Reflections for Today 28th April 2020From the real world sublime and challengingFear in FunchalOn our return from 70 days at sea with Chaplaincy duties on the ‘Balmoral’,Fred Olsen ship (on the 16th of March) Jane and I had some time to reflect on a number of fears as we entered lock down.We approached Madeira in the middle of January.There we were informed that there was an opportunity to sledge in the sunshine from the high point of Funchal for two miles down the tarmac road towards the centre of town. It sounded quite crazy. On arrival in Funchal we went to the top of the Mountain by cable car and assessed the actual context of sunny tarmac sledging. As it turned out it was exhilarating and eradicated the fear of the unknown. On our travels around South America we saw so many communities where fear of poverty, global warming and the fight to preserve the natural world were seen. One of the major fears was the fear of the lack of water supplies in Bonaire and the driest desert in the world where we walked in Arica,Chile. We followed the news on our ship about the growing threat of Coronavirus from World News networks when we had connectivity. Fear of the unknown can be the greatest fear. Our hearts go out to those working on the front line, in whatever capacity, in these unknown future times. We pray for all those who are researching this particular strain of Coronavirus and seeking out an antidote. The more is found out the more fear will be addressed and dissipated.The Thursday night clap for all our carers paid and unpaid volunteers in the community is inspirational. Those who work in the NHS in hospitals and the wider community and all our utilities appreciate it. They have always had an enormous commitment to the work whatever the uncertainties and challenges. None of them know what they are going to face each day. That also goes for those who serve the residents in the Nursing Homes, Hospices and Care Homes and in the home setting.Perfect love casts out all fear and we are seeing so much of that in the smallest acts of kindness wherever we are. They count. I am reminded of the hymn ‘….the love of my Lord is the essence…’ which describes the love that saw the terrified, fearful disciples in lock down after the death of Jesus through their terror and uncertainty to renewed hope.With blessings, Edward and JaneNext stop Brazil…….
Thought for the day 25th April 2020Walking in my ShoesDuring this period of enforced lock-down we have all tackled lists of projects that we had never got around to, or even thought of!At the prompting of Joyce and my children I am part way through writing the story of my journey through life.One episode that I have brought back to mind is of being invited to participate in a Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference in the 1970’s. These conferences grouped people from three different occupations (Civil Servants,, Trade Unionists and Business leaders) and sent them to different parts of the UK to study local social and economic issues. I well remember the Plenary gathering in Birmingham, chaired by the then CEO of Chloride Group, Sir Michael Edwards, who was about to take on the running of British Leyland (but which had not been announced). In the round of self-introductions one guy stood up introduced himself by name, occupation, which was Trade Union convener at British Leyland, Longbridge., and blithely said ‘for those that don’t know – that’s the plant where the workers sign in using the Visitors Book’. I can still see Sir Michael’s stony-faced stare!My particular Group was dispatched to East Anglia, where we studied issues of economic stress caused by the decline of the Ports and the socio-economic issues of low-paid work in the agricultural industries. At each visit individuals were tasked with looking at the issues of the day from a particular point of view. We were there for 2 weeks and the amazing thing was to witness the change in attitudes as the course went on. By the end of the tour it was difficult to distinguish who was from which background.That experience has stayed with me and I often wonder how our opinions would alter if we paused and deliberately thought about ‘how the world would look if we were in someone else’s shoes.’ It can be a sobering experience, and is particularly prescient in the current crisis when, apart from the obvious sacrifices being made by front-line workers, people in all walks of life have to confront unique challenges.Mike DaviesWhy don’t you listen to Gladys Knight and the pips sing the song?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9ZqNuDNzw
Sixth Station of the Resurrection: The Road to EmmausJesus is the resurrection and the life.All Those who believe in him shall never die. Alleluia.ReadingA reading from the Gospel according to Luke (24.28-35)As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.Reflection or MeditationThe Church gathered together in many parts of the world today will hear this resurrection story of Jesus Christ once more. They will hear how lives are turned around, when the story of fear and disappointment is shared with a stranger on the road to Emmaus. This is one of my favourite passages in the whole of scripture, it is so rich with meaning, theological insight and I never tire of hearing it.Our story tells us of two people who had been with Jesus, seen and heard him do marvellous, miraculous and wonderful things, surely this was the Messiah, surely this was the Saviour they had longed for?But now he is dead, he had been executed; He didn’t say a word, when we know that his words could unpick your soul and lift you to the highest heavens. Times were now too dangerous, time to move into the shadows and pick up the pieces of their old lives, time to go into lockdown.My reflection today is centred around meeting and sharing your life with;“The stranger on the road.”The resurrection of Jesus asks as many questions as it answers, one thing I am sure of is that we as disciples need to be “On the Road” in order to have our eyes opened; • Opened to the probing questions Jesus poses.• Opened to his disturbing and surprising presence.• Open to hear his voice speaking to you from strangers on the road.As many of you know over these passed weeks in lockdown each weekday we have had a ‘Thought for the Day’ posted on our social media forums and sent out as far and wide to the people we are connected with. I am grateful for the many contributions that I have been sent, as Editor in Chief so to speak I have slightly adapted and added a tweak here and there. I was sent this one earlier this week. I don’t think the author had in mind the story of the road to Emmaus at the time but the resonances of God’s voice in this reflection deserve to be heard, thought about and put into action.The thought of ‘Walking in other people’s Shoes’ is not new, in fact the proverb is as old as the hills we walk upon. The point here is that we don’t ‘walk in others shoes’ our default is to;‘look after ourselves,’ ‘Charity begins at home!’Sometimes we can’t ‘walk in others shoes’ because we are too focussed on our concerns, our sorrows, our pain, our immediate situation.Like the disciples our eyes are open but only on the next step, and that step is a step away from the situation, a footstep on the road West to Emmaus; usually out of town, out of reach, away from any connection with God, or any of his people. The thought in our mind is survival and self preservation. Thats why the Emmaus Road story is so powerful, two people whose lives, hopes and dreams have crashed to the ground, literally running for cover, for the safety of what they know, meet the Risen Lord Jesus, on the road and he changes their lives. Friends, friends, have you met him?Friends, friends, do you know he is walking with you right now, in the midst of all your pain, sorrow, distress and fear?I am greatly comforted by these words of the Apostle Paul to the Roman Christians.Romans 8:38-39 King James Version (KJV)For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This passage, informs us of enormity of what Jesus did, it brings comfort and hope amidst the worst times in our lives.Our ‘thought for the day’ showed us an insight into what humanity can do when we listen and walk and work together. The Emmaus road story takes us further and restores not only our hope in humanity but shows us a loving saviour, healer and friend, and the length that Jesus will go to, to bring you home.During this time of social isolation, lockdown, when we aren’t connected, our minds and sometimes our actions spill out, go on overdrive. The tension under the surface breakouts. Literally for most of us everything we have worked so hard and built looks like it could crumble. Our lives seem so fragile, we feel our mortality ever present.What have we done with our lives? What have we built?And yet, and yet; a stranger appears in our midst and He has the power to turn our life upside down. My prayer for us all is that we welcome this stranger in whatever guise, shape or form and allow Him to change and transform our life.Perhaps this week you could set an extra place at your table for the stranger, placing some bread and wine there. in doing so who knows what will happen?This week on your walk out into the highways and byways, may you bump into Jesus.May his words soothe your soul and bring you home.May he cause you to walk Eastward to the Son.May you know Him in the sharing of your life, with others, just as our disciples knew Him when he broke bread in their homes.AmenPrayerWe praise you and we bless you, our risen Lord Jesus, King of glory,for you are with us, even when our eyes are closed to your companionship.Walk this day alongside the disconsolate and the despairing, open their eyes to your gentle illumination, and let their hearts burn within them at your invisible presence.To you, Lord Jesus, walking by our side, be honour and glory, now and for ever.All Amen.
Thought for the Day 24th April 2020“There is nothing new under the sun …”We live in a world where we are always looking out for the next new big thing. This is just as true for the church as for any other part of our society. However, there is much that we have, even in the twentieth-first century, which has been seen before.As you know, the church is making the most of modern technology to increase access to services, which is especially important during this Easter period. And yet, long-distance communication has happened before, and without Wi-fi and lap-top. There is nothing new under the sun . . .I was thinking of St Clare of Assisi the other day, a name overshadowed by a more famous holy person from that Italian town. Clare was born in Assisi on 16 July 1194, when the crusades were in full-swing, to the wealthy Fiumi family. It is said that she pursued a regular routine of prayer in her early years but her spiritual life changed in a single moment. She heard St Francis of Assisi preach a sermon at a Lenten service. We do not know if this was similar to attending a Billy Graham meeting, but these words of Francis changed her life for ever. Clare then asked St Francis to help her to live the way of the gospel, which he did. On Sunday 20 March 1212, a Palm Sunday, Clare left her home, much to her father’s annoyance, cut her hair and took the veil and vows. After spending time in a couple of Benedictine communities, she established her own religious family in a building next to San Damiano, located on the flanks of Subasio. This became the Order of the Poor Ladies, now known as the Poor Clares, a community based on the Franciscan way of life.This new order did not live a mendicant lifestyle like the Franciscans, chiefly because it was not considered a suitable one for women. Instead, they devoted themselves to prayer, manual work and complete silence . . . well, most of the time. They also went around barefoot. St Clare died on 11 August 1253. Pope Pius XIII declared her to be the patron saint of television in 1958. Why? When she was ill, Clare was able to hear and see the Mass on a wall in her room. How did this happen, we know not. It was a miracle!Just as St Clare was able to participate in the services via miraculous means, and from a distance, so too are we. Indeed, modern technology is just as mysterious, miraculous and utterly unfathomable! St Clare’s experience encourages us to make the most of what we have been given, whether it be via the internet, or simply by watching ‘Songs of Praise’ on TV, or listening to a recorded evensong on the radio. There is nothing new under the sun . . .Nick Baker
