The Normal Conquest

So here we are at the end of the first week of 2005. January is a peculiar month: most of the time it can seem so long and gloomy, with nothing to look forward to. And yet already nearly a quarter of it is done. The festivities now seem a long way behind us already, even though it's only a fortnight since Christmas Eve. The weather outside has returned to its pre-Christmas greyness which so depressed me and brought me close to tears in December. I seem to be finding it easier to take the cloudy days in this new year though. A glowing sunset over Beachy Head yesterday foreshadowed the hope of Summer and the long light evenings to come- which as a summer baby are much more my natural environment.
The vital sunlight also offers the promise of new life emerging from all the winter bleakness which has been so augmented this momentous fortnight by the horrendous events in South East Asia. Yesterday was Epiphany, celebrating the end of the Christmas season in the Western tradition and the revealing of Jesus to the Magi, or "wise men". On the other hand, today in the Eastern Orthodox church is Christmas Day itself, making it very tempting to move to Greece or Russia, to have Christmas all over again. It's always sad to say goodbye to all the comforts, feasting and enjoyment of Christmas, but as a hymn says we can "keep a Christmas in our heart" every day of the year.
Some might question the validity of any celebration of the nativity of Christ let alone one extending for nearly two weeks.Indeed some religious groups do not observe Christmas- notably the Jehovah's Witnesses. The early church itself did not have a formal celebration of the event, but I think we are the poorer if we do not remember the meaning of God coming among us for what it really is. Had Jesus Christ not been born, man would still be the wretched creature he really is, and life would be largely meaningless. However, I and millions of followers of "The Way"- as Christians were first known- worldwide are so thankful Jesus was "normal" and yet divine. Because God lived among us, knowing and experiencing every detail of what it means to be human- in joy and in sorrow- that is why we can and should lead our own normal, everyday lives with a confident trust whatever uncertainties and worries it brings alongside it's myriad pleasures.

We should indeed take each day of this infant year as the blessing it is. Jesus said don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have enough cares of its own; my grace is sufficient for you today. A Christian memorial service in ( I think ) Phuket on New Year's Day, shown in a heart-rending BBC ONE documentary on the tsunami last night, was a poignant and fitting reminder of that "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me".

Many, of course, have questioned the existence and reality of God as the news pictures have hit home these past twelve nights- how ironic that it should have been during the twelve days of Christmas that everybody's comfort zones should have been so brutally invaded by a monster with no personality but Mother Nature. I may have appeared to be taking an almost casual, everything will be alright attitude to the situation in my recent postings, but maybe that has just been my way of coping. No human heart can remain untouched by what has happened, and even the great and the good, the "wise men" of 21st century society, have been brought low- perhaps even to their knees in prayer- at what has happened. Colin Powell, Kofi Annan, Tony Blair, Bushes George Senior and Junior and former president Clinton-all have somehow shown themselves to be fully human in a way I've never seen before of any public figure in their reaction to the true picture of devastation which has to be seen to be believed.

Yesterday, the Association of South East Asian Nations- ASEAN- invited world figures to a summit in Jakarta, and started discussing how best to apply the pledges of aid and assistance, and to get it to the most needy areas as quickly and effectively as possible. It was made all too clear how often in the past, nations have pledged support and solidarity with stricken communities only to fail to deliver on their promises. Please God, this will not happen for once this time; expert opinion says that it may take upwards of a decade for some of the worst affected areas to be rebuilt. Even then, you cannot so easily rebuild a shattered, traumatised life as you can a ramshackle home- and least of all in the lives of orphaned, homeless, hungry children, those least able to look after themselves. Seeing the tears in the eyes of some of the young victims of the tsunami on yesterday's news coverage was almost too much to bear, but see it we must- and open our eyes to the true needs of our world which is the true price of love. Whether Christian or Jew, Muslim or Hindu, Buddhist or Ba'Hai, there is an open cheque required here which common humanity demands we honour.

DARKNESS INTO LIGHT
I finally took my decorations down on Wednesday evening- though still it's a moot point whether that is really Twelfth Night or that title goes to the evening of Epiphany. When all's said and done, of course, it doesn't really matter. Like the year itself, now a week-old baby, Epiphany marks both an end and a beginning So the gentle twinkling,comforting glow of the fibre optics has gone for another eleven months as has the welcoming sight of trees and glowing candle lights in countless windows and the delightfully over the top coloured splendours which have adorned so many homes through the darkest moments of the year. In its place come the opportunities for enlightenment which a new year brings for each of us: to lighten the body by shedding an excess kilo or twenty (fat chance!), to replace pastry brush with decorator's paintbrush and/or to look at the many ways to make more of life in the year ahead. It may be- as in my case, I hope- in one's career, in self-improvement, fulfilling relationships or to Christians, drawing closer to God.

On Tuesday evening, I strolled out into a damp, dark evening for the 5 minute trip down to the premises of Central Methodist Church where my own chosen fellowship here, Ceylon Place Baptist Church, are currently meeting. It was the launch of "A Call to Prayer" for January 2005. It proved to be an hour and a half of thought-provoking, insightful, helpful, feeding spiritual reflection at a time when few thoughts could be away from events half a world away. Of course, these were rightly included in our prayers and reflections; indeed, in one of my own public prayers I made the connection between our own church's name and 'homelessness', with the pitiful state of the nation once known as Ceylon which is Sri Lanka today.

2004 was a year of great sadness, change and challenge for "CPBC", especially after the building they had used for over a hundred years was sold at the end of last January. Selling up and moving on was a brave and difficult decision to take; many who had called the Victorian building their spiritual home for most of their life must have felt very uneasy and uncomfortable with having to change habits and "start over" as the Americans put it.

Twelve months later, there's still uncertainty and no easy, predictable way forward for this church. Are we being called to stay put and develop our relationships with other traditions in Central Eastbourne? Or must we break with the past and move on somewhere new, to reach other needy communities in the town in a new way and a different location? Answers don't always come easy, and nor should they. The illuminati of the world can debate until the (sacred) cows come home, but without practical assistance promptly, their deliberations will mean nothing. This is what the Bible means when it says "faith without works is dead".

The tsunami commands our urgent, present attention, but all too soon it will pass from the headlines and other stories of need and greed, love and life will take its place in the media. But just as a 3-minute silence brought many to pause and reflect on Wednesday, bringing the oily wheels of commerce and all our sparkly dreams to a halt for two hundred or so heartbeats, so we need to hear the sound of each heart beating with anxiety in the two thirds world throughout this year. Whether or not we choose to worship his son in church or temple, we need to hear God's insistent knocking at the doors of our heart. Like the figure of Christ in Holman Hunt's wonderful painting, who holds a lantern and stands in the darkness, we need our normality to be tinged by his humanity.

The paradox of divinity and humanity can never be fully understood, just as how God can be made known in the darkest portions of human history can never be fully known. But somewhere in the darkness of all lives lurks the pilot light of Christmas which never goes out. Back on the TV screens, Channel 4 is once again bringing us Big Brother, this time in its celebrity form. A diet of trivia and teasing, mediocre moments tinged with perhaps just a touch of insight are what many will be turning to watch over the next few weeks. I can't stand this twaddle myself, but life is not meant to be full of unrelenting sadness and maybe it's a good thing to have something else to think of, other lives to watch. Nevertheless, rather than wasting time and money on voting off the unwanted housemates, I want this year to turn my eyes more to the light of the world than the light of a cathode ray tube. Prayer is man's rechargeable power pack to the source of all light and life, and should be carried with you at all times. It is normal and needful for man to pray, however he does it. Seven days without prayer makes one weak.