TEXT FOR THE MONTH
"Stay in the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high" Luke 24 v 49
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
"We cannot redeem ourselves or better ourselves in our own strength. All we can do is to give ourselves completely to God. When we give ourselves to him without reserve, he will help us. That is our faith, our belief, and our experience. Self-redemption is out of the question, and here we must recognise the limitations of psychiatry and psychology. We do not reject them completely, but they are limited. God is far greater."
J Heinrich Arnold "Discipleship" (published by Plough)
Dear Friends,
Quite rightly, the Church of England celebrates
Christian holy days and festivals.
On the day that I am writing this
article, members of our church will be sharing a Passover meal together to
celebrate Maundy Thursday.
Tomorrow, on Good Friday, we will gather
together around the cross - and our festive worship will not stop on Easter
Sunday. On May 24th we will celebrating the Ascension of Christ into heaven. On
June 3rd we will be celebrating Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit. On June
10th we will be celebrating Trinity Sunday. And, hopefully, as each day
progresses through the late Spring into early Summer, we will also be
celebrating better weather and admiring the beauty of God's creation as we
celebrate his goodness to us.
What we are not perhaps so good at is reflecting on the biblical passages that fall between each special holy day. I want to take one special example this month, the period between the Ascension of Christ and the gift of the Spirit, as recounted in Luke chapter 24 and Acts chapter 1. Jesus asked his disciples to "stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high", a text which I have chosen as our 'Text for the Month'. This must have been quite a difficult experience for Jesus' followers. Having mourned him once, they must have felt bereft a second time as they saw Jesus ascend to the right hand of the Father. It must have seemed very strange to be alone again, without their great guide and inspiration. However, undeterred, they did what Jesus had asked them to do - they "joined constantly together in prayer with one heart" (Acts 1 14), waiting for this unknown gift of power to come to them.
This period of waiting was an important one to the early Christian community. When, many days later, the Spirit did fall on them, empowering them to spread the gospel of Christ with boldness and joy, they may have been forgiven for forgetting about those early days of patient prayer. Yet, without them, perhaps the day of Pentecost would never have come. If they had run away again, like after the crucifixion, or had become disillusioned with Jesus and his mission, as Judas had become disillusioned, then it is doubtful the Holy Spirit would have come at all. It was the waiting, the obedient waiting, that mattered. So too today God comes by His Spirit to those who wait on Him.
When we set aside time to pray, to seek God, then inevitably we begin to sense His presence stirring within us, His peace and joy filling our lives. Of course, as Christians, we all have the Holy Spirit, regardless of whether we pray. Yet, as Jackie Pullinger, the famous missionary in Hong Kong pointed out, "we leak". Without prayer, our spirituality can leak away. It is tempting now that Lent is over (for the reader at least if not for me as I write!) to think that our time of quiet and prayer is over for the Year.
We can think that, but at what a cost! Let us pray for God to give us grace to wait, to seek his presence, and thus each day to renew our commitment to the risen Lord, crucified among criminals, let us then pray for grace to speak God's truth to the society in which we live.
With Christian love,
Simon Tillotson
This letter appears in the parish magazine. To subscribe to the magazine please email Brian Eddy or contact the church office.
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