Christmas Never Goes Away!

The earliest I have seen a Christmas tree was in a shop window around the third week in October.  I shook my head, marveled at Christmas coming earlier and earlier each year, and had a wee grump at materialism etc., etc, etc.  Add to this that there are Christmas shops open all year round offering everything you need to decorate your home and prettify your presents and it seems as if Christmas never really goes away.  Northern Europeans like us  tend to have a problem with this.  Christmas is  bound up with Winter traditions and legends and it’s just not the same unless there is a sharpness in the air, darkness to allow the lights to twinkle and hot chocolate to give us an inner glow.  

And yet what Christians celebrate at Christmas cannot be confined to a few weeks every year.  At the heart of orthodox Christian belief there is this outrageous declaration that at a particular point in human history God actually became a human being.  This was  part of God’s great rescue mission for a cosmos that had become subject to decay and a humanity that had become alienated from Him.  This is not something that can be restricted to an end of the year meditation.  If this is true then in the words of John Betjeman it is the ‘most tremendous tale of all’ and needs to be repeatedly told and constantly meditated upon:

‘The Maker of the stars and sea 

Become a Child on earth for me?’  

I understand why it might not feel right to be singing ‘Hark the herald angels sing’ in the middle of July but when Charles Wesley wrote this great hymn he did not have in his mind people caroling in frosty air.  He was giving Christian people the opportunity to celebrate and proclaim a great truth at the heart of the faith: God’s supreme revelation of Himself and His work to make possible His reconciliation with humankind.  In that sense Christmas should never go away.  The implications are with us every day and once understood and experienced  are a constant blessing.  

Preacher, keep yourself from idols - Derek Tidball.

Probably one for the ministers this although it may do people in the pews some good to see that preaching is perhaps more complex than they realized.

The book has been pulled together from a series of lectures given by the author to a theological seminary in the USA.  I certainly heard nothing like this while I was training.  In fact, I heard very little about preaching at all.  So I am glad that some ministers in training have heard these lectures so early in their formation.  

Tidball begins with an examination of ‘idolatry’ and puts forward the idea that while preachers do not construct idols of wood and stone they are prone to more subtler forms of idol worship.  He writes:

‘While no preacher today would bow down to literal images, there are more subtle forms of idolatry that can prove to be temptations.  Messengers of God are particularly vulnerable to the kind of idolatry that is a distortion of what is good.  All Christian leaders are familiar with the way in which their service for God can become the end game of their lives, displacing God himself.  Honesty would compel many of us to admit that at times ‘the work‘ and ‘the ministry‘ are the reason for our existence.  We find our identity in ‘the service‘ we render, rather than any real relationship with the living God.  It is possible to continue to go through the motions of ministry, and even on the surface to be quite effective in ministry, long after the relationship has died.‘      

With this thought Tidball organizes potential idols for preachers under four headings: idols associated with the self, the age, the task and the ministry.  In all of this preachers are called to have a proper perspective on the work never allowing self to become inflated by the temptations of authority and power; never allowing the standards of the age to shape our message; never allowing preaching itself to become our ‘god’; never allowing the ministry to take precedence over the Master.  

A challenging read, folks.  At times I felt I was being opened up and scrutinized under a very bright light but feel I am the better for it.  

Give Peace A Chance.

In the Imperial War Museum in London there is a series of photographic portraits of young men and women who have recently served in Afghanistan or are at present still serving there.  They are all quite striking not least because they are all close-ups of the face with each set of eyes telling their own story.  To the left you see Marine John Beesley from 40 Commando, Royal Marines, who served in Afghanistan in Summer 2010.   The exhibition is a reminder of the uniqueness of each human life, the courage of those whose lives are endangered in the line of duty and the tragedy when a young life with all its possibilities is extinguished.   

It occurred to me as I moved from one portrait to another that this would be a meaningful way to spend part of Remembrance Sunday, just to pause in front of each portrait and to give thanks for each by name and to commend their lives to God.  I came away with a deeper sense of all that is demanded by war and a new, more heartfelt  prayer for peace.

I’ve come a long way from the day when I wrote ‘Give Peace A Chance’ on the front of a school jotter.  It’s all a lot more complicated than that, I tell myself.  And yet . . . surely the plea behind these words rises from a heart that is weary of the cost of war and longs for circumstances where the best in human nature can flourish.  The prophet Isaiah received a vision of a Day when God would settle all disputes between the nations, when swords would be beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks, when weapons of war would be completely abandoned and no one would see the need even to train for war.  (Isaiah 2: 3-5)

I believe that Day will come when Christ will bring His great plan for the Universe to glorious completion and everything that makes us cry will be flushed out of Creation.  Until that time those who follow Him are called to work and pray for that peace which can only be found in Him and through Him.  I hope that commitment will be renewed in all of us in this season of Remembrance.      

A Mystery Worth Exploring!

A quick visit to London and an opportunity to see Simon Callow at the Playhouse Theatre in ‘The Mystery Of Charles Dickens’.  Essentially he is the Narrator of Dickens’ life but from time to time through quotations from letters, journalism and other sources be becomes the man himself.  Best of all, though, he inhabits characters in the novels, 35 in all.  All the favourites are brought on: Ebenezer Scrooge, Uriah Heep, Mr Bumble, Sam Weller.  However, Callow has said that Mrs Gamp from ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’  is his favourite and it shows.  It’s not only the voice but his face and body transform into the booze-soaked midwife.  Remarkable and very funny.    

Callow is on stage for about ninety minutes with a short break in the middle.  It must be very demanding especially as he gives so much to the performance.  Watching and listening I was reminded of a story told by Donald Coggan in his book ‘The Ministry Of The Word.’

‘The then Archbishop of Canterbury once asked Thomas Betterton (1635-1710) why actors seem to have no difficulty in making an impression on their audiences, while preachers frequently leave them cold.  The famous actor replied: ‘Actors speak of things imaginary as if they were real, while you preachers too often speak of things real as if they were imaginary.’  

It is obvious that Simon Callow has made a profound connection not only with a man he has never met but with characters which have emerged from that man’s imagination.  And he has been blessed with the gift of being able to communicate something of the reality he has gathered.

It is something very like this which is at the heart of Christian devotion.  The centre of our faith is a Person, Jesus Christ, and it is as we connect with the truth of who He is and His teaching and the significance of His death and resurrection that we are transformed and given grace to reflect something of Him in our lives.  This is a mystery but one well worth exploring and proclaiming.  

'In A Land Of Myth . . .'

Never a fan of ‘sword and sorcery’, immune to the Tolkien bug, bored with Harry Potter after the third film yet I have awaited this new series of ‘Merlin’ with an excitement quite unbecoming a middle-aged Presbyterian gentleman.  Saturday nights are now worth looking forward to for more than just ‘Match Of The Day.’  From the moment of John Hurt’s majestic intro to whatever cliff-hanger lies at the end, I am enthralled.  

So what is the appeal?  When something which goes so much against the grain is so enjoyable the question is worth asking.  

For a start, I like the strong sense of friendship which runs through the stories.  On the surface Merlin in Prince Arthur’s dogs-body, running errands, preparing food, polishing armour.  What Arthur doesn’t know is that Merlin is a gifted wizard who has been given the task of protecting the young prince from any danger.  The prophecies say that Arthur will one day be a great king and Merlin has a role in bringing that to reality.  The problem for Merlin is that his influence, his crucial role in holding Camelot together must remain hidden. 

The other important friendship is that between Merlin and the Court Physician Gaius played by Richard Wilson, better known as Victor Meldrew.  He has a great knowledge of sorcery and legends and is one of the few people who know of Merlin’s magical gifts.  As Merlin’s mentor he often keeps the young wizard’s sometimes impetuous nature in check.  

Destiny is also a major theme.  All the main characters have their moments of achievement and failure, they make their personal choices for good or ill,  but they are being carried along by a force they have no control over which will lead to the fulfillment of Arthur’s great Kingdom.  Along the way there will be dark forces seeking to prevent this but although they do much harm and leave their mark the great destiny will not be denied.

It looks as if there will be many challenges for Arthur and Merlin in series five and I will be fighting every monster and evil knight along with them.  Apparently, when I was a wee boy watching westerns I used to dress up as a cowboy.  Anyone got some spare armour?  

Sue Vidits

It was a great sadness for us all to hear of the death of Sue Vidits.  Sue was a member of St Paul’s during the time of her husband George’s assistantship with us and she was a great enrichment to our congregational life.  She was a sensitive listener and possessed a sharp intuition when it came to responding to people in need, gifts which she brought to her work as a nurse.  She was also great fun,  conversation with her was regularly sprinkled with laughter.

Sue had a long struggle with cancer, the challenge of which was always clear to her as a result of her work with cancer patients, but her courage will never be forgotten by those of us who had any contact with her during this time.  This of course was a direct result of her faith which was deeply personal and had at its centre trust in the God who is present and powerful in every circumstance.

It was an inspiration to see this reflected in the Thanksgiving Service at St Andrew’s Kirk, Helensburgh where George is now minister.  The Very Reverend Dr Ivan Patterson, a personal friend of the Vidits‘, spoke of Sue’s lively personality and the impact she had on all of us.  But he emphasised the most important thing about Sue and that was the perspective she had on life which spoke of God’s great purpose of renewal  for the whole universe.  As a believer, Sue now knows the reality of this and enjoys not only rest and peace but the vigour and vitality of renewed body, mind and spirit. 

Those who knew Sue will remember her great enthusiasm for sport of all kinds and so it was no surprise that the text written on the Funeral Order of Service was from 1 Corinthians 9: 25:

‘Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever’.   

Paul says later in the same letter that if it is only for this life we have hope in Christ then we deserve more pity than anyone but ‘Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the guarantee that all those who sleep in death will also be raised.’  (1 Corinthians 15: 20). 

I am grateful for Sue and all those I have known who have cherished this hope to the end.  

The Obsolete Man.

It is interesting how many popular novels, graphic novels and movies see a future where dictatorships have taken over western democracies and implement laws which are said to be influenced by Christian ‘fundamentalism’.  V For Vendetta which started life as a graphic novel and then became a film is an example of this.  The Obsolete Man although dealing with a Western dystopia sees different values at work in shaping society.  This was an episode in the second series of The Twilight Zone originally shown in 1961.  The leading character Romney Wordsworth is played by Burgess Meredith, surely one of the most underrated actors in film history.

In this nightmarish future Wordsworth is standing trial for being a librarian and for believing in God.  After the Chancellor ie. the State prosecutor has ascertained that a librarian has to do with books the following dialogue takes place:

‘Chancellor: Since there are no more books, Mr.Wordsworth, there are no more libraries, and, of course, as it follows, there is very little call for the services of a librarian. Case in point: a minister. A minister would tell us that his function is that of preaching the word of God. And since it follows that since The State has proven that there is no God, that would make the function of a minister quite academic as well....

Wordsworth: There IS a God!!

Chancellor: You are in error, Wordsworth. There is NO GOD!  The STATE HAS PROVEN THAT THERE IS NO GOD!!

Wordsworth: You cannot erase God, with an edict!’

In the end, Wordsworth is pronounced 'obsolete' and found guilty but is given the privilege of choosing his own method of execution.  I will not spoil the ending for those who wish to follow this up.  You can find the whole episode on YouTube, that is if you do not already own the DVD box-set like this sad blogger.  But Wordsworth’s final hour is spent reading aloud some of the great passages of comfort and strength in the Bible.  

It may be unforgivably fogie-ish simply to say that they don’t make them like this anymore.  But can you imagine a modern piece of popular entertainment standing up for books and God and giving us a good man with a love for the Bible?  

The more serious point is that in the early nineteen-sixties the big fear seemed to be that governments could become so powerful that they could control what we read, what we think and,  as Wordsworth would have it,  legislate God out of existence.  Arguably, we are closer to this now than to those modern visions of the future where a loveless, repressive Christianity is in control.  I mean, have you read the papers?