The Face of God

After a three-year closure, and a refit costing £35m, the National Portrait Gallery re-opens its doors next week.

London is fortunate in having so many free entrance galleries and this is one of my favourites.

It was originally set up in 1856 and its first portrait was an image of Shakespeare.  It had various homes before permanently moving to the site of St Martin’s Workhouse, next to the National Gallery and opposite Trafalgar Square in 1886.

In the First World War the portraits were taken down and sent to Wales, in the second they ended up at Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire.

So, I’m looking forward to visiting this newly redesigned space which, since 1969, has portraits of people still alive.

Now, to a confession – I once had my portrait done by one of those caricature artists who look for your best feature and emphasise it!  Mine was done on a visit to Florence and now hangs proudly in our downstairs loo!

I suppose much of our reading of scripture has the intention of trying to put together a ‘portrait’ of God in our mind’s eye. 

There are a number of bible verses that lament times when God ‘turns away his face’ away from us.  These are thought of as bleak times when we lack hope or direction.  Moses was told by God that he couldn’t look upon the face of the divine and live. Yet again, and again the psalmist encourages us to ‘seek His face’ continually. And, of course, for Christians there is the idea that we see God in a way we truly can understand and appreciate in ‘the face of Jesus Christ’. 

One of the loveliest of prayers in the bible, found in Numbers 6, has a line that we sometimes recite at really important times in our lives, a line that says: May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

So, next week as I take that first peep into the newly refurbished National Portrait Gallery, I’ll give thanks that in the face of Jesus we see something of God’s character, and pray that Lord’s face will continue to shine upon our world, bringing us all his blessing of hope and love.

We stayed to the end!

 Yesterday it was my privilege to lead the monthly Free Church service in the Lady Chapel of St Albans Abbey. 

This church holds a special place in our memories because it was the first venue we visited with a baby.  Our son was just a few weeks old and one Friday afternoon we ventured out for his first outing and drove down to St Albans from Hitchin, stopping off at the Cathedral Refectory before visiting the duck pond in the park. Well, almost thirty years later I was back!

The Abbey is unusual in its ecumenical welcome in that it has regular Free Church and Roman Catholic services in the Lady Chapel as well as Free Church and R.C. chaplains. 

Yesterday I met up with a small group of ladies who were visiting the Abbey to look at the Creation Tapestry Exhibition, which is currently on display.  Huge tapestry boards, of the most vibrant colours, are dotted around the church.  These ladies, however, had slightly gone off route and found themselves amongst the congregation gathering for the 11 o’clock service.  The Free Church chaplain, a friend of mine, swung into action and asked them if they’d like to stay.  There was a discussion about how long the service would last and, the result was that they said they might sit on the back row, stay for a little while and then slip away.  My friend thought this quite a successful outcome!

So, we were both much encouraged as we walked down the aisle after the blessing, to see that this little group of lost ladies, whom we had ‘kidnapped’ from their tapestry tour, was still with us.  One by one they said goodbye to me with a smile on their faces saying ‘see, we made it to the end’!!

Well, it was a lovely moment and a real example of the way Cathedrals and Abbeys – which are often open seven days a week – can be real places of spiritual encounter, offering silence, beauty, or even the possibility of slipping into the back pew and staying to the end of the midweek service, a service you never intended going to but one that became a ‘God moment’ anyway!

Naming the Holy Spirit

The way we describe a person shapes the way we feel about them.  I often think the best of all accolades is to be called kind.

It’s the same with job descriptions; although I suspect these can sometimes be overblown so that maybe the less important the role, the grander the title.

I remember once being part of a planning group for a Seniors’ Church Lunch.  The co-ordinator looked over in my direction and asked what I might like to do as the meal was served.  Rather lamely I replied that I thought I might manage to serve the gravy!  Right, she said, enthusiastically, we’ll put you down as the Gravy Operative!  I was chuffed with my new title!

As we approach the season of Pentecost it’s worth reflecting on some of the titles we give the Holy Spirit.

For centuries this member of the Trinity bore the name Holy Ghost.  Yet that title, with its ambiguous phantom overtones just doesn’t work today.

Greek, the language of the New Testament, often gives us options when it comes to translation.  Two helpful ones come in John 14.26 as Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit for his disciples; the words he uses can be taken either as Comforter or Helper.

Now, if the ministry of the Spirit is to enable us to have some sort of sense that God is alongside us, then both these descriptions are immensely helpful.

God’s comfort isn’t about taking life easy and putting our feet up, rather it’s the reassuring divine companionship we feel when we try to live with kindness and generosity of spirit.  It's always a comfort to have that sort of encouragement in our lives – it keeps us going. The Comforter also draws alongside us when we mess up, helping us to stand up again when we fall over.

And to describe the Spirit as Helper encourages us to face the future with hope, trusting in God’s strength to motivate us. 

Sometimes in church, when we make vows of commitment, we respond with the phrase with God’s help I will. That’s another way of putting our trust in God the Holy Spirit, The Helper, to walk beside us.

Pentecost is a season to celebrate our Alongside God, who is to us a Comforter and Helper.

Blog holiday next week

The different layers of Scripture

 

We call it ‘Holy’, and at AFC we begin most services walking up the aisle behind it; Scripture is precious to us and we are grateful for it.  Yet, it has struck me this week that we can, and do, engage with it at many different levels.  That’s because on Sunday we had the story of Noah during an All Age Service at church, and yesterday evening we looked at the same story during our Manse Life and Faith Group.  One story examined in two very different contexts.

On Sunday we inevitably focused on the animals going in two by two!  How could we not, it’s what this story is so famous for!  Indeed, a teacher among us, says that in her Primary School this is the most famous of all the bible stories.  (Interesting that it’s better known than the stories of Jesus – I suspect it’s all those mobiles and playmats from Mothercare that contain pictures of an ark and animals.  From a very early age we learn about Noah!)

Our All Service also had an environment focus, and the story of an ark as a floating ‘Eco System’ restart fitted in well.

However, last evening we thought of the second half of the narrative as well, the part that contains Noah drunk and disillusioned.  So, we thought not only of his courage but also his vulnerability.  We also discussed the Nature of God, the God who allowed such cataclysmic destruction, alongside the idea that maybe it’s best to read this story rather like we do the New Testament Parables, looking for broad meanings rather than getting stuck in the details.

I’d like to think that at both church and house group we took this story seriously, even if we treated it differently.  And that is surely the value of Scripture, that it has many layers.

We sometimes talk a lot about the Inspiration of Scripture, yet the Reception of Scripture is equally important.  How we receive it will probably depend on our age and situation. Yet we rejoice that again and again the whisper of God breaks through and touches our hearts and minds when read words on a page that the Holy Spirit takes and uses to train, challenge and comfort us. 

For the Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God!

A Place called Home

 

Well, they say there’s no place like home; a place, whether that’s our house, community or church, where we feel comfortable, secure and welcome.

In one of those somewhat baffling surveys that occasionally pop up on my internet screen, I discovered that this week Amersham has been voted the best place to live in Buckinghamshire.  Hooray!!

As ministers tend to move around a bit I’ve had the privilege of serving in five different places: Kettering, Hitchin, Malvern, Yeovil and now Amersham.  Each one, I’m glad to say, has felt like home, because in every church it has been a joy to discover good, friendly and welcoming people.  God was there before I arrived and has been present since I left, we just jumped in and joined in with the flow during the time we lived and served in these various towns and churches.

I love the idea of the Tabernacle in the Jewish Scriptures.  As the Israelites wandered forty years in the Wilderness it must have been difficult to have a sense of a home, yet may be that was made easier at each stop and resting place once their temporary, yet immensely important Tabernacle had been set up.  A tent that represented the presence of God.  A focal point reminding them that wherever they were on their journey, God was with them.

The concept of a Tabernacle God, who moves with us and is always present at every turn we take, gives life a wonderful sense of security and peace.  It helps us to both stay put and move on, recognising that wherever home is, or becomes, God is always there making it a good and wholesome place to be.

ps We are looking forward to our Worship Together All Age Service on Sunday, but please not, due to the unpredictablility of the weather, the pic nic has been postponed.

A moment in history

My grandfather was on duty when Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1952; he was on line duty in Cockspur Street, a road that runs from the south to north side of Trafalgar Square. If this year's route had been longer, and taken in Cockspur Street, I might have gone down and stood there, in memory of him.

He often told his grandchildren of that moment in history, one that was very special to him: of living in a 'tent city' in north London the week before, getting wet through on the day itself, see the young queen in the gold coach, and then not receiving his coronation medal afterwards, because his commanding officer kept it for himself!

Perhaps in years to come, we'll recall where we were on Coronation Day 2023, one that might be just as rainy as it was seventy years ago.

Yet, much seems to be different about the service this time round.  I read through the forty pages of the order of service when it was released over last weekend and was so impressed to see that early on in the Abbey a chorister from the Chapel Royal will welcome the King and Queen on behalf of all the children.  To which the King will respond, using the words of Jesus, that he comes not to be served but to serve.  A nice touch, I thought, and a wonderful example of how liturgy can evolve and embrace new times.

On Sunday, at AFC, we'll be commissioning new elders and they too are offering themselves in service.  They won't receive an orb and septre, but we will be praying for them,

asking God to strengthen them in this new role. And they'll be a slight tweak in the liturgy for that service too, as every AFC elder will be presented with an elder's badge, a new innovation from the AFC!

Amid all the pomp and splendour of Westminster Abbey our new Sovereign and Consort surely merit our prayers on Saturday.

Use it or lose it!

 Recently the New Scientist published an article about birdsong and the necessity for birds to practice every day.

They took the example of the Zebra Finch which learns a unique song, usually from its father, in the first three months of its life.  They will then sing a thousand variations of that one song everyday for the rest of their lives.

Some Korean scientists found a way to stop birds singing for two weeks.  When they restarted their pitch had dropped and their song time was shorter.  All of this was reversed by two weeks more of practice!

Well, I found that fascinating and it probably confirms that old saying if you don’t use it, you lose it.

In life we learn some pretty big basic truths in our formative years.  We consider these to be foundational, good and wholesome.  They might come from a parent, a faith community or a school.  Yet, we need to put them into practice every day or to put it another way it is about singing a thousand variations of that one song.

In May our nation will be holding a Coronation Service for our new Sovereign.  Maybe it’s a good opportunity for us to learn again that constitutional monarchy is all about compassionate encouragement.  The King will sing his song differently to the late Queen, yet its tune is basically the same; it’s a song about service to others.  Perhaps we see the variations already with the Abbey not being filled by four hundred Peers but with four hundred holders of the BEM (British Empire Medal); ordinary folk who have served their local community in an exemplary way.

Then, at the end of the month it’s Pentecost.  A festival at which we celebrate the way our Everyday God enables us to put into practice those foundational truths upon which faith is built. 

Each of us sings and lives out our faith differently with thousands of tune variations.  Yet in this forthcoming season of Pentecost, which we often depict using the symbol of the dove, let’s also learn from the zebra finch simply to keep on singing as we enjoy those thousands of variations based on just one tune!