Benefice of St Mary’s Chard, Combe St
Nicholas, Wambrook and Whitestaunton
7th
March – 3rd Sunday of Lent
Dear Friends
‘For the
foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than human strength.’
The passage
from 1 Corinthians which is one of our readings today is one of immense power
and also one that speaks to the unique quality of Christianity.
I was
listening to a fascinating history programme this week, concerning the Egyptian
Pharaoh, Akhenaten. At some point during
his reign as Pharaoh he declared that the god, Aten, was the only god, moving
away from the centuries old practice of worshipping multiple gods. He had temples and palaces built to Aten and
took the name Akhenaten, meaning ‘the spirit of Aten’.
His vision
of the only god was of one of great power who demanded worship and absolute
obedience. Aten was, for Akhenaten, a
supreme leader and being.
All through
history gods have been feared and worshipped and sacrifices made to them, but
Christianity is unique among religions because we believe that God loved
humanity so much that he himself became the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.
I personally
believe that Christianity is good for our emotional and spiritual well-being
because God, in Jesus, completely experienced our brokenness and entered into
it so that he might mend us. He became
weak on behalf of all our weaknesses and took upon himself all of our wilful
wrongdoing.
This may
well be looked upon as weak and foolish by many. But, of course, the story doesn’t end
there. What looks like God’s folly and
weakness in Jesus’ death on the cross, is transformed into something else
completely through the resurrection.
Through the lens of the resurrection the crucifixion does not look like weakness
at all, but the way to freedom and new life.
So, our own
weakness and brokenness is no longer the end of the story because God himself
has taken it all upon himself and offers back to us the chance of forgiveness
and transformation. That does not sound like foolishness, but the ultimate
wisdom, full of grace and mercy.
I enclose
with this letter, a letter from June Foster which makes for a fascinating and
moving read. The young people she
describes, joyfully worshipping God in places where they put themselves in
danger, may be accused by some of foolishness.
But they have the experience and belief in God’s transforming power and
strength and that, in my book, makes them very wise indeed.
I finish
with this lovely poem by Kate McIlhagga:
Into the
dark world
A snowdrop
comes,
A blessing
of hope and peace
Carrying
within it a green heart:
Symbol of
God’s renewing love.
Come to
inhabit our darkness, Lord Christ,
For dark and
light are alike to you.
May nature’s
white candles of hope
Remind us of
your birth
And lighten
our journey
Through Lent
and beyond.
Every
blessing
Ann
No comments:
Post a Comment