An Interventionist God?

(Taken from AFC Family News March Edition)

All of us have been touched by the stories we have heard from the recent flooding in both the South West and closer to home in the Thames Valley.  My former church is very close to the Somerset Levels and we regularly visited the villages and beauty spots around Wells and Glastonbury which, as I write, are still under water.

With that in mind I was intrigued by the comments of a casual ‘customer’ at our Friday Coffee Break in The Alfred Ellis Hall the other week. As she was purchasing a home made cake she proclaimed in a rather loud voice that this year’s deluge was a direct result of people not praying enough and the government passing legislation for ‘gay marriage’ – I almost dropped my ginger biscuit!

I am sure (read that as I hope) you simply don’t believe in that kind of God – a vengeful and, quite frankly spiteful deity who indiscriminately dishes out punishment in a fit of temper.

Perhaps such a medieval way of thinking was grounded in an Old Testament paradigm that linked obedience to prosperity in the land and vice versa.  Yet surely since The Enlightenment we have needed to take a more nuanced view of God’s role in creation.

And perhaps issues such as wars and natural disasters always call us to question the idea of an ‘Interventionist God’ – or at least to ponder how the God of Love, revealed to us in Jesus Christ, touches our lives with goodness and hope at such times of crisis and suffering.

For most of us, I guess, that ‘intervention’ will not be in the sphere of the so-called ‘supernatural’ but through the ‘ordinary’ – and I, for one, think there’s nothing unspiritual about that.

In the two millennia since our Saviour walked the earth millions of people have been healed everyday through the ever developing medium of medicine.  As societies have struggled for political or religious freedom agencies such as Amnesty International or coalitions of Inter-faith pressure groups have campaigned on their behalf.  When earthquake or famine brings an already impoverished country to its knees Christian Aid, along with many other humanitarian organisations, will be one of the first on the scene offering resources often not just for the short but long term.

And maybe that is the point. We in the church often use the word ‘humanitarian’ in a slightly derisible way – to suggest that it’s ‘non-Christian.  However I like to think that whenever and whoever acts in a loving way to neighbour is actually the channel of God’s goodness in our world.  I suspect that’s why so many people have said to me as I’ve visited them in hospital – always in quiet tones as if telling me a state secret – ‘you know the nurses here are angels’ – well perhaps they really are!

The reality of suffering never goes away and no philosophical or religious argument really satisfies the ‘why’ question.  The truth is that bad things happen to good people.  And how does God intervene?  Well – the words of hymn by Henry Burton (one I must put on the order of service soon as it’s not in Rejoice and Sing) ring true for me:

‘...but his angels here are human,
not the shining hosts above,
for the drum-beats of his army
are the heart-beats of our love.’

All of us have a wonderful calling – to be ‘channels’ through which the love and goodness of God can flow to those with whom we are sharing this journey through life. And all of us have a wonderful privilege too – to receive that love from another person and recognise it as the goodness of God touching our lives.

With best wishes,

Ian

The organ has gone!

Last Sunday, for one of the first times in its fifty two year history, our organ at Amersham Free Church was silent.  Bit by bit it is being taken away, dusted down and polished up (I’m sure there are far more technical terms for all that’s going on!) and hopefully reinstalled by mid April.

We were left using our Technic keyboard with Eric, our bereft organist doing a brilliant job in making it sound (almost) like an organ.


The first church in which I served, Kettering –where I’ll be preaching in a few weeks time – has an enormous three manual organ which was rebuilt in the summer just before I arrived.  I had the privilege of organising the opening recital with the organist of Peterborough Cathedral as our guest musician.

My second church decided we couldn’t afford a rebuild so voted for the installation of a digital instrument which has served them well.  The congregation found a hundred and one imaginative uses for the old pipes!


At AFC, after consulting various specialist bodies, we took the decision last year to have our Willis organ rebuilt – and this has been made possible by many generous donations by the congregation.


Music is such a powerful, yet subjective medium and a distinctive about any church will be the type of music it uses in worship.  The ‘Organ vs Music Group’ is by now a rather too well rehearsed debate.


At the moment (because most things in church life are provisional) our style at AFC is predominantly ‘hymnic’ and our organ (especially with the skill and sensitivity of our current organist) suits that well.  Yet it’s also a great joy to hear drums, guitar, flutes and strings take part Sunday by Sunday – and in our case the organ joins in with the music group too.


A website service I often tune into each week is from Washington Cathedral and it’s all filmed beautifully.  Interestingly throughout the service there are regular shots not just of the priests, readers and congregation but also the organist, acknowledging, I think, the immense contribution musicians bring to our worship.

So I’m grateful for all the musicians at Amersham Free Church because I really do believe that ‘Those who sing – pray twice’!

Best wishes,


Ian

Generation 'A'

Over the last couple of weeks The Church Times has been giving The Anglican Church a ‘Health Check’.  So there have been fascinating and provocative articles about the current state of our country’s Parish Churches with more than a few predictions about how all this might pan out over the next few decades. 

One of the pieces that caught my eye was written by a sociologist and was entitled: Generation ‘A’.  It described and then analysed the enormous contribution to contemporary church life made by ladies born in the 1930’s and 1940’s. They are the mothers of the Baby Boomers and grandparents/great grandparents to the Generation ‘X’ of today.  These stalwarts of the church have brought a sense of hospitality and faithfulness to congregations up and down the country – and whilst the article had nothing but praise for this 75-85 year old age group it concluded that nowhere near the same numbers from succeeding generations are lining up to replace them.

Well this phenomenon isn’t unique to Anglicanism – it’s replicated in all traditions and is very apparent at AFC.  My only quibble with the article is that it didn’t make reference to men of the same generation – who in my experience have also given a huge amount of their retirement to the life of their local church.

Generation ‘A’ are leaving big shoes for my generation to fill – and I’m not sure that we’re doing it.  For the time being we are still benefiting from the ministry of Generation ‘A’ but things are beginning to change in significant ways.  Fewer of my generation are around in what some commentators call the ‘inherited churches’ – or what you and I might call ‘traditional’ churches - and it’s quite a challenge to predict what our life together might look like in twenty years time.

I think I owe a great debt to Generation ‘A’ – they encouraged me in the early days of my personal pilgrimage and have been the backbone of every church I’ve had the privilege of serving in. 

The psalmist writes that one generation to another will sing God’s praise – well here’s hoping and praying that us Baby Boomers will step up to the mark and continue the song!

With best wishes,


Ian

Philomena

An early telephone call last Sunday morning – a generous church member ‘under the weather’ offering us two tickets for that afternoon’s showing of the much talked about film Philomena at Chesham.  So our Sunday plans changed – and more and more I’m valuing the joy of the unexpected!

This is a beautifully and movingly acted piece of cinema – and it’s written well.  Philomena is one of those films which is both reassuring and provocative at the same time. 
Without presenting you with a plot spoiler Philomena is forced to ‘give up’ her son whilst living with Catholic nuns in Ireland.  Fifty years later, and with the help of one time BBC journalist Martin Sixsmith, she tries to find him.  If you haven’t seen it yet be prepared for something of an emotional roller coaster ride.

Who, I wonder, are our ‘teachers’ in this film?  Perhaps that’s the wrong question to be asking – and maybe a film is just a film retelling events, presenting a narrative.  Actually I don’t believe that!  A film is slanted in a particular, or a series of contradictory ways.


Could the Roman Catholic Church teach us anything from Philomena?

Well there was enough ‘Catholic bashing’ around before this film – and with it, justifiably perhaps, they’ll be a lot more.  My Catholic friends, especially from The Retreat Association, are people of deep integrity with a passion for justice – but this film shows a different, harsher side of institutional religion with an emphasis on judgement instead of grace.  No – I’m not at all sure that the Roman Catholic Church teaches us much that’s positive in this film.

How about Martin Sixsmith?  He’s a journalist in search of a story who thaws out in the film into a human being helping a friend.  Maybe that’s a bit harsh – but I found it a very positive transformation.  It’s moving to see Sixsmith getting involved in a ‘human interest’ story and ‘feeling’ its pain rather than journalistically exploiting its tragedy.  So I think he has much to teach us.

And then there’s the mixed up yet deeply rooted, tentative yet courageous, ‘ordinary’ yet profound character of Philomena – so movingly played by Dame Judi Dench.  Forgiveness alongside a complex, yet liberating, acceptance of the past is what we might be taught by her – and I found it a deeply touching lesson.

So Sunday was different – different to what we had planned.  In the end it was Communion in the morning and a film in the afternoon – and I think God spoke to me through both. Once again a blurring of the sacred and the secular – but that, maybe, ought to be the theme of another blog – or at least the sermon I’m going to try to preach this Sunday!

With best wishes,


Ian

Approaching Candlemas

I’ve only recently discovered Candlemass!

 It occurs this Sunday – 2^nd February and celebrates the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.  As Simeon takes the baby Jesus in his arms he prays that he may be a light to the nations – and so that theme of light has characterised this particular Sunday with some churches lighting many candles and processing around the church with them – hence the term ‘Candlemas’.


Well this account from Luke is one of the optional lectionary readings for this Sunday and I’ve decided to preach from it.


Candlemass comes exactly forty days after Christmas and is, in a sense, a last look back at it.  To some it represents the half way point of winter.  And connected as it is to Simeon’s beautiful prayer, the one we often call the Nunc Dimittis, it also looks forward to Lent and Passiontide as we remember his words to Mary about her heart being pierced by a sword – a hint of the cross.

So, in one temple encounter Christmas and Easter collide and I rather like that.  In a previous church in which I served our ‘flower lady’ always made sure some early daffodils graced the communion table on Christmas morning – that, I think, was her way of making the same connection.


This week I sat in St Martin in The Fields with an old college friend listening to a concert of sacred music on this very theme of Candlemass.  I was moved close to tears by the beauty of the singing and the way the choir and minister wove these themes of Christmas and Easter into a brief, yet profoundly moving, lunchtime half hour.


So I think Candlemas is fast becoming one of my favourite festivals!  That’s because we always, it seems to me, hold in tension the joy of faith – that celebration of light at the centre of Christmas with all the hope it offers – alongside the reality that Jesus’ message of love wasn’t universally popular and that his message of The Kingdom drove the authorities to order his crucifixion.


As his followers, then, surely it shouldn’t surprise us when the living out of this Kingdom brings us both joy and struggle.  It’s not only the way it’s always been – it’s the way it was for Jesus.  It is at one and the same time a path of joy and challenge.  I believe every step is worth taking and I’m thrilled that Candlemas encourages us on the journey.


With best wishes,


Ian

When 'sorry' is the hardest word

The difficulty of saying ‘sorry’ has somewhat saturated the news this week.  It’s not the most edifying thing to either read or hear and it’s always sad to see folk in public office score ‘own goals’.

Whatever the trials and tribulations of a certain Peer of the Realm and his party the whole episode has got me thinking about just how hard it sometimes is for any of us to say ‘sorry’.

To never say it, or want to say it would, I think, be to hold a rather arrogant view of life.  I’m never quite sure that the traditional advice given to The Royals to ‘never explain and never apologise’ quite fits The Gospel. 


Isn’t it simply a basic understanding of humanity that we all make mistakes.  At one level, and at certain stages of our development we actually value these moments as opportunities to lean important lessons about life and its relationships.  I suppose the problems come when we keep on making them, repeating them because we’ve never really heeded the valuable lessons such mistakes might have taught us.


The other day I was sitting around a committee table and the guy next to me shouted me down when I was in mid-sentence!  I was saying something like, ‘we need to have a generous spirit in the way we approach this issue’.  Well this didn’t go down too well with my fellow trustee.  He chimed in with a full frontal assault on ‘pietistic clergymen’ (his words – not mine!) who confuse the agenda with wishy washy phrases rather than fulfil their legal duties under Charity Commission law. So there – that put me in my place!

Why, you may rightly ask, am I retelling this brief encounter of a critical kind?!

Well it’s simply that I still believe we need to approach every area of life with a generous spirit and I think the friend on my right needs to understand that it’s a travesty to compartmentalise life into the ‘legal’ and ‘spiritual’.


Isn’t it about the way we think – the way we think about ourselves, others and God.  At times that means having the humility of spirit to accept we make mistakes and apologise.

Of course there are other issues here – issues about justice – yet I would hazard a guess that more problems are caused by people whose default position is ‘I’m never wrong’ than by those who accept their human fallibility and value the part that ‘grace’ plays in all our lives.

With best wishes,


Ian

Living the Faith

Last Sunday morning at Amersham Free Church it was such a delight to welcome BMS Trainees Sergio and Liz to the 10.30am service along with their thoroughly charming toddler Chloe! During our worship together they told us something of their ‘call’ to serve God overseas and their specific preparation at this time in getting ready for Mozambique – where they will work with the Baptist Convention  in the training of youth pastors/workers and the provision of pre-school education.


As I stood with them by the door greeting people at the end of the service it was obvious that their presence among us had caused a very vibrant and positive ‘buzz’.  As the congregation said their ‘goodbyes’ most pre-fixed it by wishing them well, assuring them of prayers and just generally expressing admiration and respect for what they are about to do – that is go to live and serve overseas with a toddler for five years!


Now don’t get me wrong – Erna and I generally find the congregation very encouraging at the door week by week – but Sunday was different.  It’s as if Sergio’s and Liz’s presence confirmed in us all that faith can indeed by ‘lived out’ – that it is never complete in a merely  theoretical sense and that it has to be expressed in the daily offering of our lives to God and neighbour.


I’ve often sensed something similar at Baptist Assemblies as pastors or missionaries have been ‘commissioned’ – after all the words spoken and sung it was actually seeing folk offering the service of their lives that spoke the loudest with the clearest message.


However, it would surely be the most obvious of mistakes to put service in Mozambique on a higher pedestal than that offered day in and day out in Amersham (or wherever).  All our lives matter – to God and each other – and the call to us to live out our faith, this week and this year, will give us joy, delight, struggle and challenge – but isn’t that what discipleship is all about – wherever we live it?

With best wishes,

Ian