Our Need of God

My friend Joyce has sent me another lovely Tweet of a Robin who visited her garden recently and brightened up her day.

TURNING BACK TO GOD

We live in an ‘instant’ world where Internet technology has made it possible to find answers to many questions and seek information about many things. Social Media is both a blessing and a curse.
People find it so easy to wage war on others without any sense of responsibility. It is hard to seek and find redress when things have gone ‘viral’. Glib comments which pour from news media and gossip papers that masquerade as newspapers, damage lives.
Also, in our instant world, it is so easy to make decisions without pondering the consequences.  Governments sometimes do this and regret it later!
Whereas, in a genuinely civilized and democratic society ideas are celebrated, debated, refined and honed, before becoming offered and accepted, we tend to rush in where, as they say, angels fear to tread.

One hopes that those in conference in Glasgow at COP26, may be more restrained and shy away from instant decisions which may lack substance.
A Conference which is seeking solutions to the problems besetting the world needs to be considerate, filled with kindness, respectful of all participants, including (and perhaps especially) those witnessing on the fringe of the Conference. Many are very knowledgeable including David Attenborough, Prince Charles and Greta Thunberg. There’s a lot of expertise around which must be heard. We must be encouraged in our hope for a better world, a safer planet and a deeper understanding of Creation, how it works; how it can’t work, and, most importantly who our Planet is for.

We have much to pray about right now.

So what has this all to do with the little Robin?

Well, first of all, it has no seat at the Conference table, yet it is representative of the whole of Creation. Though it has a beautiful and melodious voice, it will not be heard at COP26, nor will other parts of Creation.
When God made us ‘Stewards’ of the earth, He had a hope that we wouldn’t exploit our beautiful Planet nor the lovely and diverse people who populate it along with the amazing and vast varieties of creatures, plants and all that makes our world so tremendous.

The Conference in Glasgow will hardly celebrate that because it is gathered to make reparation for all the destruction each generation has made. At least, in theory!
I doubt there will be much Penitence, which brings me back to the Robin.
Who is apologizing to him/her for what we are doing to his/her habitation and freedom? Who will admit to the creatures the Robin represents that we have been sucking the life out of Nature, the world they inhabit alongside us.

So the other reason the Robin is important to us is in the words Joyce has chosen from Psalm 40.

“I waited patiently for the Lord,
He turned to me and heard my cry.”

R.S. Thomas, in one of his poems said, The meaning is in the waiting.’
The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, said that it is important to distinguish between what is ‘urgent’ and what is ‘important’. That takes patience and discernment.

If at COP26 we only deal with the Urgent – and all our proposed solutions deal just with that, then we may miss what is important.
What will change our world is if we get the Important right.

And what might this Important be?

I am going to say that it is rooted in returning to the One who is the Creator of the world and the Universe. Too vast a concept? Then how about this to meditate on:

He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.

The moment we step away from the mess we are making and turn again to the Lord for help, we are moving from despair to hope and from blame to Praise.
We turn towards our Loving God and try to put our Trust in him.

Happy are those who make the Lord their Trust. Says the psalmist.

The Robin may well teach us how to Trust
It trusts that God in Creation will sustain it.
It sings for all of the Natural World (of which, actually we are part).
It knows its need of God.

What really worries me is – how true is that of the human race?
Does humanity know its need for God.
The important work is for us who do know our need of God to open others to trust in Him
and in His love for the Earth and all in and on it.
It really will make a difference.

This is how the Psalm ends.
With a slight amendment, I offer it as a prayer.

May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually,
‘Great is the Lord!”

For truly, you are our help and our deliverer
Come to us and help us, O Lord our God.

[Mr.G.]

Caring for our Habitat

Underpinning COP26 with Prayer.

Bishop Guli, the new Bishop pf Chelmsford, offers us this prayer.

God, who is both Father and Mother, 
In whom we have our beginning and our end,
We give thanks for the wonder of your creation,
For the beauty of the universe,
And for all that lives on earth.

We pray that the redeeming grace of your son Jesus Christ 
Would draw us ever closer to his likeness;
So that we might be good stewards,
Caring for our habitat,
And living as those who are part of it rather than exercising power over it.

Give us courage to transform our prayers into meaningful action;
And by the fire of your Holy Spirit
Sustain the world, 
And everything in it.  

Amen. 

The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani
Bishop of Chelmsford
1 November 2021.

Pray for the Earth

COP26 begins tomorrow. There is no more important & urgent issue facing our world today. There are many countries represented and about 3,000+ will be there in Glasgow.
But there are billions who have a say in the future of our Planet, most of whom will not be heard.

So, though we cannot be present, we can take part on their behalf. We can pray for and hold in love those for whom this Conference is really about. That includes childen and those yet to be born. It is our responsibility to work for them.
There are animals and birds and fish and all of the Natural world. They too have no voice unless we take our responsibility seriously and BE their voice.
We are the voice to of the poor. Pope Francis has asked us to “Listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer most.” We are their voice too.

Here is a Prayer from Pope Francis to help us be that voice -a Prayer for the Earth

A Prayer for our Earth

All-powerful God,
you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

Prayer of Pope Francis, Laudato Si’

Choosing disciples.

photo by The Revd Lynn Hurry of Latton Foxes being chosen by St. Francis!

There is an Irish story about a traveller who stopped in a small Irish town to ask the way to a certain place.
After scratching his head a bit, the Irishman looked at the traveller and said;
“To be sure, if I was going to there, I wouldn’t start from here.”

I have been thinking today about the call of the first disciples amongst whom were St Simon & St Jude whose feast day is today.The New Testament reading at Morning Prayer was Luke 6: 12-16

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Very little is known about either St. Simon or St. Jude – they were just numbered amongst the Twelve so we can assume that the experienced the same adventure of faith, its ups and downs, that the other close disciples of Jesus did. Presumably they played a part in building up the infant Church after Pentecost. We don’t really need to know much more about them because they fulfilled the work for which they were chosen, which was to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We notice that before he chose his disciples Jesus spent the night in a quiet place with his Father. Nothing of any importance in Jesus’s ministry happened without first being rooted in prayer and deep communion between them both. That led me to think whether that was true for me and maybe it’s a question you might like to ponder too.

One of the things we know is that the disciples in their own particular way, were flawed human beings. Sometimes they squabbled, sometimes they wanted to be special, they tried to outdo each other in zeal. They were sometimes impetuous. Often they hadn’t a clue what Jesus was on about. They were hot headed, judgemental, disloyal, cowardly and sometimes they shone with glory.

But it can seem a little odd that Jesus chose this motley crew on which to build His Church, his holy people.
To alter slightly what the Irishman said earlier – if I was going to build God’s Kingdom, I wouldn’t start with them!

I don’t know whether you are familiar with the ways of Management Consultants who are used sometimes to interview and provide leaders for business organizations. I have a friend who does this for a living – he’s known as a ‘headhunter’ and it’s a very lucrative business, even in these hard Covid times.
What often happens is that head hunters interview and test a number of possible people and then provide a profile on them.
I believe that a similar system operates today in the choosing of Church of England bishops! (Though with prayer, of course)

Tongue-in-cheek, I offer  for your perusal a document you may possibly have seen before.
It is from the Jordan Management Consultancy, and it provides profiles on a number of people chosen to launch a new venture.
As well as detailed profiles, the Consultants offer their client the following general comments:

“It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right hand man. We wish you every success in your new venture.

So, did Jesus get it wrong in his choice of followers?

Well, let’s be generous in our judgement. Those dear disciples got it right in the end and really did tell out the Good News.
Also we need to be glad that, for whatever reason we can’t really fathom, Jesus goes on calling ordinary folk to follow him, whatever flaws they have.
And, anyway, Jesus sees things very differently than we do. He doesn’t bother much about flaws. He’s delighted with hearts touched by love. He can do a lot with such people. Including us, of course.

[Mr.G]

The Scripture quotation is from The New Revised Standard Version of theBible, Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.