Christus vincit:Christus regnat:Christus Imperat

This weekend has been a truly wonderful one. It is also one that flies in the face of the shock headlines that the newspapers have been all too delighted to throw at the Church. One of the services I have been to have been to was full to bursting and with a good base of young children to grow up in the faith.  Others have been well attended and again with a thriving and growing base of children. It is however true that at any stage in the Church's past, present or future, we are always a generation away from dying out. Should we fail to capture the imaginations of those younger than us, it would be the generation that would fail to carry us on.

I placed a C.S.Lewis quote on social media earlier in the week. It read "God doesn't want something from us. He simply wants us." It is a quote I have always been fond of, not just because he is one of my favorite writers but because it embodies quite simply the reason I came to have a faith. At a time when everyone else demanded things of me, some of the Nuns at my school did the opposite. Through their life and their interaction with me, they showed me a glimpse of what the love of God meant. A few years later I went on to work at our local YMCA with vulnerable young teenagers. Some were only vaguely vulnerable, others exceptionally so. However what struck me as shocking was not the cases of abuse, those I had expected. What I had not expected was the level of stress and depression and self harm that came about quite simply because these poor young people felt that everybody wanted something from them in order to give them love and appreciation. They came to us, to get free food, some chill time and more importantly an unconditional ear and time. 

We live in a society now, that requires 24 hours of conformity in order to be accepted. What we say and do has never been more scrutinized both on a personal level and on an organizational level. Everybody has their expectations and many are all to willing to tear apart whatever it is we do or say. We however as baptized members of Christ's church have a duty to do the opposite.  Christ came to love us warts and all and it is our mission to do the same to everyone we meet. Here is where my quote from CS Lewis comes into play, as a missional tool for the Church. At a time when I was lost and vulnerable, it was acts of kindness, inclusion and an introduction to the Catholic Faith that has given me a lifelong Faith. If we were to go out of our buildings or bring people in and show them this unconditional love, how many more people could we bring flooding through our gates.

I am a great believer in incarnational ministry not just for our Priests but as a duty for all Christians.
However the image of the CofE has been blighted by our many internal arguements. We are not seen as loving and tolerant, but instead judgemental and incapable of loving each other let alone those outside our enclave.

Hopefully in the new budding trust that is developing, a new stronger and tolerant Church will blossom. It would be so much better if we were all able to work together, for in loving one another we can go out and love the world.

At this point there is another CS Lewis quote that seems appropriate


The life of Christ was not a comfortable one, therefore if we are to live a truly incarnational life, ours can not be either. But we should not let that stand in our way. For the love of Christ our King will reign over all.

Christus vincit:Christus regnat:Christus Imperat