PASSING ON

Recently I was told that a neighbour had passed away and was invited to sign a card for his widow. I am sorry for her and the grief she probably feels and will, indeed, sign the card and express support and condolences.

But I do wonder at the term ‘passed away’. I’ve noticed it being increasingly used in place of ‘died’, or ‘passing’ in place of death, and wonder – why the euphemism? Is it that ‘death’ seems so dark and final, the logical, but unspeakable, consequence of not believing that anything comes afterwards – that we simply cease to be? But, if that’s the case, what do we ‘pass on’ to? We speak of passing as a movement from one place to another, or as the opposite of failing as one might an exam, so that we can move on to greater things. But if there is nothing to ‘pass on’ to, isn’t the term meaningless?

The New Testament does, indeed, speak about this ‘passing’ from life to death: (Jesus said) “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life” (John 5.24). If there is something to ‘pass on’ to then we can begin to explore what that might be and Christian Faith has much to say about death and dying and how we need to live. I know it goes against the grain of much current Western thinking and can be challenging for many (so best not thought about). But for those who want to listen and, maybe, learn, Jesus has much wisdom to offer.

I will remember the widow in my prayers as I do all who are bereft of loved ones who face the sense of sorrow and loss at their death. And I will pray for the soul of him who died and has ‘passed on’:

N., our companion in life and child of God,
we entrust you to the One who created you.
May you return to the Most High who formed you
from the dust of the earth.
May the angels and the saints come to meet you
as you go forth from this life.
May Christ, who was crucified for you,
take you into his Kingdom.
May Christ the Good Shepherd
give you a place within his flock.
May Christ forgive you your sins
and keep you among his people.
May you see your Redeemer face to face
and delight in the vision of God for ever.
Amen.

THE MYSTERY OF FAITH by Fr. John-Francis Friendship

This is the video made by Canterbury Press to introduce my new book, 'THE MYSTERY OF FAITH - Exploring Christian Belief'

ATONEMENT – THE ANGER OF GOD?

‘They who suppose the wrath and anger of God upon fallen man to be a state of mind in God himself … hold the doctrine of the necessity of Christ’s atoning life and death in a mistaken sense.  That many good souls may hold this doctrine in this simplicity of belief I make no manner of doubt.  But when books are written to impose and require this belief of others as the only saving faith in the life and death of Christ, it is then an error that ceases to be innocent.’

The Rev. William Law (1686-1791), An Appeal to All That Doubt, Ch.3, para.4

MINDFULNESS AND THE CONTEMPLATIVE HEART

According to much Christian teaching the heart is the centre of our being, the focus of our thoughts and feelings which is the locus of the soul.  This challenges a culture which has made the mind – the place of our reasoning faculties – the centre.  Much spiritual teaching has long been concerned with creating a ‘right – clean – heart’ for the heart can become corrupted and so needs to be re-fashioned, re-focussed.  I need to make sure that my heart is focused in God, the source of all goodness, and underlined the need to live a recollected life, a life where the heart, the habitation of the soul, comes alive. 

MINDFULNESS

The recent interest in ‘Mindfulness’, those practices which NHS online says can improve mental well-being, by ‘paying more attention to the present moment, to thoughts and feelings and to the world around you’, has connected with many people estranged from Faith.  Echoing Christian teaching ‘Mindfulness’ is the ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or over-whelmed by what’s going on around us. 

From its use in prisons and schools its benefits are becoming more widely realised.  Yet it draws on practices older than Christianity which, unfortunately, became generally forgotten at the Reformation.  Christianity has taught these practices as aspects of contemplative prayer, practices which encourage us to enter the caverns of the heart as we let go of our thoughts and feelings and descend to our soul.  Unfortunately, our Faith became caught by notions of ‘onwards and upwards’ rather than ‘stillness and descent’, yet the great mystics of the Church always knew that this was the better way.

This ‘prayer of the heart’ is one of the simplest ways in which we can open ourselves to that ‘ground of our being’ which lies beneath the surface of our lives.  It’s a way of praying which is intended to cultivate that interior silence which can calm the raging seas of life and we can overcome the fear of our own hidden depths.  It requires of us nothing more than developing a deep inner stillness and silence as we seek to focus into our desire for God.  At a time when people are beginning to waken to the importance of their inner world the Church needs to re-discover its treasury of contemplative prayer where we can find the most important ‘fresh expressions’ of our Faith which speak to the actual needs people have. 

St Paul recognised the importance of Mindfulness when he prayed that ‘with the eyes of your heart enlightened you may know what is the hope to which (God) has called you.’  The 3^rd century Desert Mothers and Fathers taught that we need to focus into a word which we can gently repeat beneath our breath, which is often spoken of as Centring Prayer; Lectio Divina, taught by the Benedictines, allows words of scripture to enter the heart, and in the 17^th century Brother Laurence taught the importance of living in the Present Moment.  In fact, these practices might be more rightly called ‘heartfulness’ for as St Theophan the Recluse, a 19^th century Russian monk, reminds us:

‘To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there to stand before the face of the Lord, ever present .. within you.’

That reflects a far older teaching that if we gaze deep within our heart, we shall find there the ladder that leads to heaven. (St Isaac the Syrian)

THE HEART OF CHRIST

This reminds us that we need to give far greater attention to the heart.  We need to re-discover the importance of the Heart of Christ, the Sacred Heart of Jesus for His Heart reveals what our heart might be like.  ‘The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness’ says the psalmist (145.8) and reveals aspects of the Heart of God which it can be so hard to incarnate in our lives.  Can I be merciful, compassionate and kind?   If that’s the nature of God’s Heart, and if we were created in the image and likeness of God, then this helps to identify what being human is all about. 

We resonate to these human qualities which pierce beneath the shell that we can build around us and invite us to fix our heart upon them.  Yet they’re only emanations of the nature of the invisible and unknowable God whose nature must be greater than these describe.   To fix the heart on the Heart of God involves deepening our desire to reflect the Sacred Heart which doesn’t just call us to devotion to its physicality, any more than devotion to Christ is about tribal loyalty.  Rather, devotion to the Sacred Heart slowly opens us to the fullness of divine life.  I want my heart, my life, to be like His.  That’s what makes the saints so attractive, for they are people whose lives reveal something of the attractive beauty of God. 

God gently invites us to ‘fix our heart’ on His, to be awakened by and to Divine beauty.  To cleanse our heart that it might shine with the beauty in which it was created.   To recollect this call, hear its echoes and resonances.  This fixing of the heart means I’m being drawn out of my-self into the Sacred Heart.   Yet the heart can be distracted, can become enslaved to another who will lead me away from the Light of Love and needs cleansing, liberating and renewing in the image and likeness of the Sacred Heart.

THE HEART OF THE OTHER

This drawing into the Heart of Christ opens my heart to want to encounter the heart of the other.  In fact, what I have found, like so many others, is that encountering the heart of the other – of all Creation – I find my–self profoundly moved out of that ‘self’ as I gaze on the other.  From the simplest leaf, tiniest insect or most fragile butterfly, to the grandest mountain, vastness of ocean or celestial panoply my heart is moved and drawn more deeply into desiring at-oneness with that ‘other’.  And in allowing my heart to be moved in this way I notice how my own sense of humanity is nourished and affirmed.  I am more ‘me’ as I allow myself to be embraced by the Other.  This seems connected to the way the early Franciscan, St Bonaventure, noted that the very universe is a kind of ladder for ascending to God (cf. ‘The Soul’s Journey into God’) only this is a ladder which takes us into the wonder of the Divine.

BEING AND BELONGING

St Francis of Assisi knew that at heart, we are intimately connected with the heart of all that is.   He taught that we are sisters and brothers with the whole of creation.  The reverence I feel when contemplating the stars connects me to them, for I am made of the same stuff; the fact that I am moved in my depths when I gaze on the animal world should remind me to reverence it - and if it doesn’t, then there is something wrong with my humanity.   If I am not moved it suggests that my heart is closed and needs awakening so that it can be fixed on wonder, love and praise.  I find my sense of belonging widens from the particular (this family, place, nation) to a greater sense of belonging as a creature in creation.  This seems to be what Jesus recognised as he reached out beyond the confines of family (“who is my mother...”) and Paul taught (“circumcision is nothing ... what matters is a new creation”) and calls us to have a heart large enough to embrace the whole.  Slowly the heart needs to break free of its constraints so that it can sing the song of freedom. 

This is what being a Christian is all about - realising myself as a new creation whose heart is fixed on mercy, compassion and love for all things.  I need to be ‘mindful’ of this calling – to recollect this attention in the depths of my heart so that I’m not given to distraction.  And when – inevitably – I am, to collect my attention to its roots in the Heart of God.  This needs to be my well-spring.  And even though I may have a particular love, it is that Sacred Heart of Christ which is to enable all my loving.  As I gaze on His Heart so mine can be warmed.  It can also be challenged to grow beyond the limits of the self; challenged to be renewed (“a new heart create for me, O God...”) and refreshed. 

THE HEART AND DIVISION

This deep and often unconscious yearning for union – at-oneness – which is endemic to our being as a part of Creation will inevitably find the notion of separation a threat and a challenge and it’s experience deeply disturbing.  Yet, at a deeper level, our union cannot be broken – I remain your brother or sister and a brother or sister to the whole of creation whether that is recognised or not.  That recognition was the great gift of St Francis and other saints and their insights need to be recalled at times when we experience brokenness.  The eye of our heart needs to be fixed on the Heart of God which enfolds the whole of creation as we pray: “may you be well; may you be happy; may you know the compassion of Christ.”

MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION

At a time when people are beginning to awaken to the importance of their inner world the Church needs to re-discover its treasury of contemplative prayer.  Here we can find the most important ‘fresh expressions’ of our Faith which speak to the actual needs people have.  If we want to re-connect with them then why not begin by organising a contemplative prayer group – call it ‘Mindfulness and Meditation’ if you like, but let’s do something!  

"Lord, increase our faith!"

The days of the Triduum Sacrum, the three holy days known as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil, offer a powerful doorway into the mystery of the Christian faith. What they tell us is that new life comes at a cost, it's not something that comes whenever you choose as you might decide on a makeover or somewhere different to go for your holiday. Nor will new life come by singing more choruses or screwing yourself up. It comes as we decide to die to live.

The Triduum outlines all that our faith is about – service through love, Christ known beneath the outer forms of creation and life through death. I'm dying to live might be the motto of these days. Christianity is the costly antidote to so much superficiality which masquerades as offering a better life. But you need to embrace and participate in those three days rather than avoid them if you’re to understand this faith. Is there any other way to deepen it?

A LETTER TO A CHRISTIAN LEADER

The following letter has been sent to the Prime Minister having been signed by 97 Religious, Deacons or Priests of the Church of England and in Wales: 


The Rt. Hon. Theresa May, MP
London
SW1A 0AA

House of Commons

Feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, 2016

Dear Prime Minister,

We, deacons, priests and Religious of the Church of England and the Church in Wales, are writing to you as someone who publicly affirms that they are a Christian and a practising member of our Church. 

It has come to our attention that, as Prime Minister, you are not prepared to support the rights of EU citizens who will live in the UK post-Brexit.  We find your support of this denial of rights deplorable and call on you to review your decision in the light of your membership of the Church, the Body of Christ.  It is clear that your refusal to guarantee these basic rights indicates you have not rejected using human beings as bargaining chips in the political games concerning Brexit.  It is increasingly apparent to us that we are losing our national sense of being part of a common humanity and are allowing ourselves to be dominated by those who espouse the least admirable – if not deplorable – aspects of human nature.  However, we believe that the majority of our people are better than those voices suggest, as loud as they may be in the nation and in your own Party, voices which call us to embrace a spirit of selfishness rather than compassion.    What makes a country great is not the power it wields but the humanity by which it seeks to govern – and this is equally true of national leaders.

As we begin to prepare for the coming of our Saviour and proclaim His gospel of peace and goodwill we are only too aware that when He comes He will encounter fear and hatred, greed and selfishness which stalk our towns as they have not done for many years.  In preparing for Christmas, if the heart of that Faith which proclaims God among us is to be more than a charade but, as many say, is still important to the identity of our Nation, then we urgently call on you to consider your own calling as an Anglican and a Christian. At this time to whom do we lend our ears? To the voices of extremism or to the Gospel of God?

You are playing with the lives of thousands of our fellow human beings – and that is wrong.  We call on the Government to do the right thing and unilaterally declare that, no matter what other countries might fail to do we, as a nation conscious of its civilised heritage, will grant all members of the EU living in the UK at the time of Brexit equal rights with our own citizens.

Yours faithfully,

Fr. John-Francis Friendship SMMS

cc.        The Rt. Hon. Jeremy Corbyn PC MP

            The Rt. Hon. Tim Farron MP

“You and I, we are the Church, no? We have to share with our people. Suffering today

is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing.  Jesus made it very clear.

Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.”  

St. Teresa of Calcutta