Have mercy on me, O God, in your great goodness; according to the abundance of your compassion blot out my offences. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Give me again the joy of your salvation and sustain me with your gracious spirit. Then I will teach…
These verses from Psalm 51 – David’s great song of repentance after Nathan had visited him and opened his eyes to his errors of judgement – describe the important relationship between personal lifestyle and practice.
Recent events in my own life bought this into sharp focus. My spiritual director, Sister Caroline Price (a nun who first met me in 1995), went to be with God last November. In my homily at her requiem mass (she had herself journeyed from the Anglican to the Roman Catholic tradition) I said:
“When I first met Caroline, she asked, “Do you want me to mentor your ministry, or journey with you in your personal life and faith?” I thought, and then replied, “I have mentors for ministry. Please journey with me in my faith.” This was the first of many occasions when Caroline looked over her glasses and said “well done, my dear. A good answer!””
I was thinking about this over Christmas. I was then asked to preach at a covenant service in Bath Abbey on New Year’s Eve. I talked about these two strands, suggesting that they were intimately related. Using the passages given, I said that Isaiah (61:10 – 62:3) reminds us of the joy of our own salvation given to us by our Sovereign God, and Luke (2: 15-21) tells how the shepherds teach us – to go without delay, find, believe and tell others. They are the first Christian missionaries! So, we have these two strands – our personal faith and walk with God, and how we relate to others – what we think, say and do. Let us nurture this, recommit and then overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
My colleague, Guy the Abbey Rector, then led us all in saying the Methodist Covenant prayer. Before we started, he suggested that we should add a third strand – and that strand is God’s covenant love to us. Jesus says to us: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28: 20).
The thought is complete. As scripture says: A cord of the three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4: 12)
Wishing us all a gentle and deep Lent season as we ponder this. Faith is lifelong learning…
Nigel Rawlinson
University Chaplain
Respond