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Sunday Service 25th October 2020 - Enneagram Type 6              - Loyal Guardian, Institutionalist, Devil's Advocate

24/10/2020

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SERMON TEXT
ENNEAGRAM TYPE 6 - Loyal Guardian, Loyal Skeptic Devil's Advocate

Today we come to explore Type 6 on the Enneagram. We are getting closer to completing our exploration of all 9 personality types. I am very conscious that it often feels like I am only enabling us to dip our toes into each personality. It is worth exploring further if you are able to. I do hope it has also been helpful so far to explore how each of these personality types is reflected in the wholeness of the person of Jesus. It is a gentle reminder that many of the traits of each of these nine personalities will be present to greater or lesser extents in each of us, although one will normally predominate and normally it has do do with the underlying woundedness we carry with us and the underlying need and motivation in life.

Today we come to type 6 on the Enneagram. Type 6 is sometimes called the Loyalist and perhaps more specifically, the Loyal Sceptic, the Loyal Realist and the Loyal Guardian. Other names of include, The Supporter, Vigilant Trouble-shooter, and the The Devil’s Advocate.

As we explore Type 6 on the Enneagram today, we do so by reflecting firstly on the fictitious story of Michele.
Michelle lives with a fairly constant underlying anxiety. She spends a fair amount of time worrying, and much of her energy constantly scanning for danger in her attempt to make herself feel safe and secure. It seems that it has always been this way for her. Even as a baby and a child, she was quite anxious. It is difficult to pin-point exactly why this was the case, but the world in which Michelle was born often felt unstable, insecure and a little unsafe to her. From very early on, her dominant need was for security.

Growing up, Michelle always felt a lot of self-doubt and an inner insecurity. For this reason, Michelle would often tend to gravitate towards anything that would act as a kind of authority and security, from religion, organisations and ideas, and clear rules, to authority figures who helped make her feel safe. Michelle’s self-doubt often gives her a very endearing and natural sense of humility and she can also be quite witty. Because of her self-doubt, while she likes to associate with others, she doesn’t really like to stand out too much in a crowd and prefers to keep her head down and remain a little unnoticed if she can. If truth be told, Michelle’s underlying sense of anxiety means that she is often a jumble of contradictions for although she needs authority, she can also at times be a little sceptical and suspicious of it. But once you have won Michelle over she turns out to be a very warm and loyal friend and supporter.

On the whole, her school career was a positive one. The structured nature of school life provided her with a secure predictability that enabled her to thrive. But when she felt threatened by others or the school system she could also become quite rigid, unpredictable and rebellious a little bit like a cornered animal. But on the whole, while the system helped to give her a sense of security, she was a very loyal, trustworthy and committed member of her school.

Fairly early on, Michelle found a helpful sense of security in her religion. In her earlier religious life, she was especially drawn to a more fundamentalist and literalist form of religion, because it provided the kind of neat and absolute answers that made her feel more secure. In her maturity, she finds herself a little more open to a sense of mystery and not-knowing.

Because, much of Michelle’s energy is spent scanning the horizon for possible danger, she has overtime developed very good problem solving skills that have become real assets in her adult life. She is a very helpful team player at work and can be relied on to be a very practical thinker who can very easily spot the pitfalls in people’s planning, especially when others get carried away with idealistic dreams and notions. Michelle finds great comfort in working in a team and a hierarchical organisation that gives her support, and helps her to know where she stands, and so it was quite natural after leaving school that she found a position in the civil service where she in turn can play her part and serve with loyalty and commitment.

At her best, Michelle can be described as loyal, dutiful, warm & hospitable, witty, caring, realistic, practical, respectful, humble, trustworthy and courageous. But Michelle also has her shadow side which is primarily characterised by an underlying fear and anxiety that has a tendency to make her a little controlling, suspicious, indecisive, and defensive. But when under particular stress, she can become a little authoritarian, aggressive and even paranoid, quite easily falling into the trap of living in a world of “us and them” as an attempt to pinpoint where the dangers and enemies are in life.

As Michelle has grown to greater maturity, she has begun to trust more deeply in her inner authority, her inner voice of wisdom, rather than relying on an external authority. She has become a little more relaxed and at ease with herself which helps to bring out her witty side. She has also unconsciously begun to draw on the strengths of her neighbouring personality types on the Enneagram. With her Five Wing, the Observer, it has helped her to develop her knowledge about life and herself, while her Seven Wing, the Adventurer, that we will look at next week, has helped her to lighten up and find a bit more joy in life.

Like all of us, Michelle has her good days and her bad days. But she is in good company. A lot of successful people have been Sixes on the Enneagram. Teresa May, George W. Bush (and his father, George Bush snr.), Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Anniston, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Judi Dench, Christopher Hitchens, the previous Pope Benedict 16th, J. R. R. Tolkien, and finally, some would include Princess Diana, although others have labelled her as a Two, the Helper. The country of Germany embodies something of the spirit of the Six.
When considering the Gospel Stories about the person of Jesus, we see some of the best qualities of the Six in Jesus.

Firstly, like many sixes on the Enneagram, Jesus is presented as having a dutiful side to him. This came up in last weeks reading when the 12 year old Jesus, after having been found in the Temple, returns obediently to Nazareth with his parents.

Like any Six, Jesus has an interesting relationship with authority. In a number of places, Jesus affirms some of the authority structures of his day. Early on in Luke’s Gospel, we see Jesus being loyal and dutiful and committed to attending the weekly Synagogue service. “...As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Luke 4:16” And when Jesus reaches out to touch and heal the leper, he affirms the authority of the priests in Jerusalem as he tells the man, “...go, and show yourself to the priests and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing.” He also affirms the duty of his followers to pay their taxes, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mark 12:17).

In his own relationship with God, who he called his Father, Jesus describes himself as a person under authority as most Sixes would prefer. In John 5:19 “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” This is the kind of security relationship that a Six would thrive on.

But it is also true that Jesus lived in an ambiguous relationship with authority, as many sixes on the Enneagram do. Just as a six might rebel against authority when a sense of security is threatened, Jesus was also willing to rebel against authority, not because he felt threatened, but rather because his allegiance was ultimately to a higher authority, and to higher principles of justice and compassion.


But perhaps more than anything, some of the best qualities of the Six can be seen in Jesus’s sense of loyalty. Jesus shows loyalty to his Mother in John’s Gospel when in his dying moments on the cross, he seeks to make provision for her protection by giving her into the care of one of his disciples, “Woman, here is your son!” he says to her, and to the disciple, “Here is your Mother” (John 19:26). And his loyalty and duty to his Heavenly Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Mark 14:36).

Lastly, in that passage where Jesus stands before Pilate, the representative of the Empire, we see the fearful, and authoritarian servant of the Empire, an unhealthy loyalist, sentencing Jesus to death even though he could find nothing wrong in Jesus, out of a desire to protect his own position and the countries security and stability by preventing a riot. In contrast, we see Jesus standing courageously in the face of danger before Pilate, and like a healthy and mature Six, drawing on his own inner sense of authority as he affirms before Pilate that he is a King, although his kingdom is not of this world, (John 18:36).
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In closing, some helpful pointers for those of us who may identify as a Six on the Enneagram:
  • Since I am loved, there is no reason to fear, for God’s perfect love casts out all fear.
  • May I light a candle rather than curse the darkness and pray for those I regard as my enemies.
  • My authority comes from within, and ultimately that inner authority comes from the inner presence of Christ, for “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil 4:13.
  • Lastly, the words of assurance of the Risen Christ, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20).


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Sunday Service - Enneagram Type 5 - 18th October 2020

17/10/2020

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Ennegram Type 5  The Observer, The Thinker,  The Investigator, the Loner

Over the past 5 weeks we have been exploring the Enneagram as a tool for personal and spiritual growth. It is personality tool that presents 9 basic personality types. Each week, we are invited to learn more about ourselves and those around us. And each week, we are invited to see the best qualities of each personality type reflected in the person of Jesus, as well as in Scripture. 

As we explore Type 5, The Observer, The Thinker,  The Investigator, the Loner I begin with a fictional story about a person we shall call Gary: 

Gary loves to understand things. From the meaning of life and theology, to the way cultures and countries have developed and changed through history, to what motivates human behaviour, and even quantum physics.  Observing, investigating and thinking are Gary’s most dominant ways of relating to the world, all to satisfy this deep desire to know and understand. 

The tendencies of a Five were observable very early on in Gary. From the time he was a baby, he was always a lot quieter and more reserved than most other children. But in his quietness, he would keenly observe everything that was happening around him including noticing when the adults around him were happy, sad or angry.  From very early on, Gary would get very absorbed in investigating some particular thing and could get lost in fascination for hours on end, sometimes also lost in his imagination. In this sense, he was a very low maintenance child. 

But the truth behind much of this observing and investigating was that he always felt a little less adequate and less competent than others. He had a deep need to feel capable and competent. Observing, investigating and learning, were a defence mechanism in order to try and equip himself as best as possible to engage with the outside world. 

As Gary grew older, his shyness became more apparent. Being with other people for any length of time would be very draining to him, taking a lot of emotional energy. As a result, he would avoid parties and large gatherings, preferring to spend his time with just a few friends, mostly one-on-one who he could trust and feel relaxed around. 

Once Gary learned to read, it was as though he was never seen without a book. He could lose himself for hours in books, especially those which helped him learn about life and the world, whether that was through the medium of stories that had thought provoking plots with interesting characters, or non-fictional books that enabled him to learn about life and the world. 

Even though Gary could spend hours in books, and probably knew more than most people about a given subject, he would never feel like an expert. It was thus always with difficulty that he would share of his great knowledge in case there were chinks and gaps in his understanding. 

Growing older, these observing, investigating and learning gifts have served him well. He thrived not just at school, but at University as well where he always got good grades. It was perhaps inevitable that Gary would end up being employed at a University as a medical researcher where he would often be able to spend hours on his own engrossed in work that he found meaningful.

While at his best, Gary can be described as observant, perceptive, reflective, self-contained, analytical,  wise, objective and sensitive, Gary also has his shadow side, which is normally characterised by becoming withdrawn. Even when he is operating from a healthy place, Gary regularly needs time out to be alone where he can process his thoughts before re-engaging with the world. But when he is under stress and operates from an unhealthy place, Gary can very easily become remote, uninvolved, non-assertive and at his worst he can seem stingy, cerebral (lost in his head), unfeeling, arrogant and superior. 

As Gary has grown to more maturity, unconsciously he has begun to adopt some of the qualities of his neighbouring personality types on the enneagram. What can be described as his 4 wing, the artist or romantic, has helped him to become more expressive and more in touch with his feelings with a greater balance between his head and his heart, making him warmer and more empathetic.  When he draws on the strengths of what can be described as his Six wing, he has tended to become more dutiful and involved in life, even finding joy in being part of a group, although he is still very easily overwhelmed even in the company of friends and family and continues to need to carve out time just to be alone, to catch up with himself and have time to think and process life.  His Six Wing helps him to become a very effective problem solver. 

Like all of us, Gary has his good days and his bad days. But he is in good company. A lot of famous and successful people have been Fives. These include people like: Albert Einstein,  David Attenborough, Stephen Hawking, Jane Goodall, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Marie Curie, J.K. Rowling and Stephen King. 

As we explore the Gospel stories, we discover in Jesus some of the best qualities of the Five in the person and teachings of Jesus.  Jesus was a great observer of the world and people around him. We see him observing nature “...Look at the lilies of the field how they grow...” He is also a great observer of human behaviour. In John 2:24 we read that “...Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.” In other words, he was very aware of the hidden motivations within people’s hearts.  Robert Nogosek writes that to see the Five in Jesus we need to notice his great concern for wisdom. Like all Fives, it was clearly important to Jesus to be wise and not foolish. He describes those who are wise as those who build their homes on a rock and those who are foolish as those who build on sand. Wise people don’t just let life happen, but try to build their lives in chosen values and goals. 

This search for wisdom and understanding is seen in the only Biblical record of his childhood, where Jesus is seen as a boy, on a trip to Jerusalem at the Temple, learning from and debating with the teachers of the law.  He is clearly so absorbed in this activity, that he misses the train back to Nazareth with his parents, and they have to come back looking for him. In verse 52 at the end of this episode, we read, “...Jesus grew in wisdom and stature...”. 

Again, as Robert Nogosek puts it, “Jesus own quest for Wisdom involved thinking things out for himself. He often sought out lonely places for such reflection on the scriptures, on his life, and on the will of God. As is characteristic of a wise person, he knew more than he said, or at least waited for the right moment to share his truth”. As we read in John’s Gospel, 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”

As Nogosek continues, because Jesus thought things out for himself, the crowds found a freshness in his teachings in contrast to the rabbis who could only quote other people.  Like a healthy and mature Five, Jesus put himself out on the life by speaking out of his own reflections. And for this reason, Jesus gained the reputation of teaching with authority (Matthew 7:29).  The parables Jesus told show how good Jesus was at communicating truth and wisdom to those around them, not just as a list of facts, but rather as an invitation that got others thinking more deeply about life, themselves and God. 

But while Jesus clearly took time out alone, to think and reflect deeply, Jesus avoided the trap of the Five by not becoming aloof or a loner.  While Jesus was a keen observer of life and people, he was not simply an observer, but was engaged in life, as any Five needs to do on the journey towards wholeness and maturity. 

So much of an impact did the wisdom of Jesus make on his earliest followers, that in the opening verses of John’s Gospel, Jesus is described as the Wisdom, or Logos of God incarnate. Or from a different perspective, the Wisdom or Logos of God was made flesh in the person of Jesus. 

Some helpful helping cues for those of us who may be Fives on the Enneagram: 
    • You are still lovable and safe in God’s love, even when you don’t have all the answers or if you feel incompetent. 
    • The head doesn't have all the answers. 
    • The heart is also important.
    • Looking after the body is as important as feeding one’s mind. Like Jesus in our passage today, we need to grow in both body & wisdom. 
    • The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) and we too need to become flesh (not just a mind), and engage meaningfully with the world. 
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Sunday Service - Enneagram Type 4 - The Artist/Romantic           11th October 2020.

11/10/2020

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Ennegram Type 4- The Artist, Romantic, Individualist, Non-Conformist
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Today we continue with our journey through the Enneagram as we use it to help us explore various personality types, how these personality types are reflected in the person of Jesus, and how each of these nine personality types can be an invitation to self-reflection and personal growth.

Today we explore type 4 on the Enneagram which is sometimes called the Artist, the Romantic, or the Non-conformist. As I do so, I tel the fictitious story of Janine.

Janine is wonderfully creative. She loves to express herself through art, the way she decorates her home and her garden often using the most interesting and original ideas that not many others would even think of. Janine often reflects that if this creativity in her were robbed from her or if she was prevented from using it, her life would become meaningless and as dry as dust.

Janine’s creativity and expressiveness were visible from very early on in her life. She always had an interesting take on life. Even when she was learning to speak she would come out with the most interesting and expressive words that she made up herself when she couldn't quite remember what the proper word was. In her growing up, it became apparent very early on that she had a deep need to be different and therefore special. Somehow she felt that in order to attract others to herself, she needed to stand out in some way.

Throughout her life she has given expression to her uniqueness. At school she thrived in art class, learning to play the piano and participating in the annual school play. It didn't matter whether she was on stage or behind the scenes helping to paint and create stage props. Give her any means of expressing herself and she was in her element.

As she grew as a teenager her sense of fashion could only be described as unique and different with each outfit making a statement whether it was the bright colours or strange and contrasting combinations. Janine was normally quite easy to spot in a crowd. She was also often in the kitchen, making the most interesting meals, unafraid to experiment and try strange combinations.

This creative expressive side to her has served her well as an adult, and she has tried her hand at a number of different things. Working for a time as an art teacher, doing a little bit of fine art and even graphic design on the side. She is also into a bit of alternative medicine and therapies, although her formal training has been as a psychologist and counsellor. Her own emotional life is rich and varied and she is familiar with surfing the waves of her own moods, which makes her quite an empathetic and sensitive listener, resonating and feeling very deeply with the emotional struggles and journey of her clients.

While at her best, Janine can be described as intuitive, creative, sensitive, expressive, cultured, stylish, original, artistic and empathetic, Jim also has his dark side which is normally expressed through her moodiness, which can change quite rapidly, a bit like the Northern Irish weather, four seasons in one day. She can also very easily become over-dramatic, possessive, depressed, guilt ridden, obstinate, hypersensitive, spiteful, self-absorbed and masochistic.

As Janine has grown more mature with time, unconsciously, she has begun to adopt some of the qualities of her neighbouring personality types on the Enneagram. What can be described as her three wing, the achiever, has helped give her life a bit more focus and drive, that has helped to keep her from floundering in the sea of her own feelings and emotions. It was this achiever in her that helped her to knuckle down and study for her Masters in Psychology. It was also the Five wing (which we will look at next week), that helped her savour the experience of learning about human behaviour, the mind and what makes people tick.

Like all of us, Janine has her good days and her bad days. But she is in good company. A lot of famous and successful people have been Fours on the Enneagram. Jeremy Irons, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Shirley Bassey, Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Prince Charles, Kate Winslet, Virginia Woolf, Paloma Faith, & Annie Lennox. The country of France which has that certain Je ne sais quoi, embodies something of the spirit of the Four. Janine loves spending holidays in France, where she feels right at home.
As we consider some of the characteristics of Janine and all individualists or romantics on the Enneagram, some of the best qualities of a Four can be discerned in the person of Jesus. Probably what stands out most is what can be described as the sensitivity of Jesus. As Robert Nogosek puts it, Jesus could well be called “the patron saint of misunderstood people. He frequently complained that his closest friends did not understand him.

But a scene where Jesus is understood is in Matthew 26 with what was probably a fellow four on the Enneagram, the woman who annointed Jesus feet with oil before his crucifixion. For the woman in the story (according to John it was Mary of Bethany, although some think it was Mary Magdalene), while all Jesus male disciples were out of touch with what was happening in Jesus life, and what was coming up ahead in terms of his arrest, torture and crucifixion, this unnamed women proves to intuitively perceive what is happening. In an extravagant display of her devotion to Jesus, she pours out an enormously expensive jar of alabaster oil upon him. One of the practically minded disciples, (Judas according to John’s version), thinks that it is a waste. But Jesus resonates with the sensitivity of the woman. He absorbs and affirms her extravagant expression of love. He is not afraid of this display of emotion, whereas one imagines that some of the disciples were probably feeling decidedly uncomfortable. Jesus describes what she has done as a beautiful thing.

Throughout the Gospels, like any Four on the Enneagram, Jesus is not afraid to stand out from the crowd. Conforming just for the sake of conforming does not seem to be in the nature of Jesus. He is his own person, even if he must stand alone, or potentially end up dying alone. He is also highly intuitive. Again and again, Jesus has a knack of knowing what people are thinking even without them expressing themselves verbally. “Knowing what they were thinking...” we often read, Jesus spoke to them.

In one of the most moving moments of scripture, we see the sensitive, empathetic side of Jesus, standing outside the tomb of Lazarus. And as he is met with the grief and emotion of Mary and Martha, Jesus resonates with their grief and pain. In what is the shortest verse in the Bible, we read these simple words, “And Jesus wept.”

And then lastly, In the Garden of Gethsemane, we encounter a Jesus who is also comfortable with his own emotions. As he prays, he fully expresses himself in anguish. It seems that Jesus does not hold back in some kind of reserved stiff upper lip way. He is described as sweating blood. He bares his heart as he prays to “Father, it it is your will, let this cup pass from me. But not my will but yours be done.”
But whereas Fours on the Ennegram have a tendency towards envy and self-pity, according to the Gospel stories, Jesus doesn't fall into this trap. When his captors come for him after he has prayed, he meets them with a peace and a confidence that was unnerving to to the soldiers. Even after having poured out his heart in prayer, Jesus seems to be able to maintain his centre and his inner compass as he faces his captors and his coming death with equanimity, a sign of a Four who has grown to full maturity.

In closing, a few helpful cues for those of us who may be Fours on the Enneagram would include the following:

  • Even ordinary moments contain the extra-ordinary if we have eyes to see.
  • I am not my feelings. Beneath the raging sea of emotions the peace of God is always present.
  • You are loved by God, even when it feels like you don't stand out at all.
  • The grass is not always greener on the other-side. Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
  • When you find yourself downcast, as the Psalmist reminds us, put your trust in God. (Psalm 42:5)
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HARVEST SERVICE 4th October 2020

3/10/2020

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To view a video of Sundays Harvest Service produced by Joe Martin, please click the button below: 
VIDEO OF OUR HARVEST SERVICE 2020
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 HARVEST PRAYER

Gracious and Loving  God, we praise you for all you have done and for all you have given. 
For shelves that are laden and cupboards that are full. 
For food available, varied, and affordable for taste and for flavour, for a healthy appetite and the means to satisfy it. For all that is symbolised in this Harvest Service.
Creator and Sustainer of all,
We thank and praise you.

For Provider and Producer, God and farmer working together in harmony. For all in the food chain from field to factory, retailer to consumer, each one depending on the others.
Creator and Sustainer of all,
​We thank and praise you.

For our countryside; Fertile, diverse and beautiful, supplying so much of what we need; Our food, our water, crops for industry, energy and medicine. Source of our leisure, relaxation and renewal.
Creator and Sustainer of all,
We thank and praise you, 

In Jesus Name, Amen. 
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SERMON TEXT - Give Thanks in all Circumstances
About a week and a half ago, Wendy and I received one of these humorous pictures on social media. I think it was on What’s App. Some of you might have seen it. 

It was entitled #Coronavirulearning. What the Covid Lockdown Taught us. 

The rest of it read as follows: 

The covid pandemic has been tough, especially with the lockdown and Working From Home.  On this Teachers Day (which Is in fact tomorrow 5th Oct), we recap some of the lessons the virus has taught us. 

1. Firstly we learned that in 2015, no-one got the answer right to the question “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

2. It takes a rare skill to work from home and still be late to work

3. The expression ‘avoid it like the plague’ needs to retire because people don't do that.

4. They said if we stop eating out, we’d lose weight. Quarantine showed us that was a lie.

5. We realised that our only hobbies were going out and spending money.

I think it is probably only in recent weeks, as restrictions are beginning to be re-imposed that most of us have begun to realise that Covid is going to be with us for longer than most of us had hoped or thought.  When we were in lockdown, and many were watching Netflix, Britbox and baking cakes and buns, the hope was that it would all be over soon, especially if a vaccine could be produced in record time and the economy would bounce back and Christmas would go ahead as normal. A normal Christmas is looking more and more unlikely under current circumstances. 

How quickly expectations have had to change as the UK along with many other parts of the world face a long and deep recession. Many people are beginning to pay the price with a loss of jobs and a very uncertain few years ahead. 

As I wrote in the Harvest letter last month: What a year 2020 has turned out to be! And as Sir David Attenborough has continued to remind us, there is also a dark ecological and environmental cloud hanging over us, that if we do not make rapid changes, the covid crisis might feel like a light practice run. 

But 2020 has not just been devastating for many on an economic level, but also on an emotional level. A year of uncertainty, isolation, changes, challenges, anxiety and anguish, and for many under these difficult circumstances, a year of grief, in which the normal rituals around grief and loss have been taken away and denied. 

If I am honest, the uncertainty of 2020 has taken its toll on my own anxiety levels. Still living as a working-guest in the UK with a lot of loose ends left in South Africa and having family, tax and financial responsibilities in both countries with no absolute certainty yet of whether we will be welcome to stay on in the UK has left me and Wendy perhaps a little more anxious than we would normally be.  For us the uncertainty at the moment remains theoretical. Daily life has largely continued fairly unchanged. But for others the uncertainty has become a lot more concrete where jobs have been lost and they may not even be sure if they will be able to meet their financial responsibilities at the end of the month. 

In the midst of all that 2020 has meant to all of us, today we hear the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV - “...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus...”

Greg Simas gives some thought provoking thoughts on this verse. 

Firstly he says that in the verse we are encouraged to give thanks “in” all circumstances NOT “for” all circumstances. In Scripture, we are never told to give thanks FOR injustice or loss but to give things IN them.

Secondly, Greg Simas writes that “...I can give thanks IN all circumstances because God IS found in each one.” 

We give thanks because every circumstance, whether it be victory or tragedy, loss or gain, joy or grief comes with the invitation and the possibility of discovering God, the Divine Presence, who is always with us and in whose presence we live and move and have our being. “Where can I escape from your Spirit. Where can I flee from your presence… If I go up to the heavens you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I say surely the darkness will hide me. Even there your right had will hold me for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139). And in Psalm 23 even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. There are no God forsaken places or times in this world, even when it might feel like that is the case. 

Thirdly, when we give thanks, it helps to remind us of the things that are still beautiful and good in this world. From primitive times, our brains have been programmed to alert us to danger. But this can often mean that we become blind to that which is still good and right in the world. We see only the bad and the negative.  Giving thanks helps to bring balance to our brains tendency to focus on the negative. 

As Greg Simas suggests, giving thanks in all circumstances can help to create hope, keeping our hearts and minds healthy, even in what are potentially very difficult times. 

He writes: “The circumstances we face may be grim and our questions may go unanswered but if we give thanks in the middle of these circumstances we will come to know God in ways we could never imagine.”

As I wrote in the harvest letter this year, our annual Harvest Service remains an opportunity for us this year, even amidst the grief, uncertainty, isolation, changes, challenges anxiety and anguish, to give thanks for the goodness of the earth that nourishes us with her bounty; to give thanks for farmers, shopworkers and other key workers without whom, none of us would have food to survive; to give thanks for the mere fact of being alive, and for God’s Spirit of Life that continues to sustain the universe and world in which we live. Even in the moments of great darkness, there is still the invitation to find things we are grateful for. 

I would like to close with a few questions for each of us to consider: Over the past 6 months, can you name one or two people that you have been especially grateful for?  Can you name two events or memories over the past 6 months that you have been grateful for?   Lastly, is there one thing in your current circumstances that you can be grateful for? Amen. 


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