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!