Pentecost

St Bernard of Clairvaux called the Holy Spirit “the kiss of the Father”.

‘If, as properly understood, the Father is he who kisses, the Son he who is kissed, then it cannot be wrong to see in the kiss the Holy Spirit, for he is the imperturbable peace of the Father and the Son, their unshakeable bond, their undivided love, their indivisible unity’. 

The Holy Spirit is the love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father. It is boundless; when the breath of God is poured on the disciples at Pentecost they are sent from the Holy Land to the world beyond. God sends them out of the familiar and we too find ourselves sent beyond our comfort zones because all belongs to God.

In early times as in Exodus 38:11 if anyone wanted to consult the Lord, they would go to the meeting tent outside the camp. Outside our churches, our culturally conditioned beliefs and perceptions, ‘outside our camp’ is where we are sent as God cannot be controlled by us and in this way we discover who we truly are.

Mother Teresa dared to leave her cloister, her home and look for God among the dying on the streets of Calcutta. Our spiritual life is lived in the dynamic of living in God’s love and sharing God’s love, as Mother Teresa said, ‘the problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small’.

‘The spiritual life is being caught up in the heady atmosphere of God, the dizzy oxygen of God’s breathing that never lets us quite catch our breath’ T. Radcliffe.

Gentle Spirit, breathe your life into us,

Strong Spirit, open our closed doors to you,

Universal Spirit, inspire us to work for justice

Spirit of Jesus, teach us to walk, to pray, to live, to love your way.

Awaken our dreams, expand our horizon, send your healing and hope

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

  

Breathing

Breathing

It was shocking to see the news pictures of George Floyd’s final moments as he was pinned down by a police officer’s knee for over eight minutes in Minneapolis as he called out, ‘I can’t breathe’. The images of people suffering so badly with Covid 19 that they need a ventilator to breathe for them. We need to breathe and when our bodies are denied air then we die, it’s as simple and as frightening as that. And there are the huge consequences of those deaths: Riots, as people protest as Black lives still don’t count, and demanding justice. The world in lockdown to protect and save lives yet wreaking economic havoc. And the hastened death of so very many loved ones.

One better thing to have emerged in the news is the cleaner, fresher air that we can breathe. Less vehicles, less planes, the cause of our planet’s emphysema means clearer skies and our plants and trees, our great forests, the lungs of our green planet, able once again to convert the carbon dioxide to oxygen in sufficient quantities that we can breathe healthily again, particularly in the large cities of the world.

 

Our story of creation and salvation is a drama of divine breath inhaled and exhaled. God gives breath to all living creatures in creation (Genesis1:30). Breath is God’s gift of life. And God became one of us when Jesus drew his first breath, and died when he breathed his last and then life was restored at the resurrection. We could imagine the risen life as filling our lives with the life giving oxygen of God’s breathing.

Jesus breathes on his disciples and says to them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them and if you retain the sins of any they are retained.’ (John 20:22).

Every act of forgiveness ‘is another breath of the Body of Christ. Without it we are dead. An unforgiving community suffocates everyone’ Timothy Radcliffe reflects, challenging us all to think about areas of our lives that we can breathe life giving forgiveness into.

 

Tomorrow we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of God’s Holy Spirit. In this time when we need to be alert and avoid breathing over others, can we give others breath by living lives that tread lightly on our planet, breathe forgiveness and ensure the justice that everyone has the right to breathe?

Breathe on me breath of God

Fill me with life anew,

That I may love the way you love

And do what you would do. 

 

Gerard Manley Hopkins compared Mary to the air we breathe; an air that is both enfolding and safe - but also tempestuous and cosmic;

Oh live air, of patience, penance, prayer:

World-mothering air, air wild,

Wound with thee,

In thee is led,

Fold home, fast fold thy child.       

                                       

Working Hard?

Working late into the evening was often seen as real commitment to a job and understood as working hard. In fact if someone went home on time that person was often thought to be lazy or uncommitted and certainly wasn’t working as hard as the others who stayed on at their desks late into the evening. Why is working hard put on such a pedestal? It has sometimes been called the Protestant Work Ethic and people have said that this attitude can be seen in the Northern and Southern European attitudes to work.

From school we have been praised for working hard and told off for day dreaming if we sat looking at the book not moving our pen or perhaps staring out of the window.

Whilst we are working from home there is an opportunity to reappraise our work life balance and consider how we can really flourish and achieve all that we need to and perhaps more.

It doesn’t really need an experiment to show us what we experience, that the longer we spend working the less effective that work is, but in an article ‘Rest is not idleness’, developmental and educational psychologists show that cognitive ability and mental health are enhanced by times of reflection (or ‘day dreaming’) enabling clarity of thinking, effective working and emotional well being.

Mark Rodel in a recent article even suggests that the concept of working hard might actually be ‘perniciously dehumanising as it treats us all as units of production’ whether we are in education, the workplace and at home!

Rather than over-working to prove our value, we can use this as a time for reflective conversations  and take this time of pause as an opportunity to engage afresh with our true inner selves and to reconnect with God in stillness and reflection, setting aside the risks of our frenetic activity to the environment, our community and to ourselves by relentless ‘hard work’.

Yes, there will be times to concentrate and be active but by giving ourselves time to day dream, reflect and be still we can live life more fully.   

 

Jesus said: Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

 

Heavenly Father, soothe my restless spirit with your inner calm, and help me, like Mary, to sit at your feet in quiet thought.

 

May the Peace of God, which (sur)passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Imagination

Jesus’ parables often show vivid imagination and were told in order to catch our imagination. The disciples and all his listeners were captivated by his stories. Although imagination is sometimes used to mean imagining things that do not exist, C.S.Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and J.K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter, these imaginary worlds embody profound truths about the Christian faith, the folly of war, the battle between good and evil.

We have the opportunity to use our imagination during this time, letting go of some of the superficiality of life with its frenetic busy-ness and becoming once again more aware of deeper truths. Otherwise we could end up thinking of the Mona Lisa as nothing but a ‘spread of pigments’ on a canvas, the Beatles’ classic singles as mere “electronic noise” or the Ninth symphony as nothing but a ‘sequence of pitched sounds of varying timbre’ Roger Scruton, The Soul of the World (sic).

Creative imagination is fundamental to the spiritual life. It enriches us. Everything that has ever been created has once been imagined. Changing our lives and our world depends on our imagining of a better future and embracing it. Of course, our imagination can also mislead, especially if it means putting self at the centre of all we consider and desire. The world seems to be full of people who exalt their own being above the needs of others and the care of the very ecosystem on which we all depend. Our vision can be very restricted to our own personal needs at the expense of others.

A person who speaks of people building massive stores of goods and feeling utterly satisfied with their own achievements, who speaks of taking back a greedy son as if nothing had occurred, of a poor person left to die by the wealthy landowner, of a member of a hated group actually doing something good – and of laying down his life for his friends – is bound to encounter trouble from those without the imagination and understanding to change their ways. But Jesus’ Way calls us all to imagine new life in tune with the Love of God and of neighbour as oneself.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art--
thou my best thought by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

Circles

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in."  (Isaiah 40:21-22)

The Circle has always been an important symbol, representing the sun or the moon. And as it has no beginning or end, it can represent God's love; the Alpha and Omega; eternity, that which has neither beginning nor end.
Thus the circle has become a vital part of our religious heritage, from the glorious rose windows in cathedrals to the simple Advent Wreath.

The wheel cross evolved from the chi-rho symbol. The Greek letter chi, the first letter in the title Christ - similar in appearance to the letter "X" - was rotated until it formed the shape of a cross. The Greek letter rho, the second letter in the title Christ- similar to the letter "P" - was merged with the rotated chi, and the whole symbol enclosed in a circle. Eventually the rho disappeared, leaving a cross in a circle. The combination of standing-stones with wheel crosses gave us the familiar form of the Celtic Christian cross.

The Celtic Cross is the circle that speaks of God's love which has no beginning or end.

Widening the circle:

'A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole [of] nature in its beauty.' - Albert Einstein, 1950

A Celtic encircling prayer by Mary Fleeson:

Circle Me Lord,

Let love be my reason,

Let hate be a stranger.

Circle me Lord,

Let joy be my comfort,

Let sadness be no more.

Circle me Lord,

Let peace be my aim,

Let conflict be resolved.

Circle me Lord,

Let love be my reason,

Let hate be a stranger

Circle me Lord,

Let joy be my comfort,

Let sadness be no more.

Circle me Lord,

Let peace be my aim,

Let conflict be resolved.

A Monk who stayed put

Today is the feast day of St Bede. Like us during this time of isolation, Bede stayed in his monastery never travelling, and yet left us an amazing history of Early Britain, theology and prayers. He may inspire us to think about what we can achieve from one place or his words may help us to reflect on what love is. 

Bede was born in Northumbria around the year 670. When he was seven, his family gave him to the monastery of St Peter and St Paul at Wearmouth. This was probably not as horrid as it sounds to us today as it was the only way in which a family of poorer means could educate their sons and give them a good start in life particularly if a child showed ability. He then moved to Jarrow, where he lived as a monk for the rest of his life. Bede never travelled further than York but was incredibly well read. His monastery, under Abbot Benet Biscop and then Abbot Ceolfrith,  was a centre of learning, and Bede studied extensively. He used all the resources available to write the most complete history of Christian England up to the year 729, as well as commentaries on books of the Bible. He was renowned for his faithfulness to his monastery and his love of teaching, and was fondly remembered by his pupils. He died peacefully on this day, still in his monastery, in 735.

Some of his most important sayings are:

‘Unfurl the sails and let God Steer us where he will’

‘He alone loves the Creator perfectly who manifests a pure love for his neighbour’.

“The ultimate Mystery of being, the ultimate Truth, is Love. ….There is in Being an infinite desire to give itself in love and this gift of Self in love is for ever answered by a return of love....and so the rhythm of the universe is created.”

Bede’s Prayer

O Christ, our Morning Star,
Splendour of Light Eternal,
shining with the glory of the rainbow,
come and waken us
from the greyness of our apathy,
and renew in us your gift of hope.
Amen

At One

Jesus prayed; ‘Holy Father protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one’ John 17:11 

Doing things God’s way! It is in our unity with God that we find our unity with one another. The translators studying the New Testament were looking for a word for the new relationship to be found with God in Christ. They decided on the Middle English word ‘atone’ which came from these two words ‘at one’. It seems such a small difference but in small things large important things are found. We have made ‘atone’ a chore, a task, a thing we must do, make up for, to pray for, for to right the wrong that we ourselves have dome. This is not what  ‘at one’ means at all!

‘At one’ means that we at peace with God, so that we can be at peace with one another! And that at-oneness is an act and gift of God; not an act or gift of us! In the middle of the complex message in St John’s Gospel is the simple one that Christ makes us one with God and with each other. So, our calling is to remember that we are one with God and with one another and act towards each other in ways that reflects that oneness. As someone wisely pointed out; whatever troubles we may have with other people they are having the same troubles with us. As we may find on our families, Being Church in lockdown is difficult as we need that ‘at-one ness’ with one another, it is hard to love and learn to love in isolation.

In John’s gospel, Jesus prayed that we would find a home with one another, a place where our ‘at-one ness’ with God becomes a strong ‘ at-one ness’ with each other. May our Church be both a house and a home, for us as the family of God, prayerfully seeking to know and so the will of God.  Thy will be done, thy kingdom come.             

Our website gives details of the worldwide prayer together being offered as our sharing in Thy Kingdom Come. We will begin an online prayer course about praying and for praying together: please get in touch with me if you can join us 01992 584899 vicar@allsaintshertford.org as you will need to be invited and welcomed into the online meeting. I feel this course will help us explore together our praising and forgiving, for we need each other to grow in faith and learn to be at one.

What's the Point?

This has been going on long enough now, I feel restless, I want to go back to the old normal, I want to make plans, see family and friends, get back to church. There are days when I feel this intensely, it can make getting up difficult in the morning, it can make doing anything hard. I am eating too much, watching too much TV and letting things go.

And yet, all around me I hear sounds of neighbours doing things: one has a massive building project and there’s  the sound of hammering, hauling and fixing, one is painting and doing lots of DIY, others are working in the garden, mowing, planting and watering, then there are families cycling by or walking, but somehow for me, today, the inertia has kicked in and I feel, what’s the point?

So I pray, hand those troubled feelings of loss and listlessness to God, ask him to help me deal with feeling this way.  

In the prayer time, mostly silence - well, God knows my feelings, he knows those hopeless thoughts of mine - I come to see, once again, that those around me are working in hope, looking to a future but working with the here and now that this time has given them, us, me.

As Julian of Norwich said; All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.

An Examen for Times when we are down or anxious

I pause (breathe in and out) and thank you for this day. For the challenges, the emotions, the struggle. For in all this, I grow closer to you.

I pause (breathe in and out) and ask that in the darkness, I see your light and in my fear, I feel your strength.

I pause (breathe in and out) and remember that today, As in days before, I can carry on. When I’ve wanted to run, I’ve stayed. When I wanted to hide, I’ve faced the day.

I pause (breathe in and out) and ask for forgiveness for the days I falter. I ask for compassion and love when I’m unable to give those to myself.

I pause (breathe in and out) and resolve to love myself more tomorrow. And always feel your spirit surround me in safety.

I pause (breathe in and out) and rest.      - By Erin Roush

A Mayor in Lockdown!

Rosemary Bolton writes:

You are probably aware that my term of office as Mayor finished on the 21^st May.  It has been the most tremendous honour and privilege; I am so proud to have had the opportunity and have loved it.

Before I was sworn in Bishop Michael gave me some memorable and extremely pertinent advice.  He said that this would be my opportunity to thank everyone, and that I could make a difference to people’s lives, just by thanking them.  It sounds extraordinary, why should one person’s thanks matter.  However, there is a reason why Bishop Michael is a bishop… he is very wise.  Most volunteers aren’t thanked, or don’t feel as if they are, perhaps they missed the memo from on high, but they do like being appreciated and hearing someone thank them.

I have made it a mission in my Mayoral year to thank everyone, and I mean everyone I could.  We live in a wonderful community, full of kind and generous people, they give of their time and talents willingly, and donate to charity as much as they are able.  It has been a joy to be able to observe our volunteers, charities, businesses and organisations at work, quietly making life better without making a fuss. 

Our upbringing and Christian faith make us humble, all the volunteers I have met do not like to acknowledge the difference they are making to their community, they are reticent to accept how important they are.  That is why it is vital to keep thanking them and I’m sure that some of them are probably heartily sick of me by now. The Hertford St John Ambulance team definitely are, they attend every public event and I thank them every time, because they deserve it.

It came as a shock to all of us when Covid 19 came slithering into our lives, like a cold, unpleasant fog of fear, driving us all into our homes, fearful of catching or spreading the virus.  But God’s light and rainbow of hope has shone through, and we have felt the uplifting joy of our community working together, finding coping strategies, helping each other and sharing the love. Friends, neighbours and strangers are taking care of others, and enjoying the experience.

And here is my lockdown dilemma, for the last three months of my Mayoral year I have struggled to be able to thank people for making the effort, to be able to acknowledge the Hertford Heroes, just when they deserve the recognition most.  It is frustrating.  The planned receptions for volunteers had to be cancelled, press releases are buried under more important news, social media moves on a pace and no one can keep up.  It is most definitely not ‘all about me’ nor should it be.

However, I can send a message to whoever is reading this blog… I know that you, in your own way, are important and making a real difference to someone, and I would like to send you a personal message to say THANK YOU! And I genuinely mean it, not just because the Bishop told me to!

THANK YOU!

A Celtic Morning Prayer

Thank you Lord.

I dwell upon the goodness in my life. Thank you.

I cherish in my heart Your gift to me. Thank you.

For all the people that I meet. Thank you. 

I notice the blessings of life, breath, loving and sharing.

                            I am so very grateful. Thank you, Lord

Ascension

A contemporary Ascension Sonnet

We saw his light break through the cloud of glory
Whilst we were rooted still in time and place
As earth became a part of Heaven’s story
And heaven opened to his human face.
We saw him go and yet we were not parted
He took us with him to the heart of things
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and Heaven-centred now, and sings,
Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness,
Sings through the clouds that veil him from our sight,
Whilst we our selves become his clouds of witness
And sing the waning darkness into light,
His light in us, and ours in him concealed,
Which all creation waits to see revealed .

                                     Malcolm Guite

A C16th Ascension Collect by John Donne 

Salute the last and everlasting day,
Joy at the uprising of this Sunne, and Sonne,
Yee whose just teares, or tribulation
Have purely washt, or burnt your drossie clay;
Behold the Highest, parting hence away,
Lightens the darke clouds, which hee treads upon,
Nor doth hee by ascending, show alone,
But first hee, and hee first enters the way.
O strong Ramme, which hast batter'd heaven for mee,
Mild Lamb, which with thy blood, hast mark'd the path;
Bright Torch, which shin'st, that I the way may see,
Oh, with thy owne blood quench thy owne just wrath,
And if thy holy Spirit, my Muse did raise,
Deigne at my hands this crowne of prayer and praise

A prayer of Blessing

The glory of the God of life glow within you

even  when clouds hide God from your sight.

In valleys of discontent

in birth pangs and death pains

the glory of the God of life  glow always within you. Ray Simpson

In the End God

God be at mine end, And at my departing.

The end of life is perhaps the moment that many people suddenly feel that God is most relevant, where the God to whom we have paid perhaps a little attention suddenly becomes extremely relevant. God be at mine end is the ultimate moment of realising our need of God.

Faith is about the quality of our lives, and it gives us a feeling of guidance, stability, well-being – and knowing that we are loved and valued by our Creator. So much so that God sent the Redeemer. We need God in our understanding, our looking, our speaking and our thinking to live the lives to which we are truly called. Our human falling short of God’s glory and the many temptations of this world can cause us to keep God at a social distance.

Yet the Lord is forgiving. His love is ever-present, and if we wander away we are sought out by the Good Shepherd, welcomed back by the father whose goods have been squandered. We are loved. In life and in death.

My departing is a thought to which we may sometimes give consideration. I have a couple of pieces of music I would like played at that time, and I hope that people will think kindly of me. You know how it is. I imagine some tears will be shed but I hope that my loved ones will go forward into the future without lasting sadness, for they have given me such joy. And yet, this is the human side – I want God to be there, or more correctly I want to be aware of that presence. I want what life has taught me of the love of God. I want Jesus’ salvation to hold me fast and assure me that I am truly going home.

We naturally spend so much of our time dealing with earthly things, but when it comes to departing we are definitely thinking of going elsewhere. We don’t know what it will be like, we can only trust God and know that Jesus has gone before us. His resurrection speaks of newness of life, but as on this day he leaves the world, he ascends, he transcends this earthly life. We can think spiritually of soaring into the serene presence of our Father and of the faithful who have gone before us. Our departing is not the end, it is going above and beyond earthly things into the heavenly life of God. May God be with us all, throughout life and on into eternity.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

God be in my head, And in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, And in my looking;
God be in my mouth, And in my speaking;
God be in my heart, And in my thinking;
God be at mine end, And at my departing

God be in my Heart and in my Thinking

The heart has long been thought of as the seat of the emotions. So this part of the prayer is connecting with our feelings rather than our rational logic. Our feelings are amazingly important as we take in everything that is going on around and within us. Feelings can, of course, be irrational; but thoughts alone with no feelings brought to bear on them become sterile. We would be like computers which can process so many ideas rapidly yet cannot have feelings about them. A person without feelings accompanying their thoughts becomes like Mr Spock in Star Trek – Captain Kirk rightly values his work but often has to tell him about human intuition.

In the debate between science and religion, there could easily be objections to linking hearts to thought. We know that the heart does not and cannot think at all – scientifically it is an organ which pumps blood round the body. Science seeks proof of statements, not least in the debate about the existence of God, and with no verifiable proof available it turns away. “Illogical, Captain”. Staying with space, but real space, Yuri Gagarin was the first person to orbit the earth, and as he did so he remarked that he couldn’t see God up there. Of course, he represented an atheist state, presumably sharing their doctrinal stance, so the news would have been welcomed by his masters below. Yet what we believe about God does not involve a floating being somewhere out there, but a Divine Presence in our lives and surrounding us, whose essence is Love.

The heart may not think but it does make its presence felt at significant times. When we have a great achievement, when we are fearful or sad, when we see something or someone who seems really wonderful to us, the heart beats faster. There are scientific reasons for this but this is our human feeling about things which matter to us. No wonder people have felt – yes, felt – that the heart harbours thoughts. Our human experiences can be described in purely scientific terms, which is very valuable for medical reasons, for example, but the strong thoughts are about our deepest concerns and commitments, or worries and our joys, which truly do set the heart racing. May God be found in all our deepest and most heartfelt thoughts.

The heart has recently been used as a sign of hope and shared sadness/solidarity in the wake of the Coronavirus. The family of Sheila Gompertz, who died recently  – her grand-daughters and husband – designed a yellow heart and have begun a Facebook group which many people have taken up. Dave Gompertz said “Although every day on telly we hear the number of people that have died - these are just numbers that don’t mean that much. But if every family that lost somebody dear put a yellow symbol in their window, on their door or the pavement, people would realise the extent of this personal and national tragedy.”

Yellow Hearts to Remember is a sign of deep feeling and a desire to reach out to others. The thoughts of this family, young and older, can touch all our hearts and souls in this difficult time.

"Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen."

God be in my head, And in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes, And in my looking;
God be in my mouth, And in my speaking;
God be in my heart, And in my thinking;
God be at mine end, And at my departing.

God be in my Mouth and in my Speaking

Words are conveyed through the air by vibrations created by the manner in which we open our mouths and project sounds. Human beings have learnt to communicate in very sophisticated ways by refining our abilities. Speech and music rely on the vibrations travelling to the ears and bodies of those around us.

Using our mouths to speak, shout or sing can affect others very profoundly. We can soothe, we can jar. We can inspire or induce despair. It is the same with the written word up to a point, but the personal, direct word tends to have a stronger effect. We all become used to communicating day by day and probably give little thought to how we are speaking.

The mouth can be used for praise of God, bringing out the soul’s feeling of harmony and love. It gives voice to our need to rejoice and be thankful. From the smoothness of Gregorian chant, through Victorian hymns to upbeat worship songs; from the quiet, scarcely-spoken prayer to the cry of awe and wonder we can give out those positive vibrations of delight to be alive in God’s world. Praise and prayer are so good for us, and spring from our experience of God’s presence.

Of course, we don’t always get it right, or have God’s ways emanating from the things we say. The Epistle of James says “the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze”. Yes. Bigmouth strikes again. We are all prone to saying inappropriate things. Instead of good vibrations we spread bad vibrations which can go far beyond what we thought we intended, whether right or wrong.

‘God be in my mouth’ seeks sanctification of this exceptionally powerful part of our bodies that our speaking may be filled with godly ideas. Not that we have to be deadly serious all the time (heaven forbid!) for joking and repartee are part of our humanity too. In fact our faith should help us to share light and joy, not a puritanical gloom. We have a gospel to proclaim, good news and not a misery or condemnation, and all we do as Christians should speak of the hope we have in Christ, our Saviour and Lord.

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in endless praise.

Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from thee.

God Unknown?

Today’s Epistle describes St Paul speaking at the Aereopagus, near the Parthenon in Athens. I hope it doesn’t remind us too much today that we are unlikely to have holidays in other countries this year.

Athens is a fascinating place which is well worth visiting. There is so much history there, and it has influenced Western civilisation in art, philosophy and religion. Of course, if you wish to see some antiquities from the Parthenon you don’t need to go there, merely wait until the British Museum re-opens (as one day it must, surely soon) and view the Elgin Marbles.

To walk to the Parthenon now you probably need to walk through the “lively Plaka district” which is an area of restaurants and shops which provides a great deal of entertainment, often promoting bouzouki music, loud. It is cosmopolitan and in Paul’s day the city must have been similarly dedicated to education and entertainment. Paul sees the many shrines and altars in the city and among the many lifestyles and attitudes of the people of his time he begins to speak about Jesus.

Paul notices the Altar to the Unknown God. The Greeks were very concerned about belief and left an open option for a deity which they had yet to identify. Paul knows just how to use that, like any preacher worth their salt. He tells them clearly the new Christian concept that God has been waiting and has now revealed himself supremely in his Son, Jesus, who came among humanity and laid down his life for all people to bring the hope of newness and resurrection. What strikes me about this situation is that it is another picture of Paul’s confidence and sheer courage. Speaking of an unknown faith could have got him into serious trouble in Athens, just as it did elsewhere.

We have a situation today where there are no public altars in our town squares (though Hertford can become more lively than the Plaka district at the weekends). But we do have a largely Unknown God. Many people no longer seem to have the background and upbringing to begin to relate to the idea of God in our modern times. God is summarily dismissed as belonging to a past, unscientific age. And having a good time is so often seen as the main purpose of life. Challenging the existing zeitgeist takes courage and creativity today as it did for Paul in breaking through the Greek ideas of deities and their own wisdom to bring the centrality of love and hope of salvation. This remains the task today for the Church, to proclaim the faith in ways that speak to this generation, to have the courage and trust to stand up for Jesus in a changing world and to make his love and salvation known.

All my hope on God is founded; he doth still my trust renew,
me through change and chance he guideth, only good and only true.
God unknown, he alone, calls my heart to be his own.

Pride of man and earthly glory, sword and crown betray his trust;
what with care and toil he buildeth, tower and temple fall to dust.
But God's power, hour by hour, is my temple and my tower.

Still from man to God eternal, sacrifice of praise be done,
high above all praises praising for the gift of Christ, his Son.
Christ doth call one and all: ye who follow shall not fall.