Creation Time Day 16

In the south of England today we've woken up after, or maybe during, the most intense thunderstorm of the year with torrential rain and hail. Despite knowing we cannot live without it, we rarely welcome rainfall. In our culture, located on the Atlantic seaboard where generally we have as much rain as we need and more, rain is a nuisance. It stops play. It's associated with being cold since temperatures in winter are not high enough to promote quick evaporation. We have enough of it and we're often sick of it both emotionally and physically.

Contrast our attitude to rain with the other regions of the world. In the desert fringe areas of Africa, or even wetter regions in which rain is very seasonal and its return after months of drought is not a foregone conclusion, the arrival of rain is a cause of great joy and celebration. Rain is a blessing not a nuisance. God is praised and thanked for the gift of rain. Attitudes to rain depend on how abundant or otherwise it is and  on how closely daily life, even ultimate survival, is affected by its immediate local availability. Perhaps the only form of precipitation to cause joy for some in the urban areas of north-western Europe is the occasional arrival of snow. Children delight in the play opportunities it offers.

Concerns around rainfall seem to have heightened in densely- populated countries like Britain. Recent decades have seen more episodes of damaging floods in Western Europe with apparently greater intensity as well as amounts of rainfall. Some of these may be related to climate change. Scientists' modelling predicts the effect of rising global temperatures will be to make temperate regions wetter and rainfall episodes more intense.

But the greater incidence and impact of flooding following heavy rainstorms is also a result of unwise development. Houses and roads are built on floodplains putting them at risk and affecting the local drainage patterns. Deforestation in hill areas upstream prevents rainfall from being absorbed and so it flows more quickly to fill streams and rivers. Schemes to address these issues are being undertaken in some areas but they are costly and divert resources from other important social and community needs.

Stronger measures to control development and to encourage appropriate land management in river basins would prevent some of the flooding, with its human suffering and economic costs. They might also re-balance our attitude to rain.

Today's image is of a rain-bearing cloud about to deposit over Sharp Haw which overlooks Airedale in North Yorkshire, England. 

“Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.” Wendell Berry

Creation Time Day 15

Creation Time Day 15
The iconic central business district of Shanghai in China may not be an obvious image of choice to celebrate the glory of the creation. Yet humanity and the environments we shape for ourselves are part of the created world. It is an important belief in the Christian faith and other spiritual traditions that humanity shares in the divine creativity, and has responsibility for inhabiting the earth in ways which reflect divine values of love, peace and justice. Spectacular urban landscapes like this are marvels of human ingenuity and skill, and there is inspiration to be found in the breath-taking forms and designs of the structures. Recently the proportion of the world population living in urban areas passed the half-way mark. I captured this photograph in 2013 when I was part of a delegation of British church leaders visiting Christian churches in mainland China.

Shanghai, on some definitions, is the largest city proper in the world. With a population of 25 million it almost equals that of the five Nordic countries combined; if it were a sovereign state on its own it would have a larger population than 22 of the states in the European Union. Shanghai's young people have access to a top -performing education system. A recent World Bank report ranked the city's 15-year olds first in global indicators of attainment in reading, maths and science; as a result of a strong education system with efficient public financing and a "great teacher workforce". But the success or otherwise of the Shanghai education system is contested. There are dissident voices that report the negative impact this highly standardized testing-focused education is having on family life and on student mental and physical health. A large proportion of college graduates are not able to find employment in the city commensurate with their level of education; and many of the wealthy families send their children to the universities of Europe and North America for higher education. Inequality of income in Shanghai is comparable with London, which itself is relatively high for a developed economy, comparing unfavourably with cities like Tokyo and Stockholm where the distribution of income is more even.

Recent independent researchers have uncovered the human cost of the transformation of Shanghai into a world city. Forced re-location and demolition of neighbourhoods for modern development, against the will of the residents, have devastated family and community support networks . Serious questions have been raised about, at best, the disregard for natural justice, and at worst, serious human rights abuses that have come with the re-building of Shanghai. It is through study of the experience of the residents of Shanghai that global social scientists are developing the concept of "domicide" - the destruction of home against the will of its inhabitants. Other world megacities are not immune from this deficit of democratic accountability and human dignity in the face of the powerful forces of finance-driven capitalism.

As more and more of the world's population gravitate to large urban areas there is a challenge to ensure that these cities grow not only in size, power and technical prowess but also in peace, dignity and justice for all their inhabitants.

“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” 
― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Creation Time Day 14

The bedrock of the earth is mostly covered with soil and vegetation but is exposed, often in spectacular ways in many parts of the world, by the erosive action of water and ice, or by the legacy of volcanic eruption and earthquakes. Globally two of the most famous and well-visited examples are the Grand Canyon in the USA and Uluru/Ayres Rock in Australia. Many regions of the world have their own local examples of impressive rock formations and outcrops, not least sea-cliffs around our own coast in the British Isles.

Spectacular rock formations, such as Uluru/Ayres Rock, may be revered as sacred sites by local populations, and regarded as icons of the nations in which they stand. In the Abrahamic faith traditions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) the rocky Mount Sinai in the Sinai peninsula of Egypt is regarded as the place where the ancient prophet Moses encountered God and was given the Ten Commandments. In other traditions too there are examples of mountains and rock outcrops being venerated as the dwelling place of the divine. In early modern Britain the mountains of areas like the Lake District and the Highlands of Scotland inspired artists and poets, famously William Wordsworth,  who generated new interest in these rugged places of exposed rock as retreats for spiritual and emotional refreshment away from the industrialising cities. In Christian tradition from the Bible onwards rock has featured frequently in prayers and hymns as a metaphor of the reliability of God.

The apparent barrenness and inhospitality of the bedrock belies its value to human life, not only as the basis of topsoil upon which most food provision depends, but also for its reserves of groundwater on which many populations rely. The bedrock is also the source of the oil and minerals without which modern urban life would be impossible at present. Extracting these resources by drilling, mining, quarrying, or fracking  and transporting them, involves potentially dangerous operations which have had devastating impacts in local areas on human health and the environment. The burning of fossil fuels is now known to be a major contributor to climate change with a global impact on all life forms.

From the bedrock fossils have revealed the early history of life on earth. This has  allowed for the development of scientific knowledge and a re-imagination in faith traditions of the scope and majesty of the creation; although not without controversy, as the traditional scriptural accounts of the divine act of creation have been re-evaluated. In a similar way modern scientific observation and measurements have shown that the bedrock is not as fixed and unmoving as it appears  but is rather in constant motion and tension , with volcanic action and earthquakes being an integral feature of the earth's surface. The suffering and loss of human life resulting from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have led to to a re-evaluation also of an over-simplified understanding of divine providence. Efforts need to be focused on fostering the spiritual attitudes and the moral determination of governments and society together to protect people from the potential impact of catastrophic events and to provide the most effective mobilisation of resources for rescue and recovery where they do happen.

Today's photograph depicts an impressive outcrop of sedimentary rock in the Epirus region of Greece; which lies in one of the earthquake-prone regions of the world.

Creation Time Day 13

Creation Time Day 13
Today's image for Creation Time evokes the timeless pastoral tranquillity of the traditional meadow. I took this photograph in the Isle of Wight on a balmy sunny day in mid-May ( my 55th birthday as it happens!). The ox-eye daisies were spread across the field like icing on a cake.

Meadows in Britain are grasslands which are managed on an annual cycle according to traditional practices which allow them to develop over time increasing the number and variety of wildflowers. There are different types of meadows and ways of managing them, according to their situation and climate.The field depicted here would likely have been allowed to grow without grazing through Spring and early Summer, cut once for hay in July and grazed by livestock after that.
Meadows are vital havens for important pollinating insects.

Until the 1930s every community in Britain would have had its meadows. Now because of the intensification of agriculture it's reckoned that only 2% remains of the meadowland we once had. The good news is that there are more and more conservation charities and projects working hard to reverse this trend. Local authorities are recognising the opportunity provided by highway verges and roundabouts to develop meadow-like habitats.

Local churches across Britain have played an important role in recent years with some 6000 churches now managing their churchyards under the principles of the "Living Churchyard" project. Areas of the churchyard are maintained as sacred ecosystems without pesticides or burning and the grass cut once a year. In this way local flora and fauna are provided with an increasingly rare suitable habitat,  and visitors enjoy the carpet of wildflowers in early Summer. My own church of Wokingham  (All Saints) manages its churchyard on this basis as part of its commitment to the environment as a recognised eco- congregation.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;  he restores my soul." Psalm 23

Creation Time Day 12

For today's image in celebration of the creation I've chosen this one depicting the glory of Autumn colours, which I captured at Virginia Water near Windsor.The colour change of the leaves no doubt serves the survival of deciduous trees through Winter in temperate latitudes, though scientists are still researching the exact mechanisms and reasons for it. Yet it is another example of a phenomenon in the creation which as humans we may experience simply as a gift, for its beauty and capacity to lift our spirits.

In human cultures and civilizations which have thrived in the temperate latitudes of the earth and which experience the four seasons,  the natural cycle of the year has symbolised spiritual truths. In Jewish and Christian faiths especially, the eternal round of the seasons has expressed the divine character, the never-failing faithfulness of God. The arrival of Autumn, heralding the cold and dark to come with Winter, has provoked reflection on mortality, and the search for deeper, more enduring, sources of sustenance for the human spirit than can be provided in the natural world alone.

In western Christian tradition the turn to the final declining quarter of the year has been marked by the feast of St Michael and All Angels (29th September). Roughly coinciding in the northern hemisphere with the Autumn equinox when the nights become longer than the days,  it commemorates an ancient story of the victory of the angels of God over the forces of evil, and so holds out belief in the ultimate inability of fear and evil to overcome courage and love in human destiny.

The seasonal cycle in temperate latitudes is the necessary outcome of an astronomical phenomenon, the orbit of the Earth around the sun combined with the angle of incline of the Earth's axis. Nonetheless  the seasonal pattern appears to be shifting in response to climate change. The trend observed by global networks of nature watchers has been for Spring to be starting earlier and Autumn later. This may seem cheerful news for those who prefer Summer to Winter but it will have unpredictable, disruptive effects on ecological systems and habitats, impacting vulnerable landscapes and species, and placing at risk supplies of food and water in certain areas.

The claiming of resources of courage and love to combat, and ameliorate,  the impact of climate change is perhaps the new fearlessness to which the gorgeous colours of Autumn might inspire us.

Creation Time Day 11

The largest freshwater lake in the world is Lake Superior in North America. Its surface area is four times that of Wales. Freshwater lakes across the world are often beautiful to the eye, offer tourism and recreation opportunities, and provide vital supplies of water and food for local populations.

In the Christian gospel accounts of the life of Jesus Christ some of the action takes place both around and on the Sea of Galilee. This is a large freshwater lake in the north of Israel which is the lowest freshwater lake in the world, about 200 metres below sea level.

Today's photo is a view of Lake Constance or Bodensee, a large lake on the River Rhine, at the northern foot of the Alps, of which it affords stunning views. As well as being a popular tourist area it supplies water to the population of south-west Germany.

" A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. ~Henry David Thoreau

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Creation Time Day 10

The photograph I've chosen today in celebration of the creation returns to the topic of trees.There are thousands of species of tree in the world and a spectacular variety of forms and habits. Yet the one that always lifts my spirit is common where I live - the horse chestnut when it is in full flower from late April to early June; especially the variety with white flowers. It is a striking affirmation of the return of new life at the start of the summer and a majestic sight.

The tree depicted here stands in the grounds of King's College Cambridge alongside the magnificent Gothic chapel. With its expansive fan vaulted ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows the chapel stands as a human tribute to divine glory. Thousands of tourists and pilgrims make a special effort to visit the chapel and rightly marvel at it; yet perhaps the horse chestnut tree in the garden is an equally awesome revelation of glory.

"Life is not hurrying on to a receding future, nor hankering
after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle

of the lit bush..." R.S. Thomas (1913 -2000) poet and priest.

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Creation Time Day 9

There are landscapes across the world which attract attention for their great and special beauty,  and as havens for wildlife or as places with a greater diversity of flowers and plants. They are the product of unique combinations of geology, biodiversity, climate and sometimes human activity including traditional farming.They are the destination of many visitors who come to walk, run, swim, cycle , fish, climb, photograph and research;  or simply to look and see and marvel at the wonders of nature. Many are designated and protected by national or international legislation in efforts to secure them for the future in a sustainable way.

Human demand for resources is a constant pressure on these landscapes. Whether regulating legitimate demands such as water needs, or tackling criminality  - for example, corrupt governmental collusion with companies to circumvent forest protection, or the killing of elephants for ivory - protecting these landscapes can never be a matter of complacency. Legislation and funding can rarely be weakened or withdrawn without a detrimental effect. Independent monitoring and campaigning by civil society groups such as NGOs and pressure groups is an ongoing necessity to ensure that governments and politicians fulfil their responsibilities towards these landscapes. 

Today I have chosen a photograph of Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is one of a number of popular and beautiful national parks clustered in northern Britain, most of them only an hour or two by car or public transport from a major city. Each of these parks has its own remarkably distinctive set of characteristics and beauty.

In most cases however the landscape we see is sustained by traditional farming. This farming is very vulnerable to economic and political changes. Farming and the activities which support sustainable farming communities in these areas are as much in need of detailed consideration and protection by government and all of us who enjoy these landscapes, as the plants and wildlife found there.

"Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do." Wendell Berry 

Creation Time Day 8

I've chosen this eye-catching image from the Cornish coast because, without resorting to a video clip ( which not all platforms accessing this blog will support) it depicts an otherwise invisible wonder of nature, that is the wind.

Obviously in the form of hurricane or typhoon the wind isn't an element invariably welcomed by humanity however awesome it appears when viewed from a place of safety. Yet without wind and the movement of air across the globe there would be no weather and no rainfall to support life.

On hot days there is little more welcome than a gentle cooling breeze. In the Swahili language the wonderfully expressive word "peponi", literally "in the breezes", is used to mean paradise. In Christian and Jewish faith the divine reality is characterised as Spirit with reference to the wind or breath which gives and sustains life.

With the ever more pressing need to move away from burning fossil fuels in order to reduce global warming, harnessing the wind is growing as a viable alternative energy source. Since 2000 more than a quarter of new electricity generation capacity installed in Europe has been wind power.

"Like wind-- In it, with it, of it. Of it just like a sail, so light and strong that, even when it is bent flat, it gathers all the power of the wind without hampering its course."
Dag Hammerskjöld (UN Secretary- General, 1953 - 1961)  - Markings.

Creation Time Day 7

It may seem strange to some to include gardens in this celebration of the creation. Since the rise of industrialisation and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the crowded cities it created in Europe in the early 19th century, there's been a romantic tendency to regard the wildness of  (apparently) uncultivated country, the mountains, jungles and savannahs, and also the oceans , of the world as more authentically natural and awesomely beautiful than human- influenced spheres like gardens.Yet the garden is a place where human creativity and co-operation with the natural world come together with life-enhancing result.To adapt a line from a children's hymn : think of a world without any gardens!

Creating and working a garden is a source of huge satisfaction and fulfilment, emotional and spiritual, to many people as well as an underrated substitute for expensive gym fees! Gardening is a recognised form of therapy promoting psychological well-being.You do not need to be a house dweller to do gardening- there are many volunteering opportunities as community gardens are developed - or you might get involved in creating one in a neglected public area. And millions of people all over the world find retreat and refreshment for their soul visiting a beautiful garden. All of the senses may be engaged in a garden.

Spiritual writings in many faith traditions extol the garden as a foretaste on earth of the divine home. The Christian Bible begins its story of God's purpose for humanity in the Garden of Eden and ends in the heavenly city, which with its river of life and its trees of many fruits with leaves for the healing of the nations, is clearly a garden city. (Revelation 22).

This photograph is of the garden at National Trust property Mottistone Manor in the Isle of Wight.

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars" Martin Luther, (1483-1546) , Christian theologian and church reformer.

Creation Time Day 5

Who doesn't enjoy seeing butterflies fluttering around on a sunny summer's day? The life cycle of the butterfly is one of the wonders of nature. It's understood from our earliest school days not only as a fascinating fact, but also a symbol of the possibilities of new life and beauty through transformation. Whilst the radiant colours and patterns of butterfly wings may be explained though natural selection and survival needs, their beauty may be enjoyed as a sheer gift in creation.

This photograph depicts a Marbled White; which is widespread and expanding in central and southern England, South Wales and east Yorkshire. But the general outlook in Britain for biodiversity is not so good. Climate change and habitat loss is having a significant impact. A recent major study  has found that many of the species that perform the important role of pollinating plants and trees such as bees, moths and hoverflies are in decline; as are those such as ants which act as important pest controllers. Increases in some species like the Marbled White butterfly are not compensating for the loss of the others. 

"We do not need to be heroes to save the world; all we need is humility, a critical view of the commercial and political interests of those who would mislead us into wrong-doing, and a sense of wonder." John Burnside (New Statesman, 22 April 2013)

Creation Time Day 4

Trees and humankind have a long, rich and complicated relationship. In evolutionary theories the separation of human species from other primates involved a move away from time spent in the trees. In modern human history, farming and the building of cities has required deforestation. The forest has come to symbolise a wilder, more pristine space; a place of danger even.

Yet trees have constantly inspired awe and respect, lifting human spirits with their majesty and beauty. Towering over the human form, their longevity and their capacity for re-generation has caused trees to be revered spiritually. In the holy scriptures shared by Jews and Christians, trees are metaphors of the blessings of life,  health and prosperity; signs of the dependable presence of the divine in the world. Modern research has revealed that time amongst trees and green plants decreases measures of bodily stress and increases feelings of well-being in urban residents.

On the other hand,trees have been and continue to be vital for humanity's existence in practical ways; source of food and medicine, material for building and industry; and for fuel. Still today millions of people in rural communities across the world are dependent upon daily access to firewood for domestic use. As well as demand for tree products, the demand for more land for extensive farming is driving the destruction of tropical rain forests at an alarming rate; destroying irreplaceable habitats which contain many unique and, no doubt, as yet undiscovered species of all kinds.

There is a growing public awareness, though still not strong enough, that trees and forests need to be preserved and protected; not only for the enjoyment and refreshment of the human spirit, but to prevent irreversible loss of biodiversity, and to sustain the balance of the global climate. Burning of forests worldwide is one of the main human activities contributing to global warming; but planting more trees can combat climate change. In the United Kingdom The Forestry Commission has made climate change a major focus of its policy; and the leading woodland conservation charity The Woodland Trust is committed to creating thousand of new native woodlands across the country.

Today's photograph is a beech tree seen from the ground; captured in Edinburgh's Royal Botanical Gardens.

"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction." Rachel Carson.

Creation Time Day 3

The coastline has inspired and awed humanity always. It is the interface of the human habitat with the element in which we cannot naturally survive. The ancient Hebrews feared the sea as symbolic of chaos and disorder; whilst other pre-modern civilizations found ways to cross thousands of miles of ocean harnessing the wind, and using the stars for navigation.

Storm surges, flood-tides and tsunamis continue to act as a powerful reminder that the coast is a place of particular human vulnerability, where the wildness and freedom of the elements remain unconstrained by human effort. Yet the very vastness and apparently limitless power of the ocean may have contributed to the carelessness of humanity towards the coast and the sea in modern times - the false belief that since the ocean is so big our trash and waste products can be dumped in it with no repercussions.

Our society's thirst for oil and for plastic is the most obvious culprit of sea pollution and coastal degradation, when the oil is spilled and as plastic litters our beaches and finds its way into the tissues of marine life. But the greenhouse effect of releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by our burning of fossil fuels has a more widespread, if virtually invisible,  devastating effect on the oceans. Global warming leading to increases in seawater temperature causes the body of the sea to expand , one of the factors leading to the rising sea-level. And secondly, the absorption of additional carbon dioxide is causing sea water to become more acid, leading to the destruction of coral reefs and other marine ecosystems. Rising sea levels ultimately threaten many of the major concentrations of human population especially people who are poorest and, without help, have least resources to adapt.

Coastlines are also home to special and beautiful creatures sustained in unique ecosystems . Today's photograph depicts cliffs on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight. As chalk  these formation are themselves the product of the deposition of marine creature over millions of years. The British Isles is one of the richest areas in the world for seabirds with an estimated 8 million birds. For example it is home to 60% of the world's Great Skuas.

Creation Time Day 2

Photo by Lorraine Hodgson

For the second day of the Creation Time season I've selected this aerial view of the European Alps captured on a flight from Greece to London. Its stunningly beautiful snow-capped mountains and glaciers, so accessible to some of the most prosperous and densely-populated regions of the world,  have ensured the Alps are a major tourist attraction. According to some measures the Alps are the second most-visited tourist destination in the world after the Mediterranean coastline. 

For many the Alps with their towering peaks and bright white snowfields symbolise the unfettered wildness of nature. Yet the Alps are especially vulnerable to climate change. Temperatures in the region have risen by almost 2°C in the last 120 years; twice as much as the global average. Many glaciers have consistently retreated in recent decades and total ice volume today is estimated to be half what it was in 1850.

"At bottom, mountains, like all wildernesses, challenge our complacent conviction - so easy to lapse into - that the world has been made for humans by humans." Robert Macfarlane 

World Day of Prayer for Creation

Today is the World Day of Prayer for Creation. The day for the protection of the natural environment is observed globally by the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches . Other churches have also adopted it. Many churches including the Church of England have extended this into a special season of Creation Time, which lasts until the Feast of St Francis on 4th October.

During this time Christians are encouraged to celebrate the glory of God shown in creation, to pray for the protection of the creation; and to promote sustainability to reverse human damage to the environment including climate change. At All Saints Church Wokingham during Creation Time our main Sunday Communion service at 9.30am encourages us to cherish God's creation using a specially-adapted liturgy.

This year I will be posting every day during Creation Time a photograph from my own collection which shows the awesomeness and wonder of creation. And I will add a comment to highlight a different aspect of creation and the challenge to protect and sustain it.

For the World Day of Prayer for Creation I've chosen this beautiful image of a wheat field with wild flowers being allowed to grow alongside it. It was captured on a gloriously sunny day alongside the Ridegway, an ancient route used since prehistoric times, and now an 87 mile-long National Trail, following the high ground of chalk downs in the southern midlands of England.

I've chosen this image of wheat growing for the first day of Creation Time to highlight our dependence upon the soil and the climate for our basic foodstuffs. It reminds me too that many of the so-called natural landscapes are in fact the product of the work of humans on the earth.

Western European farmers have been encouraged to provide wildflower field margins to counteract the loss of habitat and decrease in biodiversity which results from modern intensive agriculture.

Agriculture is an all-important interface between humanity and the natural world.As well as being vital in providing food for all consumers, agriculture provides the livelihood of around a half of the world's population, concentrated especially in poorer areas. Sustainable agriculture and protection from the impact of climate change is vital to defend  millions of rural communities across the world from degradation and destitution.

"The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope."
Wendell Berry

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Week of prayer for evangelism

Church Times reports that the Church of England will promote a week of prayer for evangelism in 2016. Read here.

A Common Vision – The Abolition of Militarism | Common Dreams

A Common Vision – The Abolition of Militarism | Common Dreams

Inspired by R S Thomas

The poet R S Thomas was mentioned on Twitter recently. Seeing the tweet I was reminded I have neglected Thomas lately. In the 1990s and early 2000s I would find myself reading a Thomas poem at least once every month. References to R S Thomas in the media I read were frequent enough then to remind me of him. Quotes from his poetry cropped up in sermons and in the religious press.

The parishioners of the rural Essex villages I served in the early 1990s were aware I admired R S Thomas' work, presumably from references and quotes I used. A churchwarden who used to holiday on the Lleyn peninsula in Wales,  where R S Thomas sometimes conducted church services, came back from a visit there one year and presented me with a copy of the Collected Poems,  signed by the great man himself on an Easter Sunday! The book occupies pride of place on my study shelves but I see it's not been opened for a while.

The tweet I saw originated from a person who wrote that though an atheist she'd been moved to think again about faith by a Thomas poem. Thomas' poetry dwells often on mortality,  opaqueness of meaning in, and the finitude of, life;  the emptiness and fragility of human endeavour; the insignificance of humanity in the grand sweep of nature. Not for Thomas the confident assertion that humanity is the crown of God's creation. It's God's absence that is the most pressing reality of the world in the poetry of Thomas. But the most arresting moments - which are often the focus of the poem -  are signals of a divine presence and love.

So why have I forgotten to read Thomas for the past decade? And perhaps I'm not the only Anglican to have left his poems on the shelf in those years.
My best guess at an answer is that we've been living through a decade when uncertainty and equivocation in matters of faith have fallen out of fashion.  Churches which offer certainty about where God is and what He (sic) is doing right now are the ones which grow in size and dynamic and have a young age profile. The Church of England in its respective dioceses has been suffused from the top down with the clear light of corporate planning methods;   beckoning parishes to the sunny uplands of continual improvement and growth. The theory is that if churches set themselves clear priorities, well - informed by their local context, and marshall their resources to achieve these goals effectively they will attract sufficient members and support to be sustainable and make a difference in their communities. There is evidence from the experience of early adopter dioceses such as London that this approach works on its own terms. So it has been rolled out across the whole Church of England.

It's an approach which doesn't allow much room for uncertainty and equivocation about the "product" churches offer. Most of  the Church's energy recently has been spent on marketing effectively. Senior church leaders are anxious for the parish clergy and local churches to get their act together in terms of "selling the product"  to the people of England. Ironically what's driving this sales campaign is the unwillingness, increasing with each successive generation,  of the mainstream of English society to prefer the product on offer.  The Church of England's strategy appears as sustainable as if a major technology company had decided it need no longer invest in creating and innovating new products but instead devoted all its resources to marketing existing ones.

But aren't churches dealing with eternal truths which cannot be changed? I hear you protest. Surely the Church can't change its story? Well,  yes actually.  The essence and heart of the Christian narrative about life the universe and everything is that yes, the story can be utterly changed. The story hinges on an event of total narrative reversal - the resurrection of Christ from death. Its foundational event involved the total re- framing of the known human narrative and experience of God in that community upto that point. The dynamic of Christian life is in truth, or should be if genuinely Christian, a continual questioning and re - framing of the story so far.
Christian history contains many examples of this questioning and re - framing: the Protestant Reformation;  or the virtual disappearance of eternal punishment of the unrepentant as a sermon theme in mainstream West European churches since the hell on earth of the First World War. The prominent themes of popular Christian preaching in mid - nineteenth century England would feel like a completely different religion if they were to be preached again in churches today.

So there is an imperative on the Church to question and re - frame the God story in far - reaching ways. If existing institutional forms of church fail to do this then we must hope it will happen elsewhere.

So back to R S Thomas and what the themes of his poetry might offer to the now urgent need of the Church of England. This is the need to become a church which really wants to rediscover and re-tell a new story of God. A story which connects in the world we have now. This will mean being a Church which ceases  expending itself on ever more frantic efforts to repackage and promote a product long past obsolescence, a story which can no longer be heard.

Challenge today

"For the church today the challenge is to find a way of focusing our attention outside the institution and to resist the temptation to become preoccupied with the insistent internal demands for more money, new roofs, more clergy, more children in the Sunday school and more young families in the pews." Ann Morisy (Journeying Out, 2006, p3)
Discuss...

Saint Matthew

Sermon on St Matthew’s Day

Reading: Matthew 9: 9 – 13

The day Matthew the tax-collector joined Jesus was a great day for the movement which
became the church ; and today we celebrate Matthew’s witness. To Matthew is attributed
one of the four gospels with so much of the sayings and teachings of Jesus about the
kingdom of God . Though we don’t know much about Matthew, we can celebrate that here is
a man who turned his life around and followed Jesus, who listened to the teaching of Jesus
and believed in Jesus; and; who passed on those life-giving words of Jesus to succeeding
generations.

Tax-collectors like Matthew were a despicable crew as far as most people of Israel were
concerned. They fleeced the hard-working locals and the proceeds financed the extravagant
life-styles of the elite in the imperial Roman regime. Little cogs in the empire’s economic
machine, still they were sure enough to make money out of it for themselves; and so in local
terms they were pretty wealthy. There’s a hint of Matthew’s superior life-style in the word used
to describe how they sat at dinner – it means “reclined”; which was a Greek and Roman
custom followed also by wealthy Jews.

But Jesus spent time with these “tax-collectors and sinners”. He did not condemn them like
the Pharisees did. He went to their parties; he ate their food, bought no doubt with the money
they had extracted from hard-working families. But what was even worse in the eyes of the
Pharisees – he ate and drank with people who were religiously unclean. The nature of the
tax-collectors role meant that to do business they had to break the strict Pharisaic
interpretations of the laws on uncleanness and observing the Sabbath. To eat at the same
table with people who were outside the Law was to defile yourself also.

The Pharisees’ disgust with tax-collectors was probably intensified by their partly
unconscious realisation they had something in common; they too were collaborators with the
pagan Roman imperial power. Like the tax-collectors the Pharisees had made a pragmatic
adaptation to that overwhelming regime which to defy was to invite destruction. Whilst the
tax-collectors’ tactic for survival in the Empire was to get a job with them and make some
money; the Pharisees’ method was to retreat into rigorous religious observance. Jesus saw
through the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and that’s why they disliked him so much. Though tax-
collectors like Matthew were self-regarding and uncaring of their neighbours’ plight, they
didn’t pretend to be piously superior. So Jesus condemned the Pharisees for the way they
covered their self-serving survival tactics with a cloak of outward piety whilst all the while they
cared equally little for the hopeless suffering of the ordinary people of Israel.

If tax-collectors were to be condemned it wasn’t for what the Pharisees condemned them for
– their failure to keep the religious observances – instead it was for the harm they were doing
to their neighbours and to themselves by working for the empire of Rome instead of working
for the kingdom of God; choosing to be the slaves of a deadly machine instead of claiming the
freedom of God’s promises.

So why didn’t Jesus condemn the tax-collectors and sinners? Why did he go to their parties?
It’s not that difficult to appreciate why the Lord gave attention to the poor, the sick, the lame
and the weak of his society – they needed the special care of God. But it’s a lot harder to
understand why he’d want to fraternise with tax-collectors. Imagine how you’d feel if you
heard that one of our bishops went to parties given by a well-known editor of pornographic
magazines, or an infamous loan shark? Not just once but quite a few times. It’s fishy isn’t it?

And this was the question the Pharisees put. Why did Jesus eat with these people? The
answer Jesus gave them shows that there is more to this than being accepted or condemned
according to compliance with standards, even moral standards. For Jesus uses the picture of
disease and sickness which needs healing. The sick person needs the help of a doctor if he is
to recover; not the condemnation of a judge. And so the picture is given here of a different
kind of community - which reaches out inclusively to help and heal even those who are doing
it harm. I desire mercy not sacrifice is a quotation from the prophet Hosea in the Old
Testament. Mercy in the Hebrew sits closer in meaning to compassion than our word
suggests. If our hearts are in the right place there is no need to waste time and energy
needlessly assuring ourselves of God’s love for us because we have that assurance from
God; rather true religion is about showing compassion for others who are in need of healing
and help.

Jesus invited Matthew to follow him and he did – he took that decision to begin again with his
life and to learn from Jesus and to serve Jesus. Matthew had caught a glimpse of the love
and compassion of God and it aroused his belief that there was hope for a better way of life.
The empire of the Romans was not the only world there was to live in ; there was hope of a
new world. He chose to stop working for the Roman empire and dedicate his life and his
energies to working for God’s kingdom to come on earth; which as the gospel which bears his
name spells out, the Lord taught us to pray for every day.

It’s salutary to remember St Matthew at this point in our country's history when the human
capacity for self-delusion; our failure to recognise limits in our economic systems, our failure
to remember that money should serve human life not the other way round; has been revealed
all too dramatically in the near collapse of the banking system three years ago and a major
economic downturn - with all the pain and suffering that has been causing in people’s
everyday lives. There is a lot to condemn in the combination of greed and fear which drives
our global economy – our lack of respect for God’s creation; our failure to share prosperity
more equitably; and care more comprehensively for the truly needy in our world. There is no
shortage of people who see the world and live their lives in a way similar to how Matthew
was before he believed in Jesus. How should our response to those who might be held
responsible for economic chaos be modelled on the way of Christ I wonder?

Matthew rejected the selfish pursuit of gain because he came to believe in Jesus who offered
the hope of a better way – not just in heaven when we die, but a better way to live on earth
believing God’s presence and power is very near and working to reveal and demonstrate
God’s economy for our world. Can we be like Matthew?

Revd Canon David Hodgson