Dear Friends
As we gathered in St Andrew’s Church early on Reconciliation Day to begin our vigil for our country and our world I was struck by the words from one of the readings of the day: “Proclaim further: Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:17; NRSV). Scripture has a wonderful way of surprising us! In the midst of all the heartache that 2019 has been on so many levels, and on a day when we gathered as a Christian community to pray for our nation, broken in so many ways after the Zuma years, and continuing to struggle from one crisis to another, hearing these words felt like coming unexpectedly upon a stream of cold, refreshing water in the midst of a hot, dry desert. For me, an unexpected word of hope; and a reminder that with God nothing is impossible. And so while we continue to address the raggedness of our political, economic, and societal breakdown God’s word interjects into our consciousness and revives us, re-envisions us, and guides us. All is not lost, and we are recommissioned and tasked for the New Year: “Proclaim further …”
Proclamation in Scripture is always in word and in action, emerging prophetically from the intimate space of relationship with God. It is often disturbing and encouraging, and requires an intentional and active commitment from us, God’s people. It is primarily a call into intimate relationship with God, with God’s people, with God’s world. It is a call to join a journey of exploration, “Go … and … I will show you” (God’s call to Abraham; Genesis 12:1; NRSV). It is to go without a specific destination in mind, to expect that God will lead and direct our lives, allowing the arena of our relationship with God to be sufficient.
I met recently with a young couple exploring their journey towards marriage. They have fallen in love with each other, and they have also fallen in love with Jesus. Their love for Jesus is deeply embedded in their relationship with each other, and has been nurtured outside of the traditional, institutionalised experience of Church. They have discovered their love for Jesus through small communities of seekers committed to exploring what it means to live the faith Jesus espoused; where open ended conversations leave room for further exploration and discovery; and there is an intentional commitment to actively live this faith as part of a journey of relationship with Jesus, with each other, with community.
I share this story because while our world and our nation are in crises of various depth and nature, the Church in its traditional and institutionalised form is struggling. We have our doctrines comfortably wrapped up; we are concerned that there are various demographics missing, but are unwilling to discomfort ourselves; we offer answers to questions that younger generations aren’t asking; we’ve sanitised the Gospel. There is very little that is truly prophetic about the Church in our times. And so when I hear the words of Scripture saying, “Proclaim further …” I wonder if we can? What does the Church need to be exorcised of in order to be reignited as a prophetic and effective presence in our world?
We need to fall in love.
Blessings
Mark
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