, because it came to a moral, indeed one could say religious, conclusion about the nature of life as we understand it given our current scientific knowledge and capabilities. This conclusion could be summed up by saying that we do not have an automatic right to life at any cost. But we can be said to have a right to die with whatever dignity is possible. This has obvious ramifications for the ongoing debate over abortion in the US, and over assisted dying here and in Europe.

Jesus’s ministry is full of examples where he too had to arbitrate between two conflicting imperatives. Should, for example, Jews obey the civil law, or should they refuse to support an occupying pagan power through their taxes? Should Jews in all circumstances and on all occasions obey all the hundreds of regulations covering every aspect of life laid down in the Hebrew Bible?  Fortunately, like the Supreme Court in the case of Archie, he made his reasoning crystal clear:

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:

The first commandment is this: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”

The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

There is no other commandment greater than these.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

This essentially means that one’s duty of love to God and to one’s neighbour always takes precedence over any other conflicting subsidiary duties or laws or rules. Observing Jewish dietary laws or rules about the Sabbath might spring from desire to serve God, but it is not a substitute for such service and it is not in itself all that God expects of his servants: it can all too easily become an end in itself and more about oneself than about one’s Creator.

In practice, Christians take Old Testament laws with a pillar of salt and a large bag of pork scratchings. If we don’t eat prawns or ham, if we don’t go to the shops on Sunday, it’s probably for reasons other than that the Hebrew Bible tells us not to. Yet there is one issue where people still go trawling the OT for any evidence that might support their case. In the week that this ‘Thought’ was written, Archbishop Justin Welby reaffirmed the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. To be fair, his position is impossible, untenable. He cannot reconcile the blessing of gay marriage and the appointment of gay clergy, as happens in America, with the total antipathy to these practices in some other churches, principally those in Africa. You, reading this “Thought”, will, I imagine, have your own views on the subject. If you are opposed to same-sex marriage you will find verses in the Old Testament that condemn gay sex as an “abomination” (straight after the bit Jehovah’s Witnesses quote to refuse blood transfusions  and instructions to Aaron on how to sacrifice goats). My own belief is that when two people are in love, and wish to demonstrate that love in a commitment to a lifelong loving partnership, then marriage offers the opportunity to experience that love is the fulfilling of the law, and deserves, even demands, the blessing of the Church. Christ’s loving commandment thus takes moral precedence over rules formulated for and in centuries ago, that in most other respects are utterly redundant.

I cannot prove this. But I do ask you, if you do not agree with me, to ask yourself this November the question that the judges asked themselves over and again in the case of Archie Battersbee: where do the best “interests” of those directly affected in this matter actually lie?

David