A Pastoral Message

A Pastoral Statement for the Lincolnshire Methodist District 30th December 2020

For most of us, this is the biggest collective battle in our lifetime. Only those who lived through the Second World War will have known anything near the crisis the world is facing today. However, for Christians, there is an additional fight that has to be waged, which is almost without precedent; that is the struggle to ensure the Church remains effective throughout the coming months and beyond the pandemic.

We might think that the Church in this country in March 2020 was already in a far weaker position than our predecessor was at the beginning of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-20; I am not so sure. The outbreak that cost 50 million lives worldwide came on the back of the most destructive war known in history. The Church was reeling from the loss of so many young men, not just through death in the trenches but the trauma of veterans and loss of faith of both men and women, young and old alike. Many ministers and priests had stood in pulpits and outside recruiting offices encouraging men to enlist; it was their ‘Christian duty’ to do so. Pacifist clergy who supported conscientious objectors paid a huge price for doing so, ostracised by their congregants and hounded from their posts. By 1918, the ordeal of the ‘Great War’, the catastrophic number killed, the limbless men on the streets and a generation of women condemned to remaining single, brought into question the Church’s stance prior to and during the cataclysmic conflict. Faith in God was also in short supply, if it had survived at all, for many who had previously taken it as a given. The decline of the Church in England, that had begun around fifty years previously, therefore took another serious hit just as the pandemic swept in. Sure, the numbers were not as low as they were at the beginning of 2020, but we must not kid ourselves into thinking that the Church has not fought back from a position of weakness before.

The time has come for us to rise to the challenge again. Our back is against the wall. Our finances have taken a hit. Even more significantly, the restrictions and fears of being together in worship have shaken the confidence to which we may have been clinging. But when we are weak God provides a strength beyond human capacity.

We can learn from our past, as is always the case. Previously taught theology had to be revisited in the wake of the Somme. Where was God in the losses? On which side was God? How could the ministers reach the masses again? People wanted consolation, comfort and hope, not high fluted expositions from pompous priests. Ministers therefore sought to speak in a more accessible manner again. A new spirituality began to develop. The ladies’ sewing circles, that had knitted socks for the boys at the front, continued but they were now for widows and spinsters listening to homilies and instruction without judgment in dogmatic way, which had been such a feature of the previous decades.

The pandemic that followed the First World War drove these reforms even further. A frivolity across many sections of society also arose, live for the day and forget the consequences that would arise tomorrow. The roaring twenties also challenged the Church. They were not only a result of the war; they were also a response to the pandemic. These are just a few of the features of a century ago from which we can learn in the coming months and years.

As 2021 gets underway, much of the Lincolnshire Methodist District has entered Tier 4. The day before the announcement was made I took a walk into Lincoln city centre to chat to independent shop owners. It was a sad and sorry experience. People are understandably worried. However, there was an inspiring resilience evident too. I took heart from those who said that we would get through this, we will be different, the world cannot but be changed, but we will get through it. There was regret for those who had lost their jobs already, especially those in the big stores that had gone into liquidation, household names now lost from the High Street. There was also an appeal to avoid those big online suppliers that paid pennies in tax, if anything at all. Support local business was the mantra.

We can find a way through this crisis that will make us stronger as individuals and more resourceful as communities. It is going to be tough, there is no denying it. It has already been tough. We have lost too many people. Too many are on increasingly longer waiting lists for treatment. Too many are suffering mental health issues because of the pandemic and some of the uncertainties surrounding the guidance.

But we can do this. It is amazing how God equips the faithful to take on things that we would not have entertained before. Divergent opinions need to be put to one side. We must unite across differences of view, culture and creed. Our neighbours are our neighbours whoever they are and whatever their stories. We are called to love them as if they were our own family, and when many of our families are at a distance, out of reach as it were, maybe this is where our immediate affection must rest, in the hope that others elsewhere are taking into their hearts our loved ones too.

The arguments against those whose decisions we might mistrust may have to be put on hold for another day. That is not to say that we will ignore our opposition or concerns, we will come back to them and some will be held to account, that is what living in a democracy is all about. But for now, we need to look out for one another, hold out a metaphorical hand to those in need, and listen out for the silent cries.

God is with us, as the President and Vice President of Conference remind us, quoting from the dying words of John Wesley. God is with us, Emmanuel as we have just recognised and celebrated. Because God has come to us in flesh and blood, so we too may reveal the Divine to others, Christ-like love in our hearts, Christ-like compassion in our eyes, and Christ-like commitment in our service.

Every blessing for the days ahead, stay safe, stay well, and be confident in the God whose Spirit strengthens us in our weakness.

Bruce

New Year Message, BBC Radio Lincolnshire 27 December

Having heard the Christmas carol ‘In the bleak mid-winter’ over recent weeks, some of us may now be wondering if the bleakness might extend beyond mid-winter, even into spring.

There is no getting away from it; it has been a tough year, for many, devastating, and our hearts go out to them.

However, in all of this fear and anxiety there remains for some a resilient hope and an increasing number of shafts of light.

Rolling out the vaccine must surely have been amongst the best news of the last months; and there may have been other things in our lives that brought us some cheer amongst the gloom of 2020. In addition, what we may have regarded as the simple things in life have now become something to savour. Indeed, those for whom some had little consideration before have now become our national heroes.

The world has always been turned on its head during periods of major calamity, how the world comes out of this crisis will be down to us. Previous pandemics, and do not be misled by those who claim this one to be unprecedented, it is not, previous pandemics have led to the creation of some of the greatest works of art, poetry, prose and spiritual writing. That is not to underestimate the accompanying distressing impact.

Even the dating of Christmas is down to the world of nature turning a corner. There is no documentary evidence for the date of birth, no certificate lodged in the Bethlehem Registry office indicating, name, date and place of birth, parents details and address. 25^th December is a 1 in 365 chance of being the actual date of birth for Jesus. The feast date was chosen by the Christian Church of the 4^th century to coincide with the winter solstice of the Roman world. We now know they were a few days out, as the winter solstice is actually 21^st December. However, there were two reasons for choosing the date: one, to replace the pagan festivals that had grown up around the solstice; and two, to celebrate the fact that the hours of daylight had reached their lowest number, and from now on, the days would begin to grow longer again. Likewise, for the Christian, the birth of the Christ-child, heralds a turning point, the old orders of darkness had been overcome and light was breaking in. 

In the coming days, weeks, and months, I invite each of you to consider this year as a turning point for our lives, communities and world: light a candle in the heart of someone near to you.  They don’t have to be a family member, they may be a neighbour, or someone you work with, or someone you bump into on a dog walk. Say hello, wish them well, and encourage them to stay safe. There is enough darkness in our world; we need to counter it by lighting candles in the lives of as many people as we can.

Every blessing on the paths you tread this coming year.

Christmas Eve, 2020

The Fisher King rests awhile,

looking, listening, waiting,

ready to descend with a flash.

The waters are restless,

weaving, waving and lapping,

gently receding from the lakeside edge.

The breeze rustles through the remaining leaves,

oaks, long from fresh green,

now golden and crisp,

hardened against the bitter wind.

The path is deep and well worn,

spewed by overnight gloom,

trod by pilgrim and walker,

longing for easier times,

restless for better signs.

Oh how the Fisher King thrills,

sweeping across the scene,

leaving but a memory and diminishing reflection;

a moment, brief in time,

but there can be no taking away this eternal circumstance.

© Bruce Thompson, Christmas 2020

Shortly after dawn on Christmas Eve, my friend spotted a kingfisher whilst we were on our daily dog walk. We stood watching it for quite some time before it flew off. Later, shortly before midnight, I sat in the car park at the veterinary hospital waiting for news of my dog who was not feeling well. It was there that I reflected on the coming of the Christ Child. I recalled the thrill we had had earlier in the day when we had seen the kingfisher. I considered that the baby born in Bethlehem would grow into an adult who would invite his followers to become ‘fishers of men’. The Fisher King was born in my imagination. Waiting and observing, while the world seemed awash in turmoil, the Spirit of God moved not only across the waters at creation but also through the forest of time and faced the hurricanes of evil. The Children of God had journeyed through difficult challenges before and now they were doing so once again. Yet, the long anticipated coming had been brief, thrilling, but gone too soon. Nevertheless, nothing, absolutely nothing nor anyone, could take away the impact that forever changed our world.

Christmas Address 2020

There are many reasons why I am glad to have been born when I was. Being a teenager in the 1970s was one of them, not least because it was the heyday of Christmas pop songs. Amongst them of course was Greg Lake, I believe in Father Christmas released in 1975.

They said there’ll be snow at Christmas
They said there’ll be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgin birth.

Greg Lake captured the sadness of hopes dashed, of dreams unrealised, and of a Christmas that didn’t match the cards and TV adverts.

2020 has been a year of many broken promises. To be told in March that we would see the back of Covid by May was just one. It is not a boast to say that I shivered when I first heard that said, to my ears it sounded very much like the claim at the outbreak of the First World War, ‘it will be all over by Christmas’, sending hundreds of thousands to the recruiting offices, lest they miss out on the ‘action’.

The war was not over by Christmas 1914, Covid was not over by May, and, sadly, it is still very much with us.

In addition, the most recent ‘guarantee’, made just a week ago, of a family Christmas over a five-day period, came to nothing.

As well as the familiar secular songs trying to cheer the nation at the checkouts are those Carols, often written in the Victorian years, which evoke Christmases past. Snow rarely falls on snow, snow on snow, but the sentiments strike a real chord.

In the bleak midwinter, the poem from which these words are drawn may actually make us wonder how long the bleakness of this pandemic will continue; long past midwinter, that we now know is for sure.

There are good reasons for the Early Church choosing 25^th December to celebrate the Saviour’s birth. Believing it to be the shortest day, the Romans held a festival of light on that day. From then on the days would get longer and the nights shorter. It made sense then for the Christians to replace it with a new festival on that day. The only problem was that the Romans were a few days out; the Winter solstice is of course four days earlier on the 21^st.  Nevertheless, the Church elected to continue celebrating the birth of true Light, the Light that dispels all darkness, on 25^th December. The birth of Jesus could have been on any one of the other 364 days in the year, we will never know.

However, the symbolism is helpful. The date reminds us that the birth of Christ changes things forever. We have reached the darkest time of the year, from now on it will get lighter; life, the world, can never be the same again.

If the promises of politicians, the romance of poets, and depictions of impossibly pretty snowy village scenes on Christmas cards dent our dreams and damage our hopes, then there are some promises that never fail to be delivered.

For centuries God was prodding, gently nudging the people into a position to receive the Saviour. When the Messiah appeared, it was not what anyone expected. 

We too, as we travel through our own time, may not notice the gurgling sound of new birth in our world as much seeks to drown it out with manufactured noise.

We may not wholly believe that things are improving, for our time on earth is limited to just a few years.

We may not experience an instantaneous glaring light dispelling all darkness, so gradual is it.

But we might consider that we still only see things as if through a glass dimly and even if our faith is sometimes a little dented then maybe, just maybe, our trust in the God who never lets us down, whose promises are always kept will bring the world to a better place.

On occasions I still ponder the call to worship, I used the very first time I led a service as a Local Preacher forty years ago this May:

All that I have seen helps me trust the Saviour for all that I have not seen. For in Christ we can expect anything, hope for everything, yet fear nothing.

As this year draws to a close, and Christmas is just two days away, may we believe not so much in Father Christmas, as did Greg Lake for a while, but forever in the God who is the true Father and Mother of us all in Jesus Christ.

However, maybe Greg Lake had something to offer us all as the song came to a close, for he sang:

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish, pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.

Amen

An Affirmation Week 4 of Advent

An Affirmation

You know how rocked we are by the uncertainties of this life,

YET ALL CAN SEE THAT YOU BLESS US.

From the very depths of our souls, our joy wells up within us,

AND OUR HEARTS ARE BURSTING WITH LOVE FOR YOU.

You do things that are completely out of the ordinary for us,

THINGS WE THOUGHT WERE CONSIGNED TO PAST GENERATIONS;

But today, this very day, we know your compassion and mercy,

IT IS FREE FOR ALL TO RECEIVE.

Break down the pride that resists the truth;

Bring down those who have abused their positions of trust;

LIFT THOSE CRUSHED BY THE SYSTEMS THAT BURDEN THE WEAK AND POOR;

AND FILL THE POCKETS AND BELLIES OF THE EMPTY AND HUNGRY.

Raise the voices of the faithful,

GIVE US CONFIDENCE AND COURAGE TO SPEAK OUT

Against prejudice and contempt,

AGAINST THE LIES AND THE INJUSTICE,

So that tomorrow will be better than today,

AND THE SUN RISE ON DARKNESS, LOVE WARM THE COLD CORRIDORS OF POWER, AND TRUTH BECOME SUPREME ONCE MORE.

Based on the Magnificat

©Bruce Thompson

A Statement on the new restrictions imposed for the Christmas period

A Statement following the announcement of new restrictions over the Christmas period, by the Revd Bruce Thompson, Chair of the Lincolnshire Methodist District

Whether Christmas is a purely religious festival for you, or, as it is for a far greater number of the people in our nation today, a celebration of family, friendship, and nostalgia, the Prime Minister’s announcement on Saturday came as a massive blow. Since Saturday afternoon, I have had telephone conversations, email correspondence, texts and conversations on my dog walks with people who feel as if this is a very sorry end to what has been one of the most difficult years in peacetime history. You don’t need me to spell out the consequences of the increased restrictions for millions of people and the cancelation of a lack of significant easing for the rest. It is a bitter pill to swallow.

What our neighbours do not need right now is for followers of Jesus to ram home the ‘reason for the season’, or to somehow raise the topic of over-commercialisation of Christmas, or to retreat from this moment of national crisis. What our neighbours do need, in fact what we all need right now, is empathy, understanding, and a sense of solidarity. We live on an island, ably demonstrated by the closure of ports by those European nations whom we once valued as partners; as such, we must learn afresh what it is to get along with one another, to act in ways that are of benefit to all, and not to do anything that would bring harm to anyone.

Amongst my concerns arising from the Prime Minister’s statement is the impact such a sudden and unexpected change is having on the already fragile mental health of so many; hopes were raised, plans were made, and much of them came to nothing. We are at a delicate stage, we have to tread carefully with one another, and we must remain vigilant.

I want you all to know how much you are all in my thoughts and prayers. I hear of the amazing work so many churches and individuals have undertaken over the course of this year. It will have been exhausting at times, but I know that the wider communities have valued the ministry and mission of the Methodist Churches of Lincolnshire. People have been fed, clothed, counselled, held and loved.

As a District we have set aside an emergency fund, which can be drawn upon rapidly if need be.  This is for individuals and groups within Methodist churches that are seeking to meet the immediate needs of neighbours.  Set up only last week we have already supported the purchase of children’s clothing, underwear, shoes and sanitary products for those who are without. Alison sent the details round to ministers last week and I would strongly encourage you to contact Alison or me if you need to provide a quick response to these challenging times.

Lastly, our District Christmas Service will take on special significance this year.  It will be on the District Facebook site and made public for all to access, so, you won’t need to be a member of Facebook. This will be on Wednesday 23^rd December 8 until 9pm.

As things continue to develop over the coming days, we will not overlook the suffering, we will not waver from our calling, and we will not be tempted to look for apparently easy ‘solutions’ provided by those who appreciate neither the complexities of this crisis nor the consequences of their responses. What we will do is revisit the Magnificat, a manifesto for Christian action in any generation and circumstance; this was how the early church sought to express the implications of the incarnation, God-with-us in human flesh and blood and it remains just as valid today.

Mary’s Song of Praise

Luke 1

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Hold on to the Light, Advent 3

An Affirmation in Morning Prayer

You are with us, yet beyond us.

WE KNOW THAT THERE IS NONE MORE WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE.

Your creation is only complete when your people fully respond to you.

WE ASK FOR NOTHING BUT SUFFICIENT FOR THE TASK AHEAD.

You set at liberty those who, with humility, recognise their shortcomings.

WE SEEK TO SET FREE THOSE WHOM WE HAVE HELD CAPTIVE.

You show us all that is good, whole and true.

WE TURN FROM THE HARM WE WOULD INFLICT ON OTHERS AND OURSELVES.

You are everything to us

AND WE WORSHIP YOU.

Based on the Lord’s Prayer

Prayers for the world in Evening Prayer

Because the Spirit is upon is, we are called to pray and act on behalf of those in need.

For those whose necessary expenditure is greater than their income.

For those weighed down by the pressures placed upon them.

For those who struggle with unrealistic expectations.

MAY THEY BE LIFTED FROM THEIR BURDEN.

For the grief stricken, anxious and afraid.

For the trapped, lonely and ignored.

For the ones from whom much has been taken.

MAY THEY RECEIVE FREEDOM FROM THEIR CAPTIVITY.

For those who fear for the children’s futures.

For those who long for creation to be healed.

For those who look for better times.

MAY THEY KNOW YOUR NEARNESS.

For the naked, the hungry, the disillusioned, the overworked, the abused and the refugee.

MAY THEY AND WE KNOW YOUR SALVATION. AMEN.

Based on Isaiah 61.

Hold on to the Light, Advent Week 2

If we want to transform life again, if Advent is truly to come again – the Advent of home and of hearts, the Advent of the people and the nations, are coming of the Lord in all of this – then the great Advent question for us is whether we come out of these convulsions with this determination: yes arise.

It is time to awaken from sleep. It is time for a waking up to begin somewhere. It is time to put things back where God the Lord put them. It is time for each of us to go to work, with the same unshakable sureness that the Lord will come, to set our life in God’s order wherever we can. Where God’s word is heard, he will not cheat our life of the message; where our life rebels before our own eyes he will reprimand it.

The world today needs people who have been shaken by ultimate calamities and emerged from them with the knowledge and awareness that those who look to the Lord will still be preserved by him, even if they are hounded from the Earth.

Let us then live in today’s Advent, for it is the time of promise. To eyes that do not see, it still seems that the final dice are being cast down in the valleys, on these battlefields comma in those camps and prisons and bomb shelters. Those who are awake sense the working of the other powers and can awake the coming of their hour.

Space is still filled with the noise of destruction and annihilation, the shouts of self-assurance and arrogance, the weeping of despair and helplessness. But just beyond the horizon the eternal realities stand silent in their age-old logging. There shines on us the first mild light of the radiant fulfilment to come. From afar sound the first notes as of pipes and singing (children), not yet discernible as a song or melody. It is all far off still, and only just announced and foretold. But it is happening. This is today. And tomorrow the angels will tell what has happened with loud rejoicing voices, and we shall know it and be glad, if we have believed and trusted in Advent.

Fr Alfred Delp 1907 – 45

It took me a long time to realise that the prophets were not sitting around waiting for the Messiah to appear at any moment. We may get this impression from looking at them through the lens of 2000 years of Christian preaching. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the prophets lived 800 years before the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem. In order to get an idea of the timescale, we should recall that it is now 800 years since the Magna Carta was drawn up; in other words, the same time lapse between the prophets and the birth of Jesus. No the prophets were not sitting around waiting for the Messiah to arrive at any moment. They had far greater issues to contend with. They themselves would have faced illness, family disagreements, misunderstandings and treated as if they were complete incompetents. In addition, of course they were speaking about the socio-political context in which they lived: challenging the injustices and the poverty; reminding the people and their leaders of the need to have ethical constructs in all their dealings.

Jesuit, Father Alfred Delp was a 20th century prophet. Yes, he would become a martyr for the resistance against Nazism. However, there was a reason why he became known as the philosopher of the resistance. His writing on Advent shortly before he was hanged illustrates the fact that even in the midst of impending death he could experience and convey hope. He would have known that the Messiah would not return in his lifetime and rescue the world from the atrocities and the barbarism of totalitarianism and Total War. Nevertheless, what he did know was that even in the darkness the light could break in.

At this moment, at this in between point, yes, we are looking towards Christmas but we are not quite there. We are also looking towards a time free of Covid but we are not yet there, despite the vaccinations of recent days. Many deaths will still occur. Much grief will still be experienced and illness will still ensue. However, we do have hope. We may not believe that the Messiah will return in the way that some have believed, but we do know that the Messiah comes at each moment light breaks in on the darkest of places.

Hold on to the Light: 2nd Week of Advent

An Affirmation

You look upon us with generosity

AND HAVE NEVER LET US DOWN.

You give us ears to hear your voice

AND YOUR WORDS REASSURE US.

You are without fault

AND YOUR TRUTHS POUR INTO OUR LIVES.

You provide for us new beginnings

AND ACCOMPANY US THROUGHOUT.

You create the possibility of a better world

AND YOU INVITE US TO BE PARTNERS IN BUILDING IT.

Inspired by verses from Psalm 85

Prayers for the world

The people cry out to you, O God,

FOR THEIR AGONY IS LONG AND HARD.

They live in a wilderness where hope has diminished and respite seems far off.

STRAIGHTEN THEIR PATHS THAT THEY MAY SEE THE WAY AHEAD.

They descend to the depths and the climb appears too great an ordeal.

LIFT THEM FROM THEIR DESPAIR THAT THEY MAY SEE ABOVE THE VALLEY.

They have become blind to your truths and are now lost on their journey.

GIVE THEM VISION AGAIN THAT THEY MAY KNOW YOUR PURPOSE.

They are fearful of the brevity of life and cling to transitory things.

SHOW THEM HEAVEN IN A FLOWER AND ETERNITY IN AN HOUR.

We long for you to come into our lives

THAT WE TOO MAY KNOW ALL THESE THINGS.

Our desire is that we may rest in your peace

AND KNOW THAT ALL IS WELL.  AMEN.

Inspired by Isaiah 40.1-11 and William Blake.

Hold on to the Light, Advent Week 1

1 Corinthians 1

⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— ⁶ just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Mark 13

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Beware, keep alert for you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. ³⁵ Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, ³⁶ or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”

To have found God, to have experienced him in the intimacy of our being, to have lived even for one hour in the fire of his Trinity and the bliss of his Unity clearly makes us say: “Now I understand, You alone are enough for me.”

Carlo Carretto , The God Who Comes

 As we begin a new season of Advent, my mind has turned to the beginning of Lent this year. I received an email from someone stating that they would pray for the Lincolnshire Methodist District and me on a certain day each week throughout the season; they would pray for the Holy Spirit to break into my life and into the work of the District. I responded by saying that that was very kind of them to remember us in their prayers; however, I pointed out that I felt ‘the Holy Spirit had broken into my life many years ago and that I could already see the Holy Spirit at work across the circuits, churches and members of the Lincolnshire Methodist District, but thank you all the same.’ It reminded me of a memoir that I once read. The writer recalled attending an act of worship. The worship seemed moribund. The hymns were sung, the prayers were offered and the readings were read. There was no atmosphere, no anticipation, no expectation and no sense of presence within the service. It was only in the prayer prior to the sermon that the writer realised why that was. The preacher prayed ‘Lord may your spirit come down upon us now.’ Surely, thought the writer, the Spirit should have been acknowledged as present when the people first gathered that morning. Hymns had been sung, prayers had been offered, readings had been read and only then was the preacher calling on the Spirit to descend upon the act of worship.

The Gospel reading speaks of Jesus coming unexpectedly. For those who have already experienced the presence of Jesus in their lives, his reappearance cannot be wholly unexpected. It is no surprise to me that when I suddenly think of someone whilst filling my car with petrol at a service station and then drive round to that person’s home to find their husband being carried into an ambulance. It is no surprise to me when I feel compelled to phone someone and discover that something has recently happened to them that they need to share with someone. It is not always the case of course. But on many occasions these things happen and are not a surprise to me when they do. It is not surprising to me that something always seems to work out. It is not surprising to me when someone acting wrongly suddenly has their comeuppance. Carlo Carretto experienced God in the wilderness; it was not a surprise to him. He worked alongside the nomadic Muslim Tuareg tribe. He was not surprised to find God in their lives. He would find God time and time again. It was not a surprise to him. For those who have not experienced the tiny flower blooming in the unlikeliest of places in the desert these things would be a surprise. For those who have not eaten and drank and laughed and cried with those of a faith different to their own, these things would be a surprise. But to those who have, including Carlo Carretto, it is no surprise to find God in the wilderness, or indeed in the lives of those who do not share our faith, but have their own.

Which is why the rhythm of prayer and the ritual of Sacrament are critical in our relationship with God, in order to sustain a sure knowledge of God’s presence in our lives, in the lives of others and in our world in general. Regular prayer and a sacramental life are vital if we are to see God in those places others would not expect. For in every way we are enriched by him. Therefore, it is no surprise to me to see God in The Big Issue seller, or to see God in the crying child wheeled along in a pushchair by a deeply troubled parent. It is no surprise to me to see God in the look of love exchanged between a young couple; or in the holding of hands by the husband and wife now residing together in a nursing home. It is no surprise to me to know that we are all loved by God, not just because the Bible tells me so, but because God has shown it to be the case on more than one occasion; and, in the words of Carlo Carretto, ‘God alone is enough for me.’