These are the days of Miracle & Wonder!

a caveat to prefix any sermon of worth

If by grace what I say has in any respect any validity,
it is, of course, only one facet of a truth incalculably rich.

JRR TOLKIEN, 'On Fairy Stories', 1939.

Spring

I was out for a walk this morning - probably about 11 miles of Cornwall passed under (or stuck to) my boots.  After about an hour and a half of being oblivious, I started to notice that nature is busy having babies: daffodils (some out, most not), buds appearing on the hawthorn, catkins on the hazel.  As you can see.

Usually we think that Spring begins when leaves start to unfold, but it's not true: the new life of the new season is poking through now, whether or not we spot it.

Theological application: many of the things we have been hoping for, praying for, acheing for have already begun.  They are already here.  Don't be overwhelmed by the absence, keep your eyes open for the presence.

But Seriously ...

The following is a quote from Ayatollah Khomeini.  I'm not quoting him to claim that his words are somehow representative of Islam - that's not my point (and I don't know anyway).

I want to share the quote because of its unbelievably defective view of the nature of God, and because often it's easier to see what is good and true by contrast.  Read on:

Allah did not create man so that he could have fun.
The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer.
An Islamic regime must be serious in every field.
There are no jokes in Islam.
There is no humour in Islam.
There is no fun in Islam.
There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious.
AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI

If you wish, you could (and probably should) compare with this:

It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.
GK CHESTERTON

Short thankfulness

Dear God,
Today I experienced my first Chinese tea ceremony,
walked for three and a half hours through lanes & by streams,
and had my ego boosted by passing 500 followers on Twitter.
Now, reading Born Free with my feet up and a piece of cake,
I wanted to stop & say thankyou.
Amen.

Prayer of St Jason the Spiritualized

Please Lord, may I be wrong.
Cos when men are right, they are not young.

Please Lord, may I be foolish.
Cos when men are wise they're not satisfied.

Please Lord, may I be lonely.
Cos when men have friends, they're reckless.

And please Lord, may I be helpless.
Cos when men are strong, they're dangerous.

And please Lord, put a tiny little spring in my step...

 

Quoting John Stott

John Stott died last summer: a man with huge influence and authority - the present healthy state of evangelicalism within the CofE is in no small part down to him - and someone of whom I was naturally suspicious, mainly due to the people who claimed him as their leader.  Plus he really didn't get postmodernism.

But when you actually get to read the guy, he was clearly a brilliant, original and orthodox believer; the kind of person, in short, who is worth following.  Chris Wright said, 'He was, for all of us who knew him, a walking embodiment of the simple beauty of Jesus, whom he loved above all else.'

Here are some examples of his thoughts:

'Christianity is not primarily a theological system, an ethical system, a ritual system, a social system or an ecclesiastical system – it is a person: it’s Jesus Christ, and to be a Christian is to know Him and to follow Him and believe Him.'

'To become Christian is in a real sense to become human... But to assert joyfully that salvation includes humanisation is not at all the same thing as saying that humanisation (rescuing men from the dehumanising process of modern society) equals salvation.'

'The debate about the rival merits of evangelism and social responsibility is never necessary. It expresses an unbiblical dualism between body and soul, this world and the next.'

'Every Church should be engaged in continuous self-reformation.'

'Before Christ sent the Church into the world he sent the Spirit into the Church. The same order must be observed today.  Without the Spirit, the Word is a lifeless and dead letter.'

'What people want is an easy-going syncretism, a truce in inter-religious competition, a mishmash of the best from all religions. But we Christians cannot surrender either the finality or the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. There is simply nobody else like him; his incarnation, atonement and resurrection have no parallels. In consequence, he is the one and only mediator between God and the human race. This exclusive affirmation is strongly, even bitterly, resented. It is regarded by many as intolerably intolerant. Yet the claims of truth compel us to maintain it.'

'The devil hates the gospel and uses all his strength and cunning to obstruct its progress, now by perverting it in the mouths of those who preach it, now by frightening them into silence through persecution or ridicule, now by persuading them to advance beyond it into some fancy novelty, now by making them so busy with defending the gospel that they have no time to proclaim it.'

'We have the means to evangelise our country; but they are slumbering in the pews of our churches.'

'Listen to the world’s many discordant voices: the cries of the poor and oppressed, the questions of the bewildered, the sighs of the hurting... We are called to double listen. We listen to the Word of God to believe and obey it and we listen to the modern world to sensitively understand it.'

Step into the Road

 

It's a dangerous business going out of your door.
You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet,
there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.

BILBO

 

This is just an excuse to post the first poster for the Hobbit, AND to utilise one of the guiding quotes I endeavour to live in the light of.  Compare:

Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going.
How do you expect us to know the road?"
Jesus said, "I am the Road."

Vaclav Havel: Wonder as an end in itself

The recently-deceased Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright-philosopher who became liberator and president, is worth listening to.  He thought our greatest shortcoming was pride in our own understanding:

'Strange things are happening and will happen. Not to bring oneself to admit it is the path to hell. Strangeness, unnaturalness, mystery, inconceivability... Until they are released and allowed to return to our minds things will not go well.

'Wonder... is, after all, the first impulse to the question: "What purpose does it all have?" "Why does it all exist?" "Why does anything exist at all?" We don’t know and we will never find it out. It is quite possible that everything is here in order for us to have something to wonder at. And that we are here simply so that there is someone to wonder...

'In all events, I am certain that our civilisation is heading for catastrophe unless present-day humankind comes to its senses. And it can only come to its senses if it grapples with its short-sightedness, its stupid conviction of its omniscience and its swollen pride, which have been so deeply anchored in its thinking and actions.'

[quote pinched from Archbishop Cranmer]

Yeah, but No

A bit of a turnaround.

After being 'in discernment' for 18 months, I found out last Wednesday that, since Maria & I want to spend time living near our family in the States in the not-too-distant future, the Church of England can't sponsor me for ordination training (regardless of whether they think I'm a good candidate or not).

So all our plans have to change.

Just in case you're worried about our consequent mental state, I should add that we're not depressed by this news, even though it isn't what we were hoping for. We're actually feeling very positive, especially since it opens up new possibilities.

[For example, we'll probably be leaving Cornwall and moving across the Pond before too long (I'll look into pursuing ordination from that side, almost certainly), which is exciting because we won't have to wear thermal socks quite so much.]

Sorry if you heard about this in such an impersonal way.

This is what Charleston, our probable future home, looks like from space:

[click for bigger]

The Aroma of Literature