Feeling Between a Rock & a Hard Place?

 

Are you feeling like you're between a rock and a hard place? Well, welcome to 'Twixmas' - that annual period between Christmas and the New Year holidays when everything seems to shut down! The glories of the festive season are behind us now, and the wonder and nostalgia that coloured the whole period in pastel shades of emotion and reminiscence, are past. In their place is the nagging feeling that we may have overdone it in the eating or drinking department, or both, and certainly the awareness that our wallets are a great deal lighter than they were a month ago! Hmm, the real reason for the season may be slipping away like a burning sunset - glorious in its time but hard to take into the next day.

And then there's the future, growing and growling before us like some kind of new family pet - will it bite us or be the best friend we have ever had? And what about this enormous number - 2024? Where did that come from? They just don't make these years the same size as they used to. I have only just got used to putting a 20 instead of a 19 in front of my year dates and suddenly we are nearly a quarter of the way through a new century! And just like the last one, it is marked by wars and rumours of wars, pandemics, eruptions, earthquakes and the enemy that eats holes in all our purses - inflation. 

The past and the future do loom over us and can make us very afraid. Thankfully there are resources that we can take hold of, even in this in-between period that can be so scary. For the past we need to discover the power of forgiveness. We need it for ourselves in case we feel that we could have done better. But we also need a store of it to give away. Forgiveness only really works if you share it. Being forgiven is not a solo sport. Getting to know Jesus brings us closer to the biggest store of forgiveness in the universe. His doors don't just open on Boxing Day for the sales, they are wide open the whole year round. 

And for the future? Well, there's a ready source of wisdom and help to face all that lies ahead in the book that is still the world's best seller - the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11 was written to Israel hundreds of years ago, but gives us insight into how God wants to help us face all that's coming: 'For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'. And then there is one of the most reassuring verses in the book of Psalms, 37:5 'Give yourself to the Lord; trust in him, and he will help you'.

So, this 'Twixmas', and as we prepare to face the New Year whatever it might bring, why not give God your past and your future, and see what he can do with them. When stuck between a rock and a hard place, the only thing you can really do is look up!

Another Visit from the Prince of Peace Needed Here

As Israel and Hamas enter a period of truce for a few days in Gaza, the loved-ones of the more than 240 hostages being held by the terror group and their allies will be holding their breath. A glimmer of hope breaks over the battlefield like the sun used to rise over the smoking ruins of past European wars to reveal the devastation that war inevitably brings. After the dreadful horrors of October 7th and the incessant pounding of the enclave of Gaza that followed, these few days of peace must seem like a foreign country. Thousands have buried their much loved relatives on both sides, but it may be generations before their hatred and resentment is buried, unless someone or something intervenes.

And that intervention is preciseley why Jesus came. In one of the many ancient prophecies concerning his coming he was called 'the Prince of Peace'. Here is the verse from Isaiah chapter 9:6, 

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

So, how can we pray about this terrible conflict in the Middle East? Firstly the Bible urges us to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' in Psalm 122:6. This must mean to pray for the leaders involved in making decisions about this war, but also to really pray for the followers of Christ who live on both sides of the conflict - Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians. Then, as we approach Christmas, pray that the Lord will break through the desire for revenge, and the fog of hatred and violence, to bring about some kind of reconciliation, however distant that may seem at the moment.

Those of us who read our Bibles expecting that Jesus Christ will return soon to a world tearing itself apart with wars and rumours of wars, and being shaken by earthquakes and pandemics, are also praying that many millions more will hear the good news, the gospel, about Jesus and by believing be added to his family before he comes. In the words of the last book of the Bible, 'Amen. Come Lord Jesus!'

Dealing with the Hurry Wasp

One day recently I got into my car and turned to drive up the road outside our house in Guernsey and surprisingly joined a queue of cars that appeared to be waiting for something large and slow to come down the hill. After a few minutes of gulping in fumes and fighting my own frustration, down the hill with a gentle clip-clop came the wonderful spectacle of a horse and buggy, with two amiable older gentlemen chatting to one another. Behind them a long line of approaching cars and vans was being forced to slow down and proceed at nineteenth century speed! I feared the worst and thought that someone was going to start sounding their horn, perhaps scaring the poor horse, but I was in for a surprise.

As the procession passed me I wound down my window and switched off my engine just to appreciate the moment more fully. The sweet sound of the horse’s clopping and the gentle rumble of the cartwheels filled my car, together with the friendly banter of the men. For a few seconds I was transported to an earlier quieter age. It was a precious moment of sanity. When I restarted my car and moved on past the approaching line-up of cart-followers, my expectation of angry and frustrated fellow drivers was dispersed. All I got was smiles and kindly looks, with people pointing forward at the lovely anachronism that was hindering their progress. It was as if the apparition from yesteryear was healing something in our crazily hurried culture. It had sutured a wound caused by all our rushing about, even if just for a few moments.

In John Mark Comer’s excellent book ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry’ he points out that Jesus and his band of followers only ever moved about at walking pace and yet they achieved so much in such a short space of time. Jesus also built times of solitude and prayer into his routine and his journeys around first century Israel, often rising before dawn to pray. Perhaps we were never designed to dash about like we do, driven more by deadlines, demands and diesel than by love, hope and peace! Is it realistic to ask us to slow down though? How will we get our work done? We are not ungrateful for the technology that enables us to get through our days, but the gadgets and tools that we once thought would give us more time have actually stolen it like scammers syphoning away our spiritual savings. We may be rich in technological resources, but we have become poorer in spirit.

Two women in the New Testament illustrate this well. One of them was dashing around her kitchen just when Jesus called to have a chat with her and her sister. Martha is described as being ‘distracted by all the preparations that had to be made’ (Luke 10) whereas her sister Mary found space to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to what he had to say. When the over-busy Matha moaned to the Lord about her sister not pulling her weight, Jesus chastised her for being worried and upset about many things and reminded her that Mary had chosen what is better – she had elected to be in listening mode. This has to be a choice and takes effort. Finding time for a place of quiet and fellowship with Christ can be restorative and refreshing but is something we need to prioritise if it is to happen at all.

Maybe we all need to wind down our window and switch off our engine from time to time and adopt the listening mode exemplified by Mary. Without it, the hurry wasp will have us swatting the air and dashing about like mad things, perhaps doing plenty but achieving little of lasting value.

 

An Old Guy Trying to Get Through!

As I approached a bend in the narrow Guernsey lane where I had gone walking this week, a dense cloud of mainly sand and grit billowed out from the building site that was a centuries-old farmhouse, filling the roadway ahead. A workman in a spacesuit-like protective kit was sand-blasting the ancient walls in a picture of contrasts. I was about to turn back instead of entering the threatening swirl of choking detritus when a fellow workman switched off the powerful engine of the sand-blaster, shouting to the spaceman ‘Hang on - there’s an old guy who wants to get through’!

I looked all around me to see this old chap but nobody else was waiting so he must have meant me. At 71 I felt a bit miffed at his description and wondered if it really was that obvious that I am getting older, but after I passed the obstruction, and the spaceman resumed his forced removal of centuries of grime, I reflected on what had been said. I am an old guy who wants to get through! I want to get through what is probably the autumn of my life without losing my sense of God’s leading me every day, and the effectiveness of serving God’s purpose and destiny for my being here. 

A few days ago we returned from a week’s holiday in Majorca, rejoicing in the direct flights now available from our island to theirs in the Mediterranean. In the resort were huge date palm trees, soaring high into the Majorcan sky and heavy with fruit. In our hotel room we read together the verses of Psalm 92:12-14 where it says that God’s people will be like palm trees, bearing fruit in their old age. Date palms are usually quite old before they start bearing fruit and can even be laden with dates after they're 80 years old!

So, how can we older folk remain fruitful and ‘get through’ these challenging times? Well, we can remain grounded in faith and relationship with God just like the strong root systems of Middle-Eastern date palms. We can choose daily to live with faith, hope, and love, not bitterness, resentment, and regret. Having faith and hope can be tough as our bodies decay and our thinking processes slow down,  but we choose to press through the clouds of difficulty and keep trusting God and His Word (the Bible).

We also have an important place as mentors and role models for younger Christians. To mentor someone is to draw alongside them with words of encouragement, offering support and confidence when things are hard for them. It is too easy to criticise and lecture young folk as the years go by, when God’s calling on us is to gently lead and inspire by our example and loving patience and perseverance.

And then we can pray. I heard recently from a lady in her 80’s who recently led a prayer team at the Limitless Youth Conference organised by the Elim Churches in the UK at which thousands of young people gathered this summer to celebrate their faith and worship together as well as have great fun. During those few days over 600 young folk made first-time commitments to follow Christ and the prayer team were kept busy praying for youngsters with many problems in the prayer tent. She may be old, but she is most definitely still trying to get through!

So, if you are confronted with a barrier due to age or infirmity, I just want to encourage you to believe that, as a retired minister friend of mine said to me recently, ‘If you’re not dead, you’re not done yet’. There is still a work for Jesus that no one but you can do. As for me – well there is an old guy here waiting to get through!

 

Worn out before they're worn?

Do you want a pair of jeans with the holes already there? Fancy buying something that is old before its time - worn out before it's been worn? I couldn't help taking this picture of the shop window at Primark in Newcastle this week. Of course I know that torn jeans are 'in fashion' and that pre-ripped clothing is nothing new, but it just struck me as funny that the shopkeeper thinks that tatty and torn goods are a great advert for his store! It is almost like he or she is proud of their already rubbished clothing!

That started me thinking about why pre-torn fashion may have caught on. Once I started thinking about it, I couldn't help but notice how scruffily most people were dressed all around me, including in church! Don't get me wrong - I welcome casual clothing and dressing down in preference to all the pretend preening of yesteryear - but I sense an issue especially for the young in this latest trend.

I am concerned that just as 'power dressing' can make you feel good about yourself and boost confidence, pre-ripped and faded clothing can have the opposite effect on the wearer. It is almost as if they are saying 'this is all I'm worth'. That's wrong, of course, because these young people are of infinite worth to God and special in his eyes, but is that how they see themselves?

When denim jeans were first invented by Levi Strauss and Jacob David in the USA in the early 1870's they were a really welcome invention for the factory workers on the East Coast, farmers in the midwest, and miners on the West Coast. Typically during this period, if you saw rips or any type of holes in jeans it wasn’t really a fashion statement. It was literally a sign that these people did manual labour and were below the poverty line. Apparently, wearing torn and “holey” denim pants didn’t become a fashion statement until the 1970s, when jeans were commandeered by the punk rock movement. There followed an 'anti-fashion' surge in the US which held to the notion of not caring what clothes you wore. From that, ripped clothing became associated with protest and social anarchy. That all seems to be common on this side of the Pond today too!

If you or your teenagers need ventilation in their trousers I wouldn't worry too much, but I would recommend making sure that they know they are loved and valued just as they are. Young people use up a lot of emotional fuel as they go through their pressurised lives, and their tanks get empty quickly. Hugs and assurances of love and care, may not influence their choice of clothing, but might make a big difference to what goes on under the surface of their hearts!

And they're free!
 

Better than Chips at Cobo!

This is Diane and me preparing to contemplate a Guernsey sunset at a glorious place on the West coast of the island called Cobo (pronounced like 'oboe' with a 'C'). Despite how it looks, we really hadn't fallen out as there was a picnic basket between us on the bench and we were eating fish and chips bought from Cobo Chippy - a local delicacy! (https://www.facebook.com/Cobofishbar)! They were wonderful as usual. It had been a hard day, especially for Diane, as we had been at the burial of her dear sister Angela in the morning, and then taking part in a service of thanksgiving for Ange's life in the afternoon.

Sunsets at Cobo are famous. They are such an inspiring way to end a difficult day. They also mean that someone else to the West of us is still enjoying their day, or else waking up to a brand new start. The writer of the hymn 'The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended' knew this:

The sun that bids us rest is waking

Our brethren 'neath the western sky
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high

As over each continent and island
The dawn leads on another day
The voice of prayer is never silent
Nor dies the strain of praise away

For Angela, whose trust in God was vital and strong, her day goes on. Just as the setting sun for us becomes the rising sun for others, so the world she inhabits now is totally different from the one blighted by disease and dementia that she has left. It's not the end, but rather the beginning of a brand new day, seeing Jesus and serving Him, like she did when she was well, and even more so in the company of the saints.

So, although there is an element of loss and regret as the sun 'bids us rest', we take heart in the promise and hope to which it points. As St Paul says in his letter to the Christians in Rome: 'If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us' (Romans 6:6-9 The Message). 

Now that's even better than chips at Cobo!

 

Clothed with Power

Peter was scared, beads of sweat forming on his furrowed brow as he checked that the doors were locked for the tenth time. The upper room was crowded with groups of people praying and huddling close for comfort, but so much had happened in the last seven weeks that was scary. Jesus being brutally murdered on Good Friday, for instance, followed by amazing moments of almost unbelievable encounters proving that He had risen from the tomb. And then there was that awesome experience of watching the Lord ascend into heaven bodily just ten days ago. That’s when the realisation really hit, “it’s over to me now. The keys of the kingdom are in my shaking hands. We’re all locked in here, but there’s a world out there, just waiting for the message He has given us. How on earth do we achieve that, and fulfil the great commission that He assigned us?” Within hours, however, Peter and the one hundred and nineteen others alongside him were to discover the answer. The baptism in the Holy Spirit! They would never be the same people again.

Read the second chapter of Acts and ask yourself ‘have I really received this power to witness for Christ and serve God like these early Christians did?’. The events of the first Day of Pentecost in the church age resulted in the conversion of over three thousand people. Amazing signs were seen, such as the appearance of flames of fire over each person’s head. Speaking about those individual flames of fire, Reinhard Bonnke, the well-known German apostle to Africa, declared that ‘they were in fact potent and portable power stations which would move with the people wherever they went’. Ordinary folk from northern Galilee began worshipping God using the many languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem, astounding onlookers. Windows and doors, previously locked in fear of the Jews, were flung open to welcome them and invite them in! Total transformation is the only term for it. Thousands were converted in a day and the global church was born. 

And that was only the beginning. The book of Acts reveals at least four more occasions when folk received the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17, 9:17-18, 10:44-46, 19:1-7) often marked by speaking with tongues and prophesying. The lives of the followers of Jesus would never be the same again.

Today, according to one recent academic study, Pentecostalism has become the fastest growing religion on Earth, with around 600 million followers. It is estimated that by 2050 they'll be 1 in 10 people worldwide❅. Many millions more in other churches and denominations rejoice in the same experience that the disciples knew on that first Day of Pentecost. This was so much more than just the birthday of the church - it was, and is, its power station!

How much does this matter to you? As Paul the apostle urges us in his writings, are you filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7, Eph. 5:18)? Do you have supernatural power surging under your prayer life, and your witness for Christ? Are you riding the wave of God’s Spirit who is moving so powerfully in all the earth? You can, and you can do so today. Ask someone who knows about this experience and has received their own baptism in the Holy Spirit to share more with you, and to pray with you and for you. Catch the fire today on this Pentecost weekend!

❅Taken from Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is taking over the world' by Elle Hardy.

 

A Coronation Prayer

Hundreds of thousands of people gathering in London and millions more watching around the globe make the Coronation of King Charles lll an unforgettable experience. In a service lasting around two hours in the historic Westminster Abbey the King will be crowned where monarchs have been enthroned for a thousand years. Pomp and ceremony mixed with marching bands and huge numbers of service personnel from Britain and around the Commonwealth will once again show why this country is a leading player when it comes to ceremonial.

The moment of the crowning itself will be a moving one. The Archbishop of Canterbury will lift the St Edward Crown high, and then lower it onto the waiting head of the 73 year old monarch, to cries of 'God save the King!' from the vast invited congregation. The crown itself is heavy and of amazing value. It is formed from 22-carat gold with a circumference of 66 cm (26 in), measures 30 cm (12 in) tall, and weighs 2.23 kg (4.9 lb). Its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. The crown features 444 precious and fine gemstones including 345 rose-cut aquamarines, 37 white topazes, 27 tourmalines, 12 rubies, 7 amethysts, 6 sapphires, 2 jargoons, 1 garnet, 1 spinel, 1 carbuncle and 1 peridot (whatever that is!). By all reckonings it is an extravagant piece of kit.

Christians everywhere and people of good will should be praying that God will bless and help the new king in his unenviable role, especially that of 'Defender of the Faith'. We should not judge him for his past, any more than we would want to be judged ahead of time for our own, nor should we engage in any kind of vain regrets over the sins of the institution of which he is part. The Bible is clear about our responsibility to pray - Paul says 'I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness' (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Our own pastor at Vazon Elim Church in Guernsey, Matt Gregor, has published this in the local press on Coronation Day. 'On behalf of Guernsey Elim Churches, we pray that King Charles will be led by wisdom, discernment, and a deep sense of duty. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide His Majesty and that his reign will be a time of peace, prosperity, and progress for all the people of our nation'.

'Amen to that!'

A Tomb with a View!

 

There is a tomb with a view at the centre of the Easter story. A place of cold grief and bitter tears. A real tomb for a really dead man, not just somewhere for a swooned imposter to await rescue by his fellow conspirators. This is God's tomb, where God the Son tasted death for me. This is the devil's best, an attempt to wipe out the catalogue of miracles and mercy that Jesus wrote in Galilee and substitute his own pathetic offering of "always look on the bright side" and "did God really say..?" doubt.

It doesn't really surprise me that Jesus rose from the dead. He is the Lord of life after all, the creator of all that lives. What is amazing is that the broken body of Jesus lay shattered in this grave for as long as it did. There are all kinds of ideas as to what Jesus might have been doing during those days and nights, but for me the great miracle of Easter is that God entered human broken-ness at its lowest and darkest. Smashed by evil men, bloodied, crushed and discarded, - "this is my body, broken for you".

And the view from the tomb of Jesus is magnificent. Its light casts a quick flicker of hope over a place of suffering and pain, Golgotha or Calvary, and slowly expands towards the brilliant dawn that is already starting to change the colours we see only through our tears. Yes, this is God's tomb, but much more than that - it is MY tomb as well. For, in the words of the Apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20). The old me is dead and buried, and just as Jesus breaks forth from the tomb outside Jerusalem, so I am set free by Christ from self, from having to impress others, even from the fear of death itself.

I am grateful that God knows what it feels like to suffer and die, and be laid in a tomb by weeping loved ones. I am glad that he understands my pain, and yours, and that he comes to us on our 'silent Saturdays' and dark nights of the soul. But I'm also rejoicing that the tomb is no longer in use as a grave. The Lord of life and glory could not be held by those chains of death. 

And here's an offer you won't see in many catalogues - it can be YOUR tomb as well! "Oh thanks Eric" I can hear you say "that's all I need on top of everything else I am suffering". But that's the whole point, this tomb is the place where you can lay your sufferings down, and your achievements, and stop trying to impress God and others. You can be identified with Jesus in His death also, and rise with Him to a completely new life! It may be Easter Saturday, but hey - Sunday's coming!

Crowned with Thorns

Why did Jesus wear a crown of thorns? This cruel form of punishment was inflicted on him by the crowds of Roman soldiers gathered in the Praetorium or barracks in Jerusalem at the time of Christ.

In Britain the Coronation of the new king is coming on the 6th May 2023 , when a crown of gold, containing nearly 3,000 diamonds, over 270 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies, lined with velvet and weighing more than 2lbs will be lifted up on to King Charles' head. The day will focus on him – but the crowning of Jesus as king was focussed on us. On the first Good Friday, Jesus bore a crown of thorns. Why?

1. To Reverse the Curse. There is a curse in creation - there has been since the beginning of time, when sin and rebellion entered the human race. Thorns were a sign of that curse on the earth due to sin. ‘To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it”, cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field’. (Gen. 3:17-18). Due to mankind’s rebellion & sin Jesus now bore the effects of the curse, and its sign, upon himself. The crown of thorns was a sign of victory.
   
2. To Take our Place. King Charles will be crowned to take his own place, but King Jesus was crowned to take yours and mine. In Genesis 22 is the story of the ram caught in the thornbush that was sacrificed in place of Abraham's son. Isaac lived because the ram took his place. Barabbas was a terrorist killer, but on Good Friday the cross that was prepared for him was occupied by Jesus. John Stott wrote: ‘How then could God express simultaneously his holiness in judgement and his love in pardon?  Only by providing a divine substitute for the sinner, so that the substitute would receive the judgement and the sinner the pardon’ (The Cross of Christ).
3. To Set us Free from our Thorns! We all face stuff that we can’t sort out on our own. Thorns of hate, of pride, of betrayal, of failure, of binding habits that we can’t break. Some folks are in the grip of addictions – to smoking, to pornography, to gambling, to dangerous sex, all these are reasons why thorns were placed onto Jesus head. It is at the cross that we can be set free. Romans 6:14 reads‘For sin shall no longer be your master’. When King Jesus rules in our lives the thorns can no longer hold us back. He wore that crown of thorns for you and me. That's the point of Good Friday!

 

Need a hug today?

I spent a few days as a patient in my local hospital a few months ago and watched a very moving scene. I was near the nursing station and opposite me was a bay containing a couple of elderly men obviously struggling with the effects of dementia. One of them was very vocal, night and day, much to the annoyance of others. He was also quite mobile, wandering the unit and bothering staff and patients alike in his confusion.

One morning he was standing unsteadily beside his bed obviously trying to dress himself and failing to manage the buttons on a shirt. I watched as a young nurse, dressed in the dark blue of a senior staff nurse, placed herself directly in front of him, taking the time to button up each one of them for him. Unexpectedly, she then reached out to embrace him and hugged him at length as if he was her own father! I was deeply moved by the demonstration of such love from this skilled professional, and the patient seemed strangely quietened and comforted by it too. The hug was not prescribed medicine, but it did appear to be effective. It was care without reserve, compassion without embarrassment. 

Human beings thrive on physical connections, and hugging is one of the most powerful ways to show physical support. Babies do well when they are touched and held. It appears that there is no better way of showing them our love and care, helping them to feel protected and cherished. This continues through life, even though the traditional British stiff upper lip of years ago played down the importance of outward displays of affection. 

Some studies have shown that hugging and being hugged can relieve stress levels, even lowering blood pressure. It can also boost self-esteem at all stages in life, and in the case of the nurse even managed to convey her compassion and love when the normal faculties had been reduced by the scourge of dementia. A hug can also communicate feelings of safety, love, and connection to a greater community. When we are feeling down or lost, a hug can help ground us and remind us that we belong.

Hugging improves relationships. This is largely because it is another form of communication that can transmit messages and feelings that words can’t. It’s a deeper, more intimate level of connection that you simply don’t get from talking. A Christian counsellor I know even suggested that we need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs a day for maintenance, and 12 for growth!

The Bible has a lot to say about hugging. When brothers Jacob and Esau had been through a major breach, falling out over inheritance, their emotional reconciliation was sealed with a hug in the book of Genesis. The same happened when Joseph was reunited with the brothers who had betrayed him into slavery in Egypt and he could not refrain from hugging them. When St Paul was leaving Ephesus for the last time in the book of Acts, a whole lot of people lined up to hug him.

But the best portrayal of the power of hugging comes from Jesus himself. He told the story of a young man who took his share of his father’s money and wasted it in a far country with a binge of extravagant and reckless living. Finally, he ended up penniless, working for a pig-farmer. When he came to his senses in the pigsty he realised that he needed to go home to his father but was really scared about how he would be received. While he was still a long way off, however, the Dad saw him and ran out to hug and kiss his rebellious boy. The embrace of forgiveness and acceptance was enough to change the young man for ever.

A church I know about handed out cards with this message: ‘Hugging feels good, dispels loneliness, chases fear, builds self-esteem, slows down ageing, eases tension, exercises arm muscles, and is environmentally friendly. Hugging is portable, energy efficient, free at the point of use, makes even happy days happier, and saves heat!’ 

Maybe we should all wear a badge saying, ‘I need a hug today’!

 

Anointed to serve?

The anointing of British kings and queens at their coronation has remained shrouded in mystery for hundreds of years, but modern media are spilling the beans, or at least the recipe! The holy oil, or charism, which will be used to anoint King Charles III during his coronation on 6 May has reportedly been consecrated at a ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Friday this week.

According to international news media the anointing oil was created using olives which had been harvested from groves on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.

The olives were pressed just outside Bethlehem before being perfumed with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber as well as orange blossom. The news outlet reports that the special anointing oil, was prayed over by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem. 

None of this will surprise us as Christians as we have known from our studies of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that anointing oil was used to inaugurate new kings, priests and prophets, as well as part of the daily temple worship of God. In the New Testament, despite the total change that the coming of Jesus brings, and the end of the religious practices of Judaism, anointing oil continued to have a place. In healing, for instance, (James 5:14) but also in connection with the death of Jesus. In advance of his sufferings, a woman who was really grateful for his help and forgiveness took an alabaster box of anointing oil (probably being saved for her own nuptials) and broke it over the head of Jesus. Jesus commended her for her faith and the prophetic element of her action.

But it is as a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s anointing and power that I tend to think of the fragrant oil. That dear woman who anointed Jesus would have smelt just like him afterwards, and people might have said ‘she smells just like Jesus!’ when they passed her by. I want King Charles to reign under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and will pray for him to do so. But I also want to bear the fragrance of Christ through my own life by the anointing of His Spirit. So, I pray the words of an old chorus: ‘Oh for a new anointing, Lord’, once again.

Go Easy on Yourself!

My New Years’ resolutions are already in tatters. Unlike the Christmas trees that were mulched recently that will at least benefit the environment by their swift passing, my resolutions are not doing me much good already. My path into 2023 was paved with good intentions, until the tarmac of daily reality spread its bland choking cover over most of them. Ah well, try again next year I suppose.

But there is one thing that I am resolved to do this year and that is be kinder to myself! Now, in case of being misunderstood, let me explain. Jesus once famously said ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. In other words, if you don’t love yourself you are not going to have much to offer your neighbour. As the flight attendants on the holiday flight jets put it during their safety briefings, ‘you must put on your own oxygen mask before helping someone else’.

I have always struggled to put into practice the second part of this command of Jesus. I come from a tradition that teaches that if you want joy – JOY – then it comes from putting Jesus first, others next and yourself last of all. The problem with that is that sometimes you just can’t put others before yourself simply because you are exhausted and have nothing left to give.

Huge numbers of people have limped into 2023 utterly exhausted. We are tired from nearly three years of fighting a global pandemic that threatened to kill us, along with the grief felt for the millions who did die from it. Having spent huge amounts of time isolated from human company, travel and seeing family and friends, has taken its toll. Our children have missed out so much socially and even educationally. Our confidence in governments and institutions has taken a pounding. People to whom we thought we owed our life and safety have now disappeared from public view or worse still, are grubbing around on reality tv shows. Even royalty is taxing our patience and trust.

And what of this New Year? A cost-of-living crisis that scares most sensible people and a virtual general strike in the UK, and all this against the backcloth of a cruel war in Ukraine that is tugging at all our bank balances as well as our hearts. Thank God there are signs of hope in the strength of communities like our own where we do gather round those in need, but even here in Guernsey the gap between those who have a lot, and those who have little or nothing, is getting wider.

So, let’s pause, breathe, and remember where we have come from. And let’s be grateful that we are not alone. If we remind ourselves of who we are and where we have been, we should be thankful for what we have overcome. In some ways it is amazing that we are still going (I often think that when I look back over my long journey with chronic ill health and multiple hospitalisations). The Bible says: ‘It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his loving-kindness begins afresh each day’. 

Understanding this brings us peace, but it also helps us to have compassion, upon ourselves and on others. Most of the world’s citizens need a little extra kindness at the moment. So, instead of berating myself for messing up the diet, or failing to read as often, run every day, plunge myself into cold water and so on, or even pray as much as I had hoped, I am determined to tread gently, to go more slowly, into this year. Maybe that will even help me see the needs of others around me more clearly, as well as have the resources to do something about them in time.

Amidst the chaos and demands of modern life, try to find space for small pockets of silence. Allow the healing you need to do its own God-given work in your weary mind and body. Be kind to yourself and discover the stream of love that flows from the heart of God above. Give yourself a break!