Rich Hat Priest Follows Mitre

Jesus is the answer to the season

2006-12-25T16:44:00.000-01:00

John 1 1 - 18

At Christmas, we Christians often rush to assert the true meaning as Christmas as being the celebration of Jesus birth - Jesus birthday, as a small child very cutely put it in Rouzerville last night. We are fond of our trusted clichés - 'Jesus is the Reason for the season'. All that would seem to suggest that Jesus was indeed born on December 25th, and that only his followers have observed a festival at this time of year, and only since around the year zero. But in many world cultures and religions, a festival is observed close to the darkest part of the year - often involving light. We enjoy lighting our Christmas trees, and the outsides of our homes, and attending carol services lit by candles. Our own western festival of Christmas replaced earlier pagan and Roman festivals, with many of our traditions, now Christianized, having pagan roots. Aside from the obvious and quite proper need to cheer ourselves in the dark cold month of winter, and the natural desire to have a good time, eat some good food, and be near to those we love - all good and beautiful things, humanity seems to long for a light shining in the dark. Not only the physical darkness of winter, which is not so bad at this latitude, but the spiritual darkness that many of us see in our own hearts, and in the heart of others.
In John chapter one, we learn how God brought life into being - the life that is the light of all people. We hear how the true light was coming into the world - the light that is identified as God's only son, whom we know as Jesus. At Christmas we look around the world at people who long for light, and for hope, in the darkness of the world, and we testify that the light is real, he is with us, and we know his name. We might like to use a new cliché to express this: 'Jesus is the answer to the season'. This season of celebrating and hoping for light, that echoes through human culture, finds meaning in the person of Christ.
However, the way that Jesus answers our search for light may be uncomfortable for many of us. He comes into the world in an utterly unexpected, scandalous position. The sovereign God of the universe takes on flesh in the smelly animal house of a rowdy inn, in a small insignificant town, in a backwater of the worlds most powerful empire, born to an unmarried woman from a poor family, of a despised people. He lives his early life first as a refugee, and then in another tiny, poverty stricken town, in Galilee, from which it was said nothing good ever came. Jesus identity today does not resonate with our own, coming as we do from prosperous regions of two of the worlds most rich and powerful countries, the modern day equivalents of wealthy Roman citizens, enjoying a standard of living most of the world can only dream of. Perhaps we would find it much easier to understand his position in the world if we were living in Palestine, Sudan, or Somalia, Burma, North Korea, Iraq, or sleeping on a bench in downtown London or Washington - anywhere that people are oppressed by poverty, war, and injustice.
When Mary learned that her son would be Gods promised messiah, she sang to him in praise, saying amongst other things "He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty". My prayer for us is that we would not let our prosperity stand between us and the hope of Christ, and that his lowliness and humility will help us to see the image of God in the despised and forgotten of the world. As followers of Christ, it is them we are called to serve, as he did. It is our duty to carry the light of Christ into those dark places of the world. Christ turns our natural world order on its head, and he tells us that in judgement he will ask how we have treated the 'least of these'.
Maybe though, we too are oppressed - oppressed by fear, like King Herod. When he learned that a child was to be born King of the Jews, his reaction was one of fear, and paranoia, and hate. He sought to put out the light, to guard his priveliged position. Today when faced with the threat of terrorism, we react with similar paranoia, and similar hatred. Fear drives us to erode, in the name of security, the very freedoms our leaders tell us our enemies are out to destroy. Fear and lust for control lead us to pursue endless wars far from home in which thousands die. In Israel, fear has led to the building of a wall that divides families and ruins lives.
Fear of losing our own priveliged position as the powerful and wealthy of the world drives us rich nations to perpetrate global systems of trade and commerce that continue to make the poor poorer, as we get richer. Fear leads even to hatred towards those who share the country with us, if they are somehow different, and we feel our way of life threatened.
What is the message of hope, the message of Christmas to us? In the familiar words of the angels - do not be afraid. Trust not in our wealth, in mans wisdom, or in our military superiority, but trust in the true hope for the world that is in Christ Jesus. And the way of Christ is that of love, of peace, generosity of spirit, kindness of heart.
At Christmas let us not just think of our biological families and our close friends, but of our spiritual brothers and sisters around the world, in so many countries, so many situations, and remember that the light and hope of Christ is extended to all, no exceptions.
And let us pray that we will have the humility to find that hope for ourselves.

Prayer adapted from Luke 1 verse 78 - 79:

"By the tender mercy of our God, may the dawn from on high break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet in the way of peace". Amen.

Not-So-Mystery Worshipper

2006-10-01T14:00:00.000-01:00

Mystery Worshipper – Sally the Student
The church – St Michael & All Angels, daughter church of St.Martin-on-the-Hill
The neighbourhood – Mostly retirement homes/supported housing.
The cast – Celebrant: Fr.Darren Moore
The date & time – 10:15am, 1st October 2006

What was the name of the service?
St Michael & All Angels and Harvest Festival, Parish Eucharist
How full was the building?
Very. There were a few people sitting on chairs at the back, because the pews were pretty much full. About 50 people.
Did anyone welcome you personally?
Yes, I was welcomed by several people, including the lady who gave me the service book, etc and also by the people sitting near me. I did stand out as one of about 5 people under the age of 60 though.
Was your pew comfortable?
Yes, although a bit cramped, as we’d squeezed up to let someone else sit at the other end. (I was next to the wall).
How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere?
Hushed chatter. Friendly and open. Very pleasant.
What were the exact opening words of the service?
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Well, we have a veritable liturgical smorgasbord for you this morning…
What books did the congregation use during the service?
“Common Worship – Ordinary” booklet, this week’s order of service/notice sheet and “Hymns Ancient & Modern”.
What musical instruments were played?
An electric organ.
Did anything distract you?
No, not really. Apart from trying to keep track of all the different bits of paper, etc.
Was the service stiff-upper-lip, happy-clappy or what?
Neither really. Relaxed and friendly, but not lively by any means.
Exactly how long was the sermon?
I didn’t check, but I’d guess about 10 minutes.
On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
8. Very accessible and well aimed at his audience.
In a nutshell, what was the sermon about?
Materialism with a difference. That because Christians know that all things come from God that we should be more concerned about material things than others – not in the sense of caring about them more, but caring for them/the environment.
Which part of the service was like being in heaven?
Most of it, to be honest. Such a great feeling of humble faith from everyone present. There was no pomp or pride. Just simple, neat faith. Beautiful to see. And the last hymn (We plough the fields and scatter), which was heart-felt and joyous.
And which part was like being in… er… the other place?
Er, generally the music, if anything. The singing was quiet and lack-lustre. But I’m used to Methodists. ;o)
What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
I was greeted by several people, including the wife of one of the chaplains at the college, who invited me to join them for a harvest lunch… which I did.
How would you describe the after-service coffee?
Delicious, especially as it was preceded by a buffet lunch, including some amazing puddings (I had rhubarb pie & custard), and wine, although I didn’t partake in that as I have work to do this afternoon.
How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10=ecstatic, 0=terminal)?
8. I liked it here. And it’s about 200yds from my house. My housemate, who's never been to church before , was interested in coming with me when I'm next around on a Sunday, so we might go to a less 'liturgical' church to start with, just so she doesn't feel too lost.
Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian?
Yes, it did. Such a simple place and content community, with such an obvious, heartfelt faith, in the truest sense.
What one thing will you remember about this in seven days’ time?
The curate announcing the wrong introit hymn and then realising he had the service sheet for Daisy’s Baptism(?)… that was soon sorted out. Apart from that, the true sense of welcome and warmth there.

My First Post

2006-09-15T19:03:00.000-01:00

Ok, for my post here, I will simply give you a quote from a church service 2 weeks ago.

"Tradition is the Living Faith of the Dead. Traditionalism is the Dead Faith of the Living."
Discuss.

(A more in depth post will appear when I've had a chance to write it - ie. when I'm not on school placement).

Sanctuary for All?

2006-08-23T15:34:00.000-01:00

Reports today on the opening of Europes largest Hindu temple in the West Midlands. The building certaintly looks impressive, constructed by skilled 'artisans', as the article says, flown in from India.
News 24 at lunchtime reported that the group behind the temple had raised £3 million for the project, and that this figure was matched by the government.
I must confess myself and my Dad's initial reaction was not good - how come they could get £3 million for a huge Hindu Temple, when we are unable to secure a government grant for a church building project in North Baddesley at 1/6th the cost?
Unofficially the goverment is often reluctant to sponsor projects that benefit only one religion, in case people of other religions may somehow be offended. This reminds me of other political correct nonsense such as Winterval, no crosses in crematoriums, etc. Another example that springs to mind is an annual Carol Service for families of murder victims that had Government funding withdrawn because 'it only benefited people of one religion'. The fact that the service was widely attended by people of many religions was clearly lost on them.
I presume that the money was given in this case on the basis that the building would benefit the whole community - and I don't doubt it would be a fascinating and beautiful place to visit - but this is something we argue for All Saints (the current building is well used by community groups but the facilities fall well short of what would be ideal) , and securing funding will be fairly difficult.
Christians very often feel like we are being persecuted for being the majority religion (or rather, largest minority religion), the first victims of multi-culturalism, and increasingly the confused and woolly thinking of a government desparate to appear in touch with all people at all times does not help.
However a bitter, jealous and selfish attitude is not one that is fitting for people who claim to follow Christ.

Do we really want a Christianity that is about forcing a middle classised Christ and his supposed values on a resisting society on the grounds that this is way the country always was, or should we be pursuing a way of life that is more peaceful, more humble, meeker, more understanding, more ready to speak out against injustice and hatred, more Christlike?
Perhaps our reaction to seeing a fantastic new religious building constructed right on our doorstep should be to visit it, find out why it is there, where God is working - for we can not seriously believe that he is not present at all. Perhaps our reaction to seeing people of other faiths come to live in Britain should be one of thanks for the fresh culture and ideas they bring, for what they add to the conversation - for we can not seriously believe that people of other faiths have absolutely nothing to teach us of God.
If instead of speaking out against other faiths we reach out to them - start a genuine conversation, tell them what we believe of God and allow them to do the same, maybe it will be clearer to those in authority that people of faith are not, should not be, offended by other faiths being celebrated publicly, but that the celebration of faith, including Christianity, enhances life in our country for all.
I can't help but believe there must be many secular minded people in both local and national government who are somehow offended by Christianity (and we often give them cause to be), and project their own offence onto other religious groups in order to justify intolerance of the Christian faith. But we must not in response give that percieved offence a genuine reason to flourish.
Instead of demanding that we recieve more, let's live the lifestyle Jesus calls us to and give unselfishly, and what we get in return might just be more than we could ever hope or dream for.

Greetings and salutations

2006-08-21T21:51:00.000-01:00

To a fresh new creative mind ready to drag this stagnated page kicking and screaming into August. You can read about Ichigo here, and with any luck she will be sharing some deep wisdom or insight right here in this very column, before time runs out for us all!

Watch this space - don't go to sleep!

New Apple "iPray"

2006-04-27T21:49:00.000-01:00

New apple iPray – now up to 3X holier with new Intech Core-Triune engine.

Featuring wireless, interactive imat and specially hand crafted, white plastic icon for all of your fervent clutching needs, iPray is the modern way to pray for a modern, image obsessed generation.
Simply select your iDeity of choice from the menu, and either create your prayer, using the Apple imat and iCon interfaceability system, or choose one from the Apple L-iTurgy browser. iPray is fully compatible with your Apple iShite webcam, which can be configured to alert iPray if your eyes look sleepy, and your built in iMic, which converts your iSpeech to iText and checks for heresy*. If you should be unattentive, or blasphemous, iPray will alert the iCon interface to administer a small electric shock to your hand, using the built in iToast micro weave thermo grilling system built into the hand grip. Belief subsets are totally customisable, and iPray even comes with installed Apple presets and skins for different sacramental atmospheres, such as a Turkish mosque or a small country church in Somerset. Broaden your theological horizons with a snappily titled ‘iHousesofWorship’ expansion kit.
iPray revolutionized the way we marginalize our creator in favour of technological gimmicry,just as iPod revolutionised the way we listen to music, and the new version is about to shake things up all over again.

Just remember, as Steve Jobs (PBUH) himself would say, “Windows sucks!”

May the macforce be with you.

“What’s God doing in a Mac? A lot more than he’s ever done in a church!”

Grace, she carries a world

2006-03-18T22:16:00.000-01:00

One of my favourite theological poems for your enjoyment, courtesy of Mr Paul Hewson.
Isn't grace brilliant!

"Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name

Grace, it's the name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything

Grace, she's got the walk
Not on a ramp or on chalk
She's got the time to talk
She travels outside of karma
She travels outside of karma
When she goes to work
You can hear her strings
Grace finds beauty in everything

Grace, she carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl in perfect condition

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things

Grace makes beauty out of ugly things"

Evil-ution?

2005-11-29T20:41:00.000-01:00

No really - this is the actual title of an actual album by Hampshire four piece 'Glo' - you can't make this stuff up.

Here's another poor and un-funny attempt to ridicule evolution: clicky

I think Christianity gets itself in a real pickle when it tries to make external ideas - be they scientific theories, other religions, postmodernism,just pick one - look foolish, without having any better argument than 'It's full of holes and it's clearly not biblical'.

To me it does not seem the most Christ-like approach - crude attempts at ridicule will not win you any arguments, nor will they win Jesus any followers.

If one takes a cursory, un-informed glance at history, you can with limited research see that in the past the church has moved away from positions that at one stage looked absolutely crucial and central - for instance the medieval idea of the universe,with it's crystal spheres of increasing perfection.

I think it entirely possible that in 500 years Christians may look back at vehemently anti-evolutionary sentiment in the church and think at as silly as we now see the medieval theories to be.

The church needs to recognise that science, people, the world, philosophies, trends - they all change, and so needs to avoid becoming so entwined with one of these that it is in serious difficulty when the rest of the world moves on.

This is where 'In the world but not of the world' is so relevant - we need to understand the thinking of the world, engage with it, and accept it and use it where it is useful and truthful and good.
However, our only ties and loyalties should be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord, the only sure unchanging presence inside and outside of this universe.

I believe that God works for change in us his people, that the whole of nature is constantly shifting and adapting. Change should not be feared but celebrated, against the background of an un-changing God who is overseeing all of this motion, creation and evolution in the world and working through all things for the good of those who love him.

Amen!

Afterwords: Don't knock Theistic-Evolution till you try it. I had been dwelling on it for ages, and happened to order The Story We Find Ourselves In* by Brian Mclaren from Amazon, which says all kinds of interesting things about it much more eloquantly than I could hope to here. Go read it!

I hope to read some slightly more intellectual books on the subject in the future if I have time, but the above is a very good place to start if you are the kind of Christian who feels that the theories of Darwin et al are broadly true, but hasn't found much back up in Christian circles.

*From which I give you question of the day: If all that existed before God made the universe was God himself, where did he put the universe? Answers on a postcard!

Jesus Christ Superstore

2005-10-28T22:20:00.000-01:00

Here's something that's bothered me for a while:

In the world we live in, it is accepted as common practice that if something is big, succesful, generally liked, etc, then someone will try to make an awful lot of money out of it. Hence a big kid friendly film like the most recent Wallace and Gromit adventure (as yet sadly UNSEEN by me, quite tragically), will sell lunchboxes, toy anti-Pesto vans, Gromit bubble bath, etc (although why you'd want to bathe using dog shampoo is beyond me :-p)

Capitalism is based on greed (as it is a much more dependable human attribute than more noble ones which would be required to make something like Communism actually work), so the manufacturers expect kids to want this stuff, the parents will buy it,keeping employees of the firm that made it in a job, and the whole thing goes round in big complicated socio-economic circles that I don't understand. This is fair enough, as long as we have a few rules to stop people being too devious, everybody earns a living and should have food for the table, and monstrously outsized furry Gromit slippers to keep your feet warm in the winter.

Here's another thing that's big, succesful and generally liked: God
Hopefully if we looked at Christianity, we'd see a contrast to the larger world. Step with me into a Christian bookshop, and what will you see? First off, the spin off books: Christian author hits on winning formula, and so devotes life to writing books with titles like 'The power of a praying stepson' or 'The Prayer of Jabez for cool teens' (which probably does exist). Most of them are some sort of self help things - great plans, lists, schemes, tricks, to improve your prayer life, get on better with your associate employee contemporaries*, or cultivate or a more impressive beard. Not a lot of meaty important TRULY life changing stuff.
I doubt the worth of many of these books - but there is nothing wrong per se with writing a book, getting published and having it sold, even if it's frankly rubbish.
Secondly: the merchandise. The Christian sub culture has caught on - you can buy Purpose Driven Life journals, I daresay you can get a prayer of Jabez calendar (features the SAME prayer every day of the year, only said a slightly different way!), or perhaps you'd prefer a diary which every week features advice on praying from every family/friend relation you can think of, and some the author made up. Bizzare. Not just book spin offs as well, but there is an incredible range of deluxe bible editions, with soft touch (TM) covers, the WWJD stuff, and any other comibation of letters you could care to thing of, like HLAMIBTOPOCTMMCTJ**, for example.

Somewhere, unless these are small not for profit organisations, some people are most likely getting very wealthy by cashing in on one badly interpreted bible verse, or a catchy slogan, or just people's general gullibility at spending money when it comes to Christian products. (When else would you pay £14.99 for a CD, and I don't care if Christian labels have higher costs due to small volumes, it's a criminal price - we sold the Dave Bish Project at £5 of which about £4.20 is profit!)

It is entirely possible that a lot of the money made from this kind of stuff is being put to really good use, somewhere in the Kingdom of God. But it's hard not to be cynical when you walk into a Christian bookshop. The new Wesley Owen bargain bookshop in Southampton has large displays of CD's, slogan bracelets, fancy bible covers, and random bargain bookshelves with all the latest Christian self help manuels on how to improve your personal walk with God in 7 easy steps. But it did not have, amongst others, a commentary on Romans from a popular series that my Dad was looking for. (Er, we've got 1 Samuel, said an assistant, 'helpfully'!) You can buy a cover for your bible, but not a book to help you understand one of the key foundational texts of Christian theology.

I hate to say it, but American bookshops inspire even more horror. One even had a stand of Stars and Stripes themed merchandise - which included a bible, with the stars and stripes as the cover. I won't go into what I felt about that. You can buy all kinds of expensive and infinitely tacky bible themed merchandise, which I guess you'd have to have not been born in Britain to hope to understand why somebody would hang it in their home.

So, I will drop the rant here - I think you get the disjointed and disillusioned picture.
I leave you with the questions of the day:

How did Christianity become so tangled up with the captalist consumerist culture of the 21st Century? How can we ensure that Christian products are designed to be helpful, instead of more fashion stuff no more valuable than your average designed jacket or ipod mini?
We as Christians are ALL guilty of some level of selfish consumerism, how do we tie up our desire for more stuff (I bet I will be buying plenty of ostensibly useful stuff before the end of the year), with the simple, practical life on earth led by our Lord Jesus Christ?
Should Christians be as supportive as we are of an economic system that esentially works because man is sinful?

Answers on an A0 postcard at least, because they probably aren't simple.

Further reading - lyrics to All Star United's wonderful Smash Hit.

*First person to spot reference gains my respect for 7 minutes.

**My inifinite respect for the whole week to the person who tells me what this acronym stands for.

Oops

2005-08-20T20:59:00.000-01:00

Haven't really updated this - I have things I want to post, but I never have the time and patience online to write things. Think I should go away, read books, think about something, write a post upstairs on word, then post it later.

Want to write something about styles of worship and sung worship (I hope Ive learnt something about that over the last few years), and that is my solemn promise - expect an 'article'.

Soon and very soon!

They say never promise something you can't deliver.........

linky

2005-07-13T21:27:00.000-01:00

Interesting article on use of the bible...I haven't had time to finish reading it properly but I may print it out tomorrow and have a better look either side of application forms etc.

http://www.internetmonk.com/archives/2005/02/019855.html

enjoy! Comments and discussion both appreciated and desired!

Welcome to slightly dodgy (not intentional), but hopefully entertaining theology

2005-07-09T21:07:00.000-01:00

I don't want to take over my 'proper' blog with theological rants and so on, but I would like somewhere to muse a bit more deeply about spiritual issues, and will simply link to these articles from my blog. A Hat Chris goody bag to anybody who can give me an explanation of this blog's title (unless you already knew!)

Anyway, to start off on good footing, here's a quote from Tom Wright (makes more sense once you have the definition of soteriology, which unless you are clever you won't know):

"It is important to stress, as Paul would do himself were he not so muzzled by his interpreters, that when he referred to "the gospel" he was not talking about a scheme of soteriology*. Nor was he offering people a new way of being what we would call "religious". Despite the way Protestantism has used the phrase (making it denote, as it never does in Paul, the doctrine of justification by faith), for Paul "the gospel" is the announcement that the crucified and risen Jesus of Nazareth is Israel's Messiah and the world's Lord. It is, in other words, the thoroughly Jewish, and indeed Isaianic, message which challenges the royal and imperial messages in Paul's world."

In short, Jesus is Lord! The one thing I will keep in mind whilst writing this stuff.

*soteriology: The theological doctrine of salvation as effected by Jesus.(dictionary.com)