Signposting a Bishop and a Prince at Pentecost

 

Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost; a time when we remember God speaking to us in new ways we can understand.  Well, this year I have sensed God’s word touching my own life through the words of a bishop and prince – so I’m taking this opportunity through the blog to signpost them to you, hoping they may be a blessing in your life too.

The Bishop is Michael Curry, and he is the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church in North America and last Sunday he preached from the Canterbury Pulpit of Washington Cathedral.  You’ll find his sermon on YouTube and I’ve indicated its web address at the end of this piece.

Bishop Curry is a fiery preacher and he’s also a fine theologian.  You’ll probably need to lay down in a darkened room and catch your breath after you’ve listened to his sermon!  I loved it.  I loved the passion and sincerity.  I loved the insight and compassion.  I was particularly struck by the way he married together Christmas and Pentecost as he said:  At Pentecost, The Spirit gives birth to Jesus in the lives of human beings – Christmas happens – Pentecost becomes the extension of the Incarnation.

Perhaps it’s appropriate to listen to a bishop at Pentecost as one of the reasons sometimes given for their mitres is that they represent the tongues of fire that fell on those first disciples.  Quite a nice thought as a bishop, in full robes and mitre, does resemble a candle in some ways!  Well, Bishop Curry certainly reflected the light of Christ on Sunday and I thank God for him.

And what of The Prince?  Well, that would be Prince William, who this week has acted as the Queen’s representative, The Lord High Commissioner, at the General Assembly of The Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Yesterday, at its closing session the Prince said: As I sat in Canongate Kirk last Sunday listening to Neil Gardner’s sermon, I felt particularly fortunate that my week as Lord High Commissioner coincided with Pentecost.  A week that celebrates the way in which the Holy Spirit kindled within Jesus’ early followers a desire to learn from others – whose tongues they now understand – and to share far and wide the Christian message of love and service.  I have kept this message at the forefront of my mind this week.

Once again, I felt God speaking to me as I read these wonderful words.

Pentecost – a time to hear afresh the voice of God in many different tongues.  And this year I heard that word through a Bishop and a Prince.

May you know the blessing of God in all you do this day,

Ian

ps. Blog holiday next week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9czWAznNUT4

Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks!

I think the last fourteen months has taught us that even old dogs can learn new tricks!  We have become adept at the technology that some of us thought was inevitably beyond us; and a certain flexibility, although grudging at first, has become a characteristic of all our lives.  Us ‘old dogs’ have, in short, discovered how to do things differently!

Pentecost was an ancient Jewish celebration for harvest and had, no doubt, a comfortable ring of familiarity about it; but not in the tumultuous year of the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  On a day steeped in tradition God the Spirit stirs up the hearts and minds of Jerusalem worshippers who now see a certain spirituality outside the box of orthodoxy.  At Pentecost, the young see visions and the old dream dreams.

This weekend we once again celebrate the wonderful inclusivity of God.  A God who breaks out of boundaries and whose language is speech, silence, revelation, and nature.  Whose context is both sacred and ‘secular’ because this is the God who will always be both inside and outside the boxes we so carefully, yet foolishly, create.

I was struck, whilst watching a Channel Four documentary on the development of the vaccine, to hear why the CEO of Astra Zeneca agreed, in the first instance at least, that their roll out would be on a not-for-profit basis.  Why had he agreed to such a wonderful humanitarian solution which, in business terms sounds crazy?  Well, he said, if I had done anything else, my kids would have killed me!

God’s Holy Spirit of Love whispers to us in all places and through all people.  We hear the voice of God speaking to us even in the words of those from a different generation, tradition or language, and we are thankful.

There is a certain spirituality that belongs to Church.  Other variations are found in the home, down the street, on the internet, at a Retreat House or as part of a job.  God can, and is, present in all.  His universalist nature is the message of Whit Sunday.  God, found outside the box.

Pandemic and Pentecost – both can teach old dogs new tricks.hel’s Family Visiting

All Bugs Welcome!

 

Last Sunday, under Mary’s expert supervision, members of Junior Church set up the AFC Bug Hotel in the church shrubbery.  It’s a splendid edifice and, I think, if I were a bug I would award it a 5* rating.

This is all part of our EcoChurch programme to look after our grounds in such a way that they are insect, animal and bird friendly.  Although we obviously still believe in ‘cultivation’ we are seeking to offer ‘welcome’ rather than ‘domination’ in our relationship with the natural order.

The Dean of Christchurch Cathedral, Oxford, has just published a very readable book entitled The Humble Church, one we’ll be discussing at next month’s Ministers’ Book Group.  In it he advocates that The Church takes it place alongside other groups in society, willing to listen, engage and learn rather than thinking it must always preach, be listened to, and lead the way.  It’s a ‘humbler’ model of church and one that seeks to offer a sense of mutual respect.  I suppose one example of that at AFC is the recent establishment of the yellow Medic to Medic recycling bin at the back entrance.  A member of the congregation heard of this excellent project (not a specifically ‘Christian’ one) and recommended it to us.  So now some of our recycling and its proceeds goes to support the training of doctors in Africa.  Another example would be the use of our premises over recent months by Buckinghamshire Council as a COVID Testing Station.  In all of this we are trying to welcome our community and work, not over them, but humbly alongside.

Offering a welcome can be so affirming.

Whilst on holiday in Malvern last autumn (before the Second Lockdown) we attended Morning Worship at The Priory.  We had booked, so as we arrived the steward ticked our names on his sheet and escorted us to our designated seats.  We felt so welcomed because those places had carefully and thoughtfully been prepared for us.

As we creep slowly back into a more familiar ‘way of being’, I’m sure we will want to reaffirm that ‘hospitality’ is a major part of any church’s DNA.  We want to offer a real welcome and to delight in the welcome given to us by other groups and individuals in society.  It’s all part of the companionship we share in walking with God and alongside one another.

So, welcome bugs - to your new AFC hotel!

Ian

The Vacuum of Absence

 

One of my earliest schoolboy memories is of May Day.  Every year, in the playground, children in my Primary School would hold its ribbons and dance around it.  However, my memory is not of dancing but being one of the three ‘tall and strong’ boys deputised to hold said pole!!  In truth, I think, I preferred it that way, having been born with two left feet!

Folk lore rituals celebrate the arrival of spring at this time of year with Maypoles, Green Men and Jack in The Boxes and out in the garden it feels like a re-awakening after the slumber of winter.

In some ways this phase of the year mirrors the re-emergence of many back into society as the isolation and restrictions of Lockdown ease. 

 I was fascinated to hear a recent Thought for Day as the presenter related their experience of loosing a sense of taste because of Covid.  He spoke of the process of re-educating his taste buds, and for him they seem to be working again.  He described that period when taste eluded him as the ‘vacuum of their absence’.  His great wish now, upon their gentle return, is that he doesn’t take taste for granted but purposely values and savours it.

I sense we have all had this ‘vacuum of absence’ in our lives and we share that desire that as we re-awaken and re-emerge, we won’t speed up life and live it once more in the fast lane, but savour and value what has once again blessed our lives.

I’m conscious of the Parable of The Prodigal Son returning.  He would have missed so much about his old life as he languished in that far country.  Surely, after his own re-awakening, he returned a wiser and more appreciative person – and so, hopefully, will we.