In the spirit of kindness, thoughtfulness and fellowship how can we help someone this winter? The nights are now pulling in and we are all feeling the chill as we hunker down and get ready for winter. It is an exciting time to change the T shirts to jumpers and open toes to boots, light fires, eat soups and watch the leaves fall from the trees to redefine the landscape. But it can also be a time of huge anxiety for many; winter can put a heavier strain on some more than others, the very old, the very poor and the very sick. So the question is: In the spirit of kindness, thoughtfulness and fellowship how can we help someone this winter? Simple things we can do for others really can make a huge difference to someone’s life as St Paul said: “Carry one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” Galatians 6: 2 Few of us need to look very far to find someone who would be better for a little encouragement a helping hand in someway or just simply some human contact in the form of regular conversation. We must not get hung up on our own burdens and forget others, remember that it is easier to carry two heavy shopping bags than one, because they balance. So as winter approaches look out for those in need it is what we do that means so much more than what we say and a community full of kindness, thoughtfulness and fellowship is also one of love. Rev Em x
On Saturday 28th September, in St. Botolphs church, Colchester, Revd Emma Barr, who has served in our parishes since last summer as curate, was ordained priest, along with 5 other colleagues for the Colchester area. In a beautiful service, full of deep meaning, Bishop Roger, welcomed them into the priesthood, and Janet Nichols, the diocesan rural adviser and agricultural chaplain preached.Following her ordination, on Sunday 29th September, there was a special united service in Little Horkesley, with Emma presiding at her first communion. In token of our appreciation for all that Emma brings to the ministry in the 6 parishes, a small gift was given, and the service was followed by a splendid lunch and lots of cake in the village Hall.A fine weekend of celebrations, to mark this important step on Emmas journey.
Daniel 12:1-3; Hebrews 10:11-14; 19-25; Mark 13:1-8In this passage there are four key words spoken by Jesus “Do not be alarmed,” He says. That’s the first thing I want to say about today’s gospel reading. And it’s the same thing Jesus told the disciples. “Do not be alarmed.” Do not be frightened. Jesus also told the disciples that although the world as we know it will come to an end, this is more about a beginning, the birthing of new life. He’s describing a movement toward wholeness, fullness, and completion. Towards his return, his second coming.Although it might seem that Jesus is talking about gloom and doom, the focus of these verses is of “making all things new.” And I think it’s exactly what we need to hear these days when it looks as if so many things are coming apart at the seams. Day by day we too hear of wars, floods, earthquakes … most of the news we are presented with on TV or on social media is not good news, and we might be praying day after day for God to intervene, to stop all these awful things happening. And he will, but it might not be until Jesus returns that all the evil in the world is overcome.Although it might not feel like it, today’s gospel overflows with good news for today, for now. What we’ve heard in the passage might seem difficult to understand, and challenging to know how to apply it to our lives, but it’s worth our attention and effort. It is a gospel message about hope. It’s a gospel about opportunities and possibilities. It’s a gospel about finding meaning and new life. It’s a gospel about your future and my future. And who among us doesn’t sometimes wonder, worry, or even become alarmed about our future and the future of the world?But this passage from Mark’s Gospel was not meant to make us worry about the future. It was written to offer comfort to first century believers who were struggling to make sense of their world and their lives. We have the same struggles, so this passage gives us comfort as well. When Jesus spoke to the disciples about the destruction of the temple, all the stones of the buildings being thrown down, the troubles leading up to that day and of the signs that the terrible day would be upon them, he was speaking to both their generation and ours. We live in the time and space between Christ’s ascension and his return, and in this time we will experience the same circumstances that Jesus promised his disciples. We will experience false prophets, wars and rumours of wars, natural disasters and persecution.Jesus describes this time as ‘the beginning of birth pangs.’When a woman is in labour, her contractions are infrequent at first and then become more frequent as the baby comes closer to entering the world. In the same way the signs of the end times will be infrequent at first but will escalate to massive and tragic proportions just before Christ’s return.Let’s look at the passage in a bit more detail and see what it has to say to us today.At the beginning Jesus and his disciples are coming out of the temple in Jerusalem, presumably after going there for a time of worship, and on their way out one of the disciple’s comments on how magnificent the buildings around him are. ‘Look, (he says to Jesus), what large stones and what large buildings!’The temple in Jerusalem would have been a very large building, with expert craftsmanship, and high-quality building materials – it would indeed have been a wonder to see. And it was sited inside Jerusalem – a beautiful walled and fortified city. Perhaps that disciple was sharing his deep sense of pride and security, and was, I’m sure, not expecting the reply that Jesus gave him! ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’Jesus is speaking prophetically about what is going to happen before he comes again to restore our world to the way it should be. What do the large buildings in our lives, our world represent to us? It makes me think of the parable about the foolish man who built his house on the sand. We used to think that St Paul’s cathedral, or Nelson’s column were tall, but now, around the world, there are some impressive sky-scrapers!A bit of a history lesson! - the world's tallest man-made structure was the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, which held the position for over 3800 years until the construction of Lincoln Cathedral in 1311. The Strasbourg Cathedral in France, completed in 1439, was the world's tallest building until 1874.The first building considered to be a skyscraper was the 138 ft Home Insurance Building, built in Chicago in 1885. The United States would remain the location of the world's tallest buildings throughout the 20th century until 1998, when the Petronas Towers were completed. Since then, two other buildings have gained the title: Taipei 101 in 2004 and Burj Khalifa in 2010 in Dubai. To put these buildings heights in context, St Paul’s is 365 feet high, the Eiffel Tower in 1020 feet high (the Shard is just a bit shorter at 1016 feet), and the tallest building? The Burj Khalifa is 2,717 feet high – that’s nearly half a mile high!What do these buildings represent in our lives, in our world? Wealth, prestige, selfish ambition, status, self-reliance, pride, injustice,Jesus reminded the disciples that buildings are only stones and bricks. What really matters is what goes on inside. Not inside the buildings, but inside us. What do we build our lives upon? Where do we put our faith, our hope, our trust?Even if the things in our lives that we felt were secure, fall apart, we can still, and always trust God to be with us. He is with us through all the ups and downs of life. He is with us through any painful times and struggles we might be going through. And his grace can bring good things out of bad times.As I was preparing this talk I couldn’t stop thinking about Coventry cathedral and what happened to that building during WW2. I think it might have some relevance to us today.Coventry Cathedral is most famously known for being bombed during WW2, which left the Cathedral and much of the city centre in ruins.From this comes the story of Coventry Cathedral's ministry of reconciliation, which begins the day after the destruction of the Old Cathedral on the 14th November 1940. Provost Dick Howard (who led the Cathedral during WW2) made a commitment to not seek revenge, but to strive for forgiveness and, ultimately, reconciliation with those responsible, which at the time was seen to be very radical thinking, as we were still at war with Germany.After the Blitz, two symbols emerged from the rubble: two charred roof-beams which had fallen in the shape of a cross were bound and placed at the site of the ruined altar, and three medieval roof nails were also formed into a cross, which became the original Cross of Nails (now located at the High Altar in the new Cathedral).During the BBC radio broadcast from the Cathedral ruins on Christmas Day 1940, six weeks after the Blitz, Provost Dick Howard declared that when the war was over we should work with those who had been enemies ‘to build a kinder, more Christ Child-like world.’From the destruction, a vision for peace building and reconciliation work rose from the ashes which is at the heart of Coventry Cathedral’s mission to this day.Jesus came with a transforming power to bring peace, healing and reconciliation to our world, and this is exemplified in the ministry of Coventry cathedral.So what can we do? What can we take away from the Bible passage, and this story, to help ourselves and our world?God’s answer to trouble, and worries is trust. He wants us to trust him in times of trouble, when we can’t make sense of all the bad things that are happening in our world.We can trust God that our relationship with him, through Jesus who gave his life for each of us - our Christian faith, can never be destroyed. Just like the charred beams and cross of nails in Coventry cathedral – somethings can never be destroyed.We can know this, and be reassured by it, but what can we do to play our part?It’s all about the gospel, the good news about Jesus. It’s not a time to be complacent and feel that there is nothing we can do to change the awful things in the world. It’s a time to say more, to be more bold in sharing our Christian faith with others. And a time to do more, for us to display a Christ-like way of living to the people around us. And a time to pray more, to strengthen our connection with God through prayer, and to pray into those situations where we might think we have little impact, but our prayers could. So, a reminder that this passage is not about doom and gloom but about hope and trust.And the four key words that I mentioned, that were spoken by Jesus “Do not be alarmed.” God is up to stuff that is beyond our ability to understand. All we need to do is say more, do more, and pray more, and leave the rest to God.
