“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”. Hope for dark times

 

The text of a sermon preached at Central Methodist Church Chippenham on 23rd February 2025

The English nun and Mystic Dame Julian of Norwich lived at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. During those years the Black Death was the most devastating pandemic in human history, killing an estimated 75 million people. Julian was a Benedictine nun who herself was mortally ill. During her illness she had visionary experiences. Recording these visions, she wrote her Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest surviving English-language work attributed to a woman.

“And so our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts which I could raise” she wrote “saying to me most comfortingly ‘I may make all things well and I can make all things well and I shall make all things well, and I will make all things well; And you will see yourself but every kind of thing will be well.’”

Very often this is summarised as: “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”.

This is not cheery optimism. Rather, it is an affirmation of the mystery of God's love in all things, in all circumstances, even in the midst of personal and enormous human tragedies. With the perspective of God, and God's own love being present in all things and through all things, Dame Julian was able to live fully and faithfully.

But of course, her statement “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well” can collide with our own experiences. From time-to-time things go badly. Children die of incurable diseases. People misuse power. People fight in wars. The reality is that when we watch the TV news, we see for ourselves that all is not well.

The writer of Psalm 37 understood that sometimes we feel all is not well. Writing in the evening of his life “²⁵ I was young and now I am old” he says in verse 25, he has seen for himself over a lifetime that not all is well all of the time. Things go wrong. He’s seen those

who prosper in their way,
    over those who carry out evil devices.

In fact, a bit later in the Psalm 37 he goes further:

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous,

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to kill those who walk uprightly;

The old writer has “been there and done that” we might say. He’s seen how people can be. But nonetheless the psalmist is not deterred. He offers a far reaching and faithful word. Do not worry. Trust in God

¹ Do not fret because of the wicked;
    do not be envious of wrongdoers,
³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.

That assurance comes about from a hard won faith. From years of his experience of knowing that God is God, and shall be God, and with God all shall be well. In reading this psalm we get the sense that the psalmist is writing from personal experience. From having experienced God’s faithfulness himself.

The words of a hymn by Georg Neumark put it this way:

If you but trust in God to guide you

and place your confidence in him,

you'll find him always there beside you,

to give you hope and strength within.

For those who trust God's changeless love

build on the rock that will not move.

 It is upon this rock of God’s faithfulness, his changeless love, that the psalmist instructs his readers not to worry. Depending on which translation of the Bible is used we hear “Do not fret” or “Do not worry” repeated three times in verses 1, 7 and 8. The psalmist really wants to emphasise his point.

 And each time he tells his readers not to fret or not to worry, he makes the point that God’s saving work will happen in good time, in the future. Once again, we need to trust.

 “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”.

It is a living hope.

 In the early 1960s, the German theologian Jurgen Moltmann wrote a book called "Theology of Hope". This work takes as its assumption that true Christian faith can only have its transforming effect on the individual, on society, and on the world, when it is rooted in a vision of hope.

Moltmann wrote: "From first to last Christianity is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore also revolutionizing and transforming the present."

Moltmann was not saying that by living in hope we are disconnected from daily reality. Living in Christian hope does not mean that everything in the garden will be rosy. Rather, to live with a vision of hope gives a person - and the Church - the inspiration and the motivation to never settle for the status quo. To never settle for the here and now. Rather, to live with a vision of hope leads us to challenge, and perhaps even work towards, the transformation of any part of life that is not in line with that envisioned hope.

In other words, we work towards the hope of the Kingdom of God being fully established.

This is something the psalmist picks up. With the assurance that God holds our tomorrows in his hands, the psalmist calls the faithful to

 ³ Trust in the Lord and do good;

 And

 ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;

    trust in him and he will do this:

 The psalmist, writing of course before the time of Jesus, challenged people to live in ways that glorify God. As followers of Jesus, we seek to live our lives in a way that reflect Jesus to others. Even when we feel that this is fruitless and pointless, and everything seems overshadowed by people who “Carry out their wicked schemes”.

 The need for us to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8) remains, despite everything else that is happening around us.

 As Jesus’ life showed, trusting in God and “doing good” seeking to be true followers of Jesus, inevitably means Jesus followers run into opposition. It is something the psalmist dramatically emphasises:

 ¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword

    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

    intent on putting them to death;

You may have seen a month ago now, part of the sermon Bishop Marian Edgar Budde preached at the service following the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the USA. The TV coverage only showed the last few minutes of her sermon. And inevitably Trump himself and the Trump worshippers, particularly those claiming to be Christians, were very vocal in their opposition to her. But if one reads the whole sermon, I can find nothing I wouldn’t preach. The need to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God runs right through it.

I sincerely hope and pray that in the case of Bishop Budde the wicked will not draw the sword, bend the bow and lie in wait for her. Though as we know Americans do sometimes have a tendency to do such things. Think of how Dr Martin Luther King was murdered for speaking out against in justice.

Of course, the need for us to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God is tempered by Jesus commands to love our enemies and pray for those who abuse us. Never an easy task.

The only proof we can offer that God rules the world is the tangible existence of a community of believers, you and I and countless millions like us. Followers who are shaped by the character of God, and of God’s son Jesus Christ. We prove that God rules the world when we trust in God (Ps 37 vv 3,5), when we do good (Ps vv 3, 27), when we commit our way to God (Ps 37 v 5), when we give generously (PS 37v21), when we speak justice (Ps37v 30), when we open ourselves to God’s instruction ( PS 37 v31) and take refuge in God (Ps 37 v 40). All these things are explained in this psalm.

The remarkable thing about so much of the Bible is that although it was written and compiled thousands of years ago,

it still has much to tell us today. Psalm 37 is a case in point. It does not give simple answers about the human struggle to trust in God, especially when those who do not trust in him seem to be faring so well. Yet the psalm is a reminder to us all to encourage one another and to trust in God that

 “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”.

And the psalm is a challenge to each other not to give into anger or envy when God’s rule and God’s justice seem to lag behind the world. But to remember in God’s good time

 “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”

Amen.

Acknowledgment: I am grateful to the writers of the Feasting on the Word commentaries for the inspiration for this sermon

Be a witness.

This is the text of a sermon due to be preached on 9th February. But I forgot my notes and had to preach off the cuff! (I've no idea whether the sermon was better for that or not.) But anyway I thought I'd share my thoughts. 

In a play about the crucifixion of Jesus, playwright John Masefield creates a conversation between Pilate's wife and one of the soldiers present at Golgotha. The soldier tells Pilate's wife that he does not think Jesus has remained dead and buried. When she asks where he might be, the soldier replies, "He is let loose in the world where no one can stop him."

Paul verifies this observation, as he recounts how many times Jesus appeared after the resurrection. No one was able to stop Jesus, not even the guards at the tomb. Nothing was able to stop him, not even locked doors.

Jesus is let loose in the world. Witnesses, testify!

What does it mean to be a witness? It’s a long time now since I studied law at university. In fact, as I was preparing this, I realised I left university in June 1985. 40 years ago. I’ve forgotten much of what I learned. But I do remember bits and pieces about the law of evidence. And one crucial thing is that for evidence to accepted in a court case, whether a criminal case or a civil case, it generally has to be first hand. In other words, I couldn’t stand in court and say that Fred had stolen John’s car because Becky told me that’s what happened. I’d need to have seen it for myself or established the evidence that that is what happened.

In our passage from 1 Corinthians today, St Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and reminding them of the basics of faith that he’s previously taught them:

“I passed on to you as of first importance^[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” 1 Cor 15: 3 – 4

Paul is able to do this for he is a witness himself. He was not there on the day of the resurrection. But he reminds the people in Corinth that Jesus appeared to him – on the road to Damascus. Therefore, Paul can bear witness first hand to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul can hand on to the Corinthians what he received directly. But Paul reminds the Corinthians of all the other “evidence” all the other witnesses.

 “He appeared to Cephas,^[b] (Which is another name for Peter) and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles”.

And let's not forget Mary Magdalene, who gospel writers Mark and John report was the first to see the risen Jesus.

Through the testimony of Paul, and all the other witnesses, perhaps some of whom also spoke to the Corinthians, the Corinthians have come to believe the Gospel of Christ.

To go back to my question What does it mean to be a witness? Or more specifically, What does it mean to be a witness for Christ?

Firstly, to be a credible witness to Christ, a person has had to receive for themselves “the good news”. A person has to have received the Gospel and taken it into their life. A person has to live the Gospel. It isn’t enough just to have heard the story and think “Oh that’s nice”. When we receive the Good News and become a follower of Jesus it’s about discovering in Jesus Christ a new way of being, a new centre of existence, a new power for living, a new perspective from which to view all things.

And this should mean that our very lives bear witness to Jesus Christ. It’s not about preaching, and dropping Bible verses into conversation. It is about showing, through our lives, that we follow Jesus.

The message I have for you today is that, just like the disciples Jesus sent out, you will have opportunities to witness to others about your faith. But before you do that, here are a couple of things to consider:

Don't be preachy, or you might come across as self-righteous.

Don't plan a lecture that you're going to deliver when you have some unsuspecting soul captive.

But do be honest about your life; about your flaws and your regrets and even your continued imperfections.

And be honest about this God who loves you just the way you are, warts and all; a God who knows your past, in fact, a God who knows your story better than anyone else. And he loves you anyway!

You see, that's the beauty of the Gospel: we don't have to be specially qualified to receive it, and we don't have to be specially qualified to share it. We only have to be honest about who we are, and how much God loves us.

As I’ve said you may only be able to bear witness to the power of the risen Jesus, by the way you live your life.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds them how the gospel is passed on from one generation to another. As evidence of the resurrection Paul writes of all those to whom the risen Lord appeared. The list starts with Cephas / Pete, then the twelve, then to five hundred more, and on to James and other apostles, and finally to Paul himself. This was probably over a 5 to 10 year period. One person sharing with another or several sharing with several more.

All of these witnesses proclaimed the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation that comes through Jesus.

They were doing this before the stories of Jesus began to be written down. They passed on their witness by word of mouth first of all. Telling people of their experience.

It has been said that Church, the body of believers and followers in Jesus Christ, is always (potentially) one generation from extinction. In other words, unless we who believe share our belief, give our testimonies, bear witness to Jesus to the next generation, the Church might cease to exist.

It is down to us to show others how Jesus Christ has made a difference in our lives.

In verses 8 & 9 of the passage Paul says:

⁸ and last of all Christ appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

That expression “abnormally born” or as other translations put it “untimely born” needs explaining. It is an ancient way of saying “premature birth”. What Paul probably meant was that his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus was like a difficult, unexpected birth. I suppose we could think of Paul saying he was born again but in a very difficult circumstance.

Paul’s former life as a persecutor of the early Church led him to think of himself as “the least of the apostles”.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

This wasn’t a display of false modesty. There seems a recognition in Pual that because of his history, he had so much to overcome in order to be accepted as one sharing the gospel. As he says in verse 10

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

He’s had to work harder than the others in order to combat the suspicion of him given his history. But he has been able to do so through God’s grace.

What is Grace? And what are we offered because of it?

One well known definition of grace is “…the unmerited or undeserving favour of God to those who are under condemnation."

Of course, we hear of how St Paul fearlessly preached the gospel following his conversion on the road to Damascus and we can feel inadequate. We can think “We can never measure up to Paul.” And in a sense that is true. But we need to think in a different way. We are not called to be like St Paul. We are not called to be a witness like Paul. Rather we are called to witness in our own way. Each of has our own unique story of faith and when we came to faith.

¹⁰ By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. 

We have been shaped by our past lives, but we are who we are through the grace of God.

In his book “Testimony: Talking Ourselves into being Christian”, writer Tom Long says this:

Christians are on the witness stand to tell the story, not because it is a likely story or an advantageous piece of testimony, but because it is true. We know it is true because we ourselves have experienced it and witnessed its truth. That is why we are on the witness stand and have taken the oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth “so help us God”.

Whenever Christ turns a life around, heals a broken marriage, forgives a sinner, transforms a bitter heart, teaches a fearful person to love, or shows a greedy person how to give, there is a witness ready to take the stand and tell the story of the good news of God’s grace.

Go and be a witness. Testify!

 

A school photo that's got me thinking

 

I was recently sent this photograph by my former history teacher at Cwmcarn Comprehensive School, “Mr Jones”. He’s not sure when it was taken but having shared it on Facebook, with a  group of former students, the feeling is that it might be from June 1979. If so, I was aged 15. I’d be 16 the following October. Several of us in the photo are wearing small yellow badges signifying we’d just been made Prefects. You can’t see my badge  but mine says that I’m Head Boy.

By the way, I’m the one in the middle with the rather strange side parting. (Was I hoping this might develop into a haircut that would later be adopted by 1980s synth pop band a Flock of Seagulls? Or possibly Phil Oakey from Human League? There’s no other explanation for it.)

I recalled most of the names in the photo and Facebook has filled in the blanks. Not everyone in the photo is a prefect and we aren’t all in the same form group – 4R. But most in the photo are from 4R. (The tutor group I’d been with since my second year at secondary school.) Mr Jones was our form tutor at the time.

Through social media I’m in touch with many of the people in this photo but there are some that I’ve lost contact with. Particularly two of the “girls” who were in 4R. (The dark haired girl seated who was Head Girl – note the shield badge -  and the girl on the right behind the then on trend Adidas sports bag.) Some in the photo I’ve met in person  over the years at school reunions, and one took the trouble to come and see me when I was ill; an act of kindness I’ve not forgotten. 

One of the “girls” – “Debbie” - purposely doesn’t do social media but we’ve kept in touch for over 40 years through old fashioned letters and phone calls.  She’s seated at the front.

It is a friendship which means neither of us will speak or be in touch with the other for months, then out of the blue Debbie might send me a card or a letter or vice a versa. Or we might end up having an hour long chat on the phone. 

I don’t usually keep cards and letters but I do have one Debbie sent I think a couple of years ago. Inside the card is a message “So blessed you’re in my life”. And Debbie had written “This card struck me as perfect as you must know how much I value your friendship … my only entire  life thread connection that extends right back to our 12 year old selves. I know you’re in touch with many but you are my only contact from then. I find it very comforting”. Very humbling.

Back to the photo. Looking at it has made me think back.

I expect you’ve come across the idea, perhaps in a newspaper column “What would you say to your younger self”. I’ve been thinking about that, looking at this photo. I know my younger self would be surprised that he’s now a Superintendent Methodist minister. My younger self had dreams of becoming a lawyer. He just about scraped through enough “O” levels and “A” levels to get to further education and get a law degree. After that the wheels came off the legal dream.

I’d certainly tell him that just because they’ve made you Head Boy doesn’t mean you can’t study hard! (See the previous paragraph.) Likewise I’d tell him “Yes you do go to chapel on a Sunday, and you do help with Sunday school, l but that doesn’t mean they will gift you your “O” level RE.” (Yes, the irony that I am a Methodist minister with a degree in theology who failed his “O” level RE.)  I’d definitely say to him (or probably the 14 year old about to select O level options) “If you want to study geology instead of Latin do it. Study the things that interest you. Not the things others tell you you ought to study. ”

I know the 15 year old had a crush on several of the girls in the photo (and others not there) but despite his seemingly out going confident exterior he was always shy underneath and never had the nerve to ask a girl out on a date. Would I tell him to “go for it”? Maybe. Then again, the 18 year old in sixth form and the 21 year old at university  was much the same, apart from somehow getting the courage to ask out the woman who is now my wife.

Thanks for the memories Mr Jones.

 

 

My body given for you my blood shed for you

 Based on a sermon preached 18th August 2024 

There are a number of reasons why I entered ordained ministry. But the most important probably is a sense of wanting to share communion. I can’t pinpoint when I sensed this, but I know that near the time I started the process of offering for ministry, I’d attended a communion service and seen the minister giving communion and felt this is something I wanted to do.

Now inevitably this begs the question “Why is it that only ministers can serve communion?” Or to be precise in the Methodist Church only presbyters. So why is it? It is a good question, and I cannot give you a definitive answer really. Though 2000 years of church history show that within a short time after Jesus’ death, the early church recognised that communion should be led by someone who had been ordained to that role.

The Methodist Church is no different in that sense. Our standing orders make clear that within Methodism there are two distinct types of ministries – Deacons and Presbyters. I am a presbyter, and a presbyter is “a person ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament”.

Communion is important to me both as a presbyter and as a person. Thanks to the plan, I lead a communion service nearly every week. And as such I take communion every week. John Wesley would approve. He celebrated communion at least once a week and if possible, every day. Though for me leading communion, celebrating communion is not the same as being given communion by another minister. That feels very special.

During my sabbatical it seemed to be that of the Sunday services we attended, in different places, everyone was a communion. We experienced a very simple service at Cirencester Baptist Church, and we experienced the full High Church Anglican communion complete with incense at Southwark Cathedral in London. And lots in between. All different but all special for me.

By the way, I tend to say “Communion.” It could be the Lord’s Supper. It could be Eucharist. It could be Mass. It is all the same in essence – setting aside the variations in liturgy depending on church tradition. I say “Communion” for it is a word suggesting a coming together, being in fellowship, a uniting. Communion with one another but most importantly with Jesus.

Today we’ve heard a reading from John’s Gospel. It comes at the end of chapter 6 and in a way the whole of chapter 6 is John’s take on the Last Supper. Unlike the other three Gospels John doesn’t specifically mention the Last Supper. But in this chapter, there are plenty of references to it and also to communion. For example, at the start of the chapter we have John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand. And John tells us:

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; John 6:11 NIV

Words that are reminiscent of the words in the Last Supper accounts. For example, in Luke 22

¹⁹ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, Luke 22: 19 NIV

For much of the rest of chapter 6 John shows how Jesus then talks about him being the bread of life. Then in the passage we’re thinking about Jesus goes on to say this:

⁵³ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; John 6: 53 - 54 NIV

It’s worth stopping there for a moment and reflecting on Jesus’ words., “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

We’ve heard these words many times. We know we are not literally eating Christ’s body and drinking his blood. The words are symbolic. They were a reminder to the earliest disciples and us that Jesus went to the cross for us. He gave up his body, his own flesh and shed his own blood, so that if we believe in him, we will have eternal life.

A few years ago, now one of the churches I looked after in Swindon had quite a number of small children. Grandchildren of church members. It was accepted that the children could come up for communion and receive bread and wine if their grandparents were happy with this. On one occasion a little boy – I’ll call him Stephen – came up with his grandma. It was the custom there for the congregation – maybe about 15 in all – to form a semi-circle at the front. I’d take the bread round and once we’d all received, we’d eat it. I gave Stephen the bread and he looked around, couldn’t see anyone eating and so I saw him put it in his pocket.

Afterwards a lady came to me (I'll call her Phyllis) and said it was disgusting what Stephen had done. He shouldn’t be allowed to receive communion as he clearly doesn’t know what’s going on. I said to her “Phyllis. Can you tell me what is going on in communion? I don’t mean the symbolism. What is really going on? The mysticism of it. I can’t.”

So what is going on? Firstly, we have communion to remember Jesus. In one of his 44 sermons The ways of obtaining God’s blessing – the means of grace John Wesley said communion, the Lord’s Supper, is a solemn remembrance.

The celebration of the Lord's supper is a way of commemorating his death in the presence of God and the angels, and mankind, by means of visible symbols. You show that you are solemnly remembering his death until he comes in the clouds of heaven.

But it is much more than that.

A few years ago, the Methodist Church produced small booklet called “The Methodist Catechism”. It contains a summary of what Methodists believe. Our theology. The booklet says:

In the Lord's Supper Jesus Christ is present with his worshipping people and gives himself to them as their Lord and saviour.

As they eat the bread and drink the wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, they receive him by faith and with Thanksgiving. They give thanks with the whole Church for Christ’s sacrifice of himself once and for all on the cross.

The Lord's Supper recalls Christ’s Last Supper with the disciples. It proclaims Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, unites the participants with him so that they are a living sacrifice in him, and gives them a foretaste of his heavenly banquet.

So now you know! All that is going on when you receive bread and wine. No wonder Phyllis was for once lost for words when I challenged her!

But in fairness to Phyllis, she did sort of have a valid point. For John Wesley in that sermon I’ve mentioned says that when we come to the communion table we must:

“… firstly, ask ourselves whether we understand the purpose of this ritual, and whether we really want to share in the death of Jesus, before we join in breaking bread.”

Of course do we really understand what's going on? 

Wesley goes on to say that we need to remind ourselves that we are sinners. We aren’t worthy. That we are to die to sin and that also as followers of Christ we are called to take up our own crosses.

Nonetheless despite this Wesley says, we come to the table filled with joy and peace for we know that we are forgiven. And Wesley says.

“The Lord's supper is a way planned by God for us to receive his grace.”

Wesley continues:  The eating of that bread and the drinking of that cup are the outward and visible means by which God pours into our souls all the spiritual grace of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit which were purchased for us by the death of Jesus on the cross. So let all of us who truly desire the grace of God eat that bread and drink from that cup.

Communion, the Lord’s Supper, Eucharist, whatever we call it is also a reminder to us that Jesus says;

⁵⁶ Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. John 6:56 NIV

Through this bread and this wine, we are made one with Jesus.

More than that; eat the bread, and we live.

⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’ John 6: 58 NIV 

Eat this Bread and you will live, he promises. But even more than that, eat this Bread and I will abide with you, and you will abide with me Jesus says.

I like that word abide. Abide is an old-fashioned word but it is a comforting word. It suggests images of home, of dwelling, of staying with, of living in and with, of trusting and being there. To abide is to know that no matter what comes our way, we will not be deserted nor left to face whatever the matter is on our own. Christ comes to live within us, to take up residence in our spirits, and promises not to leave.

Whatever your intellectual, emotional, theological, or spiritual experiences with Holy Communion, I pray this sacrament will continue to be for you a holy, life-giving, mysterious magnet, drawing you ever closer to the love of God. God who sent his son that we might never be hungry nor thirsty; this day, tomorrow, and forever and ever.

 

If we see love we see God

 

One of the questions my director Jeff asks me from time to time is “how are things with you and God?” And I answer truthfully. A bit distant. I feel close to Jesus; from time to time, I sense the Holy Spirit and see the Holy Spirit at work in others. But God? God is distant.

Of the three persons of the Trinity, God is the most distant for me. If we think of the Holy Trinity as a triangle, then it is a very narrow pointy one for me, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit at the bottom corners and God a very distant top one. I’m near those bottom points.

Jeff keeps picking away at this point with me. In fact, I know he'll ask about it when we meet back up in a few weeks.

When over a year ago now I was told I was due another sabbatical, and started to think of a title / objective, I knew it had to be about finding God. But how do we find God? It's a point I raised with Jeff. Between us we agreed that God is everywhere, and God is in all situations. It's just a case of being aware, and perhaps purposely looking for God.

Jeff said to me “Have you ever found yourself in a strange town with a letter to post.  It's a strange area but if you purposely go around looking for a post box you will find one. Therefore, I suggest if you purposely go looking for God, seeing signs of God, you will find him and them.”

Of course this brings up some big questions. How do we see God? How do we know God?

In 1 John 4 we get some really helpful guidance and pointers.

Verse 16

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

The key point of this verse is God is love.

With this in mind I started to get an idea of what I wanted to think about on my sabbatical. Looking for signs of God through a camera lens. In other words, while on my travels looking for examples of God's love in the world. And if possible, capturing that in a photograph.

I didn't need to look too far for the first sign of God's love. I live with a sign of God’s love all the time and have done so for almost 38 years of marriage. In the six weeks we were away, we spent 42 days together that's 1008 hours together all the time. Well not quite all the time - we didn't do everything together!

But my point is we spent a lot of time in each other’s company. And God’s love was there right next to me.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

But what signs of God did I see outside?

I kept remembering Jeff’s post-box analogy. In other words, we'll see God's love if we look for it.

I got a reminder of this in the words of a book I read during sabbatical. Perhaps surprisingly it wasn't some great theological tome. Rather it was in a crime novel I picked up in an Oxfam shop. It was a novel written by Robert Galbraith - the pseudonym of JK Rowling. The book was called “Career of evil.” You may think it would be hard to find words of advice on looking for God in such a book. But in the book the detective - Cormoran Strike – says to himself “You can find beauty nearly anywhere if you stop to look for it.”

I took this to mean that in the beauty we can find anywhere, if we stop to look for it, we will also find God’s love.

One of the first expeditions I made to go and seek signs of God, was to Bath. And I didn't have to wait long. I was sat outside a Costa Coffee near the entrance to the Roman baths. A busker was playing the trumpet and he started to play “What a wonderful world” the song made famous by Louis Armstrong. It is a song I have always liked even from a being a small boy.

A few moments later, as the busker carried on playing, a little girl perhaps three or four came skipping down the street holding the hand of a lady who I assume was grandma. Grandma and the little girl were giggling, and grandma was singing Lou Lou skip to the Lou skip to the Lou my darling. There was a sign of love in the joy of the little girl and in the smile on the grandma's face.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

I have no idea whether grandma and granddaughter know God. Nor the trumpeter for that matter. But God knows them, and God's love is in them as God's love is in us all.

I'd identified certain places I wanted to revisit on our travels as they had some significance for me in my faith journey. Therefore, our itinerary made sure we went to these places.

I believe Yorkshire people refer to their county as God's own country. I've always thought this a bit presumptuous. When we all know that Wales is God's own country. Even so Yorkshire has played a part in my journey of faith. It was at Ripon cathedral I first felt the call to preach back in 1991. My “John Wesley heart being strangely warmed moment” I suppose. We revisited the cathedral this time and I sat roughly where I thought I'd sat that day back in 1991 and said a prayer. A prayer of thanks for being called to this ministry and a prayer asking for God's help as I continue it. But I can't say I felt God's presence particularly strongly in that place.

Earlier that day we'd been to Fountains Abbey. It is a beautiful tranquil place. And thinking of those words said by Cormoran Strike again, “you can find beauty nearly anywhere if you stop to look for it” God was certainly there. But all I could think of as we wandered around the ruins and the beautiful grounds, was how the vision of the 13 monks from Saint Mary's in York who had established this place in 1132, had been lost. They had purposely left the extravagant and rowdy living of the monastery in York, seeking to live a devout and simple lifestyle elsewhere. To be closer to God.

But over time the Abbey became rich off the back of wool production, lead mining cattle rearing horse breeding and quarrying. All from lands given to the Abbey. And although the fortunes of the Abbey were reduced due to the Black Death, and raids from the Scots, money was still found to build the magnificent buildings we see in ruin today.

I couldn't help but feel that those original 13 would have despaired to see how their vision was lost. How God may have become more distant.

But if I did not glimpse God in the buildings of Ripon and Fountains Abbey, I kept glimpsing him at work through people.

In the love shown to us by friends we visited in the Lake District. Friends who took us out for a very nice lunch as their treat. The same friends who were incredibly supportive in all manner of ways as we entered ministry. The same friends who in fact prompted me to offer for ministry - even though it took five or six years for me to answer God’s call.

And we saw signs of God in friends we caught up with in Scotland. Signs of God through the love one shows to the other as he cares for her.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

If I didn’t see signs of God in Ripon Cathedral or Fountains Abbey there were two other places, we visited where I saw signs of God and felt his presence.

Firstly, on Iona. This was the third time I have been there as an adult and as before I found it to be “a thin place” where God is very present. Within half an hour of us being there I had an experience of God’s love that I cannot put into words. I suppose a sense of being humbled but also a sense of being loved and a sense of joy and peace.

And in Iona Abbey on Sunday morning, I had an experience of being part of God’s family like never before as with several hundred others I received communion.

I must say communion featured a number of times during my sabbatical in all kinds of ways, from low church at Cirencester Baptist. to very High Church at Southwark Cathedral. And I sensed God in each one.

And it was at another communion service this time at Malmesbury Abbey that God’s love was shown. The church was busy – there was a large Christening party as well as usual worshippers. Yet before the service one of the priests came over to us and said ”You’re visitors, aren’t you? Welcome”. And during the communion the other priest when giving us the bread and wine said a prayer for us both.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

In small Northumbrian village called Warkworth we went into the pretty parish church of St Lawrence. But I was immediately stuck by God being there and his people following him. They support a foodbank in Newcastle, they’d just been awarded Bronze eco church status no mean feat for such an old church. And from the large poster in the entrance vestibule, they have a very active Messy Church for children.

So, what have I learned? What do I bring back into ministry?

As I was putting these thoughts down on paper the Bible passage from John’s Gospel came to mind particularly these verses:

⁷ If you know me, you will know^[d] my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

⁸ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ ⁹ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

I’ve realised that I have been beating myself up about not knowing God, about not seeing signs of God. I’ve realised that in speaking to Philip, Jesus made it clear – if we know Jesus, if we have “seen Jesus”, if we have experienced his love, then we have “seen God” we have experienced God. For God is love. Love most evident in his son.

Over this last couple of weeks we have seen plenty of hatred directed by racists thugs intent on causing trouble. You may have an opinion on the rights or wrongs of offering homes to refugees and asylum seekers. But I hope you’d agree that the actions of these mobs is wrong. They are trying to get their point over through criminality and terrorism. That is just evil.

Yet  “you can find beauty nearly anywhere if you stop to look for it.” One such moment was a photo I saw of an elderly Muslim gentleman, the morning after a riot, taking tea and biscuits to weary looking police officers.

In Southport people came out the next day to clean up the streets, Builders came and rebuilt the wall of the mosque.

In Middlesborough a man originally from Nigeria, Brendan Nwabichie who is working as a carer while he puts himself from university. Brendan Nwabichie returned from a 12-hour shift to find the car he needed for work and to get to university had been burned out by rioters. He said he "went to the bathroom and cried".

A fundraising page set up by his employer, Clare's Care UK, has raised more than £37,000 for a new car.

In Liverpool a fundraiser launched by a lady called Alex McCormick, to help rebuild the library destroyed by rioters has so far raised over £200,000.

A Scottish Baptist minister called Oswald Chambers said this:

God and love are synonymous. Love is not an attribute of God, it is God; whatever God is, love is. — Oswald Chambers

If we see love, we see God.

UK civil unrest August 2024

 In the images you will find a letter I've written today to the churches in the North Wiltshire Methodist people. 

The Merchant of Venice 1936 / 2024

 

I was first introduced to Shakespeare by my English teacher Mrs Grocott. This was at Cwmcarn Comprehensive back in the late 1970s and for “O” level English literature we studied the Merchant of Venice. I had a difficult relationship with English Literature as a subject. I enjoyed the plays (we also studied An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestly and She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith). But the novels didn’t do much for me (one was The Pearl by John Steinbeck) and as for the poetry. It left me cold. So much so that I failed my O level.

But as I’ve said Mrs Grocott introduced me to Shakespeare and for that I’m grateful.

If you’ve never seen the Merchant of Venice, what follows contains spoilers.

Compared to some Shakespeare plays on the face of it the Merchant is an easy one. The story, or should that be stories, are straightforward. Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont. But he’s squandered all his money. So, he asks his friend Antonio – the Merchant of the title – for a loan. Antonio’s assets are all tidied up in various trading ships. He’s asset rich and cash poor. Nonetheless he agrees to help Bassanio and Antonio goes a to a Jewish money lender – Shylock – for a loan.

But the loan comes with a heavy price. If Antonio defaults Shylock wants from Antonio

an equal pound
Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken
In what part of your body pleaseth me.

Antonio agrees thinking all will be well when his ships come back to port. But they don’t, and Shylock calls in the loan. Antonio and Shylock go to court for Shylock to have his penalty clause enforced. Shylock wants his “pound of flesh” which in reality means Antonio will be killed.

At this point in the play Shakespeare uses one of his tried and tested plot devices – women disguised as men. In this instance Portia, who is now Bassanio’s wife, disguises herself as a lawyer brought in to advise on the law. She concludes that the contract is valid and yes Shylock  is entitled to his pound of flesh. However, she points out that there is nothing in he contract about any of Antonio's blood being shed. Therefore, Shylock can only have his pound of flesh if no blood is spilled in the taking of the pound of flesh.

Bassanio offers Shylock the money for the loan which Shylock reluctantly agrees to (having previously refused and insisted on the pound of flesh.) But Portia also prevents Shylock from doing this, on the ground that he has already refused it "in the open court". She cites a law under which Shylock, as a Jew and therefore an "alien", having attempted to take the life of a citizen, has forfeited his property, half to the government and half to Antonio, leaving his life at the mercy of the Judge. 

Shylock is bankrupted and the play ends happily ever after with Bassanio and Portia happily married and Antonio alive. (OK, there’s more to it than this. DO NOT rely on this blog as an aid to revision.)

For many years the play has come under scrutiny for antisemitism. Certainly, it can be interpreted that way from the way Shylock is treated and referred to. And in some productions Shylock has become a caricature of a Jew. (In Nazi Germany the Merchant of Venice was staged this way.)

However, Shylock can be portrayed in other ways. He can be portrayed as a sympathetic character. A Jew who is persecuted for his faith and is pushed to breaking point by anti-semites because of his faith.

Early on in the play Shylock is challenged about why he wants a pound of flesh from Antonio. Shylock says:

“… it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and
hindered me half a million; laughed at my losses,
mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my
bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine
enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew.”

And this brings me to a production of the Merchant of Venice by the Roal Shakespeare Company at Stratford on Avon. It was entitled “The Mercnat of Venice 1936” and the actor and writer Tracy Ann Oberman appeared as Shylock. It was set in the East End of London in 1936 at the time of the rise of Oswald Mosely’s fascist Black Shirts.

Shylock was portrayed as a hard businesswoman. But one who has been pushed to demand his pound of flesh, as revenge for the way Antonio and his Black Shirt wearing friends had treated him and other Jewish people.  (And let’s not forget, was Shylock really expecting he’d get his revenge? What were the chances of all of Antonio’s fortunes being lost at sea?)

Even “fair Portia” was portrayed as antisemitic. Initially, in the way Portia treated Shylock’s daughter Jessica (who had eloped with the Christian Lorenzo taking some of Shylock’s wealth with her.) Then at court. (Portia was portrayed as someone like Lady Diana Mitford - wife of Moseley, and in her own right a fascist and Hitler sympathiser.) In this production by what might be termed “the establishment” joins forces to even deny Shylock justice in a court of law. No separation of powers here. (As an aside, just a few days after seeing this production, the Conservative MP Jacob Rees – Mogg demanded that courts no longer be separate but should be subject to Parliament. https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/popular-conservatives-rees-mogg-attacks-lady-hale-and-calls-for-neutering-of-supreme-court/5118671.article)

I am writing this not a review of the play (which was excellent by the way with Ms Oberman on top form.) But because I was affected by words of Shakespeare said by Shylock.

It is a continuation of the speech I’ve quoted earlier:

Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with
the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
to the same diseases, healed by the same means,
warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as
a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison
us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not
revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will
resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian,
what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian
wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by
Christian example? Why, revenge.

Words reminding us that all people are the same regardless of their race, their faith, their gender or sexuality. Whether Israeli or Palestinian.

As a sixteen year old this was one of the many quotes from the play we had to memorise and regurgitate. It is one that stuck – though at the time I’m not sure I realised the importance of it. I do now.

This production will transfer to the West End on 15^th February. If you can go and see it.