You can write about Experiencing Christ’s Love - the book’s on sale today (show) for a fiver - but it’s no
substitute for experiencing it.
Thinking and writing about God is less
important than being present to him. If you're present with a loved one you
don’t have to construct thoughts about them since they’re there before you and
you just enjoy them. Rather like when you’re listening to music you don’t think
about the music so much as lose yourself in it.
The
Lord is truly risen. Alleluia!
The last word isn’t with corruption, death
and loss but with the loving presence of God. Thinking about the truth of Christ’s resurrection is natural - but
it only takes you so far. We can think of
the solid historical evidence of fearful disciples changed to bold witnesses
and the Jewish Sabbath getting shifted to the Lord’s Day neither of which could
just happen.
We can think about Jesus and how his name
lives on in the consciousness of the world after 80 generations - but we can experience him.
Experiencing Christ’s love in worship,
prayer, study, service and reflection got me writing my book. I did so though as
both an ideas person and a people person
- actually as a parson. Experts are
uncertain about the exact origins of parson, although one theory says it’s a
shortened form of the Latin persona ecclesiae, "person of the
church."
The priest or parson gives a face to the
institution and it’s been my privilege with Anne’s help to do that up to my 9th
Easter here at St Giles.
Just as my personal encounters with God are
more significant than my sermons and books your
personal engagement with me, your encouragement and forbearance weigh more than any imaginable written
evaluation.
In my book I tell how my own devotion to
Christ has been rekindled through engagement with villagers.
I know there’ve been times when the ideas person has won over the people person, when I’ve been so
preoccupied with my thoughts I’ve passed you by. Times when the ideas person
has held forth in the Horsted Club, Men’s Lunch, or wherever there’s a good
argument to be had, and maybe the parson
got a bit forgotten as the Harvey’s flowed!
All is shortly to be history as another
partnership of priest and people ends tonight and a new name chosen, soon we
hope, to go up on the Rectors’ board.
The Christian cause will outlive me here as
surely as the Risen Christ surpasses the boundaries of space and time. God who
brought everything out of nothing and Jesus from a virgin womb today brought
inextinguishable life from the grave. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today
and forever!
In this forward movement here at St Giles I
want to commend to your prayers and active help our Churchwardens David Lamb
and Peter Vince, Deacon David Howland and the Parochial Church Council as they
continue to serve and lead in Jesus Christ through the demands of the pastoral
vacancy that starts tomorrow.
I look forwards to coming back to St Giles as
is fitting, and most especially to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of
my priesthood on St Thomas’s Day, Monday 3rd July 7.30pm when you'll have
visitors from near and far including the Bishop of Guyana.
Thinking, thought, sermons, books aren’t the
last thing rather its presence, the
presence of one to another and of Christ
through us all that’s ultimate .
On this hill we serve a cause that outlasts
us as we engage with those precious gifts, the Bible and the Eucharist.
My last word to you is: seek those gifts,
experience Christ’s love, establish a life of worship, prayer, study, service
and reflection. Keep a stake in the cause that will outlast us all.
Jesus Christ will outlast the cosmos and host
a reunion. Easter is the pledge of that.
His Resurrection will be ours and he will be
everything to everyone!
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