Treasure in heaven?

I wonder what you were doing in the early hours of Friday morning about twenty to one? We were out aurora searching. It turned out late Thursday night and early Friday morning we didn’t need to book expensive cruises round Norway to see it, we just needed to drive to Dallowgill and park by the chapel. There was an amazing mixture of green and red and apart from the wind absolute peace and silence. The world at twenty to one on Friday morning was still and calm and problemless. Rather like Robert Browning’s Pippa Passes: The year's at the spring and day's at the morn;Morning's at seven; The hill-side's dew-pearled; The lark's on the wing;The snail's on the thorn: God's in his heaven— All's right with the world!

But then we come home and find all’s not right with the world.

I began writing this sermon a few hours before our aurora hunt.  

I was sitting waiting for a talk in the Crown Hotel in Harrogate which is hosting the annual Harrogate Literature Festival at the moment. I relax by watching and reading about politics and social history. So I was waiting to listen to one of our former Prime Ministers.

I wonder if you got a chance to meet a Prime Minister living or dead who it would be? Churchill? Liz Truss?!?! My Dad worshipped Harold Wilson. I’m reading a book about Wilson at the moment. Anyway I was waiting for Theresa May. She was talking about leadership and the abuse of power and a plea for all of us to return to serving and being responsible for each other.

I often watch the news on catch up quite late at night and the other night with a mixture of Israel and Gaza and the Lebanon and Syria and Yemen and Iran and hurricanes in the United States it was almost too much to watch. We need to pray for all those in leadership who have a responsibility to lead with integrity and compassion and not for their own end. Sadly this doesn’t happen in some places and it leads to where much of the world finds itself today. We cry peace peace but there is no peace. We are tired of war and negativity and we need a different narrative. The Old Testament passage for this Sunday is part of Amos prophecy to a people going off the rails. He longs for justice in the gate, he longs for good spiritual leadership out of the shrine at Bethel, he warns of an abyss. They hate the one who rebukes in the gate: Amos told us the cause of coming judgment – the terrible way that the people of Israel treated one another, especially how the strong took advantage of the weak. The weak had no voice in the gate and were robbed by oppressive taxes. The rich took advantage with bribes so they could drive the poor from justice.

 

The gate was the law court in ancient cities. Israel’s courts were so corrupt that they silenced the poor and righteous. The effect of this culture of injustice was that the prudent keep silent at that time, for it is an evil time – godly and righteous people did not speak out either fearing retribution or knowing it would do no good.

“Judicial decisions for each community were taken at the gate of the city, where the heads of families and other elders assembled to hear witnesses, arbitrate disputes, decide controversies and generally dispense justice. The space on the inner side of the gate together with rooms or alcoves in the gate area itself were used as courtrooms.”

Though you have built houses of hewn stone, yet you shall not dwell in them: Amos tells us God’s curse for Israel’s wickedness. Though the wicked in Israel gained fancy houses and vineyards from their oppression of the poor and railroading of justice, the gains were only temporary. God would evict them from their dishonestly gained houses and vineyards. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of hosts will be with you: Amos proclaimed God’s cure for Israel’s sin. They must begin to simply seek good and not evil. They must transform their corrupt courts and establish justice in the gate. Amos was talking to God’s people who were immersed in the law and the law included how you treat other people. Did you hear Tim Walz have a swipe at Donald Trump having some God bless America Bibles produced and outsourcing their production to China? “We just found out his Trump-branded Bibles—yeah, they’re printed in China,” Walz said at a Michigan rally. “This dude even outsourced God to China!”The Minnesota governor then feigned pity on Trump and offered to be “generous.” He said, “I don’t blame him. He didn’t notice the ‘made in China’ sticker, ’cause they put it inside, a place he’s never looked: in the Bible.”

Don’t you just love an American election? Maybe though we just want a peaceful aurora world every night. We cry to God. What shall we do? 

I was struck by the Message translation of part of Psalm 119 in our prayer time at Allhallowgate on Wednesday.

 I’m homesick—longing for your salvation;
    I’m waiting for your word of hope.
My eyes grow heavy watching for some sign of your promise;
    how long must I wait for your comfort?
There’s smoke in my eyes—they burn and water,
    but I keep a steady gaze on the instructions you post.
How long do I have to put up with all this?

People are searching for that aurora world. Let’s look at a rich young man. He says “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

I love this from the Church of Scotland worship material. “Imagine that one Sunday morning, three new people come to in to your church. If your church is anything like ours, then I imagine that there will excitement at seeing new people come. One of these three new arrivals is a wealthy young man with leadership experience, and a deep concern for eternal life. The second person is a lady with a bad reputation, whom people choose to avoid. The third person is called Zacchaeus. He works in finance, and the rumour is that he is crooked. You barely notice him coming in – he doesn't stand out in a crowd – and of course he immediately starts climbing; up to the balcony. Of these three people, which is the one that you would be most pleased to see in your church?

I imagine, being honest, that many of us would be pleased to see the keen, religious, wealthy young man. We may already be thinking about when to approach him to become an elder, and the healthy effect his tithing is going to have on the church finances. Yet when these three people met Jesus, it was the lady with the reputation who went away from her encounter with Jesus and became a successful evangelist in her own neighbourhood. It was Zacchaeus that left his encounter with Jesus as a changed man. However, in the whole New Testament, the wealthy young man is the only person described as feeling sad after meeting Jesus.”

As he describes the encounter Mark puts in a beautiful phrase (v21): ‘Jesus looked at him and loved him.’ No one else in this Gospel is described in such a powerful way. Jesus loved him: his heart went out to this young man. Why? Is it because he is moved by the urgency of the question? Is it because he knows the question can unlock a whole new future? Is it because he knows the demands of following will be too much? Jesus’ answer challenges the notion of ‘inheriting’ eternal life; perhaps because the questioner had inherited his fortune and status and could only see progress in those terms.

Jesus answer can be summed top in a series of verbs, of actions.

·       go

·       sell

·       give

·       come

·       follow

‘Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’  The issue is not so much about what the man possesses as what possesses him. He is a prisoner of his wealth and status and needs to see God’s plan for him in a different light.

Turning away is a rejection of God’s Kingdom and its promises: the rich, young, ruler had found the entry fee too demanding.

Traditionally wealth was seen as a sign of God’s blessing and, while the disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus, they were still shaken that their Rabbi would make such a shocking announcement: ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!’ or, as in some manuscripts, how hard for those who trust in riches. 

It seems to me that this encounter is not about Jesus condemning wealth in itself, but Jesus putting his finger on the block for this man’s discipleship.

Then what shall we do? What must I do? How do I play my part in making the world better? We cannot friends change the world apart from praying and protesting but we can make a difference where we are. So while praying for leaders I remember my own responsibility - in the words of the prayer, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

 

Why is it our human psyche needs an uplifting? We get excited about seeing the aurora or a sunrise or a sunset or the sea? Why is it we need times of celebration and festival? I’m doing the Harvest service at Wath chapel near Pateley Bridge on Sunday night  and the place will be packed. Why is it we become so depressed about the world? Because we’ve forgotten we need a bigger vision and maybe God sends auroras and sunrises and sunsets and the sea and festivals to remind us of that, but also maybe Amos warning and the sad turning away of the young rich man are a message for us to look outwards and do what we can do in our part of the world to make it better. Theresa May on Thursday talked about taking off a mantle of selfishness and devoting ourselves unashamedly to duty and the service of others. Maybe that’s the key to it.

The prophets, like Amos, call us to a new way of being and living precisely because God knows, without any doubt, that this other way is possible for us, despite our histories of failure. When Amos says, “Seek good and not evil… establish justice in the gate,” the prophet is saying, “Yes, this option is actually available to you, and it always will be.”

Maybe then we’ll see not another aurora but treasure in heaven.

Reflecting on being drawn to Southport

Gabby Hinsliff writing recently in the Guardian commented that about where things are around us: “the country still contains many more people quietly working to put things back together than it does nihilists trying to smash them apart.” 

I sat and received worship on my Sunday off yesterday at Ripon Cathedral. The Dean always looks very pleased when he sees me sitting in the congregation! He found me in the peace and beamed widely! He preached a belter yesterday about the Israelites complaining in the desert but more seriously after condemning all the violence of the last few days he asked the question what do these people hurling bricks and setting shops and more seriously hotels asylum seekers in them want? After the service I was joined at coffee by a lady up here on holiday in her caravan. She told me “these people have a point. We have people on benefits in our village.” How have we got to this? A situation where anyone not like us is a threat to us. Imagine being one of those asylum seekers in that hotel in Rotherham with people outside shouting “Yorkshire” at you. Very frightening. 

I’ve been wanting to get to Southport for many weeks to complete the marking of the 25th anniversary of my ordination in the town. Last night we managed to get there. It was good to find Leyland Road Methodist Church where my ordination service was and Southport Theatre on the promenade (back then the Floral Hall) where I was received into full connexion. Then to try and see the sea - which was out there somewhere - and yes - that is Blackpool Tower lit up blurred in the distance! 

More powerful than a pilgrimage to mark my anniversary and remember was a walk very late last night to the flowers and toys and teddies laid in memory of the three little girls who were killed at a dance class last Monday. What struck me was there were a lot of people there and everyone stood or walked round the flowers and other things there in silence. It was very powerful to be there even just ten minutes. 

 Marie-Anne, the Methodist Superintendent in Southport was interviewed the other day by the BBC. She said there was a "strong community feeling that we're bigger than all of this and we will build a better world for our young people as they grow up". She said she had seen "so many acts of kindness" take place since the attack and churches across the town were "committing ourselves to work for peace and reconciliation in our communities". "Southport has really pulled together," she said. "Every act of kindness is saying we are against this hate, these acts of violence." 

What has been heartening in every community that has been attacked by the violence of a minority has the next morning been flooded with people coming together to clean up and in days following has seen different faiths coming together to celebrate community and solidarity. It’s good to hear strong words from government but we also need all of us to condemn bigotry and narrowness and misinformation and speaking of people without knowing what it means to walk in their shoes. I’m sitting writing this in the market square. Two people VERY worse for wear are discussing the state of the world. He says “wtf is the world coming to? If you want to embrace it you can.” She says they are about to fall out and calls him a horrible person. I may move :) He’s going on about which people in the world he detests. How have we suddenly gone back to the dark ages? 

I read this on a Church of Scotland website earlier: 

“At the moment we are a nation which is not at peace with itself and yes we need to listen and take note of those things which trouble people and yes that does include immigration and feelings of being excluded. And equally on all sides we will get nowhere if we demonise people whoever they are. I think there is a huge task of re-building community and healing to happen in many places across the land. At the heart of this task must be a hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice. 

Let’s be clear this is not an easy task and there will be no quick fix, but even in the darkness of the last few days there has been hope as people stand together and say enough, this is not the country we want to be.

For us who come to Jesus, for us who believe in Jesus, my prayer is that sustained by the Bread of Life we will be those who seek to bring light and love into our daily engagements and actions, and that when we can speak up, we speak in a way to build bridges and not walls – always hope rather than hate. We commit ourselves to work with everyone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, for love and peace  – we join our voices with everyone who says enough, enough of hate and division. This is not who we are, this is not who we want to be.”

I couldn’t put it better myself. We need a commitment to community and we need to ask for forgiveness. It was rather poignant the service in the service in the cathedral yesterday was sung by the choir of Holy Trinity in Southport. The motet they sang asked God for a new beginning: O sweet, O merciful. O Jesus, Son of Mary, have mercy on me. Amen. 

The way forward it seems to me begins with mercy from above then a commitment this last week isn’t who we are. 

Genuine inclusive love: reflecting on Southport

“I don’t understand it, no one does. I don’t understand how Monday has flipped the town upside down. It’s scary.”

I shouldn’t be thinking on holiday, but this week in Southport and the aftermath there and elsewhere need careful reflection. The words of a mum trying to explain to her daughter why her friend won’t be at school with her in September is heart breaking. Three little girls enjoying themselves at a dance class full of Taylor Swift joy, well, we cannot imagine the pain of loss and tragedy. I know two Methodist presbyters in Southport, Marie Anne the Circuit Superintendent, who was on breakfast tv news the other morning, and Martin, Southport Hospital Chaplain, who spoke at the vigil and said 'To be known around the world for a defining incident has shook us all.' I was ordained in Southport. I’m planning a visit in my 25th anniversary year back there soon. It may have pockets of problems, but it comes over as a genteel seaside town. If you’ve ever shopped on Lord Street, you’ll know that. It hit me that this could have happened anywhere. What if I’d been the local Methodist minister. What would I have said? 

The death of three little girls and others injured including the dance class teacher is a tragedy but there is another. The rise of extremism and narrow views is deeply worrying. We are all made in the image of God, and who are we to say anyone is less than us if that is so. As one of the hymns in our book says “we have privatised God’s grace.” Enough is enough was the theme of the protest around Downing Street, we want our country back, stop the boats! It’s interesting isn’t it that the police in Merseyside have told us the suspect was born here. We’ve seen what happens when narrow extremism rises up in history. What motivates people to be so threatened by the other and believe certain rhetoric they read on social media? I think the Prime Minister had the right tone in his press conference earlier tonight. He condemned "violent disorder, clearly whipped up online", describing it as crime, "not protest.” 

What is also worrying is that people will believe anything! There’s two men who appear on market day here every Thursday. They spout narrow theology and offer a Jesus who is to my mind unattractive and dangerous. The man on the cheese stall opposite them told me today they are a “bloody nuisance”! I was horrified tonight to see a post on our local information site Blow Your Horn Ripon. It said “has anyone heard that they are building a mosque up Clotherholme Road?” To which there was a reply “we have one in Harrogate. I hope Ripon isn’t going to follow suit.” Lord, have mercy. 

Then there’s America! We are seeing slander there. She’s Indian and she’s black. Even Christians are putting stuff out there… “Just remember the same media that is telling you how great Kamala is is the same one telling you Joe was sharp as a tack.” How have we got so nasty? Thank God our political system has yes, weeks of each party leader taking lumps out of each other but after it’s done the defeated Prime Minister rings his successor to concede and then weeks later the two of them are seen laughing and joking as they walk from the Commons to the Lords to hear the King’s speech. 

I think tonight we are in a world where two narratives are fighting each other to be the dominant voice heard. We aren’t a country of violence and narrowness. There is a voice and a commitment that cleans up the streets of carnage and bricks in Southport and in Hartlepool and says the violence and hatred won’t have the last word. People work hard for compassion and cohesion and respect and peace. We need to shout louder that God would have us do justice - or pray for it when we can’t be physically at the place where peace needs to come. We can only make a difference where we are. 

I have few answers to what’s going on in the world tonight but I do know God stands in the mess and I do know on the cross Jesus takes on the sins of the world and gives us a new beginning. We were at Ampleforth Abbey today. I spotted this display board in the new visitors centre. Compare these words with the words of those who would make God’s love too narrow by false limits of our own… 

Tonight I pray for peace and a commitment to radical and joy filled inclusiveness and where’s that’s scary, Lord, come and reassure people and remind them of your grace which is huge and unlimited. And sometimes when there’s a large news story happening just keep me alert with coffee… 

I end these rambling thoughts then like this: Thomas Merton wrote that any person who is made to feel as though he or she doesn’t belong, who is marginalized and rejected by power, is another Christ. He was rejected, remember. 

And maybe I also end this with these words of Jeremy Corbyn, who a lot of us still have time for…

This morning I’m thinking of the grieving families of Bebe, Elsie & Alice. We will not let acts of hatred tarnish their memory.

The mob in Southport may have gone home, but the threat of the far right remains.

This is a wake-up call for those who have emboldened them by parroting their rhetoric and pandering to their ideas.

The only antidote to hatred is hope. The vast majority of people in Southport, and across the country, respond to horror the only way they know how: with compassion, unity and solidarity.

They should inspire us that, if we come together, we can bring about a kinder and safer society for all.

Writing this I shudder at the narrowness and the arrogance that says “I am threatened by you. Go away.” Instead, well, there is a different way which has a God who enfolds everyone and yearns for them to flourish… may that world come… soon. 

Prayers on the eve of a General Election

So I organised two prayer times on the eve of the General Election and not only advertised them in the church they were being held in but ecumenically and in my Circuit. Sadly only one person came this morning and but I had five  tonight. 

 I’m putting the prayers here because I really believe we should be praying together for our nation as we prepare for an election day and a new government of whatever form that will take.

1 Timothy 2 has these words:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 

So here are some prayers I found which speak to me and prepare me to cast my vote in the morning. 

 

A collect:

Almighty God,
to whom each of us must give an account for all our powers and privileges:
Guide the people of the United Kingdom in the election of their members of Parliament;
that by wise laws and just administration,
peace may be fostered,
godliness encouraged,
and the true profession of the gospel enabled,
for the sake of Jesus our saviour and King,
to the glory of your holy name,
Amen.

 

A prayer for voters:

God of grace and truth, inJesus you embody your choice of us.

Bless all who make choices in this general election. Clothe your people with gratitude for the right to choose our government, and turn that gratitude into clear choices.

Give those who vote your spirit of wisdom and understanding. Uphold all who stand for election: preserve their dignity, and guide them in the path of integrity.

Renew this nation in honour for the stranger,respect for the different, and cherishing of diversity.

When all the votes are counted, show us ways to foster the flourishing of all and be a blessing to our neighbours. In the name of Christ and the power of your Spirit. Amen.

A prayer of intercession for our nation:

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Maker of heaven and earth
And of all things visible and invisible.
We turn to you in search of wisdom for our times
And the assurance that, in all things,
You remain sovereign and ruler over all.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You are sovereign and ruler over all
And so, in the discerning of who might best govern our nation,
We turn to you once more.
Grant to us, and to all who seek your will,
A desire to see good governance established
In the interests of all who inhabit these lands.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You are concerned for the interests of all
And you deny to no one the dignity and integrity
That belong to all who are made in your image.
Grant to us a concern for all who stand on the margins of society
And the courage to affirm their dignity and integrity
And so to stand in solidarity with them.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

You stand in solidarity with us,
Even through Jesus Christ
Your Word made flesh who lived amongst us.
Grant to us the ongoing commitment to pray for, and to engage with,
Those who are elected to govern in our name
That we might see our society better reflect the Kingdom that is to come.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

 

A prayer for a new government:

God of all nations, we lift up to You our soon to beelected leaders and government officials. Grant them wisdom, integrity, and a spirit of service as they undertake their duties. May they be guided by a commitment to the common good, justice, and the welfare of all citizens.

May they govern with compassion, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility towards the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen

And finally, a reminder from Wesley:

“Act as if the whole election depended on your single vote, and as if the whole Parliament (and therein the whole nation) on that single person whom you now choose to be a member of it.” John Wesley from A word to a Freeholder, 1748.

And here’s his manifesto:

I’m a bit of an ejection enthusiast so I’ll be up all night watching the results so please don’t disturb me on Friday! But seriously let us pray whether we have faith or not for leadership with integrity and humility where everyone matters. That’s not party political it’s just decency! 

Reflecting on Conference and a Sunday ahead…

I write my sermons in funny places. This one was started on the 36 bus from Ripon to Leeds yesterday on my way to the opening of the representative session of the Methodist Conference and it was finished on the bus back!

I want to think about three c s. Come, call and commitment.

First, come. God is into inviting us to come and experience his love and his grace – every day. There is always more of his nature to discover. Psalm 130 is one of the Songs of Ascent. These were sung by Jewish pilgrims as they travelled up to Jerusalem for the great feasts. Underpinning these psalms are expressions of the oppression of the people during their exile in Babylon, their yearning for a return to their homeland, and for the future peace and prosperity for their nation. Psalm 130 is real, and it is honest, for it permits the people to call out to God from the depths of human suffering, all the while hoping for, expecting, indeed insisting on, God's hearing. There is confidence in the prayer that God will hear and respond to every cry of pain, because that is God's promise. The focus of the psalm, therefore, is waiting with hope. This is a psalm of trust, echoing Isaiah's words: "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint" – and of course Jesus builds on this: come unto me all ye that are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.”

We are invited to come on a journey of discovery. The trouble is we don’t really want to go anywhere because it is comfortable here. Or there’s too much hassle to start anything. I got on the bus at lunchtime yesterday. We sat on it for 20 minutes listening to the driver try in vain to get the bus to start. It wouldn’t start. It had broken down. We were going nowhere.

We all had to get on the bus that was meant to leave half an hour after us so it had double the number of passengers on it.

I sat in the front of the bus upstairs, and I watched all the angry faces of people waiting at every bus stop between Killinghall and Harrogate as the bus didn’t stop at any of them as it was already dangerously full. Then when I arrived in Leeds, I got my usual I’m in Leeds panic because I don’t do cities. Where on earth was the Royal Armouries Museum? At least I wasn’t driving. When I visit at Jimmys or the LGI I always get in the wrong lane! It’s safer to stay at home.

And we can be like that with Jesus. But if we won’t come then we miss his urging of us to experience life and hope and joy and blessings. Don’t we? I love what he says when he’s asked can anything good come out of Nazareth? His reply is “come and see.” Come. Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?

Then call… let’s think briefly about Abram. Abram left everything he knew because of a call. His God came to him at the age of 75 and said “leave your country and your kindred and your father’s house, and go to a land that I will show you.” And we are told Abram went as the Lord told him. No hesitation or discussion not even with Sarai his wife. Well maybe some! Have you ever been so sure you had to do something you just did it? Or have there been times we’ve had to do something but we’ve had to wrestle with it because we didn’t know how it might be. I love how the King James Version of the Bible translates the letter to the Hebrews:

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

We are called to look for that city. We are called to make a difference. God knows the destination. His sat nav unlike mine on my phone yesterday won’t lead to a dead end. Call. This afternoon some of us will be at Sarah Caddell’s ordination in Harrogate. Part of what she will be told will be three important words: Remember your call. Last Thursday was the 25th anniversary of my ordination at the Southport Methodist Conference in 1999.

25 years and 7 Circuits, when it’s tough and it can be I need to remember my call. But you don’t need a bit of plastic round your neck to be called. We are all called as Christians to be the best we can be to build that city here. In the week of a General Election I dare to suggest that most – not all – of the candidates standing for Parliament see serving as a call, because they want to make a difference. We should pray for all of them this week. Here’s John Wesley on October 6, 1774:

“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them tovote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

Wesley was then age 71, a venerated figure at the height of his celebrity.  His Methodist renewal movement had touched and reformed much of British society, especially among the poor who had been less engaged with the church. He strongly affirmed loyalty to his monarch and belief in the British Constitution as the world’s best. I think this week after seeing that debate in America he might be right!

Call. We sang at Conference yesterday these words: We will walk with God, my brothers; we will walk with God. We will walk with God, my sisters; We will walk with God. We will go rejoicing till the kingdom has come. We will go rejoicing till the kingdom has come.

Then finally commitment. Commitment to be the Church. The new President of the Conference Helen Cameron is going to be a bit radical this year. She suggested the Methodist  Church might be dead if we wait for people to come to us. We need to go to where need is and where good news can transform. Jesus was committed to the world. The Gospel for today  begins with a vivid portrayal of the real world in which Jesus, God incarnate, is placed.

This is a world of need, of clamour and distress. And the cries of this needy world are epitomised by the pain and devastation of the leader of the Synagogue. Then an ‘ordinary' woman who clamours for understanding. Both honest, both distressed, both at the end of their tether, both seeing Jesus as the "sufferer's last hope", as William Barclay describes it. Here, in these two people, you have the whole of humanity crying out in their needs.

Through all of this, you have the reality of despair and hope, both of them seen as real and honest parts of the human condition. And Jesus meets them where they are.

I noticed a post on Facebook yesterday after the history morning in the village of a poster advertising the opening of the new Connexion chapel in May 1861. There was a talk after the service on the pilgrim fathers! We are still here in a different form having joined other local churches having let go of our building and now we need to work out together how we meet together in the village. The Church is different from what it was in 1861 and even 1999 when I was ordained. But Jesus still invites us to come, he still calls us, and he invites us to be committed to be his people wherever that leads. So come, call and commitment.

Let me end with a prayer the President ended her sermon with yesterday to help us move on:

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. That prayer is for God’s Church and the few of us here. May God bless us and inspire us.