Stepping outside the campsite.

We leave the barriers to tent-making ministry and move towards Hugh's view of the possibilities. Over recent years, there has been considerable emphasis on reordering worship spaces within church buildings. Perhaps we need to considering a wider notion of reordering church ministry in its fullest sense, but this perhaps takes a significant experience or happening of a spiritual kind grounded and earthed in today's context.

Take Wesley's Heart-warming experience. For after Aldersgate, we find a shift from a more static to a greater dynamic view of the church in Wesley-but this is not a shift away from ecclesiology. It is a shift toward a more organic and functional view of the church. The concern after Aldersgate is not with life rather than form, but rather with life and with life-nurturing form, with how to enliven the whole.

Hugh within his 21st century Anglican context is beginning to set out some similar possibilities. His mirroring of the Gospel words of John 3:8.

The possibilities

• We never know when a new, vibrant wind will blow through our tired lives and structures; so there is always room for a realistic hope and confidence in humankind and in God
• There may emerge one or more bishops and others with a sense of what is possible in this sphere, and start a ball rolling
• When we get tired of postmodernism and start again digging around in the muck and muddle of human possibility, the mystery of God and the promises of the Gospel, we may see developments we cannot now dream of.

In the Uk's Daily Telegraph on Wednesday of this week, Prof David Williams one time Chair of Mathematical Statistics at the University of Cambridge, discussed the evolutionary theories under the title God is Subtle. He writes

"God is subtle" - far more subtle than we shall ever fully realise. I believe God planned for intelligent life, but not specifically for Planet Earth on which humans live. Past evolution in no threat to belief in God. However, future evolution necessitates profound reappraisal of the ways in which Jesus and Mohammed are regarded by their followers. Human evolution has hardly begun"

The possibilities of the 'subtle God' energising and re-energising humankind beyond that which we can possible imagine has biblical president.

Tent-making ministry allows the church to dream and evolve an ever present age ministry that can truly serve alongside our 'subtle God'. in the words of Oscar Romero, "We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest."

The Art of Camping

So onto the last of Hugh's obstacles to tentmaker ministry.

The living out of the priest’s office seems often to drift from the ontological and inspirational to the functional and tired. Of course there are exceptions, but many parish clergy drift towards becoming museum attendants: preserving the artefacts, discouraging innovation and preferring well behaved visitors who admire the exhibits.

This seems to be saying, using a parody from the epistle, "when I was a theological student I had high hopes but now that I am a minister I have to put away visionary concepts and become a routine religious." How often have I heard ministers say, they didn't teach me this in College, when faced with some functional aspect of organisation.

Just last week, I popped into Hugh's Church of St James whilst passing through London and was heartened to see within this Wren masterpiece, 2 men of the road, asleep on pews, keeping warm from the winter chill, whilst city people where at prayer, and musicians where getting ready for an evening concert of classical music. Truly this was a glimpse of an ontological church at work and I define ontology - the study of the nature being.

For me, this is the essence of tentmaker ministry - the incarnational ministry of being and has much to say about the ministry of the institutional church. What is clear, is that the institutional church has great problems with what is often viewed as this maverick ministry. Whilst it holds theoretically high theology of ministry, the church seems lack the ability to express this through praxis.

Such practice is surely only determined through a physical, emotional and spiritual presence within a given context, what we might call the principles of incarnational ministry where

• Incarnational ministry has to be transparent where the benefit of our actions are free of suspect intention and allows others to discover the source of such goodness is the Word made flesh in us.
• Incarnational ministry is vulnerable in that it cannot and should not inoculate itself from the hurt of those it is helping
• Incarnational ministry is what someone has called an applied agape truly being WITH the people and truly vulnerable.
• Incarnational ministry embraces the culture without succumbing to it.
• Incarnational ministry is always willing to take on itself the suffering of the oppressed.

Lesslie Newbigin said, ''The word without the deed is empty. The deed without the word is mute.''

In this context, Hauerwas and Willimon comment that the pastor’s job description is "not the sustenance of a service club within a generally Christian culture, but the survival of a colony within an alien society" (Hauerwas 1989, 115). The authors assert that all Christians are "ordained through baptism," and that there is therefore no "specialness" about pastors. All leaders in a local congregation have the responsibility of building up the congregation. In a society that "corrupts and co-opts Christians" the unique role of the pastor is to help the congregation gather the resources necessary to be the colony of God’s righteousness (Hauerwas, Resident Aliens (1989) 139).

Campsite Attendant Wanted

As we continue our journey around Hugh Valentine's tent-maker encampment we come to his powerful indictment regarding the lack of ministry role models.

We lack models of ordained men and women who manage effectively to discharge their duties as priests and who operate in a range of posts, jobs, roles and professions and who see these as being the places they pray, witness and celebrate the link between the transcendent and immanent.

With just a little editing I feel that Hugh's words could be turned into a situations vacant notice.

WANTED men and women who manage to effectively discharge their duties as Ordained ministers, through a range of posts, jobs, roles and professions and see these as places they of prayer, witness and celebration linking the transcendent and immanent.

It is this incarnational nature of tent-maker ministry that seems to be continually placed in the blind spot of the church. From my own experience, the deliberate practice of tent maker ministry makes theological sense as the transcendent pathway meets the immanent highway at street level. G. Ernest Wright’s The Biblical Doctrine of Man in Society, quoted by Stanley Hauerwas in Unleashing the Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America, p 26 infurs that such ministry modelling is essential. He writes,

“But no matter how high the doctrine of the church to which a particular confession may adhere in actual practice its congregations are a gathering of individuals who know little of Christian community in the biblical sense and expect little from it. Like secular clubs they meet in their various groups to hear speakers on a variety of topics which are usually unrelated, undigested, and unillumined by Christian faith…The worship of the Church has been heavily influenced by individualistic pietism, concerned largely, not with the social organism, but with the individual’s need of peace, rest and joy in the midst of the storms and billows of life. The self-centeredness of the pietistic search for salvation tends to exclude vigorous concern with community. Hence, the modern Christian searches his Bible not unlike the pagan’s study of his sacred literature, the purpose being to find inspirational, devotional, and moral enlightenment for personal living, and nothing more. The sectarianism of the Churches, and their racial and national cleavages, are further expressions of an individualism which distorts the nature of Christian society and provides excuse for the world’s individualism.”

Hugh's model reverses the paradigm

Choosing the right sight! (yes I mean sight.)

Following my last blog, another tent-maker commented, the institution that seeks to save its own life shall lose it, but the one that loses it, shall preserve it? and I thinks that this is a good introduction to the examining the next of Hugh Valentine's obstacles to tent-making ministry.

He writes, "Organisations tend to be self-replicating. Candidates for non-stipendiary ministry in England tend to be like those doing the selecting - safe, middle-class and mainly conformist." So my first question is, why?

There is a human tendency to focus on what we know and as a consequence we can find ourselves worshipping our comfort zone, our heritage our ideals. What we forget is how frail we human beings are, how readily we fall into selfish, hurtful, and wicked ways, and how frequently the good we do and the good we intend is mixed with evil motives and evil consequences.

Recently, I have become reacquainted with the work of the anthropologist, Professor Dame Mary Douglas where she explores the barriers and boundaries communities build in order to keep a semblance of social purity. She uses the religious context of the Hebrew Scripture to examine how the chosen people followed the purity laws of Leviticus. These laws were preventive statues to ensure that the community is not infected by that which is different. Psychologically, this difference gradually takes on the nature of that which is abhorrent and must be avoided at all costs. Today, much of the subconscious nature of discrimination stems from such culturally evolved precepts.

Two quotes from her prolific work articulate this protectionism philosophy. "The natural response of the old-timers is to build a strong moral wall against the outside. This is where the world starts to be painted in black and white, saints inside, and sinners outside the wall. "

and

"The theory of cultural bias... is the idea that a culture is based on a particular form of organization. It can't be transplanted except to another variant of that organization."

Not long before her Death in June 2007, Douglas spoke about 'enclaves' at the Young Foundation. She defined them as the small groups that at their most extreme, become terrorist cells. Where others emphasise their strengths, she emphasised their weaknesses: how prone they are to splits and sectarianism, and how hard it is for their founders to enforce rules. To survive, enclaves create around themselves what Douglas called a "wall of virtue"—the sense that they alone uphold justice, while all around them are suspect—yet the very thing that bonds them together encourages individuals within them to compete to demonstrate their own virtue and the failings of their peers. The only thing that can override this fragility is fear of the outside world—and so sects, whether political or religious, peaceful or violent, feed off the hostility of outsiders, using it to reinforce their own solidarity. The implication is clear for western governments: in the long term, defeating terrorism depends on ratcheting fear down, not up, dismantling the "walls of virtue" rather than attacking them head on with declarations of war.

But as I read this commentary, I could not help but feel Douglas was elaborating Hugh's view, that churches are indeed "Organisations tend to be self-replicating" and do so out of fear of infection. Has the church become too self image concious rather than focusing on the significance of the other or too uniform to the degree of obliterating the multifaceted nature its real membership by excluding and restricting anything that smacks of difference.

In a sense I want to use JB Phillips version of Romans 12:2 replacing the word world with church

"Don’t let the church ...... squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity." or as the Message paraphrases it.

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you".

What a wonderful multiplex image.

Campsite Rules!

In my last post I said that I would explore Hugh Valentines obstacles and possibilities of Tent Maker ministry. So here goes with the first obstacle; the church.

Hugh writes. Like all institutions, the church is concerned with control and survival. These are often buried motives - subconscious - so this ought not be read as any criticism of individuals or a comment on their considered actions.

Let's start with the word Survival. We all recall the mountain experience of Peter; commonly known as the transfiguration. Never before had he experienced the like; yet impetuous by nature he calls out, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters (skerne) - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) It is almost as if he wished to prolong the event by making some sort of lasting structure. Uncertain, awestruck, perhaps even fearful, is he trying to control the situation into some human manageable dimension? This is not Peter's only outburst, for elsewhere he declares Jesus to be the Christ; only to be followed a further rebuttal that sets limits to his confession. A kind of "Yes, Yes but.....Hmmmmm; not like that!"

What exactly were Peter's plan's in wishing to build a skene ? The word can mean a "tent" or "temporary shelter." It can mean "tabernacle" such as a worship place; the dwelling place of God in the OT. It can mean a "house" -- a permanent dwelling place. What was the perceived need for houses? Perhaps he wants to "house" the event so that it will last forever. Someone has suggested that Peter has been diagnosed as having an "edifice complex."

Survival and structure of the church seems to go hand in hand, as surely the 'edifaces' that we build determines the boundaries we set for mission and ministry. Unfortunately, in time, the structure not only defines who we are but defines our essence. In other words, it controls our actions by deep subconscious often unarticulated notions. Let me illustrate this in thee ways

In the UK, on significant Royal occasions such as the Queens Birthday, the Kings Troop of the Royal Artillery fire a royal salute. Their drill manual explains precisely each part of the ceremony. One member of the troop, a bombardier is ordered to position himself so many yards away from the Gun down on one knee with his right arm raised in the air. When asked why, the reply was that we have always done it this way, until one bright young officer searched through military archives. He found that originally, the soldier was there to hold onto the Officer's horse in order to stop it from bolting when the gun was fired. Whilst the officer's horse is no longer part of this ceremony, the action remains. The action has now become meaningless.

Another military example with royal connections concerns the visit by a senior Royal to an army establishment. At the guardroom entrance there was a path marked by white stones and in order to ensure that the site was looking it's best, a young private was detailed to repaint the markers. In the process, he accidentally upset the paint on the path. Too late to do anything about it the spilled paint was turned into a neat square on the path. Years later and on every subsequent visit by a royal, (you've guessed it) the square is religiously recreated on the path.

I experienced a third example when a junior member of a residential college in London. Each lunch time, the duty member of staff would go to the dining room, count the number of students having lunch, write and the number and the date into the book. When the note book was full, I would take it to the administrator's office and be issued with another. When I asked what happened to the data in the book, I was told nothing, we just file them away.

Similarly, over time, rules appear to become absorbed into church structure and take on the appearance of spiritual order. Keeping these rules becomes paramount and any variation must me dealt with, isolated and expelled as it threatens the very nature of its reason for existing.

What a dilemma. On the one hand a religious order constructed overtime with defined parameters emanating from a gospel but now distant imperative and on the other, the immediacy of a gospel call to serve in a context that is counter cultural to the first and perhaps even questions its rational and structure. Is it any wonder that each appears as an obstacle to the other.

This is both a psychological as well as a theological problem as can be seen in the work of Mary Douglas. Douglas, a symbolic anthropologist examined how people give meanings to their reality and how this reality is expressed by their cultural symbols. She believed that humans actively create meanings in their social lives in order to maintain their society. By analysing these meanings, Douglas attempted to find universal symbolic patterns. By defining what is polluted, people classify their social life into two opposite categories: what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. This symbolic system gives moral order to societies. Douglas further argued that in societies where the categories of purity and pollutants are rigid, people have developed secular and religious rituals to keep themselves physically and morally pure. She claimed that these practices enforce the symbolic system and keep order in the society.

But what if this categorisation process has become skewed, altered or even corrupted based upon a wrong analysis.

It is interesting that Jesus spoke far more about Kingdom ethos than church structure and our narrow view of the church perhaps misses one of the orginal meaning of the Greek word Ekklesia - those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body.

It would appear that the survival of the Church through over control may well be at odds with Kingdom culture. After all, Jesus did not say the Kingdom of God is controlled by the church did he!

Repitching the Tent

I recall, whilst training for Salvation Army ministry in Camberwell London during the early 1970's, visiting with a group of other cadet students, a worker priest. At that time, I was too conformist to appreciate his radical viewpoints and what to me, was his scathing attack upon some of the politics and shifted policies of the 'Army'. I left not liking the man and feeling that he was subversive , arrogant and frankly, off track. How differently the years and circumstances enable one to view a previous experience in a different light. As I reflect upon the distant memory, I find myself asking the question who actually was subversive, arrogant and frankly, off track - Me?

I can't remember much about him, except that he was a baker as well as an Anglican priest. (What a lovely thought, he who baked the bread also breaks it and shares it in the Eucharist.) However, as I left his flat above the bakers shop and returned to the College, I could not help but think, How sad that he feels he needs to hold on to the security of a job and not fully enter into real ministry.

Boy, was I arrogant and opinionated in those day's!

How much I have changed in my thinking across these three and half decades. For me, the concept of tent-maker ministry now makes so much theological sense. Today, as I try to picture the scene of that meeting, I feel a sense of shared identity, even a deep respect for what this man of God was trying to teach me.

These thoughts were resurrected when I came across a posting on the website of St Jame's Picadilly by Hugh Vallentine - a worker priest ordained in 1989. The full script can be found at http://www.st-james-piccadilly.org/workerpriests.html.

In this article he explores something of the background of the worker priest, and examines the current climate by high-lighting the Obstacles and Possibilities of this type of ministry. I found these to be both insightful and challenging. Hugh writes.

The obstacles

• Like all institutions, the church is concerned with control and survival. These are often buried motives - subconscious - so this ought not be read as any criticism of individuals or a comment on their considered actions
• Organisations tend to be self-replicating. Candidates for non-stipendiary ministry in England tend to be like those doing the selecting - safe, middle-class and mainly conformist
• We lack models of ordained men and women who manage effectively to discharge their duties as priests and who operate in a range of posts, jobs, roles and professions and who see these as being the places they pray, witness and celebrate the link between the transcendent and immanent.
• The living out of the priest’s office seems often to drift from the ontological and inspirational to the functional and tired. Of course there are exceptions, but many parish clergy drift towards becoming museum attendants: preserving the artefacts, discouraging innovation and preferring well behaved visitors who admire the exhibits.

The possibilities

• We never know when a new, vibrant wind will blow through our tired lives and structures; so there is always room for a realistic hope and confidence in humankind and in God
• There may emerge one or more bishops and others with a sense of what is possible in this sphere, and start a ball rolling
• When we get tired of postmodernism and start again digging around in the muck and muddle of human possibility, the mystery of God and the promises of the Gospel, we may see developments we cannot now dream of.

Hugh Valentine

Over the next few blogs, I want to reflect upon Hugh's thoughts, from the context of tentmaker ministry within a number of different traditions.

Who moved my calling?

I've just re-read "who moved my cheese", a change philosophy parable by Dr Spencer Johnson. My reason was in connection with introducing it the staff of my College. However, as I read, I could not but help compare the actions of its four main characters with that of Church people. Sniff - who sniffs out change early, or Scurry - Who scurries into action, or Hem - Who denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse, or Haw - Who learns to adapt in time when he sees changing can lead to something better!

The notion of calling to ministry within a given context seems to have a similar effect. Let's look at how various parts of the church define 'calling'.

One such view is that of a Presbyterian within a post modern context.

1. Call is relative to one’s culture.
2. Postmodern understanding of call is rooted in vocational understanding and a longing for security.
   

Here-in lies a major issue, a division in the unfolding of the call through the praxis of applied ministry. For some, the security once enjoyed, is no longer the comfort they knew. For others, the security fit is so intertwined with a particular context that there appears to be no calling without the context.

I have a notion that much of our understanding as to the theatre of our calling depends upon our world view, where we see the relative place of the church within it and where we see our own position within both. But perhaps more important and overshadowing all of these is our understanding as to where we see locus of God at work.

Another aspect of callings is in the nature of its mission field within which it is exercised.

• If it is centred entirely within a church structure, the praxis of ministry is about getting others to come-in and join "us". Our kingdom view becomes synonymous with church and in extreme circumstance 'my Church'.
• If the mission field is seen as the church active within the world but with the express intention of 'converting' people into members, the praxis of ministry can become subversive, culturally imperialist and later cause extreme angst for those whose unfolding calling fails to resonate with the Church's anticipated ministry path.
• If our mission field is seen as the world, the praxis of our ministry is about getting alongside others and bringing Christ to their tables, regardless of their circumstances, spirituality or belief. In such circumstance, it is hard for those of the 'come-in' persuasion to recognise this as church.

It is perhaps this later view, almost diametrically set against the first that causes so much hurt and angst when some one in ministry feels the need to move into a different field, or at least, are unable to stay within the restraints of a particular Church structure.

There are perhaps three further scenarios that need to be considered in this situation. In some cases, when a minister leaves it is because the Church's view and praxis has changed, whilst the individual continues to hold their calling within a firm parametre. Such an instance would be Church of England clergy who were unable to accept the ordination of women.

For others, just like the characters in the book, their supply of cheese, or in the sense of our discussion here, their spirituality supply can no longer be found within the structure of the Church in which they serve. All to often this is because the projected view of ministry, its training system and theology of ministry fails to resonate with its structure and praxis. In other words, the contents found within is not what's written on the tin. The days of formation in ministry fails to develop into paths where that ministry can be be clearly exercised.

The third is where both the Church and the individual change, where praxis and views move along a different, widening and at times opposing trajectories.

As a former Salvation Army officer and now a Methodist minister, I have been following the stories of other 'formers' (http://fsaof.blogspot.com/) where all three scenarios can be seen.

I wonder if the locus of one's calling is dependant upon the dual kingdom/world view held by the Church and its synergy with that personally held. The notion of world view comes from the German word Weltanschauung Welt is the German word for "world", and Anschauung is the German word for "view" or "outlook." It is a concept fundamental to German philosophy and refers to a wide world perception. It refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts with it.

As to the kingdom; what was it Jesus said about being salt of the earth?

Mark 9:50"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.

Keeping Salt in a packet with a brand name "My Church" is not fulfilling the Gospel or Calling.

Is there need for a clearer theological thinking of ministry that firmly develops a praxis that embraces God guided change within the world that truly encompasses "Your Kingdon Come"?

What! Epiphany?

Is Epiphany the forgotten festival? Epiphany is the twelfth night of Christmas, celebrated on January 6, when the Magi are said to have visited the baby Jesus. But where did the name come from? As its name suggests, the Epiphany had its origin in the Eastern Church and has a number of meanings.

It comes from the Greek epiphania "manifestation," often referring to the appearance of a divine being. Christ's appearance to Paul on the Damascus road was an epiphany. The word is used to describe the first appearance of Christ to the Gentiles in the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus.

It also means, a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, typically through an ordinary but striking occurrence or burst of insight. In the life of faith it defines a particular manifestation of God’s presence in the created world.

Some years ago, Digby Anderson, an Anglican Priest and one time editor of the Spectator, recommended that Christians should celebrate Epiphany instead of Christmas, chiefly as an escape from the commercialism and excess of Christmas but also because it is ‘arguably of more importance to us since… it celebrates Our Lord’s appearance to the Gentiles’. Perhaps in a real sense we should wish everyone we meet a Happy Epiphany.

Epiphany is the shepherds recognizing the Messiah. It is the Magi acknowledging the king of glory. It is Peter's "You are the Christ...." It is the two disciples on the way to Emmaus having their eyes opened. It is any time that our eyes are opened to the manifestation of God in our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In fact, we can say that the experience of Epiphany is the most important goal of Christian teaching or preaching. It is the moment when Christ is perceived by the eyes of faith.

As we enter the new year, perhaps our prayer should be the same as the Psalmist when he said,

63:1 God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!
I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.

2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.

May 2009 be a truly happy Epiphany.

Christmas is God's gift to earth
Of a tiny baby's birth
Showing all we have a worth;
What a happy Christmas!

Joyous and Blessed Christmas
Ein gesegnetes Weihnachtsfest!
Joyeux Noel
Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt Ar

The Reason for the Season

Tracing the "I have come" words of Jesus in the Gospel narrative sets a hard-hitting background to the celebration as we approach the feast of the incarnation. Our selective minds naturally turn to such positive statements as "I have come to give life in all its fullness." but tends to overlook phrases like “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34)

The "ah" and the "ooh" of the children's nativity scene along with the Angel song of Peace and Goodwill, seems to come under attack in the light of such hard hitting statements. Other sayings further expand the notion of the coming Christ. For example it is interesting to note how others reacted to the Coming Christ words; "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God" (Luke 4:34) and elsewhere, Jesus talks about coming to divide families.

All in all, Christ's self declaration, seems a million miles from the idealistic Christmas card nativity scene, but never-the-less such sayings are the essence of the incarnation.

Moltmann makes a distinction between what he called a "fortuitous" and a "necessary" Incarnation. The later focuses on the Incarnation as the Son of God becoming a man so that He could save us from our sins. The former, on the other hand, speaks of the Incarnation as a fulfilment of the love of God, of His desire to be present and living amidst humanity, to "walk in the garden" with us.

In the light of this, what are we to make of Christ's coming?

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably, and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of– throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

–C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (London: William Collins, 1970), 172.

In poetic terms, Gerard Maley Hopkins in his poem ORATIO PATRIS CONDREN: O JESU VIVENS IN MARIA, writes:

Jesu that dost in Mary dwell,
Be in thy servants’ hearts as well,
In the spirit of thy holiness,
In the fulness of thy force and stress,
In the very ways that thy life goes
And virtues that thy pattern shows,
In the sharing of thy mysteries;
And every power in us that is
Against thy power put under feet
In the Holy Ghost the Paraclete
To the glory of the Father. Amen.

Mortal Beauty and God’s Grace. Pg. 7.

So this is what he meant by life in all its fullness!

Is it only a bit part in the Nativity Play?

In the Alpine city of Innsbruck you will find the Dom zu St Jakob; the Cathedral of St Jakob. All the guide books point to the early 18th century baroque jewel's picture of the Madonna and Child. Yet the image that caught my attention whilst visiting my favourite Tyrolean city was the small image of Joseph and the infant Jesus.

Jacob, Joseph, Jesus. What a line-up. Yet Joseph is often seen as a mere bit part within the Nativity scene; a mere relationship of convenience to provide protection and home for the young woman and her offspring.

Little is known of him, this mysterious woodworking descendant of King David. He is quickly overlooked as we look for the main players. He arrives on the on the scene trying to fathom out a dilemma. Since he learned of the pregnancy he has been trying to figure a way out of this predicament. We know that He is righteous, but he is merciful. What is his best option? How can he fulfill his obligations to God and to Mary - is it to give her a "quiet divorce." Can he send her away to her relatives down in the hill country of Judea. Could she be put away until the child is born and then prepare the divorce with a few trusted officials. It's not a perfect solution, but it is the best that he can do - nothing else is possible.

The Dream of a New Possibility
While Joseph is trying to figure it all out, he has a dream. This dream is gospel - that is, good news.

Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife - the child is born of the Holy Spirit

Name him Jesus - for he will save his people from their sins

I find it interesting that it is Joseph who is given the task of naming the Messiah, Jesus.

When Oscar Isaac took on the role of Joseph in the Bible epic, “The Nativity Story,” the 26-year-old actor had no idea what he would soon be facing. In an interview he said of Joseph, "I think the fact that there’s a man who loves God so fully and loves this woman so fully and has to share his love with God is pretty untraditional ...... It’s an interesting character study as well. He has to share his wife with God. He wanted to have a family with this woman. He wanted to have a nice, normal life in his little house that he’s building and suddenly he forced to….kind of, ‘Why her?’ you know? ‘I love her so much, I love you so much, but why couldn’t you have picked anybody else?’

But he didn't and in that wonderful timeless mystery we, like Joseph find God with us.

Nativity Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian

The feast day of your birth resembles You, Lord
Because it brings joy to all humanity.
Old people and infants alike enjoy your day.
Your day is celebrated
from generation to generation.
Kings and emperors may pass away,
And the festivals to commemorate them soon lapse.
But your festival
will be remembered until the end of time.
Your day is a means and a pledge of peace.
At Your birth heaven and earth were reconciled,
Since you came from heaven to earth on that day
You forgave our sins and wiped away our guilt.
You gave us so many gifts on the day of your birth:
A treasure chest of spiritual medicines for the sick;
Spiritual light for the blind;
The cup of salvation for the thirsty;
The bread of life for the hungry.
In the winter when trees are bare,
You give us the most succulent spiritual fruit.
In the frost when the earth is barren,
You bring new hope to our souls.
In December when seeds are hidden in the soil,
The staff of life springs forth from the virgin womb.

St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 306-373)

The Last Straw

The Rev. Donna Schaper; senior pastor of Congregational UCC in Coral Gables, Flan, writes in her latest books are "The Labyrinth from the Inside Out" from Skylights Press. "That the last straw of our lives becomes the first straw of Jesus' manger in our hearts."

She brings a sense of reality by placing the birth of the Chirst Child in an ER department. Gradually all within the hospital are caught-up in this nativity and she concludes by saying, "Patients all, we wait".

The image of the cross and he crib are powerful symbols of incarnational humility, but how half heartedly we listen to the carol service reading, "And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough." (Luke 2:12, international version)

I find this phrase so powerful!

Let's take this symbolism in context. The place of Birth was Bethlehem (بيت لحم, , lit "House of Meat"; Βηθλεέμ; בית לחם, Beit Lehem, lit "House of Bread" a town originally called Ephrath meaning fruitful and it was here the Chosen One was laid in a feeding trough. Here, the Bread of Life is wrapped Swaddling Clothes and laid for all to see. For me, there is a synergy with the story of the burial of Jesus where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrap his body with the spices, in strips of linen according to Jewish burial customs.

I recall a few years ago setting Christmas display at the front of church with the infant Christ-child; arms out stretched reaching out from a large open Bible beneath a large empty cross. Little did I think that such a scene cause such a stir with members of the congregation complaining that it looked as if I was trying to crucify the baby. Hmm!

The crib and the cross are part of the one mystery of the Incarnation, and there really isn't much distance between Bethlehem and Calvary after all.

Has Advent become a non-event?

I do sometimes wonder if we miss the purpose of Advent confusing the Christmas rush with the contemplative time of considering the One who came, the One who comes and the One who is to come.

Recently, a long established Christian Bookshop in Exeter, UK has closed and I sometimes wonder if I had to anything to do with its demise, by once suggesting to the manager that he should sell a different kind of Advent Calendar.

In the UK, we share the German Lutheran tradition of Advent Calendars where children of all ages open one door each day to receive a chocolate treat. I merely suggested that the bookshop should create calendars with empty compartments into which we place thoughts, gift promises and prayers. Perhaps it did not catch on! Or is it that today's society is actually saying, "It is better to give than receive, as long as I'm still on the receiving end.”

Advent has been defined as "The arrival, coming, or discovery of something, especially something extremely important."

Perhaps we also need to rediscover the advent of Jesus return. Customarily in the Christian tradition, the focus has been on these two “comings” of Christ. However, St. Bernard in the 11th Century identified a “third coming” that Advent leads us to await—the coming of Christ in our own soul. While the birth of Christ and the second coming of Christ are important to Christians, we must all still move through this earthly life on a day-to-day basis.

Keeping a watchful Advent reminds us that we do not tread these days in isolation. We can live in expectation of the movement of Christ in and through every moment of those days. Even though we are frequently distracted and diverted from attention to this movement within us, the season of Advent reminds us to turn inward yet again and seek the God that is to be found within us.

Some years ago, I wrote a musical called 'Daystar' that explored the essence the Coming of Jesus. In it a time traveller looks for the coming Christ and arrives at the manager having also had a vision of Calvary.

As he kneels he speaks

His the gift of bitter pain,
A pain so deep that speaks my name.
A gruesome hurt of human shame;
Impaled within his form my name.
O infant now, how can you bear?
This awful pain; why do you care?

He takes from me that selfish greed
And with his bread the crowds he feeds.
He takes from me my selfish pride;
Transform it now, a seekers guide.
O infant child within the hay,
Where is the life, the truth the way?

His gifts of time, of love, his wealth,
His patience long, that wills my health
Is but a part of God's good grace
That saves transforms our fallen race.
O Holy child within the hay
Will you for me meet death's dark day?

What sin, what guilt do I now bring?
What hurt, what pain, what shameful thing
Do I before his throne now fling?
Love in exchange he's offering.
O Saving child within the hay,
Change my dark night into your day.

O Holy infant gift, I pray,
For me, when comes my newborn day?
When will sin's power within my life
Release its grip and end its strife?
O Calv'ry child within the hay,
Arise, be born in me today.

(c) 1988 Paul Collings

Nothing about us without us (part 2) Suffer the Little Ones?

Jesus reference to the Little Ones in the Gospels can be quite puzzling. The designation "little ones" in Matthew 18:6, 10, 14 may refer to disciples like Peter whose faith was weak in the midst of difficult circumstances. In 10:41-42 Matthew recorded Jesus' description of prophets and righteous men as "little ones."

It could be said of people diagnosed with autism are the "little ones" of our society. Trying to voice the view of their unknown and almost un-knowable world is extremely difficult. But articulate we must. Someone once said, 'Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend. '

“When a parent doesn't even know how much of the world his child with Autism understands, how can that parent expect them to appreciate the finer notions of an invisible world? How do we explain the concept of God, or faith, or even prayers?” asks Melissa Gray mother of Brenna a preschool child with Autism.

Is the key to the notion of spirituality of those with Autism then more do with what we understand by knowing. Is knowing necessarily a precursor to faith? So often, spirituality is spoken of in terms of knowing God. But what do we mean by knowing?

I believe that we need to to use a hermeneutical key to unlock anything that resembles an understanding of Autism and Spirituality. This term is nothing more than the science of interpreting what scripture says, exegeting passages so they make sense, or presenting an idea which is used as a cornerstone for other ideas, a sort of code-book which explains a host of little known secrets, a program which unravels the intricate details of a complicated set of beliefs.

Let me paraphrase a passage for 'Hyperchoise - living in an age of divserity' by Graham Cheesmen to illustrate this.

Hermeneutics has become a vital area of current philosophy that emphasises the distance between (a situation) and its reader and interpreter. The (situation) is embedded within a specific culture with all its presuppositions, which the reader cannot fully enter. The reader, in turn comes form to the (situation) with pre-understanding based upon this own (context), culture and experiences.

Therefore, is our search for an inclusive spirituality to find some means by which people with Autism can be included in ours, or we in theirs, or in fact a search to find some new notion of a truly inclusive theology.

Dean Wells, preaching one Advent Sunday in Duke University Chapel said,

"If there is one social group who expose the link between our attitude .... to God, it is people with severe learning disabilities. Such people simply take up a tremendous amount of time. And it is time that it is very difficult to render in money or commodity language, because many such people don’t seem to progress, if progress means become like the rest of the population. It’s no use being sentimental about such people, because many are exasperating company in the way they dismantle all of society’s presuppositions about logic, manners, and private space. The tendency of our society is to treat such people in the same kind of way we treat time. Either we treat people with learning disability as a commodity, needing to be housed and cared for and somehow dealt with. Or we treat such a person as an enemy, a person whose life should if possible be prevented from coming into existence, or at least be prevented from unduly damaging the lives around it . But our task as Christians is to come to see such a person as a gift and a friend. A gift, because in their life God is giving us something we did not have before, someone we need to be everything God calls us to be. And a friend, because in finding in relating to this person we have nothing to fear, we discover that our true hope lies not in our striving but in God’s grace. If you do one thing for God this Advent, spend some time with a person with a severe learning disability. The way you relate to this person will epitomize what you believe. "

In doing this, who really are the little ones ....... for of such.........?

To be continued

Nothing about us without us! Or For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven (Part 1)

This week I have been working with a student diagnosed with Autism. In a number of ways, he is extremely talented yet often seems confined within his world, unable reflect, or express his own life experiences.

I am a firm believer in the inclusive love of Christ and in this blog I want to explore the rights movements motto "Nothing about us without us!" from a Spiritual context. Very little research seems to be available in relation to the significance of religion for people with autism spectrum disorders. The little research that has been done has been contradictory with some arguing that the complex and metaphorical nature of religion and religious experience is incompatible with the neurological, cognitive and social difficulties that are central features of autism spectrum disorders. Others argue that religious experience is very much a reality in the lives of people with this condition; a reality that has a good deal of significance for the quality of life of sufferers and their families.

As a theologian in the school of contextual spirituality, I am inclined to suggest that for us, there is nothing about us without the spirituality of a human being on the Autistic Spectrum. It was Hauerwas who said, "If the word is preached and the sacraments served without the presence of the mentally handicapped, then it may be that we are less than the body of Christ." He also suggests "indeed, the presence of the mentally handicapped may well be the embodiment of the Spirit." So what is this mysterious context.

Imagine what it's like. A person smiles at you - you're confused because you don't understand a smile. You can't get your usual breakfast cereal - your whole day is in disarray because you can't cope with your routine being upset. And someone tells you to pull your socks up. But you know you're not wearing socks, and it's very bewildering.

Not quite as funny as it sounds if you happen to be among the half a million people in Britain with some degree of autism. Some are severely disabled and need constant attention, but others keep their condition hidden and are high achievers: in business or as academics, for instance.

People on the autistic spectrum are perhaps not so much suffering from an inability to communicate but are on a different end of a communication spectrum due to lack of theory of mind (a specific cognitive capacity: the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own.)

Its just an Adjective!

It was whilst reading a blog concerning the Salvationists' view on Communion and Baptism, that I was struck by the four letter word, just! Was it a mere adjective of little consequence or was it a loaded interjector. The phrase that set me thinking was, "Sacraments are just an outward sign of an inward emotion." Besides being an interesting spin on the well known orthodox phrase, Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification (Catechismus concil. Trident., n. 4, exSt. Augustine, "De Catechizandis rudibus"), I wondered what the writer was meaning behind the loaded word?

It is interesting that the the offending word is one of extremes. Just can mean 'barely', 'at this very instant', 'no more than', or 'exactly'. I wonder which meaning was in the mind of the writer? Was it an intensifier or a simple truth indicating just a in righteousness.

We use so many words on a daily basis without almost recognising their meaning. Or, we use a term intending to emphasis one meaning whilst the one that has been heard or read, produces a completely different understanding.

The writer's use of the word 'just' in the offending phrase seems to say a lot about his theological perspective. Within the Christian Church there are groups who reject the orthodox theology of sacrament, to name two the Salvation Army and the Society of Friends. They would say the Outward Sign has become too important and takes away the meaning of inner grace and God does not need outward signs to do his work. But is this a mere overstatement? O dear, there goes another loaded four letter word.

If a sacrament is an outward sign of God's grace at work, it follows that all life could be thought of as a sacrament, God with us in Jesus, ‘The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us'. Incarnation is indeed sacrament. We can come to know there are many signs of God at work in things that are happening in the world around us. In this sense, is it just as legitimate to say that a sacrament is not just an grace or even emotion of an outward sign. In other words how important is the sign?

The Greek Orthodx church think of signs as, "The material elements, signs and gestures used...are living symbols that relate to the realities of our human experiences...material things are made into vehicles of the Spirit" (The Sacramental Life of the Orthodox Church).

In other words, God uses the physical world, such as bread, wine, water, and oil, as signs of His activity in our lives.

At the heart of sacramental theology is the Incarnation, that is, God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ. The Incarnation is the most complete, and final, revelation of God to mankind. When the invisible God became visible, he sanctified all of creation, making it a fitting vehicle for his work. Thus, all sacraments derive their power and grace from the person of Jesus. The Incarnation is a key component of sacramental theology, because it demonstrates that God uses the created world to reveal himself to us. St. John of Damascus (730 AD) describes the value of material things in knowing the invisible God:

For the invisible things of God since the creation of the world are made visible through images. We see images in creation which remind us faintly of God, as when, for instance, we speak of the holy and adorable Trinity, imaged by the sun, or light, or burning rays, or by a running fountain, or a full river, or by the mind, speech, or the spirit within us, or by a rose tree, or a sprouting flower, or a sweet fragrance.

In coming to understand Wesley's explanation of how grace might be channeled, the sacrament of Eucharist or the Lord's Supper is particularly enlightening. The Eucharist, primarily a communal act, connects individuals to each other and to the grace available through the work of the Holy Spirit in our taking the bread and cup. What makes the Lord's Supper such a powerful introduction to the means of grace is it's ability to operate at different levels of meaning: as a memorial; as an immediate divine presence; and as an eschatalogical promise.

The second aspect of the Lord's Supper is the immediate availability of grace. In an earlier dispute, certain Moravian quietists, were stressing that, since salvation came by faith alone, they were not "bound or obliged" to practice the ordinances of grace, including the Eucharist. Wesley, as noted in his journal from June 22 to July 20, 1740, opposed this viewpoint and ultimately he, along with eighteen or nineteen others, left the society.14 The heart of Wesley's argument was that the power of the Lord's Supper includes its actively and immediately conveying grace. For instance:

Sat. 28 (1740). I showed at large that the Lord's Supper was ordained by God to be a means of conveying to men either preventing or lefting, or sanctifying grace, according to their several necessities; that the persons for whom it was ordained are all those who know and feel that they want the grace of God, either to "restrain" them from sin, or to show their sins forgiven, or to renew their souls in the image of God; that inasmuch as we come to his table, not to give him anything but to receive whatsoever he sees best for us, there is previous preparation indispensably necessary but desire to receive whatsoever he pleases to give; and that fitness is not required at the time of communicating but sense of our "state", of our utter sinfulness and helplessness; every one who knows he is fit for hell be just fit to come to Christ, in this as well as all other ways of his appointment.

The question remains if it is the actual elements, the bread and cup, which convey divine grace. Wesley would say no as He draws from a variation of the Reformed doctrine of virtualism: "that the elements remained unchanged but Christ is nonetheless present through the Holy Spirit."

It should not be surprising that Wesley believed "it is the duty of every Christian to receive the Lord's Supper as often as he can." Wesley admonished his ministers and laity that communion be served "every Sunday and holiday of the year." Wesley himself participated on the average of once every four or five days. He did this not only because it was "a plain command of Christ," but also because of the Supper's ability to empower the spiritual life. "This is food for our souls: This gives strength to perform our duty and leads us on to perfection."

The sacrament is just that, incarnational.

He's Not Here!

I've just caught the news about brawling monks at the church of the Holy Sepulchre — Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb. (JERUSALEM (AP))

On hearing this I just wanted to shout, "He is not here, he is risen!"

On Remembrance Sunday of all days, what fuel has this added to the fiery argument that says "Religion is at the root of all wars."

Today I preached upon the Chroniclers words, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 But this news report seems to be the antithesis of what this verse is saying. Its the age-old childish argument "My Dad (God) is stronger than your.....etc"

It was the former Salvation Army Officer Fred Brown who 38 years ago began to see that religious jingoism was failing to fulfil its purpose and went on to write, "The Christian community I have in mind will allow its members to work out their affinities within smaller groups; it will foster relationships of loving mutuality, and by its very nature, the nature of its basic evaluations and aims widen the possibility of personal fulfilment; its activities, many of them apparently secular and beyond the usual interest of church organisation, will serve creative ends and thereby clarify the essential requirements of fulfilment; it will provide traditional forms of worship without imposing them obligatory, and welcome new expressions of worship without imposing them on all and sundry. Its spirit of tolerance will be tested as experiments are shared in the overlaps.” (Fred Brown, Secular Evangelism (London SCM 1970 p112)

Is being Armenian, Orthodox, Wesleyan, Reformed, Catholic, or what ever really worth fighting about after all. If you wish to describe me in such terms I would probably reply a Reformed Evangelical Liberal Catholic with Orthodox Celtic overtones. I know, a chameleon by any other name, but a chameleon it could be said, takes on the identity of those around them, whilst essentially remaining the same in essence.

Arch Bishop Romero, the people's martyred bishop of San Salvador who, tired of oppression of his people through force, said, "Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty."

Perhaps we need to remind ourselves of those who first entered the tomb and encountered the the angel who said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.'

Come; See; Go; Tell and there you will see him!

An Inspector Calls!

I must admit, I do love a good melodrama; the suspense; the intrigue; the mystery of the who-done-it keeping one on the edge of the seat. But even the screen images, stage production or page turning thriller of J B Priestley's classic, lost its charm this week when I received a letter informing me that an Inspector was to Call on me at the end of the month; an OFSTED inspector. (the UK Governments OFfice(for) STandards (in) EDucation).

Its the dread of every Principal that seems to say you are guilty until you prove your innocence.

As both a Principal and a Methodist minister, I've started to wonder this week, how a church would fair if an Inspector Called.

Many an inscription penned in the front of a presentation Bible contains the words, "Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 But what does this study mean. The Greek word infers to hasten, make haste, to exert one's self, endeavour, give diligence. In Luke's gospel there is a wonderful picture of an expectant people waiting for Jesus. (Luke 8)

Perhaps for the church, it has to be, the "expector" calls; after all didn't Jesus urged his followers to watch and pray.

In Priestley's plot, the Inspector has come to the Birling home as part of an inquiry into the suicide that day of a desperate young woman. As the Inspector’s investigation unfolds, we discover how the life of the dead woman had been intertwined with the Birlings and observe how these revelations affect each of them.

I wonder, if the inspector arrived at the church door, how much evidence would confirm that its occupants lives had been intertwined with the long expected Crucified one? Or is that a notion now out of fashion today?

It was Oswald chambers who said, "Unless in the first waking moments of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on the wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God."

Where's Solomon when you need him?

One of the problems of Tent Maker ministry is having to make decisions that may affect the lives of others. In my dual role of Methodist Minister and College Principal, I sometimes covet the wisdom of Solomon.

As a Manager for over 90 people, I inevitably become involved in disciplinary hearings, where I am called upon to make a decision over accusations, poor practice or incompetence. Am I acting as minister or magistrate as I ask myself the question, "Is the employees action tantamount to Gross Misconduct and therefore warrants dismissal?"

My task is to weigh-up the evidence and pronounce a sentence that is sometimes found in those notorious words, "Your Fired!" But as minister, such decisions weigh heavy on my heart, as I realise the impact that such words would have upon an individual.

Breda Sweeney and Fiona Costello in their work - Moral Intensity and Ethical Decision-making: An Empirical Examination of Undergraduate Accounting and Business Students writes - "Ethical decision-making is theorised to consist of four stages: identification of an ethical dilemma, ethical judgement, ethical intentions and ethical actions. The moral intensity of the situation has been found to influence the ethical decision-making process." or as the prophet Micah put it, He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

So is it really that simple; act, love and walk!

Jesus Saves

Following my last blog entry, I have started a web-search looking other similar items to the 'Jesus Adhesive Plaster' on sale in UK high streets. I found Jesus lip balm with the slogan, 'Looking Good for Jesus'. Jesus Bubble Bath declaring; ' Refresh, Renew - follow in his footsteps' and for economic tough times; 'Jesus Saves' money boxes.

True, the subject of money seems to pepper the gospel like no other topic and nothing seems to hold the attention as the value of currency either in our bank accounts or pockets.

Recently, Dr Rowan Williams attended A Common Word, a conference of Christian and Muslim scholars, aimed at promoting better understanding between the two faiths.

The scholars examined areas on which both faiths agree, such as the need to speak out against persecution of Christians in Iraq and other minorities around the world, including Iran.

But they also looked at the credit crunch from the perspective of Islam, which prohibits charging interest on lent money, and Christianity, which has changed its teaching to allow interest but still teaches against financial exploitation of the weak and vulnerable. Dr Williams said he would like to see a dialogue with Islam about what constituted a just and reasonable rate of interest. “The Christian tradition has always been cautious about interest.” For many centuries, it was at one with the traditional Muslim approach, he said.

This changed around the time of the 16th century he said. The question since then was to work out “just and proper” rates of interest, rather than go for absolute prohibition.

Dr Williams said: “I would like very much to see a dialogue developing with Islam about this question of what a just, a reasonable rate of interest might look like in the light of a religious ethic but this is a work very much in its infancy, to put it mildly,”

I wonder, what does it mean when it says, Jesus Saves?