Weekly Blog 

Here our minister shares a weekly reflection: 
Sunday 1st December - Advent - Longing for the Presence of Christ

The first Sunday of Advent is upon us, the Christmas tree is up, and Oxmas is well and truly underway as the university term comes to an end.

Advent is both a time of preparation and also a time of anticipation. In our readings from Jeremiah and Luke this week, we come across passages that point not to Christmas, but to the end of the world as we know it. Often when we hear of an impending apocalypse, from street preachers and the like, it is presented as a time of judgment, trial and tribulation. Dietrich Bonhoeffer quite poignantly referred to it as frightening news for anyone with a conscience. Yet, in our readings, the coming, or return, of a saviour is a hope-filled event.

In Luke 21:25-26, we are warned there will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. It is hard to hear such words without thinking of the trauma we see taking place in the world around us, with conflicts ongoing and natural disasters happening more frequently, exacerbated by the climate crisis.
However, the promise of the return of Christ is not only to be feared by those who seek the presence of God in our world and who long after justice and peace. Rather, these are words of hope for a people who are suffering and facing persecution in a chaotic world.

The early church seems to have expected the return of Christ to take place imminently, and over the centuries Christians have had to wrestle with the reality that end of the world has not taken place quite so soon. There have been many predictions of when the apocalypse would take place; each generation has predicted different end points. Yet the point of these apocalyptic passages in the Bible is not to help predict a prescribed timeline. They’re written to encourage and remind the faithful, in the midst of darkness and uncertainty, that Christ will return, love will win, death will be defeated, and the kingdom of God will one day be fully established, as creation is fully restored.

As we look attentively for Christ’s presence in the world with us today, we can locate it in the places where justice and righteousness break through against the odds. There we will find the hope, the light, and the grace, that our Advent preparations and Christmas celebrations should point us towards. Amen.

Sunday 03 November - Caring for Others

This Sunday, we come across a reading from the beginning of the book of Ruth. We find that being forced to move due to lack of food, the pain of bereavement, and loss of income is nothing new. It has been a necessity for those living in land vulnerable to famine throughout human history, as has the need to seek safe haven on account of disease, war, and economic insecurity.
 
What makes Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah especially vulnerable is their lack of status in a patriarchal society. Israelite law had protections in place for women who were widowed, but that relied upon the existence of other male family members with the means to support them. Isolated, in Moab, this small family unit had little support available. So, Naomi plans to return to her homeland, and seeks to release Ruth and Orpah from any obligations they might have towards her.
 
Ruth decides to stay with her, and to journey to Israel, saying: “Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”
 
Ruth is remarkably faithful in continuing to support Naomi, and in doing so, she in effect commits to care for Naomi in her advancing years. This is way beyond what an Israelite hearer of the story might expect from a Moabite woman, this is faithfulness shown by a surprising person.
 
Ruth’s quandary is one that is faced by many in our own society today. Many feel the pulls and strains, demands and expectations, to care for family members and loved ones, sometimes at significant cost to themselves. It’s estimated that there up to 10 million people in the United Kingdom providing unpaid care for others, and there are 1.5 people providing paid social care. Many of you within the church will have provided care for parents, spouses, and others, and may be continuing to do so now. Whilst the government’s budget this week provided a significant funding boost for the sector, significant reform is needed to meet all the needs of those requiring social care.
 
The Church of Scotland has designated this Sunday as ‘Social Care Sunday’ and will focus on the care that it provides through its mission and charitable work in the social care sector. Although it’s not a national or international day in that sense, it makes sense too that we pause and pray for those involved in providing social care. For carers in the home who, like Ruth, give so much of themselves in order to love and support family members, and for our overstretched and under-resourced social care workers who provide essential services for those in need.

• We give thanks for all of those who provide much needed care for family members, and for employees within the social care sector. We thank God for the love that is shared in this way, and pray that they will be encouraged and sustained in their important work.
• We pray for the most vulnerable members of our society who seek further help at this time. In situations that are very challenging, we pray that the light of Jesus will shine brightly to bring hope and peace, and that adequate support would be forthcoming.
• In the context of a challenging public funding climate for Social Care, we pray for those individuals and their families who are affected by changes to services. We pray that those in government and those running services who have to make difficult decisions about finances will be guided by wisdom and compassion. Amen

Sunday 27th October - Viewpoints
Many of you will know of my love of climbing mountains and getting to the highest points where, in good conditions, you can see for many miles and gain a new perspective over the land. Even in the same area, each mountaintop gives a slightly different perspective and the horizon opens up in different ways, with different features and landmarks more prominent.

The same is true for me in cities; if there is a tower I will climb it, if there is a hilltop vista, I will visit it. In Oxford, one of the first places I recommend to newcomers or visitors is the tower at the University Church, which gives a bird’s eye view of the city centre, highlighting just how much of it is contained within college walls. Horizons are opened up and are no longer hemmed in by miles of sandstone and brick.

The roof of our church (which, during our ongoing building works, I’ve visited more often than usual) gives a fascinating vantage point over the meeting point of town and gown and of commercial, collegiate, and civic land, whereas the highest points of South Parks or Harcourt Hill give a view over the dreaming spires from a more suburban perspective.
Combined as viewpoints, they give a multifaceted view over the city and help us to see the bigger picture. Yet their significance is not fully realised unless such views are held in tension with street level experience and relationships built with people within and without the colleges, businesses, and communities that we see from above.

In the last few weeks, we’ve reflected on passages from Job where, through unimaginable loss and suffering, Job’s view of the world and of God has been called into question. As he gains an audience with God, his view is expanded, his limited understanding and experience of the world comes to light, and the mystery of God is shown to be greater than he could ever comprehend.

In the gospel of Mark, we have seen Christ trying to get his disciples to see that the nature of his role as Messiah is greater and more radical than they ever expected it to be. He had not come as a military ruler, setting himself to rule as a regular human king would do. He warns them that he would suffer and die before being raised to glory. Yet the disciples cannot see what is directly in front of them. They do not get it and keep on seeking after greatness and compete for the best positions at Christ’s heavenly banquet.
In contrast, in this week’s reading, Mark 10:46-52, a blind man recognises who Jesus is. The image is a stark one. The blind can see what the disciples cannot. So often, in the Gospel of Mark, it is those on the fringes of society, looked down upon by the community, that open up new understandings of the horizons of God’s love and mercy, and help reveal to us more and more of the nature of Christ and the God he came to reveal to us.

As a church, we are in a time of important discernment. We gather as church members, recognising that together, with our different viewpoints, experiences, and skills, we can come to understand more of the nature of God’s call on our lives and Christ’s will for us a church. Each person’s contribution can open up more vistas, possibilities, and opportunities to share God’s mercy and love.

It is through our meetings together, as we listen to each other, and seek to understand the fears, hopes, and dreams that we all bear, that we can then be lifted out of our own limited view of the world and the life of faith. We will then have our horizons widened such that we can grasp a little bit more of God’s call on our lives. The challenge here is that to take such an approach, to discern the mind of Christ together, demands a willingness on all our parts to humbly acknowledge that we don’t know everything, that we might not be right, and that there is more that we can learn from one another.

As we meet together — in worship, community life, and in making decisions regarding the future life of the church at New Road — may we do so in such a way that our horizons are broadened, and we can come to a rich, multifaceted view of all that Christ calls us to be in the City of Oxford and beyond. Amen.

Sunday 20th October - What motivates us to follow Christ?
I wonder what it is that motivates you and encourages you in your Christian journey? What is it that inspires you to try your best to be a follower of Jesus? Is it the promise of eternal life, or a fear of judgement? Or is it your experience of the liberating and life-changing love of God in the here and now?

In our scripture readings this weekend, we come across two passages where a reward is expected for ‘good behaviour’, or more accurately living righteously (that is, in good relationship, with God and with others), and following faithfully.

Job has quite unfairly and arbitrarily lost everything, his family, livelihood, and possessions. He complains to God, as a righteous man, wanting to know why he has been treated so harshly. Surely, his good life should have been rewarded?

James and John, two of Jesus’ closest disciples, also feel that their faithfulness should be rewarded when Jesus returns in glory. They ask that they would be able to sit at his right and left hands, in the seats of honour. If they are to suffer and take up their own cross, they hope that it will result in future blessings.

Yet, in both instances, we find that there is mystery and no specific guarantees when it comes to the expectation of future rewards. In Job 38, God finally responds to Job, outlining the wonders of God’s creative power and control over the elements. God is not to be pinned down and cornered into a neat and tidy game of blessings and curses, as if we could control God through our own actions.

The same is true for the disciples: they are once more encouraged that they will find favour with God as they follow Jesus, but at the same time, he can give no guarantee of who will take the best seats in the kingdom of heaven.

There can be no formula for such a thing, no set rules to follow, steps to take, or games to play, that will earn for us blessings from God in this life or the next. Future riches are no basis on which to base our discipleship. As a church, as we discern our calling to participate in the mission of God, the lure of status, influence, and future reward cannot be the basis on which we make our decisions.

Christ instead gives of himself, so that others can come to see and know the love of God revealed to them. The reward of following Christ is not so tangible as taking the best seats at a table or gaining wealth and power sometime in the future. Instead, it comes in the liberation from the rule of tyrants, oppressive injustice, and life-sapping fear.
This demands of us the willingness to let go of some things that we want to cling onto. It means that we are sometimes called to step out in faith, even if the future is uncertain. We are to be inspired onwards by the wonders of the kingdom of God that we see breaking through now, rather than simply longing for a future reward in heaven, and we are to be spurred on by the love of God as it is shown in the sacrificial relationships we see lived out all around us.

Sunday 13th October - Interfaith Sunday
On Sunday, as the heavens opened, we were able to extend hospitality to around 250 people who gathered for the peace vigil on Bonn Square. It was an encouraging event, as leaders from a diverse range of faith communities all shared in prayers and song, lamenting the year of violence that has played out in Gaza and Israel, continuing to seek after peace together. At the end of the vigil, we were able to gather on Bonn Square for a photo, as the rain had mostly passed over by then.



The way in which people from all faith traditions and none were able to take sanctuary in the church, meeting in solidarity and building relationships across divides in our communities was very inspiring and moving. It is telling that when right-wing, racially aggravated riots against migration took place earlier this year, they did not occur in Oxford. This willingness to meet, celebrate diversity, and point towards the possibility of peace in hope is a key part of building an integrated community and a cohesive shared life in our city.

The event was reported on BBC News here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjd5j4njyp5o