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Parish Magazine |
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Parish Magazine is published monthly with news and articles about our Parish life
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Here is Father Michael's article from the latest edition of the magazine |
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Homily for Ash Wednesday
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I can remember falling over as a child and grazing my knee – like most children this was a fairly regular occurrence. I can remember hobbling to my mum all battered and bruised by the latest tumble and she did what mum’s do, she scooped me up, gave me a hug, told me everything would be ok and kissed my knee better. To be perfectly honest the kiss didn’t make the knee stop stinging, it still needed some antiseptic and a bandage – I am not quite sure why, but the kiss certainly helped. As I grew up my mum continued to act in the same way, when I was upset because it was my heart rather than my knee that was broken, or the exams hadn’t gone well. She’d scoop me up in an embrace, tell me everything would be ok and give me a kiss to make me better. Like the knee, the kiss didn’t take away the need to sort out a complicated relationship or re-sit a failed exam – I am not quite sure why, but the kiss certainly helped. I think the love of God is bit like this – it doesn’t magically take away pain, it doesn’t solve the problems or challenges we face but knowing that we are held in the palm of God’s hand, knowing that, whatever happens, nothing can separate us from God’s love, knowing that God is always there to pick us up and kiss us better, means that we are better equipped to face the pain, difficulties and challenges of life. Our Lent Course this year is based on a chapter from the Prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 40. This was written at a time when the people of Israel were dispersed, many were in exile in Babylon. Their temple had been destroyed, their nation was in ruins, they were surrounded by stronger nations, many of them aggressive. They were bereft and fearful – they didn’t feel at all as though they were God’s chosen people, God appeared to have abandoned them. And then the prophet Isaiah begins to speak to them of God’s comfort. He speaks to them of God coming to them in the wilderness, lifting up the valleys and lowering the mountains – ‘the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the people shall see it.’ he says in verse 5. Isaiah chapter 40 is God picking up his people and kissing them better. They still have work to do, a temple, a nation and lives to rebuild – but as they do all these things they are made aware by the words of Isaiah of the unconditional love of God surrounding them and holding them. |
When I was a hospice chaplain I used to say that my work was like being a spiritual potholer. It was my job to travel with people in the wilderness, to the darkest, most inhospitable places, places where it felt you were isolated and alone, a million miles away from God, and in those dark places I prayed that the light of God’s presence, the light of God’s love would shine, and it did. Sometime like a spluttering candle in a strong breeze, but in my experience the light has never gone out. The darkness and pain of Good Friday reveals to us that God has been to and inhabits all the potentially dark, empty and painful places we can ever go to in our lives – he is always there before us, ready to lead us to new love, new life, resurrection. As the psalmist says in Psalm 139 verses 7-10
7
Where can I go from your Spirit?
8 If
I go up to the heavens, you are there;
9 If
I rise on the wings of the dawn,
10
even there your hand will guide me,
As we begin our journey through Lent let us rejoice in the unconditional love of God that holds us. It doesn’t take away all the pain and it doesn’t magically put things right, but it gives us confidence and it gives us hope, as St Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Fr Michael 523969 |
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