Grace and peace to you from God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
In His closing address to the Lambeth Conference, the Archbishop sent the Bishops back out into the world with the words -” Do not fear.” St John said, “Perfect love drives out fear.” ( 1 John 4:18)
I love that – the way that we are called to deal with fear – is to love. Fear causes us to cling to what we know, to cling to what we have, to look back (something that scripture teaches us is not a good idea – look what happened to Lots wife). Fear limits us and makes us less – we feel less, do less enjoy less, and when we fear we withdraw. Love on the other hand sets us free, free to trust, free to engage, and free to be challenged. The Bishops have wrestled with world’s problems and have sought the face of God to engage with them. God bless our Bishops and Archbishop Welby and may Lambeth be a catalyst for a new boldness/courageousness, in God’s church.
As Archbishop pointed out; God steps into our lives to give us comfort, God seeks us out to love us, but we need to respond to that. Church (as we discussed at the St Gabriel’s council last night) is a place where we get to interact with others and develop the skills and the heart and the mindset to live out our Christian lives. Within the Church, we have differences of opinion and interpretation and expression of our faith, and it is within the church that we learn to respond to these. As I have followed some of Lambeth and as I have worked with so many Parishes this year, I have been reminded that it is within the Church that we are given space to discover and to be challenged and to be tested. Do not be disheartened by the disagreements and arguments that we have within, by the troubles that we have; do not lose heart when decisions are made that at an individual level we don’t understand or agree with. In all things ask, “what is God saying to me in and through this experience?” “What response does God seek from me?”
In every reading of scripture and every encounter with another, contemplate the situation and see the situation from every angle. Ensure that your prayer is thoughtful and exploratory – seek the wisdom and guidance from God, so that your responses can be holy.
These three things remain, “faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love!” and love drives out fear.
Choose love, not fear!
Your servant.
Fr Andrew