Trinity 14 Year A – Season of Creation Ezekiel 47:9-12; John 7:37-39 A couple of days ago, I received an email from the diocesan finance department, asking why I had used 64% more water than expected in the last quarter. The email frustrated me, because of course, like everyone else, we have been doing everything we can to keep our water usage to an absolute minimum. Our paddling pool which was full before the hosepipe ban came in, we painstakingly emptied into our three water butts, so that we could continue to water the garden, with the salvaged water. I made the decision to only water the tomatoes, and one other pot, in the garden and only ever from the water butts or grey water from the kitchen. So I was frustrated, when I felt accused of consuming way more than my fair share of water … and no doubt the diocese is frustrated because they have got to pay for it. What made it all the more annoying, was that this is not the first time it has been suggested our water usage is more than expected. This has been going on for the last 18 months, every time a bill comes in. We have been asked to look for leaks, when we couldn’t find any, a plumber was sent. Then nothing happened until the next bill and we did the same, checked for leaks and confirmed we couldn’t find anything a miss … And so the cycle has continued, until this final bill. After a quick email to the property and finance department, at 8.30am the next morning, I had a builder on my doorstep, and the leak has been located, somewhere in the pipe leading from the mains to the house … sadly, unlike here at St. Johns, it has not turned our grass green and revealed itself to us over the recent dry months. And so hopefully in the next week or so the problem will be resolved. This summer we have been visibly reminded of the importance of water! We have been asked to do what we can to conserve water, with most of the country having hosepipe bans. We have seen the devasting effects of wild fires ripping through parched lands. We have been reminded how important water is to us. This morning, we begin the season of creation, this years theme is ‘living water’ which was picked up on in our bible readings. Ezekiels vision reframes water – the most basic element of life – as a divine agent of renewal, justice and hope, a life-giving force flowing from God’s sanctuary. The vision begins with a small trickle – droplets of water flowing from the place of prayer and sacrifice. From a tiny stream it grows to an unstoppable river – the first marvel. The river grows as it flows from the temple, nourished by the worship and prayers of God’s people. But the second marvel is greater still. The river does not merely sustain life, it restores entire ecosystems. The prophet saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on one side and on the other. But we face a water crisis. According to the united nations, 1.7 billion people lack basic hygiene services at home, and 2.1 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, that is 1 in 4 people on the globe. As climate change intensifies, and groundwater extraction increases, several countries are now reaching a so-called ‘point of water bankruptcy’ that is a condition marked by irreversible losses of natural water capital. Although access to drinking water is a human right for all, the multifaceted water crisis disproportionately affects vulnerable communities, future generations, and non-human life that has no voice in political or economic systems. The impact on ecosystems and biodiversity is devastating: according to the world wide fund for nature, we are facing catastrophic declines in aquatic wildlife, with freshwater populations dropping by a staggering 85% and marine populations by 56% in the last 50 years. From a theological perspective, this crisis reflects broken relationships – between humankind and God, within the human family itself and between human beings and other living beings. Ezekiels vision however is ultimately one of hope. As co-workers with the creator, our relationship with non-human creation should be grounded in the biblical vision of creation as an interconnected community of life. This relationship is one of sacred partnership and mutual custodianship rather than domination. Pope Francis described it as ‘A relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature.’ We are called to confront the aforementioned injustices and to reject a worldview that treats water as a disposable resource. On every continent, inspired by our faith, Christians are acting: rivers are being restored, water sources are being protected from pollution and extractive industries – and arid lands are becoming green again. Wells are being dug and water provided for parishes, villages and health care centres. Scripture repeatedly associates water with divine healing and renewal. Think of Naaman dipping himself in the Jordan river, and the healing of the paralysed man sitting by the pool. Ezekiel himself is immersed progressively deeper into the river, echoing baptismal imagery and symbolising transformation. Earlier in the book of Ezekiel, God promises cleansing, a new heart and a new spirit precisely through water. We are reminded of the water and blood that flowed for healing from Jesus’ side. As believers we are promised that if we receive and accept the water from the temple – that is, God’s healing – then ‘rivers of living water’ will also flow from our hearts. As we are healed and renewed – living water will also flow from us for the healing of others and of creation. This years symbol for the season of Creation, immersion in Living water – is a symbol of renewal and birth: water flowing from the temple as a sign of God’s caring and healing for us. We are called to step into the water, until we are so deep that we must depend on God’s grace to sustain us. Those who receive this water are invited to become sources of life for others, allowing God’s love to flow through them into the world. And thus the water of God will become in us ‘a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ And so as we reflect on this image, how might we as individuals and as a community be springs of life? What small or bigger actions can we take to protect and preserve our precious water supplies? We have been reminded of the living power of water in the last few days, when just a little water falling from the sky, has begun to transform our hedges and grasses … with a fresh green colour once more. There is always hope – there is always something we can do. So we are going to have a moment to reflect and perhaps chat together if that is helpful, but think about what actions you might take as individuals and what we might be able to do as a church, and as you do you might colour in a fish to go on our ‘Season of Creation’ display, making that your pledge, your prayer, your response
Trinity 13 Year A – Pilgrimage talk part 3 – Genesis 12:1-9; Luke 24:13-35 The first time I met Brooke, was in a launderette whilst staying in Puenta La Reina, 4 days into our walk. Having found ourselves, my sister Avril was with me at the time, in a hotel come hostel, with launderette facilities, we decided to try them out. Having waited for some time to get a free machine, as you do, we had just loaded it and pressed start when Brooke rushed in asking if we had seen a sock. No, we hadn’t and of course a quick search around revealed nothing. I didn’t think much more about the encounter until I was folding my laundry a short while later, and found an odd sock, one of the Kintoe socks, much desired by walkers … and realised it must have been in with my washing all the time. The challenge now was to find Brooke. Avril suggested we took the sock to supper with us … that way if we saw the lady from the laundrette (obviously we didn’t know her name at that time) we could pass it to her. We ate our meal, but we didn’t see her. Keen to reunite sock with owner, I can’t emphasize enough how important socks are on the Camino … we decided to hand it into reception. Although it was by now a very clean sock, having been washed twice, you would have thought we were passing the receptionist something truly horrific, anyway she took it, rather reluctantly, and we decided to just trust that all would be well. The next morning, as we ate breakfast, Brooke walked in, Avril recognised her and we went across, and told her that her sock was now at the reception desk, to say that she was thankful would be an understatement. Over the next few days, we would get to know Brooke, from Australia quite well, often bumping into her in the evenings. She was walking the Camino with a friend, and like me would be joined by her partner from Sarria. Her scheduled walk, had her arriving in Santiago several days ahead of me, and so when a few days after Avril left, Brooke vanished, I wasn’t too surprised, realising that she must have simply got ahead of me. What did surprise me however, was her turning up again when me and Geraint got to Palais de Rei, with just 3 days of walking left. we walked into a restaurant for an evening meal, and there she was, by now with her two walking companions. For the next few days are paths crossed, as they do on the Camino, quite regularly. On the last day, our walk into Santiago, it seemed our paths were constantly crossing, and there was one thing that seemed to be occupying our minds. From arriving in Galicia, the final region you walk through on the Camino, the marker signs, informed you of distance, not just in KM’s but in Km’s and meters. All of sudden, from Sarria onwards, particularly on reaching the 100km to go point, those KM’s and Meters seemed to disappear at an astonishing rate. Our preoccupation was about what next, what do you do when you haven’t got to just get up and walk every day, how to you return well back into your normal everyday life. As our steps took us ever closer into Santiago, we reflected on how we simply didn’t know how we felt … it was in many ways too overwhelming to put into words, so many emotions, but I think for me, and for Brooke, the biggest one, was that although we had made it, which was an achievement, we didn’t really want it to end. And so, I wanted the markers to slow down, I wanted time to slow down … I wanted to stay in the moment, to just be there for a little longer. Over the last few weeks, we have been reflecting on the call of Abram and the disciples on the road to Emmaus. In our reading from Genesis, there is almost that sense, that from time to time Abram wants things to slow down, is looking to stay in the moment, as he waits for the Lord to show him the place that he will settle. In Canaan, he builds an altar to the Lord, the Lord having appeared to him and told him ‘To your offspring, I will give this land.’ And then again, he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and built an altar to the Lord, and called on the Lord, before continuing to the Negev. These were places where Abram had significant spiritual encounters with God, and so he built altars, and I suspect a part of him might just have wanted to linger for just a little while longer, to slow down time, to simply be in the moment. And of course, we don’t know exactly how long Abram and Sarai might have stayed in these places, but their journey always continued on until they settled in the Land the Lord would show them. As the disciples reach Emmaus, seeing that the man that had walked beside them, making their hearts burn within them as they talked, looked like he was going to carry on … they urged him strongly ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ And so he went in to stay with them. I can sense the disciples desire to just hold onto this moment for a little longer, to be in the present … to just linger. And so how excited they must be, seeing this man coming to join them. But of course, as he breaks bread, and their eyes are opened to realising that they have been walking with the risen Lord all this time, Jesus vanishes from their sight. And rather than staying in moment, they find themselves jumping up and returning, one can only imagine with great haste, back to Jerusalem, where they are met by the eleven and those assembled with them saying ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and appeared to Simon.’ Before they add their personal testimony, of their encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and how they recognised him in the breaking of the bread. And so those final steps into Santiago, we walked in with Brooke and her companions. I tried to savour every moment, to try and process all my emotions, to soak up the atmosphere. But as that journey finished, I knew that it was only one part of the much bigger journey of faith that we all travel. And so I came back, and of course, I was very excited to see family once more and to be back in my own bed, to not have the spectre of a different hotel room each night wondering where the light switches if I needed them in the middle of the night. As I have come back, I have been reminded that with God, nothing is static, everything is always moving and shifting, just as you think you might know where things are going, God, opens our eyes to a new direction and a new way of thinking, and makes our hearts sing afresh. Some of the changes as I have returned to the parishes have been really painful and unexpected, and the impact I know will be felt for sometime to come, others of course are more joyful, but as in all things God has a plan, and will show us the path that is set before us. 4 days before the Camino ended, we arrived in Portomarin on Pentecost Sunday, and having arrived, I thought I would just double check the service times, normally 8pm, Monday – Saturday the guide book told me, but at 12.30 on a Sunday, but just perhaps, this being Pentecost Sunday, there might be another service. The guide book, as it turned out, was correct and so at 3pm in the afternoon, we had missed any services, but went to have a look around this lovely church anyway. A church that literally had been moved brick by brick, from the valley floor in old Portomarin to new Portomarin, when the river was dammed and the reservoir filled, literally a church on the move, the numbers on the bricks still visible, to aid getting it all put back in the right order. Anyway, we popped into the church, and as I sat there reflecting on the Pentecost story, of the disciples being filled by the Holy Spirit, and leaving the safe surroundings of the upper room, going into the market place, I was struck by the open door of the church. A door which welcomes us in … yes … but we also have to leave … and go back out into the world, that is where the Holy Spirit is always propelling us, we can never stay exactly where we are … there is always something new around the corner, that of course may cause us to be fearful, but each step of the way the Holy Spirit is there to equip us, Jesus promises to travel alongside us, making our hearts burn within us, and God knows the plans he has for us. So this week, as you reflect on the final leg of our mini pilgrimage across the parishes, some questions to ponder in your quiet times. When have you felt the pull to stay, and linger? What made that moment special? Where is God leading you today, where do you sense God is leading us a group of churches? How might we look more like a church on the move? Let’s pray Lord of our Journey, we thank you that, as you walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, you walk with us each and every day, opening up your scriptures afresh to us, and inviting us to share in your ministry in the world. May your Holy Spirit fill us afresh today, renew us and excite us for the journey you have set before us, individually and as a group of Churches. In Jesus name we pray.
Through all the changing scenes of life For the last couple of months, I have been on an extended study leave, and for a large amount of that time, I have been walking the Camino Frances, starting in St. Jean Pied de Port in France and walking to Santiago in Spain, about 500 miles, definitely more when you add in the scenic detours to places of interest along the way, and walking around all the towns I stayed in, in the evening. One thing that struck me very quickly as I walked through some outstandingly beautiful countryside, was how varied the landscape could be, one day I would be walking through vineyards, the next through woodlands, and the next through wheatfields. I was also struck by how much further on the crops were than the ones in this country. As I was walking past fields of knee-high wheat at the end of April, there were bright red poppies showing their faces, something that we would not expect to see in the UK that early on. As I have adjusted back to life in the King’s Ridge Parishes, of course, we have had an extremely dry and hot summer, the harvest of the fields being mostly gathered in by the end of July. In September our minds turn to Harvest in our churches and giving thanks for the abundance and many good gifts that we are given, and a reminder to share from our plenty, with those whose harvests have been poor. As I walked through the many changing landscapes of the Camino Frances, I was reminded of a hymn, the first verse of which goes, ‘Through all the changing scenes of life, in trouble and in joy, the praises of my God shall still, my heart and tongue employ.’ Our lives take us through many landscapes, some which bring us overwhelming joy, and others which bring us heartache and pain, but as we go through each and every one, Jesus walks the path with us, and so we can still sing our praises to God. I pray that you will know Gods blessing and presence with you, in whichever landscape you are journeying through today. Rev Heather
Genesis 12:1-9 & Luke 24:13-35Alongside walking everyday on the Camino, there was the daily challenge of finding food, which was sometimes quite tricky. Most of my evening meals were in the form of a ‘Pilgrim supper,’ being a vegetarian made my choices at times rather interesting, including a rather unforgettable, but definitely unrepeatable pickled mushroom salad, I did wonder if you should pickle a mushroom, and decided you definitely shouldn’t.One of my favourite pilgrim suppers, was when I was staying in Villafranca de Montes de Oca, not to be confused of course with Villafranca del Beirzo, another place I happened to stay on my travels.As I sat down to eat, I found myself on a table with a man from Belgium, who spoke a little bit of English but no Spanish, and a man from Spain, who spoke nothing other than Spanish. As we pondered how we were going to overcome this rather obvious language barrier, we were joined by a young lady from France, who has an Italian boyfriend, and so is able to use her knowledge of Italian to converse in Spanish, and of course had perfect English. Thus started a very enjoyable meal together, with our wonderful translator.As we began our deserts, our Spanish friend, thought it would be fun to see if we could work out what we all did for a living, asking simple questions and getting yes, no, responses in return. We started with trying to guess his occupation, it took a while, but as it turned out he was a coroner … Next it was the turn of the French lady, a professional violinist … and then it was meAs they began to ask me questions, I was becoming more and more aware of the fact that what I do, might actually be rather challenging to them, we were after all walking through a catholic country, and catholic priests are not women.It took quite some time, and a couple of hints, but finally the penny dropped, ‘are you a priest?’ Yes. My anxiety, that this would be met was abject horror, was not realised, they were all quite excited to meet a female priest as it turned out, asking lots of questions, before we finally moved on to our friend from Belgium, who maintained medical equipment.After a lovely meal, we parted, and never saw each other again.This was one of only a few times when I was asked what I did. The first time, was actually a few days before, when I was chatting to an American couple I often bumped into at my morning coffee stops, we always got chatting and one day the conversation turned to what we did in our normal lives … I said I was a priest. They were delighted to hear I was a priest, but were curious as to why I wasn’t wearing a dog collar whilst walking, after all, their priest, who had walked the Camino the previous year, and indeed had inspired and encouraged them to do the same, had done so whilst wearing a dog collar which had opened up for her all sorts of conversations along the way. People actively seeking her out for spiritual guidance.And so I spent several days, pondering the question of to wear a dog collar or not .. that’s a whole other reflection in and of itself.Perhaps my vocation may have been instantly recognisable had I worn a dog collar, but was that the point of this particular journey.For me, there was something very special about us all just being fellow pilgrims along the way, coming from all walks of life, but with one shared purpose to get to our destination, whatever that might be. Making connections with one another, allowing conversations to open up and seeing where they might lead.Last week, I introduced you to Brett, my American, Ex-serviceman friend, for whom walking the Camino was all about the physical challenge and Rennie, walking the Camino to try and make sense of the difficult things happening in her life.One morning over breakfast, Brett asked me what I did, and then the conversation rather awkwardly and quickly moved on to other things. It wasn’t until a couple of days later, when we found ourselves on a taxi transfer together, that he had obviously decided it was time to find out a little more. He wanted to know what had made me become a priest and so for the next 30 minutes, I shared my story, and he asked lots of questions about faith. I quickly realised that there was far more going on, than just the physicality of this walk for Brett, Brett was seeking something spiritual too as he walked.All too soon, the taxi dropped us off at our starting point for the day, and we went on our way.A couple of days later, as I was walking into Leon, as he often did, he passed me, I was taking a photo, unsuprisingly, but realising that this would probably be the last time we would meet, as I was having a rest day in Leon and he wasn’t, he had just one final question …I can’t remember now what the question was, or indeed how I answered it, although I can remember exactly where we were, but I have to pray, that for him, it was at least a step on his journey to knowing Jesus as his Lord and saviour.Rennie and Karey, found out what I did over supper one night, we shared a common past, in that we had all been nurses at one point, they had both retired, and of course, my path had changed, but we had a lot in common with each other.Again it wasn’t until a few days later, when we were sharing breakfast together, that Rennie took me to one side to find out more, and so again I found myself sharing my story, and answering her questions about where is God in all the pain of this world … challenging stuff over the first coffee of the day. As I mentioned last week, Rennie was not a Christian, but did attend the pilgrim masses with Karey, and did find them comforting. Again, I don’t know, how any of what I said that morning landed, whether it opened up a door in her heart to encountering Jesus for herself or not. But I continue to pray for both Brett and Rennie, and for the many others that walked the Camino in search of answers, that they did encounter Jesus, and with the disciples on the road to Emmaus exclaimed ‘did our hearts not burn within us.’As Jesus walked alongside those disciples on the way to Emmaus, he was not immediately recognisable to them, but he met them where they were, he connected with them. Without my ‘dog collar’ it was not immediately apparent to others that I may have been a priest, it was only after spending time with people, building a connection, that they might have asked more. And having made that connection, having built that relationship, they were not afraid to find out more, and presented an opportunity for me, in my own small way to open up the scriptures to them.But of course, this is not just the work of priests, this is the work of each and every one of us. All of us are called to go and make disciples of all nations, we are all called to share our faith with others.And we do that best, when we simply walk beside others, physically sometimes, but more often than not metaphorically.When we are alongside others, connecting to them, building relationships then opportunities arise and we are able to share with others our love of God and open the scriptures to them.So that their hearts may burn within them.Todays card inside your service sheet, is a picture I was about to take when I met with Brett for that final time walking into Leon, I took it after we had finished our conversation, he can just about be seen walking into the distance. Questions to ponder this coming week …Who is it that you are walking alongside today?Who is on your heart?Who do you pray will encounter Jesus for themselves?I want to encourage you to pray for opportunities to share your faith with them this week.As I close, let me use the second verse of the hymn we have just sung as our prayer.Our hearts are filled with thankfulness, to Him who walks beside, who floods our weaknesses with strength and causes fears to fly; whose every promise is enough for every step we take, sustaining us with arms of love, and crowning us with grace.Amen
