TRANSIENT - A Timely Reminder!

It's happened yet again! I have no work space to call my own.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining! I'm merely reflecting upon my personal circumstances and praising God for the opportunity to move around and minister freely. Ministry without walls is indeed a blessing! A wise chaplain colleague once advised me to always remember that chaplaincy at its best and most effective is Incarnational in nature. Being 'the visible presence of the invisible Christ' - on the front lines!

In this day and age of information technology, it is too easy to stake claim to a desk and computer and find that we are, more often than not, connecting with others 'virtually', instead of virtually connecting with others. Think about it! I much prefer the personal approach when it comes to building relationships and ministry style. So, the experience of finding one's self as a transient desk dweller is not negative. In fact, it's a personal challenge to "keep the main thing the main thing"!

Then again, it's also a timely reminder! Jesus came to earth to carry out His divine mission and ministry of reconciliation 'without walls'. As God's Ambassador He moved about freely and made an impact as He encountered people right where they were, and in just the way they needed. Jesus was a missional nomad with a intimately personal ministry!

Commissioner George Scott Railton was inspired by this theme - and indeed the words of Jesus, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests; but the Son of Man has no where to lay down his head and rest" - when he wrote these words:

1.
No home on earth have I,
No nation owns my soul,
My dwelling place is the Most High,
I'm under his control.
O'er all the earth alike,
My Father's grand domain,
Each land and sea with him alike
O'er all he yet shall reign.

2.
No place on earth I own,
No field, no house be mine;
Myself, my all I still disown,
My God, let all be thine.
Into thy gracious hands
My life is ever placed;
To die fulfilling thy commands,
I march with bounding haste.

3.
With thee, my God, is home;
With thee is endless joy;
With thee in ceaseless rest I roam;
With thee, can death destroy?
With thee, the east, the west,
The north, the south are one;
The battle's front I love the best,
And yet: thy will be done.


George Scott Railton (1849-1913)

Here Is Love

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Even though we didn't focus on it particularly during worship at Camberwell this morning, we did focus on Advent-related themes - GRACE and LOVE. Concluding a 10-week preaching series entitled "Ten Faces Of Grace", Major Brian Pratt (CO) addressed ways in which we, as Christians, can live out grace everyday.

I was deeply challenged by the words of our final song. Inspired words, written by William Rees, that I have never encountered before. Words that reminded me of the central focus of Advent - "God moving into our neighborhood" (as Eugene Petersen so succinctly phrases it!)

HERE IS LOVE [words: William Rees]

Here is love vast as the ocean, loving kindness as the flood.
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom, shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease His praise to sing?
He can never be forgotten, throughout heaven's eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God's mercy flowed a vast and gracious tide.
GRACE AND LOVE, like mighty rivers, poured incessant from above,
And HEAVEN'S PEACE AND PERFECT JUSTICE KISSED A GUILTY WORLD IN LOVE.

Through Jesus Christ, God indeed moved into our neighborhood with a personal measure of His grace, love, peace and joy for us all.

JOHN 1:14 ~ "So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son." (NLT)