No Turning Back!

In these times of political unrest and upheaval, and apparently irrevocable change, my thoughts turn to a piece I wrote under this heading many years ago.  I had just replaced the van that I used for my work.  I had covered over 141,000 miles in the old one, a Renault, and in that time I’d got to know its foibles, reluctances and shortcomings very well.  At the time I was writing, I was getting used to its replacement, the first of a sequence of Vauxhalls that I would drive for the next ten years. 

Whenever you change from one vehicle to another, you notice the differences between the two and I found myself thinking, ‘I used to have room there for such and such,’ or, ‘this is awkward; it wasn’t so much trouble before.’  But I soon realised that there were reasons for things working the way they did, and benefits that accompanied those apparent ‘quirks’.  I found that, to get the best out of the new van, I had to follow the intentions of the manufacturers, and do things their way ... revising my own habits as necessary.

St. Paul found that the people of Corinth had much the same problem regarding this new religion he had foisted upon them.  Corinth was a busy commercial hub in the ancient world; a major seaport and trade centre, it was the most important place in Achaia.  Like any cosmopolitan city,  it had become the focus of a variety of cultures and a wide mix of beliefs and moral attitudes.  The new converts to Christianity were trying to combine their new faith with all the ways of life and pagan rituals they’d been used to.

Paul addressed some of these matters in a letter to them, pointing out that, although they had been ‘washed … sanctified … justified’ (II Cor.6:11), in many ways their behaviour was no different from what it had been before.  In other words, they hadn’t learned the rules of the new management; they were still trying to work the old system, or in the terms that I was thinking then, still trying to use the old van.

Forgive me for making a reference here to my own background in a farming community.  From time to time notices would appear in the local paper about a forthcoming ‘Drawing Match’.  Competitors would try to plough (or draw) a furrow across the field as nearly straight as possible, and winners might expect to deviate by only millimetres over a distance of several hundred metres!  This recollection illustrates a very telling comment that Jesus made when it came to following the ‘Way’, as the early church was known.

Someone had undertaken boldly to follow Him wherever he might go.  Jesus’ response to him hinted at some of the difficulties this might entail.  He invited others to follow Him, who offered family excuses for hesitation or delay.  He told them “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62).  His hearers would understand the importance of looking forward when ploughing; they could also relate such an attitude to the need to keep focussed on the way ahead if they were going to change the course of their lives.

We would do well to follow the same principle: if we adopt the ‘Jesus label’ for ourselves, we must apply it to every part of our lives, not contrive some adaptation to accommodate some of the more tasty elements of a past life.

Those Returning ...

We’ve recently been studying in church the book of Nehemiah, who was called out by God from His people who were exiled in Babylon.  He sought the permission of the King and, with his blessing, returned to Jerusalem with the aim of rebuilding the city.  Nehemiah and the group who went with him faced all kinds of opposition, every stage of which, we found, had lessons for our lives in the 21st century.  Once their mammoth task had been completed, Ezra the priest read the words of the Law to the people (Nehemiah 8:1-9), who then realised just how far their former behaviour had fallen short of what God required.

The re-establishment of a way of life and forms of worship and devotion last practised nearly a century and a half earlier was a staggering achievement and, while not forgetting their shame and regret at this latest discovery, Nehemiah told them to go and celebrate this special day (8:10).

We are living through a whole season of special days and commemorations just now.  2016 alone is a year of important centenaries and, with 70th or 75th anniversaries of important events in WW2 intermingled with these, we’re on something of an emotional roller-coaster.  To those who were involved, whether directly or indirectly, they bring deeply-felt emotions.

Many other events are cause for annual remembrance.  I’ve heard it said – and have no reason to disbelieve it – that the first year after a bereavement is the worst, as the date of each happy occasion passes in the knowledge that it is now remembered alone.  I attended a funeral service last week, and I expect that that widow will follow the same emotional cycle.

Not all such events are sad ones, of course, although they’re often times of heightened emotion.  Many, though, are times of farewell.  Some communities are subject to constant change, seeing newcomers arriving to take the place of others who have left or passed on.  Examples that come to mind include mission stations, military bases, prisons ... and church families.  At this time of year, it is quite possible to see deacons being priested, ordinands being created deacon, and new vocations preparing to begin training ... and all within the same congregation!

Now that the exam season is over, and the end of the school year is nigh, the memories of many of us turn to our own schooldays, or those of our children.  Something brought to mind the other day a hymn that we sang at the end of each school year.  Written by Henry James Buckoll (1803-1871), the words run as follows:

Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing,
Thanks for mercies past receive;
Pardon all, their faults confessing;
Time that’s lost may all retrieve;
May Thy children
Ne’er again Thy Spirit grieve.

Let Thy father-hand be shielding
All who here shall meet no more;
May their seed-time past be yielding
Year by year a richer store;
Those returning,
Make more faithful than before.

That final plea, ‘for those returning’ brings us back to those people who heard Ezra reading from the Law.  They were reminded how sinful they and their ancestors had been; in the words of St Paul – echoed in the lines of that hymn – how far they had “grieved the holy Spirit of God.” (Ephesians 4:30.)   Some of the pupils singing that line might have had similar feelings as they would shortly take home reports revealing lower that ideal grades.  They might echo that plea to be made more faithful than before!  The people of Judah certainly did (Nehemiah 10:30ff.).

The latter verse of the hymn has always been the more poignant and personal to me.  It heralded goodbyes for only a few weeks for ‘those returning’; for others, on their last day within these walls, it offered a prayer for their protection and that they would make good use of all they had learned as they moved to career or university.  For some of them it would be the last time they would see each other for perhaps fifty years or more, or until someone should organise a reunion; for some the farewell would be forever.

Is this a time of poignant farewell for you?  What are your prayers just now?