Lent – emerging from the fog?

How can it be Lent already?

I wasn’t prepared for it at all.  Mainly because I haven’t been too well lately – due to a persistent dry hacking cough which is (among other things) keeping me awake at night and playing havoc with the essentials of ministry such as preaching and talking! I feel as if I have been cast adrift for a while in that haze which comes from far too many sleepless nights and aimless days.

Hopefully now I am on the mend and will be back at work on Monday. So as a way out of the fog I am planning to post something everyday through lent – I think I just about managed this last year – so here goes again just one day late!

Timing…

Oh God, grant us a sense of your timing.

In this season of short days and long nights,
of grey and white and cold,
teach us the lessons of beginnings;
that such waitings and endings may be the starting place,
a planting of seeds which bring to birth what is ready to be born–
something right and just and different,
a new song, a deeper relationship, a fuller love–
in the fullness of your time.

O God, grant us the sense of your timing.

(Ted Loder from inward/outward )

My prayer for today… seemed appropriate.

Photograph is ‘knowing what time it is’ by Jonny Baker on Flickr

Update…

Well I was planning to give the blog more attention in 2012 but that hasn’t happened. So here is a quick update.

My congregation left their building (due to health and safety concerns) at the end of November 2011 and for the four Sundays in Advent we worshipped in the hall of our near neighbours St Peter in Chains. This was a marvellous experience as we were made to feel so welcome. I personally was very grateful for the support I received from the Canon in charge and his staff who were simply wonderful.

Our Christmas services were held jointly with the congregation of St Andrews Episcopal Church and from January 1st we have been holding our own separate Sunday service in St Andrews. During December 2011, a building share arrangement was negotiated. This is in place for the next 6 months to give us breathing space to get the necessary investigations done on our halls complex and to get any recommended works done (if they are practical and affordable).

Also in December, meetings of the Kirk Session and the congregation were held. Both meetings voted overwhelmingly to dispose of the Sanctuary due to its deteriorating condition and the prohibitive costs of repair, maintenance and insurance . If the Presbytery agrees then the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland will take the necessary steps to dispose of that part of our buildings.

As you can imagine – it has been pretty full on over the past few weeks – Advent and Christmas passed in a blur. The weight of responsibility has felt overwhelming at times and it has taken its toll. Also during all of this both my parents have been unwell. Although dad is now recovered, mum is not improving and this has been an additional worry. Again I have been very grateful for the support of colleagues over the past few weeks and in particular for the ongoing support of one retired minister who has been covering my parish funerals.

As well as support, there has been awful and unnecessary “meddling” behind the scenes by people who should know better. This has been very disappointing indeed on so many different levels.

So now I find myself in the middle of the first month of a new year… a year in which nothing is certain. Your prayers are appreciated

Incarnation

No priest, no theologian stood at the cradle in Bethlehem. And yet all Christian theology has its origins in the wonder of all wonders that God became man. Alongside of the brilliance of the holy night there burns the fire of the unfathomable mystery of Christian theology.

(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

… this is all it takes?

A wonderful reflection from Cheryl at holdthisspace for Christmas in the prison where she works. She notes that “  it’s still a bit rough, but you get the idea…”.

Rough or not, it is certainly worth sharing as we make our way on to Bethlehem… as we wait “for love to be born”.

The story (Luke 2: 1-20) tells us that this is all it takes for love to be born:

you listen to the voice of improbable angels
you dare to believe you might have a part to play in their story

you say yes to the idea of the impossible
you give up the future you thought was inevitable

you defy the protocols and social mores of the day
when they get in the way of what you know is true

you dare to say to those who would deny your value and your role
that you just might have what’s needed, in this moment

you search for your allies and trust them with your dream
you devour the moments of joy when they come

you demand truth from yourself and those around you
you give up the things you are comfortable with

you travel long journeys in inhospitable conditions
you stand up to be counted

you take whatever shelter you can get
you aren’t afraid of darkness or dirt

you do whatever it takes, even if you’re lonely, scared,
a laughing stock, intimidated, overwhelmed, lost, uncomfortable

you accept gifts of wisdom from strangers
you honour those who put their gifts of love, however small, alongside yours

you risk everything, even your life, to give it breath
that’s all it takes for love to be born.

Picture is: Henry Ossawa Tanner – The Annunciation

Body language…

“If John’s Gospel were the only one we had, this is all that we would know about Jesus’ birth: before his name was Jesus, his name was the Word, and he was with God from the very beginning of creation, bringing things into being, making things happen, shining light into the darkness.

He was God’s self, God’s soul, God’s life force in the world. He was the breath inside all living things. He was the electric spark that charged peoples’ hearts. He was the fire inside the sun. He was the space between the stars. He was the axis around which the galaxies spin.

John goes on to say that not everyone got that message. Many were blinded by this light and preferred the darkness they knew to the light which they did not know. The Word sidled up to them and hummed life into their ears, but they cleared their throats and walked away. So God decided to speak in a new way. God decided to speak body language. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us – full of grace and truth.” 

This is John’s Christmas story  in a nutshell. Like Luke, John is telling us about an encounter with the Holy One. God’s Word was translated into a human being. God’s self, soul, and life force were concentrated into one mortal life on earth, and as a result, nothing would ever be the same again. Not because everyone listened, because everyone does not, but because the eternal Word of God took human form.”

I rediscovered this quotation today on a post from my old blog. It was originally found among some sermon starters from eSermons and is well worth repeating as we prepare for the “eternal Word of God” to take human form.

Picture is ‘pickwell sunset’ by Jonny Baker on Flickr

May the light draw us into life
and stir a longing into our souls
 
May the stars shine along our pathway
and lighten the way with prophecy 
 
May the words of ancient promise
echo in every word we speak 
 
May the sound of a baby crying
haunt every silence born of apathy 
 
May incarnation be more than godly flesh
but a fresh way of godly living 
 
May the Spirit of Christ be born in us
and God make a home among us 

An Advent blessing from: Mucky Paws… I’ve posted it before, but it is well worth repeating.

It caught my attention because me and my congregation have had our way lightened by prophecy this Advent. In Isaiah, there have been words of comfort and hope for us. Words of ancient promise have echoed down through the centuries to touch us today on our particular Advent journey with God.

And the challenge for us (and for us all) is to allow our Advent longings to transform our lives in the coming year…  this is incarnation.