This weekend we are staying local once again and visiting our Parish Church, Trinity Church in Lower Earley, for our latest Sabbatical Sunday.  Established in the mid-1950s as a partnership between the Methodist, United Reformed and Anglican church, Trinity is situated next door to the large Asda Supermarket complex in Lower Earley and is therefore affectionately known locally as St Asda rather than Trinity … but more about all that later!

In this blog I am reversing the normal order of my reflection – ‘spiritual food’ followed by ‘literal food’ – because Julia and I have decided to forego a large Sunday Lunch this Sunday. ‘Shock! Horror!’ I hear you say in amazement – a couple of ‘foodies’ like you two forsaking an opportunity to visit yet another ‘eatery’ to sample its wares?! Well, we haven’t suddenly repented of our love of good food … its simply that we went out last night, with my son David, his wife Amy, and their boys, George and Luke, to celebrate David’s 50^th birthday. We went to the Horse and Groom, a Harvester Restaurant at Bracknell, halfway between where David and his family live in New Haw and where we live in Reading. We had a great evening, really good food, great service from the staff, and so nice to spend quality time with David, Amy, George and Luke … and they picked up the bill as well!? Well I also have a significant birthday this year. I will be 80 come November, so perhaps they are already into ‘help the aged’?

David’s story is a great one. He was born with a number of serious heart defects and we were warned to expect the worst. At the time he wasn’t expected to reach 5 years of age leave alone 50. A lot of prayer was offered up for him from all over the UK and beyond. His medical records report that quite unexpectedly ‘a spontaneous correction’ took place, and (obviously) he has survived for a good number of years. His healing was not complete – he has subsequently had heart surgery to close replace a dodgy valve and close the hole in in his heart – but at the time we felt that the Lord was saying that that would be the case because David himself would have (at some point in the future) to respond personally to what God was doing in his life. For me this has such a ring of truth about it. As per the testimony we heard last Sunday at All Nations Christian Centre, God is always more interested in us finding him to be present and true and with us in times of adversity than in the shallow triumphalism so popular in too many churches today. David still enjoys good health today, and has become a fine (youngish) man of whom (as his father) I am very proud. He is a good guy, a loving husband, and a great father to his two boys.

So … back to Sunday morning and our visit to St Asda. Although drawn from three denominations, Trinity worship together as one congregation. Anyone, with or without any kind of church background, is very welcome. They are a family church and seek to be truly international and intergenerational. They share a range of Christian experiences and church backgrounds and, as a church, believe in living life to the full – showing and sharing Jesus. An outward-looking church, working within their neighbourhood enjoying strong relationships and partnerships with other local churches, they see themselves increasingly as part of ‘one church’ in Lower Earley and Reading. Amongst their commendable core values are: loving God with all your heart, body and mind and loving your neighbour as yourself. As such they seek to serve the local neighbourhood usefully, practically and spiritually to that end.

St Asda have three Services on a Sunday. A more traditional Service at 9.30 a.m., and Family Service at 11.00 a.m., and a Cantonese Service at 2.30 p.m. We opt for the Family Service, a) because we don’t speak Cantonese, and b) opting for the 11.00 a.m. Service gives us the opportunity for a rare lay in on a Sunday morning (and a leisurely soak in the bath for Julia)! We arrive in good time and join the chaos in the Sanctuary as they dismantle the formal rows of chairs from the earlier Service and set up a more informal layout (with chairs grouped around small tables) for the Family Service and attempt to serve coffee and cake at the same time.

The Family Service starts roughly on time and is very informal. It is led by the Vicar, Jon Salmon. We like Jon. He is another of our fellow Pastors who has been so supportive of us since our arrival in Reading over fours years ago. We are pleased to also meet up with Rod and Laura Eades, two of our equally supportive friends from Transform Reading (formerly known as Reading Christian Network) who have also been so kind to us. There must be around 80 people there, with lots of kids, very mixed in age and nationalities. The Service is very informal but it has all the ingredients we hope for in a Service. There is lots of prayer, and some good songs (but not too many) and a great pianist to accompany them. There is a slot for the kids which they seem to enjoy. There is Communion (with grapes for the kids) and a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine (for the adults) to go with the bread (we are worried that since we are sitting towards the back of the church all the alcoholic wine will have gone before the servers reach us). There are Old Testament and New Testament Bible readings, and an excellent sermon (20 minutes long) by the Associate Pastor responsible for Youth and Young Adults, Sam Ruck Pender based mainly on Psalm 121 but drawing on John 1:1-5 as well.

The theme is God being our ever-present helper on a day-to-day basis. It was well preached and well-illustrated. I will certainly remind myself of what Sam shared on Monday morning when I get back to trying to write up my doctoral thesis again. At the moment I feel rather like God must have felt at the beginning of creation – surveying the chaos and hoping to create something positive out of it (Genesis 1:1) – only God managed to do just that and I am not God! Hopefully I will discover the reality that ‘My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121:1) as I return to the chaos of books and papers everywhere and a mind full of chaotic thoughts and confused directions. There is time to reflect together in our small groups (gathered round our small tables) on what we learned from the sermon … and there is intercessory prayer for the church and for the world (if we Christians don’t intercede for our broken and hurting society who will?).

The whole Service lasts about an hour and a quarter and we enjoy it very much. Everyone is very friendly and we are pleased to see St Asda thriving and growing in numbers. We feel something of a kindred spirit with them because their journey in some ways mirrors that of our own church at Abbey with a recent upturn in numbers and a sense of positive change on the wind (the wind of God’s Spirit we trust).

So after Service it is a short drive to the University of Reading for a coffee in the sunshine and a walk around the marvellous Harris Gardens to see the snow drops before returning home for a light lunch … and an afternoon sleep. How pleasant it is to actually live a fairly ‘normal’ kind of life for a change?!

Jim Binney    

After a few Sabbatical Sundays travelling various distances to visit various churches, last Sunday Julia and I stayed closer to home and visited All Nations Christian Centre right here in Reading. All Nations is an Elim Pentecostal Church, that lives up to its name with more than 30 nationalities gathering for worship together each week. The church is led Pastor Billy Fenning who has been the Senior Pastor since moving to Reading in 1985. We like Billy. He is yet another of the local church leaders who has been so kind, supportive and encouraging to us since our own arrival at Abbey in 2018. A typical garrulous Northern Irelander, Billy is a good communicator, a winsome preacher, and engaging conversationalist, with always something positive and encouraging to say.  He has a vision to see the kingdom of God extended locally and globally, and has been instrumental in setting up schools of education and helping churches in different nations of the world. His heart is to see people come to know Christ and to enjoy life now. All Nations is a numerically large and active church with an impressive range of holistic activities geared up to minister the love of God to the wider community.

Their Morning Worship Service starts at 10.00 a.m. and we arrive early to make sure we get a parking space. The church building itself is fascinating. A former High Anglican Church building, it retains it’s wonderful stained glass windows, some of its elaborate carvings, and the various ‘stations of the cross’ around the walls. Apart from that it has been totally refurbished with extensions to the rear, a remodelled entrance area, and the former Chancel has now been partitioned off to become the church lounge.  The Sanctuary itself is now more like a concert arena with a large stage area, chairs instead of pews, a mega lighting and sound system, TV screens attached to the pillars, and the whole thing dominated by a huge cinema-like screen above the platform area. It all looks very impressive when we arrive with subdued coloured lighting and a friendly welcome. We surreptitiously find a seat towards the back.

We don’t know quite what to expect. In a former life I was a Pastor in the Assembly of God wing of the Pentecostal Church. Back in those days the Sunday Morning Services were always a ‘Breaking of Bread’ (Communion Service, for the uninitiated) and a bit of a ‘free-for-all’ with lots of singing, sharing, praying, prophesying, speaking in tongues (with interpretation), testimony, and Bible teaching. Would it still be much the same, I wondered? A very nice lady came over to us, introduced herself, made us very welcome … and warned us that since it was a Pentecostal Church the worship would be very loud! We tell her not to worry, we are actually ‘Bapticostals’ ourselves – she hasn’t got a clue what we are talking about?! In the event she didn’t have to worry. The worship was fairly loud – the musicians leading sung worship were all miked-up – but it actually wasn’t that loud. Intriguingly it wasn’t at all like the Pentecostal worship I was used to from 40+ years ago. Essentially it was a combination of sung worship and powerful preaching with a great testimony and a little bit of intercessory prayer thrown in for good measure. No breaking of bread, and no manifestation of the vocal gifts of the Spirit (apart from a prophetic edge to the preaching perhaps). Having said that, it was still good, and we enjoyed it, and benefitted from being at All Nations.

Our time together began with a welcome from Tibebu Berhanu (one of the Elders) followed, somewhat unusually, with a short time of intercessory prayer (particularly for the situation in Turkey-Syria following the recent tragic earthquake). We soon launched into a time of sung worship, however, led by the band. I didn’t really know any of the songs but they were all very Jesus centred and it was quite a sensory experience – strangely somewhat akin, in that sense, to our experience of attending a High Church Mass the previous Sunday, or worshipping with thousands of young people at Taizé in the summer (singing their wonderful repetitive chants). It was actually quite therapeutic. There were no contributions ‘from the floor’ so to speak – but it would have been difficult to do that given the cavernous nature of the building and a numerically large congregation – unless they installed standing microphones in the aisles or established a ‘people’s lectern’ (aka Edward Irvine style) where members of the congregation could go and share ‘a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation’ (1 Corinthians 14:26) or whatever. The congregation was quite sparse when we began but slowly gathered as the Service proceeded and we were full up by the time we got to the sermon (I estimate around 200 people of all ages and ethnicities). Apparently they have seen quite an influx of friends from South India lately (but no Iranians or Hong Kongers as far as we could tell). They also live stream all their Sunday Services.

After about 30 minutes the children left us for their various groups, Billy shared some news of upcoming events, and (recognising us sitting there in the congregation) introduced us and said some very nice things about us and the exciting things happening at Abbey (which was very kind of him). We then had a great testimony from a member of the congregation sharing how, despite an extended period of illness and incapacity, God had used that time to deepen her experience of himself, and enabled her to write some inspired and moving poetry (which is soon to be published). Great to hear someone testify to how God is with us in times of adversity rather than some of the ‘triumphalist’ stuff that  usually just makes us feel worse about ourselves.

Another song, and it was time for the ‘preach’ – a brilliant 45 minute exposition of Habakkuk 2:1-4 – by All Nations new Co-Pastor Keith Jackson. Keith is actually from Reading (but has travelled around the world quite a bit) and has recently returned to Reading with a view to becoming the Lead Pastor at All Nations (when Billy retires in a year or so).  A well-crafted, winsomely preached six-point sermon, full of good and godly stuff, and well-illustrated, may not be everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ but Keith held the congregation’s attention throughout and clearly drew his hearers in to the message. We felt, blessed, encouraged and challenged by the message. We would certainly go and hear him again. He belongs to the new generation of Pentecostal preachers who don’t despise theological education, holding a Master’s degree in theology from Regent’s College.

After the Service (which lasted the best part of two hours) we stayed on for coffee (unfortunately it was instant coffee – just to prove that Pentecostal Christians are not perfect) where we were once again greeted warmly and made to feel very welcome.  And then – following our now well-established pattern – it was off for Sunday lunch at a local eatery. Julia had booked us in at The Cunning Man, a rather nice pub in Burghfield Bridge by the Kennet and Avon Canal. The pub’s name comes from a local legend of a ‘cunning man’ – a good wizard who would help to protect people from dark spirits and witches. I’m not sure what Billy and Keith would make of that – probably join us for a meal, I guess! The original building was destroyed following repeated flooding; however the newly re-built pub-restaurant has been impressively restored in its original style – complete with thatched roof. We are 20 minutes early so we go for a nice walk along the canal in lovely sunshine admiring all the canal boats as we go.

The restaurant is packed but we are shown to a nice table for two right in front of a roaring log fire – we move our table out a bit otherwise we would be roasted ourselves as we eat our roast dinner. The service is excellent, the food is fantastic, the ambience is delightful – we will definitely come back here again. I am denied a pudding or a coffee by ‘she who must’ – apparently we have puddings in the fridge back home and a really good coffee machine – so home it is, via a nice drive along beautiful country roads, still discussing the finer points of the sermon as we travel!

Jim Binney  

We are driving past Wimbledon Common, at silly o’clock on a Sunday morning, because the Church Service we are going to starts at 9.30 a.m. Perhaps it is because it is silly o’clock, or because we had a hilarious overnight stay at the Premier Inn, Chessington (involving a somewhat disastrous dinner and equally disappointing breakfast at the Monkey Puzzle Beefeater next door, as part of the package deal) which we learned to laugh about rather than get bitter. Or perhaps it is simply because we are alongside Wimbledon Common … but (whatever the reason) I find myself singing the Wombling Song:

Wombles are organised, work as a team,

Wombles are tidy and Wombles are clean.

Underground, overground, Wombling free,

The Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we.

We are on our way to St Matthews Church, an inclusive and vibrant church which sits in the heart of the West Wimbledon and Raynes Park community. They describe themselves as ‘a traditional – in a modern kind of way; liberal – in an orthodox kind of way, and we enjoy music, discussion about the Christian faith, and engaging with our community … our services are both formal and relaxed, engaging all our senses as we joyfully worship God … the home of Soulscape Wimbledon… a monthly space for anyone and everyone to connect with God in their own way through silence, music and meditative prayer’.

We are going to their ‘Mass for All Ages with Baptism and First Communion’ Our friends Serena and Alastair Newman are members there – Alastair is now an ordained Anglican Priest, and Curate at St Matthews. They were members of Beckenham Baptist Church, Kent, when Julia and I were the Senior and Associate Ministers there. We married them, and we are godparents to their two children Sebastian and Genevieve. Genevieve is being baptised today (by affusion not full immersion) and we are looking forward to seeing them (and a good number of their family and friends) at the Service and at their house for lunch afterwards.

In the course of 50+ years in the Baptist Ministry I have seen a number of people (who have sat under my ministry, so to speak) hear, and respond, to God’s call to the ministry themselves. Fascinatingly, quite a few have ended up as Anglican Ministers (I should really be put on commission by the Church of England). I have pondered why this has happened so often? Is it because I have failed to do my job of facilitating, enabling, and encouraging, properly? The conclusion I have come to is that it is because I have always encouraged those under my ministry to think deeply about the Christian Faith (not simply ‘academically’ but in a C S Lewis’ ‘deep church’ way). I suspect that some have embraced a more Catholic Faith as a reaction to what has been perceived as a somewhat shallow, trite, and (at times) quite nasty or ‘nutty’ side, in some forms of evangelical and charismatic approach to the Christian faith. It is therefore not surprising that an increasing number are seeking something a bit deeper, more real, more practical in terms of us Christians truly being salt and light and leaven in this broken and hurting world of ours.

St Matthews is ‘High Church’ but they do it well! Alastair (aware that we missed out on the incense last Sunday at Salisbury Cathedral) has promised us plenty of ‘smells and bells’ this Sunday. I have to confess that I rarely attend such churches without a secret smile as I recall a line from Larry Norman’s poem (c. 1970s), The First Time I Went to Church (about the observations of a group of 18 year-old non-church kids first visit to a High Anglican Service), ‘Holy smoke … Vicar’s handbag’s caught on fire!’  

The church is packed when we arrive. There must be 150+ I estimate. I don’t know if this is normal, or if there are a lot more because it is an ‘All Age’ Mass and eleven children are receiving their First Communion and lots of parents and family are present. The Service is great and we really love it. Somehow the ‘theatre’ of High Church worship lends itself to an All Age Service. There are lots of children there and they really engage with all the drama of the worship. Alastair conducts worship really well – Julia tells him afterwards that she is really proud of him – mind you he really looks the part. Tall, dark and handsome, a great voice, intelligent, a good communicator, he has a presence about him … he even carries off wearing all those robes well. The music is excellent, a good choir (seated in the congregation), a great organist/pianist, a lovely blend of songs and hymns well suited for a family service (we loved the beginning of the Prayers of Confession and Repentance sung to the tune of ‘What shall we do with the drunken sailor’, and the conclusion of a Prayer of Praise to the tune of ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star’). It was a shame that nothing was sung to the Wombling Song though.

The children participated fully in the Service with Bible Readings and Prayers, gathering around the Vicar, the Rev Dr Helen Orchard (affectionately known as Mother Helen) for her wonderfully illustrated Sermon on the Gospel Reading for the Day, Jesus’ teaching on being salt and light (Matthew 5:13-20). She was quite brilliant with them (drawing us all into her subject at the same time). With skilful use of her props – an egg floating in salty water and a reading lamp that needs to be plugged in to the mains in order to shine brightly – she fully involved the children eliciting positive responses from them about the need to truly believe in Jesus, and demonstrate that through Bible reading, prayer, attending church, taking the sacraments seriously, service and witness in the world. The kids loved it … and so did us adults!

Everyone was really friendly. There was coffee and cake afterwards – the coffee was instant (the unforgivable sin in my eyes) but I will forgive them if they have purchased a decent coffee making machine in time for our next visit. And we will visit again … not just to see Serena, Alastair, Sebastian and Genevieve … but because we really enjoyed the occasion, and received something from God from it. I have no intention of transferring my allegiance to High Church Anglicanism (at present), but I do appreciate the ‘substance’ of a well thought through act of worship, skilfully presented Bible teaching, a meaningful Eucharist … everything impregnated with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

After the Service we all pile round to Serena and Alistair’s house. We are all there – Great Uncle Bulgaria (old and wise), Tobermory (handyman), Madame Cholet (chef), Orinoco (lazy and greedy), Wellington (clever and shy), Tomsk (sporty and strong, Bungo (bossy and excitable) and all the rest. It is so good to catch up with so many old friends (and make a few new ones as well). Although not related, Julia and I feel very much part of the Aylward/Newman extended family as we have all known each other for a good few years now and shared a lot together. It is a lovely time of catching up, swopping news and stories, and just having good conversation. Meeting new babies, laughing at funny stories, and sharing sadness’s as well. I just love being amongst this group of intelligent, interesting people – every single one far more intelligent than me but accepting of me nonetheless – such a rewarding experience. It was such a good time that I forgot to take any photos of our lunch, but I have managed to dredge up a group photo from somewhere … see below.

Jim Binney

‘Food, Glorious Food’, written by Lionel Bart, is the opening song from the 1960s West End and Broadway musical (and 1968 film) Oliver (based on the book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, of course). The song is sung from the point of view of the children of a workhouse for orphans where they are forced to work to ‘earn their keep’, and deprived of proper nutrition while the administrators feast on delicacies. The children arrive for breakfast while fantasizing about delicious food such as sausage and mustard, and sweets including jelly and custard. When the workhouse boys arrive at the front of the serving line they receive only tasteless gruel from the staff. The song is intended as a metaphor for keeping hope alive, despite being mistreated. Last Sunday (29 January), for our 4^th Sabbatical Sunday, we visited Salisbury Cathedral for their 10.30 a.m. Holy Eucharist, and afterwards went for lunch at the Cathedral Refectory Restaurant … and what a veritable feast both events proved to be. Food, glorious food, nourishment for both soul and the body!

Once a month Julia and I go down to Ebbesbourne Wake, a small village down the Chalke Valley near to Salisbury. Julia’s mother, Olivia, is 96 years of age and lives in a charming little cottage next-door-but-one to Julia’s younger sister, Livy and Livy’s husband Jack (and the dog, and the cat). Olivia maintains her independence supported by Livy (and a team of carers) and we go down for a few days each month to see Olivia, and give Livy the opportunity to get away herself for a short break. It all works very well. Because we are on sabbatical we had the opportunity to go over a weekend (we usually go down on a Sunday afternoon after the Morning Service at Abbey). This meant that we could visit Salisbury Cathedral on the Sunday.

We have visited the medieval city of Salisbury many times, and the Cathedral many times, but never for a Sunday Service. Sarum College, the Anglican centre of theological learning in Salisbury sits within the cathedral close on the north side of Salisbury Cathedral. We enjoy a good relationship with Sarum. The Revd Canon Professor James Woodward, the Principal, is one of our main Supervisors for our doctoral studies at the University of Winchester, so we often visit Sarum as well (which has links with the University of Winchester).

In reality ‘cathedral worship’ is a genre in itself, and people seem to either love it or hate it. Cathedrals have a life of their own which is very 24/7. As the Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos, the Dean, suggests, ‘For centuries, this holy place has captivated pilgrims, worshippers, and visitors alike. In its breath-taking beauty, we glimpse the faith and hope of those who conceived and built it and, as we gaze upon their work, we find our own faith and hope restored.’ Sunday Worship in a cathedral can be ‘a bit of a show’ in many respects with the congregation often reduced to ‘mere observers’ rather than ‘major participants’. Salisbury recognises this and unashamedly confesses that ‘music is central to our services and is led by our talented choirs and musicians’ but at the same time it prides itself on being ‘a living Church where God is praised and people grow in faith. We pray daily for our community and the world beyond it.’ It certainly has the buzz of being a ‘local church’.

We arrived in Salisbury in good time, parked in the main carpark, and walked through the quaint mediaeval streets to the cathedral set in its own beautiful grounds. The cathedral itself is aesthetically very pleasing with the most remarkable large central font where water is the predominant feature, its surface reflecting and extending the surrounding architecture. The surface looks like solid black marble rather than water and more than one tourist (I’m reliably informed) has laid their mobile phone on this ‘marble surface’ only to see it sink slowly to the bottom of the font!?

We were made very welcome – I would say ‘warmly welcomed’ but it was a freezing day and I wish I had worn my thermal ‘Long John’s’. The Eucharist (which means ‘thanksgiving’, is the posh way Anglicans talk about Communion) was indeed quite a show … and we loved it. Everything from the winsome notices from the Dean at the beginning to the excellent coffee and chat after the Service was over. We loved the ceremony, the parading in, the excellent choir, the way the Dean conducted the Service, the beautifully read Bible Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany, the thoughtful prayers of intercession for the Church and the World by one of the lay members of the congregation. The Eucharist itself was dignified and orderly, as one would expect in the context, but so, so meaningful. Star event for us both, however, was the sermon – fifteen minutes of winsome, well-crafted, exposition of the Story of the Wedding Feast at Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11) by the Cathedral Treasurer, Canon Kenneth Padley. Quite brilliant, faithful to the text, and Christ-centred – a message for those who wish to reflect on Jesus rather than for the ‘activists’. (You can find recordings of the sermons on YouTube). Interestingly enough was the total absence of incense – perhaps we will make up for it next week when we are going to a baptismal service in another High Anglican Church?!

There were around 300-400 people present (as far as I could tell) although I gather that there are a lot more people, from all round the world, who follow the livestreaming of the Services. The congregation was 99.9% white and (with the exception of the choirboys – yes they were all boys) middle-aged and respectable (as you might possibly expect in Salisbury). Lots of people engaged us in good conversation afterwards – including Canon Padley himself, and we felt very much at home. We will definitely pay a return visit sometime. As someone whose Christian roots are in evangelical faith, Pentecostal experience, and Baptist ecclesiology what do I find of worth and value in such a place as Salisbury Cathedral? I suppose what I found on this particular Sunday was an intelligent pattern to the whole worship event; well-crafted, biblical, winsome, Christ-centred preaching; a sense of dignity and encounter in Communion; well-read Scripture and thoughtful, passionate prayers for the Church and the World; a warmth of welcome (and good coffee) … There is no reason why we non-conformists can’t do all these things well ourselves … but increasingly I find myself getting more and more annoyed by the ‘sloppiness’, the ‘anything goes’ attitude of so much evangelical and charismatic Christianity. Has God become too much the ‘all-matey rather than the Almighty’ for some of us?!  

After the Service we wandered over to Sarum College, to return some books to the college library, and then decided to have lunch back at the Cathedral Refectory rather than wander round Salisbury looking for a restaurant. ‘We will just have a bowl of soup … and maybe I will allow you to have a sandwich … because we are having a big meal tonight!’ Julia said, authoritatively. The Cathedral Refectory Restaurant is excellent – we have eaten there before – and a very pleasant venue. Surprisingly it wasn’t as crowded as we expected (perhaps it was a bit early for Sunday lunch) and we found a nice table. Sunday lunch at the Refectory is (I would suggest) a bit special. We took one look at what was on offer, and how reasonably priced it all was, and … any idea of ‘just a bowl of soup’ went right out the window. The best Sunday lunch we have had so far this year by far! If you ever find yourself in Salisbury visit the Cathedral and have lunch at the Refectory Restaurant.

So it was back to Ebbesbourne Wake for an afternoon snooze … we needed that after such a large yumacious Sunday lunch … and a light supper! A nice piece of fish accompanied by a nice glass of chilled white wine … although I expect Jesus turned the water in the jars at the Cana wedding into a rather splendiferous full bodied red!

Jim Binney     

Last Sunday Julia and I made a nostalgic trip (for me anyway) back to Greenford, Middlesex, and specifically to my home church, Greenford Baptist Church – a church which has experienced a significant renaissance in recent years becoming a very diverse, lively, multicultural church in comparison to the somewhat traditional very ‘white’ church of my youth. My doctoral research is in this whole area of intercultural, multicultural, multiethnic church so the freedom to travel around and visit other churches on these ‘sabbatical Sundays’ during January to March provided me with the opportunity to make a nostalgic return to Greenford to have a look at what has been happening there since I finally left in 1969 (having semi-left in 1965 to train for the Baptist Ministry at Spurgeon’s College) to take up the Pastorate of Bewdley Baptist Church in Worcestershire.  

‘New lamps for old’ alludes to the deceitful slogan used in the story of Aladdin by which the wicked Uncle Abanazar attempts to wheedle the magic lamp out of the young hero in exchange for an ordinary, new one. This is not the case at Greenford Baptist Church because what has happened there in recent years has involved a complete transition into a warm and welcoming, ethnically very diverse, evangelical, charismatic church far more reflective of the surrounding community than ever before. The new lamp is actually somewhat of a positive development, and advancement, compared to the old.  In the post-electric world ‘lamp’ carries an archaic flavour, taking us back into the world of poetry, but lamps are much considered by poets, not because they are picturesque but because they required frequent attention, and because the alternative was a pervasive darkness. In the Biblical Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) the lamp carefully charged with oil is a symbol of vigilance and readiness.

We set off early from Reading (in freezing fog) in order to get to Greenford in time for their 10.30 a.m. Worship and Teaching Service. I was born and brought up in Greenford and it felt very strange driving through places I knew so well – streets I had lived in, schools I had attended, the firm I worked for. It was the same … but very different. Our prefab had long gone, Taylor Woodrow (where I worked) was no more, even Greenford County Grammar School had a new name and had relocated to the old school playing field. The Baptist Church building, however, was much the same – on the outside at least – although on the inside it had seen a major overhaul. The pulpit was gone, the organ was gone, the old kitchen was gone, the old chairs were gone … the platform area was revamped, there was a new kitchen, new chairs, a new all-singing all dancing sound and vision system … and flags of all the representative nations everywhere (we liked the flags)!

We were made very welcome, although there was no one of my generation left (they hadn’t all died let me hasten to add, just moved away over the years). I first came to Greenford Baptist Church as a 16 year-old. It was here I was converted, baptised, and ordained into the Baptist Ministry. I showed Julia the very spot where I had accepted Jesus as my Saviour and Lord 63 years before (and she took a photo of me standing on the very spot). The Senior Minister, Pastor Warren McNeil, was away for the weekend, so the Service was led by the Associate Minister, Pastor Satyajit Deodhar. There didn’t seem to be many people present to begin with but by the time we got into the full swing of things there must have been 70-80 people present. It was all quite informal with quite a bit of singing (strangely enough there were no musicians – everything was via video tracks on the big screen), and contributions from various members of the congregation. We also split up into small groups for a time of directed intercessory prayer, which was good. There were no Bible readings to speak of, although the sermon was essentially an exposition of 1 John 4:1-6 (the church is working its way through 1 John on Sunday mornings at the moment). Intriguingly Pastor Deodhar didn’t use the screen to illustrate his sermon, although he did involve the congregation quite a bit by periodically asking questions (to make sure we were listening I suspect). It was a good word, however, encouraging us to recognise/rely on the fact that God was living within us by his Spirit all the time, rather than just make use of the gifts of the Spirit from time to time when we needed to make sense of something or needed direction.

Everyone was very friendly and there was a lovely time of fellowship afterwards over coffee to which the majority of the congregation stayed. By then they had sussed out who we were – I feature quite prominently in the church’s history at one point – but we didn’t think that was the only reason why people were so friendly. One thing that did strike us, however, was that the congregation (even though ethnically very diverse) were actually quite British – they has all been in the UK for some time. We felt that they were, as a church, in an interesting place. They have a platform to really go forward into whatever God has for them in their ongoing story … or (dangerously) they could settle for what is? The enemy of the better is the good!?

After church we drove up to Greenford Broadway, parked the car, and had a nostalgic walk through Ravenor Park, past the houses (next door to each other) where my mother and father had lived (and the reason why they met), and along the Broadway, before having lunch at a new restaurant called Super Chef. Everything was similar but very different – in some ways nicer than I thought it would be – in other ways too much had changed about Greenford for my liking. The restaurant was good, however, great food, reasonably priced, and excellent service. For once I managed to eat all the food on my plate (and some of Julia’s as well)! Although virtually all the shops in the Broadway have now changed I am pretty certain that the site of Super Chef was (more-or-less) the site of Howards (The Drapers) back in the day. In the mid-1950s, when I passed the 11+ and secured a place at Greenford County Grammar School the only two places where you could buy the required distinctive green school blazer was either Howards or Abernethie and Sons. Abernethie blazers were cheaper than Howards blazers, but were a slightly inferior quality green … so it was obvious which shop your blazer came from … which was rather unfortunate when, like me, you were a kid from the local council estate (where money was at a premium) rather than the posher side of town?! 

After lunch we drove round various other nostalgic sites for me – the site of the ‘big house’ I was brought up in (now the site of an industrial estate), the Holy Cross Church (where my parents had me ‘christened’), the British Legion Club (with its flat above where we lived when my father ran the bar) – intriguing for Julia to be able to put places to well-known tales I had told her. Too many places had disappeared for good, however, and I am not sure if I could return to live in suburbia again. I will be very interested to see how Greenford Baptist Church progresses though … to be continued!

Jim Binney

Last Sunday, for our second Sabbatical Sunday, we visited Brookside Church in Lower Earley. Originally part of what was known as the King’s Church, Brookside became an independent church in 2001. Essentially an evangelical, charismatic church, Brookside is known for its close working relationships with the churches and charities of what is now known as Transform Reading (formerly known as Reading Christian Network), and for its wonderful work within the local community (in association with other churches in Earley) through the Earley Help Hub, reaching out to families, young people and children. When Julia and I first came to Abbey Baptist Church, Reading, four and a half years ago, we were particularly appreciative of the kind, gracious and loving support freely given to us by Steve Prince (who leads the Brookside Church team, and who is also Chaplain at Reading Football Club) and his wife Anita (who as well as serving on the leadership team at Brookside is on the Management Team for Reading Street Pastors). Visiting Brookside was an opportunity for us to say a ‘thank you’ for standing with us in those early days in Reading.

We just about made it in time for the start of their 10.30 a.m. Worship and Teaching Service (even though we also live in Earley we still managed to get lost on the way there – our Satnav proved totally useless). We were warmly welcomed at the door, offered a cup of coffee, and lovingly greeted by another friend from Transform Reading, Alan Magness and his wife Eileen. In contrast to the very ordered structure of last Sunday’s Service at St Giles-in-Reading, the Service at Brookside was somewhat ‘free flowing’ shall we say. One of the church leaders introduced the theme of our time together – ‘Transition’ – by pointing us to Jesus and reading a lovely passage from Colossians 2 about the spiritual fulness that is available to us in Christ. The ‘Worship Group’ then took over and led us in an extended time of sung worship, interspersed with various ad hoc Bible readings, prayers, pictures, etc., from the floor (so to speak). There were about 50 or so people present by the time we got into full swing – mostly white ‘baby boomers’ I guess, but with a smattering of other ethnicities. The singing was enthusiastic, and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves … but there were also times for silence and reflection … it was all ‘easy paced’. After about 30 minutes the children left for their own groups, we sang another song, and then Steve Prince shared some thoughts with us for another 30 minutes or so.

Brookside Church is (like many churches, I guess) going through a period of transition. The halcyon days of yesteryear (when the Kings Church setup was at its zenith) are long gone, and Brookside are prayerfully seeking where the Lord wants them to go from here. Steve’s remit for this Sunday was to wrap up a mini-series on the theme of ‘Transition’ (that the church have been considering for a few weeks) by looking at some of the things that can hold us back, as well as some of the things that can help us move forward as church. The title of Steve’s talk was: When everything is transitioning – including leadership. We like Steve Prince. He is a good communicator, and without actually pinning his talk down to one particular Bible passage, managed to draw out a number of biblical principles in a winsome and interesting way – often involving the congregation in discussion along the way. We felt a great infinity with Steve, his fellow leaders, their predicament as church. Abbey has been going through (and is continuing to go through) a similar period of transitioning.

Indeed it would appear to me that – right across the world, and in every area of society and life – God is pulling out the rug from under our feet via pandemics, lockdowns, war in Ukraine, governmental failure, economic problems, etc., etc. It is as though God is saying to us all – from Presidents to paupers – ‘Stop all the nonsense! Take a long, hard look at yourselves. Stop doing all the awful things you are doing to one another and start doing the right things – the godly things!’ It was lovely to finally visit Brookside Church – a first for us. It was all a bit chaotic perhaps … but that is surely ‘par for the course’ when God is in the house and calling us to transition from what is (however ‘precious’ we may think that is) to something else, something completely different, new, unexpected perhaps! Will we visit Brookside Church again … I think we just might … even if its just to show solidarity with fellow travellers along the road of transition.

After church we went for a short walk around Dinton Pastures Country Park. It is a delightful place with a beautiful lake. The weather was great – clear, and dry, and bright – and there were hundreds of people doing the same as us. Is ‘exercise’ the new Sunday morning ‘worship event’ we wondered? It had to be a short walk because we had booked in for lunch (we learned our lesson from last Sunday) at the Lower Early Toby Carvery and they only hold the table for so long. The advertising blurb suggested that there was something ‘timeless’ about this particular Toby Carvery – well I guess not … if you are late for your booking?! Fortunately, we were not too late, and were allocated a nice table in the restaurant with a nice view over the surrounding countryside. It was not simply a repeat of last Sunday’s visit to a Toby Carvery (the one by the Thames at Caversham Bridge). This Toby Carvery was much better … even the food seemed much better! The welcome, the efficiency and friendliness of the serving staff, the warmth of the plates (and therefore the food) … even the size of the Yorkshire puddings … and the fact that you didn’t have to join a rugby scrum to get your food. The only failure was that (once again) I failed to eat everything on my (admittedly) overloaded plate.

We have plans for next Sunday’s visit to a church … I won’t tell you where just yet … but Julia has already suggested that we need to find out where the nearest Toby Carvery is for after the Morning Service?! Abbey Baptist Church (along with many other churches and institutions) may be in a ‘time of transition’ but it very much looks like (as far as future Sunday lunches are concerned) we are in ‘groundhog day’ – a foody timelessness trap!

Jim Binney  

Julia and I are on a three-month long sabbatical from (more-or-less) the beginning of January until the end of March. It is NOT a holiday, let me hasten to add, but a time when we will be working hard six days a week to hopefully get the bulk of our doctoral theses written up. Every seven years Baptist Ministers are entitled to a three-month sabbatical but even so, we are immensely grateful to the Deacons and members of our church, Abbey Baptist Church, Reading, for allowing us this period of time away from all the busyness and burdens of pastoral ministry.

During this time we plan to take Sundays as our ‘day off’ from our studies and use the time to visit various churches in and around Reading. Most of these churches we will not have visited before. Some we have driven or walked past and they have intrigued us … others we are just simply ‘nosey’ and want to see what they are really like … others have been very kind and supportive of us since our arrival in Reading and we simply want to go and say a silent ‘thank you’. We also thought – given our love of food – that we could go to a morning Service wherever and then go and have lunch somewhere. Seems like a plan!  We are not going away during our sabbatical but working from home (it’s where all our books are). In my spare moments – I will need a break from the computer – I plan to do a bit of French, pick up my guitar again, and get back to ‘blogging’. So … I thought blogging about our various ‘Sabbatical Sundays’ might be fun.

Last Sunday, the first Sunday of our sabbatical (we had to be at Abbey Baptist Church on the first Sunday in January for our annual Covenant and Motto Text Sunday) we visited St Giles-in-Reading (an Anglican Church in the High Church tradition) and then went on to the reasonably nearby Caversham Bridge Toby (a carvery in the traditional rugby scrum tradition) … and we thoroughly enjoyed both!

We have wanted to visit St Giles for ages. I confess that, in these days when we (who come from an evangelical and charismatic tradition) are constantly being bombarded with exhortation after exhortation about our need of the ‘new wine’ of the Spirit (Matthew 9:16,17, etc., etc), I was rather intrigued (not to say attracted) by a church that blatantly heralds itself as the ‘home of the old wine’. As something of an amateur wine connoisseur myself, I know that (in terms of wine drinking) an expensive mature wine is invariably better than cheap new plonk! I can’t help but also ponder if the sincere thought-through faith of the genuine, prayerful spiritual Anglo-Catholic is of more worth than the frothy, shallow, easy believism of many a touchy-feely evangelical charismatic? I say this as an evangelical (although not the American Trump-supporting type of evangelical) and as a charismatic (although more a ‘gifts of the Spirit’ embracing Pentecostal than an ‘endless singing of repetitive worship songs’ charismatic). ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 3:7, etc., etc).  

So last Sunday we went to the 10.30 a.m. Parish Mass at St Giles-in-Reading, an Anglican Church in the High Church or Anglo-Catholic tradition (more Roman Catholic than the Roman Catholics, one member of the congregation informed us afterwards) which is situated on Southampton Street, just outside the town centre. A Forward in Faith church, they reject the ordination of women to the priesthood, which made it of particular interest to Julia (although she has always been made welcome in such churches because Baptist ordination doesn’t count anyway as far as they are concerned?!).

St Giles is a ‘smells and bells’ church and we were tunefully welcomed by the rather pleasant call of the church bells as we walked from the Oracle Car Park to the church. Warmly welcomed at the door, given a hymn book and an Order of Service book and a Welcome leaflet, we found our way to a vacant pew – actually most of the pews were vacant when we arrived – but there must have been around 50 people present by the time the Service started. The Parish Mass followed the usual High Church pattern with the Rector and the Curate parading in preceded by the Cross Bearer, the Thurifer (swinging the thurible and fogging almost the entire church with clouds of pungent smelling incense – good for the chest we were again reliably informed afterwards), the Choir (all three of them, who immediately disappeared into the organ loft where they led the singing from), and numerous others who all had a part to play in the hour long Service.

The theme, it being Epiphany, was the Baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17), and the whole Service (although very different to what we were used to) we found very enjoyable. The Rector, Father David Harris, a Canadian (who grew up Plymouth Brethren and whose brother is a Baptist Minister back in Canada) led the proceedings very ably with an equally pleasing resonant voice. The Curate, Father Sebastian Way, preached the sermon – it was only 5 minutes long but full of good content and very Christ-centred. The singing was good, the Bible readings and prayer of intercession were ably led by members of the congregation, and the Eucharist (or Communion) element was dignified and meaningful – with a rather pleasant full-bodied communion wine. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming – even when Julia let slip that she was the Minister of Abbey Baptist Church. I wouldn’t want to do it every Sunday – I’m too much of a non-conformist to be doing with all that pomp and ceremony and dressing up – but I would definitely visit St Giles again.  

After an interesting chat with the Rector afterwards it was time for lunch and we found our way to the Toby Carvery by Caversham Bridge. It is many years since I visited a carvery, which is strange for me given my love of meat. It was packed but we managed to find a table in the bar area and then joined the queue at the service area. At a Toby Carvery you can choose a normal sized plate or a large sized plate – guess which one I chose. The staff serve you a generous amount of various choice meats and then you can help yourself to as many vegetables as you want. Neither of us actually managed to eat everything we loaded on to our plates although we both made a valiant effort. It was not exactly fine dining but it was good, and it saved Julia from cooking, and we will definitely visit a Toby Carvery again … maybe next Sunday … depending on where our next Sabbatical Sunday takes us?

Jim Binney

It was the late John Wimber (founder of the Vineyard Network of Churches) who suggested that ‘Faith’ is spelled R.I.S.K. Julia and I were reminded of this at the beginning of this New Year when we read some words of Willie James Jennings (Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School) about ‘the risk of faith that comes to each of us’ at one time or another.  We have been slowly and steadily working our way through Jennings’ marvellous commentary on the Book of Acts in our daily devotional time together for almost a whole year now. NB. This is book of the year for me – if you haven’t got it, go out and buy it. Of the scores of books I have read over the last 12 months this has been ‘the one’ that has gripped me the most. But I digress … we have been slowly and steadily working our way through this book because Jennings’ brilliant way with words simply forces us to … the thoughts he shares with us simply cannot be rushed. In particular, we have spent a lot of time thinking about those chapters in Acts 4-13 that fall between the exciting events of that first Pentecost in the Christian Calendar and the thrilling story of the Apostle Paul’s Missionary Journeys. With the exception of the story of the Conversion of Saul/Paul of Tarsus (Acts 9) these chapters are probably, if not the most neglected in Acts, certainly the most rushed through, such is the Church’s obsession with ‘Pauline Theology’ (as against the Teaching of Jesus in the Gospels).  But what pearls have emerged for us as we have slowly and prayerfully worked through what these extraordinary passages of Scripture reveal.

Thinking about what God might be saying, at the beginning of this New Year, to us, to our church at Abbey, and even to others wider afield, we have especially felt enlightened, encouraged and challenged by the story of God’s dealings with the Apostle Peter and the Roman Centurion, Cornelius (Acts 10). When we read the Scriptures together we are continually looking for God’s ‘now word’ to us – that rhema word (Ephesians 6:17) that stands out from the page, that comes to us as if underlined in red ink by the Holy Spirit. And this whole passage seemed to be just that!

We are familiar with the story. Peter, seeking to listen to God and make sense of his new-found Christian faith, is already beginning to move beyond the man-made restrictions of his Jewish faith. He has already stepped outside of the comfort zone of religious respectability by staying at the house of a tanner named Simon (Acts 9:43), a man designated ‘unclean’ by the religious Jews because of his profession. God is already revealing to Peter that the Good News of the Gospel is not just for Jews but for all – even for those respectable society deems unacceptable, beyond the pale.  Whilst staying at Simon the Tanner’s house, Peter has a vision of a sheet descending from heaven full of ‘unclean’ animals that no self-respecting Jew would consider eating … and God tells him to kill and eat them (v.13)! Unknown to Peter, at exactly the same time Cornelius, a god-fearing Gentile (who lives a good distance away in Caesarea) experiences an angelic visitation instructing him to invite Peter to visit him because Peter has some great news that Cornelius (in his quest to really know God for himself) both needs and longs to hear. Those of us familiar with the story can ‘join up the dots’ but right now Cornelius doesn’t know what Peter is going to tell him, and Peter is really, really confused because it seems God is asking him to do something that completely goes against the grain … against everything he had been previously taught God didn’t approve of? Peter is so stunned, so numbed, by this that God has to repeat the vision twice more (v.16) before Peter wakes from his self-inflicted stupor.  

Even then Peter resists the divine command. Even when Cornelius’ servants knock at the door to extend their Master’s invitation Peter is still ‘wondering about the meaning of the vision’ (v.17), ‘still thinking about the vision’ (v.19). ‘Surely,’ we say to ourselves, ‘anyone with an ounce of common sense would immediately link the two occurrences – the command to kill and eat the alleged unclean animals and the request from a bunch of Gentiles?’  But for Peter this is all too extraordinary. He is suddenly, almost forcibly, being asked to slow down and catch sight of the birth pangs of God’s new order (which actually is not new at all but something God planned from the very beginning) – that the Good News, the Gospel, is not just for Jews but for all peoples, everywhere. Indeed. It takes a divine kick up the backside by the Holy Spirit to get Peter moving again (vs.19,20).  

Peter is not being disobedient. Indeed, as Jennings astutely recognises, ‘In Peter we have a servant who lives on the other side of betrayal, denial, repentance, and forgiveness. His obedience was refined through suffering and trial, beatings and death threats. Peter obeys but now that obedience must take flight with the Holy Spirit into an uncharted world where the distinctions between holy and unholy, clean and unclean have been fundamentally upended.’  This is a moment when the old word of God connects to a new word of God, a moment where purity is expanded to cover what has been conceived as impure, a moment of struggle for Peter to allow his vision of faithfulness to God and the covenant with Israel to expand. We are reminded of the oft repeated words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount – a word especially to those entrenched in an immovable religious system, in a hidebound interpretation of Scripture – ‘It has been said to you, but now I say to you’ (Matthew 5:21-33).

For Peter, the crucial question is, ‘Is it possible to be faithful to the God of Israel in a new way?’ As Jennings penetratingly observes, ‘God has brought Peter inside this question and presses him towards its positive answer. This is a risky time, second only to Good Friday and Holy Saturday, in which God risks with Peter and Peter risks with God. Will Peter hear this new word from God, and will Peter believe this is a new word from God?’ If Peter (and his fellow believers) had not believed that this was indeed a new word from God – God’s ‘now word” to them – then Christianity would have at best remained in the backwaters as a small insignificant sect within Judaism, and at worst would probably not have survived at all!

When Julia and I accepted the call to Abbey Baptist Church, Reading in 2018 we came to a historic town centre church that, despite its amazing history, was struggling. Numerically small (around 20 active members at that time) and with a declining, ageing, almost exclusively white British congregation, the future looked bleak. Over the last 18 months, however, we have seen an amazing turn around dating from the time the church held a Vision Day, at the end of which, it committed itself to transitioning into an international, intercultural church and prayer centre (Reading is a large multicultural town with 35% of its inhabitants originating outside the UK and where over 150 different languages are spoken). Since that time (largely as a result of our outreach work amongst refugees, migrants and immigrants) we have seen the church grow significantly both numerically and spiritually with a number of baptisms and Sunday congregations regularly in excess of 100 people drawn from a number of different nations.

In this extraordinary turn around at Abbey – all born of God, I would make clear – I would want to give credit to the bravery of ‘the old Abbeyites’ (as they like to call themselves), that handful of elderly white people who were brave enough to hear from God, and take a courageous step in response to God, that ultimately meant a huge change in the way Abbey had functioned in the past and would continue to do so in the future. Only one person left as a direct result of the cultural changes. There is a strong sense, however, that this is only the beginning of something extraordinary.  What does God have in store for us next in this New Year that stretches ahead of us. Will we hear this new word from God, and will we believe this is a new word from God?’

This, however, is not something exceptional … it is meant to be the Christian ‘norm’. ‘This’ according to Jennings ‘is the condition of risk in which Christianity comes to exist and without which authentic Christianity does not exist. This is the risk of faith that comes to each of us … The risk here is found not in believing in new revelations but in new relationships. The new word that God continues to speak to us is to accept new people, different people, that we had not imagined that God would send across our paths and into our lives.’

Jim Binney

A week plus into 2023 seems an odd time to write about New Year Resolutions. I do so deliberately because by now most of those resolutions will have been broken. Julia’s ‘dry January’ resolution lasted a week … and yours you ask? Well the only New Year Resolution that I have ever managed to keep … was the resolution not to make any New Year’s Resolutions! Oftentimes, however, the sentiment to change something positively in our lives is commendable, and the turning from an old year to a new year can act as a catalyst to do so, especially if there is a lot of ‘stuff’ in our past we want to get rid of?

Periodically Julia and I go through our cupboards, search the loft and the garage, load our car with all the rubbish (the good stuff goes to the charity shop) and take it down the local dump where we can safely get rid of it all. We hate clutter. Over the years we have visited homes that are totally cluttered – stuff everywhere – because the people we are visiting seem incapable of throwing anything away, ever. And our lives can get like that, sometimes detrimentally so, when the junk of our lives clings on and won’t let go. When an incident or conversations (sometimes dating from way back), a time when we failed (badly perhaps), work troubles, or sin issues hang like a fog. Or when there’s been a diagnosis of ongoing ill health, or some unforeseen drain on our finances that we can neither avoid nor afford. You know that feeling? When it’s hard to get that certain something out of you head and see past ourselves. The past won’t let us move forward, but the future doesn’t seem all that bright either.

Some of us carry small, individual burdens that cause us to walk through life encumbered as though we had a ball and chain round our ankles.  Sometimes there are so many small burdens that the collective weight of these burdens is beginning to be too much for us to carry.  Some of us carry much larger burdens that have simply become too much to bear. You may carry a burden that has come to you completely outside of your control.  You may not even have known how much the burden was weighing you down until you suddenly realized that its weight had actually become unbearable.

Now this may initially sound too simplistic – shallow ‘Christian-talk’ rather than something helpful (I will try and respond to that later) – but God doesn’t want us to carry our burdens.  He wants us to lay them down at the foot of the cross.  He wants us to surrender our heavy loads to him. The Psalmist encourages us to ‘Cast our burdens on the Lord’ (Psalm 55:22) and Jesus himself invites us to ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Matthew 11:28-30).

It takes an act of our own will to give up our burdens.  We can sit in the presence of God and hear him speaking to us but we need to take action today – right here, right now – to allow God to give us the peace we crave by laying down that which causes us pain.  The act of laying down our burden may be just the beginning for us – it may be totally appropriate for us to seek further assistance in finding the relief we need.  Or it may be that a simple act of faith and surrender is all that it needs. When Nelson Mandela finally left prison after many years of unjust incarceration he said, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” Holding on to ‘stuff’ from the past does not make us strong, it makes us bitter. Letting go of ’stuff’ is not a sign of weakness, it sets us free. Don’t imprison yourself forever.

In John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian, weighed down with the weight of so much ‘stuff’ from his past, finds himself on a highway pointing to ‘salvation’. Bunyan tells us that, ‘Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run; but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back. He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre … [and] as Christian came up to the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble; and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.’

Alas! and did my Saviour bleed

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For sinners such as I?

At the cross, at the cross

Where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!

Was it for crimes that I had done

He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity! grace unknown!

And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide

And shut his glories in,

When Christ, the mighty Maker died,

For man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face

While His dear cross appears,

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,

And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay

The debt of love I owe:

Here, Lord, I give myself away

’Tis all that I can do.

At the cross, at the cross

Where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!

~ Isaac Watts (1674-1748) & Ralph Hudson (1843-1901)

Jim Binney

A taxi driver felt a tap on his shoulder, lost control of his cab and went careering across the road, narrowly missing a mother with a baby in a pram, just avoiding a lamppost, and just managing to stop before crashing into the plate glass window of a shop! He apologised profusely to his passenger. ‘I’m so sorry’ he said, ‘but you gave me such a shock when you tapped me on the shoulder! This is my first day as a taxi driver and until yesterday I drove a hearse!’

Sometimes in life things can come upon us as a bit of a shock and generally speaking, we don’t like surprises. In our minds we fear the unknown; we find it threatening and destabilising. But life can be full of surprises – in a good way! It has been said that one of the most beneficial and valuable gifts we can give to ourselves in this life is to allow ourselves to be surprised. It’s OK if life surprises you; it’s a good thing. And God is a very surprising God. He comes to us to break through the cocoon of our closed minds and it is always in a good way! According to Pope Francis, ‘God reveals himself through surprises so always allow yourself to be surprised by God.’

Today is the third Sunday of Epiphany. Epiphany means a moment of sudden and great revelation or realisation. Whilst we do not slavishly follow the church year, it is good to keep the main festivals and to follow the main themes of the faith because they are so important that we need to be reminded of them on an annual basis. Epiphany is the ‘season of surprises’ when we open our hearts and minds to God and make sure that we are always allowing ourselves to be surprised by God. No matter how long we have been on the road with Jesus there are moments of sudden and great revelation or realisation that can come to us. We can still always be surprised by God.

We see this throughout Scripture where God breaks through the granite of hard hearts and does something new. For example, Noah being called to build a huge boat because it was going to rain even though it had never rained before (Genesis 6:9-27). Or Abraham called by God at 75 to leave his home and follow God into the unknown and to become a father (Genesis 12,15). Moses encountering God in a burning bush (Exodus 6:1-6). We think of the Magi from the east who first started to look for the infant Jesus in a palace. What is a surprise it must have been for them to find him in a stable. And then there is the Apostle Paul meeting the risen Christ on a dusty road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). Which brings us to the passage for today from Mark 1:4-11 where we read of the Baptism of Jesus. The point of the season of Epiphany coming just after Christmas is to progressively unveil more and more about Jesus, whose coming we have just celebrated and where we find one surprise after another.

Firstly, we think of the surprise for John the Baptist. Now he knew Jesus was coming. He had been called to live in the desert and prepare the way by preaching about repentance, for a sea change in people’s lives. In Mark 1:7,8 we find the crux of John’s message: ‘The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptising you here in this river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism – a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit – will change you from the inside out’ (The Message). John knew he was just the forerunner. The main act was coming. And what an epiphany John had: ‘I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptise with water told me. I have seen and I testify that this is the son of God’ (John 1:33,34). Imagine his surprise! Not only was this the person that John had been waiting for the Messiah that God had long promised, but this person was coming to him to be baptised! We know from Matthew’s Gospel that John tried to deter Jesus: ‘I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’ (Matthew 3:14). Then Jesus explained why – to fulfil all righteousness, to publicly announce the start of Jesus’ ministry, to identify with sinful humanity and give an example for us to follow – and John consented. We know from John’s testimony that he saw the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus in a physical manifestation like a dove (John 1:32). What a surprise! This moment was unique but when we come in obedience and faith to follow Jesus through the waters of baptism, this is figuratively what we experience. Baptism is a church ordinance (and together with the Lord’s supper) is a place of special grace. Baptism is a picture of what has already happened in the heart of the believer, the outward demonstration of the inward reality of becoming a Christian – going through the water, dying to the old way of life, coming up from the water, rising to new life in Christ. It can also be a kairos moment of special revelation, the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to do something powerful and new in our hearts in that sacramental moment of rising that symbolises Jesus’ resurrection from the grave. This is the testimony of countless numbers of people. Praise God, he can and does come to us anywhere at any time if we are open to receive him, but as with Jesus, baptism is a key event. As John saw – ‘a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit that will change you from the inside out.’ Are we ready to be changed from the inside out? Are you prepared to be surprised by God?

Secondly, we think of the surprise for the crowd. Mark 1:5 refers to ‘the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem’ that went out to be baptised by John. We know from Luke’s record of Jesus’s baptism (Luke 3:7) that John had some pretty strong things to say to this crowd. Sometimes God’s word comes to us – either through preaching or from our own reading of scripture underlined by the Holy Spirit or by a direct Holy Spirit prophetic utterance – and it is a hard message, hard to hear and hard to receive. Whenever we hear something we don’t want to hear our minds can automatically, instinctively close the door, pull up the shutters and forget what we’ve heard. It is the same when we have some kind of life changing epiphany, when we receive a special revelation which might be difficult and costly to us, we immediately distract ourselves and so forget it until it melts away to nothing and we can pretend and go on as if we have never heard it. We need to be aware of this when we are tempted to close our minds to God’s surprises. And what happened next was really surprising. A voice came down from heaven. In this passage in Mark’s Gospel and in Luke’s the words are spoken to Jesus: ‘You are my son whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’ In Matthew’s Gospel (3:17) it is ‘This is my Son,’ as if it is addressed to everyone there to proclaim the identity of Jesus as the beloved and only begotten Son of God. When we experience God speaking to us, often through a still small voice in the silence of our own hearts and minds, it changes everything. It changes the whole course of our lives and we can never be the same again. Are we ready to hear God speak to us – no matter what he has to say? Are you prepared to be surprised by God?

And, thirdly, what about Jesus himself? What was the surprise for him? Was it a surprise when he came up out in the water and in that very moment saw the astonishing sight of heaven being torn oven and the surprise of physically seeing the Holy Spirit? Imagine the joy he must have felt when he heard his Father’s voice. What an assurance this must have given him; experiencing the Holy Spirit in such a way that brought a deep assurance of the love and acceptance of his Father. This deep assurance of the love and acceptance of God by and through the Holy Spirit is available to us all. One of the most surprising events recorded in Scripture happened to the Disciples on the Day of Pentecost that we read of in Acts 2. What were they expecting? God is a God of the unexpected but the violent wind, the tongues of fire, the Holy Spirit inspired speech, out on the streets at 9.00 am declaring the wonders of God? What a surprise indeed! Are we ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit in such a dramatic way? Are you prepared to be surprised by God so much so that in this Epiphany ‘season of surprises’ you might actually have an Epiphany?!

Julia Binney