Eternal Echoes

Consumerism, accumulation, family and the need for time....

Tim and I are slowly packing our belongings for our move to Yorkshire in two weeks time. We were offered a team of packers but turned the offer down in favour of having a good sort out, so we are packing for ourselves.

So far we have made half a dozen trips with a fully loaded Vauxhall Zafira, to the local recycling center ( whose efficiency is excellent, over 80% of all that would have previously ended up in landfill is now reused and recycled). We have also given away a number of things on free-cycle and held a profitable yard sale, making over £100.00 in a few hours.

All of this is very sobering when I stop to contemplate the level of consumption that this amount of surplus reveals. I want to be able to travel lighter, to have less and to be free to do and be and give more, and yet it is so easy to accumulate things without thinking. So many of the things that we have accumulated hold no emotional attachment, and may be nice to have, but are truly unimportant.....

Those things that are important are things that cannot be replaced, photographs and letters, journals from years ago that chart the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Precious things that hold real memories. But the memories are the most important and those need nothing but the intention to sit and relive them.

Memories were created last week at my mother-in-laws' 70th birthday celebrations, cousins aunts and uncles, grandparents, parents and children got together for a rare few hours, hours that cannot be replaced. That time itself was precious....

At our leaving service one couple spoke movingly about the way that Tim and I were willing to give time, and although there have been occasions when that is true I must admit that I am not always a willing giver of my time. But I want that to change.

Turning again to the gospels I am challenged by the way that Jesus traveled lightly, I know that his circumstances were different to mine, but so were his priorities, and it is his priorities that challenge me. He was a giver of time, a listener and a storyteller on the one hand, he knew when to withdraw and spend time with God on the other. I want to travel more lightly, with my hands less full so that they will be ready and able to embrace others.

Clearing and sorting are proving to be quite therapeutic!

  Birthday Celebrations

Twelve days....

I am sitting at my desk and trying to take a step back to think about the last twelve days;I feel as if I have been caught up in a fast moving soap opera script, and the writers have just taken a break to focus their attention elsewhere!

Twelve days ago my home started filling up with family members, they were coming to celebrate my eldest sons' wedding, by the day of the wedding there were 14 0f us at lunch time. Paul and Louise's wedding was a joyful family occasion.... and we moved on

... to a yard sale, because we are moving house, and raising funds to send my youngest daughter Jo on a mission trip to Zambia....

Preaching is normal for a Sunday, but with the busyness of the week it proved a challenge, our minds were preoccupied any way as n Tuesday we dropped Chris and his girlfriend Ness at Downham station...

Chris was to be admitted to the Royal Brompton Hospital for surgery, which was thankfully a great success... it has been a long time coming!

While Chris was in hospital with Ness wonderfully supporting him we prepared for another wedding, this time for a young friend. We helped to set up the reception venue and sorted out various instruments for the band at the ceremony, I was privileged to be invited to preach ...

....Tim and I stayed for the wedding speeches and headed off to London to collect Chris and Ness....

Time for a rest???

No, time to travel down to Essex for a family get together to celebrate my mother-in-laws 70th....

Followed the next day by 2 services, first my final service and sermonin Downham Market, and then a Circuit farewell service where God was praised and we were thanked for our ministry...

... a rest?

Well not quite because to add to the excitement Emma my eldest daughter was left stranded by an ineffective train service. Tim and I are grateful to Ann and Mike her boyfriends' parents for rescuing her!...

And now, I am sitting at my desk trying to take stock, next to me is a pile of prayers and blessings written during yesterdays service by the folk who were there. The prayers are for our whole family, and we are grateful, and not a little overwhelmed...

No wonder I can't think.....

Right, back to the packing in 20 days we will be living in Yorkshire!!!

Through all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.

Bread breakers- Sermon blogging: John 6 1-21

Let's travel from the Galilean hillside to the desperate situation of a refugee camp, from a place where bread is plentiful, to a place where it is scarce. From a place of hope to a place of despair, from a place of wonder, to a place where hope is almost gone; theologian William Loader describes the scene for us through poetry:

 

 

Dust on her muddy feet,
still smeared from the wet and now blue with cold,
hands stretched out in a meaningless pose of begging;
for UN relief supplies reach the camp only late in the afternoon.
Drawn faced children with bulging bellies,
listless, some sleeping, many dying.
Time.. time to live and time to die.
Time to think - if only, but too tired, too undernourished,
time but no strength to be profound, to reflect, to meditate;
makes the dying easier, the pain less revolutionary.
So don't ask me to think.

 

Why do you want to tell me stories about food?
Why torment me with your miracles of plenty?
Where have the bread breakers gone?
If only there were such multipliers of loaves and fish.
We'll give them the fish. We'll offer the loaves.
But these are your fantasies,
romantic images of antiquity,
best left to their glint and passed by.
They never were a model for future followers.
At most they are remnants of propaganda,
stunning feats to woo the faithful,
who crown him king.

 

 

The poem raises questions for us…..

 

Where have the bread breakers gone?

 

Are we bread breakers?

 

Do we have bread to offer?

 

Lets return to Galilee, to the hillside where the little became plenty, and all eyes were fixed on the bread breaker, the one in whose name we gather…..

 

Jesus.

 

Jesus has taken a fish supper for one and transformed it into a feast for thousands. The scriptures tell us quite simply that he received the little that was on offer and gave thanks…

 

What we may forget is that that day Jesus not only took the little that was offered to him, but also the little that he had to offer within himself, and brought about the miracle.

 

Yes Jesus was fully God, but he was also fully human, and at this time in his ministry he was desperately tired, not only that but he had just been on an emotional roller coaster….

 

News had reached him of the hideous beheading of John the Baptist his cousin, and probably his friend….. this was followed by news from the disciples, those he'd sent out to preach and to heal, bubbling over with excitement they had returned to their teacher with stories of miraculous answers to prayer….

 

Jesus response is given to us in the parallel account in Marks gospel; " come away with me, lets take a break, for they had not even had a chance to eat"

But the crowds are hungry for more, and as Jesus and the disciples set of in the boat, the crowds figure out where they are going and set off on foot hungry for more of the words that Jesus has to offer. Giving no thought to lunch or supper, their minds are on greater things….

 

No get away for Jesus and the twelve then….

 

And Jesus seeing their hunger is not annoyed but deeply moved, again he sits to teach them, and as the day is drawing to a close he beckons the now exhausted Philip and asks the question that was perhaps raised by his own rumbling stomach;

 

"Is there somewhere we can find something for all of these people to eat?"

 

Philip's incredulity is on full show…. what, you want me to provide food for this lot, that'll cost more than months of wages…. Impossible is not a word that is recorded, but you can certainly hear it crying out through the text!

 

Andrew has a different response; he has found a small boy with five small loaves and two fish and brought him to Jesus…..

 

What was going to be supper for one is about to become supper for 5,000 plus….

 

Jesus does not roll his eyes at the impossibility of it all, does not laugh and send the boy away…

 

Sending the disciples to ask the hungry crowd to be seated he takes the bread and gives thanks, breaking it…..

 

And once again God provides for his people….

 

It was almost Passover, and the stories of God providing manna in the desert will be fresh in people's minds as they prepare for the feast….

But they are about to be served another feast, an impossible feast, a feast where plenty comes from nowhere…

 

So what do we learn from Jesus and the disciples and how does this impact us here today….

 

Are we like Andrew of Philip? Do we see the impossible, or dare we raise our eyes to gaze into the eyes of the one who makes the impossible possible?

 

Are we like the small boy, daring to offer the little we have, or would we have found a quiet corner to devour our feast before returning home alone?

 

We live in a time where questions are raised about the future of the church, we look at dwindling numbers and finances and drop our heads in despair…. we become like the residents of the refugee camp, when we should be those who feed them, bringing life and hope….

 

We have little, but we have Jesus, who broke bread and gave thanks and brought about a miracle….

 

Hope has not deserted us, for Jesus still has compassion upon us just as he had compassion on the crowds that day….

 

And lets not forget that he was exhausted, and stretched….

 

But he gave thanks and broke bread, and he calls us to follow him, to do the same…

 

Where are the bread breakers?

 

We are his bread breakers….

And if we feel weak then we need to turn our eyes upon him again, Jesus the one who pours his love into our lives by the Holy Spirit…

 

Jesus in whom we find all we need….

 

So let us get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen us by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in us as we open the door and invite him in. Let us ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, we'll be able to take in the extravagant dimensions of His love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

 

Eyes on Christ who supplies all that we need. The impossible made possible in and through him….

 

Where are the bread breakers?

 

We are the bread breakers, for he has called us to follow him!

Another wedding...

On Thursday I had the privilege of preaching at the wedding of two young friends ( they are in their early twenties). He has been a family friend all the time we have lived in Norfolk and shares my families passion for sailing! She is a wonderful and strong young woman, and they both share a vibrant and realistic faith.

I do understand their parents initial misgivings about them getting married so young and so soon, but I hope and pray and believe with some confidence that these two will make it, for neither of them are unaware of the tough stuff! They have been realistic about setting up their home and Tim and I have spent not a few hours helping them to collect kitchen appliances through the wonderful medium of free-cycle!

The wedding was a lively affair, with their friends providing the music for both the service and the reception. Friends and family offered prayers and readings during the service, and as I have said it was a real privilege to be invited to preach, and to help them find just the right scriptures.

In the end they chose Song of Solomon 8:7, and Colossians 3: 12-17

My sermon is here:

Clothe yourselves with love says the writer of this letter….

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Now I am sure that many of the ladies here agree that clothing is very important, bear with me here gentlemen, I promise you that you are not to hear a sermon about the virtues of shopping and nor do I have Trinny and Susannah hidden in the vestry ready to pounce on you all! But I suspect that everyone here gave some thought to what they were going to wear to B and N's wedding, suits may have been cleaned, shirts ironed, dresses specially chosen!

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But I wonder how many of us thought about the possibility of clothing ourselves with love? And if one or two of us did stop to think about the possibility did we stop consider how to do so?

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Love is a much misused word; it has been misunderstood and cheapened, neglected and abused. We have made it a shallow thing and too often the words I love you are easily said and easily discarded. The writer of this letter does not cheapen love for  love he goes on to tell us is the thing that binds everything together, love brings harmony. When we love we are able to bear with one another’s faults, when we love fresh starts are possible, because through love true forgiveness becomes a possibility.

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 Another translation of this passage tells us that regardless of what else we wear, we must put on love, for it is our basic all purpose garment!  I like that rendition; it gives us a picture of an unfussy but durable and enduring garment that never goes out of fashion! Love, true love is such a garment, for true love out lives fads and fashions.

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We are here today to celebrate with N and B the love that they have for one another, and there is no doubt that, that love is very real and very strong. But human love has its limits, and it is then that we need to be clothed in the everlasting and supernatural love of God.

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Another of the letters tells us that: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

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And also; “….hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us”

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God demonstrated his love by giving us himself fully and completely, the only way that human beings can come close to loving as God loves is quite simply to accept that we can’t love like that.

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That is when we need to accept just how much he loves us, and in accepting that love, even though we are far from perfect we will find that a miracle begins to take place in our hearts and minds, as our inner selves are clothed and covered with the love of God.

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In God’s love we become new creations, in God’s love we find within ourselves depths and riches that we never thought possible, and through God’s love we are able to offer those depths and riches to one another.

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God’s love is nurtured in our lives as we acknowledge our need for his presence and power, as we seek him in prayer, find him through the scriptures and remain intentionally open to the Holy Spirits work amongst us. This is giving attention to love and through this attention to love we will find that it both grows and flourishes in our lives.

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B and N have made promises to one another in our presence and in the presence of God; together they are beginning a new phase of their lives, those that were two have become one. As they are bound together in love, they have acknowledged and accepted their need for God’s love. Today they wear their wedding garments, as they go through their lives they will wear many other different garments at different times, but the one they will need to wear again and again is that unfussy but durable and enduring garment that never goes out of fashion.

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B and N, I leave you with these words:

 

There will be times when you annoy one another, there will even be times when you don't like one another, there might be times when you wonder why you married one another, but if you choose the way of love, even in those difficult times you will find that love will overcome, for true love cannot be quenched.

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You have been chosen by God for this new life of love, so dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline…..

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….. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. (Colossians 3 The Message)

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Looking happy and relaxed (at last), their reception was held at the sailing club!

Again family and friends provided the buffet and a wonderful time was had by all...

 

A complete success.....

Christopher called to say that the surgeons have pronounced his surgery a complete success, they will consider reducing his medication in the near future!

Thank you to all who prayed!

letting go....

It has been an odd day, at 10 o'clock Tim and I took Chris and his girlfriend Ness to Downham Market Station so that they could catch a train to London. At a first glance we probably looked like a couple of fussy old hens seeing our son and his girlfriend off on a day trip. But they haven't set off on a day trip, and we were fussing, before they left Tim prayed for them, a little while ago Chris called to say that they'd arrived, and that he was beginning to undergo all of the usual tests before the operation tomorrow. Ness will be staying with another of their college friends who lives quite near to the Brompton Hospital.

I returned home and tried to concentrate on Sunday's service and sermon, well I had to think about something, though I confess that I have spent most of the day procrastinating... letting go is not easy!

This weeks gospel reading contains the familiar story of the young boy who dared to relinquish his five barley loaves and two fish to Jesus. He let them go when he could have hidden them. If he hadn't let them go the miracle may still have occurred, for Jesus could have turned the stones to bread( though we must note his previous refusal to do so), but because he did let them go, because he did place them into Jesus hands he was able to watch as his meager gift became a part of the story that has endured for generations.

In letting Chris and Ness go we relinquished them to God, it would be easy to write this off and say simply, "well they are adults", but there is more to it than that... they are not a meager offering and in Jesus' hands their words and ways might feed the hearts and minds of thousands...

Christopher's operation will be at 8am tomorrow, during it Ness may well experience the longest few hours of her life so far. Please pray for them.

A wonderful day....

My eldest son married for the second time yesterday, his wife Louise is great, she is a strong lady, who has three beautiful daughters. It was a privilege to hear them say their wedding vows to one another.

Both Paul and Louise have been through tough times in their lives, and I believe they have found real soul mates and strengths in one another. For me though the best part of the day was when Lou's eldest daughter Ollie came and asked me if it was OK to call me Nanny now, she also started calling Paul Dad.

I am proud of my eldest son, and of his new wife and family...

Tim and I with Paul and Louise.

Paul and Louise with the Birdesmaids, including my three new grandaughters!!!

Ollie, my beautiful eldest grandaughter!

Personal thoughts

The Royal Brompton Hospital was on the news twice this evening, both times for life saving, pioneering surgery; each time the folk involved spoke about the difference that surgery had made to their lives and what an emotional time it was. I listen to this as Christopher approaches yet another round of surgery at the Royal Brompton, and I must admit, I know what they mean.

Even though I will not accompany Chris this time ( his girlfriend Ness is going) it feels like we are approaching the edge of a cliff, each time we have to step off and abandon ourselves to God and to the Dr's skills. Each time feels like a test, even though theologically I cannot agree that it is. I do dare to say though that each time prayer becomes just a little more difficult. I don't think that this is lack of faith, it is simply weariness, a weariness that can reduce me to tears...

If this is weakness, then I admit that I am weak, and that all I can do is to accept the yoke of Christ, for through it he offers a relief from weariness, and from religions dogmas... I find myself returning to the passage as it is rendered in The Message:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." ( Matthew 11: 28-39)

 

And find that in the midst of the packing and sorting for moving, I must own my own weariness, I am unable as yet to get excited about the move, and even unable to be excited by the two family/ friend weddings that are to take place over the next week. Weariness does that to you... I have run out of whys(?), and simply want to get through to the other end, whilst hanging on to the slim hope that THIS TIME, all will go as planned.

Through all of this runs a prayer that we have prayed many times before, a prayer that echoes the promise given when Chris was first diagnosed:

 

"This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." (John 11:4)

 

After 23 years we can say that although we have caught glimpses of that glory, that we are hungry for the real thing, for a release from the grave clothes that threaten to bind us. I say us because although it is Christopher's physical life that is affected, the effects of all of those years on the rest of us cannot be minimised, and through them we all bear different scars. We don't blame Chris, that would be crazy, and we don't blame God either, though we do question him....

...and so we hang on and wait and pray, Chris's op is on the 22nd July...

Messages to three Chapels

Chapel 1.

 

( Larger town Chapel)

 

I am more convinced than ever that the gulf between what we do in church and the questions and issues that folk outside of church want to ask us about, is growing ever wider. People are hungry for spiritual connection and have deep philosophical questions on life and meaning, which we seem ill equipped to answer.

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I believe that this task is essentially relational, and it is vital for the church to continue relationships with the community, and to build upon those relationships. It will wear us out if we simply dash from one "good" plan to another trying to get it right.We must be in "it" for the long term; there is no quick fix and no easy answer.

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We need to stop fiddling around with the format of services (when to stand and when not to etc), to stop being concerned with our own comfort, and really begin to seek God for his way forward. This means that we must prayerfully and actively listen to the community. In my experience we make too many assumptions about where people are.

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Chapels 2 &3

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(Small village Chapels)

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All I can say to these two groups of folk is don’t give up, you have many gifts and are both serving your community in significant ways. Also, don’t feel bad about what you are not doing, but concentrate upon what you are doing well and keep on doing it. You are attracting others, and people value your community input... again we are in ti for the long term, there are no quick fixes or easy answers.

 

 

 

If God is for us,

who can be

against us???

 

Cries from the desert: Sermon blogging. (Ephesians 1: 3-14 & Mark 6:14-29)

This world needs a Saviour, we need people to look up to, to follow, to draw inspiration from, and yet so often we find there is no word to respond to, no person to look to. No interpreter of heaven for us….

So it was in the time before John came.

For years heaven had been silent, prayers had been offered and answered, but there had been no spokesperson, none to challenge the nation, no voice whose clarity cut through the religious niceties and drew people to the truth.

But the hunger was there, a hunger in the hearts of ordinary folk, folk like you and me, hungering for God to speak, a hunger that grew more and more intense. People were looking and longing for the Messiah to come, when suddenly (for so it may have seemed) there was a voice in the desert, a voice crying out, challenging the people to repentance. Challenging the people to look beyond himself to another voice that would soon come after him, another voice whose words would be so filled with God that God himself would be speaking….

John, that fearless messenger and forerunner of Jesus; John crying out for truth and pointing to the light. John's voice, prophesied by the ancients, a voice of truth….

It was truth that was spoken to Herod, and truth, God's truth that Herod feared as John denounced his relationship with Herodias- his brother's wife, for in his heart of hearts Herod knew that John was right, and even though he had attempted to silence him through imprisonment the challenge probably haunted his thoughts and his dreams. And yet Herod drew short of beheading John, at least for a while, for one, quite possibly drunken night, everything changed. The scene unfolds like something in a steamy novel, Herod has thrown a banquet, the food is plentiful and the wine is flowing.

Enter the dancing girl, his daughter, who pleases Herod's guests so much that he declares that he will give her anything she asks for. A quick consultation with her mother and the deal is done. John is beheaded. For all Herod's fear of John, he feared the potential mocking of his friends and guests more.

But the message was not silenced, the message still prevailed, and it was not long before the news came to Herod of this message being accompanied by healings and miracles. The message was growing stronger and stronger, it had not been silenced!

John of course had never pointed to himself, Isaiah described him as a voice crying out in the desert: prepare ye the way of the Lord… and prepare the way he did. John speaking God's message, challenging people to repentance and preparing the way for Jesus…

And now Jesus was speaking, God's message was being heard loud and clear, those who were hungry for God flocked to him….

Herod of course was not exempt from the cry and the call to repentance, if John had challenged him, how much more did Jesus? I wonder how he blocked Jesus message from his ears.

And so Jesus came, healing and restoring, and offering hope, challenging and rebuking just as John had, and more, for in him God dwelt in fullness….

We know the story of course, the way he taught, the way he challenged, the way he restored hope and healed the broken. We know the story of the cross and of the resurrection….

But I wonder today do we KNOW IT IN POWER?

As Methodists we have John Wesley's story to look back to, how he, learned as he was experienced a transformation within himself- his famous phrase, "my heart was strangely warmed" offers us a small glimpse into the transformation that took place within him. He experienced a deep assurance that all he knew was true, and with that came a confidence and boldness that propelled him out to preach God's word in the power of the Spirit.

The reading from Ephesians reminds us that in Christ, God has supplied us with everything we need. In him there is assurance, in him there is life and power. In Christ we have been forgiven, the riches of God's grace have been lavished upon us. In Christ we have been called to be a part of God's plan for proclaiming his message! And we can do it if we truly hunger for that message to spring to life within us in power.

The question is are we hungry, or have we become so easily satisfied with dry morsels of dusty old dogmas that we could not stomach real spiritual food if it were offered to us?

In Jesus we find the bread of life, in Jesus we find streams of living water, and if we dare to eat and drink we will find ourselves filled to the fullness with the love of God, our hearts may indeed become strangely warmed….

We need to awaken or perhaps re-awaken within ourselves a hunger for God, for his holiness, for his message and for his power to be at work within and amongst us. The only way is prayer, not shopping list intercessions, but plunging to the depths of our beings we might find ourselves praying without words and crying out to God not just for ourselves, but rediscovering a passion there for this place, this land and his world.

And we need not hide our faces and hang our heads in shame for:

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, and everything on planet earth.

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. (Ephesians 1: 7-12 The Message)

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. John knew that, that is why he pointed away from himself and towards Christ. Herod knew it and shrank from it, fearing the message and the messenger. Wesley knew it, and dared to step into the riches of grace that God desires to pour out upon all of us….

Dare we step into his shoes afresh today; dare we discover within ourselves a fresh hunger and thirst for God's truth to be set free in us? If we dare, he will answer, and the living waters of the Spirit will begin to flow within us again….

…and they might not make us comfortable, for they will wash away the dirt and grime of the years, dirt and grime we may have become comfortable with, dirt and grime that we may have felt was a part of who we are….

…they may not make us comfortable, but they will make us clean, and they will refresh and resource us, and refreshed and resourced we will be able to take a stand, refreshed and resourced we will find within a fresh confidence and a new assurance.

The alternative is to stop our ears from the cry of the one who loves us more than we could ever imagine. And in doing so we might become like Herod! Those who heard, and were challenged, but ultimately turned away.