From Ugliness a Beauty Emerges

Remembrance Sunday, and our theme for today could not be more apt. Today, I have taken the service in Broughton, where I live, going on into town this afternoon for the civic gathering around the cenotaph followed by a service (this year) at the Methodist church. This town event is very well attended outdoors, but few come to the service afterwards. Maybe a rethink next year.

We tried today to have all four of our churches observe their 2 minutes silence at 11am with the rest of the nation. At Broughton, we are fortunate that our wireless mikes work well outside the building, enabling older folks to stay inside; while we also now have an extension speaker which enabled us on this occasion to play Last Post & Reveille on the CD player, and have it transmitted outside. Worked perfectly!

In our churchyard we have a war grave: that of Cpl Roland Dalton who died of his injuries at the Somme on 15 November 1916 - 100 years ago on Tuesday. We will be having a short memorial to him around his grave, with school children, on the anniversary day. Cpl Dalton was only 30 years of age. His widow, Esther, was a Broughton lass, and he left behind 3 small children aged 6, 3, and 2 weeks. I wonder if he ever saw his baby? Did they perhaps visit him at the hospital in the 5 days between his return to England and his death?

Telling a story like this makes the reality of war so much more powerful, than simply remembering the numbers of those who died, although watching all those poppy petals fall at the National Festival of Remembrance never ceases to move me. The poppy itself is such a powerful symbol, not just because of its blood-red colour but because of the fact that it grows profusely in areas where the soil has been been broken up and marred. 'From ugliness a beauty emerges.'

In our Bible readings, we have faced the fact that there is much war and violence in the Old Testament, much of it in obedience to a perceived divine command. Take Deuteronomy 7 where the invading Hebrews 'show no mercy' to the seven native tribes who live in Canaan. In the Gospel (Matthew 15) it is as if Jesus heals history with mercy as he not only heals the daughter of a Canaanite woman, but goes on to heal the sick and disabled of that area, and feeds 4000+ people - with 7 baskets remaining. The same number as the tribes originally conquered by the Israelites.

The fullest revelation of God is in Christ, his death and resurrection. One day, there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain (Revelation 21) as God dwells among not just a chosen race, nor even in a God-man, but among all his people. They will be his people and he will be their God. Meanwhile we live with 'future present' looking forward to that time.

Getting Slavery out of the People

This week's theme is a variation of the old proverb: 'you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink!'  The Israelites are free from Pharaoh's tyranny but they still act like slaves. Exodus 13.17-18 are interesting verses for understanding the Exodus. God took the Hebrew people a circuitous route to the promised land: the direct route would have taken them through Philistine territory. At the first sight of opposition, they would have wanted to return to Egypt. Slavery had more appeal than an uncertain future. They had become institutionalised - and the institution was slavery. For us, it is more likely that the way of faith will challenge us than offer us an easy road.

I preached at Kings (New Frontiers/ChristCentral) Church here in Cockermouth this morning. They have been working through Romans of late, so I made a connection with chapter 8 with Paul's emphasis on the freedom to be found in Christ, as adopted sons and daughters of the living God. No longer slaves to fear. It's as if we become institutionalised within our humanity and turn back from the 'adventure of obedience' to Christ.

God gave the Ten Commandments to enable the Hebrews to break free from slavery: a new way of living, along with the various festivals and observances which would give them a new rhythm of life. For Christians, we live by grace rather than by law: the grace which places us within a new relationship with the living God. Why not begin each day with a simple act of prayer: 'Father God, I stand before you today as your beloved child. Help me to live this day as one who stands to inherit all that you have promised your children in Christ.' Against all odds, walking by faith, we will survive - and more: we will learn what it means to be alive. (p53)

God's Recruits

This week, we depart a little from the sermon series we are following from Brian McLaren's We Make the Road by Walking. Although we don't depart that far, it turns out. Chapter 9 is entitled Freedom! and deals with the escape of the Israelite slaves from Egypt (we have moved from Genesis to Exodus). McLaren makes the point that God is on the side of slaves rather than slave owners, and connects the Exodus story with the Passover meal shared by Jesus and his friends. He concludes that then, as now, the followers of Jesus are invited to join with him in the struggle to set others free.

There are many forms of slavery. I have just been reading of a major police operation in Oldham, where immigrants are trapped in various forms of modern slavery. Theresa May has nailed her colours to the mast, in wanting to stamp out people-trafficking. Today, I have been to a teaching day with Bishop James on Christian Lifestyle. We were reminded of the dangers of our present materialistic society and its idolatry of money and possessions. We end up being slaves of what we worship. The message of the Gospel brings freedom to anyone trapped within these or any other form of slavery, as history has shown many times.

Here is where there is a connection with the theme we follow tomorrow. It is All Saints Sunday, and we will be worshipping as a Team at All Saints church. There are many definitions of a saint, from the school boy who said a saint is 'a dead Roman Catholic' to that of Esther de Waal who wrote, 'a saint is a man or woman, sent from heaven, to guide this earthly life.' We will be thinking of Mary, who, if you think about it, has something in common with Moses, leader of the Exodus. Both were chosen by God to be instrumental in the work of joyful liberation. McLaren says this: Often, in the Bible, where there is a big problem God prepares a person or persons to act as God's partners or agents in solving it. In other words, God gets involved by challenging us to get involved.

So maybe another, simple definition of a saint is 'God's recruit'. In the New Testament, the whole People of God are called saints. All of us who bear Christ's name are God's recruits in the ongoing struggle for freedom for all. It is impossible to over-estimate just how important the Christian church is in God's ultimate purpose for creation.

Rivalry or Reconciliation?

It is with sadness as well as bewilderment we view the current Presidential campaign in the US. Not to mention anguish about the possible outcome. Much has been made of Donald Trump's misogyny, racism, and egotism. In a way, he makes himself an easy target for criticism from many quarters. What should concern us, however, is the character of a would-be leader: the person that stands behind the words and actions. In the case of Trump, it is not just the misogyny, for example, but his infidelity to his wives. It is not just the racism, it is the attitude of superiority he assumes both about himself and about his country. ('Making America Great - again.')  This is not to say that Hillary Clinton is whiter than white (forgive the pun): indeed, some American evangelicals support Trump because at least with him you know what you are getting, whereas with Clinton there is suspicion and mistrust. Either way, America will not be getting someone with the integrity and humility of Obama. Whilst he is apparently not regarded as a great President, at least his character seems to be above reproach.

Imagine Trump and Clinton arrive on the stage for a Presidential debate, and he greets her with the words, '...to see your face is like seeing the face of God'! Unimaginable!  Two bitter rivals would not be expected to see in each other anything but an enemy. Yet these words are used by Jacob as he greets his twin brother Esau, after years of separation. Jacob is a trickster, a deceiver, who has robbed his (very slightly) older brother of their father's blessing years before. He has been on the run, and now a day of reckoning has arrived.

The night before, Jacob wrestles with an unknown man. Perhaps this man represents his own guilty conscience, or his fear. By the end of the night he is a changed man, with a new name ('Israel' - God struggles) and a limp, after his hip is put out in the struggle. Thus transformed, and weakened, he faces his brother with a wealth of goods to 'buy' his favour. To his surprise - like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son - Esau rushes to greet and embrace him, completely disarming him of any ability to manipulate the situation. And this prompts these words, to see your face...

The world is full of rivalries, with Trump/Clinton being but one obvious example. What we reflect on this week is God's power to transform the hardest heart, to dissolve the bitterness of years. If we want to reflect the image of God, we will choose grace over hostility, reconciliation over revenge, equality over rivalry (McLaren p42)

It's Not Too Late

Next Sunday's (16th) readings from Genesis present us with one of the most uncomfortable, disturbing stories in the entire Bible. But we before we come to that, let's begin on a happier note.  Abram and Sarai have been promised that through them and their descendants all the peoples of the world would be blessed. Abram receives that promise at 75, with Sarai of similar age. It doesn't seem to occur to him that this sounds a bit impossible: becoming parents at an age when many are grand- or even great-grandparents. They set out in faith anyway. Reality dawns (Genesis 18) with the arrival of heavenly visitors who tell them they will indeed conceive a child. Sarai laughs - and the son who is later born to them is called he laughs (Isaac). The message: in God's economy, it's 'not too late.'

Four chapters later (22) comes the nightmare scenario: Abraham sets off to sacrifice his own son.  It's important to remember here that in Abraham's time, this was not as shocking as it is to us. Ancient cultures believed that the highest honour one could pay a deity was the sacrifice of human blood, preferably one's son and heir. This would be a sign of devotion. So Abraham apparently is under that illusion. As the story unfolds, it turns out that God has provided an animal sacrifice instead and the improbable happens: a man intending to sacrifice his son, returns with him just the same. Once again, it is not too late!

McLaren makes the point that the lesson to be learned here  (for us, not just Abraham) is that we humans, not God, are the ones who treat our fellow humans cruelly. God needs nothing from us since he provides everything for us (p36). We need not to make God in our own image, but learn God's ways of justice, kindness and humility. This was a tough way to learn a lesson, but it was certainly effective! We always need to be examining our understanding of God.

Currently, we are planning our Christmas services. At the right time, Jesus came. It is never too late! 

Plotting Goodness

It's an intriguing title for this week's theme, which concerns Abram - the Iraqi refugee!  With the human race so bent on destructive behaviours, all the time God is quietly 'plotting goodness' by calling faithful ones to obedience for the good of all. In the case of Abram, it was to leave the comfort and affluence of Ur to go to a place which God would show him. Abram goes. Admittedly, not travelling light, but at least he goes. In so doing he becomes a kind of prototype for the man or woman of faith who walks by faith and not by sight.

However, this is not a pointless exercise, just to test faith. Not only will Abram, Sarai and their descendants be blessed as a result of his obedience, but all peoples on earth will be blessed through [him] (Genesis 12.3). God's intention is to do away with any 'us and them' mentality: Abram's God is to be God for others too. It is not 'God on our side' but 'God for All' as we are saying in Cumbria these days. We cannot recruit God to our own cause, whether personal or national; rather be his means of serving a common good. For Abram, true faith was simply trusting a promise of being blessed to be a blessing (McLaren p31).

As many will know, being a blessing has been a constant theme for me for some years now. I am wondering whether 'Called to Bless' might make a suitable slogan or strapline for both our Team and our Mission Community. I wonder what others think?

This morning, I had another meeting of our Mission Community Steering Group. As well as planning for the future growth of this movement, we were sharing how little still the whole MC concept is understood. Before our special 'landmark' service at Advent (27 November) we will be addressing this with a series of communications, both written and verbal.

In Over our Heads

Our series so far has concentrated on God's creation and the choices we humans have both in our understanding of the world and how we choose to live within it. One is reminded of the advice which sometimes comes with a new product, 'For best results, follow the maker's instructions'! The fact is that we don't: sin is best defined in terms of failure to do so. It is disobedience. Or, as Francis Spufford puts it in his book Unapologetic, it is the human propensity to mess things up (except he doesn't use the word 'mess', preferring a rather more explicit word beginning with 'f'!)

So there will be consequences, as were thinking last week: climate change/global warming is the inevitable result of an excessive pollution of the ozone layer. In the Old Testament, there are some graphic stories illustrating the consequences of human sin: Cain's murder of his brother, Abel; Noah's Flood, the confusion of languages with the Tower of Babel, and countless stories of what happens when the people of Israel do 'what is right in their own eyes'. Of course, stories like Noah's Flood beg some questions about the nature of God: is he really that cruel and vindictive, that he would destroy the whole of creation, saving but one man, his family, and representatives of the natural world? According to Brian McLaren, such stories reveal a slow, gradual understanding of what God is like; and there are many counterparts in other ancient Near-Eastern cultures. He concludes that the people of God realise, over many centuries, that 'God is better than that' - his justice is tempered with mercy, so that when Jesus Christ is born, there is the fullest revelation of his nature.

The 'desire to acquire' leads to all kinds of misery and injustice. But 'God is better than that' and our world can be better too: to be alive is to join God in caring about the oppressed, the needy, the powerless, the victims and the vulnerable.