2008 Thoughts from Nick

December 2008 - The Word Made Flesh

It was the morning of Christmas Eve when Colonel Liquorice, the churchwarden of St Allsort’s church in Amenglade answered his telephone. He briskly gave his name, but heard nothing – no-one spoke. Slightly irritated he put the ‘phone down and got ready to go to the church. On his way there he saw the other warden, Rufus Festivals also about to go in the church but looking worried. ‘What is it Major?’ he asked and in reply the Major passed him a hastily scribbled note from the vicar.

‘… came through the door earlier this morning.’ He explained. Colonel Liquorice unfolded the note and read

Dear Rufus- Sorry to have missed you. Have just tried to ‘phone the Colonel but I don’t think he heard me. I’ve lost my voice -Percy’

The men exchanged anxious looks before going into the church to seek an inspired solution to their problem. With the church due to be full to overflowing for midnight mass, how would they cope without anyone being able to hear a word of the service?

Ivy was decorating the church. Her granddaughter Holly was giving her a hand. In a corner they saw the Reverend Percy Parable on his knees saying his prayers. His lips were moving but no sound came out. Then to their astonishment he got to his feet and returned their grave looks of concern with a typically reassuring smile. His prayer had been answered.

Midnight arrived. The organ played as the procession came in, Percy last of all. He took his place behind the altar, the children, many of whom had been allowed to stay up late as a special favour stood in front, their faces glowing in the candlelight. Percy opened his mouth but no-one heard his voice! Instead they heard the familiar words of the Christmas prayers beautifully spoken by the chorus of children’s voices perfectly synchronised with the movement of Percy’s lips, and filling the holy space with Christmas praise.

November 2008 - Going anywhere special for your holidays?
If the onset of winter is making you think of a break in the sun there will be a number of factors with some bearing on your choice of destination. The producers of glossy brochures hope that they can entice us with their descriptions and alluring photographs of this or that resort, hotel, package or tour. These can, however, lose something in translation. Some years ago the broadcaster Cliff Michelmore quoted the following from some foreign brochures:

‘ If this is your first visit to our hotel, you are welcome to it.’

 ‘If your wife needs something to do, she should apply to our suggestive head porter, but all our staff are to ladies too attentive.’

‘Lift the telephone, ask for room service and this will be enough for you to bring your food up.’

In probably one of the most overused clichés in the trade, we may be promised paradise by the holiday industry. The word paradise literally means ‘garden’ and is used in the Bible to evoke a state of blessedness, a place of refreshment, rest or to use the Latin title of the prayer, requiem ‘Rest eternal grant unto them O Lord…’

The annual All Saints service powerfully reminds us that our communion with God is communion with our departed loved ones when at the holiest point of the service we pray their names. This is not to call them back, but to urge them on as we remind ourselves that we are not far behind them in answering God’s cry in the garden ‘Where are you?’ not with naked fear but in joyful recognition of a voice we know and can trust.

The Garden of Eden for all it’s wonder and beauty is only the start of the Christian story and even where it seems to go so horribly wrong, a new and better plan and purpose is already in the making.

October 2008 - Harvest of the Sea
As the boat sailed within sight of land, the first thing anyone would have noticed was how dry parched and dusty the ground was, the grass brown and blighted, and the people pitifully thin and ragged, with hungry eyes and empty stomachs. Even the haughty visitor whose vessel came to shore, was moved to witness their plight, and without thinking for his fine robes fell immediately on his knees in thanksgiving for his safe arrival and then in supplication for the much needed rain without which so many of these South Saxons had perished from starvation. Horrifically some had even taken their own lives rather than suffer a lingering death. But of course rain, while it brought hope of a return to the natural cycle, did not mean instant relief. So Wilfrid, this proud bishop, got his hands dirty and smelly, teaching the people to fish from the sea, their only other source of nourishment – freshwater eels- having become a rarity during the years of drought.

So Christian faith in action came to our ancestors in the faith in the late 600s and the harvest of the sea symbolized the ‘shoals of long lost souls’ drawn into the kingdom.

St Wilfrid’s Day is October 12th and this year will be marked by a service not to be missed. Please support our visitors who are travelling some distance to be with us; the choir from West Grinstead and Isobel all the way from Hooe [Where? Some might ask!] in East Sussex, but previously like Wilfrid, from the Diocese of Ripon. As well as some favourite hymns we can look forward to a unique evocation of the spirituality of our saxon ancestry….

September 2008 - Angels on Board -  I am sure you’ve all seen them and indeed some readers may even sport their own version of the message ‘Baby/Children On Board’ in a car rear window, intended as a plea for safe driving. We are all of course in favour of that, but my question is - shouldn’t careful driving be the norm rather than based on special circumstances?
Considering the behaviour seen daily on the roads the message might be phrased ‘This High Speed Metal Box Contains Fragile Human Life Forms’ !
OK, I see the point ‘Children On Board’, is a bit more snappy and more visible from a safe distance!
In a similar way I was intrigued that a memorial set up in a cemetery as a focus for those grieving for the loss of unborn children bears the image of a tiny baby. In such circumstances don’t we mourn not only for a child, but for all the potential not to be realised? I sometimes reflect that the first baby for whom I had the sad duty of performing a funeral, would now be approaching 21.
Jesus places a particular value on the vulnerable and children among them. In tender words he expresses his own belief that they each have their own angel in the presence of the heavenly father. There is no sloppy sentimentality here though. In the same breath he lays down perhaps in his harshest ever language, a warning for any who would harm the faith of one such child.[Matthew 18 v5]
Jesus then, shared the ancient belief in angels found in all the major religions and readily accepted by the childlike. Are we then to dismiss it as soppy? Admittedly, angel talk and angel art can lend themselves to the slushy and sentimental, but this should not close our minds to the possibility of such beings.
September’s feast days begin and end with angels. Pope Gregory the Great sent missionaries to England because he thought the blonde, blue-eyed children looked like angels. His feast is celebrated on September 3rd while September 29th is the feast of St Michael and All Angels.
If believing in angels makes us more careful and respectful of one another and indeed of the power of God in all created things, then get them on board!

August 2008 -  Restless Heart - Poor Monica! She was in turmoil over her son Gus. Like any parent she worried about the company he was keeping, the behaviour he was getting into. The younger generation had it tough, she knew. Living through times when terror might strike at any time, when hostility between nations might flare up into open warfare and the risk of their very way of life be swept away by forces beyond their control. She could understand the appeal of weird cults and the attraction of trivial relationships, but as a Christian she found it hard to accept her son’s choices.
Why couldn’t he have followed in his father’s footsteps? Her husband Pat had been a respected local government official. She had even, after years, succeeded in getting him to join her church. But Gus was unconventional. He’d gone off with that rather unsuitable girl and they had a child. No sign of a settled career or of them getting married…no commitment, these youngsters! He had also been drawn into a narrow religious sect, not healthy for a young man who ought to be broadening his horizons.
Since Pat’s death Monica had worried all the more. She’d managed to get Pat on the straight and narrow, now, though, she was desperate to get through to Gus.
Eventually, although it took years, her persistence in prayer did pay off.
The church knows Monica’s son today as Saint Augustine, not a rebellious youngster of the 21st Century but of the 4th Century, who became one of the most influential Christian thinkers and writers of all time.
One of his books chronicles his early spiritual struggles as an ordinary young man, and laments the ‘wasted’ years of his estrangement from God. It is a testament to the faithfulness of God, a confession of God’s goodness.
In the season of rest and recreation for many of us may Augustine’s prayer prove an inspiration:
Almighty God you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. Teach us to offer ourselves to your service that here we may have your peace and in the world to come may have eternal life…

July 2008 - Holy Land Highlights - Four Rusperites were among a group of 27 who embarked recently on a 10 day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. For those of us from the village it was the first time and we were not sure what to expect. What we did encounter was a mixture of awe, discovery, relaxed friendship and laughter, some tears and spiritual renewal.
Our primary purpose was to walk in the steps of Jesus, visiting the holy sites associated with his life and ministry, but this was no nostalgia trip. At every turn we were brought face to face with the reality of the present political situation, the differences, tensions and sufferings of all the various races and religions within a nation comparable in size to Wales. The towering walls imprisoning Palestinians in their impoverished territories were the most grim sight of all, described by Archbishop Desmond Tutu as ‘worse than South African Apartheid.’
Visiting the places previously only names in the Gospel gazetteer was often a very moving experience and a reminder that the world and the particular time and place Jesus was born into was then as now one of power games violence and internal strife.
We had a busy timetable, getting up early to beat the crowds and the heat [peaking at 110 degrees!] holding services, at two of which I was privileged to preach. We visited two Palestinian orphanages, struggling against discrimination to continue their essential work.
You can see a selction of photos from our trip on this website or watch a slideshow on you tube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=BIR9j6BbDc4
Each day as we set out on our coach we began with with our pilgrimage prayer:
  May the babe of Bethlehem be ours to tend
  May tie boy of Nazareth be ours as a friend
  May the Man of Galilee his healing send
  May the Christ of Galilee his courage lend
  May the risen Lord his presence send
  Now and for ever. Amen

June 2008 - WHODUNNIT? - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to wish he had never created the greatest detective in literature, thereby eclipsing his other works, which in his own opinion were of far greater calibre.
So he set about arranging the demise of Sherlock Holmes at the hands of his arch enemy Moriarty, a decision which led to thousands of disappointed readers cancelling their subscription to the Strand Magazine in which the story was published. When finally the author gave in to public opinion The Hound of the Baskervilles was set in a time before that fatal encounter at the Reichenbach Falls.
Like Conan Doyle’s dealings with Holmes, those between God and Mankind could be described as a ‘love-hate relationship’, yet whereas the writer was ambivalent towards the detective, divine love is the constant response to human hatred.
In a classic detective thriller we are deceived all along as to who is the most likely culprit. Only in the last pages does it become clear how we have been tricked.
By way of contrast, the opening pages of the first book in the Bible reveal the guilt of humankind. The continuing story is concerned with God’s work to put things right. The novel thing is that the author of the story of which we are a part appears in his own work, not to accuse, but to plead on behalf of the guilty, even to risk being mistaken for the wrongdoer and end up paying the penalty.
Conan Doyle will forever be identified with Sherlock Holmes.
Jesus identifies willingly with us, so that because of what God has done through him we can grow into his likeness and so become genuinely Christlike Christians.
 
May 2008 - A MERRY DANCE - Appropriately enough when I was appointed as a chaplain with London's homeless people the newly created post came without accommodation.
The situation was remedied when one in a row of former almshouses, acquired by the diocese for retired clergy, became vacant. My new neighbour had been a priest in the East End, his parishioner’s rough and ready dockworkers and the style of worship decidedly ‘High Church’.
The late Father Kenneth Loveless was a universally loved eccentric, loud and theatrical in the extreme; just the kind of character who broke down social barriers in that kind of community.
On one occasion, I met him as he returned home from a stroll dressed as Sherlock Holmes. I later learned that he had a wardrobe full of flamboyant costumes that he would don for a walk just for the fun of it - as if the attire of a clergyman was not colourful enough!
I also remember his accordion, in pride of place on his living room table; but again only many years later did I hear the story…
On board ship, during the Second World War, Kenneth Loveless had diverted the men’s attention from duty by forming some of them into a Morris dancing side, accompanied on his accordion. When the ship was torpedoed, he was rescued, clinging to his accordion, the only surviving dancer. During the long hours clinging to the wreckage he vowed that if he survived the war he would offer himself for ordination.
Imagine my surprise then on learning from the Broadwood Morris Men that my old colleague and acquaintance is something of a celebrity in Morris circles. He is part of a tradition that I am pleased and proud to say is alive and well here in Rusper. One could trace his like back to the Reverend John Broadwood in the first half of the 19th Century, but I would dare go back further and suggest that the church can claim to be the original folk movement, inspired by the Lord of the Dance.
This year May 1st and the traditional laying of the garland on Lucy Broadwood’s memorial coincides happily with the feast of Ascension Day. Come and help make it a special celebration.

April 2008 - EASTERTIDE - The Christian hope of resurrection is sometimes dismissed as wishful thinking and Christians themselves as those well meaning types who think ‘ wouldn’t it be nice if there was always a happy ever after ending?’
I remember years ago talking to someone who told me firmly that she did not believe in a life beyond this one. The more we discussed it the clearer it became that her objection, far from being rational or scientific was based largely on her fear that there were some particular people, now dead, whom she would have to meet again and didn’t want to. I had to agree that her understanding of the resurrection as a tremendous mystery with a terrifying aspect has a Biblical basis. Fear and joy, disbelief and faith blend in the resurrection stories, and the last in the Gospel according to Saint John tells of a reunion between Jesus and Peter, which is a painful one for that disciple who denied his master.
In just over two months some of us will be on pilgrimage in the Holy Land and one site in particular to visit will be the shores of the lake so familiar to us from the Gospels. Saint John carefully describes a scene with the lake in the background in parallel to another episode, like this one focussed on a charcoal fire when Peter faced a moment of truth, but the difference is striking too. Then it was in the dark moment of repeated denials, now in the dawn of a new day, which is a metaphor for the resurrection. Then the words were accusing, now they are gently if firmly teased out.

The past is unspoken between them. Jesus’ questions are about now and hereafter, not a cosy happy ending but a continuing journey of discovery together. Easter may be a feast but Eastertide, the continuing season allows us to reflect on its meaning and application.

In this life and the next there may be some awkward encounters but have we got where we are so far by spending all our time with people who are no more than just ‘nice’ or with those who are a bit more challenging?

March 2008 - EGGSACT TIMING

Easter is early this year, but why, people have been asking me more than in past years, does it not fall like Christmas, on the same day?

I personally agree that there would be more than simple convenience in having the greatest festival in the Christian year fixed on a certain date – the question is of course, which one?

Like the Jewish Passover, which for Christians anticipated it, the Resurrection is held to be an historical fact, but one which occurred at a time when methods of measuring time were different. A 4th Century council of all the Bishops in Christendom, including representatives from our own shores, decided to fix Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon, following the Spring equinox. Over time however, inexact astronomical observations led to different interpretations of when the feast should be kept. Three hundred years later it was our Celtic ancestors who were considered to have gone furthest adrift and at a church council in Whitby in 664 Bishop Wilfrid [the saint credited with converting Sussex to Christianity] laid down the law on this and another item on the agenda of the meeting, namely the style that should be adopted for monks’ haircuts.

Unfortunately, as far as the timing of Easter this was not the end of the matter, simply that Rome considered itself the sole authority in such matters. Accordingly it was the Pope who in the 16th Century revised the calendar and formula for calculating when Easter should fall. It is to be regretted that at the time the Eastern Orthodox Churches which then as now comprise a hugely significant part of the Christian world, were not consulted.

Movements towards church unity, which were making rapid advances from the early 20th Century have encountered some setbacks more recently. Revisiting the question of the date of Easter, rather than inflaming old controversies could prove an opportunity for the churches to be seen, in a lovely phrase coined by the Father Superior of the monastery at Crawley Down to be ‘bending towards one another in humility’

The power of the drama of Holy Week is that it is in your face but Easter dawns quietly, the Lord comes humbly, because Good News needs sometimes to be broken just as gently as bad.

It would be a wonderful symbol of unity if the leaders of the divided churches could agree on a date for Easter and it would only cost a little loss of pride. Meanwhile; well, what would happen if like the first Christians we kept every Sunday (even in Lent) with Easter gladness? There is one way to find out!