3rd December 2023
Reflection (readings are below)
My mother once commented that it would be helpful if when you were first pregnant your toenails turned blue. Usually there is no visible sign of the new presence in your life – it’s still a hidden mystery.
Is that true of God’s presence in the world? Would God’s presence be less of a mystery if God really did tear open the heavens, set fire to the brush wood and boil the rivers?
Or is it that the signs are there and we are not reading them correctly? This last summer was a record season for bush fires, and many rivers ran dry, the water – if not boiling – then evaporating. If so, these signs of God’s presence have a message: if you misuse the world that God has created, there will be adverse consequences.
And do we tremble as we see forest fires rage in other parts of the world? Do we quake when we see floods destroy homes and livelihoods in other parts of the globe? (We, that is, in the wealth secure west). Or do we remain convinced that we are invincible, that the climate crisis will not affect our lives?
Let’s suppose we did recognise God’s presence in the world, that we did let our hearts and minds be stunned by what we saw. Would we then repent wholeheartedly of the harm we had caused? Would we then wholeheartedly reorientate our lives to align with God’s will for the care of creation? Would we then wholeheartedly seek to heal and make good the damage we had caused?
This week saw the formal adoption of the global Loss and Damage fund at COP28 – an acknowledgement that the most vulnerable are suffering disproportionately from the effects of climate change caused disproportionately by the wealthy nations, and that therefore those with monetary wealth should assist those with out.
A laudable scheme except that the sums of money proffered by the rich are miserly. The UK government has offered £60million whilst being fully aware of calculations prepared by Christian Aid, that somewhere in the region of £15billion (1) would be the appropriate contribution to a global fund which will need to be distributing $100billion a year.
We need to do better. We need to ask more of our government. To echo the words of the Psalmist, ‘Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.’
In this season of Advent, we remind ourselves again that even whilst we are living through a time of suffering, there will come a time of salvation when Christ’s glory will be fully revealed, will be fully made present. As we wait, as we direct our lives towards that future, it is faith in/ of Jesus that will enrich us in word and deed.
Yet waiting is not about do nothing. It is not about being passive. It is not about abdicating our responsibilities. It is about working diligently to bring in the kingdom. It is about doing all that we can – in word and deed – to ensure justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.
May all these three shape the discussions and outcomes of COP28!
(1) https://www.christianaid.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/climate-change/loss-and-damage-faqs
Isaiah 64:1-9
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down,
so that the mountains would quake at your presence–
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil–
to make your name known to your adversaries,
so that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From ages past no one has heard,
no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who works for those who wait for him.
You meet those who gladly do right,
those who remember you in your ways.
But you were angry, and we sinned;
because you hid yourself we transgressed.
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord,
and do not remember iniquity forever.
Now consider, we are all your people.
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; *
shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, *
stir up your strength and come to help us.
3 Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
4 O Lord God of hosts, *
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; *
you have given them bowls of tears to drink.
6 You have made us the derision of our neighbours, *
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
16 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, *
the son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
17 And so will we never turn away from you; *
give us life, that we may call upon your Name.
18 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind– just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you– so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Mark 13:24-37
Jesus said, “In those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
“But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
The Green Tau 