Use Words

This Pentecost the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling on the Church to pray for those who have not yet encountered the love of God in Jesus Christ. They are calling on us to:

USE WORDS           (click on link)

It's a great initiative because so many people tell me how concerned they are about new people coming and yet they are rarely seen acting upon this concern. Some will tell me how they just can't share their faith and get all wound up with self-condemnation and guilt. The response to this is always that the most important thing is the desire to see people come to faith and see this combined with intelligent, persistent prayer.

So I can't tell you just how pleased and excited I am that the 'Use Words' initiative has hit my screen especially because (and I quote):


The word ‘evangelism’ means sharing good news.

For Christians, it means sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ – what he has done for us, and what he continues to do in our lives.

What does that mean in practice? 

It means introducing the people around us to Jesus. We do this by how we live our lives and how we relate to one another. But we can also do it by how we express our faith in conversation.

Jesus did all of this so well, and he invites us to share the gospel not just in actions but in words too.

The website (http://www.usewords.org/) has been created to help Christians find those words.  It’s being launched with a call to prayer for evangelism by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York – please find out more and think about joining us.

But this is not a one-off, or a campaign, or a PR stunt.

It’s about praying continually that more and more people will become followers of Jesus Christ – and asking God to work among us to bring about this transformation in other people’s lives. If you’ve never prayed for evangelism before, there are so many ways you can.

Whether you’re praying alone, with a small group of friends, or with your whole church, you’ll find prayers for asking God to bring the knowledge and reality of Jesus Christ to all kinds of people.

How amazingly cool is this?

According to many* around me, St Francis' of Assisi told us to go and evangelise - using words if necessary, and whilst I have tried to live by this principle words I am aware that many around me have taken them to be an excuse for silence rather than as a spur for less words and more action. Hopefully and actively engaged AND praying Church will come out of this exciting move from the blokes at the top of the tree.

Pax

* he never did by the way!

Morning Prayer - Mar 24

Walter Hilton of Thurgarton, Augustinian Canon, Mystic, 1396
Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, Martyr, 1980
Paul Couturier, Priest, Ecumenist, 1953

Psalm 5
Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my lamentation. Hearken to the voice of my crying, my King and my God, for to you I make my prayer. In the morning, Lord, you will hear my voice; early in the morning I make my appeal to you, and look up. For you are the God who takes no pleasure in wickedness; no evil can dwell with you. The boastful cannot stand in your sight; you hate all those that work wickedness. You destroy those who speak lies; the bloodthirsty and deceitful the Lord will abhor. But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy, I will come into your house; I will bow down towards your holy temple in awe of you.  Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness, because of my enemies; make your way straight before my face. For there is no truth in their mouth, in their heart is destruction, their throat is an open sepulchre, and they flatter with their tongue.

Punish them, O God; let them fall through their own devices. Because of their many transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them sing out their joy for ever. You will shelter them, so that those who love your name may exult in you. For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous; and with your favour you will defend them as with a shield.

Psalm 7
O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me, Lest they rend me like a lion and tear me in pieces while there is no one to help me. O Lord my God, if I have done these things: if there is any wickedness in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil, or plundered my enemy without a cause, then let my enemy pursue me and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my honour in the dust.

Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies. Awaken, my God, the judgement that you have commanded. Let the assembly of the peoples gather round you; be seated high above them: O Lord, judge the nations. Give judgement for me according to my righteousness, O Lord, and according to the innocence that is in me.

Let the malice of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God. God is my shield that is over me; he saves the true of heart. God is a righteous judge; he is provoked all day long. If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent his bow and made it ready. He has prepared the weapons of death; he makes his arrows shafts of fire. Behold those who are in labour with wickedness, who conceive evil and give birth to lies. They dig a pit and make it deep and fall into the hole that they have made for others. Their mischief rebounds on their own head; their violence falls on their own scalp.

I will give thanks to the Lord for his righteousness, and I will make music to the name of the Lord Most High.

Genesis 47.1-27
So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, ‘My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen.’ From among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, ‘What is your occupation?’ And they said to Pharaoh, ‘Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were.’ They said to Pharaoh, ‘We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, we ask you, let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.’ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.’

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, ‘How many are the years of your life?’ Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The years of my earthly sojourn are one hundred and thirty; few and hard have been the years of my life. They do not compare with the years of the life of my ancestors during their long sojourn.’ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and granted them a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependants.

Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. When the money from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, ‘Give us food! Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.’ And Joseph answered, ‘Give me your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.’ So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him, ‘We cannot hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Shall we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh; just give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.’

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh’s. As for the people, he made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, ‘Now that I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land. And at the harvests you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.’ They said, ‘You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh.’ So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.

Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen; and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly.

Hebrews 4.14-5.10
Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honour, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’;

as he says also in another place,
‘You are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Collect
Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Same Sex Marriage and plenty of Jerks to be found

Most of them a combination of the knee and/or mindset variety!

Yes I know what those two überpointyhats, Justin and John, said at synod and I know that the house of purple have agreed that this is to be their view and so I have a few suggestions:

1. Would those who are screaming that this is all thrown in the bin and the bishops are opposed by all means necessary (especially with the threat of law*) to make the church conform to the wishes of 'everyone'* please pack it in now.

2. Would those who are celebrating 'a great victory' please remember that behind the words and actions are people who feel that their church might just be making decisions that act against that which they feel is right.

3. Would those who claim they are behaving in an acceptable manner because that's what 'they' would have done if it had gone 'their way'*** seek only to display the paucity of their own Christian understanding - for 'get them before they get you' or 'treat them the way they'd have treated you' are both unacceptable approaches.

4. Let's see how ubi caritas can be more than a catchy song tile and get down to embracing those with whom we might differ (and no Colin, I don't think there's a danger some of them will like it!).

I am frustrated that this is all (apparently) about rights and the call to responsibilities (personal and corporate), submission and living out the teaching of the Church as living examples are all passing some by. We behave more and more like some secular (un)Friendly Society than a bunch of people who are called to unity, love and witness. Where's the prayer? The Compassion? The act of being a paraclete?

So in a nutshell:

STOP IT!

And pray for this man

* Think I've found something in the Bible about taking people to law - says: 'don't'

** Here 'everyone' is taken as meaning 'me and those who think like me'

***This isn't about having gone one way or the other as I understand it, merely the most unusual step of unequivocal 

Daily Office - Apr 19

Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012

Psalm 107
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, for his steadfast love endures for ever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, those he redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

And gathered out of the lands from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

Some went astray in desert wastes and found no path to a city to dwell in.

Hungry and thirsty, their soul was fainting within them.

So they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress.

He set their feet on the right way till they came to a city to dwell in.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and the wonders he does for his children.

For he satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with good.

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound fast in misery and iron,

For they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.

So he bowed down their heart with heaviness; they stumbled and there was none to help them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

He brought them out of darkness and out of the shadow of death, and broke their bonds asunder.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and the wonders he does for his children.

For he has broken the doors of bronze and breaks the bars of iron in pieces.

Some were foolish and took a rebellious way, and were plagued because of their wrongdoing.

Their soul abhorred all manner of food and drew near to the gates of death.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

He sent forth his word and healed them, and saved them from destruction.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and the wonders he does for his children.

Let them offer him sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.

Those who go down to the sea in ships and ply their trade in great waters,

These have seen the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.

For at his word the stormy wind arose and lifted up the waves of the sea.

They were carried up to the heavens and down again to the deep; their soul melted away in their peril.

They reeled and staggered like a drunkard and were at their wits’ end.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.

He made the storm be still and the waves of the sea were calmed.

Then were they glad because they were at rest, and he brought them to the haven they desired.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and the wonders he does for his children.

Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

The Lord turns rivers into wilderness and water springs into thirsty ground;

A fruitful land he makes a salty waste, because of the wickedness of those who dwell there.

He makes the wilderness a pool of water and water springs out of a thirsty land.

There he settles the hungry and they build a city to dwell in.

They sow fields and plant vineyards and bring in a fruitful harvest.

He blesses them, so that they multiply greatly; he does not let their herds of cattle decrease.

He pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes.

They are diminished and brought low, through stress of misfortune and sorrow,

But he raises the poor from their misery and multiplies their families like flocks of sheep.

The upright will see this and rejoice, but all wickedness will shut its mouth.

Whoever is wise will ponder these things and consider the loving-kindness of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 7.12-end
If you heed these ordinances, by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you. You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock. The Lord will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?’ do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the Lord your God will send the pestilence against them, until even the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed. Have no dread of them, for the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to make a quick end of them, otherwise the wild animals would become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will give them over to you, and throw them into great panic, until they are destroyed. He will hand their kings over to you and you shall blot out their name from under heaven; no one will be able to stand against you, until you have destroyed them. The images of their gods you shall burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or the gold that is on them and take it for yourself, because you could be ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. Do not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You must utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.

Ephesians 3.1-13
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.

The Collect
Merciful God,
who raised up your servant Alphege
to be a pastor of your people
and gave him grace to suffer for justice and true religion:
grant that we who celebrate his martyrdom
may know the power of the risen Christ in our hearts
and share his peace in lives offered to your service;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.