Don't Worry

For all you boomers out there: do you remember the immortal words of Alfred E. Newman from Mad Magazine? ‘What? Me? Worry?’

There can’t be a more pointless piece of advice than ‘don’t worry’. We have no control over our worries. In fact, they just sit there somewhere in the subconscious, eating away at our peace of mind like a mouse nibbling cheese.

It wasn’t surprising to hear, in the midst of the television broadcasting doom and gloom of the world economy and the potential global collapse, an enlightening news item, suggesting that worry is the chief enemy of health, especially in the so-called developed nations. Too Right!

It comes in many forms, from the global to the intimately personal, but it’s probably safe to say that not many people will lie awake tonight restless and anxious because of the style of Victoria Beckham’s hair or George Bush’s ability to pronounce the word ‘nuclear.’

Unless we have a loved one actually there, I don’t suppose even the anguish of Afghanistan or Iraq disturbs our sleep. Most of those consumed with worry tonight will be haunted by the need to pay the mortgage, or the utility bills, or fear for their jobs, or the welfare of their children or partners. Whatever its face – and it has many - worry is the world’s great nagger. It simply won’t leave us alone, unless sadly, we choose to drown it in alcohol or blow it away with drugs.

If we believe the news report - and I do - then this kind of anxiety and worry actually causes ill-health. It leads to smoking, drink and drug abuse, to over-eating and to sloth. It makes us powerless and helpless, the prey to every quack remedy and short-cut solution. We become less than we are and much, much less than we could be. And the awful thing is that very often we can see this, but feel helpless to do anything about it.

Interestingly, Jesus spent a substantial part of His famous ‘Sermon on the mount’ on this very subject, thus proving that anxiety isn’t simply a modern invention. In fact, the worries He pinpointed are much the same as have always troubled human beings since they began to live in communities: finance, food, drink, clothing, health, appearance. ‘Life,’ He said, ‘is more than food and the body more than raiment.’ ‘Well, yes,’ they may have muttered in the ranks, ‘but try living without them.’ To which unuttered objection He gave a simple reply.

‘Trust God to meet all your real needs, and don’t worry about the rest.’ He knows that you need them and wants you to have them - but get your priorities right:

‘Strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be yours as well.’ In other words, forget for a moment your own problems and concentrate on what is just and right and good, for others as well as for yourself. From that, only good consequences can flow. We shall be living as the Creator intended us to live.

Well, most have tried all the complicated remedies - drugs, therapy, counselling, hypnosis.


Perhaps it’s now time to try the simple one?

Loving Lord, hear our prayer. Give us the strength to bear all our joys and sorrows. Give us the strength to make our endeavours in Your name fruitful. Give us the goodness never to ignore the poor or those in need. Give us the wisdom to raise ourselves above petty things that do not glorify Your name and give us the strength to surrender ourselves to You in all we do. Amen

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Simple Pleasures

Whenever I am in London I head towards the park to have my sandwich that I've prepared at home and carried up on the train with me. It allows me to rediscover one of life's simple pleasures: feeding the ducks. You can escape the worries of the world and the pressure of the day as you watch the geese heave into the air and honk with delight, while swans glide and ducks bob as if they didn't have a care in the world.

Well, it is a world away from the daily stress of everyday life. Yet, if I'm to believe what I read in the papers, see on TV or hear on the radio, then I fear the days of my reprieves from the hustle of London may be numbered. Bird flu is on the wing and we don't, it seems, have a prayer of stopping it.

It's a powerful cocktail when the prediction of widespread calamity mixes with our own, individual anxiety. 'How will this affect me, personally?' we ask. 'Will I get a vaccination?' ‘Should I stop buying chicken at the supermarket?’

And each day, it seems, there's something else to worry about: al Qaeda; the rise and rise of violent crime; record immigration to this country, if such a thing vexes you. Both the media and politicians can feed our fears to suit their ends, while we end up with the weight of the world on our shoulders: a burden which makes us afraid to go the park, to travel on the underground or even to step outside our front door.

The words of Jesus may, in the face of our genuine fear of pandemics and disasters, seem rather glib. 'Do not worry,' He said. 'Look at the birds - they don't sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?'

'Easy for You to say,' we might reply. 'You're the Son of God, after all.' But this is no conditioned religious answer with a pat on the head to match. Instead, Jesus then issues a call to action. Don't sit here paralysed by fear, but: 'Go and seek God's kingdom and His righteousness.' In other words, get out more - feed the hungry, defend the poor, look after God's creation, challenge injustice and care about the people and things that God cares about the most.

Of course, we're ever grateful for the expertise of the scientists who are monitoring the bird-flu virus, for the forward planning of governments and the provision of health care. These things matter. But the threat of anything, from catching the flu to catching the tube, must not, in the meantime, prevent us from living the life God gave us to the full, and always in pursuit of the perfect love which, so the Bible promises, will drive out fear, for good.

Dearest Lord, do not let our foot stumble; guard over us by day and by night, protect us from harm, watch over us as we come and go, now and for evermore. Amen.

Defying Extremism

Once again, today our nation will come to a standstill. Cars and buses will stop. Heathrow and Gatwick Airport will turn off its jet engines. Thousands will either gather in churches and synagogues, or stop on the streets, and stand in tribute to those who lost their loved ones ten years ago in the July 7 bombings.

It is a small yet powerful way to show that our grief is shared, and at some level, everyone is hurting. It also serves as an act of defiance, a powerful message that we reject the ways of terror and the values of extremists who wish to use this insidious method as a tool of communication. Yet still, the families bereaved by the bombers will bear those wounds for a lifetime.

Indeed the very term ‘extremist’ has become one of the most damaging insults you can now hurl at a person, as new measures are sought to keep out or send home those described as ‘extremists from abroad.’

Leaders of Britain's Muslim and Christian communities have insisted that these atrocities lack any religious justification. It's a verdict extremists reject... which is why anybody who's not one will understandably want to keep a safe distance. No one with a basic humanity, still less a living relationship with a God who is loving and merciful, will want to risk guilt by association.

And yet I have a nagging feeling that when extremism is left to the extremists, we've all lost. Not, of course, the evil perversion which foments hatred and sets off bombs as part of some divine mission... rather the kind of passionate single- mindedness for what God requires, which is at the heart of all true faith.

I've never forgotten what a minister in America once told me about a girl who'd been attending his church since she was a very young child. In her early teens, her mother stopped her from attending and refused to change her position. The woman had no complaints about the church or the services, but she said, ‘I don't want her taking all that religion stuff too seriously.’

The woman wasn't alone, by any means, in regards to being serious about religion as somewhat suspect: a mild, Sunday School inoculation, maybe, but nothing that would get in the way of her daughter doing what she wanted with her life. Not a million miles, this thought, from the polite, moderate, ever-so-sensible approach to faith which never propels the believer out of a personal comfort zone and certainly never implies a challenge to anyone else.

In comparison with such milk-and-water inoffensiveness, some of those who’ve most inspired my own spiritual journey would almost certainly be reckoned as extremist. They've stood up to people abusing power, and dared to go on telling them that their actions were an outrage before God.

They’ve put themselves at risk, as they affirmed the value of the most reviled outcasts in their communities. They’ve coped with incredulity and hostility as they’ve given up careers, comfort, and security, in order to be of use in places of squalor and danger. Extremists - all of them! However, the notion of enlisting violence to their cause would have appalled them. The very thought of hurting someone, whether by hand or word, would have been repugnant and degrading to their ethos.

Jesus talked about being ready to love enemies, to do more than your fair share and to forgive until you lose count. He urged His listeners to live in simple trust, to pursue God's way before every other loyalty.

In stark contrast to the extremism, which expresses itself in hatred, this is a passionate extremism fired by love.

Of this kind, I feel we need a lot more.

Loving God, Receive into Your loving arms the victims of violence and terrorism. Comfort their families and all who grieve for them. Help us in our fear and uncertainty, And bless us with the knowledge that we are always secure in Your love. Strengthen all those who work for peace, And may the peace the world cannot give, continue to reign in our hearts. Amen 

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Death Of A Child

Terrorism

Bereavement Death

Spots Or Wrinkles

Spots Spots Spots! My teenage daughter sees things I cannot see. She’s certain that the moment one spot goes away there’s another lurking somewhere deep from within, ready to leap out. But I tell her truthfully; I can’t see any on her beautiful complexion.

‘Oh Daddy!’ she’ll sigh. And on it goes; typical of a self-conscious teenager.
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It’s no different for adults. There’s a bevy of things for us to worry about. For example, watch the news for ten minutes. Or closer to home, take a look in the mirror: It's either pimples or wrinkles! You finally get rid of the one and then it’s time for the other to start showing up and unfortunately wrinkles don't go away, they just invite all their friends!
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Trials and tribulations, irritations, and aggravations: That's life, but only one side of it. Because hidden inside every trouble and every aggravation is an opportunity just waiting to be noticed and taken hold of.
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They’re an invitation from God to let go of what doesn't matter or doesn't work, and to search for what does matter and what can bring us joy and freedom. It’s His invitation to focus on straightening out what's behind the face, what's inside the head and deep within your heart.
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Sometimes there are pains or frustrations that must be lived with; we can't make them go away. What's the opportunity there? Perhaps it's an invitation to relax in the Lord; to give ourselves over to Him at long last. Perhaps it's an invitation to let go of our obsessive perfectionism or our excessive need to control and focus on what really matters.
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Each of us has our own special collection of stresses and hurts, and we know them well. But have we looked behind them? Have we searched in faith for the invitation God has wrapped inside them?
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If we haven't, we're wasting a lot of time on pain and disappointment. That isn't what God wants for us. He is offering us joy and freedom for the taking, here and now. Look a little deeper and you'll find it, wrapped discretely inside your troubles.
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If you look, you'll find it. I promise you it's there!.

Loving Father, it’s so easy to become laboured with life’s wrinkles. Teach us to accept what we cannot change. Grant us the wisdom to see beyond ourselves, that we may reach out to others and bring Your world closer. Amen
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Don't Take Me For Granted!

The financial state of our western society provides strong indicators as to what family life may be for many–fraught with stress and worry. Meteoric rises in mortgage repayments, grocery costs are sky rocketing, and most worrying of all, utility costs that are forcing many of our elderly to have to choose between eating and being warm.

During difficult times relationships can easily become strained and communications between couples start to fracture.

One of the most common complaints between husbands and wives is that they take each other for granted. And how predictable that is! Two people live in the same house, share the same life, and follow the same daily routines, doing what needs to be done, keeping things afloat.

It takes conscious effort not to settle into seeing one another's goodness and caring as no more than one's right and no great gift. What an illusion that is and what an extraordinary presumption.

If we do that to one another, what surprise is there that we regularly do the same to God. We take for granted His wonderful gifts, and we so easily call them our own. And some of us persist in that illusion until the very moment when we're called to give them back. What a stark and dreadful awakening that can be.

Thankfulness for life and for all of God's gifts is the starting point for anyone who seeks to be truly wise. But it's certainly no burden. To see the truth of how undeservedly beloved we are is to find some sense of how valuable and important we tiny, mortal creatures are to the creator of this grand universe.

'Tell it to your children,' says the Old Testament reading. And so we must.

But tell it to yourself first, over and over again:

Loving God, it is You who made me and You who loves me with everlasting love. I know You will never let me go. Amen

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. Joel 1:3

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