What gives you hope? (August/September 2023)
Dear Friends
I was at the URC’s annual General Assembly which met in July. We had a packed agenda with many reports to go through, resolutions to debate, amend and vote upon, and not a few lively conversations to be had along the way. Elsewhere in the newsletter I offer my own very personal reflections upon what felt to me to be the highlights. You will find all of the papers, minutes, keynotes etc on the URC’s website – just search for ‘URC General Assembly 2023.’
But in this letter I want to simply dwell upon the Bible studies that started each day. These were led, wonderfully, by Nicola Brady, General Secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). As a Roman Catholic, Nicola brought a profoundly ecumenical sensitivity to our gathering. She has deep experience on the work of reconciliation and peace-building, and this was an added thread woven through all she shared with us. You can read the full texts of her Bible studies on the URC webpages described above. I don’t want to reproduce them here. Instead, I want to draw out the series of questions she asked of us as she explored different biblical texts across the weekend. I find them marvellous questions to dwell upon. I share them here in the hope that you might also find them as evocative, enticing, challenging and fruitful as I did.
The first Bible study dwelt upon the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus, the tax collector, in Luke 19: 1-10. Nicola asked us to think deeply about the story and to dwell upon this question: “How does it feel to be really seen by Christ as He saw Zacchaeus on that day?”
She made the point that this question might generate both comfort and discomfort in us. Christ sees us as we truly are. He sees the heights of our goodness and the depths of our folly. He sees the strength of our faith and the passion of our commitments. And he sees the frailty of our vision and the weakness of our resolve. And, in his eyes, we are wonderfully made and utterly loved and truly worth everything just as we are. Zacchaeus was rejected by his community as a cheat and a traitor.
He knew that within himself without others having to tell him. But Jesus, seeing and knowing all, invites himself to become the guest Zacchaeus never expected. Jesus breaks through everything to holds Zacchaeus back and down and broken. He sets the tax collector free. And the tax collector, in gratitude, begins a different life. Jesus offers him not simply a welcome, but the chance to take responsibility for a new world.
What is Jesus asking of you and me right now as he sees us so fully? What is he asking of our congregation?
The following day, Nicola took us boating as we joined Jesus and the disciples in the boat in the storm (Luke 8: 22-25). She told us about the interpretation of this text she heard from a Ukrainian bishop. The bishop asked: “How is it that Jesus was able to calm the storm?” And the bishop then explored the answer by suggesting that what Jesus always did in any situation was to bring peace in his heart. Which begs the further question Nicola posed. In all the situations we encounter day by day, especially those of turmoil and challenge: “Did we bring peace in our hearts, or did we bring a storm of negative emotions and self-doubt?”
She invited us to consider how much we doubt ourselves, not least when it comes to matters of faith and our faithful place in the world. How often do we feel too small or too weak or too old or too tired to make a positive difference?
All of which led to the final question she asked us and which I find myself still dwelling upon: “As you look around you, at the work that is currently happening, what gives you hope?”
It seems to me that’s a marvellous question through which to reflect upon the life and work of our churches, and my own personal journey of faith. As summer unfolds a bit more, maybe these questions can offer you some gifts as they have me.
Yours in Christ,
Neil