ON BECOMING AN ARCHDEACON |
The times they are a-changin’. Once again. |
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For all its global dominance, the English language sometimes lacks the subtlety of other languages in conveying meaning. When we read the word ‘time’ in New Testament Greek, for example, something profound is lost in translation. The two words used for time: chronos and kairos have crucially different meanings. The first denotes passage of time, the latter a quality of time. The sabbatical I am enjoying currently has delivered more kairos moments than I could have expected, one of which, until now, I have not been at liberty to share.
Two weeks into my sabbatical I received a call inviting me to be interviewed for the post of Archdeacon of Rochester. Faced with a sudden and potentially life-changing surprise like this, I know the value of searching scripture for help. I was reading through Proverbs, as it happens. Some of its sayings are obscure and a few have been criticised for alleged triteness, but the book’s wise reflections delivered for me a recurrent message: seek advice. The opportunity of sharing the issue with perceptive and mature Christian people went a long way to sifting out what was lasting from what was evanescent in my thinking. Our minds can play tricks on us at the moments when we most need God’s guidance. Lurking in our subconscious are often many feelings, experiences and motivations which our less than honest thought processes block like anti-virus software. These need ideally to come into play in making a rounded decision.
Thankfully, God is able to speak with people in spite these obstacles.
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Rochester Cathedral as seen from the Castle |
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One of the beauties of scripture is its ringing affirmation that God’s will can be discerned and that, for an individual, the most important thing is being willing in turn to offer oneself as a ‘living sacrifice’, as Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 demonstrate. In other words, to work out what God might want, the first and most influential requirement is to be able to say to him: ‘I’m yours and I honestly want what you want: if you can help me discern this I will do what I believe is right’. As I tried to do this, I noticed that my intuitive thought processes were beginning to change. I could not put a finger on how but believe this was the Holy Spirit’s work.
The old cliché of urban life: that you wait ages for a bus to come and then two arrive at the same time, has echoes in life’s deeper moments. The joys and, sadly, the pains of life are rarely spaced out in convenient distances for us to savour or endure. The day I spent waiting for the call to inform me whether I was to be offered the job was a strange and unsettling one. Julia and I were celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary in central London. We had anticipated this being a carefree and indulgent day, but it was difficult to avoid the sensation of the mobile phone in my pocket like a primed hand grenade. It finally went off just as I walked past Holy Trinity Brompton on the way to Harrods, though I do not read anything into this! The offer of the job became confirmation of the sense that had been developing within me that this was God’s doing.
Inevitably I have mixed feelings. It will be a joy to try and support the clergy of the Rochester Archdeaconry in the demands of their own divine calling and to further the cause of mission in the complex matrices of a different region. There is also a marvellous team to work with at the Cathedral one day a week. Yet I shall be saying goodbye to the parochial ministry I was first called to and which has, ultimately, offered a fulfilment which few other options in life can. I would not wish to burnish this insincerely. It is said that parenting can bring out the most extreme emotions in people, of joy and anguish. Full-time Christian ministry has echoes of these violent oscillations. Nevertheless, the people of St. Mary’s Bromley and St. Nicholas Chislehurst have offered hope, encouragement and humour to me as an incumbent which I shall achingly miss. These experiences inspire the belief that more lies in store with the people I have yet to work with and befriend. I hope and pray I can reciprocate.
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