worship – Mr G's Ponderings

Christ the King window, St Eadmer’s Church, Admarsh-in Bleasdale, Forest of Bowland, North Lancashire.
The dedication to Eadmer is thought to be unique in the United Kingdom and possibly the world. Eadmer is
probably the name of a monk who, during a Vigil called to determine where Saint Cuthbert’s body should be laid
finally to rest, received a vision from God that his Shrine Church should be built at what is now Durham.
Those who established the Church at Bleasdale where a family who came from Hexham which at the time
was in the Diocese of Durham.
The window is a Triptych with Christ in glory taking up the centre panel (above).
The window was made by Abbot & Company of Lancaster in memory of Isabella Bullock and was installed on 5th November 1925, 100 years ago. (Photo: Robert Gardener, former churchwarden)

Christ our King in Glory reigning.

This week, the Christian Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King, the last week of the Church Year, which begins again on Advent Sunday.

The title, Christ the King in glory reigning is a theme found in a number of hymns. Specifically it is the title of a hymn by Canon Patrick Appleford to which was given the tune Sunderland, written by Father Geoffrey Beaumont CR. Both were members of the Twentieth Century Music Group which sought to give the church new hymns in contemporary style with new words and tunes.
The hymn Christ our King in glory reigning is rarely sung now but its title celebrates the universal sovereignty of Jesus Christ combined with a longing for God to reign over the world He has created, as a Kingdom filled with Justice, Love and Peace.

This is a Kingdom which contrasts deeply with how much of the world regards kingship. It is a rule of self-giving love rather than one of domination or control. It is a rule of gentleness. It is also a reminder to us that God rules in glory. That glory is expressed in worship not just on earth but especially in heaven. This state of living close to God in His nearer presence is experienced together with all who have entered fully God’s Kingdom and who form a great myriad of beings which include Angels and Archangels, Saints and Holy Ones; all who form what the Eucharist calls the whole company of Heaven and of which we are part.
We are citizens of a Kingdom which calls us to live by the values shown to us by Jesus. These values are not as many in our world understands them. The foundations of God’s Kingdom are holiness, justice, freedom, peace and love. To be citizens of such a kingdom means to have far more radical and differing values than those often found in the world around us.

To establish this Kingdom was costly and totally self-giving. The poet, T S Eliot, has a phrase, Costing not less than everything and that is precisely what it cost Jesus to bring God’s new Kingdom into being. It needed love and sacrifice because God was releasing a new, powerful force into the world. The Kingdom that Jesus inaugurated from the Cross is not a Kingdom as this world understands it. God’s Kingdom is very different.
In the face of hatred it brings love; gentleness replaces might; peace instead of strife; mercy instead of retribution; justice rooted in fairness; liberty and freedom in the place of oppression and intolerance; self-giving replacing self-centredness; service to others rooted in humility replacing pride; forgiveness removing blame and generosity overcoming greed.

All this and much more come at a cost but it is one that God chooses to pay in the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. There is the throne of God from which he reigns over our hearts and lives. From that very cross He claims us as His own and he asks us to claim each other in love and acceptance and generosity, valuing each other as God values each one of us.

We often speak of Service to God and to each other as hallmarks of the Kingdom. This service is initially one of the heart before it is of the hand. We are called to carry within us the signs of the Kingdom as companions of our High King. We are called to share those signs , the values we follow, and in the words of St Mother Teresa of Kolkata, to share the simple, little things we learn from our King, but with a great deal of love.

I have often been encouraged by a little prayer I came across, written by a new Christian who had just come to faith. His experience of God’s love showed him what he must do.

O Lord, you are King of our spirits.
You have issued orders to your subjects to do a great work.
You have commanded us to preach the gospel to every creature.
We are going on that errand now.
Let your presence go with is to enliven and enable us
to persevere in that great work until we die.
Amen

I post this on St Cecilia’s Day, November 22^nd. Since the 15^th century she has been known as the Patron Saint of Music. A document known as the Golden Legend’ described her as a “bride of Christ whose love of music elevated her soul to God. This document also encouraged us to consider the link between earth and heaven. It is a link between the song of heaven, led by the angels and the echo of that song on earth, particularly in religion, poetry and music.

The poet, John Dryden, wrote a Song for St Cecilia’s Day which strengthened that link and serenaded the power of music with the line:

“What Passion cannot music raise and quell?”

For many of us, this is expressed in song and hymns and psalms whilst others use the gifts they have to make music in other ways. (Not a mutually exclusive experience!)
Song and music as an expression of faith has been the subject of a short piece of writing by the Taizé Community which is worth pondering over:

Singing is one of the most essential elements of worship. Short songs, repeated again and again, give it a meditative character. Using just a few words they express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God, without having to fix the length of time too exactly.
To open the gates of trust in God, nothing can replace the beauty of human voices united in song. This beauty can give us a glimpse of “heaven’s joy on earth,” as Eastern Christians put it. And an inner life begins to blossom within us.
These songs also sustain personal prayer. Through them, little by little, our being finds an inner unity in God. They can continue in the silence of our hearts when we are at work, speaking with others or resting. In this way prayer and daily life are united. They allow us to keep on praying even when we are unaware of it, in the silence of our hearts. (Taizé Community)

I love the quotation from Maya Angelou which accompanies the photo above.
In the interplay of the Godly song of heaven and our earthly melody of the heart it is good for Maya to remind us that the main reason we can sing and make music is because there is a song in our heart to be sung. A Song put there by God. It raises spirits and lifts our lives beyond ourselves to God. That’s a good enough reason for me to sing.

[Mr G + Taizé Community]