Joy to the World!
In my February message, I noted the humorous irony that the Lord sent so much snow around Christmas-time 2010, when none of our Christmas services featured ‘In the bleak mid-winter’ or ‘See amid the winter’s snow’.  God often playfully pokes fun at the best-laid plans of mice and men, nudging us to rely less on our own judgment and power, and more fully on His.  Stories like those of the miraculous catches of fish that the disciples received – but only after they have listened to Jesus’ advice (Luke 5:1-11 and, after the Resurrection, John 21:4-14) – are, to me, evidence of God’s sense of humour.

The mismatch of hymns and weather conditions in December prompted me to reflect on church music and seasons more generally.  In particular, I wonder why we don’t sing ‘Joy to the World’ at Easter instead of Christmas.  Typically it is sung at Christmas, but on the basis of its theology, there’s no particular reason why we couldn’t sing it at Easter.

There are other hymns and carols like that, that have eternal appeal and application, yet we often only sing them at specified times of year.  Consider, ‘I cannot tell’, set to the Irish classic tune Londonderry Air, which has stanzas that speak of the Incarnation, of the Passion, and of the End-time Harvest.  It could work for Christmas, Lent, Easter, Harvest, or between All Saints and Advent, when the lectionary focuses on the Second Coming of Christ.  But Common Praise (the hymnal used in Twente) lists ‘I cannot tell’ as a Christmastide hymn, so that’s when we often sing it.  The main reason we do so is probably force of habit, which features mightily in our church culture.

Same with ‘Joy to the world’.  Isaac Watts’ ringing ode to the victory of our Creator King is, with some imagination, perfectly suited to Easter – a celebration of Christ’s victory over death, his return to us as a witness to God’s love, justice and power and Creation restored.  See what you think:

Joy to the world! – the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heav'n and nature sing, and heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing.

Joy to the world! - the Saviour reigns,
Let men their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love, and wonders of his love,
And wonders, wonders of his love.

Here is a brilliant testimony to the transforming power of God’s love in Christ, something that needs celebrating, even shouting from the rooftops.

Such great texts form an integral part of our worship and devotion.  But how do we share that joy of the Risen Christ with others?  Watts’ text inspires, but we might not use his words in casual conversation with a neighbour asking, ‘What do you believe?’  St Peter’s first letter urges us always to be prepared to share what we believe (1 Peter 3:15b).  Are we?

In this year’s Lent course in Arnhem, Exploring God’s Mercy, some of us observed how, though we grew up in Christian households, we cannot recall our families talking much about the core of what they believed.  Faith and its contents were taken for granted; it seemed unnecessary to talk about it.  The down side of that, though, is that today, we feel somewhat less equipped to share our faith in a culture where faith is actually not the norm.  How do we articulate what God’s love in Christ means to us, in a way that speaks to and inspires others?

I think just registering that as important, in itself, is a signal step in Christian growth.  We need not be trained evangelists.  (After all, compared to the gentle witness of generations of everyday Christians, the big-name evangelists have been relatively less effective anyway.)  We need only to feel so loved by God and so delighted in what Christ has done for us, that we just share that love and delight, in our own words and actions, with others.  It’s that gloriously simple.  None of us would have any faith at all were, it not for all those Christians, through the ages, and in our lives, who had been doing this, in simple but remarkable ways, already.  And it is now our turn to help take Joy to the World!

                                                                                  Yours in Christ, Sam Van Leer

Servants of God and the People of God

Now that's a lofty title. But that is precisely what members of your Church Council are called to be. And, I am delighted to say, that I personally have in general found our Council members and Church wardens to be remarkably committed and diligent servants of God and servants of the people of God here in the Anglican Church in the East Netherlands.The job of serving God in this way, as a lay reader in the church community, responsible for making decisions that shape the life and structure of our Christian fellowship, is a weighty one. People who serve on Council share, with me, pastoral oversight for our church. Trust me, I find my own work an intimidating responsibility sometimes. So we should all sympathize with our Council members and wardens, too. But as the Lord said, ' My yoke is easy and my burden is light' (Matthew 11:29). This work is, mostly, a joy.Yes, being on Council involves meetings - but only on average 8 or so a year. (Wardens expect to have a few more, to be sure!) But more importantly perhaps, being on Council involves setting an example by being faithful in worship Promoting the mission of the Church Listening to and representing the congregation Considering and discussing matters of interest to the Church Administering the financial affairs of the Chaplaincy Caring for and maintaining the church ‘fabric’ (buildings, and their contents, where relevant) Connecting our own chaplaincy with the larger work of the whole Church of England and our ecumenical partners.As you can see, there is great responsibility in this high calling. Not everyone may feel they can live up to it.
But I can say from my experience here that many of your Council members have lived up to it magnificently. I draw inspiration from their energy and creativity and professionalism, and I am proud to serve God and God’s people with them.I hope that many of our current Council members will stand again for Council. Sadly, many good Council members have come to the end their legal term limits. But I also look forward to working with those who feel called, for the first time, to serve God in this particular way. The church benefits immensely from new perspectives and the gifts that each new member brings, and the Council too, draws strength from fresh insights from its new members.So why not prayerfully consider whether you might want to serve God and His people on the Council? It is an honour to stand for Council, and it is also an honour to be elected to serve. If you do not feel called to serve on Council, then please do prayerfully consider who should serve. And do lend your support to whoever is chosen by the AGM, by praying for them, encouraging them, and sharing your concerns with them, that our Chaplaincy may be blessed and directed along the path that God desires

 Yours in Christ,

Sam Van Leer