Sabbatical 4

This week, we have spent a few days at our apartment in South Cumbria. We bought this property some years ago both as a 'retreat', and also with a view to possible retirement there in due course. Part of the sabbatical plan is to reflect on and prepare for the final period of stipendiary ministry in Liverpool and to think and pray about what retirement might look like when the time comes. Since that might mean an eventual move to Cumbria, spending some time there is important. We are getting to know people up there, and we love that part of the world. But could we bear to leave Liverpool, family and friends? Time will tell: we just want to discern God's call.

I have continued to work my way through the Psalms. It's interesting to note how often being right with God is associated with space. Trusting in him means a freedom from fear and anxiety. So 4.1 says to the Lord, 'You gave me room when I was in distress...'; 18.19, reflecting on God's deliverance, the writer says 'He brought me out into a broad place.... And there is that wonderful verse which, in the Prayer Book is translated 'The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground: yea I have a goodly heritage.' Or more prosaically in NRSV, 'The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage' (16.6). Wrapped up in these verses is a deep appreciation of God's providence, which enables a patient endurance in time of trouble or difficulty. Room to move, room to breathe, even when hemmed in by all kinds of worries is the gift of God to those who wait on him.

During this week, we have seen the end of a long 'wait' for women clergy in the Church of England. I was one of those who said 'Libby who?...' when the appointment was announced of Revd Libby Lane as Bishop of Stockport, in the diocese of Chester. I think this must have confounded most if not all those who were making predictions as to who would be the first woman bishop! But I'm glad. Not just because now female leadership in the CofE is fully recognised, but also because Libby was not considered a 'front runner'. Had it been someone already in a senior position (Archdeacon or Cathedral Dean), the appointment might have given the impression of just another promotion. As it is, although Libby is apparently well known in the national church, her current appointment is that of a parish priest. It reminds us that the call of Jesus is not first and foremost to the 'great and the good' in human terms, but to the meek and the lowly. Just as the first disciples were fishermen. God bless Libby in her new ministry, when she will be so much in the spotlight.

I have continued to read about 'blessing' - specifically, a new book with that title by Andrew Davison. It is a scholarly work, both Biblical and theological. He reminds us of the connection between blessing and vocation: to bless something or someone is to call them out of their present circumstances into a fuller relationship with the living God. The business of blessing is ... not only a matter of acknowledging that things come from God but also a recognition that everything that comes under the shadow of God's grace...is being drawn to God as the one in whom it will find its eternal fulfilment. For 'it' read him or her also! It's a reminder that we need to see everyone and everything in heaven's light: not just what we are becoming in Christ.

Speaking of which, heaven's light is what this season of Christmas is all about. Last Sunday we worshipped with Ruth and Jude at Frontline Church, where there was an amazing, original Christmas play about the journey of the shepherds. Very professional! Tomorrow, we worship with Pete and his family at West Derby Evangelical church, where two of our grandsons will be in their nativity play. With Christ came the light of heaven, shining into the darkest places of earth and of human hearts.  Welcome him. Make space for him, to enjoy the freedom of the children of God. Happy Christmas.