Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Pray for ........the headline says

"Pray for Phil" is the headline of the morning paper because a beloved cricketer has been injured and the double page spread has it as the banner across the top. At other times we have been exhorted to 'pray for our boys' when they are fighting fires or in some other emergencies.
It makes me wonder what this means. Do they expect people for whom prayer is not a part of life to suddenly discover  its power and sense of connection? How is it than in our increasingly secular society prayer is seen as needed in a time of crisis?
Yesterday it was announced that a well known football personality is battling with a health issue. It was not suggested we pray for him. Why not? Can we only pray for one person at a time or is it because his situation isn't seen as so dire. Another footballer commenting said that he'd relied on the strength of the club when facing heath problems 'because there was no better place to go for help'. Camaraderie is wonderful in such places, I'm sure.
So what about prayer? A last resort, a reaching out for something more beyond ourselves or just a way to express the seriousness of a situation that is so bad only prayer (or good luck?) will help.
Comments alongside the article feature 'thoughts and prayers' as though they are the same thing, and one mention of fingers crossed. So in this context the urge to pray is more about good wishes and intentions and hopefulness.
For me prayer is a deep connecting with the Divine One who walks with me day by day, the Companion of life's journey, such that prayer is as natural as breathing and sustains me daily. It's so much more than crying out in desperation, but maybe that headline will be the start of something wonderful for those who heed its call.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Trinity

"God and Jesus." A couple of people recently have used this expression - and not as an expletive. Another one on Facebook today made it a trinity and so I decided to have a serious think about this. My immediate reaction is that is implies that Jesus is not God. I notice that people often talk about Jesus to children perhaps because the stories of his life on earth as recorded in the Gospels are tangible whereas the concept of God may be more abstract. I wonder if this is where the dichotomy begins.
The early church fathers (and mothers) struggled with the person of Jesus and his divinity/humanity and so do we. But if we believe Jesus is the divine in human form, then to talk of Jesus AND God is a nonsense. Jesus IS God.
Then, of course, there is the question of trinity. The plot thickens. To talk of "God and Jesus" ignores the Spirit of God, imaged in so many ways as brooding bird, fire and wind, companion on the journey....
The traditional way of speaking of the Holy Trinity is as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but there are many others eg Creator, Lifegiver, Sustainer. Whichever way is used each of the three is God ie God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
I am no theologian (that may be obvious) but the way we use words shapes our thinking and so wise choices are important.