Well done Brendan Barber!

"Horrible to say, in a manner, I am a Communist.  England has grown hugely wealthy but this wealth has not reached the working classes.  It is a dreadful thing for the greatest part of a very rich nation to live a hard life without dignity, knowledge, comfort, delights or hopes in the midst of plenty." - Gerald Manley Hopkins

"TUC leader Brendan Barber is to urge the government to "learn from the Olympics" in creating policies to boost the economy." - BBC News website

I am grateful to Brendan Barber. We are the 6th wealthiest economy in the world (UN Statistics). Hopkins' words are more true than ever. Yet we are like the rich fool whom I preached on yesterday (Luke 12).

The passage is not about guilt. It is about God in his grace coming to us and saying, You fool, see what you have done to yourself. You have lived for Self and now you are alone, without friends or family even to pass your wealth onto. Christ bids us go the way of radical trust in the Father (see the rest of the chapter), where we find our wealth in, amongst other things, relationship with others.

I wonder whether the difference between Brendan Barber and government policy is Hope. For the government, there is economic 'reality'. For Brendan Barber, there is the thought that together we might do things differently. Perhaps he is the bringer of Hope, the one who unknowingly perhaps is calling us to trust in God.

It would involve rises in tax for the middle class and wealthier. The Games were funded by the regressive Lottery Tax (a sleight of hand that). So it comes to whether there are those amongst the more well off who are willing to give the lead and say, Let's do it. In the case of the higher earner, George Osborne said it wasn't doable (by lowering the tax rate). So it will need leadership from higher earners to say 'Yes We Can'.

This summer has been amazing - the Olympics and the Paralympics. In all our rejoicing, let us be grateful to God for the weather. A record breaking wet summer, with rain virtually everywhere except during the games. In this we are reminded that all we enjoy ultimately comes from God our Father. The weather was a key constituent of the celebration.

As was the generosity of the Gamesmakers, the thousands of volunteers who made it all possible.

These things speak of how things can be better as we trust God and live sacrificially.

For my vote: Let's do it! For myself, please Chancellor, raise my taxes!

PS Many thanks to J John for his blog 'What legacy are we leaving behind?' (click here)

Today at the Paralympics

Quote for the Day

It would be a misunderstanding to think of grace as a security from risk; rather, it is risk at its most urgent and intense because it is the point at which freedom is forged.
- James Hanvey on The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo (Gerald Manley Hopkins)

Quote for the Day

Anne Lamott writes in Traveling Mercies that our two best prayers are, "help me, help me, help me" and "thank you, thank you, thank you" (p. 82).
http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=7/25/2010&tab=4

Between: The Dark Knight Rises

Between: The Dark Knight Rises: Having watched The Dark Knight I commented that it was the theme of sacrifice and substitution, which runs throughout the film, that set up...

Quote for the Day

"The Spirit of Cruciformity is the Spirit of Christian community, and it is by means of cruciformity that the Spirit produces unity."
Cruciformity, by Michael J Gorman, p 61

Sabbatical - Concluding Reflections

At an informal level, I began with the inspiration of Thomas, who's true knowledge came from being overwhelmed by the knowledge of Christ.

In fact, though I 'met' Thomas on many occasions, I lost sight of him as a 'hero'. But looking back, perhaps I did indeed follow in his footsteps.

Geographically, probably yes (and I have since learnt that current debate is as to whether he went also to China); but spiritually, yes as well. For I was overwhelmed - out of my comfort zone for virtually the whole time, totally dependent on my new friends in India, whom I will never forget. India carries you along in a wave of life, and it was great to be helped on that experience by those who gave us such a welcome and embraced us. I will be forever grateful and transformed by that experience, and grateful to my supervisor for advising me to let that happen. My instinct is to head-knowledge (Thomas, and yes, I learnt much with my mind); but this was something I learnt from the heart most of all. Looking back, that remains with me. The writings of David Ford provide me a theological basis for what I have experienced. I dare to think and hope that this will be one of the lasting personal legacies, perhaps the biggest.

More formally, I began with the awareness that Indian Christians I have met in Harlow have a lively faith and are well-taught in Christian things. Their faith is generally more vibrant than that of Christians in the UK. I was asking what is distinctive about The Church of South India's liturgy, its worship and spirituality that we can learn from in Harlow.

To some extent, it is perhaps fair to say that anything Indian is likely to be more vibrant than in England. That is the nature of Indian life, which teems with energy. To explore that is outside the brief I have set myself and would probably demand a book in itself.

But within my more limited aims, what may I say?

1. Deeds and words go hand in hand in mission. Faith is to do with the whole of life. Therefore it has to be more vibrant if it is to mean anything. I hear a fresh call to whole-life vocation.

2. There is no sacred-secular divide. This is rooted in European culture. The call of the western church must be to address this.

3. A practical commitment to evangelism by the church at large, in its structures and institutions - certainly the parts of the church that I met.

4. The value of knowing the 'tradition' of the church, of sensing one's part in the stream of Christian history. This is not the same as being 'traditional' - much of the church was far from that; but there is a sense of knowing one's place in the stream of history. Much of this is virtually innate, eg the inspiration of Thomas. But it is important. I need to explore what this might mean for us in England.

In closing, thank you India. Thank you to the Church of South India. Thank you to Jayaseelan and Ramila for organising our visit, and for all your time; and thank you to all God's family in Chennai.