Last Sunday was Refreshment Sunday – traditionally a break in the austerity of Lent. Flowers can return to church and the liturgical colour changes to pink. Refreshment Sunday has become Mothering Sunday with some of the same features of flowers and colour. We certainly have had ‘Refreshment Sunday’ but we weren’t able to partake in any of the refreshment which the fourth Sunday in Lent usually provides. Keeping a ‘holy’ Lent has more to do with seeking new ways of refreshment and stillness than it has to do with austerity and self-denial. Keeping a holy Lent is what prepares us for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus when death is finally defeated forever. If we rush Lent then we deprive ourselves of a part of Easter. It goes without saying that without the crucifixion there would have been no resurrection. This Lent, perhaps like never before, we are all experiencing restrictions which are in addition to our own disciplines and self-denial. In the past we could rely on the support of others as we undergo our chosen Lenten discipline; someone to talk to, someone to distract us when we’re feeling especially tempted by the chocolate or the biscuits; a bit of visiting or shopping or doing something with another. All these aren’t available this year. So then, how are we doing? Are we in a place where no amount of ‘refreshment’ Sundays, or otherwise, can compensate for the deprivation we are experiencing? Perhaps we have found, or are finding, new ways of feeling supported this Lent, for example new ways of praying or of being still or of keeping in contact with others? I am an advocate of ‘taking something on for Lent’ rather than giving something up. For me, taking on something stands a chance of becoming a lasting feature of life whilst giving up something meant that I spent the entire season thinking of what I was missing and I found myself simply counting down the days until the Easter indulgence. Although none of us is likely to consider giving up ‘seeing and hugging people’ for Lent we are all undergoing that discipline. And we won’t experience the relaxation of this on Easter Day. We are where we are for the sake of one another. What are we going to take from this time into the future? What have we learned about what is really important to us? What have we found out about ourselves? And how have we discovered Christ in new ways, in new situations and in unfamiliar territory? Without suffering there is no resurrection. May we continue a holy Lent in joyful expectation of new life. Dean Dianna
Click on this link to join Reverend Ian's Zoom Lent course, at 6pm on Wednesday, March 17th.<br><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2746581498?pwd%3DWjlIcHBydjdOOEEzZ2tBVDNyMFBaZz09&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw04Dx8RF79rOVPVn4PtJNIV">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2746581498?pwd=WjlIcHBydjdOOEEzZ2tBVDNyMFBaZz09</a>
Surprise #1: Homecoming is newHiraeth is a Welsh word which just doesn’t have an English translation. My best definition is ‘a longing or homesickness for a home that no longer exists, or a home that has never been’.Hiraeth is what I imagine many of the exiles would have felt, returning from Babylon to a home that no longer looked or functioned the same. Whilst the built environment would have been transformed, more significantly, their worship, community, every day life would also have felt so different.There are such strong echoes of this for us. As we come out of our exile in the form of lockdown, whilst our built environment might not have changed, we may rightly be apprehensive about whether our forms of worship, community, every day life will ever look the same again.We need to lament this. But we also need to channel our longing into the second part of hiraeth<font face="HelveticaNeue">: ‘the longing for a home that has never been’; that looks forwards not backwards - in anticipation of Haggai’s surprise message that ‘the latter glory of the house will be greater than the former’.</font>In <em>Little Gidding</em>, TS Eliot says ‘the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time’. It’s about seeing that whilst the landscape might be familiar, the Godscape is being transformed because He is doing a new thing; he calls us to see and join in.So embrace this Welsh concept of hiraeth: lament for the home and life that is unlikely to feel like it did: but long for the new one which shall surprise you as you open your eyes and behold it; the one whose glory, says Haggai, will be greater than the former.
The Last Word, a section where we feature an inspirational or memorable quote from some of the great figures in church life and beyond, has become a popular part of our weekly Pews News. So much so, that we're going to feature them in their own little section of our website so readers can refer to them when they want and with ease.You'll find them in the section marked The Last Word and predictably it's near the bottom of the main page index so it is, indeed, the Last Word.
