June 2008
HUNGRY FOR
MEANING?
A Message
for Churchgoers and Non Church Goers!
As I get older I get increasingly fussy about the
sort of restaurants I go to. Given the cost of eating out I want to enjoy the
best food and drink that the hard earned pennies can buy. Myself and Ellie get
very disappointed when badly cooked food is served up in minute portions. It
usually gets sent back to the restaurant kitchen and the waiter`s patience is
tested!
We now have a list of our favourite restaurants
where we know there is excellent quality food and good value for money. I
suppose its the same with other things in life too. People are careful over
what car they buy and spend a long time deciding what colour the walls will be
in their homes. Shopping for clothes is another activity that can take time and
I personally find it infuriating shopping for trousers. Nothing ever seems to
fit right – around the waist and leg length. Sometimes I wonder of I am an
alien since nothing ever seems to fit!
We are all hungry to create a good impression and
there is nothing necessarily wrong with that – but how hungry are we for the
things that are eternal – the things that we take with us into the next world
when we finally leave this world? How fussy are we about understanding God who
is the author of our resurrection and everlasting future?
Far too often people leave these things to fate
and ignore the plea of Jesus that we should come to him and be saved for
eternity? This is something that is more important than anything that we are
hungry for in this life. Too often folk are unwilling to desire more of God and
to understand the meaning and real purposes of this life. We cannot do this on
our own. We need teaching and to learn how to pray and communicate with God.
This is vital to our eternal futures.
For all the criticisms of any church it is only
within the church that we can learn more about how we relate to God and to not
do so is to slow up our progress in understanding our true calling in life.
Yes, you can encounter God outside church since God is bigger than the church
but we miss out on a lot by cutting out a commitment to seek further and to try
and understand more that is vital to our salvation and to seek from those who
have something to teach us.
The fact that all churches are full of hypocrites
(including the clergy) is irrelevant. The presence of hypocrites doesn`t
invalidate what is taught about salvation and prayer and getting to know God
personally.
If you think you have life sussed and know all
about God then think again. The stuff of God is too great for just one
individual to grasp alone. Jesus makes this absolutely clear time and time
again.
He commands us to break bread together and that
states that He will be present when we do so. Isn`t that more important than
the other things in life that we hunger for and fuss over?
As for some who already attend church – are you
really still hungry to discover more about God – the God who will resurrect you
when your time comes? Are you reading about such things? Are you hungry for God
to reveal himself in new ways to you? Are you clamouring to find out when the
next prayer meeting or Bible study is in the week? Are you banging on the Vicar
or Curate`s door to plague them with questions about your life and where God is
or isn`t in your life? Is there a passion within you to know more about eternity
and you? Do you wish to learn more in the week about the activity of god rather
than only attend Sunday worship in obedience to Jesus`s command to break bread
together? Do you want to see perhaps the miracles of God too through healing
and the giving of God`s spiritual gifts you – as revealed in the New Testament
book of 1 Corinthians 12 verses 1-11?
Read this passage before you read the next
magazine article. Let your eyes feast on the words and say to yourself, `where
do I fit into this?` Rest assured that God wants you to be part of the Body of
Christ and wants to bestow upon you the gifts that are promised there. He`s not
expecting you to be perfect in this life. He only desires that you be hungry
for him and to take his love for you seriously – that you become truly alive
and not totally bound by the practicalities of this world and other people`s
expectations of us.
Do you want to be at those special services at
other times of the week and sometimes on a Sunday night where the Holy Spirit
is sometimes present in a new and dramatic way?
Does all this scare you? Is it all too unfamiliar
and makes you feel out of control?
Sometimes in life we have to take a risk based on
our hunger for God and allow ourselves to be in unfamiliar territory so that
God can reveal something new to us.
The problem is that God wants more for us than we
are sometimes prepared for him to give. We are all stingier than God ever was
or is.
Read that passage quoted
above and you`ll see that we have to discover God together – and God has gifts
for YOU in store. Be hungry for them. They are part of what YOU were created for.
Nick Evans/Vicar
May 2008
ANIMAL
THOUGHTS – A TESTIMONY
I was never really an animal lover. I was one of
those people who thought that animals should be in the wild where they belong –
as long as they weren`t near me. I couldn`t really see what they had to do with
me or my religious faith.
Strangely enough God`s healing ministry through me
started with animals in a west London suburban parish. When visiting houses
where there were sick animals people reported how there had been `miraculous`
cures of their pets after I had reluctantly stroked them - and so on. Before I
knew it I was inundated by calls from national pet journals and invitations to
appear on pet TV and radio programmes as various TV and radio hosts attempted
to discover the secret of what they termed `animal healing.`
It all seemed very odd to me that I was becoming a
celebrity in the field of pets – a subject in which I had no interest or
knowledge whatsoever! However the animals (particularly dogs which I had never
liked) kept coming with their owners for me to touch them and so save paying a
fortune at the vets!
It was all rather bewildering at the time and I
then realised that God must have a sense of humour since my history with dogs
had never been good. As a child whenever I walked to school past a house with a
dog in the yard it would always attempt to take a chunk out of my backside!!
Eventually some parishioners suggested the obvious
– which had not occurred to me – that maybe this `gift`, as they put it, could also be used on people. That is another
story for another time though – and equally as fascinating. We had healing
services in London and many people came to them and we witnessed God perform
some mighty miracles – things that only God can do and not just the curing of
common colds that would have got better anyway.
In time I spiritually returned to where it had all
started – with the healing of pets. I wanted to know why animals were so
responsive to God`s healing power through the touch of an ordinary priest like
me in an ordinary town.
The whole thing made me review my attitude to
God`s creation – particularly towards the animal kingdom. Then of course I met
Ellie who is an animal lover and is now starting her monthly `pet`s corner` in
this magazine.
The first thing to note is that God told Adam to
exercise stewardship (good care) of ALL of his creation and this must have
meant the animal and plant world. In the Genesis story God gave man the right
to even to name the beasts.
Furthermore in the book of Revelation, the last
book of the Bible, we are told that ALL creatures are worshipping the lamb upon
the throne – and not just human beings. See Revelation chapter 4 verses 9-12
which talks of other living creatures worshipping God around his throne.
There is something too in scripture suggesting
that Jesus suffered for the whole of
creation and not only for people. There is a mystery in this that we cannot
fully grasp with our small human brains. In the book of Romans chapter 8 v22-23 St Paul talks about
the whole of creation `groaning in travail` as if sin somehow affects the
created order causing it to `fall` too:
`For we know that up to the present time all of
creation groans with pain. . . .`
At any rate there is something of divinity in at
least some animals. Dogs, I have learned can be faithful and trusting and are
capable of self sacrifice for their owners. I have seen them comfort and
protect the sick in very definite ways. Their trust seems to make them open and
responsive to receive God`s healing for themselves.
In the process of healing animals I sense how
uncluttered by religious dogmatism and prejudice dogs can be. They don`t ask endless cynical religious questions or
tell you that they are suspicious of religious stuff because of how they were
brought up or of how they reject God because he allowed the death of a loved
one. Neither do they keep away from you because they once had a bad experience
with religion or a past vicar! A dog doesn`t condemn you because you are pro or
anti such and such a way of life or because you have imperfections in your
character!
We can learn something about trust and
faithfulness from some animals and there is also a mystery about them too since
they do possess senses that we do not have or which are less developed in
humans. We cannot hear what a dog can hear and we know little about the
`spiritual` realm in such animal`s lives.
There is a mystery about God too since God is not
human – that`s why he had to become a human being in Jesus so that we can grasp
what we need to know about the part of God that is relevant to us – the part of
God`s spiritual image that we are capable of reflecting in our lives as human
beings.
So the signs of God`s activity and nature are all
around us in the natural world and are somehow affected too by the Fall of
mankind and our deliverance by God through Jesus. Pause for thought and pray
next time you see an animal.
All fascinating and exciting stuff and right under
our noses.
Nick Evans/Vicar
April 2008
RELIGION
– IS IT WORTH THE HASTLE?
This month is
again addressed to those who think religion is a load of rubbish and just a
prop for the afraid and inadequate. Someone`s got to keep the challenge on!!
One reason
why some get fed up with the whole idea of religion is that they want all the
answers to their questions answered straight away. If there isn`t a slick and
easy to understand answer then God and church are dismissed from the mind as
just one great big con that can`t be proved.
Some adults
even resort to the `if I can`t see God then he doesn`t exist` argument! To me
this is the most unscientific and childish argument of all since there are
plenty of things that exist but cannot be seen or quantified. Because
something, like God, cannot be seen doesn`t necessarily mean that it doesn`t
exist. Intelligent people should know better than to use such unscientific
arguments in the quest for the existence and character of God.
Naturally of
course there are always those who would believe any argument against the
existence of God because it suits them. They don`t want the inconvenience of
some God in their lives. Some like to be their own boss and find it hard to
stomach a greater entity in the universe than them who they may be answerable
to.
It also takes
effort and determination to thoroughly explore such issues as the existence and
nature of God. I`ve met many intellectually lazy people who prefer the ready
made entertainment of TV shows and soaps – watching other people have fun and
adventures instead of seeking for real adventures themselves.
Seeking for
God in our lives is an adventure and an exciting journey. It keeps you on your
toes and you get challenged and surprised at every turn. You discover things
that you `d not even contemplated before. You realise too that the journey
involves learning from others and worshipping together – often with folk that
you wouldn`t normally mix with or go for a drink with!
This journey
can be undertaken by people of any age or background and by those who are sick
or healthy. You need no religious background to begin but only need to
recognise that YOU are not God and that God may meet you in the most unusual of
ways – if you are prepared to be open to him.
The answers
to your questions may not all come at once. You may not be ready to receive or
accept some of the responses that God gives to your questions. There may be
other things that God wants to teach you first through the things that are
going on every day under your own nose!
Why is all
this so important and why do Vicars like myself keep banging on about it?
Isn`t it
easier to just lie back and convince ourselves that religion has caused all the
wars in the world and is better left alone on the periphery of our lives only
to be dug up at baptisms weddings and funerals – when it suits us?
Why should any of us be bothered at all about
whether there is a God and won`t we find out anyway when we die?
One key thing
here is that we ARE going to die. Our time here on earth is short and over 100
years ago it was even shorter. Then you could die from a cut infection or of
other diseases that are easy to cure today. Despite modern technology we cannot
stave death off for ever. It will happen to us all.
What is it
you are here to learn for our brief time on earth? What is it that we are
ultimately preparing for? What is this God and eternity that Christians speak
of? Supposing how I choose to be and live now affects the rest of my
eternity?
What if the
claims of Jesus are true? If so I`m going to look pretty daft standing before
God churning out the same old chestnuts about religion causing all the
wars, God being a figment of the weak`s
imagination, Holy Communion being for a lot of old religious fuddy duddies and
the usual claims that one doesn`t believe in `institutional religion` (even if
it is instituted by God). Interestingly, when the crunch comes those who don`t
bother with God or his church often opt for an institutional Christian minister
to do their relative`s funerals.
I for one
wouldn`t pitch my feeble arguments and excuses before a God that was my
creator, redeemer and sustainer. Who are we to argue the toss with God or even
to deny his existence? Are we God? Do we know all the mysteries of the
universe? Are we able to resurrect ourselves and families when we die?
Of course
not! Only God can do such things. So it is for each one of us to seriously
consider the issue of who God is and how he manifests himself on earth and in
our lives. This means an end to the arrogance that proclaims that we don`t need
God or his `institutional religion`. The issues are too important to be
dismissed so lightly or arrogantly – especially given the claim that God died
for you on the cross.
The issue of
God, worship and judgement are things that affect all of our personal futures.
It is time for some to wake up and worship their maker with the rest of us
sinners! Wakey wakey before its too late.
Nick Evans/Vicar
March 2008
IN DEFENCE OF HYPOCRITES - A
RESPONSE TO EASTER
This
article attempts to address the many I meet who say they believe in God but do
not go to church. Note the title says `in defence of hypocrites` and not `in
defence of hypocrisy`! Please think seriously about this Easter message!
Every
Vicar and worshipper has been told at some time that it is not necessary to go
to church in order to be a Christian. I was told recently that you can be a
Christian at home and that you don`t need to mix with a load of nasty people at
church who never spoke to you when you hit bad times in your life.
In
the same conversation I was told about how wonderful a previous vicar had been
and that things weren`t the same since him! Quite apart from the rudeness of
the statement to such a sensitive soul as mine I was intrigued that the person
concerned hadn`t been to a communion here for many years and had nothing to
compare him with. I`d certainly not met the person before so they certainly
knew little about the folk here or myself!!
There
will always be those who prefer to stay at home and miss out upon the
resurrection life of the church, miracles and new life that all mainstream
churches teach. It is not possible to enter into the fullness of the
resurrection life of Jesus when we cut ourselves off from the body of Christ –
which is active engagement with the
people of God.
If
we don`t mix and worship with each other then we slow down our learning about
what it is to be a Christian. You can be a good moral person at home who
believes in God but that alone doesn`t make you a Christian.
A
Christian is someone who believes that God entered our world as a person and
experienced the pains and sorrows that we do. A Christian believes that God as
Jesus was crucified and resurrected for you and me. God himself took all that
we deserve upon the cross so that we can be free for the rest of eternity.
A
Christian is not necessarily a better person than a non Christian. They may be
no more moral or kinder than the rest of humanity – so don`t expect to find
perfect people in your local church. What you will find is folk who believe
that God has been crucified and raised for us. They respond to what God has
done through worship and breaking bread together as Jesus taught us to do.
Remember
– being a good moral person who believes in God is not the same as being a Christian – unless you also believe that Jesus was
the Son of God and came into the world to save YOU!
A
Christian has a certain view about the PERSONALITY of the god that so many
people say they believe in. As you would die if you had to for your children
then so God suffers for us to PROVE his love. This invites a response however moral
or immoral we are.
Yes
- Christians have their personal problems and imperfections like anyone else
but they attempt to bring these things before God as they bow their knee at the
altar rail week by week – sometimes with tears. Never be too proud to shed
tears with other Christians.
We
teach each other how to identify the activity of God in our everyday lives and
how to relate to what we discover there.
It
is much harder, and I think more foolish, to believe that we can do this
entirely in private – teaching ourselves all there is to know about God.
Imagine
a doctor that says that he has privately taught himself medicine but never went
to medical school?! Would you trust his medical opinion? I`d be a little more
than suspect to say the least!
So
those who say they don`t go to church because they see hypocrites there or they
don`t like the vicar or hymns and so on are missing the point as to why we
should go to church at all. All people are hypocrites in some way since nobody
is all they proclaim to be.
If
someone tells me that they won`t worship with other Christians because they are
hypocrites then my response is “well there`s room for one more!”
It
is a big error to judge the church`s message by what we think about the
behaviour of Christians since they are human too and prone to error. I for one
will publically defend worshippers against non Christian criticism on the
grounds that however bad we Christians sometimes are there has to be someone
about to share the good news of God to the world. There will never be perfect
people to deliver this news so don`t shoot the messengers!
Us
bunch of sinners will continue to proclaim Jesus`s command to break bread together with or without those who think
they are less hypocritical than us.
Maybe
you don`t worship because you are angry with God? If that is the case then come
and express your anger or try to discover God`s response to your pain. In
medicine it is not always possible to diagnose and know the cure for our
illnesses – and so it is with problems to do with our emotions and souls. We
all bend the knee to God seeking his response to our hurts and pains. Church
folk have also experienced sorrow, cancer, the loss of a child and so on so
they have also experienced anger and sorrow towards God – BUT they, despite all
their faults, have something of value to teach about where God is in your life.
Without
church where do you learn to worship and break bread with others as Jesus
commanded? Where do we learn more about God? Where do we learn what it is like
to bow before God with other sinners like us? Where do we learn about how God
communicates with us? Where do we see the healings and other miracles of God?
Where else do we see that God speaks largely through the community of God
rather than purely through individuals? Where else do we see and learn all
these things if we don`t go to church to FIND OUT more? If you disagree with me
about all this then come and have a coffee with me.
Of
course there will also be those who are purely self centred for whom God is an
inconvenience in their life even though they may be standing before him one day
when they die. The idea of seeking for what just may be the most important
thing in the universe fills them with a sense of lack of control and fear.
People sometimes tend to avoid and fear what they cannot control or
understand.
So
floating voter I hope that I have triggered a response rather than no response
at all!
What is your response to the God who died
for you at Easter? Have you really
researched the issues fully?
Nick Evans/Vicar
February 2008
TRENDY RUBBISH
ABOUT LENT?
Political correctness has its place in some areas
of our national and personal lives and there is a massive debate in society at
the moment as to how fussy we should be in our attempts not to upset others by
expressing our opinions openly.
I`ve noticed that in some schools teachers are
discouraged from writing anything negative on pupils reports in case a pupil
gets discouraged and becomes worse at a certain subject. Reports all seem to be
glowing even when a pupil is clearly poor and at the bottom end of their
setting. It is difficult for parents sometimes to know how to help their kids
when reports aren`t balanced for fear that a teacher may get challenged or a
pupil won`t be robust enough to accept that there are weaknesses in some
lessons that could be improved upon! I speak as a qualified secondary school
teacher myself who used to be a head of department.
It seems that we are developing a society in which
balanced criticism is discouraged in case another gets wounded or discouraged
by even the truth about themselves.
What really narks me off is when the wrong sort of
political correctness creeps into the church – as I think it has done in some
modern views of Lent.
Lent is traditionally about facing our fragile
mortality and foregoing something wonderful for 40 days so that we can focus on
the God who gave us this gift in the first place. It is also about looking
inwardly and facing our own inner demons, complexes and histories and bringing
them before God – a painful journey. It IS about looking at ourselves before
God and examining what motivates and drives us in life. It is about evaluating
where we stand with God and recognising our total dependency upon God and
issues to do with how we hear God speaking in our wildernesses.
However,
Lent is becoming redefined as something else which is much more
comfortable for the spiritually timid.
Many Lent booklets I have seen recently seem to
focus upon taking something ON for lent rather than upon giving something up.
Lent seems to be being used by some sectors of the churches to promote more
activity within the community – a sort of `let`s do a good deed for every day
of Lent` idea. There seems to be a growing emphasis too on praying for everyone
else in the world instead of focussing on our spiritual inner selves – almost
as if to do so is deemed as being selfish or self centred.
Surely the church should be involved in the
community throughout the whole year
and we should be praying for others similarly – and not just in Lent?!! These
activities are not specifically what Lent is about. They ought to be done all
the time for Christians and not done for 40 days of Lent with the apparent
assumption that we can go down a few gears when Lent is over.
Lent is traditionally and specifically about
something quite different to doing good deeds for forty days or kick starting
our charitable giving.
It is 40 days worth of confronting our mortality
before God and is a process of self examination of our own past, present and
future. This means that Lent is a time of discovering a deeper way of
communicating with God in which we face painful aspects of our lives. This is a
process which happens for 40 days – to go on longer at such an intense level
would be to invite too much introspection at the expense of looking outward to
share on helping and serving the world.
It is important to get ourselves right with God
first before we can be any good for anyone else. Running around doing `good`
all the time is what any atheist can do and doing good isn`t necessarily what
saves us since we are not saved by deeds but by faith in God. Sometimes we need
a break from `doing good` in order to get ourselves MOT`d before God. Lent
gives us that opportunity to do just that.
You may be brave and wish to spring clean your
inner life – facing the pain and unresolved things that you find there. If you
want to take Lent really seriously then do this and read something that will
help you in this lonely wilderness journey. Maybe you could seek out a minister
or another to confide in who could confidentially share your inner walk and
help you to ask the right questions about yourself and your difficulties. After
all Lent reflects Jesus`s aloneness in the wilderness facing his inner turmoils
before God.
If you are brave enough to take Lent seriously
then at the end of the 40 days you will experience a sense of freedom and
liberation from things that have kept you in spiritual or emotional bondage for
years. Lent is an opportunity to focus on ourselves so that we can eventually
be free and effective vessels to be used by God for the rest of the year.
So away with trendy
painless modern reinterpretations of Lent that seem specifically designed to
the spiritually non robust! The modern `politically correct` stuff may be a
good start for some people but Lent is about infinitely more than doing a good
deed for the day. It is much deeper than that – if you`re brave enough!
Nick Evans/Vicar
January 2008
A NEW YEAR –
NEW PROBLEMS!!
None
of us knows what the New Year has in store for us – as a nation or as
individuals.
We
can only guess or dream about what our futures could be.
Undoubtedly
there will be a mixture of good and bad things happening to us or to our
friends and families. Some of these fortunes and misfortunes will be partly of
our own making and others will be things that happen to us regardless of how
holy or horrid we are. When bad things happen some blame God.
People
often moan at God for not giving the wicked an exceptionally hard time. Folk
remark that God should protect the good with life and health and money. If God
was truly just then why, they argue, doesn`t God reward the good and punish the
wicked? If He did this then more people would go to church and believe in Him –
because we are all tired of seeing evil people `prospering` while only the
`good` seem to die young.
The
times I`ve heard this argument in pubs, newsagents and parties around the
various parishes in which I`ve served.
However,
Jesus made it clear that the sun shines equally upon the righteous and the
unrighteous. It is precisely because God loves good and bad people equally that
He does not discriminate – anymore than we should love one of our children more
than another.
God
gave us free will to choose good or bad. If we got zapped by God every time we
did something wrong then we`d all be a bunch of robots who`d have no choice but to do good. Some free choice that
would be!
Who
wants to worship a dictator who forces
us to be good children on the pain of being obliterated? It hardly makes for
genuine goodness does it – having to be good only out of fear? God may not like
wicked people but he loves them nevertheless. Loving and liking are two very
different things.
Another
response to the old time question of why God doesn`t zap evil people with nasty
diseases and protect the good is this:
When
God came to earth as Jesus he was not protected from pain and disaster either.
God entered into it himself. He was not immune to being badly treated or even
facing an unjust death penalty Himself.
It
is a misleading form of Christianity which says `if you`re a good holy person
then God will bless you with wealth and status.` This is a result of what is
called the `Prosperity Gospel` which is a modern American school of thought
that says God blesses the good with wealth in THIS life and repays the evil
with misfortune in this life too.
This
modern thinking sounds nice – what people want to hear – but it bears no
resemblance to the life of Jesus who was born in, and died in, poverty and
pain. It also says nothing of the forgiveness of God.
Jesus,
who was God on earth was given little in terms of property or worldly status
and died an unjust death despite all his good deeds.
This
is whom God says we are to follow - and to follow Jesus`s way is to enter
eternal life. Fighting and dying for the justice of others, feeding the hungry
and being generous is the way to build God`s kingdom on earth. The Saints
followed this way and not the way of the `prosperity gospel.` If you don`t
believe me then read their stories and see what sticky ends they came to!
Yet
another response to the `why doesn`t God protect the good and punish the wicked
in this life` question centres around what we mean by `good.`
It
is unnerving to hear people call themselves `good` - as if they in particular
don`t deserve anything bad to happen to them. St Paul in scripture makes it
clear that nobody is truly good and that all human beings are in some way or
other corrupt. Put another way why should bad things happen to others but not
to me? What makes me dare to think that I am holier than someone else?
Even
if another person is guilty of heinous crimes that I am not then have I had
their upbringing or suffered the abuse that they may have suffered in their
lives? What makes me so certain that given another`s circumstances and
background I wouldn`t be the same killer or thief? How lucky I am to have had a
more secure upbringing and be a Vicar rather than to be serving a life sentence
for murder as consequence of a dreadful upbringing or an errant gene?
We
all like to feel that we`re holier than someone else and deserve better
treatment by God. We forget that God does not see as man sees. God sees our
past and our future and understands things about ourselves and others that we
cannot even begin to grasp.
So
as we hurtle into 2008 do not despair or necessarily blame yourself or God when
things go wrong. A disaster is not a
sign that God disapproves of you or is trying to punish you for your known or
unknown bad deeds. Only pagan religions and misleading pseudo `Christian` sects
and cults think that. God calls people to life
not death and disaster!
Whatever
happens in the year to come the mainstream Christian denominations assert that
God loves you and that you are the apple of his eye. If you are up to no good
then God is sad at the damage that you are doing to your own souls as well as
other people`s. He yearns for you to come to him and learn to love as he
intended us to love and be loved. He`s not going to give you a nasty disease or
make your house blow up in the night. God is not vindictive as humans are
vindictive. His love surpasses anything that we can offer.
It
is at the end of time itself or at our own death that the ultimate judgement
happens – and God has already paid the price for our misdeeds – on the cross.
It will then be up to us to choose to receive God`s forgiveness or not. The
choice is always ours.
So
don`t be too hard on yourself or God when bad things happen in 2008. God will
never stop loving you – and that`s good news indeed. What is your response to
that – greater I hope than what you could write on the back of a postage stamp?
Nick Evans/Vicar
