Syrian Refugees: A Boy with a Gun and a Mother Bereft (Life at Coventry Jesus Centre)

Sometimes the bottom corner of a curtain is held up for a brief while and, peering through, we glimpse another world, parallel to ours, filled with scenes of horror and devastation -  humanity at its lowest ebb.

This week it’s Syria. On Wednesday morning a young Syrian came in with a friend and sat down quietly in class. We were making pancakes and got chatting; we talked trivia: lemons and pancake mix and migrated to fruits grown in Syria. He began showing me photos on his mobile of his village back home: acres of smiling vineyards and tidy olive groves; it looked a fertile, sunny place with no signs of the bloody conflict. He looked at the photos with fondness and explained that his family had a smallholding in the village.

Flicking through his pictures, we passed family members, old men dressed in traditional Syrian headgear and then ... a young and handsome dark-haired boy, no more than nine, with a cheeky, boyish grin holding - a birthday present? You would have been justified in thinking so, looking at the cheerful look on his face. Sadly, no. He was clutching a large gun.  ‘Our country’, my Syrian friend muttered and swiftly flicked onto the next picture. 

I don’t know who the boy was; I didn’t want to ask. It was a Syrian boy and his picture told a story, a story of an unfolding tragedy, a spoilt boyhood, a conflict of adults where innocents are dragged in and learn far too quickly ‘the art’ of maiming and killing. 

Syrian refugees in Egypt

The previous day I had visited our food bank and met another asylum seeker from Syria who arrived in the UK in 2011 and has not been given leave to remain; all her appeals have been refused and she thinks she may have to leave the country soon. She was in desperate need of a food parcel.  She first arrived in Norway in 2009 with her four children but two of them, aged 18 and 16, were deported to Syria. “I have no contact with my two eldest children in Syria,” she says. “Syria is a warzone. I don’t know where they are.  I went to the Red Cross and they told me that they could only help me trace them if I gained status as a UK citizen.”

I’m struck by her dignity and courage in the face of loss and in the struggle for survival. I asked her to come back when she has time and I will help her draft a letter to her MP – the least I can do. 

Sometimes we can’t do much more than listen; sometimes there are small practical ways we can help – food bank for instance – or help write a letter. I offered to pray for her; she clutched my hands; we prayed that somehow God would find some way, a miracle, in providing a safe home for her and her two remaining children and a way to finding her lost children  – and do you think her heart was in that prayer?  

Sometimes, I think, listening is one of the most important, most effective activities we can ever engage in ... followed by prayer.

Jesus' Call: An Overflowing Heart: Generosity

The saying of Jesus from Matthew's Gospel beginning, "The eye is the lamp of the body" (see opposite) has always been a puzzle to me but reading the NIV footnotes helps. Jesus appears to be talking about taking care as to what steers and guides us.

Just as our eyes, if sound, guide us -  so do our choices: If our ‘eyes’ are healthy (if our soul is set on choosing generosity and not storing up for ourselves) we will know the light, the lightness and joy of God, a spiritual health, running through us. 

If our eyesight is poor (our souls given to stinginess, unyielding, not thinking of others) we will know a darkness within – and what a dingy, dismal experience that will be!

^{God’s call is for us to be generous – materially, with our time and with our love. For this, we need the Holy Spirit, fresh, poured out, in our hearts; generosity is His nature and we want to share it with Him.}

Red Roses, Romance and Martyrdom: Tell The People Jesus Loves Them ...

14 February, the night for romantics and here we are, setting off from the Jesus Centre with 650 red roses carefully labelled with an explanation of who exactly was the great saint Valentine and a Bible verse (John 15:13 - see picture below).

Now, you understand, it’s not a tranquil evening, one for lovers to saunter in the hidden corners in back alleys of our streets for some quiet, romantic moment together; there’s quite literally a howling gale outside and there’s been fierce rainstorms across the country. But, undeterred ....we set out.

Armed with ... red roses ... Nick, Steve, Ann and Andy

And it’s such fun. 13 of us (aged 17-73) sweeping through pubs, restaurants, even the Belgrade Theatre (foyer - not the live performance that’s going on), giving out our red roses to whoever ... and telling them that this is really true, God does love them. It’s only the beginning of the message, the Good News, but it’s a start.

 We ask some if they need prayer; I speak to a young guy, Barrie; he didn’t used to believe but his mate died at Christmas and yes, he did pray then and he wants to know if heaven is real. ‘Thanks,’ he says, ‘I’m open to God these days and what a warm feeling I had in my heart when you prayed!’

 You know, sometimes evangelism is hard work, especially when it’s filthy, rotten weather but tonight, no. I guess people sense the fun, the adventure in our eyes and respond. Yes, and I only got kissed once on this romantic night (one of the hazards) but that must be because I’m getting older!

Eric the Dog: A Lesson in Listening to God: For Matt

It was my turn to do Kids’ Spot again at Coventry Jesus Centre.

Volunteers: Matt (left) and Mark (right) 

After telling the following story, my friend Matt (who helps me set up on Mondays with his friend Mark) can't stop reminding me of it - he really liked it and stories aren't just for kids, you know. Anyway, this story is dedicated to him ... see picture, right.

I took a walk last Saturday to the beach, minding my own business of course but, you know, other people’s habits and ways are always very interesting and walking back from the sea I met a woman walking two dogs, a poodle and a limping, old retriever.

The poodle was following her nicely but, o dear, the retriever (Eric his name) decided about half-way along the route that it was time to go home. He turned and began walking back.

“Eric!” I heard her shout. “COME HERE! ERIC! ERIC-EE! 
ERIC–EE! COME HERE!” 

Eric stopped, turned and looked at her and then carried on walking in the opposite direction.

I heard her shout again, “ERIC! ERIC-EE! COME HERE!”

No chance.

In the end, the lady (and accompanying poodle) turned on her heels, abandoned her walk to the beach and returned to walk home with Eric. I captured some of this amusing scenario on my phone but, joking apart, I couldn’t help thinking it was my turn for kid’s spot next week and what a great illustration it was of the father-heart of God.

“MY PEOPLE! COME HERE!” He cries.  "I called you so often, but you wouldn't come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention (Proverbs 1:24: New Living Translation).

Here and elsewhere in the Bible, is revealed the compassion, sadness, frustration and anger of God, all rolled into one. He calls, desperately; we hear but do not listen and walk our own way. 

The woman in my story turned around and followed; God too turns and walks towards us, not in weakness but in strength – in the form of His Son.

But hey, let’s not be like Eric: hearing and not listening, determined, perhaps in his weariness, to go His own way. 

The truth is, I can see something of myself in Eric. The going is easier when I'm full of enthusiasm and energy; if I'm tired or discouraged there are other 'voices', unhelpful ones, that are easier to hear; at times like this, there's a need to live near the Source, listen as best we can to what He is saying and find our energy in Him.

Kramskoi, Christ in the Desert and a Russian Dissident

Painting by Kramskoi: 'Christ in the Desert'  (1872)

We've just started running a course at the Coventry Jesus Centre: 'ESOL and the Bible'.

A Russian intellectual comes; he's great company and full of interesting insights and facts. 
In the middle of the session this week he said, "Can I show you something?" 

"Of course", I said. This is the best kind of lesson, when we share-and-share-alike, learning together.

My Russian student googled this picture, 'Christ in the Desert' by the Russian artist, Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (1837-1887), and told me why he liked it: Jesus is resolved, determined; the temptation in the wilderness is over. His hands are clasped, tightly together; His course is set. His brow is furrowed; there is no turning back. 

There is suffering, pain in the picture. Dare I say, it has a definite Russian flavour: Jesus is not a china-faced, impassive, detached figure with little expressed emotions. The image conveyed is one of deep anguish and, as we know, anguish of a different kind has certainly been the experience of the Russian people. Jesus is heavy-laden, feeling the weight of His calling on His shoulders.

My Russian friend is a one-time dissident, having left behind a great deal, his distinguished livelihood, his family and friends. He has had to start again - with nothing. Perhaps that's why he finds such a strong identification with this picture.

 Note: Russian novelist, Ivan Goncharov (1812-1891), wrote of this picture: " there is nothing festive, heroic, victorious — the future fate of the world and of all livings is concealed in that miserable, small being, in pauper appearance, under the rags, in humble simplicity, inseparable with true majesty and force".

Nelson Mandela: Reflections on Leadership

Nelson Mandela’s death made a huge splash in newspaper headlines ... and it went on for days. Truly here was the death of a recognised leader par-excellence, possibly unmatched in today’s world. I began to reflect .. 

Some ‘leaders’ are good managers: they have practical sense, people skills and the ability to get excellent team results. But there is a huge difference between true ‘leadership’ and ‘management’.

True leadership is about example and integrity, living a vision and being passionate about it, and even if unknowingly, imparting it to others; it is choosing to live outside one’s restricted circle and exist for a wider one.

Leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Ghandi and Martin Luther King lived what they taught and managed to affect the conscience of a nation, indeed of the world. Their vision was imbedded in a sense of justice and their own personal lives were deeply caught up in it. They loved their people and each in turn was a ‘father’ to them.

They were leaders not just by the fact they spearheaded movements; they were leaders by virtue of what they were.

God calls for leaders; I’m not talking about those who’ve been to theological college or leaders’ training events. They’re not even people who aim to be leaders; they’re leaders because they live a vision and their words and actions match; they lead because their ambition is to love the things God loves with passion. 

The world is short of great known leaders; it’s short of great-unknown leaders too; the latter can be old, young, male or female and come from any strata of society; they may not make newspaper headlines when they die but those around will have been deeply affected by their lives.

My Humble Professor

Sometime ago now I studied Theology at Birmingham University. In my youthful zeal I wanted to know God and understand His Word. Little did I know that, for some of my contemporaries, such study would lead up a path of reasoning, doubt and loss of faith (a tragedy).

Reading the Bible with Michael (not his real name) is one of my life’s most pleasurable experiences. He loves reading the Bible and each week he comes to the Jesus Centre with a chosen chapter for us to read together. Well, today he chose 2 Timothy 3 – not an easy chapter and full of long words which he struggles to read. But, with a lot of prompting, we get through about half the chapter.

Michael has a general learning difficulty but that does not mean he is dull or clueless about spiritual things – rather the opposite! Individual words carry great power and meaning for him and he will pick out a word like ‘repent’ and say it slowly and then, with a twinkle and faraway look in his eyes (like he is glimpsing an unseen world) tells me what a wonderful word it is. And wonder is the word for the invisible realms are a great reality to him and he truly ‘wonders’ when he thinks on these things.

This joy and wonderment is catching. I find myself getting excited too, and I catch myself saying things like, ‘isn’t that just wonderful, Michael!'

No wonder Jesus rejoiced, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” (Luke 10:21)

We need more people like Michael! I can learn as much about God from him as any professor of Theology!

Recently I asked myself what the Bible has to say about people with learning difficulties. At first I thought it had nothing to say but a closer look proved me wrong. For a start, if I took a pair of scissors and cut out from my New Testament every encounter Jesus had with a disabled person, there would be some very large gaps!

Jesus told us not to just love people like ourselves, people we get on with, merely fostering mutual relationships we can both benefit from. He instructed us to reach out to people who are not like us, who cannot repay us either materially or on a personal level. We are to reach out to the poor, the homeless, the disabled, people we may not always feel comfortable and I’m sure this includes people with learning difficulties.

Jesus said we would be blessed by this criss-crossing of like/unlike relationships. Now, that word ‘blessed’ is a fat, fat word, bursting with meaning. We will be drunk with God’s favour; our souls, the fibre of our beings, will be greatly enriched by our generosity. We will become full, satisfied, as we find ourselves receiving His goodness into ourselves. We are drinking and eating kingdom plenty. The repayment is now – and in eternity.

This cross-communication in our relationships, like to unlike, chalk to cheese, is one of the great geniuses of the kingdom of God; love without a price tag.

And I feel blessed, utterly blessed through my weekly encounters with Michael. But didn’t Jesus say I would be? 

Thank God for my humble professor.