Beauty surrounds us, but we usually need to be walking in a garden to know it - Rumi
Although Friday marked the Feast Day of All Saints we remember them each time we say the words: I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.
So what do we mean by communion of saints? Well, I understand that the word communion derives from a Greek word koinonia which implies connection, relationship, working together. But what does the word saints conjure up in your mind? Perhaps a load of very holy, otherworldly, beardy old men dressed in white sheets sitting on clouds in the sky somewhere, playing harps all day? Certainly you don't have to go far to find a church named after a long dead saint, or a stained glass window that does not depict the image of one (often with a long white beard). On 13 October 2019 Cardinal John Henry Newman was canonized by the Pope so joining the ranks of the saints. St John Henry Newman was a remarkable man who in his college days at Oxford was an evangelical member of the Anglican church. In due time he moved from that position so that his work with other like-minded priests in arguing against the increased secularization of the Church of England in the mid to late nineteenth century and seeking to recall it to its heritage of apostolic order and to the catholic doctrines of the early church fathers had, and still has a profound effect on the future of the Church of England. On his later conversion to the Roman Catholic tradition he rose to the rank of Cardinal. He was certainly musical, but whether he played the harp or not, I do not know. In any case I have never seen a picture of him with a beard. St Paul saw the phrase communion of saints rather differently to the above perception. In writing to the young churches at Corinth, Phillipi or Ephesus he often addresses them as saints, yet they were just like us, very ordinary people, not particularly holy at all, despite his best efforts! To him all who embraced Christ as their Saviour were saints. Now since at the Sacrament of our Baptism we were welcomed into the fellowship of the Church that must include each of us. We are all saints and thus all members of the communion of saints. As part of that communion we are called to pray and to care for our neighbour in whatever way we can. To pray for those less fortunate than ourselves, those who are homeless, or in prison perhaps suffering persecution for their faith. To care for those in need, the sick and suffering amongst us, those who mourn the passing of a loved one and those who are lonely. And of course we are called to take a greater care of the planet on which we live than we have before. So, my question is: For whom can I be a saint today? For whom will you be a saint?
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On Sunday British Summer time came to an end so that the clocks were put back one hour to Greenwich Mean Time. That meant an extra hour in bed of course but it also means that the nights are drawing in and that winter is on its way. Soon Christmas will be upon us! Will it be a white Christmas this year? Only God knows the answer to that at this stage!
Have you ever wished you could turn back time? I expect you have. I know I have, sadly more than once. A rash word spoken in anger, or nowadays perhaps an intemperate tweet or post on social media. Sound familiar? What about engaging in gossip, whether face to face or on a social media site. Perhaps it seemed harmless at the time but should you really have got involved? Unfortunately it is all too easily done but impossible to take back once the word is uttered, the gossip spread, the post posted or the tweet tweeted. The damage has been done and however much you might wish to undo it, it cannot be undone. Of course this is not a new phenomenon. Nearly three thousand years ago Solomon recorded a number of wise proverbs, some of which are included in the Old Testament book of that name. There we find that he had plenty of advice about keeping the tongue under control. For example, among the six things the Lord hates is 'a false tongue'.(Proverbs 6:17). Gossip was obviously well known in his day for he says: 'Gossip is sharp as a sword'(Proverbs 12:18 ) Perhaps he anticipated the coming of social media when he said: 'The tongues of the wise spread knowledge, the stupid talk a lot of nonsense'(Proverbs 15:2) Turning to the New Testament James in his letter 'to the twelve tribes dispersed throughout the world' has much to say about the use and abuse of the tongue in Chapter 3. The whole Chapter is well worth reading, or re-reading, but I will simply quote two verses: 'We use it[the tongue] to praise our Lord and Father; then we use it to invoke curses on our fellow men, though they are made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praises and curses. This should not be so, my friends.' James 3:9-10. However the best advice the Bible has to offer comes, once again from Solomon: Keep a guard over your lips and tongue and keep yourself out of trouble.' Proverbs 21:23. So please, my friends, take that advice to heart; think before you speak and pray before you think because once the words have tripped from your tongue they cannot be recalled. Last Friday marked the Feast Day of St Luke the Evangelist. What an amazing man he was! Doctor, writer of the third Gospel and its sequel the Acts of the Apostles, missionary and companion to St Paul on his perilous journey through Asia Minor and into Europe. In a letter that many people believe was written at the end of St Paul's life he says "Only Luke is with me" 2 Timothy 4:11 NIV. Luke then was a constant and faithful companion right up until the end. Truly a charitable man.
Many of us will feel that we do not have the many talents or indeed the strength of will that Luke had and thus we are unimportant and not called to do God's work as he was. Yet we do have God given talents that we can use in His service. St Paul lists a few: 'Now you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it. And God placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance and of different kinds of tongues'. 1 Cor 12:27-28 NIV. "Well yes,you may say, "but even so I am not qualified,. I don't know enough theology for a start and I am not confident when talking to people about God. I attend church every Sunday. Is that not enough? Someone else can do the evangelizing bit." Regular church attendance is of course important with the celebration of the Sacrament of Eucharist essential in my view but as St James says: 'In the same way faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.' James 2:17 NIV. So what to do? The clue lies in the word 'action' in St James' Epistle. What is important is what you do and what you say; in other words how you live your life. It may be helping a neighbour in trouble, maybe spending time listening to her troubles, getting involved in a community project to help the homeless or helping out at a food bank. Whatever it is remember that you are called to do it for the greater glory of God, just as St Luke did all those years ago. In the summer, after a busy day in the garden, I often sit to relax with a cup of coffee on the bench beside the fish pond. The pond is always alive with a myriad of tiny, and some not so tiny, creatures, all dashing about finding food where they can. But there is one creature in the pond that has fascinated me from childhood. It is the little pond skater. You may know him as water strider, water skeeter, water bug or water skipper; he is known by a variety of names across the country. What makes him so interesting is that he is anatomically built to transfer his weight to enable him to run on top of the water's surface. In other words he can walk on water! Now, reason and logic will dictate that this is impossible, yet he spends his life doing just that.
That always reminds me that reason, logic ,experience and even reading scripture can only go so far in proving faith. Beyond these it is a matter of belief, you just have to trust that there is something there to support and sustain you, which of course there is. You may recall the Apostle Peter seeing Jesus walking towards his fishing boat across the lake. In response to Jesus' invitation Peter jumped out of the boat to walk to meet him, even though reason and his experience as a fisherman told him that it was impossible for him to do so. Still he tried but soon sank crying to the Lord to save him. (Matthew 14:29) But in that moment he discovered that Jesus was the support he needed to stay afloat, just as we Christians can be sure that Jesus is the foundation on which our faith is built. With that in mind, I can only say, when watching the tiny pond skater: 'I believe Lord, help thou mine unbelief' Mark 9:24. There is yet another name by which our little pond skater is known in some parts; the Jesus bug! Now you can see why. In St Matthew's Gospel we read that Jesus' disciples had asked Him, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I suspect that His reply was not what they expected to hear: "Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.." Matthew 18:4-5 NRSV
Like the disciples we may be puzzled at that answer. What exactly did Jesus mean? After all any school teacher will tell you that humility does not rank highly with children nowadays. And in receiving that scruffy obnoxious troublemaker into her classroom is she really welcoming God? Well since we accept that God is in everything and everyone then yes, she is; unlikely as it seems! Yet within each child is an innocence, a lack of knowledge, a lack of preconceptions. I believe that it was this to which Jesus was referring. He was, I think, pointing out to the scribes and Pharisees, and indeed to all His listeners that 'the Way', as early Christians were known, was not a religion of the book. The rules and regulations set out in the Old Testament are important guidelines, and elsewhere Jesus said that He did not come to abolish them (Matt.5:17). However, the religious authorities of the time read Scripture in a literal way allowing no deviation from what was written there. Jesus was showing His listeners,and us, that rather than being a religion of the book, Christianity was a religion of the "Word", that Word of whom St John writes: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-5 NRSV. The authorities of the time could not identify Jesus as the Messiah because they were locked into their texts with closed minds, which led them to view Him as dangerous and a threat to their authority; all leading to His arrest, Passion and Crucifixion. Reading Scripture with a closed mind has been a problem down the ages and remains so to this day. It is very easy to find a verse or passage to justify our own preconceived (prejudiced?)view of situations or people. But we are not called to read Scripture in that way rather with humility and an open mind. It is only this way we will discover the living presence of Jesus in all whom we meet; even the scruffy obnoxious troublemaker. If we were all prepared to put aside our preconceptions of our neighbour and his views then I believe the world would be a happier, more peaceful place. Let us make a start today. After all is it so important to be right every time? By now the harvest has been gathered in. We celebrated Harvest Festival last week at St Mary Magdalene. No doubt your church has done so or will be doing so shortly. Our Jewish friends celebrate Sukkot , the Festival of Ingathering on 8th October this year whilst other religions of the world will celebrate according to season. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all religions could come together for a day of thanksgiving for God's good harvest? Just one day would be a wonderful start.
Here in the northern hemisphere the leaves are beginning to change colour as they put on their beautiful red, gold and russet clothes for the final glorious autumn dance before the icy fingers of winter are felt. Then they will settle down to slumber. Yet how magnificent they look in that dance ! Meanwhile having fattened up on the food autumn provides many animals will hibernate whilst some of the birds will already have migrated to warmer climes. The harvest is gathered in, the birds and animals have eaten their fill and now all will be silent as if the whole world has died. Of course, death will come to us all but we know that the death of our earthly body is not the end. The death and resurrection of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour made sure of that. The theme of death and resurrection occurs regularly in both Old and New Testament writings. Just think of Noah and the ark or Jonah and the whale for example. Of course, St Paul devotes much of chapter 15 of his first letter to the Corinthians to the subject. In verse 42 he says: What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed' Exactly so, for our farmers are already ploughing the fields to plant winter wheat seed to be harvested full grown around July next year. However St Paul goes on to say that: What is sown is perishable , what is raised is imperishable'1 Cor 15:42. I take heart from that and from his letter to the Romans where he says: I am certain of this, neither death nor life..... will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:38-39. How wonderfully reassuring is that? Let us hold fast to that blessed assurance as we wonder at the glory of autumn's final dance . On Sunday we celebrated Harvest Festival at St Mary Magdalene. As it was the fourth Sunday in the month the traditional Evensong was replaced with a Celtic style service at which I was asked to give a reflection. I took as my text Mark 4:3-9, the sower scattering the seed for next year's harvest. We sang the familiar harvest hymns, of course. This is my reflection, I hope you enjoy it:
'After putting on a brilliant show of flowers during spring and summer the plants, shrubs and bushes are now getting down to the important business of producing seed to carry on the species. The bright red berries of the firethorn attract the birds who will feed on them during the hard winter to come, whilst the insects, birds and animals will feast on the fallen apples to put on the necessary fat to survive. That way the seeds get distributed, the birds and animals get fed, and the cycle of nature continues. Now, the aquilegia matures a bit earlier than some plants, indeed the seeds are already swelling in their pods. However, it doesn't wait for you to collect the seeds in a neat little brown envelope to store, so that you can plant them where you want next year. Oh no, it is quite happy for its seed pods to ripen and then explode scattering seeds across the garden! As a result next year there will be lots of little plants growing in every nook and cranny whether you want them there or not! Jesus' audience would have understood His parable of scattering seeds, some falling on stony ground whilst others fell on fertile soil. They would have understood, too, the symbolism of God's Word as seed. Now since God works through us, it is our job to till the soil, mulch it properly, plant the seed, which is the Word of God, and care for it. After all, there are many in the world who need to come to hear His Word. We are called, then, to imitate the aquiliegia plant by spreading the Good News, enthusiastically and joyfully so that God's message gets into every nook and cranny of the world. Only that way will even more people come to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.' I am often asked why I write so much about the garden.The answer, I think, is that it has so much to teach us. It does not surprise me that our Franciscan brothers and sisters say that nature is the first bible. Just look at the glory and abundance of God's Creation displayed there; the ripening fruit falling to the ground now, the dazzling colour of the leaves before the fall to cover the driveway in Autumn, the birds and tiny insects each with heart and lungs just like you and me. The Franciscan view can be seen further in the seasons through which the garden passes, for there is: 'a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted' Ecclesiastes 3:2 NRSV. This coming Sunday we will celebrate Harvest Festival at St Mary Magdalene when we will give heartfelt thanks for God's bounty.
Yet as that festival demonstrates, the plants must die before their seeds are reborn next year. So too must we and here the garden provides an allegorical representation of our life, for remember that the Hebrew word for garden is Paradise and you will be reminded that God created the heaven and the earth and all living creatures, including mankind, to live in the Garden of Eden - the first Paradise. It was man's disobedience to God's will that led to his expulsion from that garden into the desert in which he wandered until the coming of the Messiah. In the Bible our next garden encounter is Gethsemane symbolizing the death of the 'old' man but leading to the garden in which St Mary Magdalene encountered Our Risen Lord and Saviour; man reborn. Finally after this life we arrive at that great celebration described in the Book of Revelations, the garden where we will live with God eternally. From Paradise we came; to Paradise we will return. Let us then give thanks to God for the glory of His Creation, for the abundance of His bounty, and for all the lessons of the garden. As Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says: There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens. A time to be born and a time to die.
Those verses came to mind when I learned that our old friend Fred had died last week.His passing was not unexpected as he had been unwell for a number of years. That said, he would never let his illness get in the way of taking a full part in everything he set his mind to do. If there was ever a job to be done Fred would be the first to say "I'll do that", and he did to the best of his ability. He was a very useful chap to have around and will be sorely missed by a lot of people, including me! Fred had spent some time in Zimbabwe although he had returned to this country with his wife several years back. Interestingly he died on the same day as Robert Mugabe, the ex-president of that country. Two men of different races, colour and status, yet God made each of them in His own likeness and knew each of them, as He does each of us, intimately and by name. Now, whilst ex-president Mugabe is reputed to have amassed a great deal of money over time, I don't think Fred was that well off financially, although he was rich in so many other ways, and generous with what he had, too. But then does financial wealth really matter that much? After all as a first century preacher once said:' Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you;never will I forsake you"' The important thing to remember is that although their paths through life took such different paths nevertheless God walked with each of them on their journey. So as we remember dear old Fred in our prayers, let us take comfort in Ecclesiastes 3:4 'A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance' and rest assured that however hard the path may seem, whatever obstacles are put in our way, our God will never leave us nor forsake us. Thanks be to God. The lavender bushes in the garden are in full bloom now so that the bees are taking full advantage of the sunshine to feed on the profusion of nectar they produce.Last evening as I put out the waste bins for collection in the morning a bee stung me on the hand. Although painful at the time I can understand why he did that. He was afraid of this large shape that had intruded on his space.
Fear is a natural but very powerful emotion .that affects us all in some way or another. It may be fear of flying,fear of spiders or perhaps the consequences of illness or of death. I suppose it all comes down to a fear of the unknown which is what the bee felt, I am sure.Then maybe there is a fear, real or imagined of other people, especially if those people are well, different in some way. Can we put aside our fears and, dare I say it, our prejudices to accept them or do we reject them? The word compassion is easy to say but putting it i n to practice is another matter! Then Jesus' words come to mind: "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even those who do not believe love those who love them." Luke 6:32. With God's help we can overcome our fears and accept the unknown as the Psalmist wrote many years ago: 'I sought the Lord's help, He set me free from all my fears' Psalm 34:4 |
AuthorI am an Authorised Local Preacher in an Anglo Catholic parish church, in the Diocese of Essex UK Archives
February 2022
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