Jesus welcomes all

Well, I did say I couldn’t promise to be a regular blogger but in my defence I also only wanted to write when I had something to say. I’ve now got something to say.

I don’t know about you, but most of my Christian life is fairly pedestrian. I know I’m a Christian – I’ve given my life to God, I read the Bible, I say my prayers, I pray for others, I seek to do and live as Jesus would. I find days can fall into weeks which fall into months and years living this rather ‘ordinary’ Christian existence. Still, every now and again a challenge comes along that creates a crossroads moment – a moment that stretches us to choose - do we go the way of Christ or the way of the world. As we travel God’s way we experience a fresh and deep connectedness with God that makes sense of, that validates, that energises the ordinariness of our everyday faith.

Many of you will be aware that we have given temporary refuge to the Roof-Stops night shelter at St Thomas’. To cut a long story short, the project was itself made homeless just a few short weeks before it was due to conclude for the spring. After a fruitless search for an alternative venue it became apparent that St Thomas’ represented the last-stop for roof-stop. A quick ring around the Standing Committee and a chat with Anne in the office and we decided that it was more than incumbent on us to open up our spiritual home to be a place of refuge to those with nowhere else to go. Checks and procedures were put into place and agreements made with the project and within a few short hours Roof-Stops new address was St Thomas’ Chatsworth Road.

Throughout the duration of Roof-Stops time among us members of St Thomas’ have been fantastic; they’ve embraced the project with an openness and joy that is truly wonderful – all credit to the care and maturity of those who worship here. This sadly, has not been universally true. I was and continue to be confident that we put more than enough safeguards in place so that we could ensure the protection of all other users of our building and those in the wider community but I was quick to discover that some disagreed – some strongly disagreed!

The venom and anger that a good number of members of our community have targeted at me has been a big surprise. To say that I’m unpopular with some in our community would probably be an understatement of the greatest magnitude! One woman’s response to the homeless typified the response I’ve received from many in the course of these last few weeks, she told me, “I’m not prejudice, but those people are scum”. Another commented, “you people (meaning the church) are only interested in those sort of people, not decent people like us”. It’s hard to know how to respond to such prejudice and cold heartedness. The only response I found was to point them to the sign that stands outside of our Church … it was a sign that has been there long before I came and it reads, “Jesus Welcomes All”. We’re not about being a club or society that only admits a certain type of person – rather we’re growing a Church that welcomes everyone – the good ‘decent’ people of Brampton and those whose lives are hallmarked by chaos and trouble. Sometimes that’s not easy and sometimes that’s uncomfortable and costly – sometimes the odour around us is not as fresh as we’re used to (now we know as a church what caring smells like!). But the truth remains – we care for ALL. I believe this sign now means something more to us that it did before – it’s no longer a slogan or a religious platitude – it’s a real statement of faith and action. ‘ALL’ now has a face – ‘ALL’ has a story. If you were in church for our Ash Wednesday service you will have been privileged to hear ‘Mark’ stand up and share a few words with us at the end of the service. Mark was a client of Roof-Stops and he joined us to worship. At the end of the service he read to us Matthew 25 and in his own way thanked us for the care shown to him. “That’s me” he said, as he read “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me in”. I know many were moved to the point of tears as they realised that the ‘poor and the needy’ that we read about in scripture actually have a face and a story.

Someone said to me, “It’s not whether you care or not, most people ‘care’; it’s how much you care that counts”. It’s strange that it’s easy to help those who are homeless on the other side of the world but some seem to struggle to help the homeless in our own neighbourhood. Why is that I wonder? Could it be that the smell and the dirt of those poor unfortunates in far flung corners of the world don’t reach our nostrils? The possibility that they might steal from us or cause trouble or disturbance to our lives is too distant and remote to be a concern. Do we care enough to get up-close and personal with need, to go beyond sympathy and be led to action? do we care enough to become unpopular (No-one said people would stand around and applaud you for doing what Jesus would do)? do we care enough to risk reputation and good standing in the community? I believe the Lord has tested us as a church to see if we mean what we say or whether our wayside pulpit is just a nice sentiment … I believe we do.

One final thought as I reflect on these last few weeks. I’ve been reminded afresh that Jesus had a bias for the poor, that he has a special love for those ‘without’. Christ displayed this in many ways, not least by his acceptance and love for the leper. We don’t have leprosy as a disease in our society – we have the homeless instead….

Lepers were violently excluded from society …

… as are the homeless

Lepers carry a social stigma that goes beyond the reality of their condition …

…. as do the homeless

Lepers were forced to live on the margins of society …

…. as are the homeless

The Church cares of lepers ….. the homesless …. and those in need …..as does St Thomas’

So, there you have it, I’m Matty-no-mates in a big part of Brampton – but I’m unpopular for heading up a church that cares for the poor, that offers refuge to those who have no-where to go. I’m privileged to be in the company of people who care for those the world would discard. As I lay my head on the pillow at the end of the day I think to myself that there are worse things to be unpopular for.

God in Nappies

First full week of the New Year gone already – seems like a good time to sit back and reflect. Lots of interesting things have happened this week - many have been straight forward and mundane others have left me asking the hard questions. I took the funeral of a 19 year old killed tragically in a car accident on Friday. It’s not easy is it when God doesn’t do the predictable thing – when things happen that leaves you wondering what God is doing.

On Thursday we celebrated Epiphany – I preached about it last Sunday at 9.00am (2/1/11, catch the podcast) – the thing that’s been rattling around my brain all week is how much faith the wise men had. There’s so much we don’t know about them – like we don’t know how many there were, or how they came to Bethlehem (no mention of camels in the Bible) – but one thing we do know is that they didn’t roll up the night of Jesus’ birth like the traditional nativity story tells us. They came several years after the birth; we know this because the bible tells us that Mary & Joseph were in a house (settled) and that the baby Jesus was now a child. I can just about get my head around kneeling at a manger crib and overlaying all my expectations about what God incarnate might look like onto a tiny baby lying in a pile of straw – but to see God in nappies, screaming and crying and careering around the house like any toddler does takes a lot more faith. These wise men, these seekers after truth, must have left Mary’s home with more questions than answers – yet they still bowed in worship. Often God doesn’t look like God, sometimes circumstances don’t unfold in the way we feel they should – they don’t follow a typical ‘God trajectory’ but none the less, our response should be one of worship amidst the questions, to use the uncertainty to fuel our belief in the infinite possibilities of God, and to trust – despite everything – that God is in control.

When God doesn’t look like God, He still is.

Happy New Year.

Happy NEW  Year everyone!

Wow, what an unimaginative way to start a blog, but I guess the sentiment is true so I’ll let it stand. The truth is, I’m a virgin blogger – this is my first ever attempt at writing a blog and so I’m not really up to speed on the witty, insightful and creative things that hallmark so much of this literary form – let’s hope that comes later!

OK – so why a blog? Lots of reasons – I’m sure I’ll unpack them in the course of the year but for now just a flavour ....

Firstly – it’s a NEW year and I want to do something new. Those of you who know me will recognise this passion for starting things (alas I’m not always great at finishing stuff and so if this blog peters out in February you know I don’t lie). New things and ideas really stimulate me and doing something I’ve never done before is my idea of heaven. Today is the day for resolutions – of course I’m going for the obvious ones – pray more – sin less – lose weight – be a better person ..... but resolution speaks to me not just of ‘resolve’ (to come to a definite or earnest decision about something) but also of re – solutions to old problems – that’s new solutions to things that have been troubling us in the past. I much prefer this interpretation of the word and want to commend it to you. Let’s not just get stuck in the static and predictable ways of change (the problem with resolutions is that if you break them once it’s over ... and you have to wait until next year to start again) – but I want a more dynamic and imaginative approach (something more to do with living life goals that adherence to concrete laws). This leads me to my second reason to blog.

(Secondly) – I want to lay down a record of what my life is like over an extended period – to track my efforts of finding re (or new) solutions to my life. I’m setting myself the goal of keeping this blog going for a year (after that who knows?). As I say, I’m planning to do this mostly for my own benefit, but also for the benefit of anyone else who may be interested. – I’d like to set out as honestly as I can what makes me tick – what it’s like for me to be a husband - father – son – priest – boss – friend, follower and disciple of Jesus Christ ... . On the face of it I’ve got a very exciting year ahead of me personally and for all of us at St Thomas/St Peter’s. I’m looking forward to going to new places, meeting new people, exploring new opportunities, and embracing new responsibilities. With all these things comes new challenges and undoubtedly new failures – the blog will be there to record them all!

There’s more to it than this but that’s enough for now – it’s the start of a new year – one of my favourite days in the whole year because one can indulge oneself in intoxicating thoughts of unending new possibilities - Carpe diem everyone and have a great year!