If ever there was a date to freak out a nation with the message of a further lock down you'd struggle to beat Halloween. Whoever leaked the conversations of 10 Downing Street last Friday played an act of comedic timing and if the news weren't so tragic, could have lined up as script from a new horror movie with Christmas truly spooked and any chance of celebrations more stuffed than the festive turkey. As someone not easily given to conspiracy theory I've sat with a degree of bewilderment as what to make of the sorry saga of COVID-19. In the early days I related to the concept of herd immunity camp, the idea that if enough of us get the virus then we could step into a level of normality and just get on with it - Sweden here we come. It sounded like a plan and one that had my attention. Enter Time magazine. 'The Swedish COVID-19 experiment of not implementing early and strong measures to safeguard the population has been hotly debated around the world, but at this point we can predict it is almost certain to result in a net failure in terms of death and suffering. As of Oct. 13, Sweden’s per capita death rate is 58.4 per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University data, 12th highest in the world (not including tiny Andorra and San Marino). But perhaps more striking are the findings of a study published Oct. 12 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which pointed out that, of the countries the researchers investigated, Sweden and the U.S. essentially make up a category of two: they are the only countries with high overall mortality rates that failed to rapidly reduce those numbers as the pandemic progressed.' Hmm... I mean you still may conclude that herd immunity is the best natural form of infection control we have - but it's not pain free and more recently antibody testing has shown that we don't retain antibodies for very long at all, which has resulted in people being re-infected with Covid which throws the herd immunity theory out of the water! So, in the light of low immunity we are back to management and the 3, soon to be 4 tier system and the play off between wrecking the economy and stopping the rising R rate. Politics aside - the whole saga's a bloody nightmare as the rest of Europe (remember the days when all we debated was Brexit) highlights. Anyhow, at some point last week the PM got spooked and it has nothing to do with any pumpkins carved in the Johnson household. Rather it was in the form of the latest presentation by SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) and the fact that behind closed doors, (as I understand the report is not in the public domain) the RWC (reasonable worst case) scenario of COVID-19 deaths for winter 2020 is way off the expected trajectory and needs a dramatic and significant alteration. When Conservative MP, and lock down skeptic Steve Baker appeared in Downing Street on Saturday afternoon his message to Sky News was stark, 'Boris Johnson has "very difficult choices to make", and urges members of the public and other MPs to "listen carefully" to what the prime minister has to say.' You can be reasonably confident that the news shared in Number 10 had stirred the pot as to what could certainly / possibly happen - and there's a fine balance when trying to manage the risk between certainty and possibility - especially when it involves the non-negotiable reality of death. Neither pause nor reverse are options in the world of COVID-19. So when Peter Hitchens columnist for the Mail tweets, 'The oddest thing about the Panicdemic is that nobody would know it existed if the Government and its mouthpiece the BBC did not constantly seek to terrify us into a state of servile fear.' and Palliative Care Doctor, Rachel Clarke replies: 'Hospital palliative care doctor here. Believe me, it could not be more real, Peter.' There's a reality on the ground that needs to act as a wake up call. Earlier that week the Spectator had published the leaked July 30 SAGE RWC analysis and I read it with interest understanding that the Cabinet is using this data to inform its decision making. Fraser Nelson, editor of Spectator wrote, '... we ran the whole document with every assumption in it. Some of them are quite important: for example, that the infection fatality ratio is 0.7 per cent. That is pretty important because it’s a death rate more than twice as high as the current consensus (0.3 per cent). SAGE seemed to be pushing the ‘worst case’ parameters to the max, yet its daily death projections are now dwarfed by the new 'scenarios'. Nelson continues, 'It's understandable that Boris Johnson should change his mind when presented with startling new evidence. But if he now seeks to persuade others, it would help him - and everyone - if he published that evidence.' Too damned right it would. It would help in numerous regards like: giving a perspective that neutralises some of the conspiracy theories doing their rounds; helping see clearly why we have to give up our liberties whilst wrecking the economy as the lesser of two evils; and seeking to unite a divided country based on leadership offered from a place of transparency, vulnerability, humility - but also hope. SAGE Leader and senior advisor, Sir Jeremy Farrar tweeted: 'No easy answers, no easy solutions. This is the worst crisis (outside war) any country has faced in 100yrs. There is light for the end of this pandemic, but we have 3-6 months to get through until we can change the fundamentals.’ It was in response to the new data from SAGE - kept hidden from the general public that led to the dramatic change from the PM this weekend. Again, Farrar tweeted: 'The best time to act was a month ago but these are very tough decisions which we would all like to avoid. The second-best time is now. The sooner we get on top of the disease, reduce transmission, r<1, the sooner we can get our society back to normal and the economy back on track.' It may be sometime before we get to see the full details of the latest modelling from the SAGE report - albeit the headlines were on display for all to see in the Press Conference on Saturday evening. But when figures of multiple thousands of deaths are being presented surely anyone around the table has to conclude: we can repair an economy - you can't resurrect a life. As our minds migrate towards Christmas a weary world awaits good news. Will we get back to the old normal? Will we sit around the Christmas dinner table with our loved ones? And then we pause to wonder where three years from now we will be? Queuing up for our bi-annual vaccine whilst browsing the internet booking our latest vacation grumbling at the extra surcharge for the COVID-19 test and pondering whether we can afford it when we've paid the new COVID-19 tax introduced to save the country from bankruptcy. But then if we do that in light of the fact that we and our loved ones scrapped through the two years of hell that was the COVID-19 era we'll be grateful to still be around to be spooked by the next challenge life throws our way.
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When COVID 19 first put the nation into lockdown there was a palpable fear on the streets of the UK. Images beamed from China and then Italy sent shivers down the spine. And then we watched as temporary hospitals and morgues were constructed in some of our most famous entertainment landmarks and parklands in preparation. It was a fearful time. Weeks locked inside our homes, distanced from those we love tested the mettle of a country who prides in a freedom offered to us through the sacrifice of those who gave their life during the major wars of the previous century. There was talk of revival in the church, a great awakening as numbers of online viewers soared and those of us pastors trying to navigate the season positioned our sermons around the love and peace that Christ can bring. And now, some months later and as lockdown eases whilst conversations around second waves abound, one is left with an unshakable truth - fear has never won anyone to Christ. Across the Western world viewing figures for online services are falling. Leaders are anxious to reopen their buildings; we long for a new sense of normal. But the great awakening that the fear of COVID threatened didn’t quite arrive. Now don’t get me wrong, many people have been helped, faith has been rekindled, hearts have been changed. For some faith seekers the online experience has opened a previously closed door. But now a deeper question is at work - will the reformed habits of lockdown have a negative effect on those who might return to our congregations? Can we navigate the world without our need for church? It is a question that pastors are forced to ask. Fear has always been a poor motivator for action. Rather like the idea of preaching hell is at the heart of the gospel. As David Bentley Hart noted, ‘If St Paul really believed that the alternative to life is Christ is eternal torment, it seems fairly careless of him to have omitted any mention of the fact.’ If the church is to move forward from COIVD then it must move from fear as a motivator and cast vision instead. The glorious passages of scripture are those that draw us to Jesus for who he is - and for what he commissions us to do. I belong to church not to alleviate my fears but to deal with my selfishness. I come not to be blessed but to be a blessing. The call of Christ is not to my comfort (that is on offer, you understand) but to my humanity - that in serving Christ I lay down my life as He lay down his. If we come to Christ out of fear, then once our fears are dealt we can simply walk away. But if I follow Christ out of a magnificent vision for the divine inhabiting humanity then I am drawn to worship and service and this has always been at the heart of the gospel. The good news is this - that as Jesus lay down his life for others then we who seek to follow would lay down ours in his service. The Church is at it’s best not when it’s speaking but when its serving. The Jesus who soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fears; is the Jesus who asks us to look beyond ourselves, and catch a fresh vision of Him. We follow the risen Jesus because in him we see the hope or new creation - a world re-imaged on the foundations of death and resurrection. If we can’t get past our own selfishness and see a life of service and dedication, then we have missed the purpose of the Church - and we have lost sight of the biblical Christ. Perhaps there is a new message that needs to be spoken on the dawn of a new normal which is not to do with fear but rather with courage, faith, and sacrifice. The call is not self-interest but self-denial - is it not in the laying down of our own lives, agendas and needs that we most fully embody the Jesus we follow? The intersection between faith and science has been strained by many a conflicting divide over the years, as was my own journey born out of the 'take it literally' camp of Bible teaching which lead me as a naive, hair permed youth pastor, getting evicted from lessons teaching creationism along with my good friend - and former student at the school, Jonathan. But a lot has changed over the past (I hesitate to write this next bit) three decades! Today's world is very different to what it was when I was doing theology in the lecture room all those years ago and the gap between faith and science has narrowed by quite some margin. So when today, the 2020 Templeton Prize Laureate (The Templeton Prize honors individuals who harness the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s purpose within it.) was handed to Francis Collins the reality of just how far things have progressed is clear. Collins work is best known for his ground breaking achievement on the human genome and today, with scientists from around the world he is helping to drive the race behind a vaccine and the therapies for the treatment of Covid 19. In his prepared statement of the Templeton Prize he writes: Why is there something instead of nothing? Is there a God? Does she or he care about me? What is the basis of morality? What is love? What is the meaning of life? Why is there so much suffering in this world? What happens after we die? Those are profound questions. Yet I paid little attention to them during my first quarter-century on this planet. I was a committed materialist who found little use for anything that could not be addressed by scientific experimentation. But when I transitioned from quantum mechanics to medical school, I found these questions hard to ignore while sitting next to the beds of the sick and dying, and science wasn’t much use in tackling them. People of faith seemed to claim wisdom in that domain, but I assumed those insights were based on superstition and fundamental misunderstanding of nature. Seeking to dismiss the faith perspective, I was stunned to discover a rich vein of philosophical and theological thinking. Atheism, the denial of the possibility of anything that science couldn’t measure, emerged as the most irrational and impoverished worldview. And to my amazement, pointers to a Creator began to appear in all sorts of places, even including scientific observations about the universe. Most importantly, the person of Jesus emerged as the most profound truth-teller I had ever encountered, and called on me to make a decision about my own belief. Collins decision about his own belief has been the constant driver of his life over many decades leading him to write 'The Language of God' in 2007 in which he puts forward his case for theistic evolution. He went onto to set up the organisation BioLogos which is the go to site for many of the world's top theologians and pastors such as John Ortberg, Tim Keller and N.T. Wright. The fact that Alpha international have now drawn the work of Collins into their course is testament to how much has changed in such a short time. If you've not challenged your own ideas around origins in sometime; if you've dismissed faith because of science, or if you've got kids who are drifting away from faith because they can't reconcile it with the modern world, you deserve it to both yourself and them to check out the work of Collins - this sharp minded, humble hearted man with the Rolls Royce brain has caused quite a stir which is far from over yet. You find further information about the Templeton Prize here - https://www.templetonprize.org/ Francis Collins work and collaboration at Bio Logos can be viewed here - https://biologos.org/ What is it about songs that at certain times the words pop into your head and you start singing them? Which is exactly what happened last week when I found myself humming the line from Elton John's song - Sorry, seems to be the hardest word. 'It's sad, so sad. It's a sad, sad situation and it's getting more and more absurd.' I wasn't sure whether to change the word 'sad' to 'mad' but in truth they both feel fitting in equal measure. I first noticed an article about Covid-19 in mid-December last year - it was about the sixth article as I glanced down and subconsciously wondered if it would grow as a story or fall away. Never would I have thought we would get to where we are today. Now the Coronavirus has crashed on our shores like an unwelcome tsunami and we are left in lock down to ponder on this unprecedented moment in our history with the simple question: What on earth is happening? I'm not easily given to conspiracy theories - I mean I am old enough to have lived through the millennium bug. I'm a Pastor and so my default position is to start from the simple and build up. Trust people, unless you are shown the reason not to; Work from the premise that original goodness precedes original sin; Understand that human nature is the nature of what it means to be human and so what you find in your own heart is what will be revealed in the hearts of others - save for the extent to which life has been shaped by our childhood. It's a general rule of thumb - but one that's stood me in good stead over the years. Oh, and of course in crisis we all revert to type - which can be worrying. So, when the internet started to churn out its theories around the pandemic I treated them with a 'healthy' degree a caution. Prophecy suddenly pops out of nowhere. People ask whether these are the End Times. Presumptions are made around the judgement of God. Theories surface that all of this is a master plan on part of China in its steps to world domination. I mean - what else are we to do with our time? Stay at home - and help save lives is the answer. Bill Gates was speaking about a global pandemic some years back with the overarching message - its' just a matter of time. So, I guess you could slip in a prophecy about it with a good chance of accuracy. Anyhow, that's not the point of my writing. Not many of us can change the global situation - well - we can stay home and help save lives - and that matters. But otherwise our level of influence is more restricted - and when you look at the decisions which need to me made, we are perhaps grateful for the fact that such weight doesn't rest on our shoulders. And let's pray for those on whom it does rest. For Christians we are journeying through lent, a time of inner reflection, of letting go and stripping away. One might conclude that the world is currently on the same journey. What are we left with when we deny ourselves - or indeed, find ourselves denied? It can be a scary road to take since the whole of society is built around our need to consume. In an article for Time Magazine this week, Professor N.T. Wright was asked to address this exact issue. In the piece, titled, Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It's Not Supposed To, I discovered he returned to a familiar theme - that of lament, suffering and the mystery of redemption. He writes, 'Lament is what happens when people ask, “Why?” and don’t get an answer. It’s where we get to when we move beyond our self-centred worry about our sins and failings and look more broadly at the suffering of the world.' He goes on, 'It’s bad enough facing a pandemic in New York City or London. What about a crowded refugee camp on a Greek island? What about Gaza? Or South Sudan?' It is rare in the West that we live though a time that is outside our control or face a challenge that money cannot fix. We may have faced this personally of course - divorce, bankruptcy, death, abuse - all of these bring a sense of utter terror and loss - but it doesn't impact the collective psyche of the nation. That's what war does - it's what this pandemic has the potential to do. So, lament at a time of national emergency is not an unusual response even when we don't know why. In fact, the deeper traditions of the Christian faith and indeed the Hebrew scriptures teach us that lament is gift we receive in response to letting go. It takes us deeper to the heart of things - our sense of loss becomes the gateway to a different type of comfort. Wright continues, 'The point of lament, woven thus into the fabric of the biblical tradition, is not just that it’s an outlet for our frustration, sorrow, loneliness and sheer inability to understand what is happening or why. The mystery of the biblical story is that God also laments. Some Christians like to think of God as above all that, knowing everything, in charge of everything, calm and unaffected by the troubles in his world. That’s not the picture we get in the Bible.' Lament in fact, as taught through the tradition of lent is not about loss as much as it is about re calibration- of building life around what matters. I mean what if the virus took God by surprise too? Or what if he doesn't control things in the way we think of control? And what if God's actions in the world are not born out of power but out of love? Perhaps these thoughts are difficult to grasp but is it a more biblical approach? What if God does not use a wand to realign the pain of the world - but instead uses a cross? And if so, what does that type of redemption look like and how does it flow through the world? Of Jesus himself, the Bible says: 'Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. (Hebrews 4:14-16 from the Message)' I fear that looking for answers in a time of crisis is something of a meaningless pursuit. It's difficult because we can see ambiguity as a lack of faith and a disruption to hope. We like to think in a linear way and see faith more like a train journey than a wandering. The problem is what happens when we get derailed and we have to navigate our way back home? I have discovered God to be more a travelling companion and guide than I have train driver. During a season of lament, I suggest we allow our actions to forge in us who are becoming rather than what we are achieving. All of a sudden people seem to have time to talk; acts of heroism are borne of unsung heroes rather than trite celebrity; a bag of shopping thoughtfully delivered is a demonstration of real love. And perhaps we can get to the place where speculation around what is happening and why is not as important as who I am becoming and for whom. In closing the words of Eric Liddell come to mind, 'Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God's plans. But God is not helpless among the ruins.' And maybe that is the journey of lament - the one of which lent speaks and maybe this is the greatest sense of hope each of us can take from the current madness all around us. If you didn't get chance to listen in full to the latest press briefing from the government on Thursday 12 March 2020 and you wonder what is happening - or not - especially when we look at other countries across Europe - then you probably ought to if only to be saved from sound bites which don't show the full picture (You can listen to it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UdqF_R1ziE&t=1511s). I've been trying to make sense of this in my own limited way and then came across a series to tweets by Professor Ian Donald (@iandonald_psych) which I found very helpful.
I'm not saying you should agree with it - but we owe it to ourselves to at least understand the strategic rationale behind it and his tweets are extremely informative in this regard and for that reason I wanted to share them. 15 Tweets by Professor Ian Donald. Psychologist: Social, & Environmental research, & behavioural factors in Anti-Microbial Resistance. Emeritus Professor, University of Liverpool. 1. The govt strategy on #Coronavirus is more refined than those used in other countries and potentially very effective. But it is also riskier and based on a number of assumptions. They need to be correct, and the measures they introduce need to work when they are supposed to. 2. This all assumes I'm correct in what I think the govt are doing and why. I could be wrong - and wouldn't be surprised. But it looks to me like. . . 3. A UK starting assumption is that a high number of the population will inevitably get infected whatever is done – up to 80%. As you can’t stop it, so it is best to manage it. There are limited health resources so the aim is to manage the flow of the seriously ill to these. 4. The Italian model the aims to stop infection. The UKs wants infection BUT of particular categories of people. The aim of the UK is to have as many lower risk people infected as possible. Immune people cannot infect others; the more there are the lower the risk of infection 5. That's herd immunity. Based on this idea, at the moment the govt wants people to get infected, up until hospitals begin to reach capacity. At that they want to reduce, but not stop infection rate. Ideally they balance it so the numbers entering hospital = the number leaving. 6. That balance is the big risk. All the time people are being treated, other mildly ill people are recovering and the population grows a higher percent of immune people who can’t infect. They can also return to work and keep things going normally - and go to the pubs. 7.The risk is being able to accurately manage infection flow relative to health case resources. Data on infection rates needs to be accurate, the measures they introduce need to work and at the time they want them to and to the degree they want, or the system is overwhelmed. 8. Schools: Kids generally won’t get very ill, so the govt can use them as a tool to infect others when you want to increase infection. When you need to slow infection, that tap can be turned off – at that point they close the schools. Politically risky for them to say this. 9. The same for large scale events - stop them when you want to slow infection rates; turn another tap off. This means schools etc are closed for a shorter period and disruption generally is therefore for a shorter period, AND with a growing immune population. This is sustainable 10. After a while most of the population is immune, the seriously ill have all received treatment and the country is resistant. The more vulnerable are then less at risk. This is the end state the govt is aiming for and could achieve. 11. BUT a key issue during this process is protection of those for whom the virus is fatal. It's not clear the full measures there are to protect those people. It assumes they can measure infection, that their behavioural expectations are met - people do what they think they will 12. The Italian (and others) strategy is to stop as much infection as possible - or all infection. This is appealing, but then what? The restrictions are not sustainable for months. So the will need to be relaxed. But that will lead to reemergence of infections. 13. Then rates will then start to climb again. So they will have to reintroduce the restrictions each time infection rates rise. That is not a sustainable model and takes much longer to achieve the goal of a largely immune population with low risk of infection of the vulnerable 14. As the government tries to achieve equilibrium between hospitalisations and infections, more interventions will appear. It's perhaps why there are at the moment few public information films on staying at home. They are treading a tight path, but possibly a sensible one. 15. This is probably the best strategy, but they should explain it more clearly. It relies on a lot of assumptions, so it would be good to know what they are - especially behavioural. Most encouraging, it's way too clever for #BorisJohnson to have had any role in developing. According to Bill Gates, 'In the past week, COVID-19 has started to behave a lot like the once-in-a-century pathogen we’ve been worried about. I hope it’s not that bad, but we should assume that it will be until we know otherwise.' For sure we're all now acting like it is and our conversations are freaking us out. The disruption it creates and the fear it instils is outside our normal experience in the West and is unprecedented in the lifetime of many of us. So what are we to do? Here are few thoughts as we journey together through unchartered waters. They are not in any particular order - and neither are they exhaustive but they are the things that are running through my mind at the moment.
Some spiritual stuff... Christ’s not just for Christmas - he’s also for crisis. (And other things too, of course but let’s stay on track). Jesus has come to us so we can draw close to him. If you’re a person of faith this matters. So how can you dig deeper into your faith at this time and how can it help you and others? A few thoughts .... Take time to connect with God and pay attention to your own spirituality. Consider the following as pathways to help with this.
If you are unsure then here’s a few ideas...
And finally for now, Jo came across these comments recently, ‘Listen to the medical experts and take appropriate measures (wash your hands etc). But we need to replace our fear with faith and pray for our nation, that God would protect us. Philippians 4 reminds us: 'Don't worry anything and pray about everything’ Our God is bigger than the coronavirus. So they are some of my thoughts – what helpful articles, scriptures, links etc have you found – please let me know in the comments below. The greatest call for a follower of Jesus is faithfulness and Revelation sets the context for what this means. When faced with hardship, compromise, persecution and martyrdom we are called to live as a faithful witness of Jesus. This is the issue that John's hearers faced. Dominated by the opposing might of the Empire they felt deeply the pressure to conform. In fact, they felt the pressure of the ‘beast of the sea’ all too strongly in their church communities. This coupled with the fact that the ‘beast of the land’ was trying to destroy them it is clear the pressure they were under, as the letter to Smyrna shows: 'I know your afflictions and your poverty – yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.' (Revelation 2:9-10). Stepping into Revelation brings you into a world of imagery and metaphor. Its purpose is to reveal that the visible realm is only part of the truth; another world exists alongside this one and John's intention is to allow his readers to see it, so they understand what is happening. There's a war going on - and the more you understand the better equipped you will be. As C.S. Lewis said, ‘There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan.’ Our response? Faithfulness. Or as the Apostle Paul said, ’Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.' (Ephesians 6:13). NT Wright says: 'As the early Christian movement grew, and developed momentum, further questions emerged. What was God doing now? What were his plans for the little churches dotted around the Mediterranean world? Where was it all going? In particular, why was God allowing followers of Jesus to suffer persecution? What line should they take when faced with the fastest growing ‘religion’ of the time, namely the worship of Caesar, the Roman emperor? Should they resist?’ It's in helping the believers to know what to do that chapters 12 to 14 of Revelation come into play. They are best seen as the cosmic struggle and understanding some of the symbolism behind the chapters brings to light this intention. (If you unfamiliar with these chapters it would be good at this point to read them before continuing). The Symbolism 'The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.' (Revelation 13:1). The dragon is enraged because it's not been able to destroy the child at the point of birth: 'The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.' (Revelation 12:4). The dragon then turns its anger towards the off spring of the child. The build up to this scene had started earlier in Chapter 12:1 when we read: 'A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.' The mother is seen to be a symbol of Eve, the mother of all living, or Israel the Messianic line of Christ or indeed, Mary herself. Whichever one, or indeed all these images, set the drama for a big showdown as the dragon comes onto the scene: ‘An enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its head.' (12:3). But the child is protected and 'snatched up to God and to his throne.' (12:5). And the dragon is thrown out of heaven and begins his pursuit of the child's offspring. ‘When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the snake’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the snake spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring – those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.’ (12:13-17). And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea to wait for the beasts to arrive. Peterson writes, ‘He [the dragon] recruits help from the underworld, two beasts, one out of the sea, the other out of the earth, to execute his malign will within the believing community, these people whom God commands and saves. St John’s scripture reading congregations have no trouble recognising the animals; the beasts are Leviathan and Behemoth portrayed in God’s whirlwind speech to Job as the ultimate in ferocity (see Job 40-41), but also known to be crushed and disposed of, no longer any threat to God’s rule.’ 'And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshipped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?’ (Revelation 13:1-4). The beast is powerful, and, 'given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling-place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.' (13:5-8). And so, from the sea he comes to make war against the people of God, which he does - and many of them are killed - martyred for the cause of Christ - and this is John's urgency. 'This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.' (13:10). But the sea beast is not alone. 'Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honour of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name' (13:11-16) Most people worship the sea beast and receive his mark and are allowed to trade - others refuse and as a result are either conquered or captured. What Does This Mean? So, what does all of this represent for these seven churches situated on the edge of Roman Empire? The image of the Sea Beast is drawn from Daniel 7 ‘2 Daniel said: ‘In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. 4 ‘The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. 5 ‘And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, “Get up and eat your fill of flesh!” 6 ‘After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. 7 ‘After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast – terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.’ (Daniel 7:2-7). So, Daniel sees this 4 beast sequence which immediately gets defeated by the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man. (Daniel 7:8-14). These beasts are now combined together in John's apocalypse. Again, we go back to Peterson, ‘Leviathan and Behemoth were awesome, but there is also an unmistakeable touch of the ludicrous in John’s description. The sea beast is a patchwork job, assembled from left over parts of leopard, bear and lion. The land beast is a fake lamb, a clumsy counterfeit of the magnificent true Lamb (Revelation 5:6, 7:17). John allows for their capacity to strike terror still, but he also shows them as considerably shop worn. The old beasts have been around too long and are starting to lose their stuffing.’ In Daniel’s vision the lion represents Babylon, the bear, Persia and the leopard with four heads is Greece which splits into four after the death of Alexandra the Great. The fourth beast, with iron teeth and ten horns is Rome. In John’s vision, he takes those images and applies it to his day by saying what we have now is a terrible fusion of the all the other world empires expressed in this one beast - Rome. It is the amalgamation of all the empires that have threatened God's people in the past that now finds new power in the form of the present Empire. For John’s first audience, the allusion to Roman imperial power in the beast from the sea is made clear by the continuity of the character of the dragon, which connects this chapter with the Python–Leto myth in Revelation 12. It is also confirmed by the close links between this passage and Daniel 7, where the beasts are symbolic of kingdoms (Dan. 7:23). But the symbolic description and the combining of Daniel’s four beasts into one have a further effect for subsequent audiences. Rather than focus on the fourth beast alone, John draws on the characteristic of all the beast-empires, as if to say, ‘This is the threat of Roman imperial power – but it is actually the threat of any human empire which claims what only God can claim.’ For them the beast was Rome - for us, for you and me - the beast is something else, but its' still coming up out of the sea - from the chaos to cause havoc on the people of God. The beast out of the land - the one who speaks and works miracles on behalf of the beast of the sea we understand as a Jewish or Pagan beast that represents religious power in support of imperial power. It lines up with imperial power to say: You should worship the beast. And so, religion and empire come together in a horrible fusion that attacks the church. As Ian Paul writes, ‘If the image of the first beast evoked the power of imperial Rome for John’s audience, then the image of a beast coming out of the land (or ‘earth’) would evoke the local power structures in Asia on which Rome depended for the exercise of its rule, and which in turn benefited from Roman rule in the consolidation of their own power'. Paul continues, ‘The emphasis appears to be that this second beast looks harmless enough as a parody of the lamb on the throne, but in fact (like the beast from the sea) shows its real character by speaking like a dragon. It is a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ (Matt. 7:15). The beasts from the sea and earth are the images by which John shows us the satan, covertly at work in these large areas of government and religion. John is lifting the lid for his readers showing them what is really taking place. ‘With the sea beast the dragon will frighten us into disobedience (‘make war on the saints and conquer them.’ [Rev 13:7]); with the land beast he will deceive us into illusion (‘deceives those who dwell on earth’ [Rev 13:14]). The dragon - with this unholy trinity has come to wage war on the saints - and this, 'calls for endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people.' (13:10). If Revelation 13 shows the reality of persecution that was coming to the Church over the next two centuries, Revelation 14 shows the victory on the other side. It shows how the story ends for the persecuted Church of Christ. A.J. Wilson Chapter 13 - the people are Captured / Conquered / Killed Chapter 14 - the people are Redeemed / Rested / Reaped We can endure the former - because we have seen the latter. Endurance and faithfulness is the call to the church as Revelation remind us, ‘This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.' (Revelation 14:12). For the Church today what we are faced with is the task of discernment. In what way does this evil manifest in our midst, and particularly where do we see empire in collusion with religion forming an unholy alliance against the people of God? As Paul notes, 'For later hearers and readers, the challenge is to discern where similar patterns of authority are at work and – knowing that we too are living in the forty-two months or 1,260 days or three and a half years, when we too will know both suffering and victory, when we too are in a time for testimony and patient endurance – to make hard decisions about our own loyalty and faith.' So where does our faith and loyalty lie? What does it look like to live as a faithful witness for Jesus? The Early Church understood that living for Jesus things wouldn’t always be easy, as the Apostles reminded them in the book of Acts. ‘Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.’ (Acts 14:22). For us today our faithfulness to Jesus can be seen as expressed in the following ways Faithful In The Time We Live We each have to serve as faithful witnesses for Jesus in our own time and generation. This means looking what shape our witness takes as we go about living our life on a day by basis. Living faithfully means living consistently – it’s not about waiting for that big moment, when everything aligns and we have the perfect opportunity to share our faith. Rather it’s about each of us showing faithfulness in our relationships, actions and attitudes. When we go to the shops, out to the pub, clocking on at work – these are the places where faithfulness to Jesus is shown. Faithfulness to Jesus is living the same in private was we do in public – faithfulness to him is not about wearing our Sunday best – but about being true to Christ each day of the week. Our faithfulness to Jesus is a lifestyle choice. Faithful with The Talents We Have Been Given The second area where we can show ourselves faithful is with the talents we have been given. If we look at our talents as simply our own provision – to make our life better, more successful then we are not showing faithfulness in what we have been given. Our gifts are exactly that gifts that are given to be used as a blessing to others. We can recall the story of the talents as told by Jesus. The two who were blessed were the ones who took their talents and put the to use for the master. The one who was rebuked was the one who did nothing – he just took the talents and buried them in the ground. As Jesus said, ‘To he who is given much, from him much is required. We need to show faithfulness with what we’ve been given. Faithful to The Body of Christ Finally, we need to show ourselves faithful the body of Christ – the church. Jesus is building his church and we are called as ‘Co-workers together with him.’ We have a responsibility to show faithfulness to the Body – as Paul writes: ‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.’ (1 Corinthians 12:12-15). After he has finished explaining how each of us together forms what the body is, he writes: ‘Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.’ (1 Corinthians 12:27). Serving and living faithfully for Jesus is our highest call and most important task. This was the charge laid by John – the central message of his Apocalypse. What we do in the face of opposition and persecution; how we live in times of plenty and abundance all matters to God. It matters not only what we have – but also the means by which we received it. Faithfulness is not only about what happens on the surface – it’s about what happens beneath the surface. John is keen for his hearers to know this – keen that they see that what appears is not the total of all that there is. We must be aware of the Schemer, the one who seeks to rob, steel, kill and destroy, who appears as an enormous dragon in his vision but can also masquerade as an angel of light somewhere else. Faithfulness is the key - we know this deeply and fully from our own life and relationships, we know it clearly from the Apocalypse. There is great promise in faithfulness – great reward, as the parable of the Talents reminds us: ‘“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:23). ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ , says the proverb, a verse from the ancient Wisdom Literature that precedes the Apocalypse by many Centuries and sets well the tone for our ongoing journey into the book of Revelation. And for the believers of the first century walking through the city of Ephesus, the home of the first Christian community to receive a letter in John’s apocalypse, the importance of vision could hardly be overstated. As the power of the Empire weighed heavily on their shoulders they were in danger of drift. Not that it was all bad, in fact there is much praise for this young congregation: ‘I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary (Revelation 2:2-3).’ But it was the sentence at the end of the letter which grabs our attention: ‘Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first (Revelation 2:4-5).’ The believers were in a danger of missing the most important thing. As a city Ephesus was situated on the far reaches of the Empire and sat strategically as a trading route between East and West. It was a city of commerce – a trading centre between two cultures and the Agora was the ‘marketplace’ where the business of buying and selling happened. Entrance to the Agora was by way of an acknowledgement to the Caesar as part of the Imperial Cult. The offering of incense was said to allow for a mark (possibly of ink) to be put on the hand of the person. It was this mark that allowed people to participate in the free trade of the Agora – and so, the question faced by the Christians was: Should they receive the mark of the beast? For life to stay on course, we need vision and this is especially true when we are under pressure and without it we have the propensity to drift. We can drift in the face of temptation, testing, trials and persecutions. The people of God were being tested – they needed to live with vision and this is what Revelation 4 and 5 provides. We all need a centring vision from which everything else gets its frame of reference. The ability to stay focused, to keep on track, to resist the pressures around you and to keep the main thing the main thing – that’s what these chapters offer. Whenever we take our eyes off Jesus, we start to lose faith as we are distracted from our devotion to the Alpha and Omega. If we fail to see Jesus as both the source of life - Alpha, and the culmination of life - Omega, then the priorities between these two realities can easily go off track. The vision unfolds in this way, ‘After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this (Revelation 4:1).’ The invitation is to come up here. We need to change our position and our perspective if we are to see what God has for us. For John this meant walking through the door that had been opened to him. The doorway leads to the reality of what lies not only at the heart of the vision but is also the pinnacle of creation. All of John’s testing, trials and isolation (he’s incarcerated on Patmos as a result of following Jesus) is about to find a new centring reality - his life is to be built around this. The imagery that follows is as dramatic as it is beautiful. A rainbow that shines like an emerald encircles a throne which is surrounded by twenty-four other thrones on which are sitting elders. Already we know that who or whatever is at the centre of this scene is of greatest importance - we are being led into a throne room - a place from which everything else in life, and indeed the universe should take its frame of reference. Not only is this so, but for the hearers of the first century something else is at work. John’s vision is not only pointing to the majesty of God, but it is also subverting the power of Empire through drawing a comparison between the true power that’s been unleashed in the world which is not the dominance of the Empire, but rather the sacrifice of the Lamb. Enter Domitian. Domitian Domitian was the 9th of the Caesar’s and notably one of the cruellest. He created Ephesus as the centre of Imperial Cult worship and established the Domitian Games – a spectacle that drew crowds of up to 80,000 people and he reigned during the time of John. In fact, some of have surmised it may have been Domitian who removed this irritant of a pastor prophet to the isle of Patmos. Domitian reigned between 81 A.D. to 96 A.D. His mission, as well as ruling the Empire with efficiency was to restate the Imperial Cult which had lost some of the influence previously established under Augustus. He’s said to have demanded to go by the title: ‘My Lord and My God.’ And when writing to his subjects he would get his officials to address letters: ‘Our Lord and God commands you…’ It’s said that wherever he went there was a choir of 24 singers chanting: ‘Our Lord and our God you are worthy to receive honour, glory and power.’ From the few fragments of Domitian in the historical accounts, you get further glimpses of how ruthless he was. One records his attendance at a Gladiatorial event where one of the spectators heckled a gladiator in the ring. Domitian simply pointed out the man and instructed he be thrown into the ring and fed to the wild animals. A further account recalls one of the priests who offended him, so he instructed she be buried alive. On one of the statues of Domitian, he can be seen holding a scroll in his hand. The scroll was key to ruling in the Empire. It contained writing on both sides of all the divine names of the Caesar. It was symbolic of the fact that he was the only person who was worthy to open the scroll and to break the seal. The Domitian Games The Domitian Games were famous for drawing massive crowds of people. They would begin with the leaders of the various provinces coming before him – he would then address the leaders of those provinces, thus: ‘To you the leader of … I have this for you, and I have this against you.’ The address would conclude with the charge that if they didn’t deal with the issues pointed out then he would come and wipe them out. Worship would follow where the priests and spectators gathered were dressed in white. The priests would wear crowns of gold on their heads and on the front of the crowns would be written the divine titles of Domitian – a way of reminding everyone who he was as worship ascended from the gathered throng. The words would be chanted: ‘Great are you, our Lord and God, Worthy are you to receive honour and power and glory. Worthy are you Lord of the earth, to inherit the Kingdom. Lord of Lord, highest of high, Lord of the earth, God of all things. Lord God and Saviour for eternity.’ A four-horse race would be one of the highlights of the games where each horse was a different colour. At the end of the games after further contests and gladiatorial competitions a man would come out into the arena to clean all the dead bodies and animals out of the ring. The one who headed this role wore a mask of a classic hero called, Hades. This was Domitian and this was his Empire. The historian Seutonius wrote: ‘He (Domitian) loved to hear “Hail to the Lord.”’ Subverting the Empire? Is this John adopting the imagery of his day, taking it and subverting what is around him to declare there is someone greater than Caesar to whom we offer our allegiance? He is walking a dangerous path. But the imagery of the Empire is not the only picture in John’s mind, as the vision unfolds the ancient apocalyptic language of the ancient Jews also plays its part in forging a centring vision for the people of God. ‘In the centre, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:6-9).’ The seer (John) is shown the four living creatures of a lion, ox, man and eagle, reminiscent of Ezekiel’s vision which merges with Isaiah’s vision of chapter six as a circle is created within a circle with the throne in the middle. And perhaps this is the point – a circle within a circle whereby we are continually drawn back to what lies at the heart of it. John’s vision draws heavily from the Prophets as if to remind God’s people who they are. For again, when we face trouble it’s easy for us to lose perspective – even to forget who we are. It’s a majestic vision of the Divine which keeps us on track. We may not live with the fear of persecution, but we all know about the temptation to put other things before God. The twin track message of the prophets – idolatry on the one hand, and injustice on the other are as real today as they’ve always been and we need to heed the invitation to ‘Come up here’ if we are to resist in the face of fear, apathy or deceit. But the vision isn’t over yet. A Greco Roman Play – Enter the Lamb, stage right ‘Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” (Revelation 5:1-2).’ The seven scrolls and seals represent the good things of the world. His intention is to return the world to original goodness and human flourishing - that’s the drama. God is the one who holds a plan if it could but be opened! But there is no one found worthy and so the drama unfolds only to turn to tragedy because, ‘no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside (Revelation 5:3-4).’ The vision is now played out in the style of a Greco Roman Stage Play and contains all the elements of such with drama, tragedy, comedy, and chorus. John’s vision is being portrayed in the language of the day. The drama unfolds as the search for someone who is worthy to open the scroll continues. How tragic it would be if you believe the world would continue as it is because no one can be found to implement the plan. But then one of the elders says to John, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed (Revelation 5:5).’ And John turns to see and with a twist in the plot we turn from tragedy to comedy for there before him is not a lion but a lamb! He expects to see a strong, powerful beast and what he sees is a meek lamb as the scene is set for all that follows. The beasts to be found later in the vision are not to be conquered by another beast - but by a lamb. A new ‘power’ has been loosed in the world as lamb power becomes a new way of God working as out of the wings of the stage a chorus erupts as they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth (Revelation 5:9-10).’ ‘Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped (Revelation 5:11-14).’ As Gorman notes, ‘The central and centring vision of Revelation is a vision of God and the Lamb, and specifically of the worship of God and the Lamb.’ And further he writes, ‘Both John and we, as readers, await the unveiling and identification of this powerful, conquering messianic Lion; perhaps both John and we suspect that the elder is directing our attention to Jesus, Lion of Judah and Son of David—and he is. But in “perhaps the most mind-wrenching ‘rebirth of images’ in literature,” the vision John receives and describes for us is not what anyone would expect. It is the vision of a slaughtered Lamb, not a ferocious Lion. “The shock of this reversal,” writes Richard Hays, “discloses the central mystery of the Apocalypse: God overcomes the world not through a show of force but through the suffering and death of Jesus, ‘the faithful witness.’ Following the Lamb The power of the Lamb stands in direct opposition to all they can see in the Empire – and perhaps against all we witness in our world today. It leads us to ask questions of how the church functions in the world – what does the Kingdom of God, led by the image of the lamb that was slain look like? This is how the Apostle John sees it: ‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:16-18).’ We have in so many ways a problem with power, what it is and how it functions, and we feel this particularly keenly in the West where culture is presenting as post Christian from what was once Judaeo Christian. I understand that concern and why we might feel when our voice is being marginalised, we must shout louder in order to be heard. But volume on its own rarely achieves anything. For many in the church there is a feeling that ‘power’ is being taken away and the reaction to this is often fear. But the vision of Revelation 4 and 5 calls for a different response. ‘Come up here’ is the invitation – take a different perspective and build with different priorities. The charge is to gaze upon the lamb that was slain; to look in wonder on he who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seal. For regardless of our situation: persecution, fear, testing or temptation everything looks different when we turn our eyes upon Jesus. The situation between the First and Twenty First Century is in many ways different but the challenge is the same: How do we live close to Jesus. The answer? To lift him high and to have a centring vision that frames every thought, conversation and action. As Gorman writes: ‘If there is no centre, there is no circumference. People who do not worship are swept into a vast restlessness, epidemic in the world, with no steady direction and no sustained purpose.’ As for the power play between the two images of lion and lamb, N.T. Wright goes someway to redress the balance. ‘There have been, down the years, plenty of lion-Christians. Yes, they think, Jesus died for us; but now God’s will is to be done in the lion-like fashion, through brute force and violence, to make the world come into line, to enforce God’s will. No, replies John; think of the lion, yes, but gaze at the lamb.’ ‘And there have been plenty of lamb-Christians. Yes, they think, Jesus may have been ‘the lion of Judah’, but that’s a political idea which we should reject because salvation consists in having our sins wiped away so that we can get out of this compromised world and go off to heaven instead. No, replies John; gaze at the lamb, but remember that it is the lion’s victory that he has won.’ There is much a foot within the Church as she seeks to take stock of what Christian Faith will look like for a new generation – what should be held dearly, and what less so. These are not easy times in this regard as the hot topics of the day test the brightest brains in both technical scholarship and pastoral care. What we do know is that the future will not be a replay of the past, the navigation of complexity calls for cool heads, warm hearts and courageous souls but over this we should not fear. And how should we approach this future? Van Shore sets the tone well, ‘In Revelation, it is through this imagery of the Lamb that John’s audience is confronted with understanding “conquering” and “faithfulness” in terms of sacrifice and faithful witness, rather than physical violence or military might.’ Indeed – and this ought not to surprise us both from the life of the Christ we follow – and from the vision that we see here. The way of hope is always trodden on the pathway of sacrifice and peace – and peace rarely comes before a sacrifice is made. Which leaves us well to conclude with the words of the Apostle James who wrote a dispersed group of believers: ‘… the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness (James 3:17-18).’ And a life like that comes from those who have put the vision of the Lamb first. Life is our greatest teacher. Learning from experience is the pathway of true maturity. As someone once said, 'Life will either make you bitter or better.' The outcome to that is dependent on the attitude you take; the habits you form and the choices you make. So here are 10 lessons I’ve been learning over the past decade....
And what of the coming decade? Well ,more of that later - but for now, A Happy New Year everyone! I have a love hate relationship with Christmas; perhaps you do too! I hate the pressure it creates, the expectation that puts people under undue stress. The presents, cards, wrapping - the food to purchase and people to please. For many people Christmas can be an anxious time of year. But I love it too. The generosity that’s evident in the Foodbank we run; the kindness of people giving both food and time. It captures what is the essence of Christmas - it might stress us out - but it can and does bring the best out of us too. Not only that but the ancient tradition of Christmas as captured through the carols gives life a perspective that’s desperately needed. Christmas is magical and mysterious - there is something beautiful to be captured in the generosity the season creates. And what about the sentiment of it all? Sentiment can be an overrated virtue, but at the same time it can anchor us in what’s important. I was reminded about this just yesterday. I was sitting with my dad listening to the KS2 choir at school. Noah was part of it and watching the performance I felt sentimental. Many of the songs carry such depth - and for me wonderful truth. They help to anchor the heart in a sense of history and heritage - I see them as more than simply tradition. There is truth in those carols - truth that resonates and calibrates the soul. The Carol Service was at the end of the school day - a day which had resulted in numerous encounters each reminding me of the importance to stop, look and think at Christmas time. I had the responsibility to officiate the funeral of an elderly lady first thing. She was 95 at her time of passing and had lived with mostly good health. Much to celebrate indeed. Before I made my way to the funeral, I met a young lady who I’d not seen since she was a child of about 11. She’d made her way through the world - not without her challenges but she looked well and had her young son with her. I’d known the family and was pleased to see her after almost two decades. When I arrived to take the service, and stood in the waiting room a lady along with her young daughter ran in. ‘Where is the funeral please, the cremation for babies?’ She was late, stressed, and disoriented - she was attending the service for the loss of her baby. She was so young and facing such loss. We helped her find the chapel, it was the least, the only thing we could do. After the service I spoke to someone who appeared to hold a deep grudge. It was a strange moment. The bitterness was tangible - odd, at one level - sad at another. The passing of years doesn’t always bring healing. When it came to the committal, we all stepped carefully between the mud sodden turf to navigate our way to the grave. My responsibility to read the closing words on a life well lived. ‘Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.’ Such is the privilege of the Pastor’s role - to bring comfort and closure at the end of this earthly life. On returning for the wake I sat and chatted. The lady I spoke with had lost her son over a decade ago. It’s a pain that never dissipates - just one which over time you learn to carry better than at first. Life comes with no guarantees. Our pain makes us either bitter or better - we all have to choose. And so with the tie removed, mud still on my shoes from earlier, I sit with dad to listen to Noah sing. It’s as good as life gets. To sit in that moment and treasure it. They are the precious moments when memories are made. Life savoured for what it really is. ‘The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.’ They sang. Better stop, look and think about that. The relentless unfolding of time continues and here we are at the closing of another year. Better stop, look and think about that. For God’s sake, one and all - please this Christmas, stop, look and think about that. Life is precious - each day a gift - use it wisely and invest it well. Happy Christmas everyone. |
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