Written over two years ago at a course at the Guy Chester Centre, called Mastering the God Slots.
I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the latest in the craze for Sudoku puzzles whilst reading the Independent today - a super hexadecimal Sudoku, where instead of 9 squares there are 16. We've all seen people, I'm sure, sitting on the train, pencil tapping tongue, brow furrowed, moving to scribble more possibilities down and rub others off. It makes for entertaining watching, whether you like Sudoku or not.
We all like a challenge though; that's why Sudoku is so popular, and the Rubik's cube before it. We like challenges, but on our own terms, so that we dictate when we tackle them and when we turn to the quick crossword instead. We feel in control and can reward ourselves if we fill in the 81st square and lay pens down with a satisfied smile.
But faith isn't like that. Faith often presents difficult and often discomforting challenges for us whether it be in the form of refugees, war or the homeless, or closer-to-home problems like illness, our own long-term goals, or friends and family.
But just like any Sudoku puzzle, we have pointers, bits already filled in to help us on our way. These can be talents, our friends or even strangers. God is everywhere and part of everyone, so He will be with us wherever we go. It still doesn't make it easy - I'm petrified of the challenge.
I think I'd rather do the Sudoku instead.
Sunday, 14 January 2007
Saturday, 6 January 2007
Epiphany Service 6th January 2007
This is the text from and order of service for the Epiphany Service held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffs. Comments would be appreciated!
Eternal God, who by the shining of a star led the wise men to the worship of your Son: guide by his light the nations of the earth, that the whole world may behold your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, says the Lord.
Hymn – Brightest and Best
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Reading: Isaiah 43: 1-7
Reading: Matthew 2: 1-12
Choir – Dear Lord and Father of Mankind verses 1,4,5,6
Reading: Leisure by W. H. Davies
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
The three kings have a lot to show us; have you ever had that nagging feeling that you were searching for meaning in your life? Well, the kings would have had that – besides the everyday business of governing, they studied the skies, searching for… that something. One day they saw it, the new star, and they followed it and gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the new-born baby they found in a stable. Of course, nowadays these presents are still given, with gold from your pension or pay-packet (would Gordon Brown be Herod, perhaps?), smellies from the grandchildren or co-workers who don’t know what to buy you and antiseptic for your dentures – or perhaps the bitterness of things you didn’t do.
It’s so easy though to get bogged down in the way we’ve always done things, to let new opportunities slip past and curse ourselves for not taking them, because we’re keeping ourselves busy in our routines to avoid the hassle and upheaval of changing – but if there’s something that the kings can tell us, it’s about how it’s not too late to change. They were probably reasonably old when they left their palaces or homes to follow a star in the sky. Why do all that when the old way of doing things probably worked just fine?
They would have been nice and busy, having their routines, watching the stars, answering questions and so forth – nothing else need apply. But they changed – they followed a star, however old they were. They had been searching all their lives for that meaning, that one event that would give them a reason for living – that dream to follow. It’s not too late to change – I’ve learnt that from my recent shift; I’ve gone back to university, to drama school having had a very comfortable job at the planetarium in Birmingham. You could say I was watching the stars too.
However by the New Year, I was very tired and a bit down. After doing so much to challenge myself – moving to London, having my psyche pulled apart by acting teachers and having my life shifted monumentally, surely I should be on top of the world? And it’s not just the challenges - everyday busyness of work, emailing, admin, living and so forth should be keeping me going – after all, who doesn’t feel guilty if at the end of the day you have nothing to show for your 24 hours’ lease of life, or felt that we were only entitled to occupy our little plot of earth if we earned our rental, or felt that we are only worthwhile as human beings if we were constantly doing things for others?
Stop. Hold it right there. Our busy lifestyles are sometimes incredibly self-inflicted because we feel that if we’re not doing anything productive we’re wasting our lives. One thing I’ve learnt recently is that everyone needs downtime – time to yourself where you can go back over events of the day, the week or however long and see what’s gone on. Everyone needs time to take stock of what has happened in life – not just big things like moving or doing something new, but other things like when you’ve been nervous about meeting someone, or had your views challenged or changed. It all needs to be digested to feel whole.
And if by taking a few minutes for yourself you feel that you’re not actively pleasing someone, then remember that in just taking some time for yourself, you are valuing yourself enough to give yourself that time. Taking time out from our busyness, represents an epiphany for us, here and now – an epiphany, after all, is where God manifests, or is allowed to manifest.
And as our first reading from Isaiah highlighted, it’s not just when we are pleasing people that we are worthwhile. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, says the Lord; I have called you by name, you are mine. You are precious in my sight, and honoured and I love you. Do not fear, for I am with you.” Sometimes our reluctance to talk to God is because we don’t think we’re good enough, or because we’ve not taken previous opportunities. Stop. Listen, and let Him speak, because that’s not what He says.
For the kings, their epiphany, their message from God came later in life when they were shown a star and decided to follow it. They dropped what they were doing, their busyness and went out and followed. It’s never too late for us to see our own star, to realise what God can mean for us, to look at things differently and realise how valuable we are. The kings found it where they’d always been looking, but they had to change their sights to understand what it meant for them. Sometimes what we’re searching for – our new direction – can be right under our noses, but we haven’t seen it as a sensible option, or as possible. Until we see and recognise that star and after we’ve seen it, it’s important to take the downtime to take stock of what we have, to engage with our past, to become whole and listen for that still small voice of calm, that guiding light – to have that time to stand and stare.
And as for faith in general, it’s an incredibly personal thing, and will grow when allowed. Just as the days pass ever quicker, Christmas blurs into one unproductive block from the 22nd to the 2nd, we can wonder where everything has gone if we don’t give ourselves the time to nurture it. Look around, look at friends and families, and especially here at the Arboretum, look at the beauty of the earth and the sacrifice of the many for us. It’s a cliché, but the best memorial we can give someone is the way we live our lives and move forward. Pause, take stock, know what you have, then we can continue in the knowledge and love of God refreshed and renewed, looking for, or following our star.
Hymn – In the bleak midwinter
Intercessions
Hymn – Great is thy faithfulness
From the cowardice that dare not face new truth
From the laziness that is contented with half-truth
From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth
Good Lord, deliver us.
Take time out to value yourself and remember that nothing is impossible, especially change. Let us forgive ourselves for opportunities not taken, but look forward to taking new opportunities. In all that you do, may the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen.
Eternal God, who by the shining of a star led the wise men to the worship of your Son: guide by his light the nations of the earth, that the whole world may behold your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, says the Lord.
Hymn – Brightest and Best
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Reading: Isaiah 43: 1-7
Reading: Matthew 2: 1-12
Choir – Dear Lord and Father of Mankind verses 1,4,5,6
Reading: Leisure by W. H. Davies
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
The three kings have a lot to show us; have you ever had that nagging feeling that you were searching for meaning in your life? Well, the kings would have had that – besides the everyday business of governing, they studied the skies, searching for… that something. One day they saw it, the new star, and they followed it and gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the new-born baby they found in a stable. Of course, nowadays these presents are still given, with gold from your pension or pay-packet (would Gordon Brown be Herod, perhaps?), smellies from the grandchildren or co-workers who don’t know what to buy you and antiseptic for your dentures – or perhaps the bitterness of things you didn’t do.
It’s so easy though to get bogged down in the way we’ve always done things, to let new opportunities slip past and curse ourselves for not taking them, because we’re keeping ourselves busy in our routines to avoid the hassle and upheaval of changing – but if there’s something that the kings can tell us, it’s about how it’s not too late to change. They were probably reasonably old when they left their palaces or homes to follow a star in the sky. Why do all that when the old way of doing things probably worked just fine?
They would have been nice and busy, having their routines, watching the stars, answering questions and so forth – nothing else need apply. But they changed – they followed a star, however old they were. They had been searching all their lives for that meaning, that one event that would give them a reason for living – that dream to follow. It’s not too late to change – I’ve learnt that from my recent shift; I’ve gone back to university, to drama school having had a very comfortable job at the planetarium in Birmingham. You could say I was watching the stars too.
However by the New Year, I was very tired and a bit down. After doing so much to challenge myself – moving to London, having my psyche pulled apart by acting teachers and having my life shifted monumentally, surely I should be on top of the world? And it’s not just the challenges - everyday busyness of work, emailing, admin, living and so forth should be keeping me going – after all, who doesn’t feel guilty if at the end of the day you have nothing to show for your 24 hours’ lease of life, or felt that we were only entitled to occupy our little plot of earth if we earned our rental, or felt that we are only worthwhile as human beings if we were constantly doing things for others?
Stop. Hold it right there. Our busy lifestyles are sometimes incredibly self-inflicted because we feel that if we’re not doing anything productive we’re wasting our lives. One thing I’ve learnt recently is that everyone needs downtime – time to yourself where you can go back over events of the day, the week or however long and see what’s gone on. Everyone needs time to take stock of what has happened in life – not just big things like moving or doing something new, but other things like when you’ve been nervous about meeting someone, or had your views challenged or changed. It all needs to be digested to feel whole.
And if by taking a few minutes for yourself you feel that you’re not actively pleasing someone, then remember that in just taking some time for yourself, you are valuing yourself enough to give yourself that time. Taking time out from our busyness, represents an epiphany for us, here and now – an epiphany, after all, is where God manifests, or is allowed to manifest.
And as our first reading from Isaiah highlighted, it’s not just when we are pleasing people that we are worthwhile. “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, says the Lord; I have called you by name, you are mine. You are precious in my sight, and honoured and I love you. Do not fear, for I am with you.” Sometimes our reluctance to talk to God is because we don’t think we’re good enough, or because we’ve not taken previous opportunities. Stop. Listen, and let Him speak, because that’s not what He says.
For the kings, their epiphany, their message from God came later in life when they were shown a star and decided to follow it. They dropped what they were doing, their busyness and went out and followed. It’s never too late for us to see our own star, to realise what God can mean for us, to look at things differently and realise how valuable we are. The kings found it where they’d always been looking, but they had to change their sights to understand what it meant for them. Sometimes what we’re searching for – our new direction – can be right under our noses, but we haven’t seen it as a sensible option, or as possible. Until we see and recognise that star and after we’ve seen it, it’s important to take the downtime to take stock of what we have, to engage with our past, to become whole and listen for that still small voice of calm, that guiding light – to have that time to stand and stare.
And as for faith in general, it’s an incredibly personal thing, and will grow when allowed. Just as the days pass ever quicker, Christmas blurs into one unproductive block from the 22nd to the 2nd, we can wonder where everything has gone if we don’t give ourselves the time to nurture it. Look around, look at friends and families, and especially here at the Arboretum, look at the beauty of the earth and the sacrifice of the many for us. It’s a cliché, but the best memorial we can give someone is the way we live our lives and move forward. Pause, take stock, know what you have, then we can continue in the knowledge and love of God refreshed and renewed, looking for, or following our star.
Hymn – In the bleak midwinter
Intercessions
Hymn – Great is thy faithfulness
From the cowardice that dare not face new truth
From the laziness that is contented with half-truth
From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth
Good Lord, deliver us.
Take time out to value yourself and remember that nothing is impossible, especially change. Let us forgive ourselves for opportunities not taken, but look forward to taking new opportunities. In all that you do, may the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen.
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