Blood, Sweat & Treason

Last week I had the privilege of attending an event in a church in Sheffield. Henry Olonga, the former Zimbabwean test cricketer, was sharing something of his life story. It was a fascinating evening, as the audience listened with wrapt attention. We heard about key elements of his life, from his birth in Zambia, to his parents' separation, to life growing up in Zimbabwe, his Christian conversion, life as an international cricketer and beyond. Olonga also has a fine singing voice, and he sang several songs during gthe evening.

Of course, Zimbabwe has had a very troubled recent history, and Henry Olonga related how he came to recognise the human rights abuses perpetrated by the Zimbabwean authorities. He had a growing sense that he could not remain silent in the face of what was happening.

During the Cricket World Cup in 2003, Olonga and team-mate Andy Flower took the brave decision to wear black armbands to protest against the policies of Zimbabwe's government, led by Robert Mugabe. He and Flower released a statement, stating in part:

“In all the circumstances, we have decided that we will each wear a black armband for the duration of the World Cup. In doing so we are mourning the death of democracy in our beloved Zimbabwe. In doing so we are making a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. In doing so, we pray that our small action may help to restore sanity and dignity to our nation.”

This act led to a warrant issued in Zimbabwe for Olonga's arrest on charges of treason (which carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe) and forced him to retire from international cricket and temporarily go into hiding.

Olonga made it clear in what he said that his Christian faith played a large part in helping him come to the decision to take such a stand, at the risk of his own personal safety. His action resulted in the end of his international cricketing career. As I heard him speak, I asked myself whether I would have taken such a stand. And that’s a challenging question. I’m looking forward to reading Henry Olonga’s new book, Blood, Sweat and Treason.

In my last blog I wrote about a situation which one of my daughters faced with a burst pipe at her home during the severe December weather. To cut a long story short, the resulting damage was such that it forced her to move out of her rented house.

Thankfully everything worked out for good, as she was able to find a better house, and with the help of family and friends was able to get moved and settled in within a few days. I made the point that even bad things which happen in our lives can be turned to good by God.

Of course, the situation which my daughter faced, hard though it seemed at the time, can hardly be called a tragedy. I received an e-mail today which did relate a recent tragic situation, when a young man in his late 20s died very suddenly. I cannot imagine what a painful situation that must be for his parents and the rest of his family and friends. The family involved are a Christian family. Such cases as this truly test the reality (or otherwise) of a person's faith. It's easy to believe in the good times; the real test comes when the storms rage around us. I read a note from the mother of the young man, and was so encouraged (and challenged) by what she wrote:

"Luke’s family, his colleagues and friends, and church friends in Sheffield and Manchester, wish to thank everyone for their cards, messages, prayers and practical support which has made this tragic situation so much easier to deal with, and the comments are making people cry, laugh and feel blessed for having known Luke."

She ended the letter by quoting from St Paul's letter to the church in Rome: "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose". (Romans 8: 28. That truly is a wonderful example of faith which has been tested and has stood the test.

It's strange how things work out...

I'm still experiencing the after-glow of a great Christmas. On Christmas day itself we had all our three children with us, two of them with their marriage partners. We attended Christmas Day service at church, which was fairly informal and a great way to begin the celebrations of Jesus' birth.

We opened some presents before church, the rest when we returned, as we waited for Christmas dinner. I had some excellent presents this year (including two sonic screwdrivers!) After dinner we played games and had many laughs together. A lovely family day.

On the Wednesday after Christmas we hosted the annual family party, when we welcomed around 25 members of our wider family. Although the day was hectic and noisy, it was another much enjoyed occasion.

The only sour note from the holiday period came when Caz, our elder daughter, received a phone call from her landlady in Llanelli to say that there had been a pipe burst in the loft of her house which had cased major damage. Naturally this was very upsetting for Caz, especially as her house contents were not insured! It was clear that the damage to the house would make it impossible for Caz to continue to live there. As a consequence, she had to cut short her stay with us and travel back to Llanelli, accompanied by Sue (mother-comfort is a great thing in hard times!)

To cut a long story short, within the space of just a few days they managed, along with help from church friends, to clear Caz's belongings out of the house (they were stored temporarily at church), find a new (and better) house, buy some new items for the house, and get Caz moved in before she was due back at school (where she teaches) today!

Compared with the disaster which this episode could have turned into, something of a miracle has taken place. Caz is so delighted with how things have worked out. I can't help thinking of a verse in St Paul's letter to the church in Rome, where he writes, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Rom. 8:28). As we approach a new year, with all its apparent uncertainties, how fantastic to know that if we put our trust in God, he can weave even the toughest of situations into something good.

A question of priorities

We've had a great few days over Christmas. The fact that two of our three children are now married adds a little complication to Christmas arrangements, with them having two lots of families to visit! However, it just so happened this year that we managed to be all together for Christmas Day itself.

After the Christmas morning church service we had Christmas lunch, then spent most of the rest of the day playing games (breaking, of course, for the Queen's speech!) It was great to be able to spend some time together as a family and have plenty of laughs.

Steph and Matt left Doncaster yesterday to travel over to Matt's family, and Chris and Megan left this morning to travel down to Essex to Megan's family. Caroline has gone over to Sheffield to visit friends, so the house seems very quiet indeed.

I woke up fairly early this morning and on my way to the loo I noticed that the door to the bedroom where Chris and Megan were sleeping was slightly ajar. I thought it was strange, but didn't think much more about it. I later discovered that they had been up and out early to catch the big sale at Next. They arrived at Next at 5am only to find a couple of hundred people ahead of them in the queue! Obviously people were desperately keen to grab a bargain.

A couple of weeks' ago Sue and I visited a gentleman who has asked for help with a certain issue. We spent some time with him and hopefully were of some help. During our conversation he said a couple of times, "I just don't have time to go to church." We hadn't raised the issue at all, so I'm not sure why he mentioned it (unless he feels a bit guilty).

These two incidents have got me thinking about the whole issue of priorities. The truth is that we can usually make time for the things we regard as priorities. I know people who spend many hours and considerable amounts of money travelling the length and breadth of the country following their football team. Why? Because for them it's a priority.

Jesus talked quite a lot about priorities, and did so in a very challenging way. In effect he said that if we decide to follow him, then he must become our first priority. No half measures! The year 2010 will soon be at an end. The coming of a new year is a great time to reassess our personal priorities. It's certainly something I'll be doing.

Winter but no Christmas

Yesterday a group of us sang carols outside Priory in the town centre. We sang from 8.30am until 10am, and despite the severe cold, the time seemed to pass very quickly. We went through a range of carols, but the most popular carols seemed to be the more upbeat ones (like "Come and join the celebration") because they invited a bit of movement which helped to keep the frostbite at bay!

Our singing can't have been too bad as people generously threw coins into the collecting buckets. Though there didn't seem to be all that many people around, we managed to raise over £170 in the 90 minutes. It will be split between Rotherham hospice (one of our church members works there), and Compassion, which is an international Christian child development and child advocacy ministry.

Our main purpose, though, wasn't to raise funds, but rather to try to remind those who were in the town centre what Christmas is really all about. Many passers-by were very positive, and one man came to tell us that he had phoned his mum so that she could listen to the singing on the phone! Another lady, however, didn't seem to appreciate our efforts. As she hurried by she turned to us and said, "what a load of rubbish!" I have a feeling that she wasn't referring to the quality of our singing but rather to the message itself, and I felt immensely sad for her. She reminded me a little of Ebenezer Scrooge with his retort, "bah, humbug".

The birth in Bethlehem around 2000 years ago of Jesus, the Son of God, was the most momentous event in history. So much so that it cut history in half! God stepped into our world to demonstrate his amazing love for us. How sad, then, that so many overlook the heart of the Christmas message. In the carol, "In the bleak midwinter", the write speaks of the glory of the Christmas story, and the joy of those who welcome Jesus into their lives. He then goes on to write,

And to those who never listened
To the message of Thy birth,
Who have winter, but no Christmas
Bringing them Thy peace on earth,
Send to these the joyful tidings;
By all people, in each home,
Be there heard the Christmas anthem;
Praise to God, the Christ has come!

My prayer is that this Christmas many eyes will be opened to the wonder of the Christmas story, and many hearts will be open to the love and peace of Jesus. I pray particularly for God's blessing on the unhappy lady, that she too will meet the One who can transform her life.

Coping with change

An old light bulb joke goes something like this: "How many Methodists does it take to change a light bulb?" The answer: "What do you mean, change?"

I was talking with a member of another church recently and I asked how their fairly newly arrived vicar was getting on. One of the first responses was, "He's changing a lot of things." Just this evening I was reading an article in the Metro newspaper about the new format to the long- running BBC programme "A Question of Sport". I've been a fan of Q.O.S. for all of its 40 years, and I must say that I do have reservations about the new format, not least the fact that one member of each team is now a "personality" rather than a sportsperson. Time will tell whether it proves to be a good move or not (I still think that the BBC should bring back Arlene Phillips to the panel of judges for Strictly!)

The truth is that, for whatever reason, we often find change hard to accept. We struggle when what we have become comfortable with becomes different in some way - it can move us out of our comfort zone, which is difficult to handle.

One of the ways in which we can begin to come to terms with change is to understand that change is a natural element of life. As I look through the window I see that the snow, which has been around for nearly 2 weeks, is slowly beginning to melt away. In two or three months we will see signs of spring. I was looking at some old family photos recently, and it's abundantly clear that we have all changed a great deal over the years!

The other thing we can do if we are struggling to cope with change is to look to the One who does not change. We live in an uncertain, changing, and sometimes frightening world. Yet we can have confidence that in God we have a rock beneath our feet and a sure foundation for life. As hymn-writer Henry Francis Lyte so eloquently puts it,

"Change and decay in all around I see:
O thou who changest not, abide with me!

The personal touch

For many years now we have written a Christmas letter which we include with the Christmas cards which we send to family and friends around the country. It gives a brief summary of the year from the perspective of our family. Quite a number of our friends do the same, and I enjoy catching up on news in this way.

A couple of years ago a friend of ours, who is also a Methodist Minister, wrote in his letter that he had personally delivered Christmas cards to all his church members. I liked the idea, so decided last year to try and do the same! I just about managed it before Christmas Day. This year I have an extra church for which I am responsible, so the list of visits has grown. It perhaps wouldn't be so difficult if all the church members lived nearby, but unfortunately that isn't the case.

I wrote the cards two or three weeks ago, and decided this Monday that I had better start delivering them if there was any hope of completing the task by 25th. My intention was to use the car this week to deliver some which were beyond walking distance. Unfortunately, the heavy snow of the last few days put paid to that idea: the car has hardly left the garage this week! At least I have now delivered all the cards for people who live within reasonable walking distance. I must have walked quite a few miles over the past few days. It has been enjoyable, and I have been very grateful for my wellies, though tramping through fairly deep snow can be quite tiring.

Of course there may be some reading this who are thinking, "wouldn't it be easier to simply post the cards?" And in one sense, yes, it would. But the benefit of taking them out by hand is that it adds the personal touch. I get the opportunity to chat with folk and spend a bit of time with them which I might not otherwise have.

The heart of Christmas itself demonstrates the personal touch of God. In his great love for us, he stepped into our world. The Message translation of the Bible puts John 1v14 like this, 'The Word [Jesus] became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.' Jesus came to reveal the Father's love, and invite us to a personal relationship with God. Now that really is something worth celebrating this Christmas!