It has to be said that the national outlook looks grim, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. War, and if not war then confrontation in a very determined sense of rivalry – spreading across the globe; debts run up during the pandemic and having to be repaid: over time, but still putting pressure on the public purse – but how to do it without undermining our own sense of wellbeing? Whatever it is, there is always someone to blame, and preferably not someone who can answer back or to whom reporting media will give much attention let alone sympathy. Cynical: possibly, but true nonetheless.
Now look at another side of reality. As November starts we celebrate All Saints, our Patronal Festival. It is a celebration of those who have gone before us, believing and trusting in Jesus Christ and His mercy despite some troubled lives and memories. But we celebrate all the same for it is the Lord’s provision which enabled all this to happen and we just happen to be there when that mercy is being offered to us. It is definitely an offer we would not wish to refuse – for to do so would leave us on our own when confronted with our own misdeeds and areas of self-centeredness.
Then there is Remembrance. This may be seen as more political for we remember those who died in war – including irregular and insurgent campaigns – in order to safeguard our way of life: our freedom under the law and indeed our sense of the rule of law itself. The threats to these have not gone away and are still mobilizing and operating against us. Yet it is one thing to be thankful for those who sacrificed lives – but also limbs, memories and traumas for our sake and who still carry their scars with them today. It is another to bring these things into the present and to look to the future. We may all be called to duty in one way or another, and our nation faces the possibility of having to remobilize, rearm, reequip and resupply against any number of threats. This is also a call to reality and the knowledge that the good things of life may yet have to be defended. So Remembrance is also a call back to facing the realities of the world in all its complexities and resentments, and the knowledge that in looking to defend the rule of law and the principles of freedom under the law, we may also have to reflect personally on our own principles and priorities. And yes, this is quite a sombre prospect.
But we are also observing Christ the King, the last Sunday before Advent. This is much more confident and joyous. There is an expectancy in it. Not just that Advent and the preparation for Christmas is around the corner but a celebration in the principle of Jesus as Lord and King. The One who, having overcome sin and death, will come again to His people. A glorious coming and yet one before which we may all offer the deepest reverence and respect. This in One who in the Spirit, can and will penetrate the inmost thoughts of our lives, separating bone from marrow, as we read recently in our lessons. This is the One who will be the standard of justice, before whom we will also kneel, but do so willingly.
In the face of all this, we do not lose heart or give way to discouragement. We come before Him trusting His mercy rather than our own merits or good works. We come for who and what He is as opposed to who and what we are or have done.
Perhaps one way of looking at this is to see it in terms of the most solemn and yet the most joyful of prospects. Not so much entertainment as being drawn into a fuller vision; less onlookers in a passive audience and more participants in a glory and a majesty that draws us into itself where we will find ourselves more fully as we lose ourselves in Him. A place where we are shown things that were hidden and where we understand things that would otherwise be wholly beyond our imagination.
And that is the place where our questions and puzzlements, our partial and cloudy visons are filled out, given new form and meaning, and yes, where He is in all, through all and beyond all. And all to the Glory of God the Father.
So yes, our preparations for All Saints, Remembrance and Christ the King all have a relevance far beyond the here and now. All of them look beyond. But then as we know, All Saints is a thin place where the barriers between here and there are indeed known to shimmer.
Every blessing,
Sydney Maitland
