Celtic Lent Day 14

It is enormous self-deception to believe that the time of prayer must be different from any other. We are equally bound to be one with God by what we do in times of action as by the time of prayer at its special hour...
It is only necessary to realise that God is intimately present within us, to turn at every moment to him and ask for his help, recognise his will in all things doubtful, and to do well all that which we clearly see he requires of us...In this unbroken communion one is continually preoccupied with praising, worshipping and loving God for his infinite acts of loving-kindness and perfection.
Brother Lawrence

As a Minister in Secular Employment, someone who feels a priestly call to the place and people where I work outside of the Church, it's central to my theology that I believe in whole-life worship; all that we do and all that we are forms part of this continual worship and communion.
All that we do praises God.
This doesn't mean I live a holy and blameless life but it does mean that every good decision and every bad, every cup of coffee on the fly and shared cake in the office, every short word, wrong decision, celebration and bereavement: each and every part of life, both in and out of work, is offered to God.

Scripture
Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Luke 24.35

Advent word - Be

Today's reflection from brother Curtis reflects so much of what it means to be an MSE (minister in secular employment); It's not about doing, it's about being. Nothing to see, nothing to measure, no outward signs or symbols of ministry. Being and acknowledging and without anyone even knowing bringing it all before God at the end of the day.

People in trauma need our presence and our prayer rather than our preaching. We will bear a much more comforting witness to someone facing deep loss by simply being with them, and in so doing, representing God Emmanuel – God with us – by our being with them. Not by our words, but by our presence.

-Br. Curtis Almquist

Bad things happen to good people

Sermon preached 12th July 2015 at St Michael's Flixton Summer Wholeness and Healing service. Based on Mark 6:14-19 and Ephesians 1:3-5

The section of Mark’s gospel that we’re reading through over the summer is so rich in scripture that helps us celebrate the ministry of Wholeness and Healing.

If we just remember back over the last 2 weeks we've had the story of the haemorrhaging woman and healing Jairus’ daughter. Last week the 12 disciples were being sent out in mission, and whilst it appears elsewhere in the gospel one of the few things Jesus directly commanded them to do was heal the sick. Spoilers for what’s coming over the next few weeks include feeding the 5000, Jesus walking on water and more miraculous healings, all of which would provide fantastic endless material for an uplifting sermon on Wholeness and Healing. These stories reveal to us God’s healing power, abundant love and give us clues to the relationship between Christ’s humanity and divinity.

But placed in the middle of all this miracle and wonder is a flashback to the Death of John the Baptist. A moment of defeat, and pain. A moment which caused Jesus to withdraw (when you look at the narrative in Matthew’s gospel). It seems out of place amongst these other tales of miracles- all these overwhelming displays of God’s love and power.

In John’s death we see frailty. We see a bad thing happening to a good person. We probably don’t remember that it comes in this section of Mark’s book, because of the narrative that surrounds it.

Why would it be in this part of the gospel? What purpose does it serve? And what can it tell us about Wholeness and Healing?

Whilst the stories either side of today’s reading are full of some of the most famous and miraculous events from Jesus’ ministry, it may be rare or perhaps even completely unimaginable that we would experience something even close to those miracles in our own lives. We may feel that whilst we hope for miracles, what we experience in our lives is much more mundane, and often the reality of the lives we lead is we’re faced with difficulties and sometimes sadness. It can be easier to relate to bible stories of people going through tough times, or the psalms which cry out in lament, than relate to the miraculous.

In stark contrast to the miracles pouring out from the gospel narrative, with this one story of sadness in the middle, If we watch or read the news the opposite is true- economic crisis in Greece, commemorations for lives lost in the 7/7 bombings, abuse inquiries within our own church. I think it’s safe to say that neither the miracles of the bible or the sadness in many of the media stories we read give the true picture of what we experience in our lives.

We can’t however deny that we do have to deal with difficulties more often that the miraculous, and at those times we may ask ourselves “where is God in this?”

Over the 15 years I’ve worked at The Christie I’ve prayed for hundreds, maybe 1000s of patients in my care. Some have got better and some haven’t. I’ve wondered if some of those who recovered, despite the odds, were miracles or simply the result of really good medical care and a lot of luck?  And I’ve wondered why were some not physically healed?

The church is very reluctant to claim healing miracles but there’s also no satisfying answer as to why God doesn’t intervene in the way we would want him to when we or someone we love is suffering or ill.

This must all sound a little bleak so far, not at all like “Good News” but John the Baptist’s death reminds us that even with huge amounts of faith bad things happen to us.

Yet sometimes the worst things we experience are often those which are the most important in forming the person we are or will become. During the ministry selection process one of the things I had to do was list the most significant events in my life up until that point.

When you look back at a lifetime of significant events you realise it’s often the things that have caused you pain, or caused you or those you love to suffer, that’ve had the most influence over the person you now are. The painful stuff shapes our faith, moulds our relationship with God and helps move us towards that wholeness we wish for. Would you be the person you are without some of the more difficult things you’ve experienced?

My friend Dave, who was a lay Methodist preacher, told me his cancer had given him the opportunity to talk to new people about God, making him feel he was drawing nearer to that relationship of Wholeness, despite his cancer not being treatable.

Something else we see in the Gospel reading is Herod’s brokenness. It’s too easy to see him as the pantomime villain, or a man manipulated into action, here what we see is a man broken by guilt. The reason the flashback to John’s death is here is because Herod, hearing about Jesus through the miracles and healing he'd performed, is driven by his uneasy conscience to think Jesus could be a resurrected John the Baptist. His murder of John wasn’t a great defeat or triumph, his marriage, to the wife who had wanted John dead, broke down and his own actions pushed Herod further away from being able to have a relationship with God. We see a man in desperate need of Healing and Wholeness but completely unable to ask for it.

There’s another purpose in recounting John’s death. It acts as a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death, a reminder at the height of his active ministry that Jesus too will die, shattering the lives of those around him and causing them to believe that all is lost.

When I wrote my ministry application form, reflecting upon those significant but painful events, one thing I realised was that whilst in the middle of it all it was almost impossible to see where God was in it, or how it could ever bring me closer to a whole relationship with him.

Yet years later, writing it all down, God’s presence in each part of my life became clearer. I think it’s true that sometimes God is so close we can’t see him. The theologian Leonard Sweet describes this closeness as being like asking a bird to see air or a fish to see water.

If you’d asked the disciples the day after the crucifixion where God was in it all I doubt they’d have had an answer for you, but ask them later, in the light of the resurrection and how that shaped their lives and relationship with God, They would hopefully tell you that what had seemed like the worst day of their life was actually the greatest, even though each of them subsequently suffered for it.

The bible is full of stories of bad things happening to good people, what counts is how those people respond to what has happened to them and if they are able to keep trusting in God.

The good news teaches us that good things can come from bad, we’re reminded of this in the Ephesians reading-

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.”

Our inheritance from God is through Christ’s blood.

Here we also see God’s plan for our healing, by making our relationship with him whole-

“He set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth”

God wants to gather us to him, maybe so close that at times we lose sight of him. He wants us along with all the things, good and bad, that’ve made us who we are. He wants our brokenness, if, unlike Herod, we’re able to offer it to him.

Our wholeness may not come in the form of a physical healing, a miracle, or the resolution of things which have hurt us, but from us being willing (during our good times and our difficult times) to let God gather us in and draw us nearer to him. 

Be More Grateful

My only aim today was that my colleagues felt appreciated. I wanted them to know that I was grateful for each one of them; who they are, what they do and their place on our unit. I did this with crisps, cake and fruit.

Luke 17:15-16
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.

Is the church a feminist institution?

...I'm actually actually doing it. I'm an ordinand- there, I said it! My word it's...exhausting! With our first two residential weekends done and our week night teaching coming towards the end of the first team it all feels official- and I have clever books, and nice files, and highlighters. But more than that I'm reading, learning, engaging my brain. I'm knackered!
This Sunday I preach my first sermon- Advent Sunday. But by way of preparation and practice each member of my group prepared and presented a 2-3 minute "thought of the day". Here's mine:

I’ve taken a lot of interest in the last few months of the “Everyday Sexism” campaign. This catalogues instances of sexism experienced by women all over the world on a day-to-day basis. People can use social media sites, especially Twitter, to share their experiences of sexism, harassment and assault. It highlights a problem which is still sadly widespread. The matter-of-factness of some of the occurrences, there acceptance and normalisation in everyday life and the responses of some men when challenged about their behaviour is truly shocking.

With the recent vote on female bishops at General Synod, the role of women in the priesthood is under the spotlight once more. There are many accusations, especially from the media, thrown at the Anglican church of being an archaic and sexist institution. The communion I call myself part of has been accused of institutionalised sexism, dressed up as "legitimate theological difference".

I don’t shy away from calling myself a feminist, and I don’t feel that is at odds with my Christian faith. Theologian and feminist Vicky Beeching argues the view point that Jesus himself was very much a feminist. Her points include

·       His refusal to bow to cultural stigmas in an era when women were uneducated, had no legally valid voice and were essentially property.

·       He talked freely with women and encouraged theological study.

·       He chose Mary to deliver the message of his resurrection.

Feminism is a much misunderstood word, and seems to conjure up many negative images. Many strong and pioneering women have felt the need to say “but I’m not a feminist”, as if it were something damaging to our gender. But Feminism is quite simply the belief in total equality, dignity and value for women. By that definition I’d like to think that most of us could call ourselves feminists, and that hopefully the church could too.

The Next Step

As most of my friends and family will know by now, the outcome of my BAP was that I have been recommended for ordination training. As the bishop, and others, have been keen to point out, this is not a recommendation for the priesthood,  but to begin training for the priesthood. Nothing is set in stone until the bishop lays his hands on my head and says the magic words...which seems both a long way away and yet I'm sure, with everything that will happen in the next 3 years, will soon be upon us.
The next two months, besides the more obvious preparation and pre course learning, will probably be spent trying to explain what a Minister in Secular Employment, or MSE is. What follows is a transcript of an article I've written for the church magazine. More info can be found here:
http://www.chrism.org.uk/
http://www.manchester.anglican.org/resources-for-ministers/mse

"Many of you will have heard by now, either from myself, word of mouth, or Vicky, that I've been accepted for training in ordained ministry. What you might be unfamiliar with is the ministry for which I'm being prepared.
You may know me as Mike's wife, or Judith's daughter. Those of you with young families may know me as a worship leader at Peewits or Family Praise. I also coordinate the Wholeness and Healing Ministry Team and have been a member of PCC for many years. In the secular world I am a nursing sister at Christie Hospital, caring for patients who are undergoing high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. For the last two years what I've been trying to discern is whether I also had a priestly calling alongside my vocation as a nurse.
Ministers in Secular Employment, or MSEs, exercise an ordained ministry primarily in their place of work. You continue to do your payed employment but alongside this you bring a priestly presence to your workplace, which can manifest itself in all manner of ways- it is very much a ministry of readiness, and of being a very public Christian.
The patients I care for are almost always nursed in isolation, due to weak immune systems leaving them very vulnerable to infection. Their hospital stays are usually for several weeks, or even months. Helping them to live out their spiritual lives in an environment which can impair their sense of 'self' is central to my ministry, but there is also the opportunity to care for their families and my colleagues. My training has been welcomed by both the ward and chaplaincy team at The Christie!
Whilst the role of MSE is primarily linked to your payed profession it is a dual ministry shared with your parish church. This means I eventually will, God willing, be licensed to serve as a priest here at St Michael's as well. The training is Part time, but (as the university prospectus keeps reminding me) not spare time! I will be expected to study for about 15 hours a week on top of one evening at university and working full time. I ask for your prayers and your patience, and to share in my journey over the next three years- and beyond! I would also ask you to keep Faith, Jacob and Mike in your prayers. Additional time apart will be tough for us all, but we as a family believe this is God's will for our lives, and whilst there may be hard work ahead it will also be a very big adventure. I hold very close to my heart the words from psalm 37, verses 23-24: "Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lord holds us by the hand." "