Advent Reflections 2 - Saviour

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17)

What more needs to be said? As I sit and watch the candle burn down passed 2 it illuminates the title Saviour and I am reminded the Jesus came because God loves me so much. However, there is a challenge. Because Jesus came not just because God loves me, but because God loves the world. That means that God loves those that I struggle to, or just don't. He loves those that irritate me. He loves those who have done evil things in this world. Jesus came as Saviour for us all. So this Advent (and hopefully beyond) I'm going to try and remember that Jesus came because he loved all the world, not just me and my family and friends. And I'm going to try and especially remember this when people are irritating me or do things I don't like.

This title also reminds me that if Jesus came as Saviour then there is obviously something that I/we need saving from. I like to focus on God's love, which is always the best place to start. However, I also need to look inward and recognise that there are things I do which Jesus wouldn't. If I want to be truly the person God saved me to be then I do need to turn from those things. But it isn't always easy. The good news I'm reminded of is that God is with me. The book I'm reading for Advent had as it's reading today Lamentations 3:22 "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases."

Advent Reflections 1 - Lord

As with the last few Advents I have bought an Advent Candle. Maybe it is the prehistoric male urges within me to create fire but I find something fascinating about watching a candle burn. The candle I have this year not only has the numbers on it but it also has titles of Jesus - one for every day. So I thought I would use these as a way to reflect on what these titles mean for me as a way of preparing for Christmas.

Day 1 - Lord. 'Jesus is Lord', supposedly the oldest creed. What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord? For me it is a picture of power and authority. Jesus is one to be obeyed and he has the power to resource all he wants us to do. However, he is not a lord who just makes unreasonable demands upon his subjects. He is someone who loves his people, who wants what is best for them. As Lord he has led by example. When he tells us to pick up our crosses it is to follow him. He asks nothing of us that he hasn't done himself. So when we obey him as our Lord, we can do so knowing that all he instructs and requests is for our good and out of his love.

Back to Blog Wednesday

It has been a long while since I last blogged. Mainly due to having a chest infection which has stubbornly held on for a month and is still not giving up yet. However, the longer I have not blogged, the harder it has been to get back into it. Trying to think of things to blog, gaining the motivation to log back on. It has made me realise how easy it can be to stop attending church. Once you have missed a few weeks it becomes harder and harder. What will people say, will they have noticed I'm not there, what reasons can I give for not attending. How important it is to have events like Back to church Sunday. I'm sure there are countless people out there who just don't have the courage or motivation to go back to church even if they may want to, and yet may respond to someone else inviting them.

Rather than having pastoral visitors in our church we are all members of pastoral groups and our group meets up about once a month. This month we are going out for a Christmas dinner together (always good!) and I am really impressed that there are two couples who don't attend church much now who are both coming. In fact, one of the ladies has now started coming to church a bit since the invite for the meals went out. Keeping these connections with people is so important and something we mustn't underestimate.

It is good to be back blogging and I wonder if there is someone waiting for an invite from you back to church?

Unravelling the mystery

We have recently started a house group at our church. It is being led by a professor who is also an ordained minister. In the three sessions we have had we have looked at the books of Amos and Philippians - not at the same time! Our leader has given us a lot of information on the context of both books, some insight into the issues surrounding authorship and context, whilst also explaining world views that were current at the time. In many ways these aren't traditional Bible studies, they raise more questions than answers and challenge traditionally held beliefs. It has provoked much discussion and debate within the group and often we leave with a slight headache, but also the feeling of a deeper understanding of the book. This group has led me to feel quite uncomfortable and question many of my own beliefs about how I express God and view the Word of God which is no bad thing. Due to this, the group isn't to everyone's taste and one member has not been back since the second session which is sad but understandable.

At the same time I have been reading "Dawkins' God" by Alister McGrath as part of my portfolio for candidating. This book seeks to demonstrate how many of Dawkins' atheistic and anti-Christian beliefs are based upon misunderstandings, inconsistencies and out dated theology. It was a useful book as even I could understand most of the arguments that McGrath was presenting even though I have very little scientific knowledge.

However, both the book and the Bible study group have led me to question this unrelenting pursuit of knowledge and desire to explain every facet of life and Christian belief. Don't get me wrong, we all need to strive for a deeper understanding of who God is and what he does. We need to try and grasp more of what Jesus means for us and our society. And we need to have a greater awareness of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the life of our church. However, this desire for facts and evidence can lead to the removing of mystery that is an essential element of God's nature. Even when we unravel some mysteries, new ones present themselves. I wonder whether we can spend our whole time trying to find facts, and actually miss the God behind them all. I think that sometimes, the correct outlook is just to celebrate the mystery.

Speed restrictions

In the last two days I have followed vans with these stickers indicating the speed restriction that their vehicle is limited to. Am I the only one that thinks this is a bit of a nonsense - aren't we all limited to 70mph - by something called the law??

Universal Benefits?

There has been a lot written and spoken about the removal of child benefits for those families who have someone paying the higher level of tax. There are many who oppose it on economic grounds. There are some who oppose it on the grounds of fairness. Still others oppose it because it will be their benefit removed.

I am not an economist and I have no children so I can't oppose it on any of those grounds. I oppose the cut in benefits, not because the families necessarily need the money, or that anyone has a right to this money, but because of what it appears to say about the values of our society. Having universal child benefits, like universal winter heating allowance, demonstrates that our society values people as being the most important asset that makes up our society. Universal child benefit says that, regardless of whether the child comes from a rich family or a poor family, each child is of equal value and that society should invest in them. This move signals the end to that. It shows that economics and money are of greater worth. I don't deny that savings have to be made - and where ever the savings come from people will be unhappy. However, we should not sell out on our principles and values just to save money. Children are the future of this country - we must invest in them. Just as the older generation have served us well and deserve to be warm this winter. People must always come before money.

Has harvest had it?

I had an interesting chat with a local Anglican vicar the other day. He is a good friend and I have great respect for him and all he does with young people. However, he said that he felt harvest was an irrelevance and that Remembrance Sunday had lost meaning for today's society. Both of these events he felt should be dropped from the church calendar.

Yet I can't help but feel we would miss out on an awful lot if we scrapped harvest. Although in many parts of our country we have lost that link with agriculture and rural life, we all depend on it day by day for the food that sustains us. Harvest is a time to stop and be thankful for the many people in our country who work long hours, often for little pay, to provide food for us to eat. Harvest is also a time to think of trade justice. It is a time to support movements like Fairtrade that ensure that all producers of food and clothes receive a fair wage for the work that they do. While we must always support our local farmers and producers, if it wasn't for producers in far off lands we would not have the coffee, tea, spices, chocolate, cotton and many other products that we enjoy in our life.

We must never forget the harvest and harvesters. We must never cease to pray for them and their produce. We must never stop educating our young people about where their food comes from. And we must never stop thanking God for all that he blesses us with, while at the same time remembering all those who will be going hungry this harvest.