kneel in wonder at heaven touching earth

Give us patience and courage never to lose hope

Thinking about “hope” and the Church, the BBC Radio 4 Thought for the Day was, I think, especially apposite on Wednesday of this week (23 July). Hopefully, this link (here), will always take you directly to the appropriate page — it should, as it points to a search result. I don’t always listen to them, but this one was pointed out to me for a special reason, which I’ll come to later.

In his Thought for the Day the Rt Revd James Jones, taking a break from Lambeth, talks about the first time he met the other members of his Bible Study group at the conference. There are two Japanese bishops in his group, along with their interpreter. When one of them was introducing himself, there was just one word of the Japanese that he understood, “Nagasaki”. The Bishop talking was the one who has Nagasaki in his diocese. And, for James Jones, hearing that single word opened up a whole new world.

Here’s what he goes on to say:

Here in that tiny room no bigger than a prison cell were eight bishops whose nations had once been separated by a war, by terrible violence and by atomic bombs. And here we now were, our Father’s children, sitting together in peace, brothers and sisters of Christ. Strangely, the word ‘Nagasaki’ falling from the lips of this Japanese brother filled me with hope - that brutality can be supplanted by brotherliness.

copyright © 2008 BBC

To my mind, that seems to be one of those thoughts that is so blindingly obvious, but no one has put it into words before, quite possibly because no one has really thought it before.

The Anglican Communion is not perfect; and it is, currently, facing some real difficulties. But when compared to some of the difficulties that have been faced, and got through, in the past, things don’t seem so bad.

I find myself wanting to agree with James Jones’ final thought in this too. That if we pull through the current difficulties we just might, possibly, hopefully, even offer a model to others of forging friendship through tension and trust.

The Lambeth Conference, just because of what it is means people from so many different countries and cultures are talking to each other, can be a beacon of hope for the Church, and indeed for the world. Let’s hope and pray that we’ll have the patience and the courage to let it shine forth.

And the special reason I hinted at earlier. The Japanese Bishop was the Rt Revd Gabriel Shoji Igarashi, Bishop of Kyushu, Japan. He was the Bishop who sat in the congregation for Evensong when I preached my last sermon. And the reason he was there is because he was our current Vicar’s Bishop, when he was in his last post, for twelve years, in Nagasaki.

Lord of heaven and earth,
as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer,
give us patience and courage never to lose hope,
but always to bring our prayers before you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Additional Collect for The Tenth Sunday after Trinity
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council

Hold us fast to your promises of peace

Peace! Real world peace! It sometimes seems to be just an impossible dream. There’s so much conflict in the world, so much upheaval, there doesn’t appear to be enough room left for real peace.

However people all around the world are trying, are working towards a genuine peace. It doesn’t make the front pages of our newspapers, or other prominent places, as much as we’d like. But that may well be as much to do with the fact that bad news and conflict sell more than good news and peace.

There is much still to do. And the sheer size of the task is overwhelming. But that should not, must not, stop us from making an effort. As an individual it sounds impossible; but once we’re able to start seeing what others are doing, and joining our efforts with their efforts, it doesn’t seem quite so daunting. To help, a little, with that I want to start talking about the International Day of Peace that takes place every year on 21st September.

The International Day of Peace was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981, and was first celebrated in 1982. The Resolution…

“Declares that the International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day…

“Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system, and non-governmental organizations and individuals to commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.”

The International Day of Peace website is packed full of information about what is trying to be achieved; and how each of us as individuals, and the groups we might belong to, can join in the campaign. Do, please, spend some time looking at what’s on there, and see what you can do this year.

This is one practical way we can pray this Collect for The Third Sunday after Trinity.

YOU can make EVERY DAY count
for a more peaceful, just and sustainable world.

EVERY DAY is an opportunity for YOU
to spread hope for a Global Ceasefire
and day of peace and nonviolence
in our homes, our communities and between nations.

Peace on Earth Begins With YOU… TODAY.

God our Saviour,
look on this wounded world
in pity and in power;
hold us fast to your promises of peace
won for us by your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Additional Collect for The Third Sunday after Trinity
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council