The
Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
Psalm
145:14
The
great temptation is to use our many obvious failures and disappointments in
our lives to convince ourselves that we are really not worth being loved.
Because what do we have to show for ourselves?
But
for a person of faith the opposite is true. The many failures may open that
place in us where we have nothing to brag about but everything to be loved
for. It is becoming a child again, a child who is loved simply for being,
simply for smiling, simply for reaching out.
This
is the way to spiritual maturity: to receive love as a pure, free gift.
Henri J.M.
Nouwen
Dear Friends,
Every month I attend a “Clergy Chapter”. This is the name given to a meeting of the local clergy, and we meet at various vicarages in the Malling area over the course of the year. We often have guest speakers, but before they begin their address, we nearly always we go round in a circle sharing how our life and ministry is going.
I am always struck by the wide divergence of experience of ministry amongst the clergy. Some are very upbeat and have thriving parishes. Others speak frankly of finding their parishes a bit of a struggle, with dwindling numbers attending the Sunday services. In case you are interested, I am normally one of the upbeat ones – although I do tend to express my concerns about how to attract more people to our services at Aylesford.
Why am I sharing this with you? Simply because of this. The ministers who talk of their different experiences all are very capable people. Indeed, they are all indeed very warm and caring people too, with good pastoral skills and committed attitudes. They all deserve to have growing congregations. It just seems that some parishes seem to be easier than others, and the reasons why this is so are not always easy to define.
This has led me to reflect on what “success” really means for us as Christians. When we think of Jesus, St Paul and St Peter, we can often forget that their ministries were hardly easy going! Jesus not only received significant opposition from the scribes and the Pharisees, but he was eventually disowned and deserted by his very own disciples, in the period leading up to the crucifixion. St Paul, as I mentioned last month, spent much of his ministry in a Roman jail. Our other patron saint, St Peter, finished his life crucified upside down, according to tradition.
Despite the hardships that they faced, we know from history that the influence of St Paul, St Peter, and first and foremost by a very, very long way, Jesus Christ, on civilisation has been immeasurable. Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection gives hope today to millions upon millions of people. St Paul’s writings have served as the anchor for Christian doctrine for thousands of years. St Peter is seen today as the first leader of the institutional church. Yet in their life on earth, ministry for them was not easy going.
When hardships come our way in our Christian witness, we can reflect then that we are in very good company. If you are struggling to share your faith with your family members or your work colleagues or your neighbours, then be assured that Christ suffers with you and is alongside you.
However, the fact is, we must keep on trying. It is, of course, Christ’s command to share our faith. Let me finish with one final story. It was during the First World War, and a soldier lay dying from a gunshot wound. “Is there anything you would like to say?” his friend whispered to him. “Is there a message you want me to take home for you?” There was a pause and then the dying soldier said: “Just one thing. Go to the village of Preston St Mary, in Suffolk. There is an old man there who lives at Oak Cottage. Tell him that what he taught me is helping me now.”
A few years later the friend went to Preston St Mary and found the old man as the soldier had said. “What do you want?” the old man asked when he saw the stranger at his door. The soldier’s friend explained the story and finished by saying “What you taught him was helping him as he died.”
“Goodness me”, the old man said. “I was his Sunday School teacher! I gave that up years ago because I thought it was not having any effect on anyone. Now I know what I did was not in vain.”
The story reminds us that every little bit of Christian witness we do is vitally important. It can change people’s lives – maybe not immediately – but at the time of need your witness can make all the difference.
A very happy summer to you,
Simon Tillotson
This letter appears in the parish magazine. To subscribe to the magazine please contact the church office.
Old and thoughtful thoughts
November 2000
December 2000
February 2001
March 2001
April 2001
May 2001
June
2001
July 2001
September 2001
October 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
February 2002
May 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
If you have queries about the site contact the Site Webmaster here.