Preparing for Worle …

Well, it’s been a while since I last posted! I’m now 15 months into retirement, living in Willand, Devon. And one of the things I’ve been doing is going through old photographic slides and digitising some. In April 1985, as part of a project by ‘Pontypridd and Rhondda Christian Concern’, I visited refugee camps over the border from Ethiopia in Sudan. I’ve put together a short video that gives an insight into what I saw out there. I hope you find it interesting. Here’s the YouTube link https://youtu.be/ThMhVNX6L3E

I was chatting to someone last week who told me that their church was encouraging everyone who was financially able to donate their £400 Energy Bill Discount to a fund to help those who would be struggling to meet their rising energy bills.

I thought “What a good idea!” And then I thought about the additional measure known as the Energy Price Cap (or Guarantee). It was the word ‘cap’ that got me to think about donating our £400 to Christians Against Poverty.

Over to you …

Weston has been in the national news just lately with the (delayed) opening of its expensive ‘Art Installation’. the See Monster. Helen and I had the chance to visit it this lunchtime and I’ve put together a compilation of some of the photos and videos I took. I thought I’d post them for your scrutiny.

I have, however, failed miserably to make a connection with Psalm 119, but if anyone has any suggestions … ??

Here’s the YouTube link
https://youtu.be/GvTSZ43SCJE

Helen and I like to do crosswords. Quick crosswords that is, not the cryptic type for which I have very little patience. We have the same book each and we start by seeing how far we can get on our own and then we help each other with the ones we’re stuck on. Helen, I must (reluctantly) admit, is much better and quicker at crosswords than me. But there’s something that we have often commented on over the years: As we start to read out a clue, the answer, which had previously stubbornly remained hidden, suddenly springs to mind. There’s something, it seems, about vocalising a clue that triggers the solution lurking in the depths of our brains. If you’re a crossword addict, have you found the same?

“But”, I hear you cry, “What has this to do with Psalm 119?” It was verse 13 that brought our experience of crosswording to mind:
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.

Christopher Ash, in his excellent commentary on Psalm 119 (‘Bible Delight’), makes the case for reading the Bible out loud to oneself. Doing so, he suggests, brings an extra dimension to our reading of Scripture, helping us to grasp its meaning in a deeper way as we hide, or store it in our hearts (v.11).

I mentioned this to my Bible Study group yesterday and asked them if they could relate to this in any way. One person told us that when he reads the Bible silently he often reaches the end of a paragraph only to realise that he can’t remember a word of it. (As if it had gone in one eye and out the other?). But when he reads it out loud it’s altogether a different experience. A married couple told us how they read the Bible to each other which again, helps them to concentrate and focus on what the Scriptures are saying.

We then applied this to prayer. I had to admit that when I pray silently I tend to become heavy-eyed and can easily doze off. (I’d like to sanctify the experience by calling it “snoozing in the Lord”, but I doubt that that would kid anyone!) Whereas when I pray out loud, my praying-concentration-span greatly improves. (One of the reasons I like to walk to church on a Sunday is so that I can pray as I walk and I’ve never dozed off yet!). So make of it what you will, but this morning I read my Bible readings out loud to myself. It slowed me down and I did feel as if I’d taken more in. What don’t you give it a try? It’d be interesting to hear how you get on.

God bless you heaps …

Okay, so what’s the connection?

Answer: Masterpieces in Poetry.

Every year at the Eisteddfod there is a solemn ceremony steeped in tradition – the ‘Chairing of the Bard’, a poet whose poetry has been judged to be of the highest standard. The rules have been described as “fiendishly exacting” involving a complex system of alliteration and internal rhyme. Its traditions reach back into the golden age of the Bard in the Middle Ages.

Similar things could be said of Psalm 119, a masterpiece of ancient Hebrew poetry, displaying the poet’s skill and craft. The first thing to say is that the poet (we don’t know the composer’s name) knew the Hebrew alphabet! In the NIV translation of the Bible you’ll see a letter of the Hebrew alphabet at the beginning of each section. This tells us that it is an acrostic poem where each line of its 22 sections begins with each succeeding letter of the alphabet.

So, just to be clear, each of the first 8 verses begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph. And verses 9 to 16 each begin with the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet Beth and so on. Do you fancy trying to write a poem like that in English? It would need 26 sections, each of 8 verses with every verse beginning with the same letter of the alphabet. And it would need to make sense!

When I playfully suggested that my Wednesday afternoon Bible study group try this, Helen came up with the first line for such an epic poem: “Alan has had a silly idea!”

Secondly, Psalm 119 has a single topic thereby narrowing the choices open to the poet. It is the Word of God. The English language is full of synonyms – words which mean roughly the same thing. You’ll see what I mean if you have a thesaurus to hand. Ancient Hebrew, however, was not rich in synonyms. Except, that is, when it came to words for God’s word. Psalm 119 uses 8 words to describe its many facets, each occurring an average of 22 times (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet), most coming up in each 8 line section. They translate as: commands (or commandments), decrees, law, laws (different word, meaning judgements or rulings), precepts, promises, statutes and word.

One commentator has perceptively written that “… by the end of the psalm, one feels that the poet has indeed fully covered his subject.” It would be hard to disagree!

So my conclusion is that Psalm 119, had it been written in Welsh, would have made its composer a serious contender to be crowned the Prifardd – the Chief Bard.

I referred earlier to my Wednesday afternoon Bible study group. Each week we’ll be looking at Psalm 119 one section at a time. My hope, as another commentator has written, is to ‘go with the flow of the Psalm as it is written’ and ‘discover that as we respect its genre and its skilful composition, it will yield more riches than we may have expected.’

I hope to publish a digest of our thoughts and comments week by week … We’ll see!

And in other news … I am pleased to say that Helen’s latest CT Scan has revealed nothing of concern! So the chemo is doing its job! PTL

Thank you for all your feedback, some directly by text. Helen suggested that if I were to make a few small changes, then the words would fit to the tune ‘Jerusalem’, which would be more familiar. So here it is …

King of all nations, hear our prayer
while humbly at your throne we bow;
As one in heart and one in soul
we plead for peace and mercy now.
The pain is great, the anguish sore,
as evil seeks to stalk its prey;
In mercy turn your ear to us
and guide us as we weep and pray.

Judge of all nations, thwart we plead
the wicked schemes that hatred breeds;
And loose the grip of evil powers
that all earth’s people may be freed.
Break down the barriers that divide,
decree the sovereign rule of peace;
May justice triumph over all
and warfare and all conflict cease.

Saviour of peoples, loose your Word
with power, force and heavenly might;
Transform through grace
all hearts of stone,
For darkness give us conquering light.
On Doves of peace your Spirit pour,
your gift of wisdom, O God, give;
And lead us through the maze we face,
Till nations all in freedom live.

I was minister of a Baptist church in the Rhondda valley when war broke out in Bosnia in the early 1990s. Preparing for Sunday worship, I looked in vain for a hymn that put into words what I, along with many, many others, felt.
I was moved to write my own. And this morning its words came back to me and I decided to share them. Here they are – I hope that some might find them helpful as in our prayers we intercede for the people of Ukraine.

King of all nations, hear our prayer
while at your throne we bow;
As one in heart and one in soul
we plead for mercy now.
The pain is great, the anguish sore,
as evil stalks its prey;
In mercy turn your ear to us
and guide us as we pray.

Judge of all nations, thwart we plead
the schemes that hatred breeds;
And loose the grip of evil powers
that peoples may be freed.
Break down the barriers that divide,
decree the rule of peace;
May justice triumph over all
and war and hatred cease.

Saviour of peoples, loose your Word
with power, force and might;
Transform through grace
all hearts of stone,
For darkness give us light.
On doves of peace your Spirit pour,
your gift of wisdom give;
And lead us through the maze we face,
Till all in freedom live.

The metre is DCM, so lots of hymn tunes fit. But I found the best one is the tune “St. Matthew”.

Back in April I drew attention to a new (yet old) word: Conjobbling! In the months that have past, there have been many opportunities to sit at table and eat and drink (coffee) or walk with others and have a good natter without the aid of electronic devices. Wonderful!

Family and social life has returned to a degree of normality. We’ve been back in our church building on Sundays regularly since July and for some other things mid-week. A recent highlight was Messy Church. We’ve been able to take time out with a short mid-week break in Bideford, a week with the family in Minehead, and a weekend break in Nottingham. It’s been so lovely being out and about with people, albeit still with masks and social distancing as appropriate. Yesterday and today I was involved with school assemblies with a recently formed ‘Open The Book’ group – I loved it! (You’ll see more about what that means on the Bible Society’s website).

Looking ahead, the diary is filling up and the season after Advent beckons. Hopefully the talk of another Lockdown will prove to be just that and we’ll be able to celebrate it in all the traditional ways this time around!

And in other news … Yesterday Helen heard from her Oncologist in Exeter that her recent CT Scan showed ‘nothing suspicious’ – grateful smiles all round!

So, keep calm and keep conjobbling!

Well, it’s been a while, but the announcement that 19 July (dubbed ‘Freedom Day’) marking the end of legal restrictions has provoked me to put the proverbial pen to paper. Amongst church leaders the words of the apostle Paul addressed to the church in Corinth have generated discussion. Here they are in a couple of translations:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say – but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything” – but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. (1 Corinthians 10:23-24 NIV)

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour. (ESV)

This morning I had a brief conversation with someone who works in a smallish supermarket, where social distancing has been problematic at the best of times. She was really upset that mask wearing would no longer be required by law, fearing that that would place her at greater risk. She has had to endure the abusive comments from those who came into the store without a mask and now, without the protection of the law, she felt that she, and those like her, were being disregarded. I felt for her, and completely understood where she was coming from.

Freedom, in the apostle Paul’s understanding of the term, is not freedom to throw off all restraint and do what one likes. It is freedom to do what is best for others. It is freedom to be considerate. It is not the freedom to be selfish.

So what does that look like for church congregational life? I think you can see why these verses of Paul have been sparking conversations between church leaders. Is a hand-shake now permissible? I guess so. But not everyone will want to, so don’t be offended if they decline. Is giving a hug now allowed? I suppose so, but I will continue to be choosy. Will singing be allowed? Yes, and I want to sing, but what if others then stay away from church? (And not, I hasten to add, because my singing is awful!!) And what about refreshments? And what about … etc. etc.?

Spare then, a thought and a prayer for those of us having to give a lead navigating the way forward after ‘freedom’ day.

————-

And this made me chuckle … (but I didn’t get it at first)

Magician: I can make anything disappear.
Tom: (Holding cup), okay, make my tea disappear
Magician: Shazam!
om: Nothing happened?