We start our return from the holidays with an important birthday. On the 8^th September the Church celebrates the birthday of the Mother of Jesus, Mary. As she is the patron saint of our parish church we like to celebrate this occasion with a party on the nearest Sunday (this year 10^th Sept). With an 11am Eucharist followed by a BBQ and music from Redbourn Jazz Band, we hope that there is more than enough to suit all tastes, and that you will accept our invitation to come and join the party. Whether you come to church each week or have a love of jazz you are all very welcome.

Yet I can understand how it can seem contradictory to celebrate the birth of the one who would bring Jesus Christ into the world, a moment of God’s presence with us, when we look out in the world and far too often see that God seems absent. ‘Patience with God: the Story of Zacchaeus continuing in us’ by the Czech theologian – priest Tomas Halik raises this very question too. Rather than believing that this absence is evidence that there is no God, and instead of coming up with an over-simplistic ‘solution’, he suggests that we need to be more patient in confronting the mystery of God.

A key character of Mary is patience. We see this time and time again throughout her life, as she witnessed and was at times central to, God acting in the world in a new way. She does not try to fully understand every detail before she says yes to God, perhaps she knows she cannot. Instead she ponders what she says in her heart: she is patient.

There are lots of things in the world that we do not understand. Something things we might say we just don’t know, others that they are a mystery. As Christians, we believe that it is not possible for us to know everything about God: God is by nature a mystery. Instead, we must learn to live with mystery; something that cannot be overcome or solved. Like Mary, we must ponder these things on our hearts and learn to be patient with God. This patience is not passive or silent, but attentive, open minded, outward looking and collaborative. As we know from Mary, it is also life changing. I think the Church has a lot of learn here.

Perhaps, whatever labels we might give ourselves in terms of our religious affiliation, we could try to embrace this feeling of uncertainty and mystery and follow Mary’s example and ponder these things, the good and the bad, in our hearts. Then perhaps together we could say yes like Mary and change the world for the better, together.

Tim

‘Always we begin again’. So wrote St Benedict, a 6th century monk whose monastic rule was lived out in our village for over 400 years at Redbourn Priory. This phrase came to mind as I was reflecting on my time in Redbourn where I have been living, working and serving this community for over one year. This has been a year which has included some wonderful community events such as the Living Advent Calendar, the Christmas Market and the Pancake Party at Coffee on the Common. Yet for many it may have been a year of personal tragedy and change. As we come to the end of a cycle in the village and churches year it’s refreshing to know that whatever kind of year we have had, we can always begin again each day afresh with God.

For some of us, the last year may or so may have been a year we wish could literally be started again, with Brexit and an uncertain General Election all casting a shadow of uncertainty over what the future might hold. There may also be many personal challenges which we may have had to overcome, whether in our personal relationships, our health or something else. For others, the last year may have been a really positive experience, both personally and nationally.

What would St Benedict have to say about all that is happening in our country and world today, I wonder? St Benedict lived at a time of massive change and upheaval, including the break-up of the Roman Empire and the loss of a common identity. In response Benedict sought to create communities which had listening and balance at their heart with obedience, stability and conversion of life, as their 3 main vows. At the centre of this way of life, was and is a way of life grounded in Christ. In this he provided an alternative to all the change and uncertainty in the world around him. That’s why his rule is still used and practiced throughout the world today, with our nearest Benedictine community located in Turvey in Bedfordshire (and open to visits too).

It is refreshing to know that whatever kind of year we have had, it is always possible to begin again. To start afresh and try to live with the attitude of ‘always we begin again’. Every day will have opportunities to get things right and to be positive, no matter what has come before.

Tim

Do you remember the very first time you ever rode a bike all on your own?  Do you remember that feeling of excitement mixed with an equal sense of foreboding as you pedalled that first, short, wobbly distance?  The excitement was in doing something you had never done before; the foreboding was in the almost certain knowledge that sooner rather than later your sense of balance would desert you and you would fall off your bike.  The next frightening moment was when you learned to signal which meant having to take one hand off the handlebars with the further wobbles and the tumbles that that may have involved.  But as your technique improved every time you rode your bike you could think back to the bruised and bloodied knees of those early days and know that it had been worth it.

When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his rising from the dead, they were overjoyed to see him and yet they couldn’t help noticing that he still carried the wounds he suffered at his crucifixion.  They saw the marks of the nails in his hands and spear in his side and most of them would have remembered how they had abandoned him at the time when he needed them most.  But he did not blame or scold them, he wished them peace.  What was done was done and he wanted them to have peace of mind and concentrate on the future.  His wounds would remain an eternal sign of the cost of love and a lesson they’d learn for themselves in time.

From the moment we were born, life has been a constant learning process.  Over the years we have all had opportunities to learn new skills.  When we attempt something that is unfamiliar or complicated we have to make allowances for the mistakes we shall make in the process.  If we are seriously committed to what we have begun, we may have to allow ourselves some extra time and patience until, gradually, we are able to move forwards from ‘beginner’ to ‘proficient’ and maybe even to ‘expert’ status.

The strange thing is that we do not always make allowances for ourselves or for others as we learn the biggest and most important lesson that will ever challenge us: how to live as a fallible human being in a world that is itself far from perfect.  We have a lifelong path of discovery to take if we are to be rewarded with a quality of goodness at the heart of us.  Everybody stumbles and falls on the way, so it is important that we shouldn’t feel discouraged and give up altogether.

God knows that we are learners in life.  He sees the ‘L’ plates which are invisible to us and to others.  He still loves us when we fall far short of perfection and asks just one thing of us: that we ‘dust ourselves off and try again’.  At Pentecost Jesus again tells us to be at peace, however battered and bruised we may feel.  We are still learning to be like him and God makes allowances for that by sending us the Spirit of love and encouragement to help us make a fresh start at all those times when that is just what we need.

Will