The Power of Life (29/3/2020 reflection)

The Gospel story for 29th March 2020 is the story of Lazarus (John 11:1-45), but I have chosen to focus on the Ezekiel passage as it seemed to fit with our times.  We can find this time like time in the wilderness or the desert.  We might feel God has forgotten us or left us behind somehow...the Israelites often felt like this, in exile or under siege. 

As you read through the passage, what stands out for you? A desert is a hostile environment, a defeated army left abandoned in the hot sunshine, hope gone and life extinct.  But then God turns up.  How is our current environment hostile and what might it mean for God to turn up? 

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NIV)

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

Reflection

This passage is always fascinating, and we forget in this day and age that God speaks to us through visions.  We think visions lie in the past, yet throughout Scripture we see the use of dreams and visions.  Prophecy is given that your old men will dream dreams and your young men see visions whilst your sons and daughters prophesy.  As someone who does look for signs, who does see God in the mundane, who, at times, is open to the prompting of the Spirit, and generally sees connections all around, I still believe that God uses vision and dreams to communicate. 

Admittedly none of mine have been as spectacular as Ezekiel’s and if I’m honest, for that I’m grateful.  And of course, they don’t always readily make sense.  My recent dream of a ball of coloured yarn that is slowly unravelling is likely just my brain making sense of the current climate, rather than some spiritual wisdom! Ezekiel was in no doubt about this vision, and who the author is of that vision.  

Like the Israelites of old we can feel like broken people just now, wandering in the wilderness and unsettled about the current conditions.  To be fair, being in lock down is not the worst outcome, but it can feel restrictive, claustrophobic even.  Whether we are with people or on our own, we envy what the other half have because neither situation is great.  We are, if you like, restricted to the bare bones of life - limited exercise, limited contact and contained in small units.  Everywhere we would go to socialise or hang out is closed - all for our own safety, but since when have we ever liked doing what we are told.  Just ask Adam and Eve!

We are only at the beginning of the fallout from this disaster.  Falling as it does on the back of Brexit and its uncertainty, our economy is fragile.  We are not spending money, yet getting paid, if we are fortunate enough.  Others are not sure if they are getting paid, what they might get paid and indeed when they might get paid.  It’s no wonder we might feel like a deserted army in the desert. Others are exhausted, working so hard to heal the sick, feed the hungry, care for the prisoners and the housebound and so on! 

Yet when all seems lost, and you don’t really don’t get more lost than when your vast army lies as bleached bones in the desert, God turns up.  Admittedly, we are not there yet, if the science and the experts are right.  We are still heading towards an even more difficult time, but we know that God is there in the midst of it.  There is hope.  There is a future.   Yet sadly there is also the tragedy and the heartbreak.  It would seem that human nature being what it is, there is rarely pure joy without pain or hardship or indeed sacrifice.   We cry in childbirth yet rejoice in that first wail of new life. Today we sacrifice our some of our freedom that others might live.

In this season of Lent we are reminded that though death hovers like an unwelcome guest at a party, life is ready to bounce him out the door.  For the Israelites it was the gift of life in the shape of freedom from exile.  The other reading for this Sunday in Lent is the story of Lazarus found in the Gospels.  Lazarus, a dear friend of Jesus had died, and in this story we glimpse the humanity of Jesus as he stands at his friend’s grave and weeps.  Yet here too, death is shown the door and Lazarus is given back to his sisters Mary and Martha.  Death is the last enemy.  

As we draw ever so close to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we see the drama between life and death played out once again.  We come to the story knowing that Life will win, yet still caught up in the loss and the grief.  For Jesus died, in much pain, betrayed and criminalised, for the sins of all people.  And he went to his death, like a lamb to slaughter.  Yet death once again was shown the door, but not without the pain and the sacrifice. 

Trust me, I know we want the easy life.  I would dearly love to curl up at home and hide away until all this is done.  I would love it even more if none of us had to face this virus or its consequences whether in terms of health or wealth or something else.  Unfortunately that is not my gift for you today.  My gift that I want to offer is hope.  The undeniable hope that death does not have the last word.  Life will always find a way.  

Through the incredible kindness of others. 

Through the patient enduring of a lockdown never seen in peacetime before. 

Through the loyalty and sheer grit of NHS staff and carers up and down the land.

Through the courageous brave souls who stock our shelves, open our stores, dispense our medication, look after the prisoners, empty our bins, all whilst putting up with abuse, ingratitude and poor pay. 

I think, perhaps, that life finds a way because we all carry within us the gift of life.  Ezekiel wasn’t a passive bystander in the vision.  God made him prophesy.  Ezekiel had to look at that desert of bones and speak the words God gave him.  Could you imagine that moment?  I suspect Ezekiel was so in awe of God he wouldn’t have questioned it, but how daft he might have felt telling those those bones to take a breath.  How impossible that moment actually was.  

For Jesus and Lazarus - Lazarus had lain for 3 days and Jesus asks for the stone to be rolled away.  Jesus prays out loud and prays that the people know that it is God who brings life. When Jesus died on the cross, he gave his soul to God his Father. In the creation story shared in the book of Genesis, it is the breath of God that gives human beings life. 

Death is coming to knock on our doors but we don’t live in fear, because we worship the God of the living.  And life will blossom again, hope will rise up, and we will once again rise and live.  

Remember those words at the beginning of John - In him was life, and that life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. 

Until then, God calls us all to live our best lives, to bring hope, compassion and love into the lives of others. These gifts that we bring offer life to others, and remind us that we are called to be someone greater than the individual we are.  We are community. People living in this world, in the common unity of our humanity. The life we lead affects the lives of those around us, from our family and friends to the pharmacist trying their best. 

As Christians, as those who believe in eternal life, who believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, let us live with hope, content even in hardship, and always with loving kindness in our words and actions.  And from there, may more come to know Christ and his gift of love, and God and his gift of life. 

 With God all the things are possible. 

Hold onto these words from the story of Lazarus:

Jesus said: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever believes in me will never die.  

He asks: Do you this believe this?

Mary responds: Yes, Lord.

How do you respond?

Psalm 130 and prayer (29/3/2020)

So our first reading today is Psalm 130 - the lectionary reading for 29th March. It is Psalm of Longing and Looking for the Lord, known as a song of the ascents or a song of the steps. It is written from the depths - the depths of trouble and affliction.  We can trust in his mercy and great love to forgive us because if he didn’t we would fall.  And we come with expectant trust, a hopeful waiting for the Lord, and they watch for him, as we watch for the sunrise. And the singer believes that God will honour his covenant with his people.  He is faithful.  

Psalm 130 

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

2 

    Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

    to my cry for mercy.

3 

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

    Lord, who could stand?

4 

But with you there is forgiveness,

    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5 

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

    and in his word I put my hope.

6 

I wait for the Lord

    more than watchmen wait for the morning,

    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 

Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

    for with the Lord is unfailing love

    and with him is full redemption.

8 

He himself will redeem Israel

    from all their sins.

Let us pray

Loving God, full of wisdom and truth, 

just and full of mercy, 

if you kept track of our sins, 

the words of frustration and temper that have hurt others, 

the selfish motives that have curtailed our love, compassion and generosity, 

the despair that has overwhelmed and the fear that has roosted in our hearts and heads, 

what chance would we have to ever come into your presence?

Loving God, full of compassion and grace, 

look upon us, and see us through the eyes of your Son Jesus

who gave his all that we might be forgiven and welcomed. 

Forgive us with your unfailing love, with that forgiveness that casts our sin away, as far as the east is from the west, and allows us to begin again. 

Lord, help us believe that our sins are forgiven and that we may come into your holy presence, in worship and praise, forgiven and restored. Praise be. 

Loving God, of the past, the present and the future, 

as we gather together in worship, knowing that our prayers are heard, 

our unity with our brothers and sisters around the world joining us together across time and space is sure, be pleased to be with us in our homes and our workplaces.  

And so we bring our prayer together, with the words that Jesus taught us as we share in the family prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. 
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours. 
Now and for ever. Amen.

Learning to be Content.

Honestly, I’m not sure I know where to begin.  I think I want to tell you that right now I am content.  I am not happy - these are strange days indeed.  There is much that I miss.

Running next to Danni has become social distancing runs and facetime calls at the end to chat.  Hanging up is brutal. But I appreciate that I can run, I can afford to do that kind of phone call and I live somewhere that is not ‘busy’ with people or indeed runners. Yes there is much I miss (even a week in) - dropping into a cafe for a coffee and a blether, just shooting the breeze on the street corner, getting a hug at the church door after service...we can all add much to this list.  My Dad turns 70 and we should have had a family party on Saturday, my niece turns 16 at the beginning of April, and my sister 40 in May.  All personal celebrations affected by these strange days.  But for all I am disappointed I am still content.

I am content because I know that this is temporary.  I am distressed by what might be, especially for those who are fighting for their lives, and the real pain that people are going to feel at not attending funerals of loved ones.  I am concerned for my children’s education because I am not a good home schooler but both children have achieved some learning this week so I’ll take that as a win. 

I am content because I know who holds the future.  Even through the distress and the disappointment, through the frustrations and noise of the family home, I am content.  God knows the future and that knowledge is too great, too wonderful for me to know or grasp. So instead I trust him with it.  To be content, doesn’t mean to be comfortable, or even without pain and suffering. Paul writes:

Philippians 4:11-13 New International Version (NIV)

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I am only discontented when I think I have to do it all.  When I think the future of the church rests upon my shoulders.  Am I doing enough? Am I supportive enough?  How can I balance the sometimes competing elements of caring for my children and their struggles with the congregation and community I serve?  That voice exists in all of us - we just have our own version of it.  That voice that stirs up angst and anxiety, fear and failure in us.  How we silence that voice is through prayer, through counting our blessings, through phoning that friend who will centre us again.  For some that voice is very powerful and I know that it is hard being in that very dark place and for you, I pray for peace and God’s light to shine in.

I know I am not going to get this right and I will fail some and wow others.  But that’s the way it has always been.  I still feel pressure to achieve and do, but I know that I want to give and be - and let God take care of the rest. Many of us feel helpless right now - doing nothing is not in the helpful person’s psyche. However, for many of us, doing nothing is actually doing everything.  You might not be happy with that, but you can be content.

Also, modern technology is epic so get the What’s App or the Facebook Messenger or Zoom or Skype and video call! Trust me - it is a real tonic!  And take time to phone around friends in the congregation please...keep in touch.

I pray that you are content, and that despite the difficulties, you will find silver linings. Or as the old song goes - (sing it if you wish)
Count your blessings, name them one by one.
Count your blessings, see what God has done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!

God bless you and God loves you!
Love Sarah

PS. Our Church Facebook page is public so you can access it without joining FB I believe. Do stop by for regular reflections and updates.

Being a mum...and a child

I am mum and today is Mothering Sunday!  So I wanted to share a little with you about the wonder and the frustration of being mum.  It is a role I love, but it terrifies me too.  The responsibility for these wee humans who understand but don’t understand the world around them, and that is before you add a pandemic to the mix, is great.  Setting boundaries but encouraging independence, inspiring curiosity but keeping them safe, challenging their mindsets whilst maintaining a calm, patient persona...well you know it is hard work but so rewarding (when you think you are getting it right or they are sleeping!). 

I don’t take the gift of my children lightly.  I know there are many others who today mourn the loss of children, whether before they arrived or sadly since birth.  There are others who desperately want the gift I have and sadly are unable to receive it.  My youngest sister Lorraine died of SIDS and even now I remember the blue lights and the sadness, for I was 6 years old at the time.  Please know, therefore, that you are held in prayer also. 

Many of us take on parenting roles all the time - whether we are grandparents looking after the young ones, staff in the school, family friends or sports coaches or music teachers, volunteers in any type of children’s work, or supporting a family we have taken under our wing.  We hope for the best, encouraging the children in our care to grow and mature, to blossom and find their space in the world. We ponder their careers based on their temperaments; how many of us know budding lawyers, politicians or carers in our family circles?

Today is the day in the Church where we would have made reference to the Annunciation which takes place on 25th March.  We would have sung Mary’s song today - Tell out my soul.  Here was a woman on the cusp of marriage, who would have been contemplating married life with Joseph, wondering when children would be part of the family (it was a sign of blessing to have children), but also pondering when Israel would be released from Roman rule.  And then:

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke1)

In these days, when we look around us, we can feel very afraid.  We are anxious, understandably so, because the future looks bleak.  It did for Mary too, stuck as she was in a world where the Romans ruled.  She had no control, except for that which she could in her daily life (hence why she is usually portrayed in nativities cleaning the house!).  But even in that world, God turned up.  And he gave his Son that we might all have life, indeed eternal life. Jesus grew up and faced our trials and temptations, he loved, he grieved, he laughed, he grew weary.  

I don’t know about you, but over these past days in particular, I have felt lost, wishing I could be a child again, and leave my mum to figure it all out.  Instead I wish my mum a happy mother’s day over the phone and hug my children, praying that God will help bring an end to this disaster.  When Jesus was at his lowest he went to his Father in prayer, something that we will remember again on Good Friday.  When we are at our lowest, and that may still come, we can come to God our Mother, our Father, our Parent, and rest secure in him.  Just as child nestles into your neck, or takes your hand, or asks for your help, so we too can turn to God, and nestle into his love, take his hand and ask for his help.  And he will respond. 

So this Mothering Sunday, in whatever role you think about mothers, remember you are also a child of God, and she longs to gather you in as a mother gathers in her chicks. Rest in his love, trust in his goodness, and remember he is faithful even when we are faithless. 

God bless you! 

Love Sarah 

Developing Discipleship - Launch (wk3)

Theme: Developing Discipleship - The Woman at the Well

Sit down in front of the Communion Table, and for a moment say nothing...This caused a ripple - Well worth it! 

Have you ever been so tired that you can’t stand any longer?

Or do you remember walking with children, perhaps out for a walk with the dog, or a trek round the shops, and comes the familiar moan that they can’t walk any further...or the cute falling asleep thing they do as they try to stay awake...

Jesus is tired, physically tired.  

We think of Jesus as superhuman, able to do it all but occasionally the authors remind us that he was human.  He felt tired, weary, even frustrated and discontented in the world around him. I wonder if he had had enough - bickering, hungry disciples moaning about how far they had walked.  It was noon and they needed their lunch...Jesus sits down next to the well, the early Jewish Starbucks or Motorway service station.  The disciples go on into town. 

As Christians, many can expect us to be super human.  We keep going when the world goes to pot.  We smile even though we are breaking, we give even when we are broke, we stay the course even when everyone else is bailing.  We don’t lose our cool with the frustrating or our temper with the downright nasty.  We are full of grace at all times and in all places.  Aye right! But the expectation is there. But sometimes we just need to sit by the well and rest. 

However, there is a time to sit by the well and rest, but we can’t fall down the well.  Mentally, we climb inside the well (wouldn’t recommend physically) but we do mentally.  We lose ourselves in the well of self-pity.  God, why do I have to walk with these moaning, miserable, demanding disciples?  Or we just want to hide?  As the disciples come back and look for Jesus who has done a disappearing act...where did he go?  Oh yes that well symbolises much, for it becomes a place of renewal and hope. 

Stand up 

Again, this is a story we have covered again and again, and so rich. For today though I want to pick out a little bit from it.  Jesus is tired, weary, drained but as he rests a moment occurs that is life changing - probably as much for Jesus as for the woman. On the surface it is just a conversation around the water cooler of that society.  But Jesus is resting alone, in a country where Jews are not loved or necessarily welcomed.  It is the middle of the day so prime time for those who are hiding from society to appear, especially at the water cooler.  The woman is obviously a shunned woman, but she is intelligent and blunt.  To be out at that time of day - she doesn’t want awkward conversations or to hear the gossip about her.  So to meet Jesus who asks her for a drink...

Again like Nicodemus, Jesus sparks curiosity.  She knows he is Jewish, and that what he asks is culturally wrong.  Interesting God consistently challenges our definitions of barriers and prejudice.  Makes me wonder every time we put up a barrier, just how He will knock it down.  Anyway, Jesus throws in his bombshell which actually hints at his current frustration with his disciples.  If you knew who I am you’d ask me for water...

It is almost an off the cuff comment, and yet the woman rises to it.  She embraces the challenge thrown out, and Jesus honours her as a human being.  Even when he pushes her about her husband, he knows that she truth tells, and therefore because he proves the truth of that statement, we know and he knows that her theological understanding is true.  She doesn’t feel the need to lie to him.  What is interesting is that we don’t have the full conversation.  When she goes back she tells them to come meet the man who told her everything she ever did.  Whatever her story, whatever reason she is shunned for, she owns it.  And Jesus doesn’t limit her, punish her, ignore her - indeed he inspires her and she is launched into the mission field. 

Her full story - he knows everything and still she is the one who opens up a whole new mission field.   

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world.”

Often we think that God cannot use us for anything.  We don’t know enough.  Our past is littered with poor decisions.  We have hurt people, we have broken several of the ten commandments, whatever it is, we write ourselves off. Even society looks down on human beings simply because they are poor or learning difficulties or additional support needs, or some kind of physical disability.  Sometimes because they are child or a woman or coloured or gay or something we are not. 

God knows - Jesus knew the woman spoke the truth about her husband or not husband and yet he didn’t turn away in disgust.  He inspired her so much that despite being a shunned woman she ran back and yelled it from the rooftops. 

Folks, God wants to launch us into the wider world - not out of a cannon, but that we are so inspired by him that we cannot help but go and shout it from the roof tops.  Come meet the man who told me everything I ever did and still wants a relationship with me. 

Previously we spoke about commitment, not perfection.  We don’t have to be perfect to be used by God.  We just have to be open to meeting him and accepting him.

We might feel weary as Christians, worn out by the expectations of others and the Church.  We might think there is no point to this mission lark, and then we have that encounter.  That person who comes after dark like Nicodemus or the one we meet in the coffee shop or the queue at the till, the random conversation you never anticipated like I had one day in Boots the Chemist. A staff member who had recently returned to church put me through my paces...but it was awesome. I was distracted going for a meeting in the national office but needed something on the way.  A stop by the till and God was there. 

In a time of change and decline, where are the pit stops, the wells we stop to rest?  Not to climb in and hide, or fall down into self pity, but where we encounter others, and Christ leads the conversation, inspiring them and us.  The conversation I had with that lady in Boots gave me a boost all day.  And for Jesus it was a boost - he was a like a new person when the disciples returned, back to his somewhat enigmatic self.  He was fed, filled by the Holy Spirit, buzzing...so much so the disciples wondered how that was possible. 

When we are actually actively engaged in sharing the Gospel through word and action, we are empowered and inspired.  It makes sense and is exciting.  

So sit by the well but don’t get stuck there...please.  

Amen