The Epidemic of Cynicism

Opportunity, I read recently, is ‘a favourable occasion for grasping yet another disappointment!’ The cynic’s view of the world may make us laugh, chuckling quietly to ourselves at how cleverly seen the world is by one who observes human nature so closely.

Yet even as I chuckle to myself I know that there is some truth for me. Cynicism touches us all in a world where there are too many problems to solve, problems of such immensity that it is easier to close our eyes and dream of other things than to struggle and contribute and rally others to open their eyes.

I’m thinking of world poverty, of the reality of dealing with the very real challenges the children in Moldova and Romania face, and of wars and rumours of wars in places we have never even heard of. I’m thinking too of the unexpected things that happen and crash onto our headlines upsetting our reverie by their very unexpectedness - Earthquakes, Tsunamis, September 11, our bombings in London - the list could go on.

How we react to these things is a measure of how overcome we are by the epidemic of cynicism. When we turn towards the world and see its plight, or when the news of another natural disaster insinuates itself into our hearing, does it give us yet another opportunity to be disappointed?

It is no wonder that Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Thessalonica: ‘Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.’ It would seem that cynicism, resulting in the closing of eyes, the inattentiveness of hearts and the immobility of hands is nothing new at all and Paul’s words need to fall on our ears also and penetrate our hearts.



As we look around the world, Lord God, we are staggered by poverty and need and human suffering. Forgive us for turning to our lives as if they were all that mattered for in so doing we have turned our back on a world which you love. Amen.

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Falling In Love At Clapham Junction

Rage Isn't An Excuse

Children In Crisis Exploited Children Death Of A Child

Anglican Prayers Anglicans Anglican Thoughts

So What's A Fundamentalist?

Until a few years ago no one spoke about fundamentalists outside the esoteric world of theology. It is only recently that the term has become commonplace in relation to religious people whose approach to their faith is what we might call hard line or traditional.

The former Bishop of Derby wrote a booklet called ‘The Many Fundamentalisms.’ At that time he was particularly concerned about Christian fundamentalists. The thrust of his theme is implied in the title that if there are different ‘flavours’ of fundamentalists, it might call into question the validity of their stance.

As the term has been used recently we think of fundamentalists as being extremely orthodox to the point of bigotry. But really it refers to someone who values the fundamental principles of their faith and in particular one who values traditional interpretations of doctrine and approaches to scripture.

What we have seen recently though is a fundamentalism where narrow beliefs can lead to distortion of the truth and unacceptable behaviour in both Christian as well as Islamic contexts.

It has now become a major preoccupation of the British government to try to legislate in order to control this phenomenon, however, it is proving extremely difficult. In America, the pendulum swings in the opposite direction, whereby the move towards political correctness has gone awry. A courthouse in the state of Alabama featured a stone, upon which the Ten Commandments had been inscribed; hardly an act of fundamentalism, yet the government forced its removal from the courthouse.

In Britain many believe our government has to make laws to regulate behaviour and to provide moral guidelines to protect everyone. But defining theological orthodoxy is another matter.

The problem is that not everything that is legal is moral and not everything that is immoral is illegal. Truth and the law are by no means the same thing.



Holy God, You have given us the traditions of our faith to guide our lives, bless us too with the wisdom to use Your gift of reason to ensure that we build communities in which all are safe and free. Amen

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Dodging God's Salvos

When U Turns Are OK

Sweet Talkers

The Face of Christ

I visited a Christian bookstore yesterday and spent some time browsing through some of the newest books to have come out. One book contained several dozen images of Christ, based upon different artist’s interpretations.

It was clear that the artists strived to find a core of spirituality in their art, and from my perspective I imagined that each of the artists worked particularly hard to capture Christ’s eyes. But these images were uniquely different than those we might see in a museum. Most of the paintings were more contemporary in style.

There's been much debate over the centuries about the face of Christ. What did he look like? A few years ago, a television research team decided to use scientific methods to reconstruct an image. It caused quite a sensation when it appeared in national newspapers. Here was a swarthy, thickset face with short, dark, curly hair and a close-cropped beard - very different from the time-honoured likeness of Christ.

In St Paul’s Cathedral there's a much more familiar representation. It's a modern icon, an image that's been shaped by fifteen hundred years of tradition - a thin face with long hair and pointed beard - and it's based on a sixth century wax panel. But like all icons, we find ourselves looking at far more than just the depiction of a human being of long ago. We look at Jesus looking at us, and try to understand that when He sees us, He sees the love that is His own source and life, despite all we have done to obscure it. And there's a text in the open book to which Jesus is pointing that confirms what He's saying: 'You have not chosen me. But I have chosen you.'

Vocation isn't just for people who aspire to the priesthood though: it's for all who recognise within and beyond themselves the sovereignty of the God who is mysterious and overwhelming yet graciously giving and forgiving.
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Loving God, we have not chosen You but You have chosen us. Thank You that the face of the Lord of eternity is the face of the Lord who gave His life for us, and it is Your face, which invites us to trust in Heaven beyond as well as the heavenly here. Amen.

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Falling In Love At Clapham Junction

An Anglican Compendium of Thoughts and Prayers

Anglican Prayers

In His Service

This is the traditional time when Christians remember the disciple Peter, whom Jesus called to the Rock, upon which he would build his Church. And during this time across the Christian world, there will be Ordination services taking place.

The ordinands will gather to take their vows: to proclaim by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to fashion their lives in accordance with its precepts. To love and serve the people among whom they work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor. They shall vow to preach, to declare God's forgiveness to penitent sinners, to pronounce God's blessing, to share in the administration of Holy Baptism and in the celebration of the mysteries of Christ's Body and Blood, and to perform the other ministrations entrusted to them. And they shall be so instructed to nourish Christ's people from the riches of His grace, and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life to come.

The Archbishop will invite the assembly to pray for the ordinands as they prostrate themselves in a Biblical gesture of humility. The ordinands will be asked, before God, and all who will stand as witness on that day, whether they believe that that they are truly called by God and His Church to this priesthood?

The congregation will be asked whether they defend the ordination of the candidates. And the congregation will be asked whether they shall support them in their ministries.

The newly ordained will be vested with a stole and chasuble; the stole representing the authority entrusted to the priest; and the chasuble, being a distinctly Eucharistic garment, which is worn only for the celebration of Mass.

The Archbishop will anoint the hands of each new priest, as a sign of consecration familiar from Biblical times. And the archbishop will present each new priest with the gifts of the assembly - bread and wine, to be offered to God in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The liturgy is indeed beautiful and it forms a sacred (and legal) bond between the priest and God’s Church.

But it’s not only the ordained who possess the fullness of God’s call. Each of us has the potential to discover that God is real, and to become sensitive to the way He directs our lives. Indeed, St Augustine once described the Church as a school for sinners, not a museum for saints. It's for those who have glimpsed something of the divine, as well as those who have not - but long to.

Responding to God's call involves risk and maybe loss, and even a kind of dying. But the outcome, if you can only stick with it, is life. God is generous and any real vocation is directed outwards towards that mysterious hope that the Gospels call the kingdom of God.



O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favourably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery. Help us to grow into Jesus’ way of loving, who never imposed uniformity, but redeemed individuality. And let us revel in Your gift of life in all its abundance, today and every day, by Him through whom all things were made, Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.



Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9

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What It Means To Be A Priest

Avoiding Our Own Disasters

I should have seen it coming. We’re facing yet another crisis over the renovation of the children’s bathrooms at Aschiuta Home in Moldova this summer. In a nutshell, it simply isn’t going to happen. And I must accept responsibility for this.

We arranged to send the children to a summer camp whilst the renovation work took place. The home stands empty today in anticipation of the arrival of a number of volunteers from the states, to carry out the critical construction and plumbing work. Sadly, however, it hasn’t happened. The warning signs were there for me to see, but I put off facing them.

We have a great capacity to stare impending disaster in the face - and then decide we'll leave it till tomorrow before we tackle it. Sometimes, we can find a plethora of reasons why we choose not to face what we instinctively know and as a result, others are affected.

Or, how many of us have received a letter in the post, possibly a bill, and knowing what the contents probably were, simply set it aside so as not to destroy the balance of the day? You can almost hear a faint and familiar voice saying ‘I'll deal with it tomorrow.’

There are strong encouragements in the Bible –warnings as to how we are living our lives, or cautions as to slippery paths we have taken. But it is easier to close our minds, as well as The Book, and to say ‘I’ll deal with it tomorrow.’

What if? Just what if that tomorrow is today? What if all those times we’ve put things off have caught up with us where our decision to make no decision has forced others to make decisions for us. Then where would we be?

That answer also lies in the book we’ve closed – that we’ve put off until tomorrow. Everyday our Lord invites us to come closer to Him. He never pushes us away. All we need to do is stop saying ‘Maybe tomorrow.’


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In the light of Your face Lord,
May we see sisters and brothers, not enemies and strangers
May we see challenges and chances, not setbacks and dead ends
May we see what we are and can be, not what are not and "should" be
May we see today as gift, not as just another day
May we see with eyes of love, not the distorted vision of fear or hate
Help us to open our eyes today and truly see
In the light of your face Lord
Amen

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The Children's Story Visit Our Children Exploited Children

Death Of A Child

Anglican Prayers

The Truth Shop

‘One day I could hardly believe my eyes, when walking through the town I saw the name of the store ahead of me: 'The Truth Shop.' The lady behind the counter was very polite: 'What type of truth did I wish to buy - partial or whole?' 'The whole truth, of course.' No deceptions for me - absolutely no defences and no rationalisations.

I wanted my truth plain and unadulterated. She directed me to the other side of the shop, where another assistant pointed to the price tag. 'The price is very high,' she said. 'What is it?' I asked, determined to get the whole truth, no matter what it cost. 'Your security, sir,' she answered. I came away with a heavy heart. I still needed the safety of my unquestioned beliefs.’

That's a story told by an Indian mystic, and it applies beautifully when we are reflecting on the mysteries of our spiritual journey. God's call - whether or not it's to the priesthood - comes in many guises. But it always involves risk -on his part and on ours. And that risk may mean abandoning our pre-conceived ideas, being prepared to acknowledge that we're not going to know everything.

Maybe then, as we begin this day, we should be praying not for the whole truth -that won't be revealed to us this side of Heaven. Rather we should pray for courage:

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Lord, we thank You that we are utterly understood by You, even when we feel confused and frustrated by the ways of the world. May we glory today in the wonder of Your love for us, the wisdom of Your work for us and the power of Your purposes for us - and help us not be afraid to throw aside our security as we journey towards Your truth. Amen.

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Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

Falling In Love At Clapham Junction

Finding Forgiveness

New Testament letter-writer James urged Christians in the early church to confess their sins to one another and to pray for one another (James: 5:16). Today, many churches have adopted a portion of James’ suggestion, and are rediscovering the blessings that come from praying for one another.

But I don’t feel we’re as good at confessing when we’ve done wrong; or at asking forgiveness when we know we’ve hurt someone. I’m certainly not!

‘Those sins you forgive have already been forgiven’ is the literal meaning of the words from John’s Gospel. That’s a relief! It means that our job is to speak out what God has already transacted; we don’t have to carry the weight of judging who is or who is not to be forgiven. A word of caution though: Jesus’ followers had just received His Holy Spirit. We’ll need all the discernment the Holy Spirit brings if we’re to speak God’s truth to fellow sinners.

Many years later, the Apostle John wrote this: ‘If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’

If someone has turned away from their sin and asked God’s forgiveness, but is still unsure about whether or not they are forgiven, we can easily find the answer in John: 20:23 – ‘If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven…’

And if you’re carrying any weights of self-doubt today, this should make your heart feel much lighter!


Father in Heaven, thank You that, if we confess our sins, You forgive us and cleanse us, and renew us. Amen