| Deanery Newsletter - 4th January, 2012 |
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Dear friends, HAPPY NEW YEAR
Last Sunday
How I made it through two services I'll never know. Went to bed at 2am after staggering home from an excellent night with a good friend who provided the vintage Champagne, two fine wines, St. Lucia Rum and crusted Port. At least in the pulpit you have something to hang on to. My sermon was on "moderation in all things"...........just kidding...........it was about the upheaval in the religious landscape that Jesus modelled - a model based on a personal experience/relationship with God contrasted with the requirement/reward model prevalent in 1st century Judaism and so much monotheistic religion since (the same battles exist today within all the monotheistic faiths) . In a way all Jesus was doing was reminding/pointing out to his own people the treasure present already within their own religion if people were prepared to look for it. If you want to read what I said just click on the following link; http://revmartinjacques.blogspot.com/2012/01/ringing-changes.html
Sekonyer River
I have reproduced poems by Karen Harrison before. Karen is a friend of mine who now organises the Anglican presence in Sofia the capital of Bulgaria. I am very pleased that now Karen is in print and I have a copy of her first book of poetry called "Sekonyer River". It is also very pleasing that the book has been published by another friend of mine Jonathan Dunne's "small stations press" and the poems have been selected by his wife Tsvetanka Elenkova. The book is available on Amazon at £8.09 with free delivery in the U.K.. "There are three main branches in Karen Harrison's poetry - mythological interpretation, journeying, and intimate experiences". It is difficult to choose just one but I particularly liked this one...
Tukang mas (Goldsmith in Indonesian)
If God is blind and a watchmaker
still some of us are jewellers,
making of our instincts and instants
enduring trinkets
and tiny crafted worlds,
working in sapphire,
in movements and moments,
in malachite and laughter and pearly tears.
Rare to find it: the patience,
the steadiness of hands,
polishing the moonstones and moonlights
with blood and acid
to etch it out in silver,
in fragments and kisses,
to pick it out in gold,
in honesty, in memory of coming years.
The pleasures of a life of apprenticeship.
Next Sunday - The Baptism of Christ - Mark 1: 4-11
In the West the main event associated with Epiphany is the arrival of the Magi but in the East the main association is with the Baptism of Christ. Both have a slightly different emphasis. It is the baptism of Christ that is the one I will concentrate on because true epiphany is one in which God speaks to your own heart. It is an inner experience. This seminal event in Jesus' life was the one in which he had a deep personal indelible experience of the divine being. It was what initiated his earthly ministry so it is intensely important. What Jesus experienced was that God was intimately connected to him as a Father to a child and he heard those immortal words spoken to his heart "You are my son the beloved.With you I am well pleased."
I am so glad that they have used the original from Mark. In this original God "speaks" to his heart - it is an internal voice "spoken" and felt by him. In Matthew's hands however this internal voice becomes a public announcement that others hear. "You are my beloved son" becomes "This is my beloved son" (Matt. 3:16).
The really important thing here of course is what does this mean for us? Well, Jesus is like every one of us, a human being, and what happens to Jesus and what he experiences are things that we can also hope to experience. In fact I believe that the essential essence of conversion to Christianity is that each one of us hears those Grace filled words for ourselves and know it for ourselves. If you are reading this I would invite you to say to yourself (out loud if you like). "Loving father, I...(say your name)... am your beloved son/daughter. With me you are well pleased".
Repeat it and remind yourself of it whenever you remember to say it throughout the day.
A Glossary of terms. I use a lot of words which I feel sometimes need explaining. Also, the meaning of some theological concepts change depending on who is using them. So here is a glossary together with the meaning I attach to them for just three important ones.
Grace: The foundation stone of Christianity. It is unmerited love. The word Unmerited is important here. You don't have to do anything or be anything or believe anything to qualify for God's love. It is yours. It is unmerited. You may think you don't deserve it (this is called humility by the way) but it is yours anyway. The moment you start putting conditions in place - faith, beliefs, prayer, church membership, anything - Grace ceases to be Grace. Grace is radical. You are my child the beloved, with you I am well pleased.
Salvation: For me the meaning of salvation is the same as Heaven, eternal life, enlightenment, Holiness. It is a quality of life in the present (Living in Grace) and includes social and political and economic transformation too. It is an underlying sense of completeness, harmony, unity, love, connectedness, healing, bringing heaven on earth now. It is revealed in our life when we realise that God is the sourceless source and ground of all things, including the ground of our own being.
Mystic : Let me quote Richard Rohr here. "Don't let the word mystic scare you off. It simply means someone who has moved on from mere belief systems or belonging systems to actual inner experience". As Karl Rahner once said. "The devout Christian of the future will either be a mystic or he will cease to be anything at all"
New service in Gainford - Be still.
This is an exciting monthly additional service that will be more meditative and reflective and make good use of symbols and candles and silence. These services will have the title "Be still" They will be an eclectic mix of Celtic, Taize and other influences. Music will be provided by piano or guitar. Although the first one is being held in Gainford, anyone from across the Deanery is welcome to come and try it for themselves to see if they find it meaningful. They will be led by Canon Neil Russell who successfully ran these services at his last church. There are four formats, so you get something different every time. The very first one is going to be held at 4pm on this coming Sunday 8th January and the theme will be light. Thought for the day It is January but the unseasonably warm weather means that the little cherry tree on the Green near my house is covered in pink blossom. A friend says he has seen two woodpeckers engage in a mating ritual. Nature responds to its environment and so do we. I immediately feel better when the sun shines, don't you? And the long grey days definitely depress me somewhat. It should come as little surprise then that our social and political and economic environments can also affect the way we feel. On the more personal individual level the world feels different when you are in love as opposed to when you feel all alone and unloved. Our Archbishop said as much in his new year's day TV broadcast when talking about the younger generation. The environment you create, the love and stability and trust shown will provide a more fertile soil for young people to grow. People who are loved and in love flourish. Loneliness is a curse and there is a big difference between "being alone" and "being lonely", the former being a matter of choice and necessary from time to time, and the latter being forced upon you. Life in all its fullness is not possible without love because love is part of the fullness of life. My friend Caroline who died earlier this year once told me that "Of course you know you are never really alone". And I know and believe that to be true - the ultimate oneness of all things is foundational for me - but.......I am also embodied flesh and blood and knowing that fact is made infinitely better and validated when you are able to feel that connectedness in the warmth of a fellow human being - it then becomes word made flesh. My thought to guide us through the rest of 2012 is very simple and typical for me as it comes from a song, Nature boy originally by Nat King Cole. If you've never heard the original of this strange haunting little song give yourself a treat and click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvaZ-J2Nvk0 and give it a listen. Read, mark, and inwardly digest; "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return" Love and peace Martin
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