Take up, not give up!

The privilege of serving local communities lets me see how we are ticking. The second and third 'lockdowns' have seemed harder to bear than the first. At one level that's not logical because the first was largely an unknown open-ended challenge, whereas 2 and 3 were/are shorter with more of the same. Landing on the moon in 1969 was not exactly straightforward, so it's hardly surprising that coping with a pandemic has its problems!

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Perhaps it's the feeling of going backwards; progress is often 3 steps forward, 2 back, 3 forward. Unrealistic expectations have been dashed; a normal Christmas reduced to a day, with strong guidance to avoid mixing at all. It could be that we've had a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, but are still in dark dank conditions.

So how about treating yourself this Lent instead of giving things up. We've had to give up so much! I'm not arguing we overdose on chocolate, rather bathe in what's wholesome. Here are some examples. Observing nature unwrap the seasons from a similar viewpoint each day.

www.bbc.co.uk

Research has shown that watching programmes about fellow creatures lifts our mood; I find short extracts just before turning in put life in perspective. Surely respect for nature is our top priority, beginning with each other, the challenge of global warming, and reuse/recycling so that we don't exhaust our supply of raw materials.

Covid has made me less patient with myself. I'll be taking up the Lent challenge of giving more time to what energises me: observation, music, creativity, friendships, exercise, beer!?

May God bless us as we spoil ourselves in order to be better at spoiling others!

Certainty & surprise

Adventure is a mix of certainty and surprise. If everything is predictable, well why bother with such boredom? Going out totally unprepared would be crazy too. Perhaps the mix is illustrated by a 'toss a penny' walk. Stick you coat on and take a coin.

Go out your front door, and then toss the penny to decide whether to turn right or left. At the next junction do the same, and so on. These walks have the capacity to get tedious very quickly, for example you might end up in a cul-de-sac or find yourself going round in circles [bit like our Covid challenge!], you could find yourself completely lost; on the other hand they can take you where you've never been before.

What we need is a balance between certainty and surprise. Many have told me how difficult having hopes raised only for them to be dashed at the last minute. They have also spoken of discovering better priorities, and new relationships with neighbours and nature. It is realistic to believe certainty will increase this year.

Jesus gave very practical advice about worrying: take a day at a time, and keep things in perspective. [Matthew 6.25-34 has more]. You might ask what this means for me as I near retirement in April.

Well, this last year we have certainly gained new perspectives with worship on-line being as important as in-church. More follow Facebook than attend church, but it's an amazing privilege to be safely with others.

I am making preparations to write my third novel [the first only took 18 years!], another couple of children's books, and publish these Views through Hiss Farm Concepts. It will be great to have quality blocks of time without interruption, but I will miss the huge privilege of being with you through thick and thin.

So it's more adventure for all of us. Bring it on!!

Radicalisation is good for us?

Looks like Covid 19 is going to take at least a year, and we've been finding out what roots we have to take us through this challenge. In many ways we've become more radical, in the sense of rooted ~ and that's good! Many have told me how watching nature through the seasons has helped keep them sane.

Of course there's another understanding of radical, and that's someone who loosens ties the that bind and goes off in a completely different direction. Perhaps we need a bit of both as we find ourselves in 2021. Let me explain.

Psalm 1 speaks about trees with good roots being stable regardless of the weather challenges they face, and we need reliable truths to hang onto. At the same time flexibility to think in new ways is vital. Covid has given technology a fast forward, and we certainly won't return to square one.

Shopping will be different, so will meetings, and sharing worship outside church buildings. These give us huge opportunities, but there are risks. Worship could just be marketed like some product, and vicars might become online stars!? We need to keep our feet on the ground, and make sure worship doesn't become just another branch of our excellent entertainment industry.

There's lots of mileage in the idea of a Church [people not buildings] being like living stones. They don't rattle up and down like pebbles on a beach, but show a home for companionship, prayer, praise, healing, wisdom, laughter, peace, creativity, and glimpses into eternity. 

As we begin a new year we should be proud of how much we have evolved and adapted, but we always need the Good Lord's guidance. There are many challenges ahead! This prayer may help us.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference."

Every Christmas should be different

Same old, same old ... kills off any celebration. We need to constantly evolve as circumstances change. Christmas should radicalise us! Not in some daft self-righteous sense, but because it reminds us of our roots. Jesus Christ was born under a bureaucratic lockdown when everyone had to register in the place where they were born. 

www.dailymail.co.uk

Brexit is a tea party [no offence to any Americans welcomed among us] compared to the political chaos of his day. Roman imperialism vied with puppet kings and religious authorities for control of peoples lives. His 'NHS' was overstretched, and so his birth took place in a stable.

This will be my last Christmas with you, and I have celebrated many under wildly different circumstances: tragic funerals either side, festive weddings, baptisms at the Springhead with Salvation Army leading carols, personal traffic of one sort or another. And every time the story of the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe giving our little planet his message of love has been mind-blowing and heart-warming.

www.nasa.gov

We may well have to be physically distanced from each other, but it's vital we remain socially close. God didn't maintain superior physical distance, but became intimate in the Christ child. May we accept such wonder into our hearts and minds.

A very happy, peaceful, and fun Christmas for all of us.

Bubbles easily pop

I've been done for speeding, and as a result am a safer driver. For example, I deliberately change down a gear for speed restrictions. It annoys me when others complain about speed cameras because they improve safety for all of us. The same applies about Covid etiquette; it's there for everybody. Bubbles are important but so easily pop.

itv.com

Right now complacency is a real risk, especially since our local count is relatively low. Be assured though that at least a couple of schools have had to reduce numbers because of positive Covid tests. One of our relatives has it, and his family network is isolating. We'll only beat this thing if we're persistent, careful, and use belts as well as braces.

May I encourage you to invest in a smart mobile that can operated NHS track & trace; the app works easily, and is uncluttered. I also recommend https://covid.joinzoe.com/ which assists in forecasting positive cases. The two are completely separate but can play a part in us looking after each other.

https://picjumbo.com/

The devil is described as a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour. It's a frightening image which brings to mind evil that cannot be seen. There's for more good in our world, but we should never be complacent about aiming for the best in life, for ourselves and for others.

Ringing true

I've been listening to some BBC pods on the manufacturing of doubt, a technique to muddy the waters of truth. Two good examples spring to mind: smoking kills but was not publicly banned in England until 2007 [2005 in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales]; fossil fuels cause global warming but some still don't accept this even now. Active doubt sources have delayed acceptance of truth.

bbc.co.uk

The new game is rowing back on agreements. Our government has publicly admitted defaulting on Brexit, and condoning 'eye test' behaviour while expecting everyone else to follow Covid 19 etiquette. Jesus had harsh words against any form of hypocrisy or self-righteousness. So what should you and I do?

How about celebrating truth in the way we tell it? There's no such thing as a cantankerous Christian; Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding reception. He delighted in celebrating true love. Of course we might be sad or heartbroken by the weight we carry, but God's love seeks our eternal fulfilment. We can delight in the truth that sets us free.

The greatest sermons don't need words!? If we ring true that can be far more powerful than grand clever pronouncements. It's not about slick performance, no it's being real that counts.

www.building.co.uk

We should encourage truth at every level. We should tell it how it is! It belongs to us all, like tax. If someone fiddles their tax return to pay less than they should, they're defrauding you and me. If someone breaks the speed limit [hands up, I have] they are making our roads less safe. Take away truth and our world ceases up.

Delighting in the truth is an excellent pastime.

Silver lining?

Just imagine what it would feel like if a massive explosion in the old Weymouth ferry terminal devastated a large part of the quay and sea front. That's what happened in Beirut. Can anything good come from such an appalling tragedy?

Photo credit: @fdia_art

The answer is yes. On a small scale, a Lebanese artist Fatima Dia has auctioned this picture to raise funds for those in need. It focuses on the explosion and loss of many lives, yet it speaks of hope through colour and possibility.

There are other signs too. For years those in power have shown contempt for their electorate, and been blatant in corruption. A trickle of resignations led to the government relinquishing power. This creates new opportunities for justice and peace in a beautiful cosmopolitan part of the world.

The blast may be a turning point, rather like a trail of dominoes knocking each other over. Do pray and give for healing of the individuals and wider communities involved, that there will be real silver from such a ghastly cloud.

www.darrenscherbain.com

 

It's the 75th anniversary of two other horrific blasts: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not fertiliser but atomic bombs. Some have argued that it brought World War II to an earlier close, and thus saved lives. Others have said that the opening Russian front was what actually made the difference, and peace would have been signed without those bombs.

Either way, who would have believed that America and Japan would become such close allies. Apparently post Brexit Britain is seeking to muscle into that relationship too.

Where does Christianity fit into all this? It's fundamentally about new beginnings through forgiveness, and new life when all seems to have failed. That's Easter.

It's also about hope, even in the ghastly times. The Old Testament book of Lamentations pulls no punches about the utter despair of being under siege. Yet it also holds out hope, even in such desperate times. So let me quote chapter 3, verses 19 to 23:

The thought of my suffering and homelessness

is bitter beyond words. 

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.