Category: From the Vicar

Light is an important theme in the Bible. In Genesis Chapter 1 we read that God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. Jesus declared himself to be the light of the world and said that those who are his disciples are also lights in the world. In our second reading today, St Paul declares “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ [at creation] who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God…” (2 Corinthians 4: 6).

In what way can we be light in the world?

The physicists among you will know that light is electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. It is a form of energy which itself is invisible! We only know that light is present when it hits something which reflects it. Think about being in a dark theatre which shines a spotlight on the stage. We are only aware of the light in the theatre if there are dust or smoke particles present in the air that the light bounces off. If no particles are present, we cannot see the beam.

Just as we can’t see wind, but we can see what wind does, so we cannot see light, but we can see what light illuminates. We cannot see the light of Christ, but we can see how that light illuminates people or the situation that they are in. As the sun radiates light, so we are called to radiate the light of Christ to those around us. Such spiritual light shines with the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4: 6). It reflects love, joy, peace, harmony, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1: 5), because darkness is the absence of light. Where there is light, there cannot be darkness.

Grace and peace to you all,

Chris

I want to share with you some statements from Reconciliation Australia and the Healing Foundation concerning National Sorry Day.

In 2020, Reconciliation Australia wrote: “Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’. National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. … The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998, one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The Bringing Them Home report is a result of a Government Inquiry into the past policies which caused children to be removed from their families and communities in the 20th century. [In 2020]… twenty-three years after the Bringing Them Home report and twelve years since the National Apology, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still 10.6 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be removed from their families.”

In 2024, speaking of the Bringing Them Home report, the Healing Foundation declares: The report was a landmark truth telling process, sadly almost 30 years on a number of the report’s 54 recommendations remain unmet. The theme for this year, ‘Bringing Them Home – the unfinished business’, highlights the growing urgency of acting on the outstanding recommendations. Remaining Stolen Generations survivors are ageing, and many do not have access to a full and fair redress scheme, or to the records that hold keys to their stories. The time to act is now. We must ensure that Stolen Generations survivors are supported to age with dignity and respect.”

You can access these statements on the Reconciliation Australia and Healing Foundation websites. Please pray with me the prayer for National Sorry Day:

On this National Sorry Day, we remember Indigenous Australians with deep respect and honour their presence on this country for tens of thousands of years before white settlement. God of Mercy, we acknowledge our history, and we are sorry.

Speaking with one voice we own that we are the inheritors of the stories and actions of the colonisers of this land. God of Mercy, we acknowledge our history, and we are sorry.

Our ancestors stripped many of the creative ways that Indigenous Australians cared for the land, thus productivity and vitality were greatly diminished. God of Mercy, we acknowledge our history, and we are sorry.

God of mercy, stir within us compassion and a deep desire for reconciliation. On this National Sorry Day may this compassion and reconciliation be strong and true so that justice flows, action flourishes, a difference is made, and peace is accomplished. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Grace and peace to you all.

Christopher

Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. The description in Acts 2 of the amazing event of the Holy Sprit being given to the disciples 50 days after the resurrection, is steeped in mystery. There was a sound like the rush of a violent wind, but there was no wind. There was what looked like divided tongues of fire on each disciple’s head, but there was no fire. Each was able to proclaim God’s glory in a human language that was not their own, so that the many pilgrims who were in Jerusalem could hear them speaking about God’s mighty power.

Perhaps most significantly, the fear and timidity of the disciples that had caused them to hide behind closed doors was suddenly taken away. They were emboldened to speak out fearlessly about the truth of the risen Saviour. This was the beginning of the Christian era, and so Pentecost is often held to be the ‘birthday of the church’.

These events have never been repeated in the way that they occurred on the first Pentecost. However, the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church is constant. We should never forget that Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would come as advocate, helper, teacher, and guide. It is the same Spirit who is with us still. Let us thank God for all that the Spirit does for us and for the church!

Grace and peace to you all.

Chris

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!

Let us all give thanks for our mother who gave us our life, nurtured us, sheltered us, cared for us, and taught us our first lessons of life. It is good to remind ourselves that although the male pronoun is used for God throughout the Bible, there are many references that highlight female and motherly characteristics of our loving God. Here are some of them:

• God comforts his people like a mother comforts her child (Isaiah 66: 13)
• Like a woman would never forget her nursing child, God will not forget his children (Isaiah 49: 15)
• God is like a mother eagle hovering over her young (Deuteronomy 32: 11)
• God seeks the lost like a housekeeper, trying to find her lost coin (Luke 15: 8–10)
• God cares for his people like a midwife that cares for the child she just delivered (Psalm 22: 9–10, Psalm 71: 6, Isaiah 66: 9)
• God experiences the fury of a mother bear robbed of her cubs (Hosea 13: 8)
• Jesus longed for the people of Jerusalem, like a mother hen longs to gather her chicks under her wings (Luke 13: 34)

What wonderful reminders that our mothers are made in God’s loving image!

May the blessing of the Divine
Be an especially bright benediction
Upon mothers everywhere
On your blessed day  –
On Mother’s Day!

Grace and peace to you all,

Chris

Jim Thorpe was a native American track and field athlete who competed for his country at the 1912 Olympics. It is said that on the morning of one of his events at the Olympics, his shoes were stolen. Luckily, he found two odd shoes in a garbage can. One of the shoes was too big for him and so he wore an extra sock and wore these odd shoes to race in. In so doing, Jim Thorpe won two gold medals.

Perhaps, we might have excused Thorpe if he had withdrawn from his races, knowing that he was so poorly shod. However, he was a winner who was determined to do his best, come what may. He ran with determination, not complaining about the difficulties that had come his way but pressing on to win his races.

Not infrequently, life appears to be unfair as it was for Jim Thorpe on that day. We may face stolen shoes, ill health, failed relationships, or failed business. We may feel like ‘throwing in the towel’ and giving up. Yet, as the writer to the Hebrews urges us in chapter 12 of that epistle, we should not give up. Rather, we should remember the example of the saints of old who, like Jim Thorpe, continued in the race before them, despite the trials and difficulties that had beset them.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1–3)

Grace and peace to you all,

Chris