The Saint Barnabas’ Blog

In Britain we are fortunate to have four distinct seasons. For one week between December and February there is a week of snow. Between February and April a week of fresh flowers and blue skies. Between June and August (almost certainly exam week) there is glorious sunshine. And for a week between September and November lush autumnal weather. For the remaining 48 weeks there is invariably slate grey skies, dank wet winds and drizzle that refuses to pass, unless it decides to pour instead. Today was one of those days.

It was also the first day of my post Christmas break and I was not going to let a little thing like inclement weather dampen the Tomlinson spirits. So all four of us jumped into the Volvo and headed off to the seaside! It was not the day for walking along the beach or even scouring shops but it was perfect weather for a trip to the Sealife Centre in Hastings. Jemima loved it, almost as much as Hayley and Benedict was fairly non-plussed. The highlight was witnessing the Stingrays being fed and watching the jelly fish being illuminated by various coloured lights.

After the Sealife centre we stopped for a late lunch at the Royal Oak in Whatlington, near Battle. It was a gamble as we knew nothing about it but turned out to be a triumph. The barmaid was pretty, friendly and helpful, the 15th Century Inn snug, well decorated and welcoming and the food simply wonderful. I had fish and chips (fresh haddock), Hayley had steak and stilton pie and young Jemima tried the sausages. Benedict stuck to breast milk….no surprise there.

The pub really was a good find and came complete with an ancient well towards the rear of the pub. With a drop of 40ft and a further 40ft of water depth it was certainly impressive (the pub sits abreast a deep underground river). Even more interesting was discovering that the well contains a priest hole. My word those boys had guts- to gain entry one had to shin down the inside well wall and tuck yourself into a tiny gap. Mind you that was probably preferable to being roasted alive!

This being a Shepherd Neame pub the beer I chose was ‘Late Red’, a tasty little autumn beverage that I had never tried before. And very fine it was too, so fine I had to have another before returning to Tunbridge Wells for a nine hundredth viewing of Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses! Groan…..

This week the universal church marked the feast of the Holy Innocents, recalling with horror the brutal murder of tiny children in the wake of Christ’s birth and giving thanks that God gathered these precious souls and counted them amongst his elect.

The biblical account naturally appalls us, how monstrous that defenseless babies should be slain by murderous thugs. What an evil despot Herod must have been! But are we modern Westerners any better? The 195,428 Uk abortions performed in 2008 alone suggests not, indeed Herod’s attrocity almost looks feeble by comparison. Each of these fragile lives taken from this world were equally hallowed by God, yet snuffed out because they were deemed an inconvenience.

Traditional Christianity has always opposed abortion in the strongest possible terms. I always point out that I do so whilst remaining pro choice- choose to have sex or not…but live with the consequences if you do! Abortion is wrong and to use it as birth control, as the majority of these were, is wicked and barbaric. And in the rare cases where rape is involved there is much psychological evidence to demonstrate that rearing the child for adoption, whilst fully supporting a victim, is more beneficial than merely medicating and pretending the horror never occured. Furthermore abortion has been shown to add to the stress and pain of rape victims and not to take it away.

Understand then that the Church of God has always protected the unborn…that is until now, for the Episcopal church in America has now abandoned this stance along with everything else! For according to the Church of England newspaper, this increasingly heretical branch of our church has now further shamed itself by backing the use of tax payer’s money to fund abortion. What on earth do they think they are doing? There is no theological justification for this at all! I am disgusted, angered and genuinely appalled! It seems to me to be further proof, if any were needed, that this wayward lot have totally lost touch with the faith they claim to affirm in their unquenching pursuit of secular, liberal values.

In the Gospel Christ hallows John’s ministry whilst still within the womb, causing John the Baptist to leap in Elizabeth’s womb! We are further reminded, in this touching account, that Christ is to be revered as the fruit of Mary’s womb. Surely every little baby, in every womb, in every place, is equally precious in God’s eyes? Is that not the message of faith? Are we not utterly committed to fighting for the dignity and worth of every living being, viewing every single life as equal and deserving of God’s indiscriminate love?

Today I weep at what is happening to the Anglican church and what is being done in its name in various places. I simply cannot see God’s hand at work in this. It leaves me asking one question, have rabidly secular minded wolves entered our fold? And if so what is our duty as Christians who want to abide by God’s laws and defend the faith of the ages?

For with every passing day the behaviour of certain Anglicans is distancing us all from the Gospel of Jesus Christ and making us look bizarre, erratic and confused to the watching world. In this instance you can add the word evil to that tragic list. Once again the Ordinariate seems ever more tantalising and necessary. If abortion has affected your life do please speak to a priest and seek healing and forgiveness in Christ’s name

Andy Anderson, pictured in front of me with Holy water on the occasion of the blessing of our new playground, is our parish verger and all round good egg who does a HUGE amount for this parish. He is a governor at the school, a member of the PCC, a server, on the Community Centre Steering project and always on hand should anything need doing. On top of all that he is a good friend as well.

Born locally and educated at Saint Barnabas’ school he is very much a cradle Barnabite. Sadly Andy, aged only 58, was diagnosed with Myeloma last year and discovered it is at a fairly advanced stage. After what has been a long haul, for him and the family, he is due to have a bone marrow transplant on the 10th January. But unfortunately his pre-operative test results were not good and he has been found to have reduced lung capacity. There are a host of reasons for what might cause this but it does mean that if his lungs do not make it through the tests next week his life-saving operation will be cancelled. His life expectancy will then suffer hugely as a result. Medically he will have reached the point where no more can be done other than to manage his pain.

So, with Andy’s permission, I am asking everyone who reads this blog to put him on their personal and church prayer lists. Pray please for God’s powerful, healing touch on Andy’s life. Pray that he will get through the tests and be a good candidate for his operation. Pray for those who minister to him so skillfully, the doctors, nurses and all involved in the health services. Pray that he will be close to God no matter the outcome and that he will feel positive as he faces the future. God answers prayer, so let us bombard him with this one!

Today I write my blog from just outside of Birmingham where I am currently lodged, at the house of Andrew Ross, ahead of the epic football match that is Walsall FC v Norwich City!! Ok… so not so epic in commercial or national terms -this is a fairly ordinary fixture in the third tear of English football- but epic to me! The reason that this fixture takes on such significance is that my dear friend Jon Ross (he whose wedding shots appeared on the blog in the summer) is an ardent Walsall supporter. Today is thus a day for good natured rivalry and leg pulling due to my passion for Walsall’s opposition – Norwich City Football club.

Walsall are having a fairly unexciting season and looking unlikely to either get embroiled in a relegation scrap nor involved in a promotion push. Mid table obscurity seems to be the order of the day at the mid point of the season. Whereas the mighty Canaries (the nickname for Norwich) are flying high! 9 wins from 9 at home and not many points dropped away means we sit in third (due to a shaky start to the season) and are closing on the top two with every game. Little wonder for we are the division’s top scorers and that is mainly due to Mr. Grant Holt who is pictured above.

So then off to a pleasant lunch with chums and then off to the Bescott Stadium. I shall be sitting in the Walsall end in disguise!

RESULT: VERY annoyingly the game was cancelled due to a frozen pitch only 45minutes prior to kick off!! The Football Association really must do better- especially for the 2000 Norwich fans who had driven for 4hours to get there. Either call off the game the night before or in early morning- or play on regardless. What are these modern footballers- mice or men?!

Its been a busy time for Christians and, as can be seen above, also for Father Christmas! Little wonder Benedict Peter is so tired, he has grown enormously. So much so, at just 7 weeks he has outgrown all his clothes which should last until 3 months!! A good sign that I have a ‘fat boy forward’ and not a ‘Girlie back’ (rugby players will understand!)

I hope you continue to enjoy the Christmas feast. Mass was offered this morning in Saint Stephen’s chapel for our co-patron Saint Stephen himself. It was a very chilly affair, as all our Christmas services have been, due to a spectacular failing of the entire heating system on Christmas Eve morning. What a blow! It really is a challenge to glory in the feast of Christ’s birth with knocking knees and chattering teeth but the faithful did a splendid job in any case. At least the Christmas champagne was kept on natural ice throughout Midnight Mass! It tasted splendid…..even if Bovril would have been more desirable in the circumstances. Fret not a heating engineer will be rectifying the situation just as soon as is possible.

Here is the sermon preached at Midnight Mass:

Somebody with no understanding of Christianity might wonder what on earth we are doing here. I can imagine them thinking: Don’t you know what time it is? Is it not a little late to be attending Mass on an freezing night in the middle of winter? Maybe these Christians have no friends? No invitations to drinks parties? Or perhaps the sermons are so good you cant keep away! Unlikely but you get my drift. There is something curious about being here tonight.

Naturally there is a reason. The magical hour of midnight, the middle of the darkest, coldest night are not just incidental to our worship, they are pivotal. Midnight signifies change- from one day to another. Midnight Mass, the birth of Christ, signifies change from the old covenant to the new. The days of a distant, unknowable God become the days of a loving God with whom we can relate.

And he comes when the world is dark and bleak for a reason At the very moment of despair. You may say the middle east was not cold but I have witnessed snowfall in Palestine. Winter nights in the wilderness are not for the faint hearted. God comes in the cold darkness. And that’s the essence of the good news. No matter how little light is in your life. No matter the darkness in your past or your present, there can be hope in your future. Tonight God, out of love for you, does something remarkable. For wonderfully, magically, He comes to us as the greatest gift ever known. Most holy night, O night divine.

Tomorrow I hope to receive earthly gifts. Its unlikely to be everything I dream of, for doubtless Angelina Jolie is busy. Regrettable as Hayley would delight in this arrangement if only Angelina kept me. Nevertheless….the gifts we receive in life are only of use if we utilise them. If you doubt that consider this; I own a pair of running shoes.

The gift of Christ is the greatest gift this world has known. It has power to bring healing and forgiveness, to transform and empower. But only…

….if you engage with it. If you utilise the gift on offer. God does not, and will not, force himself on us. He loves us too much for coercion. And so we only receive the grace Christ brings IF we reach into the manger and embrace him for ourselves, claiming the Christ child as our own. Dropping on our knees in worship. Relating to him as to a friend. Seeking him in his Church through the miracle of word and sacrament. Yes, to accept the gift of Christ is to live out the Christian faith. So why do so few accept the gift?

Because make no mistake, being a true believer is rare. And don’t merely count bums on pews. As I have said before, going to Church makes you no more a Christian than sitting in a garage makes you a car. You must embrace the gift, live out the faith, if Christ is to dwell in your heart.

But sadly few achieve this because, though we often love the story, we resent the gift! And little wonder because though it is free it is not cheap. To accept it is costly, demanding, challenging. It requires self-sacrifice, humility, self control, – all the things we balk at. We don’t want to surrender our lives to Christ we want the glory for ourselves. And so we reinvent the feast, keeping the story but masking the gift. The Victoria Centre overflows with lavish spending but the vulnerable are largely ignored. Christ is barely mentioned on the box whilst cookery programmes promise us the world. The humble feast of God’s gift has become an opulent feast of man’s prosperity.

And so 2009 finds the world little different to ancient Palestine. Again Christ is born to a world that does not want him. Will only be found in the neglected corner of town by the few who care to find him. And once again the world will choose to stay in darkness because they refuse to accept the light.

But to those who believe, who would accept this gift. There is a blaze of hope filled light for our journey. Our path may not be easy, indeed the feasts of S. Stephen the martyr tomorrow, and the holy innocents on Monday suggest not. The way will be tough, the world will reject us and yet we rejoice! We rejoice!

Because none of that matters now that God is with us. We have ‘Emmanuel’. God will not remove any obstacles before us but he will give us strength to overcome them. We now have light to see in darkness, Jesus our lord. The inheritance of the saints, the assurance of life everlasting. Praise God then for his gift, the gift of himself given when we give ourselves to him.

Finally I leave you with the wonderful image of one of Benedict’s first smiles, captured over Christmas lunch!

Pope Benedict’s Christmass sermon ended with the most beautiful paragraph. I share it with you:

…Yes indeed, that is what we should pray for on this Holy Night. Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, come to us! Enter within me, within my soul. Transform me. Renew me. Change me, change us all from stone and wood into living people, in whom your love is made present and the world is transformed. Amen

Meanwhile the Tomlinson elves have been busy and would love you to spend a couple of minutes looking at this! No need to download anything, jst watch and enjoy. Happy Christmas!

I was delighted to read this comment left on the site this morning.

Father,

With thanks for a fantastic blog that keeps in touch with God,
Chris

This message reminds us of those serving in Afghanistan, and elsewhere, whom we pray for regularly at Mass. Do also pray for them and their families in your personal devotions. Here at Saint Barnabas we just celebrated the best crib service I can remember. Led by the Sunday school it told the Christmass story through narration, carols and acting and was an absolute delight. It ended in procession to the Lady Chapel where, kneeling under the sacrament, the crib figures (minus bambino) were revealed. A huge thankyou to everyone who contributed- especially a certain shepherd who bought a tear to her daddy’s eye!

[NoDRM]-Aled Jones [Artist] O Holy Night

May I wish you a most Holy Night night tonight and blessed Christmass tomorrow. May the light and love of Christ burn in your hearts. May you claim the gift being offered and live with Christ throughout this year. And may you fall down and worship the incarnate Word made flesh, Jesus Christ Our Lord. O Come, Let us adore Him!

I admit to weeping whilst watching the news this week. The item which caused such dismay was a BBC report on the plight of orphans in modern Romania. Many years after their plight was first brought to our attention, at the time of Ceausescu, it would seem daily life for a great many has hardly changed at all. Under-resourced and under-staffed many homes still operate on pathetic budgets. It results in children not only sharing beds but being left to lie in their own excrement for days on end. Love is in short supply and most residents, in these scantily heated homes, demonstrate signs of profound emotional and psychological stress. Little wonder that self harm is an every day occurence and rocking and head banging universal. The disabled sit in uncomfortable chairs, facing gangrene and other easily preventable diseases.

All this despite Romania being a member country of the EU. We might reflect that this is a nation with little resources but I wonder how the national spend on these abandoned children measures up to ministers personal expenses? As I sat with heavy heart I could not help thinking about my own Jemima, tucked up in bed and flourishing under so much love and care. Why can these children not receive the same? It is lamentable and unfair. How we reap a foul harvest from the abuse of the vulnerable as the new revelations in the life of terrorist Gerry Adams confirm. Was his hatred and violence the product of an abusive past? And why did he choose to respond with bloodshed where others have risen against the odds and chosen hope?

Later that evening, whilst wrapping presents, I watched ‘Crimewatch’. This is a programme run in conjunction with the police aimed at reaching out to the public to bring criminals to justice. It was another stark reminder of how wicked and corrupt the world really is. Again I sat with heavy heart as I listened to an account of a woman doused in petrol and set on fire- a ‘punishment’ administered by gang members due to her husband’s unpaid debts. I heard of the toddler left to burn in a house-fire, deliberately started by a malicious thug. And we heard about Peter Tobin, serial killer, who mutilated and butchered women. The police believe there may be more victims as yet unidentified. For varous items of jewellery have been found which cannot be traced to his known victims and he seems to have kept such things as a ‘trophy’ after each kill.

And before we distance ourselves too much from Mr. Tobin, we might reflect on why we revel in creating ‘entertainment’ based on people such as him? Consider ‘Criminal minds’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’ et al. Is our enjoyment of these not a sign that, at a certain level, we glory in the violence? Is the fact that we delight in a fascination of brutal killers a sign that we share something of what was done? Does the killer lurk within us all?

All this leads to the point of today’s blog. THe doctrine of the fall which necessitates the incarnation. Many in the modern world act as if the solution to the world’ problems lie with man. For secularism is the deliberate negation of the old order- praise of God- for the adoption of the new order- praise of man. On the one hand I admire this stance for we are God’s hands on earth. But I cannot endorse the reliance on man alone. We need God’s help and we need his Spirit within us. Without God there is no hope at all. For God is love.

And this leads on to an Advent reflection. Christmas is not a cosy tale of a baby nestled in a manger. It is the pinnacle of human history, for without God we are damned to our own dispositions. Without God we sink to the levels witnessed in the neglected orphanages and accross our violent and uncaring society. But with God we can overcome our sinful nature and become the people God calls us to be. A fact which history demonstrates when we consider the saints who cared for the poor and neglected, the huge number of charities with Christian foundations, the massive amount of social care provided, for free, by God’s family on earth. How many of the homeless will survive this current cold snap due to the efforts of the Salvation Army and other Christian shelters, whilst the MP’s expense scandal refuses to go away?

As I look to this sorry world I am left in no doubt. My God, my wonderful, loving, compassionate, salvific God, we need you more than ever this Christmas. We may not want you, we may not think we need you. But, my God, we need you.

May all God’s faithful pray that Christ be born afresh this year. May the celebration of his birth spark a Christian revivial. And may we all consider the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves as we prepare to celebrate the feast. What have you done for the vulnerable this Christmas? What have you given to the vulnerable? How much did you spend on your Christmas groceries and gifts for loved ones? How much did you spend on the poor and needy? Not one of us can kneel before Christ’s crib unless we first consider such things. Once again the crib at Saint Barnabas will have a collection box beside it. The money raised will be sent to ‘Caritas’ a children’s home in Bethlehem which cares for the poor and disabled. An option to do something.

Who can deny the wonders being worked by our new Director of Music, Antony Pitts? In just a few months the choir has gone from strength to strength with many children now swelling the number -how lovely to hear them sing the first verse of ‘the angel Gabriel’ alone last night. But it is not just children, as we also have lots of dedicated new adult members too with a debut Cantor, Tom Davis, singing at yesterday’s Mass.

The rise in number has meant a rise in quality as Antony works his magic with singers both old and new. The result of this wonderful renaissance is that last night’s Carol service was the very best since I have been priest here (and the others have been good!). So really well done to everybody involved- it is lovely to witness the genuine buzz from everyone connected with the choir and I look forward to the coming services over Christmas. And if anyone else wants to join…there is still room. (Though we may be out of cassocks soon!!)