Radical Welcome

The National Synod of Scotland of the United Reformed Church expresses its vision through a series of affirmations. These are not fixed in stone, but form a moving (and capable of being updated) vision statement. I am exploring these in turn in a series of brief articles. This piece reflects on the third aspiration, which focusses on the radical nature of God’s call and love. As a Synod we believe that God’s radical love includes everyone. We believe that God’s RADICAL love is for everyone regardless of age, gender, sexuality, physical and mental ability, social status, ethnicity. Young people are represented with full voting rights in our councils. We recognise that we are good at putting people into categories, and just how important it is to beyond that. We affirm the need to allow people to be themselves, and look to welcome each person and the gifts that person brings. We value the differences that enhance our communal life and we look to share, for the good of all, the experiences that we each bring because of who we are. We recall the apostle Paul’s use of the image of the body in explaining to the early church the importance of the different contributions that we each are called to make. ‘If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as God chose’ (1 Corinthians 12:17-18). We recognise that, traditionally and historically, the church has not always reflected God’s radical love, and we seek, as God does, to eradicate the barriers that divide us. We remember another indicator provided by Paul, when he wrote to the Christians in the church at Galatia: ‘There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:28). We recognise that Paul would have used different categories if writing today, but value the concept here introduced as we make the translations into a variety of contexts. In particular, we notice that we have not always placed proper value on the contribution of children and young people. We recognise that they are part of today’s church and actively listen and watch for the insights they bring. This kind of radical inclusion of everyone seems to be an obvious gospel principle, reflecting Jesus’ unrestricted companionship for all and sundry, from the Pharisee to the prostitute, but including everyone in between and beyond. However, history and present-day practice demonstrates that it is not so easy, and we are committed to constantly exploring how we might make the ideal a reality. We recognise the need to, as Stephanie Spellers (in her book Radical Welcome) puts it, “ask the hard questions about who’s inside, who’s outside and what it would take to go beyond inclusion to mutual embrace and transformation.” One example of such questions comes in a further comment from Stephanie Spellers. “But who is The Other, the stranger, the one on the margins of your community whom God calls you to embrace and be changed by?”

Practical Mysticism

Evelyn Underhill’s “Practical Mysticism” has some interesting things to say about how we engage with the mysteries of prayer and the enrichment of contemplation. In particular, she points out that we should not pitch what we might define and the spiritual against each other. They are complementary, rather than different ways of doing things. As Underhill says, “contemplation and action are not opposites, but two interdependent forms of a life that is one–a life that rushes out to a passionate communion with the true and beautiful, only that it may draw from this direct experience of Reality a new intensity wherewith to handle the world of things; and remake it, or at least some little bit of it, “nearer to the heart’s desire.”” Contemplation is not a matter of escapism or irrelevance, but of bringing the eternal into ordinary, everyday matters, a critical part of a balance and fulfilled approach. Underhill recognises that to achieve this connection with any degree of success requires deliberate effort, but it is so worthwhile. “To “bring Eternity into Time,” the “invisible into concrete expression”; to “be to the Eternal Goodness what his own hand is to a man”–these are the plainly expressed desires of all the great mystics. One and all, they demand earnest and deliberate action, the insertion of the purified and ardent will into the world of things. The mystics are artists; and the stuff in which they work is most often human life. They want to heal the disharmony between the actual and the real: and since, in the white-hot radiance of that faith, hope, and charity which burns in them, they discern such a reconciliation to be possible, they are able to work for it with a singleness of purpose and an invincible optimism denied to other (sic) men.”

Inclusive Worship

The National Synod of Scotland of the United Reformed Church expresses its vision through a series of affirmations. I am exploring these in turn in a series of brief articles. This piece reflects on the second aspiration. As a Synod we aspire to practise inclusive worship. Our INCLUSIVE worship reflects a broad variety of sources and styles. Local churches offer weekly worship, regular celebration of Holy Communion and mark the stages of life in Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals. Worship is a key element in our following our Christian faith. It is the way in which we demonstrate just how much God means to us. Some of the best Biblical expressions of worship are to be found in the Psalms. For example: ‘Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendour’ (Psalm 29:2); ‘I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations’ (Psalm 57:9); ‘Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise’ (Psalm 66:1-2); ‘O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!’ (Psalm 95:1). These extracts from the psalms, along with very many others that could be cited, offer a clear indication that our worship is essentially a celebration of all that God is and that God does. Richard Foster emphasises this point (in Celebration of Discipline) commenting that “Praise brings us into worship. The psalms are the literature of worship and their most prominent feature is praise. “Praise the Lord!” is the shout that reverberates from one end of the Psalter to the other, Singing, shouting, dancing, rejoicing, adoring – all are the language of praise.” Of course, worship takes many forms. It can be exuberant and it can also be reflective and meditative, and a lot of things between those two. Particular elements in worship are the celebration of the sacraments, baptism, the mark of entry to the church, and holy communion, our following Jesus’ command to remember and God’s love for us as we share bread and wine, but also the rites of passage when we celebrate a marriage or remember a loved one at a funeral. Not all worship can be the best experience for every individual all the time; but we strive to engage in worship that fits each given context, and that therefore is inclusive, doing everything possible to be a good expression of relationship with God for those present. In public worship we give expression to our faith, mostly by singing hymns, praying, reading the Scriptures and preaching the Word, alongside the celebration of the Sacraments. However, other elements, such as reflective music, drama, dialogue and even silence, also have a part to play. We mark the Christian festivals, especially Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, but also other important moments in each year, such as Harvest and Remembrance, seeking to do so in ways that are attractive and relevant and that demonstrate the important underlying and inclusive concept that all are welcome.

It's Worth Struggling With Prayer

Martin Laird’s “A Sunlit Absence – Silence, Awareness and Contemplation” is a helpful reminder that prayer can be a struggle – and there is nothing wrong with that – though it is a struggle worth the engagement. As Laird comments: “When prayer becomes what orders our day, as something we attempt to live out of moment by moment, rather than the tail pinned blindly onto the donkey of daily life, then prayer will integrate us into itself.”

Unconditional Love

The United Reformed Church's National Synod of Scotland expresses its vision through a series of affirmations. I would like to explore these in turn, so this article reflects on the first aspiration. As a Synod we aspire to demonstrate unconditional love. We are an active Christian community which responds to the UNCONDITIONAL LOVE of God through celebrating the Christian Story in ways that bring meaning and hope to life. We seek to support each other in faith and doubt through caring. Martin Luther King, in his little book of sermons Strength to Love helps us understand what this means when he draws a clear link between love and forgiveness and with particular reference to Jesus’ exhortation that we should love our enemies, perhaps one of the most difficult standards that Jesus set. We tend rather to be people of revenge and find this call to unconditional love extremely challenging. Yet we need to take seriously our regular prayer, every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer: forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us (Luke 11:4). King writes: Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means, rather, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning. It is the lifting of a burden or the cancelling of a debt. …. Forgiveness means reconciliation, a coming together again. Without this, no one can love their enemies. The degree to which we are able to forgive determines the degree to which we are able to love our enemies. Nobody should pretend that unconditional love is easy. However, it is a critical part of the relationship that Jesus calls us to have with each other. I think we can be helped towards this if we consider some of the many things that the New Testament urges us to do towards one another. We are, for example, to ‘love one another’ (John 15:17); to ‘bear one another’s burdens’ (Galatians 6:2); to ‘encourage one another’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11); to ‘serve one another’ (1 Peter 4:10); to ‘pray for one another’ (James 5:16); to ‘greet one another’ (Romans 16:16). There is no doubt that the Christian story is a story of unconditional love. God’s generous grace offers abundant transforming possibilities. The question becomes how we even begin to reflect that in the way in which we live. Desmond Tutu reminds us of how God models this unconditional love and how Jesus, in what he did and said, points that out. Citing the familiar parable that we usually describe as that of the prodigal son, Tutu (in Hope and Suffering) writes: The Good News is that God loves me long before I could have done anything to deserve it. God is like the father of the prodigal son, waiting anxiously for the return of his wayward son, and when he sees this feckless creature appearing on the horizon, he rushes out to meet him, embrace and kiss him, not recriminating, but asking that the fatted calf be slaughtered, a ring be placed on his finger, and the best robe be put on him; and they must rejoice in a party to celebrate because this lost one has been found, this dead one has come to life again. That’s a model for unconditional love!