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Archbishop William Temple famously said that "The Church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members". I'm sure that other organisations have a similarly selfless purpose, but the quote is a helpful wake-up call when we find ourselves thinking that the church exists simply for us. In fact, the call of Jesus to deny our selves daily and follow him points very clearly to a life of thinking of others and not just ourselves.
English minister and author Leslie Weatherhead writes about how in the forty days after his resurrection, we see Jesus helping his disciples adjust to the complex reality that one day he will not be with them, and yet he will always be with them. So, the disciples will be in a room together and suddenly Jesus is there. Then, just as suddenly he is gone again. It is as if, when he is absent, it is always possible that he might turn up at any minute. And so the disciples learn during these days to expect his presence even when his body is not there. It’s a kind of orientation process.
When you have lived through enough Easter weekends it can start to feel like we have seen this movie before - we know the story and there are no surprises left for us. Well, we may know the plot, but we can't afford to lose sight of the fact that this weekend literally changes everything for all of us: death is defeated, love has triumphed and the Saviour who walks with us through all of life lives!
When fishes flew and forests walked, And figs grew upon thorn, Some moment when the moon was blood, Then surely I was born.
There are days where we simply don't stop - we go at full tilt until our head hits the pillow. At times like this it can feel like our agenda has been set for us and we are compelled to do the list of things before us. And inevitably this means that other activities that matter to us will be squeezed out and postponed for a slower day.
Author Patrick Lencioni is fond of talking about 'good conflict'. He says avoiding conflict is not helpful, but when we are able to disagree in a mature and constructive way, conflict can be really helpful and even creative. Of course, this means that there is also such a thing as bad conflict, which can be so terribly destructive. You can be sure that where we are experiencing bad conflict, there will inevitably be a failure to communicate well and any number of misunderstandings, based on false assumptions about the motives or actions of the other parties. When we have a distorted view of reality, things fall apart.
The verse that stands out for me in this Sunday's gospel reading is a quote from the psalms that is applied to Jesus after he chases the money-changers out of the temple. His disciples watch his anger and they quote Psalm 69:9 "Zeal (or passion) for your house consumes me".
I was lectured some years ago by a Dutch Reformed minister who wrote a short book on the subject of listening for God's voice in church meetings. It's a brave idea, don't you think? Meetings are not typically spaces for deep listening to God or even to each other! But Frederick Marais' book invites the church to commit to nurturing a listening culture and he argues that making this a priority will have a profoundly transformative effect on a community.
For their planned activity on Valentine's evening, many of our people chose (online or in-person) to join our Ash Wednesday service :) From where I stood, the in-person service seemed better attended than in recent years and my colleagues in our circuit reported the same of their Ash Wednesday services. Why is that, I wonder? It's not a light-hearted worship service - on the contrary, it is heavy on liturgy and symbols of our frailty and mortality. What draws us to this kind of service?
Our hope is that no-one will feel anonymous or unseen on Sundays. It's the reason we make name tags for everyone and invite you to wear them to tea. But it takes a conscious effort from all of us to intentionally seek out new faces. It's completely natural that we are instinctively drawn to familiar faces, but when we make the effort to cross boundaries, strangers become friends and our community grows. I challenge you to try and meet one new person each Sunday.