As I sit down to write my reflection for this edition of Parish News, we have just remembered those who died in war and those who have passed away during the last year within our Parish. November is a month for remembering, All Saints Day, the 5th of November, Remembrance Sunday and as we get later in the month, to remember to make our Christmas puddings on ‘mix up Sunday’ and just before we enter the period of Advent, Christ as our King. It is good to remember, it can sometimes be painful, but it is through our remembering that we can begin to heal. We can smile at fond memories and perhaps most importantly, we can learn from what has gone before. When I come to this time of year, and start to think about what I might share, I often look back at previous ramblings I have submitted for Parish News. Partly so I don’t repeat myself, partly to give some inspiration and continuity and partly because I have a short memory and can’t always remember what I said. But this is why it is good to have set days to remember, we all forget things, we partially recall but often not in the greatest detail and we fail to reflect on all that went well and those things we can learn from. As I look back at 2022 and remember all that has happened, it has been a momentous year. Politically, with 3 Prime Minister and a Government in turmoil. In the world, not least with war in Ukraine and nationally as we all try to cope with surging inflation and interest rates. But of course, perhaps the most significant event that happened this year was in September, when we mourned together the death of our Queen. Many people, myself included, were surprised at their own depth of sadness at the death of the Queen. She was the only monarch many of us have ever known and the seeming suddenness of her death caught many out. In one way it should not have been totally unexpected but in so many ways it was. It deeply impacted so many and for those who had lost their own loved ones, either recently or some time ago, the national mourning seemed to open up some wounds that many thought had been dealt with. I think for those I spoke to, in most cases those things had probably been dealt with, but there was still a great sense of loss and sadness that felt slightly unexplained. However, within her death and for all the sadness, there also seemed to be a sense of hope. The Queen’s faith in God always shone through and I think that as we witnessed the week of mourning and her funeral in particular, we saw the grace in which she went about her role, the steadfastness her faith gave her and how the love she had for her Saviour transferred itself into all that she did and with all those she met. As we enter Advent once again, we remember the birth of our Saviour. It is perhaps a story that we know all too well and we get lost in the perceived story, we think we know. We fail to recognise that at the heart of this Christmas story it is not a beginning as we so often think. Christmas is not the end and in fact is not even the start of the Christian story. It is the middle act of a story full of hope and grace for everyone. At creation, the Christian faith tells us that we were made for so much more than this earthly life and we were in fact made for a relationship with God. Due to our own selfishness and greed and pride, this relationship was broken. But at Christmas we remember that God did not leave us to it, but stepped in to repair that relationship. Jesus’ birth, was God in human form, coming to earth to restore a relationship that on our own we never would have been able to repair. But it is at Easter, when we remember Jesus death and glorious resurrection, where we see this relationship restored. It is through Jesus we can once again, dwell with our Father in heaven. That was the hope and the faith the Queen clung to and she was an example of how each of us might live. However, through Jesus we have the ultimate example of how we should live. Through Jesus teaching, through the way he lived his life, we have a blueprint as to how each of us should live. As we enter a New Year, I encourage to look back and remember all the good things, and perhaps some of those things that haven’t been so good. But then look forward. My prayer is that 2023 will be a year of hope and a recognition of God’s grace in your lives. Earlier in the year at St Anne’s we changed our worship patterns, and these can be found, in this newsletter, on our Facebook page and on our website. There are now more ways than ever for you to engage with your local church and I want to encourage you, as you journey on in your own walk of faith, to join us. Join us with hope for the new year, with hope for the future and ultimately with the hope that our Queen so wonderfully displayed, that through Jesus we will all dwell together in eternity with God. Happy Christmas and have a wonderful New Year.
I wonder if there are things that still surprise you? One of the joys of working with children is their utter delight at what as adults we may think rather mundane or even worse, take for granted. I remember when I was back in Sheffield being at a toddler group and they were in the church garden. One young toddler, no more than 3 perhaps, was delighted to keep pointing at the daffodils and shouting ‘DAISY!’ I was with his Mum and obviously a little embarrassed explained that they had been looking at a book at home and it had a picture of a flower and underneath was written the word ‘daisy’. The child had learnt the word that week and so to him every flower was a daisy. Mum bent down and gently told him that it wasn’t a daisy, but a daffodil. Unperturbed, he pointed again and at the same volume shouted ‘DAFFOOODDDILLL!’ He didn’t care what flower it was, he was just delighted to be in creation and couldn’t give two hoots about being right, he was just surprised and delighted with the world around him. Perhaps that’s what Jesus had in mind when he said that all who come to God should come as a child does, full of surprise and delight. In the Easter story we hear some of the most surprising words: "He is not here." Two thousand years or so ago, some people went to a graveyard in Jerusalem. They were going to one of the tombs, just one among countless other similar tombs there: carved out of rock like little caves. According to their culture and tradition, they were going to anoint the body of their friend who had died and had been buried there a couple of days previously. But as they approached the place, they saw that the huge stone that had been put across the mouth of the tomb had been moved, by persons unknown. And, even more surprising, they were met by someone who said this odd thing: "Why are you looking for your friend? He is not here." He is not here? But he must be here. We saw him laid here with our own eyes two days ago, surely? And so, the most baffling, extraordinary, and sensational story of all time began in earnest. The empty tomb. A tomb that looks like someone's mouth is open in a great capital O of surprise. It is surprising, the Easter story, the arrest, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Christian Church was born out of a surprise and continues, to some surprisingly, to this very day. It will continue surprising everyone long after you and I have gone. If, after looking at the tomb, you look at the church itself, you will see the doors of the building are like another mouth open in surprise. Inside, on Easter day, however, you will not find it empty. You will find it full of joy and of colour and of hope and of love. That is perhaps the most surprising thing about Easter. From the empty tomb comes a full building. Join us, if you can. You will be pleasantly surprised. Not least because nowadays, we no longer say 'he is not here'. We are able to shout with complete confidence: "HE IS HERE; HIS SPIRIT IS WITH US. ALLELUIA!" Never stop being surprised and delighted in what God can do! May God bless you and those you love this Easter and always. Rev Dave.
