From the Minister’s Study

God of the second chance
I love the golden autumn colours, but I find The Spring colours somewhat special. One of the things I love about Spring is the surge of energy that pulsates through the whole of creation giving birth to a host of new beginnings. New buds appearing on bushes, new blossom bursting from cherry trees, new primroses peeping from hedgerows, new aconites and snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells popping up in gardens and meadows, carols from blackbirds and thrushes. All these emerge from almost nowhere. The world not only looks and sounds different, but it smells different. This season is a constant reminder of a God who creates out of nothing, the ‘God of the impossible’.

One of the accusations labelled against Jesus was that He said he could destroy the temple and built it in three days. Jesus was talking metaphorically referring to his own death, but the Jews misconstrued Him to be referring to the Jerusalem temple. He proved the point by dying and rising again: an impossible feat that no other human being has achieved.

The story of the prodigal son, as recorded in Luke 15:12–24, illustrates the Easter message, especially the father’s words ". . . We will have a feast and a celebration. For this my son – I thought he was dead, and he’s alive again. I thought I had lost him, and he’s found . . ." Just as, in spring, life seems to pour from the ground into every bud and blade of grass, so it could be the spring times of our lives, as the message of Easter testy of God’s ability to give new life. The realisation of a God of all impossibility is not good enough. There is need to appropriate that reality in our lives. As in the story of the prodigal son, the son had demanded from his father the inheritance, which would one day come to him, left home with it and lived as though his father never existed. For a while he enjoyed his freedom to the full. But famine and fast-dwindling funds stopped him in his tracks. Thoughts of home and father surfaced. A sudden surge of energy turned the whisper of a suggestion into a resolve: "I will go home to my father" Lk.15:18.

Although God’s love is always beckoning us back to Him, however wayward, we human beings have a tendency of living as if God never existed, sometimes reminded of Him by dwindling provisions of this life, sometimes by illness or sometimes by other life’s tragedies. Pascal, the French philosopher, once made the remark "We could not seek God unless He had already found us".

Having explained how the younger son had resolved to return home, Jesus placed the spotlight in his parable on the waiting father. The story relates how, while the son was still a long way from home, the father saw his son Luke 15:20, implying that the father it would seem was searching for the first sign of his son return home. The moral of this story is that God loves us like that. God is not an austere, aloof, unapproachable Other. His love for us is so strong that He even plants within us the longing for Him, that eventually reaches out for him. Then He waits patiently until we respond to His love. As 1 John 4:10 puts it, "In this is love, not that we loved God but that He first loved us and sent His son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins."

May we this Easter time, not only remember the God of all impossibility but reflect on our relationship to Him, resolve to return to Him, the source of all new life. In the words of Gerard Manley Hopkins, in his, The Wreck of the Deutschland, may we ‘. . . Let God Easter in us, be a day-spring to the dimness of us. . . "

In Jesus
Daniel

A lady was nervous about her appointment with the dentist. As was her custom, before she left home, she sought comfort by reading the text for the day from her calendar.

The text was psalm 81:10: Open your mouth and I will fill it’

What’s Lent?

Aim for perfection (2 Corinthians 13:11)
Wouldn’t it be nice to be perfect? Yet Jesus once said that we must be as perfect as he was (Matthew 5:48), or to aim at it! The verse from 2 Corinthians above can also be translated, ‘Grow in Christ’ (The Living Bible). But how do we achieve such a thing?

There has long been confusion over the two Christian words, ‘Justification’ and ‘Sanctification’. Both are jargon, but both are indispensable. Justification means that we are given a place in Heaven when we die – all we have to do is to acknowledge that we are sinners, and take Jesus as our Lord. Jn 3:16 phrases it this way, ‘God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not die but have everlasting life’. Or, put another way, Jesus paid the price of the entrance ticket to Heaven. It’s free, and in no way did we do anything to deserve it.

And the second word, ‘sanctification’ means ‘to make holy’. A common ‘rule of thumb’ definition of sanctification is ‘to become more like Jesus’. This growth into holiness is seen in the life of a believer and is an inevitable result of the Holy Spirit living within us. Galatians 5:22 lists the so-called fruits of the Holy Spirit as ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, thankfulness, selflessness and self control’.

Unlike justification, though, sanctification is not a free undeserved gift. It will involve hard work – principally against the devil who cannot abide holiness in any shape or form. As soon as we choose to be holy, we will be diverted, distracted and in any possible way knocked off course, away from Jesus. This is why St Paul tells us to strive toward holiness.

Unfortunately, the word ‘strive’ has developed two separate meanings in the modern Church. Firstly, it means to do anything possible, in order to allow God to act in our lives. The second, similar meaning, is to work with all our might to overcome the perversities of our human nature. The first definition means, in effect, enabling the Holy Spirit to enter and cause changes in us; the latter definition means being good under our own steam. St Paul, when he tells us to strive toward perfection, follows the first definition. God does the work, and we become more like Jesus.

And this is where Lent comes in. We remember Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness at this time in the Christian calendar. Indeed, we ourselves are tempted during Lent because we often choose to give something up.

It is often necessary to put aside the good things we’re doing in order to do better things. Traditionally, Lent is a time of putting our own desires to one side in an attempt to grow as Christians. Common ideas are self discipline (not eating chocolate is the favourite in Britain). But we can equally well give up a nap in order to pray and study more; many people prefer to ‘take up’ for Lent rather than to ‘give up’ – perhaps they read works of devotion, attend Lent discussion groups (e.g. see page 7).

None of these Lent observances will do us any good unless we recognise the aim of growing as Christians, developing disciplines in our Christian lives. This is why St Peter (in his second epistle) tells us to ‘Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure . . .’ (2 Peter 1:10) by ‘Making every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus’ (2 Peter 1:3–8).

St Peter then adds, in verse 10, ‘Through these activities, God has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires’. The bit in italics is St Peter’s way of promising that we can become more like Jesus.

The problem that many Christians have is to confuse justification and sanctification: we cannot earn justification, but we should never ignore the demand for sanctification.

So be determined to grow in holiness this Lent, to become more Christ-like. And to this end, what will we ‘give up’ or ‘take up’ this Lent to achieve this goal? Aim for perfection!

Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, 28 February, is the first day of Lent. It receives its name from a Roman Catholic act of penitence when, on the first day of Lent, ashes were sprinkled on the head. Generally the ashes were the consecrated remains of palm leaves distributed during the previous year’s Palm Sunday service.

The custom is of uncertain date, but is commonly held to have been started by Pope Gregory the Great in the late sixth Century.

Lent
The season of Lent starts on 28 February. The word ‘Lent’ comes from an Old English word lencter which has the literal meaning of ‘lengthening’.

The Saxons gave the name lenctenm
Mnath to the month of March, because in this month the days increased in length.

As a chief part of the great Christian fast between Ash Wednesday and Easter Day falls in March, it received the name of Lectenfast, or just ‘Lent’.

Did You Know?
In the near Middle East, it is a sign of contempt to show someone the sole of your foot, or the heel of your shoe. It is associated with the vicious kick of a horse: unexpected and unearned. Note that Jesus said that the actions of Judas represented a, ‘Showing of his heel’ (see John 13:18).

According to an ancient Jewish tradition, 40 days elapsed between the creation of Adam and Eve and their temptation and subsequent eviction from the Garden of Eden. This length of time was copied by Jesus, ‘The Second Adam’ (see Romans 5), when he was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days (see Luke 4:2), in order to be in God’s presence for the same length of time as Adam and Eve, yet without sinning. It also explains why the Lenten fast (which was introduced in the 4th Century, and originally lasted for 36 days) was increased to 40 days in the 7th Century in order to correspond with Jesus’ vigil.

The myth of the optional option?
For many years I kept a large postcard of a serious looking gorilla on my desk, at least I think it was serious though I was never quite sure. At the bottom of the picture was the comment . . . ‘I may have my faults, but being wrong isn’t one of them!’ I was reminded of this postcard recently when reading the article "The Myth of the Optional Jesus" by Paul Chesworth in January’s Salt and Light, regarding his belief that many Christians seem to be afraid to promote Christianity.

I hasten to add that I am not trying to make any unkind comment as to the appearance of Rev Paul Chesworth, whom I have never met. However, I think it is worth mentioning that there may be other reasons than fear responsible for those who do not advocate his heavyweight approach to evangelism nor put forward his evangelical viewpoint. Strange as it may seem, there are people just as sincere and dedicated as he is, who may not actually agree with him.

No matter how passionately we believe in something, there has to be room for other opinions and other ways than our own. I don’t wish to be negative here, far from it. Humility, and also the willingness to accept that we get things wrong from time to time, should be seen as a strength and not a weakness, as something that appeals to most people outside the Church rather than putting them off.

Confrontation and triumphalism is not the way to impress a culture raised on the background of two World Wars and the Northern Ireland situation. Of course it pays to advertise, but it also appears that the growth of Buddhism in the Western world owes much to the efforts of over-aggressive Christians.

Equally we need to accept the responsibility that our own particular insights are going to be of help to some people. There is little to be lost, and much to be gained when we approach people, if we do not do it under the premise of ‘Reject my viewpoint and you reject Christianity’. Jesus went to great lengths to make the point that you meet him on a personal basis.

The way to win people over is to say what has been of help to you, and if they can also see something in you that they admire, then they may be interested. Far from being essential, whether or not Jesus is exclusive is largely irrelevant in this context. It is also likely that most people are not afraid of dogma as the article suggests, they are merely sick to death of it.

I am told that when you attend Cliff College for any length of time, you are taught an optional extra verse to the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers. It goes . . .

It dares to suggest that the way forward is not through doctrine, on which we can never agree, but through love, on which we can.
Rod Stokes

Irene Dearden (1920–2001)
It was on the 15th of February, while on her way to make a pastoral visit, that Irene collapsed on the roadside having suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. We are told that she would not have known or suffered anything. She was admitted to the Rochdale Infirmary, and was for six weeks in the Critical Care unit, but did not regain consciousness. She died on 21 February 2001, in her 80th year.

Irene was widowed when her sons John and Roy were quite small. It was in 1946, the year that her daughter Irene was born, that the family moved to Rochdale from Tintwistel in Derby shire. Irene had married a Smallbridge lad, Charles Lord Dearden, whose family had long associations with the then Wesley Street Methodist Church.

When the children of the family were small, they attended the congregational Church in Smallbridge; and when this demolished for the widening of the road in 1973, Charles and Irene, together with other members of that Church were received into membership at the now Smallbridge Methodist Church.

Within a very short time, Charles had become a Society Steward and both were members of the Church Council. In 1975, Irene became a Communion Steward, a position she held until her death. There must be few Churches which can boast the care and attention given to the preparation for communion by Irene: she was a perfectionist. Class Leader and Pastoral Visitor, member and Secretary of the Ladies’ Bright Hour were among the positions which she held. There were many times when she was called upon as Organist and Pianist.

Charles, who was also a great inspiration to many of us, died suddenly in 1985, soon after which Irene was able to take his place as Church Steward, serving for almost ten years.

She was a most welcoming door steward. In every post she filled, Irene gave of her best. She was faithful and diligent in her attendance at worship – she cared for people, and was an excellent visitor.
Her family at Smallbridge

March Book review 

See it God’s Way, Word Books, 1986.

Jesus was the most important human being who ever lived. The Early Church had a real, tough love that attracted converts in their thousands even though Christianity was often a fast track to martyrdom. So why are so many churches now so ineffective? Why has the institutionalised Church become flabby and lost its first love?

In this book, leading Christian writers such as John Stott, Tony Campolo and Clive Calver suggest that it is because we have stopped seeing things God’s way. Whatever we are looking at in the world today – major disasters, the New Age movement, urban myths, abortion, ghosts and the supernatural – whatever it is, we need to see it through the lens of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We need to follow Him in whichever part of the modern world we live in.

This book takes modern examples of challenges facing the church to show how we might do that. The book was first written in 1986, so some of the examples are a little dated, but the points made are just as relevant today as they were then. For example, one chapter looks at how a Christian can work within the world of rock music, being very much ‘in the world, but not of it.’ How relevant to those of us involved in youth ministry, and to those of us who regularly pray for one of ‘our’ missionaries, Barry Woodward. Another chapter looks at Ronald Reagan’s Christian faith in the light of his role as President of the United States – again, the question of the faith and practice of the world’s leaders is very much in our minds as we look at the new US administration and at our own New Labour Government and try to decide how we, as Christians, should vote in the coming election.

Other chapters look at issues like the Christian response to disasters, and give a refreshingly non-judgemental response: there are no easy answers and Christians are as baffled as anyone else to explain why God allows catastrophe to overtake ordinary people. One bishop said of the Bradford Football Stadium fire of 1985, in which 54 people were killed: ‘If I try to find a logical reason for what happened I am driven to confusion and despair. ...In the face of such tragedy I can only look up into the face of one who was himself the victim of insensitive, incomprehensible and seemingly pointless suffering and death, who, out of the ashes of tragedy and despair brought, by his resurrection, new life and hope.’

This is the Church on the front line, dealing with life in the secular world and taking on issues we all have to deal with in s strong and fearless way. Using the experience of the well-known Christians who wrote each chapter, we can learn more about how to apply our faith to every area of life in the world of the 21st century.

Indonesia 2000

Genocide of a Christian Minority

The Malukus (also known as the Moluccas, or the Spice Islands), are in the far east of Indonesia. This region is considered to be the home of Indonesian Christianity, but since January 1999, there has been terrible violence between Christians and Muslims there. At least 5,000 Christians have been slaughtered, half a million more have become refugees and many Muslims have also been killed. Some 7,000 Christians have been forcibly circumcised or otherwise violently compelled to convert to Islam, and at least 455 church buildings have been destroyed, as well as countless Christian homes, shops and a Christian university. Many of the refugees are without food, medicine, clothing or shelter.

The situation deteriorated dramatically in May 2000 when the first of an estimated 7000–15,000 Laskar Jihad Islamic warriors began to arrive on the islands: these extremists are now waging a campaign to kill, convert or drive out all Christians from the islands. On Christmas Eve 2000, fifteen bombs exploded simultaneously outside churches across Indonesia, as Christians gathered for the Christmas services. At least 17 people were killed and more than 120, including Muslim passers-by, were injured. Islamic extremists pledged that no church bells would ring out in Ambon, the main city of the Moluccas, last Christmas. Their intention is eventually to eradicate Christians and Christianity from the whole of Indonesia and to make it an Islamic State, governed by Shari’ah (Islamic law).

Although President Wahid, himself a moderate Muslim, has denounced the violence, saying, ‘This is an attempt to destroy Christians by using Islam’, the Indonesian Government has so far failed to put a stop to this horrific violence. The violence is now being spread across Indonesia in an attempt to destabilise the government and create fear and panic. Christians in the Moluccas are calling for UN intervention to end their suffering, as they no longer feel able to rely upon their own government for protection or justice. Moderate Muslims and Christians have demonstrated in Jakarta, calling for urgent intervention in the Moluccas by UN peacekeepers. They argue that what is happening in the Moluccas is nothing short of religious and cultural genocide.

What can we do to help?

1. PRAY for the situation.

2. WRITE to your MP: a letter is enclosed in this magazine for you to sign and post. Or you could write your own letter. (Our MP in Littleborough is Lorna Fitzsimons.)

3. CONTACT the Barnabas Fund, which is sending practical help to the refugees (further details from Jo Monk. Tel: (01706) 374614).

He Mitred known . . .
A Bishop had come to dedicate a new sophisticated public-address system. being unsure of whether the microphone had been switched on or not, he tapped it gingerly with seemingly no audible effect. So, leaning ver close to the microphone, he said in a loud whisper which echoed around the Church,

‘There is something wrong with this microphone’.

The whole congregation – well trained in responding to liturgy – replied with one voice:

‘And also with you!’

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