Going bananas

The churches in Markfield held a children's Holiday Club this week, and I popped in yesterday morning to see how things were going.  The children seemed to be having a great time, with songs, games, stories, craft activities, food & drink keeping them well occupied and engaged.

This year's Holiday Club was based on a resource called "Going Bananas."  On each of the 3 days of the Holiday Club, a focus was made on a Biblical character who "went bananas" for God.  The first character was Noah, who built an ark in the desert when there was absolutely no sign of rain.  The second character was Zacchaeus, who not only climbed a tree (not the done thing for a man with any self-respect) but also gave away half his money to the poor!  Then the third character was the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with a very expensive jar of perfume as a sign of her love for him.

Three very different characters, but the one thing they had in common was that they were prepared to do something which many of their contemporaries would have thought to be crazy (or "bananas"). In Noah's case, he was ready to do what God had said even though it seemed to make no sense.  For Zacchaeus and the unnamed women, it was their meeting with Jesus which led them do something which must have shocked those who knew them.  There are so many other characters in the Bible and through history who could be used as examples of the same thing.

The Apostle Paul wrote in one of his letters, "Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools."  The truth is that sometimes to be obedient to God or to answer the call of Jesus is to run the very real risk of looking foolish in the eyes of our friends or family.  I suppose that when, many years ago, I made the decision to leave my well-paid job as a Chartered Accountant in order to train for the Methodist Ministry (with all the implications, not only for me but for my family as well), there will have been some who thought I was going bananas.  In human terms my decision didn't make much sense, but I knew then and still know that it was the right one, because it was what God had called me to do.

There was a piece on this morning's BBC Breakfast programme about so-called tomb-stoning, the practise of jumping from a high position such as a cliff or bridge into water.  The dangers of such activity was highlighted; a number of people have been killed or seriously injured in recent years.  That really is a foolish thing to do.  Aspects of the life of following Jesus can appear foolish, and there may be times when others think that we are going bananas.  But God's way is always the best way, whatever anyone else may think!

What is Community?

Later today I will be attending a Community Gathering in the village of Markfield.  It has been planned for people of all faiths or none as a united expression of sympathy in memory of all victims of terror, particularly in response to the recent Tunisian massacre.  Representatives of Markfield churches and the local Islamic Foundation will be amongst those in attendance.

As part of the proceedings I have been asked to speak on the question “What is community?”  The more I ponder that question, the more I realise that an apparently simple question is really rather profound!  “Community” is not as easy to define as one might think.  Yet we seem to know when we don’t have it!  How many times, for example, we hear people say as they look back to days gone by, “We have lost that sense of community which we used to have.”

Human beings are created for community.  We could think of John Donne’s oft quoted saying, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.”  We are made for connectedness.  In the Biblical book of Genesis, we read, “The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:8).

In searching for a definition of “community”, I found myself dissatisfied by what I found in various dictionaries.  I like the following definition suggested by one of my brothers-in-law:  "A group of people who look out for and support each other and rejoice in their diversity.”

In my talk I will also attempt to briefly address the question as to how we can seek to create community.  Perhaps my training as a preacher has led me to mention 4 points, all starting with the letter “C” (there could probably be many more, but I thought it best to stick to 4!)  I don’t have space here to develop the points.  I simply highlight them, together with appropriate quotations:

Commitment: “We must become bigger than we have been: more courageous, greater in spirit, larger in outlook.”  Haile Selassie.

Communication: “Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.”  Rollo May.

Compassion: “Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It's the impetus for creating change.”  Max Carver.

Choice: “This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.”  Dwight D. Eisenhower

I will finish with a quote from Jean Vanier: “Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other.”

I hope and pray that our Community Gathering will be one step in helping to build true community.  Perhaps a seed will be sown.

My great mistake

Many years ago some friends asked me to take photos of their wedding day.  In those days I fancied myself as a budding David Bailey, so I rather foolishly agreed.  The couple gave me a list of images they wanted from the day, and I took my role very seriously.  I very much hoped that my efforts would result in a series of photos which would form a wonderful reminder of treasured memories.

The whole day went well, and I returned home to unload the film, ready for posting off to the developers.  Then came what was one of the worst moments of my life, when I realised that I had not loaded the film properly into the camera!  All my efforts would come to nothing.  What was far more important, and dominated my thoughts during the whole time that the bride and groom were on honeymoon, was the desperate disappointment they would experience when they discovered what had taken place.

As it happened, they were amazingly gracious and forgiving, and we remained friends despite my horrendous error.  Of course, the advent of digital photography brought with it many advantages, including the ability to see instantly the results of a camera shot.  If only digital cameras had been around in those far off days!  Even though I do now use a digital camera, I still miss the days when I would excitedly receive a developed set of photos through the post; I love looking back through old photo albums.

I was recently looking through some old photos and came cross one from when I was part of a school cross country team (I was much fitter in those days!)  The strange thing was, that try as I might, I could name only one of the other team members.  Most of the names had slipped from my memory (it was, after all, more than 40 years ago when the photo was taken).

As I was pondering the fact that people and names slip from our memory over the years, I was reminded of the Bible verse where God says, “I will never forget you.”  It’s great to know that although many of the people we meet through life will forget all about us, we will always remain in the heart and mind of God.

Lessons from the garden

One of the joys of moving to a new house is the delight in discovering, as the natural growing season progresses, which plants are in the garden.  We moved to our new house in January, a time when most of the garden was dormant and there were few signs of what was to come.  Over the past few months we have witnessed the growth of various plants, some of which have provided unexpected but much appreciated beauty.

My late dad was a gardener in his early working life.  He had a real gift which he used to good effect.  In our early married lives, Sue and I very much appreciated dad's help in sorting out our garden whenever we moved home.  He somehow seemed to have the ability to completely transform a garden's appearance in a remarkably short time.  Although I do enjoy gardening (when I find the time), I don't, unfortunately, appear to have inherited my dad's green fingers!

What all gardeners understand, of course, is that it is one thing to tidy up a garden and quite another thing to keep it looking good!  Neglect a garden for a relatively short time and it can soon get out of control (have you ever wondered why weeds still keep growing even when they are not watered or cared for?)  To look their best, gardens have to be constantly attended to.

Jesus often used the world of nature in the stories which he told to help people understand the things of God.  I have sometimes thought that the nature of gardening can be likened to development in our Christian lives.  Coincidentally, my next sermon will use a passage from Paul's letter to the Ephesians (chapter 4 verses 17-32), which is headed "Instructions for Christian Living."  In the passage, Paul talks about living the new life in Christ, and reminds his readers to "put off the old self ... and put on the new self." 

The way of following Jesus is different in many ways from the way which society and our culture can often lead us.  Just as a gardener needs to continue to deal with weeds etc., so in our Christian lives we need to deal with things which detract from living the full life to which Christ has called us.

I'm certainly not the world's best gardener, but I intend to try and do my best to give regular attention to my new garden.  I also want to try and live a life which is honouring and pleasing to God.  I know that I haven't always done so, but thankfully God is a God of grace and forgiveness, and he gives us his Spirit to assist in the process.  Like my garden, I am a work in progress!

A conversation with Nelson Mandela

A few days ago I spent some time on an Away-Day with the leaders of one of the churches of which I am Minister.  We had a number of aims for the day, including the desire to get to know each other a little better, and one of the ways I tried to help us to that end was to devise a few questions.  As an example, a question I asked was, “Which character from history would you most like to meet?”  Several interesting answers were given, including Lady Diana, Mother Teresa, Florence Nightingale and General Custer.  My own choice was Nelson Mandela.

Mandela is widely regarded as one of the outstanding characters of the 20^th century, and was certainly a remarkable man.  What really stands out to me about Nelson Mandela, and an area which I would love to talk to him about, was the fact that, despite having served 27 years in jail for standing up against the brutal and oppressive apartheid regime in South Africa, he was willing and able to show such grace and forgiveness on his release.  These are his words:

“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.”

Nelson Mandela realised that when a person harbours bitterness and unforgiveness in their hearts, it is almost always they who suffer most, for bitterness is like a cancer eating away inside us.  A much more recent outpouring of remarkable forgiveness came only last week, when a lone gunman shot and killed 9 people in a prayer meeting at a Methodist Church in Charleston, USA.  A number of the grieving families have offered words of forgiveness to the man accused of the killings, and have pledged to pray for him.  Despite their own desperate pain, they are reaching out with grace and forgiveness.

How many of the world’s problems today would be eradicated if humankind learned to forgive instead of retaliating and seeking a “tit-for-tat” response?  We have much to learn from people like Nelson Mandela and the Charleston families.  And as Martin Luther King Jr. said,

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”

Zacchaeus and the buttercups

New Parks New Friends (NPNF) is an exciting new venture which was launched by some of the folk from New Parks Methodist Church, together with others from the local community.  NPNF meets each Tuesday morning in the New Parks Library on Aikman Avenue.  The initiative was started in an attempt to address the major social issue of loneliness and isolation.  NPNF offers the opportunity for anyone to come and chat and make new friends.  So far it has been really successful and many people from the local community have enjoyed Tuesday mornings at the library.  New and valued friendships have been established.

Last week was a first for NPNF, as a half day outing was organised to Ullverscroft Grange.  As well having lunch together and visiting the shops which are run by the charity, there was the opportunity to explore the area (the weather was perfect).  Along with one or two others, I went for a short walk in the beautiful countryside.  As we walked we came across a field full of buttercups.  Buttercups are often regarded as a weed by gardeners, but this field proved what a beautiful display they can offer.

I stood and gazed at the field for a while, watching the plants gently swaying in the breeze, and marvelled again at God's amazing creation.  Even humble buttercups can produce a stunning display.  I thought how well this seemed to fit with the Biblical story of Zacchaeus, which was to be the sermon topic for the following Sunday.  Most people looked down on and despised Zacchaeus.  He was treated as an outcast by many, and of no value.  Yet Jesus went out of his way to spend time with Zacchaeus and to show him that he was special in the eyes of God.  

There are those who regard buttercups as weeds and worthy only of the compost heap; there were those who regarded Zacchaeus in the same way.  Jesus, however, saw below the surface and recognised Zacchaeus' worth as a child of God.  There is a line in the song "The King is among us" which states, "each child is special, accepted and loved."  Perhaps the buttercups in their own way bear witness to that wonderful truth.

Every cloud...

Last week I enjoyed a lovely, if rather wet, holiday in Scotland, with some members of my family.  They do say that every cloud has a silver lining, and the silver lining of some rather rain-filled and cloudy weather was that it allowed me time to catch up on some reading.

I managed to finish a book which I had started some time earlier, Pete Greig’s “God on Mute”, subtitled “Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer.”  It is a well-written and thought provoking book, in which the author wrestles with some of the thorny questions relating to the subject of prayer, drawing on some of his own personal and family experiences.  Sometimes there are no easy answers to difficult questions, but I found Pete Greig’s book particularly helpful.  There are lots of snippets in there which I will go back to.

Another book which I read last weeks was the autobiography of Scottish singer/songwriter/actress Barbara Dickson.  Towards the end of the book she writes, “In spite of being brought up in a non-religious family, the Church, in one form or another, has been part of the backdrop to my life.  When I was younger I would have been embarrassed to call myself a Christian and even now my faith is very personal to me, but it has become the cornerstone of my life.”

The final book I read was “Moving On”, by Reuben Holroyd.  It tells of Holroyd’s experience of National Service between the years 1952-54, consisting of the letters which he wrote home to his family, each of which his mother kept.  His experience with organised religion in one specific case was not a happy one: “This morning we had a church parade … it was a dead loss.  We had to stand in ranks wearing shirts under a blazing sun, it was very hot and most uncomfortable.  The padre droned on and we were bored to death but nobody dared move in case the R.S.M. took his name for not paying attention.  The padre tried to get us to sing a hymn which we did not know, it petered out after the first verse and he had to give it, and us, up as a bad job.”  How NOT to win friends and influence people!

Holroyd spend much of his national service in Korea, and seems to have had a very difficult time in many ways, not least through being deprived of many of the normal “creature comforts.”  One thing which becomes clear in the book is that in many cases the ordinary soldiers had little or no understanding of how what they were being asked to do fitted into the overall plan of the British and Allied forces.  They were not able to see or understand “the big picture”, nor their part in it.  This thought draws me back to Pete Greig’s book, “God on Mute.”  Perhaps one of the reasons that our prayers are sometimes apparently not answered is that we cannot at the time see the big picture of God’s plans and purposes.  Greig quotes a prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola, a call to trust God even when we don’t understand:

O Christ Jesus
When all is darkness
And we feel our weakness and helplessness,
Give us the sense of Your Presence,
Your Love and Your Strength.
Help us to have perfect trust
In Your protecting love
And strengthening power,
So that nothing may frighten or worry us,
For, living close to You,
We shall see Your Hand,
Your Purpose, Your Will through all things