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God Bless America

19/1/2021

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Inauguration Day
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I have been watching with interest the news from America over the past weeks since the Presidential Election and the drama that has unfolded since that moment. From Trump’s allegations that the election was ‘stolen’, to the lawsuits which all came to nothing, to the impeachment by the Senate, and climaxing in the dramatic storming of the Capitol. It is a situation that many could have seen coming over the past four years, a perfect storm if you like, culminating in a stand-off that was never going to end well.
As I watch the members of Senate debate the impeachment of the President for second time, both sides of the house make their arguments, each believing that they are in the right and only too keen to point out the shortcomings of their opponents. In such a position no reconciliation will ever come. To break the impasse created by two opposing factions who believe they are in the right, takes someone to look outside of the political arena to something greater – be that democracy, humanity, or even God.
Unfortunately what we see playing out in the stand off between the Republicans and the Democrats, can all too easily be seen in our own domestic politics, and across our media and social media. We seem to have evolved into a society that takes pot-shots at each other, without recognising our own individual failings and complicity in the current situation. We are all too quick to want to score points, rather than seek the best solution for everyone. In an increasingly individualistic society it is all too easy not to consider the bigger picture – whether that be democracy, humanity or even God.
A previous President, Barack Obama, said these very wise words to some young leaders in October 2019:
“The idea of purity, and that you’re never compromised, and you’re always politically woke – you should get over that quickly….The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws. People who you are fighting may love their kids, and share certain things with you.”
He goes on to say: “I do get a sense sometimes now among certain young people, and this is accelerated by social media – there is this sense sometimes of the way of me making changes is to be as judgemental as possible about other people, and that’s enough.
If I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb, then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself. Did you see how woke I was, I called you out…. That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not going to get that far.”

We only have to look at some of the ‘community’ groups on Facebook, or Tweets on Twitter, to see how true this is, and not just among the young people!

Jesus gave an important lesson about casting the first stone. He also said that we should not judge another person and used the example of removing a speck from someone’s eye without removing the plank from our own. A recognition that even in those days, there were those willing to condemn others without recognising their own much bigger shortcomings.

The intent of the Senate, and the incoming President, seems to be in bringing about unity to the people of America. Sadly, this unity will not be brought about by those who don’t honestly admit their own shortcomings and focus instead solely on the failure of their opposition. It will take someone whose focus is beyond the individual and to what lies outside of the political arena to bring about that unity – whether it be democracy, humanity, or God himself.

God bless America, especially in the days ahead.


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Be careful what you wish for.

6/11/2020

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A Blog for November
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When Prometheus stole the fire from heaven, according to Hesiod, then Zeus, the king of the gods, took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus’ brother. Pandora famously opened her jar, or box, and released all sorts of evils such as sickness, pestilence and death into the world. By the time she closed the jar again, only one thing was left behind and that was Hope.



We might ask ourselves ‘why in this life are we afflicted with all these sorts of evils that Pandora released.’ But more importantly we should ask ourselves ‘why is Hope among the evils contained in the jar?’

This has been debated for many centuries. Hesiod saw Hope as being only for the gullible, and deprived men of their industriousness. Hope meant that people would not work for what they wanted, but sit back and just hope that it will happen - and probably starve to death in the process.
The Apostle Paul saw Hope in a much more elevated way and one of the three great virtues, along with Faith and Love.

“And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.“ Romans 5:2-5

Hope is only a good thing if there is an object to Hope. For Paul and for us as Christians, Jesus is that Hope. The fact that in Jesus, God is incarnate. God in Jesus, lives our life on earth, dies and is raised again to life. In Jesus we see God face to face. In Jesus we have the hope that life is no longer bound by death.

Proverbs say : “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (13:12)
It is perhaps the loss of Hope, or at least our Hope being deferred, that has caused many to be anxious during these times of lockdown. When our hopes and expectations are delayed, we can experience disappointment and can be a source of anxiety. We have all had to put on hold much of that we look forward to and hope for, and have found that many of those things that give structure to our year have been cancelled. As we approach our Christmas season the emotional and physical strain on people, should this too be cancelled, is a very real concern.

Philosophers continue to debate whether Hope is a blessing or a curse. But as Christians we hold onto Hope as being a gift of God. Hope is something that makes life worth living, and gives us the ability to face even the darkest times.


The theologian Frederick Buechner writing a little after the first moon landing writes this about Hope (which he calls wishful thinking.)

“Christianity is mainly wishful thinking. Even the part about Judgement and Hell reflects the wish that somewhere the score is being kept. Dreams are wishful thinking. Children playing at being grown-ups is wishful thinking. Interplanetary travel is wishful thinking.

Sometimes wishing is the wings the truth comes true on.
Sometimes the truth is what sets us wishing for it.”

No matter what happens in the coming weeks, I would encourage you to be people of Hope. Not a gullible, delusional Hope. But a real Hope that is focussed on Jesus, God with us, who shows there is life after death, and after lockdown.

Image: Hope by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images


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“All good gifts….”

2/10/2020

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A Blog for Harvest
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It is that time of year when we celebrate again our Harvest Festival, a tradition in the church that seems to be as old as the hills. However, in fact, the celebration of Harvest Festival in churches is a relatively recent practice. It was the Rev Robert Hawker in 1843 who, noticing the revelry and feasting in his native Cornwall around this time of year, started the tradition of holding a service in his church offering communion bread made with the first corn of the harvest.

Of course, that would have been much earlier in the year than we celebrate Harvest today. Lammas Day (or Loaf Mass Day) or Lughnasadh on 1 August, was celebrated as the day of bread, when the locals would be encouraged to take a loaf of bread to a church service to celebrate the harvesting of the first of the crops. This was again a pagan celebration originated by the Celts who celebrated the god of Lugh on this day, but soon became a way of celebrating harvest in churches.


Michaelmas, or St Michael’s Mass was celebrated at the end of the harvest season on the 29th September, and at a time when all the harvest should have been gathered in. The end of the harvest was celebrated with huge feast, known as the Harvest Supper which was eaten on Michaelmas Day. Here the ‘Lord of the Harvest’ would sit at the head of the table, and the diners would be served goose stuffed with apples and a variety of vegetables. This gave rise to the Goose Fairs, the largest of which still continues today in the UK in Nottingham for four or five days around St Michael’s Day some 700 years later.
The traditions perhaps for our Christian celebration of Harvest stretch right back into the pages of the Old Testament. I read a short while ago that ‘all Jewish festivals are Harvest Festivals’ and I think there is more than a grain of truth in that. The Festival of Weeks took place seven weeks from the first corn being harvested, the Festival of Tabernacles took place seven days after the end of the harvest, and the Festival of Unleavened bread and Passover involved bread and an offering of livestock. The law instructed: “No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
No matter how you might celebrate Harvest, whether pagan, or Christian or Jewish, it is good for us to recognise the ways in which we have been blessed, and to stop and give thanks for that which we have received. To recognise our dependence on one greater than us who supplies all we need, and to offer something back so that all may share in the feast.

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Blog for July 2020

22/6/2020

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The Kiss of God on the Soul

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You will no doubt be looking forward to celebrate International Kissing Day, which each year is held on July 6. It’s a day when couples might spend a little more time in the act of osculating in order to express their affection. In times other than these, we may be thinking about kissing others we perhaps would not normally kiss, as an expression of affection and intimacy.

If you find yourself at a lose end on the 6th July..and the 7th and the 8th….you could always grab someone close to you and see if you can break the world record for the longest kiss. Apparently it currently stands at 58 hours, 35 mins and 58 seconds – and I wonder what it was that forced this hot-blooded twosome to stop when they did – was it a cough or sneeze – did they just get fed up. And how did they eat, or even go to the toilet during their record breaking attempt – especially if closely monitored by Guiness book of Records judges throughout the event?

Kissing has always been a very intimate transaction, highly significant, and adds drama to many a storyline. Throughout the Bible we see intimate moments of kissing which each have conveyed different meanings.

In the book of Genesis, Isaac calls his son to give him a kiss, and Jacob in doing so betrays his Father and cheats his brother Esau out of his birth-right. After many years of separation, Jacob returns to Esau, who runs to Jacob, wraps his arms around him and kisses him as a sign of reconciliation. After selling Joseph into slavery, his brothers come to him in Egypt to seek a handout from the foodbank, and in forgiveness Joseph kisses each of his brothers in turn. When Samuel anoints Saul as God’s future king, he kisses him to confer a blessing on him. In the Psalms, Saul’s successor David writes poetically of righteousness and peace kissing each other. In the gospels a woman kisses Jesus’ feet as an act of devotion, and of course one of his closest friends, Judas, ultimately betrays Jesus with a kiss. Love, devotion, betrayal, blessing, reconciliation – all encompassed in those unspoken acts of kissing.

However, it is from outside of scripture and to the Christian mystics that I look to for the most intimate examples of a kiss. The kiss of God on our souls. It is said that the human soul comes from God and that the last thing that God does before putting a soul into the body is to kiss the soul. The soul then goes through life always dimly remembering that kiss, a kiss of perfect love, and the soul measures all of life’s loves and kisses against that primordial perfect kiss. St Augustine in his Confessions echoes this when he says :

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

So, on 6th July I don’t really know what you will be doing. If you decide to attempt the world record challenge then do let me know. If you find yourself kissing a computer screen, or blowing a kiss over the telephone, that may well lighten your heart. But I might suggest you spend a moment, make some space, and allow your soul some time to remember and recall that perfect kiss.



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O Comforter, draw near

20/5/2020

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Blog for Pentecost

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June sees the churches celebrating the festival of Pentecost, the birthday of the church, and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon all people. Christians will be asking the Holy Spirit to come and fill us and be with us once more.

When we do this we think of being filled with peace, being filled with love and kindness. We think of the light and warmth of God filling us. But I wonder if our congregations really know what they are saying when they say “Come Holy Spirit”?

In the gospel of John, Jesus says to his disciples:


“These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Parakletos (that is most often translated as comforter), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you”
John 14:26

And it is that word “comforter” that we are always in danger of misinterpreting. Because we think of the Holy Spirit as the one who soothes, and holds us, and protects us, and makes everything all right. But the Parakletos does not come to the disciples, to help them remember all that Jesus has said, so that they can just sit and console themselves with happy memories. But instead the Spirit reminds them of Jesus words to encourage them so that they can go out into the world and get on with the hard work of building the kingdom.

This is a picture from a scene on the Bayeaux Tapestry, a tapestry which tells the story of the invasion of England by William the Conqueror. In one panel, a bishop is seen laying into a group of reluctant soldiers with the flat of his sword. The caption says: “Here Bishop Odo uses his staff to comfort the boys.” A strange kind of comfort indeed!

The word comfort I guess literally means to encourage - “comfort” = Com Fort = With Strength. To comfort someone is to give strength to those who are weak and vulnerable. In the scenes recorded by the tapestry, the Norman troops are scared by the impressive fighting of the English under Harold. Some of them thought of deserting, others of refusing to go into battle. Until Bishop Odo came and comforted them, that is!

The disciples in Acts were weak and vulnerable, until the Holy Spirit came and strengthened them for the task in hand. We see the transformation of a group of scared individuals into a bold and charismatic team of Apostles who begin a worldwide movement.

So my biggest hope is that when those in our congregations call upon the Holy Spirit to come again into the church, and into their lives in the coming month, they are not looking to be wrapped up in a nice warm blanket and listen to soothing words. But they really do invite this Holy Spirit, this wild fire, this hurricane to tear through our church. Asking the comforter to come among us and wield his staff like Bishop Odo, and to strengthen us so that we can set about again the work of building the kingdom.

Prayer:
Jesus,
Send your Holy Spirit upon us,
and upon our churches,
and into the communities where we live.
Comfort us when we are feeling weak and vulnerable.
Strengthen us for mission.
So that we can continue the work of those first apostles -
reaching out in ways that overcame the barriers of language and nationality and difference.

Teach us,
and bring to our remembrance all that you have said,
and so inspire us to continue building the kingdom, in the places that you have sent us.


Amen


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St George’s Day Reflection

24/4/2020

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A blog from our Minister, Revd. Julian Sanders for 23rd April

We refer to St George so many times when we talk about our own church that we find we have stopped to really consider who it is our worshipping community is named after. Today, 23 April, is St George’s Day and it is right that today we stop to give a thought for this person whose name generations before us have uttered when talking about our church community.

That St. George was a real person is beyond all reasonable doubt. Though I think that is all we can claim with any historical certainty. Some have George being born in Armorica (modern day Brittany) and others have him originating from Turkey. Though the facts of his birth are clouded in mystery, there seems to be some sort of conclusion that his death came about during Diocletian's persecution on the 23rd of April 303 A.D.

Jerome, who lived from 331 to 420, mentioned him in one of his lists of Martyrs and in the following century many churches were erected to his honour, our own church in this tradition but many years later. St. Gregory, who lived from 540 to 604, has a ‘Preface for St. George's Day” in one of his works, and the Venerable Bede in 672 to 735 says “At last St. George truly finished his martyrdom by decapitation, although the gests (tales) of his passion are numbered among the apocryphal writings.”

In the history of the “Order of the Garter” it says that King Arthur in the 6th century placed the picture of St George on his banners, and we are told in other places that St. George was the patron saint of England even in Saxon times. The council of Oxford in 1222 commanded a festival to St George be observed in England as a holiday, and on the establishment of the “Order of the Garter” by Edward III, St. George was adopted by England as it's patron saint.

Though George was certainly a real person, what of this dragon? It is perhaps just a simple allegory to express the triumph of a Christian hero over evil. We see similar stories with St. Michael, St. Margaret, St. Silvester and St. Martha who are all depicted as slaying dragons in their histories. St John the Evangelist charmed a winged dragon from a poisoned chalice given to him to drink,  and John Bunyan avails himself with the same figure when he makes Christian encounter Apollyon and prevail against him.

The most vivid images that we have of St. George and the Dragon invariably come from a ballad found in a collection of poetry compiled by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765. In this account St. George was the son of Lord Albert of Coventry, and his mother died in giving him birth. The newborn babe was stolen away by the weird lady of the woods who brought him up to deeds of arms. His body had three marks on it:  a dragon on the breast, a garter around one of the legs, and a Blood Red Cross on the arm.

When he grew to manhood he first fought against the Saracens,  and then went to Sylene, a city of Libya, where there was a stagnant lake infested by huge dragon who's poisonous breath had slain many cities. The dragon’s skin was so thick that no spear or sword could pierce it. Each day a virgin was sacrificed to it and at last it came to the lot of Sabra, the King's daughter, to become it's victim. She was tied to the stake and left to be devoured, when St. George came up and vowed to take her cause in hand. On came the dragon, and St. George thrusting his lance into its mouth killed it on the spot. The king of Morocco, and a king of Egypt, unwilling that Sabra would marry a Christian, sent St George to Persia and ordered him be killed. He was thrust into a dungeon, but made good his escape and carried off Sabra to England, where she became his wife and they lived happily at Coventry together until death.

Who knows how much fact is rolled in with all the stories and legends around St George. But today it seems poignant that we should pay honour to one who defeated a dragon ‘whose skin could not be pierced by sword or shield’. The Coronavirus is infesting our land today, and indeed the whole world. It is a disease that seems impervious to anything we might attempt to do to destroy it, and each day we hear the toll of those who sadly have given their lives over to this terrible monster. Surely the story of St George, if it does anything, encourages us that the monster, however impregnable it may seem, can be defeated. We praise the work of scientists around the world, and most prominently in Oxford today, who are working on that vaccine that might just defeat this virus.

As people of St George, as we are, surely we stand in our community as a testimony to the history of this Christian tradition that celebrates the victory of good over evil, and the crushing of the dragon by those with God on their side. Let us pray today for all those who have lost their lives to this virus, and pray that those seeking a vaccine and a remedy for Covid-19, may find success and release us all from its danger.
Lord Jesus Christ,
We thank you for the life of George,
whoever he was. His stories have encouraged
and inspired Christians and non-Christians
through the generations.

May we be reminded
of the sacrifice made by
those who stand up to evil.

May we commend those
working today in hospitals,
labs, care homes, and on the streets
battling against Coronavirus.

May we remember those
who have died in the fight
and pray that they may rest
with all your saints in heaven.

AMEN
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“TSUNDOKU”

23/3/2020

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Minister's Blog for April
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There are currently 11 books in my study piling up beside my desk just waiting to be read, My wife, Louise, despairs at the number of books that lie around the study – now too many for the shelves (which are all double stacked) there now emerges a number of separate piles of books in various places. Whenever anyone comes into my study they inevitably ask that question that I often dread “What a lot of books, have you read all of them?”

The answer is – no I haven’t. I have not yet had enough hours in my life to have read all of the books lining my shelves. Most of the books I have read at some time, some I have just dipped into when needing to refer to something or looking up a particular reference. There are books that I have been given because people think I should read them (one from a previous work colleague who gave me “How to win friends and influence people” in order that I might learn a bit of tact!). There are books that I have had to buy to study a particular subject that I will probably never need again. And there are books that I bought because the cover looked interesting, but when I got into it I found it was as boring as washing up water.

And though there are books that I haven’t yet read, it is my intention to get round to reading them someday, and this time of isolation seems a perfect time to start to tackle some of those piles.


The Japanese have a word for it, it is TSUNDOKU which literally means a ‘reading pile’ and describes the act of piling up books and leaving them in convenient places ready for reading. And while Louise thinks they are scattered everywhere – actually the piles are carefully managed and rearranged and catalogued within my mind so I know exactly where everything is.

We are all, I think, guilty of TSUNDOKU in some way. But for many their TSUNDOKU, their reading pile, lies within the covers of the Bible. People do ask me if I have read the whole Bible, all 66 books – and to be honest – no I haven’t – not yet! Just recently I looked at Paul’s Letter to Philemon in the New Testament and I realised that I don’t think I have ever read this book. Containing just 336 words in the original Greek, it is by far the shortest of the Bible, but one which was part of my TSUNDOKU. But now it isn’t.

So I encourage you, to not just leave the books of the Bible piled up in your own TSUNDOKU. But to take some of this enforced isolation time, and to put some time aside, open the cover and immerse yourself in the good book!


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St David's Day and a Narcissus

27/2/2020

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"In the last days there will be some very hard times. People will love only themselves and money" 2 Tim 3:1-2
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It is St David's Day at the beginning of this month and with the onset of Spring many daffodils can be seen bringing colour to the roadside verges and to our own gardens. This simple easy-growing flower has been elevated through history to become a national symbol for Wales and St David. The humble daffodil, the pride of a nation.

But why the daffodil? The Welsh have already claimed the leek as their national plant after, it is believed, a battle back in the annuls of time when their men roared into battle wearing leeks on their heads to distinguish them from their enemies. The daffodil then, a much more gentle symbol, seems perhaps to have become elevated through some lack of communication. The Welsh name for leek being Cenhinen, and the daffodil being Cenhinen Pedr, I love the idea of this flower becoming such a symbol through a communication error.

Moving into a new home with a new garden, it is always interesting to see what starts to grow in various places - that previous occupiers have planted and long since forgotten. This little chap (pictured) has sprouted up in one of the pots left behind by the previous owner. Not quite a daffodil, but a narcissus from the same family.

The narcissus, so called after the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Leiriope. Their son, distinguished for his beauty was infatuated with himself so much so that he fell in love with his own reflection and promptly killed himself knowing that love would never be requited. On the very spot he died, this little flower grew and took on his name.

Narcissism, the infatuation with oneself, is argued to be on the rise in modern society. The internet is littered with selfies as people indulge in their own narcissistic behaviour. We all exhibit some of these tendencies, and those with the most extreme symptoms may even be labelled with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder - though some argue such cases are rare to find.

The story of Narcissus and the passage from 2 Timothy are a reminder that this is not entirely a new phenomenon. When the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy he highlights the worrying traits of the society they lived in, and has startling echoes perhaps for us today:

"People will love only themselves and money. They will be proud, stuck-up, rude, disobedient to their parents. They will also be ungrateful, godless, heartless and hateful. Their words will be cruel, and they will have no self-control or pity..instead of loving God, they will love only pleasure. Even though they make a show of being religious, their religion won't be real." 2 Timothy 3: 2-5

Paul highlights a whole long list of narcissistic tendencies - and what is worrying is he seems to be warning about those in the church who act this way, and even perhaps leaders in the church who are living like this.

If the little narcissus does anything, let it stop us from thinking about ourselves and highlight to us the beauty that surprises in creation. Let us not be so consumed by our own reflection that we fail to see the beauty in others around us. And may the daffodil be a reminder that it is in remaining humble that we might ourselves be raised up (even if it ends up being just a communication error!)


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Wine-ing about the Water

31/1/2020

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“They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.” John 2:9


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One of the traditional readings for the season of Epiphany is the account in John’s gospel of the Wedding at Cana, the first of Jesus’ miracles. Jesus is made aware at a wedding banquet that the host has run out of wine, and after some persuasion tells the stewards to fill six stone water jars to the brim. And on tasting the water, the master steward finds this is the finest wine and he now has about 120 litres of it. And the celebration continued..


I have always wondered at the necessity of this miracle, a rather frivolous use of one’s power you might argue. But I wonder if this miracle might also be seen as an act of great compassion.


I have been reading a book by Edoardo Albert called “Edwin” which re-tells the story behind the Northumbrian King Edwin around 600 years after this wedding at Cana. In the book the King himself his holding a wedding banquet. Aethelburh his new bride has come to Edwin, and with her a priest Paulinus and it is through these two that Edwin becomes to be introduced to the Christian faith.


So imagine this wedding banquet being held by King Edwin, imagine the nobility that has been invited to share in the feast, imagine the banquet hall filled with guests – and the King wanting to make sure his guests are entertained. So he calls for those gathered to share stories of the adventures and quests. And it is Paulinus, not wanting to waste an opportunity to share the gospel, who stands up and tells the story of this Wedding at Cana.

But it is at the point in the story when the host of the banquet runs out of wine, that Paulinus asks his audience what they would do should that happen at the King’s banquet: “Cut off the stewards head!” “Feed him to the dogs” “Feed him to the Britons” are their barbarous and drunken replies.

Perhaps then, Jesus’ intervention in the case of the empty wine glasses may just have been an act of compassion rather than a flamboyant party piece.

Perhaps Jesus sees the consequences of the stewards miscalculation and takes the opportunity to spare him the suffering of such a mistake. And in the process, may even have elevated him in the eyes of the bridegroom.

The wine came from simple ordinary water.
The ordinary was turned into the best of all.
A mistake was turned into an opportunity for promotion.
For this really is a miracle of transformation.

When God comes to earth, to share his life with us, he does not come as a new order of being, but as a human. God takes our human nature and transforms it into the divine in the person of Jesus.

And I think we are called too to follow that pattern of taking ordinary things, and turning them into extraordinary things. Whether it is water, or our human lives, God has the power of transforming them into something special.

We might ask how God is going to transform the world, and bring about his kingdom here on earth? It is not by wiping away everything there is and starting again, but by taking what we see and touch here and now, and transforming it, so that it might fulfil God’s purpose.

Our lives might seem ordinary, but they are capable of being transformed, just as the water was transformed into wine.

Just as a musician might take sounds and compose them into a melody that can lift our hearts and souls.

Just as a painter might take coloured dyes and create a picture that takes our breath away.

Just as an author might take words and create vivid pictures in our imaginations – that take us away to lands and times beyond our own.
So each of us can take the things we have been given – our sorrow and joy, our labour and rest, our success and failure – and with the help of the Holy Spirit, transform them into something extraordinary and holy.
We give thanks that through Christ water may be turned into wine, and that through Christ with us, the ordinary things of our lives may be transferred into miracles of the extraordinary.

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January 2020

2/1/2020

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          "God Calling"
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1

150 years ago Alexander Graham Bell was developing his ideas for a device to help those with hearing difficulties and in 1876 he finally came up with a device for transmitting one’s voice and patented his ideas for the telephone. Both his mother and his wife were deaf, and no doubt such a device was useful around the house for finding out what was for dinner or for summoning people to you. The first successful telephone conversation consisted of the famous words “Mr Watson come here, I want to see you.” It wasn’t long though until Bell realised the universal application of this device he had incarnated and global communication technology was conceived.

Alexander Bell knew that a word would be required as a universal greeting for the telephone, so if you were speaking to someone in a different time zone you wouldn’t need to worry about whether to say ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’. Bell wanted the word ‘Ahoy’ to be the universal greeting for answering the telephone, but it was Thomas Edison who devised a new word ‘Hello’ which finally won the day.

This New Year’s Eve as we ‘Facetimed’ friends in America and recorded video messages to email to friends and family – I wonder what Alexander would make of this technology revolution and the relative ease of communicating with people all over the world. Today we can text, video message, call, facetime, whatsapp, anybody, anywhere and at anytime. We have instant communication with everyone at the press of a button. It is simply amazing.

In the Archbishop of Canterbury’s New Year Message, he encourages us to reconnect with people. To choose just one person and reconnect with them, either by text, phone call or whatever means necessary. To reconnect with others in some way, to reach out to them and speak words of friendship. Justin Welby said that sometimes we think of heroes doing great things, but we can all be heroes to someone. He says: “Every time we reach out and connect with someone it is an act of heroism..don’t underestimate it.”

If there is one resolution we can make this year, then why not let it be this: to reach out to others and offer them words of friendship. After all that’s exactly what God has done for us. In that baby born in Bethlehem, the Word became flesh and lived amongst us. God reached out to us with the Word. The very first global communication, long before Alexander Graham Bell patented his idea. A Word that goes out to all the world, as God connects with us in a new way. This universal word in which God says to us “Hello”.




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    Julian Sanders

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