DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS,
The phrase 2020 Vision is often used to describe what it is like to see perfectly. Those who know about eyes would say that this is not precisely the case. For the rest of us, it is a shorthand phrase that we use, either about sight or, more commonly, about insight, about how we perceive the world and the issues that lie before us. To have 2020 vision is to know what is happening and what will happen. And, at that point, we realise that none of us have that gift.
So, welcome to 2020. Welcome to a world where we sense that we do not know, with confidence, what the future will bring. Cultural observers have noted that the confidence that was around in the mid-1990s (‘Things can only get better’ was the song, if you recall, of New Labour), has evaporated. It has been replaced by hesitancy, distrust and unashamed flagrant lying. We are not in a good place.
What has the Christian faith to offer? What has it to offer to us, as individuals, as a Church and to our wider society?
Those who closely observe Jesus in the bible are clear that he did not know what the exact outline of his life would be. What they say is that Jesus was clear that his deep awareness of God as Father would not bring an easy life. It would bring tension, confrontation and conflict. What we read, when we open the bible, is the impact on others who were attracted to Jesus. There are two basic reactions.
Some found following Jesus too hard and bailed out. Yes, Judas but if you read the bible you may wonder where the 5,000, the 4,000, those healed, those touched, those who listened to the sermon on the Mount, went. They appear to have evaporated. Looking around the Church today, we may recognise this story all too well.
Some tried following Jesus, made a mess and tried again. Think Peter. Think all the other disciples. Even the women who popped up at the Resurrection, in Mark’s gospel, ran away afraid. It’s the trying again that is the point. You are reading this because they tried again. They stuck to the programme. So did you. So, one of the clues, for us as individuals, is the trick of simply turning up. The word in the bible for this is “Faithful”. It’s a good word. Perhaps a 2020 Word?
What about the Church? We rightly talk of ‘Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Hebrews 13.8). Our vocation is to hand on the Good News of God’s love. Our faithfulness as a Church, witnessing here in Bury, lies here. To come to Christ is to have your life transformed. To come to Christ is to become an agent of transformation in the world for his sake. And to “be Christ”, to live his life, is to stand up for those things for which Jesus stood; justice, equality, dignity, truth, peace, hope, reconciliation, often in the face of those who wished he would simply be quiet. A quiet Church is one that is not taking Jesus seriously.
And do we have anything to say to the world? Faith has been pushed to the margins of public discourse. ‘You have your beliefs and I have mine’ is a common mantra. This will not do. The values of the Christian faith, seen in that list above, should be the criteria we use to assess our world, our leaders, their statements and decisions. The values of our faith should drive us into conversations in our homes, places of work, pubs and gyms, into our town hall. We should be talking about education, social care, the justice system, health and well-being. The bible talks about the people of faith being like salt, yeast and light in the world. There is our mandate.
2020 Vision? Not clarity for the future but confidence in the presence of God who, when we pay attention, reveals himself in the disciplines of the faith.
With love and prayers,
Julian
Rector