stfrancischurchtairuanz

The ‘Why’ of Repentance

by Joan Fanshawe

(Based on Matt 3:1-12; Isa 11:1-10; Ro 15:4-13)

Last weekend Alison and I sang in the performance of the Messiah in Thames. It was great that a good number of you were able to come over and share that too. We had practised in segments over the months but when it all came together with the soloists, I found it a very moving experience to hear those words within the whole sequence of experience so familiar to our faith.

Speaking of familiarity, on this second Sunday of Advent we find ourselves once again on the banks of the River Jordan with John the Baptist. We should be used to it by now, but that wild prophet John still jars as a bit of a party-pooper as we look toward Christmas.
It’s tempting to reduce the image of this provocative wild man dressed in a rough garments to a cartoon character on a street corner with a placard saying “Get ready – the end is near!” However, all four Gospel writers agree that there is no good news – no Gospel of Jesus – without John the Baptist. He has to be included in the story.

Jesus himself describes John as the greatest of prophets. A prophet, we remember, is not one who foretells the future but one who speaks as mouthpiece of God. John took his mission, which was to declare the imminent arrival of the coming Messiah, very seriously and feared no one, not even Herod or Herod’s wife, who in the end arranged to have John’s head. He was totally devoted to the One for whom he came to prepare the way, saying to his followers, “I baptise you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.”
When John proclaims, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” crowds from Jerusalem and the surrounding regions come out to hear him and to be baptised in the Jordan.

So why do they flock to hear John?

It helps to remember here, the Biblical understanding of the term ‘repent’ is deeply shaped by the Jewish experience of exile. To repent, to return, is to follow the prepared way of the Lord that leads out of separation and back into reconnection.
Reconnection with the God who made us and loves us beyond our understanding.

John is out in the wilderness – far away from the places of power. He sees the world through the lens of wilderness experience and reminds us, then and now, that God’s people endured the wilderness – with all its confusions, ill-will, and foolishness – as they fled from the Egyptian Pharaoh’s tyranny. For years they struggled with God’s call on their lives, often abusing it with their disobedience.

Perhaps venturing into the wilderness to be with John reminds the crowd of their ancestors’ struggles, allowing them to hear John’s call to repent, more as invitation than judgment – as an invitation to come home.

To repent doesn’t mean simply to be sorry. In the New Testament, to repent means to begin seeing differently, to begin thinking differently, both of which lead to acting and living differently. To repent is to change, but not for the sake of change itself. Rather, when we change we start to live differently, and as we develop a new way of seeing, we become aware that our actions are out of step with God’s dream for all creation.

What then is God’s dream for all creation? The answer to that question can be found throughout Scripture. One illustration can be found in today’s reading from Isaiah: God’s dream is for the world to be a place in which peace and equity – rather than fear and hatred – rule the day. God dreams for the world to be a place where we view each other with compassion and with love, where all of creation is full of the mercy and the peace of God.

God dreams of community … wherein we love one another, as neighbours, with all our heart, soul and mind, and that God calls us to live into this dream, not next year, not ten years from today, but right now.
It is a desire that John himself expresses with the phrase that always comes after the verb ‘repent’. He doesn’t just shout, “Repent!” and stop there. He links the call to repentance with the ‘why’: “the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

For those of us who follow God in the Way of Love, it is Jesus who defines our new way of seeing, our new mindset, and our way back to God. Deciding to try to live and love like Jesus is what Christian repentance is all about.

Dear friends, what if we choose to hear this prophet’s call – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” – not as an ominous threat of impending judgment, but as an invitation to live into God’s dream?

Even now, there are prophets rising up in our midst. We cannot ignore our young people who dream of having a future in which they can enjoy God’s creation, but often feel that their dreams are threatened because of climate change, economic unfairness and violence. They are demanding change to protect their lives and God’s creation so they and their children may enjoy the abundant life God desires for them – “and a little child shall lead them,” says Isaiah.

Advent invites us all to dream of something beyond what we can presently see – injustice, inequality, prejudice, ignorance, poverty, hunger, illiteracy, powerlessness, and hopelessness? Can we let John invade our indifference by asking what part we play in these dis-eases? How will we live knowing the hardship of the homeless and the hungry, the suffering of migrants, refugees, seemingly increased acts of violence and, especially, pointless war?
These are dreams by which to set a course. God does not ask us if we are there yet, but rather whether we are headed in the right direction. We as children of God need to heed the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness – the voice that reminds us of God’s dream.

We need to take the time to seek God’s vision for ourselves; to ask, “What does God want us to be and to do?”
Could we choose one element of our lives – just one, for now – where we see the need for repentance, and take advantage of the opportunity to change direction?

And, following Paul’s counsel, we who have glimpsed God’s dream must now share that hope. Like John, we must strive to renew the hopes of an exhausted world. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

“Repent, live into God’s Dream.” This is John the Baptist’s invitation for us to come home and to be the people God has created us to be.

Prepare the way of the Holy One,
make a straight path.
— Matthew 3.3

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Message in a Bucket

Here’s a story that you’ve probably heard before, but I want to wring a novel moral out of it.

A water bearer had two buckets, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One bucket had a split in it, the other was near perfect. At the end of each walk from the stream, the split bucket always arrived only half full. The perfect bucket arrived proud of its performance, fulfilled in the design for which it was made. But the poor split bucket was ashamed of its flaw, and miserable that it couldn’t accomplish what it felt it had been made to do. One day the flawed bucket spoke to the water bearer.
“I am ashamed of myself and I apologize to you.”
“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”
“I am only ever able to deliver half my load because this split in my side causes water to leak out all the time.”
The water bearer, in his compassion, said, “Today I want you to notice the flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old split bucket noticed the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and was cheered somewhat. The bearer asked the bucket, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, and not on the other bucket’s side? I’ve always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we’ve walked, you’ve watered them. Your flaw has been a real blessing.”

Flaws, properly deployed, need not despond but can bless. Even more constructively … I like to explain ‘potential’ to my students in terms of a sand bucket:
You are a bucket, I might say to them. (I’d show them a bucket.) This bucket represents your full potential. How full is your bucket right now? How … no, don’t look at that other guy’s bucket! You can’t compare your bucket to his … No, how can we get more sand into your bucket? What’ll it take? Imagine your bucket full. What steps can you take to get there? Let’s make a plan.

See, we’re all born with a certain amount of potential, framed in terms of time, abilities, opportunities – and flaws. Enhanced by experience and education. The other girl is born with her own potential and opportunities. It’s pointless – damaging even – to compare ourselves to her. She has her potential, I have mine. Different. Uncomparable.
The wisdom is to consider our own bucket of sand, and interrogate it. How short of full is it? How can it be fuller? What would it look like full, and how could I get there?
How we answer these questions will determine how close we get – flawed or not – to our full potential.

The admirable Sir Murray Halberg died yesterday, at 89. There is a man, physically disabled, who died with a full bucket.

We can reach the end of our path knowing that we’ve made the most of our abilities and inclinations and opportunities, and couldn’t have done better with what we had. Not envying anyone else; having reached our potential; and content with that.

Be Prepared

by Liz Young

(Based on Matt 24:36-44, Ro 13:11-14)

The readings today prepare us for the coming of Christ, and the word ‘repent’ occurs several times. Repent, meaning turn around; for example, be prepared to change your thinking, your concept of God and his purpose, for you personally, and for the world. Be open to change, were my first thoughts, and then I read Bruce Gilberd’s comments on the word repent, and his words resonated. He wrote, “We spend our lives turning – this way, that way – as we walk or use the road. Even at home we turn. We turn towards or away from others.” We use the word ‘turn’, in so many different ways, and embedded is the idea of change. In the New testament we have the Greek word Metanoia – often translated as ‘repent’, but a truer meaning is ‘to turn’ – and in the New Testament, this means to turn to God. This is a graced decision – to stop heading along our self-centred way, change our direction and our purposes, and travel on as a God-centred person.

Bruce wrote, “The invitation to do this comes to every person at some time or another,” and, for many of us who are easily distracted, it is a choice we re-make several times in a lifetime: with me it seems to be once a week, as we keep walking with many others, including you lot, in and along God’s way.

Be prepared, the scout motto. It’s many years since I [Liz was a doctor] used to put out my clothes on my chair at night, to be prepared to dress quickly if an emergency call came when I was asleep. But this was a ritual that comforted me, and meant I got to Thames within thirty minutes. I’ll always be grateful for the Thames physicians who were my first response team, meaning that I was never called unnecessarily, and could sleep most nights undisturbed. Remember, being prepared is reassuring.

In this morning’s epistle Paul writes, “Let us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.” That is, let us put aside our unnecessary baggage, such as distrust, anxiety and envy, and then, feeling lighter, we can follow Christ’s teachings.

I found today’s Gospel reading disturbing. I felt if I concentrated my thinking only on the Day of Judgement, I’d be too anxious to do anything practical and helpful to others. So, I’ll stick to concentrating on being prepared!

What else do we need to do to be prepared to follow Christ each and every day?
Noah, at the time of the Flood, was advised to have a meal prepared and to give the servants their meal at the regular time. We can all be prepared to be hospitable for any unexpected occasion; if and when that happens we can use those tins in the larder – we’ve kept for when we have floods. Only, remember to replace them as soon as practicable.
Also, I recommend reviewing the first aid kit regularly: retired nurses are the best at doing this.
At this time of year we can prepare the soil for planting in spring.
We can also prepare for pestilence, cockroaches and clothes moths – I now spray my winter clothes with fly spray as I put them away for next winter.

But as you are preparing, remember to pray. Praise God while you’re preparing, ask God for help with your preparation.
I prepare for family Christmas present giving throughout the year. Living here in Tairua, I find I buy my family presents when we’re on holiday, as that’s the only time we visit cities, and when something that speaks to me, ‘Gary’ or ’Sean’, I get it then and there. Our family all like to read. This year I’ve found good second hand book shops in Rotorua, Hamilton and Whangarei: so that now, this December, I will only have to wrap up the things in the present drawer and then look up Book Depository or ABE books to finish off the list.

As well as planning the food and presents, prepare spiritually for Christmas, our celebration of the coming of Christ and redemption – with prayer and meditation. And the greatest gift we can give is thanksgiving. When we give presents, we give what we can spare, but in giving thanks for what we’ve received, we give ourselves.

Mustard Seed Sunday

by Megan Means

(Based on Mark 4:26-34)

‘Aotearoa Sunday’ was passed in the 1980s by the Anglican General Synod. It is a day of prayer and thanksgiving for the work of the ‘Bishopric of Aotearoa’.

Kia ora, nau mai, haere mai, tēnā koutou katoa.
E te whānau (family)
Nau mai, haere mai (welcome)
Ki tēnei whare karakia (to this church)
Ko te Atua te pou manaaki, te pou atawhai, te kaihanga o ngā mea katoa.
(God is our support and carer, the creator of all things)

The Sunday before Advent in the UK is called ‘Stir it up Sunday’, a name which comes from the Book of Common Prayer and possibly dates back to 1549. The words of the Collect that have usually been said on this day are, “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”. As traditions go, somewhere along the way the metaphor of stirring up the Christmas pudding or cake became a timely fit for the Sunday before Advent.

This play on words has prompted generations of families, particularly in the UK, to stir their Christmas pudding/cake in readiness for Christmas on this Sunday every year. Are you of this tradition? Or is today now a reminder that you might need to start thinking about your Christmas pudding and Christmas cake!

I do like the term ‘Stir it up Sunday’!

Often Anglican Sunday services are very well planned and led. They are consistent. We usually know what is going to happen. Sometimes churches do things slightly differently but it is all really quite ordered, predictable and safe.

But, ‘the Bishopric of Aotearoa’ could be a bit of a ‘stir…up’! What is it? I googled it …

From Wikipedia (the fount of all people’s knowledge): The Bishopric of Aotearoa, Te Pīhopa o Aotearoa, was a post created in 1928. It is usually occupied by the most senior bishop of Tikanga Māori (although at present this is not the case) and this person is also the Primate and archbishop who heads the Māori Anglican Church throughout New Zealand. The office is currently held by Archbishop Donald Tamihere, who was installed in April 2018 at Manutuke Marae, near Gisborne.

The Bishopric of Aotearoa has within it five hui amorangi/dioceses, each with its own unique identity and pīhopa/bishop, just like tikanga pākehā.
The idea of a Māori diocese with its own bishop was a response to the formation of the Rātana Church, which threatened to draw Māori away from the established churches. For three years there was deadlock within Pākehā bishops, who insisted that the first bishop of Aotearoa should be Pākehā, and Māori Anglicans were adamant that this person should be Māori. The eventual solution was a classic Anglican compromise: the creation of a so-called bishopric with no territorial jurisdiction. On 2 December 1928, Frederick Bennett was consecrated as the first Bishop of Aotearoa in the Napier Cathedral. He was an assistant to the Bishop of Waiapu, and ministered to Māori throughout the country but under licence from the pākehā diocesan bishops (an arrangement maintained until 1978).

Jesus said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God …? It is like a mustard seed.”
The allegory of the mustard seed is an invitation for anyone living in a world of choices to acquire discernment, courage, flexibility: surely all elements within the story of the Bishopric of Aotearoa, that can also relate into each of our own lives.

Jesus says things like: The kingdom is here now. The kingdom is within. The kingdom is among you. Seek the Kingdom.
“Thy kingdom come – on earth as it is in heaven.”

This “kingdom” is here … right now! And this parable is for anyone who lives with the desire, the call, to do something good and beautiful with their life, or to do something that makes a difference in the world for God’s creation and beloved community.

The growth of any seed is a picture of encouragement and an invitation to make a kinder world possible right now.
There is a lot of goodness in a mustard seed: It is used for medicinal purposes. It is used to enhance taste. It is a useful seed that becomes a bushy plant (one neither elegant nor majestic).

Jesus said the realm of God is like someone taking care to plant a useful seed in prepared ground and then tending to it and watching it grow.
Seeds can grow into unexpected results. The mustard bush is a stubborn plant, which develops into a tough little shrub, and then grows to become a tree that birds can make their nests in.

‘Stirring up’ this allegory, the Bishopric of Aotearoa is a persistent, tough native plant that started growing into something that was not expected. Yes, I think it did start to grow into something unexpected and was overtaken in some ways and controlled by colonial expectations. Today it continues to establish itself and connect with whānau and friends and remind all Anglicans that we are a bicultural church.

And stirring it up more, why have ‘us’ pākehā only used token amounts of Te Reo in our services? Along with poor pronunciation? I think that Pākehā led ministry units have made a pretty poor Christmas cake for some time.
Our prayer book and constitution, however, have been ahead of the times with their bicultural equality liturgical approach. Today our Anglican church is positioned well to continue to support the country’s revival of taha Māori by the way our liturgies uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and the way that we provide a balanced voice to the original stories of the arrival of the gospel in Aotearoa.

God’s kingdom is with – and within – us all.

So, what is being stirred up within us today? What seed is wanting space to grow? What might we change, improve about ourselves over this next week and into our futures? What might we stir up this Advent and Christmas season? A tiny seed will remain just that unless we do something about it.