Looking forward....looking back

The iconic country singer, Slim Dusty, wrote and sang the song 'Looking forward looking back'. This song is an oft played favourite at funerals as it reflects on life and its struggles. There is an interesting verse in the song

"There are strange days

Full of change on the way

But we’ll be fine, unlike some

I’ll be leaning forward, to see what’s coming"

The verse prior to this talks about making sense of the past before moving into this verse regarding the future. In Luke's gospel there are a series of conversations which Christ has with those wishing to become disciples and follow him (Lk 9.57-62) all of which reflect the final line in the verse above. I am aware that I often talk about how the past often holds us rather than allowing our imaginations soar into the future but that is what Christ asks of us.

Lean into the future and not into the aridity of the past

In Galatians Paul speaks about being guided by the Spirit (Gal 5.16) whilst at the same time talking about our desires that pull us away from God. We are asked to be people who pull together with the commandment of Love our neighbour. We cannot do this if we are harbouring thoughts that have grown from petty disputes in the past. We all have out own way of looking to the future. We all have our own thoughts in what is the best. Yet, if we cannot reconcile this fact within ourselves we will never come together in Community. The expression of our desires and our thoughts are or should be just that and no more. Yet so often the hurts of the past colour how we hear what others have to say and place ourselves into a situation where we are not loving our neighbours but caring only for our own well being and hating everyone around us for not following our way.

Elisha knows that Elijah's time is over when he goes with him to the Jordan and beyond (2 Kings 2). Elisha could have I am sure brought up all sorts of moans and past issues to dissuade Elijah from this journey. We do it all the time ourselves as we sidetrack others with our own needs and wants. However, Elijah allowed the course of events to proceed because he was connected to the Spirit of God and knew that the future was God's not his. In looking towards our own journey in faith we are formed by what has gone before but this does not mean that we need repeat what has gone before. God does not always ask us to do the same thing but rather God calls us into newness of life. Only when we can accept that something new is calling us, that we must needs change to answer the call of the Spirit will we find the presence of God close to us having never left us in the first place.

It is we who abandon God. We wish to visit the things that hold us back from the future as it comes towards us and breaks in upon us in the form of Christ. Just as those would be disciples can find all sorts of excuses for not being part of the way that Christ beckons us to, we also are filled with the same excuses. We cannot abandon our lives. We must first say goodbye. We linger with those who would hold us back and dwell in the safety of the things we know.

Living in faith

How often I wonder do we actually listen as Elijah did on Mt Horeb? In today's circumstances I suspect we mix God up with our own consciousness and attempt to do the things that we want to happen rather than what God wants. I can almost guarantee that  I will find myself in conversation today with people who would call themselves Christian yet will speak as if they know not God. It is very easy to do because we are often not centred within God but rather within our own mundane and daily lives. The passage from Galatians is perhaps a reminder to us as to how our actions need to be centred in God rather than in Civil society (Gal 3).

The first part of the passage (Gal, 3.10-14) talks about the law. In reading this we see that the constraints of the Law that was given to Moses in the Covenant in some manner seems to have let the people down and does not lead to a betterment of society or of themselves towards God. If we look at this from a secular point of view we know that obeying the law does not help us with our spiritual lives. Yet, this is ultimately what the following of the law was said to do. Law is something that we have put together to ensure the smooth operating of society. It tells us what should and should not happen. For example, the law from time to time has indicated that certain groups or people within society do not belong. In the days of Christ it was those infected with leprosy or were considered to be possessed (Lk 8.26-39). Even in society today we ostracise people and place them beyond the bounds of society.

Walk the path of faith not the path of popular culture

Even within our religious society we do the same. We need to look only at a recent celebration that involved the cooperation between denominations which was de-railed because the minister from one was not able to minister with a woman priest. The same feeling can be shared when you look at the comments made recently at a Baptist convention regarding parishioners thoughts and women priests. We also only have to look towards the debates regarding the LGBTQ sector or even the xenophobia over those seeking asylum via boats. All of these sectors and many more are blamed, ostracised and banished to the margins of society, often by those who purport a religious point of view. We want laws and more laws in place for people to follow and for society to become stable. Yet, these do nothing towards the building of community. The first Christians moved outwards in faith not in instituionalised religion. They moved with the presence of God deep within their hearts such that they could encompass what Paul expresses in the Galatians correspondence (Gal.3.28).

No matter what the purpose that we have been set is discipleship in God. This means that like Elijah it is the still small voice that we need to be listening to not the raging winds or even the heat of the fire. For us it is the later two that are overwhelming our hearts and minds so that we are incapable of hearing God's voice and leading within our hearts and minds. The central driver for the disciples and for the early faith holders was the presence of God felt and formed within their hearts. It was only later that the divisions of secular life impinged and destroyed the centrality of God. WE remind ourselves of the threefold purpose of our Church to worship God as a community not as individuals in nature, to be of service to our community not just ourselves or those we favour, and to be martyrs (witnesses) to God's love in the world beyond our own selfish needs and wants.

Trinity - the three who are one

In speaking about the Trinity we often perhaps feel that we are speaking in terms of some science fantasy that comes from the brains of Tolkien rather than a doctrine of belief. It becomes very difficult to speak about God when we cannot know God but can only put human thoughts into concepts of things beyond ourselves. Trinitarian speak is precisely that an attempt to portray God in terms that are understandable to ourselves as human. What of course makes it worse is that the originators of the doctrine could only utilise words and thoughts that were formed from Greek philosophical concepts and a world view that was 'primitive' compare to the modern seculum. Only when we can get a grip from this perspective can we begin to unpack and perhaps modernise the conceptual understanding that is God from a human perspective.

It is interesting to speculate on how the original authors of the Trinitarian orthodoxy initially came up with such a doctrine. Looking back over the many years since the start of this we can hazard guesses but not much more. There are obvious hints of Greek philosophical thought behind the wording of trinitarianism but I suspect that there may also be some more indigenous language present as well. Indigenous that is to tribal North Africa. Many of those who spoke of the new doctrine were of African descent even if they were Roman. I firmly believe that there is a hint of the philosophy of Ubuntu inherent in the trinitarian formulation. Be that as it may the very concept of three in one is basic to the Christian belief system and yet is very hard to find within our everyday proclamations of Christian benevolence. The concept of the Trinity is a concept that embeds the understanding of each individual person as being distinct and yet part of a greater whole. In explaining the concept in the current age there are decidedly two basic understandings of the Trinity. Each understanding criticises the other for failing to take into account the concept being promoted by promoter.

Each one is an individual who are one in community

For example, some theologians promote a concept of unity and are criticised for not taking into account each members individuality, whilst others emphasise the individuality of each person in the Trinity whilst being criticised for failing to account for their unity. Thus, we become divided and turn to the emphasise of each individual component Jesus (Evangelical), the Father (Catholic) or the Spirit  (Pentecostal) and fail to understand any for of incorporation. We thus become not one Church but a multiple of Churches each with its inherent institutional values played out on the larger stage of life. Even when we look at the creed we can discover for ourselves the archaic values and thoughts of our predecessors which influence our traditions to this day. Let us re-think what is it that the ancients were trying to say to their people as they spoke of three who were one God.

I go back to the philosophy out of Africa that states that we each are who we are because of the company we keep. Our very lives are dependant and formed by those whom we form community with. Thus, if our community cannot tell the truth nor will we. Yet the corollary stands as well. Each of us as an individual form and develop the community in which we immerse ourselves. In other words our thoughts will influence those around us. Now apply this to a concept of three who are one. Each is an individual within and of themselves but their uniqueness inform and create the communal selves that are one coherent body. If we are to follow we to must be as one with them. thus in John's words placed in the mouth of Christ "I am one with the father " and prays that we may be one with him. So that we too may be one in community without the loss of our individuality. Thus, each must open ourselves up to the presence of God within ourselves and be as one with God and Christ and the Holy Spirit, not just Jesus, not just the Father and not just the Spirit for all are one.

The Spirit moves

One of the constants in life is a continuing sense of movement and change no matter what your stage of life is. For some, this constant movement becomes an issue in their lives others embrace this sense of change to find new things and obtain new life experiences. Once we stop our openness to change we become less hope filled and more institutionalised within our lives, for this is what keeps us going. It is familiar, it is comfortable and it is, for us, a means of keeping track of time. In a way this is precisely what the disciples of Christ were doing in the upper room that day when the Spirit descended (Acts 2.1-21). They were comfortable in their uncertainty as to what to do next as they huddled together in prayer and worship, perhaps inwardly asking "How can we change the synagogue to show the work of God?". The Spirit came and they were enjoined to move out into their neighbourhoods to proclaim Christ in their words and actions. It is at this moment that the movement of Christ begins.

The Spirit disrupts our lives as we are sent into the world. Artist: Pejac

I am certain that this disruption of the routines and comforts of life were uncomfortable for the disciples. We know that the disruption created challenges for the burgeoning church and the other religious institutions as it spread throughout the Mediterranean world of the time.  A discomforting and disrupting influence that lasted for at least a century before coming into a more settled style. The central theme for this period as can be seen in the scriptures and other literature of the time, was a constant centralisation of God in the lives of those who followed the way. This centrality is shown in John's Gospel as the author keeps repeating Christ's words 'I am the way', ' I am in the Father and the Father is in me' (John 14.6, 10). The Spirit constantly reminds us that if we are to lead lives of discipleship then those lives need to be centered on God, this is what the Spirit of truth reminds us of as it blows through our lives. The truth of Christ's presence in our lives is unacceptable to the world as soon as we proclaim the truth of Christ we are shunned from the public sphere of life. In order to escape the alienation we take on the ways of the world to hide the truth that is in our hearts. How else can we explain why some proclaimed Christian people receive more without complaint and yet do little or nothing to improve the less fortunate?

The movement of the Spirit in our lives is more than paying lip service to the tradition of sequestered buildings and ancient forms. It is a movement that encourages us out into the community to live and breathe the Christian ethos. It is what drives us to form new understandings of how God wishes to meet us in the wider world because it will not allow us to remain encapsulated within the shelter of our past. The Spirit moved the disciples from the room in which they hid into a hostile and dangerous world. It did not protect, except through the power of love, encouragement and discernment. Yet, the focus of the early pilgrims on the way was none other than God and God's presence in the form of the risen Christ centred in the love which they bore in their hearts. Nothing was too hard, nothing was too challenging, nothing was disabling for those who looked to God's presence and felt God's love. The Spirit moves us first of all out of ourselves into community and into the dangerous edge of relationship. It disrupts our lives but only when we commit ourselves into God's care and love. We are quite capable of ignoring God's call and continue our comfortable lives because it means that we can con ourselves into believing we are doing the good. It is only when we follow God's Spirit into newness and unease that we can truly fill the burning hole in our hearts that yearns for God's presence.

Thy Kingdom come

In 2016 the Archbishop of Canterbury asked the clergy of the Church of England to pray for people to come to know Christ in the period between Ascension and Pentecost. This has become a wave of prayer around the world involving many Christian denominations with many key worship / prayer events being organised. Christ's prayer for the disciples and those who follow was that they should be one as Christ was one with God (John 17.21). This is a prayer that understands and welcomes our diversity while celebrating our unity in Christ. In a similar manner the prayer that has been called for by the Archbishop of Canterbury has been seen as being something that is unifying in the face of diversity.

Praying for 'Thy Kingdom come' means praying for the inclusivity of all God's people

Such unification in prayer is something that we need all to strive for and yet we stumble often at the first hurdle that of 'unification'. Our own growth and perspective has been shaped by our culture and our upbringing. If we cannot truly encompass all people within this prayer than we are failing because we are looking for people who will come to the Christ that is shaped in our image not in the image of God. This is natural, it is the result of our many years of life and those with whom we spend our days with. More often than not the company that we keep and attend to is not the company of God. Our friends, our colleagues, our families, etc. all come before God and if we are faithful we will spend some time with God, either early or late in the day. This is what affects our understanding and social awareness of the society in which we live. The amount of time spent in God's company is small compared to the amount of time spent in others company so it is no wonder that the influences and betrayals are present in our prayer.

We are part of a greater whole not just ourselves, as individuals or as one worshipping community.  Undoubtedly, we are not only shaped by our external community but we are also shaped by how we understand ourselves as being part of a worshipping community. That means that we are shaped by our personal and corporate beliefs. One of those is a belief that God in the sending of the Spirit guides us in all that we do if we believe. This then is the key for us as a community in Christ. We are to show the love of God to each other as we are our own neighbours and to those who are outside of our community. Just as Paul did even in a community to which he did not belong (Acts 16.16-34). Imprisoned he found strength in God's presence as he showed God's love. He formed the community around him despite the expectation of being outcast. In creating community he showed God's love and brought people together. It was not his prejudices that limited him but rather God's love that extended him.

In taking up the challenge that 'Thy kingdom comes' poses means that we need to turn aside from our own pre-judgements and allow God's voice to be heard once more in the life of the Church, not just as a once off but as a continual part of each individuals life. It cannot end in one week but must be a continual presence in our lives. Once we remove the distractions of the society that we have built and concentrate on the presence of God in the everyday we will begin once more to shine as a community in Christ. We have let our faith down by only paying lip service to the commandments of Christ and God. To pray for Thy Kingdom comes means that we pray for all not just for ourselves, our denomination, our faith, our nation, our race, our gender, our sexuality. The faith of Christ is in the end a faith of inclusion not exclusion. Irrespective of our individual beliefs we need to open ourselves more fully to the other and take on the cross that Christ has asked us to bear, the witness of God's love to the world.