from Rev Wes Hampton

Dear Friends,

Recently I saw a television production of Noël Coward’s play Private Lives.  In the play, two people who had previously been married to each other meet again while on honeymoon with their new spouses.  Opportunities abound for reflection on what had gone wrong in their previous marriage and for embarrassment.

These leading characters have a more relaxed attitude to marriage than do their new spouses, who are each marrying for their first time.  Experience has left them more cynical, and it becomes clear that their new marriages lack commitment and depth.  We might come away from the play thinking that deep personal relationships are impossible.

This weekend brings us an appropriate corrective, for 14 February, St Valentine’s Day, is a chance to recall the saint who defied the Roman emperor because of the importance of love and marriage.  Emperor Claudius was worried that his army was being weakened because too few men were ready to enlist.  So he outlawed marriage in the hope that there would be more men without the ties of family life, who would then be willing to serve in the military.

Priests like Valentine, however, continued to marry couples in secret, as a profession of their love and commitment to one another.  No emperor can outlaw love, and no playwright can convince us that the loving relationships that we share are unworthy of our dedication.  This should not surprise us, for relationship is at the heart of our triune God, and love is the very centre of his character.  We, too, share in that divine nature.

Today even if we see the attitudes of a play from 1930 in society around us, nonetheless we recognize the impulse to show a deep-seated lasting commitment to others as a reflection of the nature of God in us.  God is love and, to the best extent that we can, we reveal his love to the world.

Wes

A Reflection from John Williams

Tell Him all your troubles

We don’t usually expect words of wisdom from popular films, but in Crocodile Dundee, Mike Dundee has left the rough world of the Australian Outback for the sophisticated world of New York.  He meets a psychiatrist.  “What’s a psychiatrist” he asks.  “Someone you talk to when you’ve got problems”.  “Ain’t you got no mates?” is his reply.  We might say “Have you no friends?”

There are so many good things about being a Christian and one of the easiest to explain would be to say that you’re never alone: there’s always someone there for you.  We have so many friends in our church: they are almost a second family and many of us can testify of the great support we have had when we needed it.  Supremely there is God himself, our Heavenly Father, who has promised never to leaves us nor forsake us.

The old hymn says “Take it to the Lord on Prayer” and the writer of Psalm 62 tells us to:

“Trust in God at all times, my people
Tell him all your troubles,
For he is our refuge”

 Perhaps if we did this more often there would be less troubles in the first place.

John Williams

from Rev Wes Hampton

Dear Friends,

A traditional rhyme says:

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
    Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
    Winter won't come again.

The verse connects the day and its weather to an extended period, in the same way that our word “time” sometimes refers to an occasion, but sometimes to a season.  Candlemas (also celebrated as the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary) is said to tell us about the coming days, not just 2 February.

Luke's Gospel tells us that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem “when the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses” (Luke 2:22, NRSV).  That is, there was a proper time for this visit to the temple, namely the fortieth day from Jesus' birth.  Forty days from 25 December brings us to 2 February, hence the date of Candlemas.

We know the difficulty of predicting the future, and yet we are also aware of 'proper times', when a decision or action could be made only then.  Sometimes coincidences create options.  Recognizing such times is a challenge, but might be more likely if we are looking for them.  Who knows whether the opportunity that comes our way today might be just such a time?

On this visit to the temple, Mary and Joseph met Simeon and Anna who both recognized Jesus’ role in bringing redemption to Jerusalem and salvation to all nations.  This was the proper time, the right moment, but what they saw was for all time.  Candlemas may give us a clue to the coming weather, but Anna and Simeon looked into God's eternity.

Let us watch out for the moments that will never return.  We cannot know how far-reaching their consequences will be.

Wes

A Reflection from Kim Tame

Dear Friends

On a recent visit to London, I discovered the Leake Street arches and tunnel. Formerly a road for the Eurostar train services, the tunnel under Waterloo Station became a dynamic art space, featuring legal graffiti.  Street art can be messy, annoying or stunningly beautiful; all types are represented in the tunnel, and perhaps not for long; except for a small number of protected pieces, any part can be painted over. 

On the day of my visit, there were cartoon characters, political statements, flowers, animals, poetry, rude words - and a declaration of faith, which I thought I would share.

Kim Tame