Epifanny - Christmas ends - Revelation complete

Last year one of the children in a school I do assemblies at gave me a picture with three green things with brightly coloured humps, a supernova and what looked like an octopus. Underneath the illustration was the word 'epifanny'

I was impressed for the images (for the child at least) was three camels (complete with'kings') heading towards a star underneath which the baby Jesus (the octopus) was to be found. They knew the word and who the epifanny was for - the three non-believing types on the camels. This was their moment of 'sudden' (I love that thought for how long had they been travelling?) and 'great' revelation of God's solution to all the world's problems.

Last night the tree and decorations were packed away and all that remains is a manger, which this morning found its congregation added to by three geezers on camels - it is indeed Epifanny! Well OK, it is actually epiphany but who cares how the spelling goes - it's knowing what it is the most important bit, we can deal with the letters later.

One of the family treasures we have has to be a wonderful glass nativity for when I see it I remember the man who made it (and his wife) and pray for them both; I remember God's gift to us and how the marginalised (shepherds) and the world ( found in well off and intellectually able Magi) teach me that God's gives to those who are near and far off from Him. How God seeks relationship with those who have and (most importantly) those who have nothing.

The fact that the outcast, smell, poor were the first to see His solution cheers me greatly.

The fact that intelligent people who had no relationship with God sought the truth (and I know some who pose as intelligent and able who, in reading their books or listening to them on radio, who do the very opposite) found it in Jesus, cheers me (that's the engineer and scientist in me I guess).

So here's a piece of music and some bits of glass to help you celebrate Epiphany:

Daily Office - Jan 5

Psalm 8
O Lord our governor, how glorious is your name in all the world!
Your majesty above the heavens is praised out of the mouths of babes at the breast.
You have founded a stronghold against your foes, that you might still the enemy and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have ordained,
What is mn, that you should be mindful of him; the son of man, that you should seek him out?
You have made him little lower than the angels and crown him with glory and honour.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands and put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.
O Lord our governor, how glorious is your name in all the world!

Psalm 48
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, in the city of our God.
His holy mountain is fair and lifted high, the joy of all the earth.
In Mount Zion, the divine dwelling place, stands the city of the great king.
In her palaces God has shown himself to be a sure refuge.
For behold, the kings of the earth assembled and swept forward together.
They saw, and were dumbfounded; dismayed, they fled in terror.
Trembling seized them there; they writhed like a woman in labour, as when the east wind shatters the ships of Tarshish.
As we had heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, the city of our God: God has established her for ever.
We have waited on your loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of your temple.
As with your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is full of justice.
Let Mount Zion rejoice and the daughters of Judah be glad, because of your judgements, O Lord.
Walk about Zion and go round about her; count all her towers; consider well her bulwarks; pass through her citadels, that you may tell those who come after that such is our God for ever and ever.
It is he that shall be our guide for evermore.

Isaiah 62
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
   and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
   and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
   and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
   that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
   and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
   and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
   and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
   and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
   so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
   so shall your God rejoice over you.
Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
   I have posted sentinels;
all day and all night
   they shall never be silent.
You who remind the Lord,
   take no rest,
and give him no rest
   until he establishes Jerusalem
   and makes it renowned throughout the earth.
The Lord has sworn by his right hand
   and by his mighty arm:
I will not again give your grain
   to be food for your enemies,
and foreigners shall not drink the wine
   for which you have laboured;
but those who garner it shall eat it
   and praise the Lord,
and those who gather it shall drink it
   in my holy courts.

Go through, go through the gates,
   prepare the way for the people;
build up, build up the highway,
   clear it of stones,
   lift up an ensign over the peoples.
The Lord has proclaimed
   to the end of the earth:
Say to daughter Zion,
   ‘See, your salvation comes;
his reward is with him,
   and his recompense before him.’
They shall be called, ‘The Holy People,
   The Redeemed of the Lord’;
and you shall be called, ‘Sought Out,
   A City Not Forsaken.’

John 2.13-end
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.

He told those who were selling the doves,
‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’
His disciples remembered that it was written,
‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’

The Jews then said to him,
‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’

Jesus answered them,
‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’

The Jews then said,
‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’

But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.

The Collect
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image
and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Church Report (1): sets low standard - fails to achieve?

This year as I prepare to engage with churches who are seeking to be more effective (a contentious concept in itself) in terms of being church I have been thinking about how people measure 'good' church and what parameters people use. I'd like to consider the top two of these here today and they are interchangeable in their occupancy of the 'worst' consideration spot. So here goes:

Let's begin with numbers, something that is, and has been, the gold standard for many; and perhaps for always. For as long as I have been in church clergy have struggled to raise their ASA (Average Sunday Attendance) and diocesan staff, when visiting, asked the question, 'And what's your congregation size?' have underpinned the importance of numbers.

Of course, when pressed the response is that, 'Numbers don't matter as much as mission,' but that's only true until we come to the next of the parameters, which if (of course) money!

Money is never important (unless you don't have any that is) but if you can't pay you will soon hear someone utter the harsh words, ' . . then you can't have' somewhere in a conversation. All of this is most understandable because, at the end of the day, bills have to be paid and bank accounts have to be balanced and the need to 'cut one's coat according to one's cloth' is essential.

Now I'm sure I will offend or upset someone, somewhere, over what I am about to say (or perhaps already have by selecting numbers and money as areas of import) but I need to let the things running around my head escape lest the cause my bonce to explode!

Comfortable church
I have been in a number of churches where the congregation size was both comfortable and consistent and this meant that church just pottered on without needing to panic, especially because it was also financially comfortable, or seek to bring people in. This is the first mistake that many church members (including the clergy) seem to make for they assume we only need to grow the church when numbers, or ability to pay, become an issue (and of course the latter is a product of the former). Successful church is one that exists for itself is the message here.

Confused church
Another church model, spurred on perhaps by church growth champions, seeks to add to their number but doesn't have a clue why? They don't mention the Gospel and don't 'push' Jesus but work hard at getting people in and swelling their average congregation sizes. Some of those I met last year were doing stuff in the community but struggled to keep the words 'church, Jesus, Christian' and many other 'off putting' words off the billing. They didn't talk about Jesus, they didn't share their reason gor serving the community (which surely is simple - He came to be 'servant to all' and likewise so do we!).

Another group had been fired up by a visit from an expert who told them that they needed to grow their church. When I asked the ministry team what their core message and means were to be, the looked at me like I was from Mars (the planet, not the confectionary maker).  They were merely seeking to grow because that was what 'church was supposed to do'. As I outlined the process of presence ministry, development of relationships, bring people into a place where faith was made real, discipling and all the other stuff, they looked downcast. 'We were just looking to bring people in through events and fairs, not do all that,' moaned one of the team. Oddly, last time I spoke to the minister, they were still waiting to get started!

Skint church
There are many churches who would (or so it appears) be happy to pootle along being church for themselves but they (and oddly, it is always 'suddenly') find themselves faced with an inability to pay their bills and meet their commitments. The result is rarely a series of sermons and teaching on giving but a rallying of the troops to get out there and bring in more people so they in turn can bring in more money. I wish I could say that this is an isolated, far between, experience but this is probably one of the greatest spurs for a church to be 'seeking the lost'. Which brings me nicely on to the next category . .

Scalp church
No, not ministry for those challenged in the follicle department but those who see the role of church being that of 'winning scalps for Jesus'.  The positive side is that these folk preach the Gospel and do some fine teaching and often have good musicians too. The down side is that they tend to engage in 'transfer growth' (which is 'sheep stealing ' when the people joining them were once with you) techniques and much like David and the tale of the man who has many sheep but nicks the only sheep another has, these people exist for themselves rather than the wider body.

Now I'm sure some think that this is harsh but I have seen a number of churches where they able and active have been drawn away bu the bright lights, big names and the thrill of the 'bigger church'. This is probably one the most difficult outworking of the 'size really matters' fraternity for as much as one wants to celebrate big churches I find myself wonder what many have left to join and how many churches that would become effective if they were members they pass on the way to the 'Godfest International Gatherings'?

So there we are - a five minute splurge and as the old joke has it, 'I do feel a little better now!'

Let's hope I still do when I read it again later tonight.

Pax

Daily Office - Jan 4

Psalm 89.1-37
My song shall be always of the loving-kindness of the Lord:
with my mouth will I proclaim your faithfulness
throughout all generations.
I will declare that your love is established for ever;
you have set your faithfulness as firm as the heavens.
For you said: ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn an oath to David my servant:

‘ “Your seed will I establish for ever
and build up your throne for all generations.” ’

The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones;
For who among the clouds can be compared to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the host of heaven?
A God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and terrible above all those round about him.

Who is like you, Lord God of hosts?
Mighty Lord, your faithfulness is all around you.
You rule the raging of the sea;
you still its waves when they arise.
You crushed Rahab with a deadly wound
and scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
Yours are the heavens; the earth also is yours;
you established the world and all that fills it.
You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand and high is your right hand.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before your face.

Happy are the people who know the shout of triumph:
they walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance.
In your name they rejoice all the day long
and are exalted in your righteousness.
For you are the glory of their strength,
and in your favour you lift up our heads.
Truly the Lord is our shield;
the Holy One of Israel is our king.

You spoke once in a vision and said to your faithful people:
‘I have set a youth above the mighty; I have raised a young man over the people.
 ‘I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him.
‘My hand shall hold him fast and my arm shall strengthen him.
‘No enemy shall deceive him, nor any wicked person afflict him.
‘I will strike down his foes before his face and beat down those that hate him.
‘My truth also and my steadfast love shall be with him,and in my name shall his head be exalted.
‘I will set his dominion upon the sea and his right hand upon the rivers.
‘He shall call to me, “You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation;”
‘And I will make him my firstborn: the most high above the kings of the earth.
‘The love I have pledged to him will I keep for ever, and my covenant will stand fast with him.
‘His seed also will I make to endure for ever and his throne as the days of heaven.
‘But if his children forsake my law and cease to walk in my judgements,
‘If they break my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
‘I will punish their offences with a rod and their sin with scourges.
‘But I will not take from him my steadfast love nor suffer my truth to fail.
‘My covenant will I not break nor alter what has gone out of my lips.
‘Once for all have I sworn by my holiness that I will not prove false to David.
‘His seed shall endure for ever and his throne as the sun before me;
‘It shall stand fast for ever as the moon, the enduring witness in the heavens.’

Isaiah 61
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
   to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
   and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
   to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
   they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
   the devastations of many generations.
Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
   foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
but you shall be called priests of the Lord,
   you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
   and in their riches you shall glory.
Because their shame was double,
   and dishonour was proclaimed as their lot,
therefore they shall possess a double portion;
   everlasting joy shall be theirs.

For I the Lord love justice,
   I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
   and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
   and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
   that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
   my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
   he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
   and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
   and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
   to spring up before all the nations.

John 2.1-12
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there for a few days.

The Collect 
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image
and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Daily Office - Jan 3

Psalm 127
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord keeps the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
It is in vain that you hasten to rise up early and go so late to rest, eating the bread of toil,
for he gives his beloved sleep.

Children are a heritage from the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his gift.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.

Happy are those who have their quiver full of them:
they shall not be put to shame when they dispute with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128
Blessed are all those who fear the Lord, and walk in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the toil of your hands; it shall go well with you, and happy shall you be.
Your wife within your house shall be like a fruitful vine;
your children round your table,  like fresh olive branches.
Thus shall the one be blest who fears the Lord.
The Lord from out of Zion bless you, that you may see Jerusalem in prosperity all the days of your life.
May you see your children’s children, and may there be peace upon Israel.

Psalm 131
O Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not raised in haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters, with things that are too high for me.
But I have quieted and stilled my soul, like a weaned child on its mother’s breast;
so my soul is quieted within me.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, from this time forth for evermore.

Isaiah 60.13-end
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,
   the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary;
   and I will glorify where my feet rest.
The descendants of those who oppressed you
   shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you
   shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the Lord,
   the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,
   with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic for ever,
   a joy from age to age.
You shall suck the milk of nations,
   you shall suck the breasts of kings;
and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour
   and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
   instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze,
   instead of stones, iron.
I will appoint Peace as your overseer
   and Righteousness as your taskmaster.
Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
   devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
   and your gates Praise.
The sun shall no longer be
   your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
   give light to you by night;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
   and your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
   or your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
   and your days of mourning shall be ended.
Your people shall all be righteous;
   they shall possess the land for ever.
They are the shoot that I planted, the work of my hands,
   so that I might be glorified.
The least of them shall become a clan,
   and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord;
   in its time I will accomplish it quickly.

John 1.43-end
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

The Collect
Almighty God,
who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us
through your Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as he came to share in our humanity,
so we may share the life of his divinity;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Daily Office - Jan 2

Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishops, Teachers of the Faith, 379 and 389
Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Spiritual Guide, 1833
Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah, Bishop in South India, Evangelist, 1945

Psalm 18.1-30
I love you, O Lord my strength. The Lord is my crag, my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation and my stronghold.
I cried to the Lord in my anguish and I was saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entwined me and the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the Pit fastened about me and the snares of death entangled me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God for help.
He heard my voice in his temple and my cry came to his ears.
The earth trembled and quaked; the foundations of the mountains shook;
they reeled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils and a consuming fire went out of his mouth;
burning coals blazed forth from him.
He parted the heavens and came down and thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode upon the cherubim and flew; he came flying on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering round about him, dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.
From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds burst hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered out of heaven; the Most High uttered his voice with hailstones and coals of fire.
He sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he hurled down lightnings and put them to flight.
The springs of the ocean were seen,
and the foundations of the world uncovered at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your displeasure.
He reached down from on high and took me;
he drew me out of the mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy, from foes that were too mighty for me.
They came upon me in the day of my trouble;
but the Lord was my upholder.
He brought me out into a place of liberty;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
The Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me,
Because I had kept the ways of the Lord and had not gone wickedly away from my God,
For I had an eye to all his laws,
and did not cast out his commandments from me.
I was also wholehearted before him and kept myself from iniquity;
Therefore the Lord rewarded me after my righteous dealing,
and according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
With the faithful you show yourself faithful;
with the true you show yourself true;
With the pure you show yourself pure,
but with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
For you will save a lowly people and bring down the high looks of the proud.
You also shall light my candle;
the Lord my God shall make my darkness to be bright.
By your help I shall run at an enemy host;
with the help of my God I can leap over a wall. R

Isaiah 60.1-12
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
   and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
   and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around;
   they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
   and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
   your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
   the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
   the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
   all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
   and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you,
   the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall be acceptable on my altar,
   and I will glorify my glorious house.

Who are these that fly like a cloud,
   and like doves to their windows?
For the coastlands shall wait for me,
   the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from far away,
   their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
   and for the Holy One of Israel,
   because he has glorified you.
Foreigners shall build up your walls,
   and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you down,
   but in my favour I have had mercy on you.
Your gates shall always be open;
   day and night they shall not be shut,
so that nations shall bring you their wealth,
   with their kings led in procession.
For the nation and kingdom
   that will not serve you shall perish;
   those nations shall be utterly laid waste.

John 1.35-42
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

The Collect
Lord God,whose servants Basil and Gregory
proclaimed the mystery of your Word made flesh,
to build up your Church in wisdom and strength:
grant that we may rejoice in his presence among us,
and so be brought with them to know the power of your unending love;
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.

Reading out loud on a train journey

Now I don't know about you but one of the things I would never do is read out loud when sitting on a train. There are of course those who don't need a mobile telephone because surely they are shouting loud enough to be heard by the other person without the need for assistance, but that's a different story.

Consider this scenario:
There you are sitting on a train and the person opposite you suddenly looks up (you probably don't know them, or if you do, not that well) and starts reading their book out loud, what would you do? Would you:

a. Move,

b. Tell them to shut up,

c. Start sucking your thumb and get comfortable because it's 'story time', or

d. Would you put your earpods in and turn up the volume on your digital music device?

Well I don't use the train that much so that's not something I'm really going to experience but I do have to endure a parallel to this in the number of time that I might go to a social media site and find someone I know (generally not that well) has posted a whole gobbet of a book they are reading onto the page. Often it is some trite tosh from one of the big haired, well-meaning, well-heeled American televangelists, you most likely know what I mean (and if you don't, one recently went a bit like this:

"Be of good cheer for God hears and sees and He is here and you are not alone in your struggles so keep yourself firm and stable for God has your deliverance planned. What you are experiencing now is only in the now but God has you placed in the eternity of Hos being and your being and His are one. . . . "

Now, I wasn't experiencing anything until I read that and then the clouds appeared and the growing sense of 'being read to' crept up on me and so, like those who greet their neighbour with a loud shout in the morning, I was niggled and frustrated. So I hid them author and continued.

Then, on Christmas day, another well meaning person posted today's reading and began to shout about the naming and circumcision of Jesus! Now I don't wish to be churlish here but I was actually enjoying a Christmas morning and the cord had not long been cut when there we were naming and circumcising Him! Then, to place a cherry on the cake, the self same person sent me a passage which saw Jesus marking up the road to Golgotha!

'Blimey' (thought I) 'Can't I enjoy the birth of Jesus, the Christ-child, for just a few hours before I marvel at the gift of life he has given me through the Cross? Can't I marvel at the gift of life that is Jesus and be thankful to the Father for this outworking of His love?

And of course the answer is a resounding 'NO" because the phone wobbled and there the same person was again  this time with:

'The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion To judge the mountain of Esau, And the kingdom will be the LORD'S.' (Obad 1)

Got to be honest, by now I was thinking extremely black thoughts - so I put the phone away and continued being both blessed and (hopefully) a blessing.

But here is a simple plea for 2013:

If you are reading a book and enjoying it, then I am pleased for you - I don't need you to read it to me!

If you have a Bible passage that is doing something in your life, then I am happy to hear it, but unless you are going to contextualise it and put flesh on the situation, the passage and the ways that it is meeting your needs - then don't just post the blessed thing because it more than likely means nothing to me and does nothing for me!

And if you ignore these two simple requests you might just find that you get a response that sits badly with the place you are in.

A 'for instance' - recently out of the blue someone posted:

'The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.' 

(ps 34)

And appeared to be most upset when they received the response, 'Well that's good news for QPR supporters tonight then!'

If you read out loud you will have to expect contextually ambiguous responses - 2013 is the year of them and gentle warnings:

Pax

Daily Office - Jan 1

The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus

Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits;

Who forgives all your sins and heals all your infirmities;
Who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with faithful love and compassion;
Who satisfies you with good things,  so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.

The Lord executes righteousness and judgement for all who are oppressed.
He made his ways known to Moses and his works to the children of Israel.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy,  slow to anger and of great kindness.
He will not always accuse us, neither will he keep his anger for ever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,  nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy upon those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,  so far has he set our sins from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,so is the Lord merciful towards those who fear him.
For he knows of what we are made;  he remembers that we are but dust.
Our days are but as grass; we flourish as a flower of the field;
For as soon as the wind goes over it, it is gone, and its place shall know it no more.
But the merciful goodness of the Lord is from of old and endures for ever on those who fear him,
and his righteousness on children’s children;

On those who keep his covenant  and remember his commandments to do them.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven,  and his kingdom has dominion over all.

Bless the Lord, you angels of his, you mighty ones who do his bidding and hearken to the voice of his word.

Bless the Lord, all you his hosts,  you ministers of his who do his will.

Bless the Lord, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion;
bless the Lord, O my soul.

Genesis 17.1-13
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.’ Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.’

God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

Romans 2.17-29
But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relation to God and know his will and determine what is best because you are instructed in the law, and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, you, then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself?

While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

You that forbid adultery, do you commit adultery?

You that abhor idols, do you rob temples?

You that boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law?

For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’

Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So, if those who are uncircumcised keep the requirements of the law, will not their uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you that have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.

The Collect
Almighty God,
whose blessed Son was circumcised
in obedience to the law for our sake
and given the Name that is above every name:
give us grace faithfully to bear his Name,
to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit,
and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.