Unprecedented

 

I have been looking back at some of the thoughts for the day and FB live talks we have done at St James since the start of the lockdown and it has been interesting to see common themes but also differences as time has gone on.    Mostly the tone has been an encouraging and affirming one, but now and again there would be a more challenging piece.  This is one of those.

We used to talk about the word unprecedented which we heard a lot of at the start of the lockdown and it still comes up now and again.   Its return is referring to the economic challenges facing us as we come out of the furlough scheme and the inevitable job losses that come with that, unprecedented job losses apparently.   I feel like at the start of the lockdown again, except this time the feeling of dread is for all the people facing months if not years without work.   And then there is the unprecedented level of national debt which will burden our nation and limit public services and future government policies for years to come.

I honestly don’t know how I am to respond to this, except that I have a sense that as a Christian I am called to not be blind to it, to not withdraw into my own safe place, secure income, supportive faith.   The church will be called on in ways it has not been for decades, but my fear is that this call will actually be missed by the church.  When an important moment knocks on the door of your life, it is often no louder than the beating of your heart, and it is very easy to miss it. 

We may think the rise of joblessness and economic difficulties will be too obvious for us to miss, but we have very subtle and effective filters which keep uncomfortable realities at bay.   It can be all too easy for the church to turn in on itself as we come out of lockdown, focus on opening up our buildings, supporting our church members and working out how to keep online people engaged.   There is more than enough to keep us focused in helping our institution and church communities survive these turbulent times and in doing so miss this important moment, often no louder than the beating of our heart.

The reality is that society will rarely actually come calling to the church for help, it will not occur to many of them…there will be no obvious request that we turn down, no obvious moment lost.  Rather it will be the softness of our hearts and the openness of our minds and the cultivation of empathy that lead us to anticipate where we can contribute, travel with, draw alongside.  How can we be good news to our communities in this winter that lies ahead?

Archbishop William Temple said that the church is the only society that exists  for the benefit of those who are not it's members.  Rarely has this been more true than in the coming days.

In Matthew 20:28 Jesus, speaking about himself, says the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’  Being good news for our communities means following the example of Jesus who lived for others, was not afraid to speak truth to power and yet had a compassion for the individual person.   Being good news also means being people of hope in uncertain days because we are able to see beyond the current circumstances to a God who promises to not abandon this world Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.(Hebrews 13:5).   For God there are no unprecedented times.

How can we be good news in these unprecedented times?