Howard Writes

"Be open to God’s presence"

We are rapidly approaching the time when many of us will be taking our annual holidays. Rather interestingly, the word “holiday” comes from “Holy Day” and perhaps we all should take time to reflect on that connection for two reasons.

Firstly, we all should know when the major “Holy Days” come within the calendar.

Do we know the major saints’ days such as the evangelists and the disciples, or even our own patron, St James? Whether we can get to Church on those days (because Church is open for the morning office from Monday to Friday) or not, we should at least call to mind the saints on whose witness our own faith depends. It is indeed a miracle that Jesus left the Church in the hands of twelve men, and quite a few women as well, and from those humble beginnings His Church has spread so much that 33% of the world’s population now regard themselves as Christian!

We should all be eternally grateful for the witness of not just the saints who are well known, but also to those saints who are known only to God. They have been, and still continue to be our lifeline.

Our own Patron Saint is of course St James, whose feast day falls on Monday 25th July and we are planning to hold our Patronal Festival in his honour on the weekend of 23rd/24th of July.

There is usually a history behind why a particular saint has been chosen as the patron of a parish, but I fear that we probably have lost contact with that piece of information in our own parish. Nevertheless, the Patronal Festival of a parish is one of the most important times in its calendar, and we should celebrate the example of godly living of our patron with plenty of fun, enjoyment and reflection.

James, often called ‘James the Great’, was a Galilean fisherman who, with his brother John were known as “Boanerges”, or “Sons of thunder”. They were some of the first apostles called by Jesus to follow him. Both brothers were with Jesus at his Transfiguration on the mountain and also in the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was praying on the night before he was crucified. They really annoyed the other disciples by asking to sit one on Jesus’ left and the other on his right when he came into his glory. They were present for the appearances of Christ after the resurrection.

James was put to death by the sword on the order of King Herod.

Agrippa, who hoped in vain that, by disposing of the Christian leaders, he could stem the flow of those hearing the good news and becoming followers in the Way.

James’ martyrdom is believed to have taken place in the year 44 AD.

The second reason that we should reflect upon the connection between “Holy Day” and holiday is that we should look at what we do with our own holidays.

Yes, holidays should be times which give us pleasure and relaxation, but it is important that they are not just times for feeding our own desires by pleasing ourselves and over-indulgence.

Reflecting on what it is to be holy, we should also see our holidays as opportunities when we can re-charge our batteries and take better care of ourselves.

We can concentrate on our own physical and mental well-being and take a step back from the hustle and bustle of daily living. We do this not just so that we will be able to deal with all that life throws at us when we are back at work, but also so that we are better able to serve Christ in the world.

Holidays are a tremendous opportunity to become absorbed in the joys of the present moment, something that is so much difficult to do when we are totally immersed in the demands of modern living.

Such moments are God-given and meant to be fully enjoyed.

As we look forwards to our Patronal weekend and celebrating St James’ Day, which incidentally is a national holiday in Spain, we should also remember that we are a Christian community, which is reflected by the fellowship that we enjoy on such occasions. It really is important that we build each other up, having fun together, sharing ideas together, praying together, and meeting regularly together to share bread and wine.

We might call this “every member ministry”.

In chapter twelve of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul explains how this should work. He is anxious to teach that ministry is not just about leadership or about being officially commissioned but includes any activity which is performed as a service to Christ.

He goes on to explain that we are all different parts of the body of Christ whether we like it or not and that no one can be a Christian in isolation from other Christians.

In verse 26 he says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.”

Each one of us has been called to carry out a ministry of service and it is also part of that ministry to help to recognise, reveal and enable individual ministries in others. In doing this we may even be challenged to take on new roles that we have not even recognised in ourselves.

May we therefore take some time whilst on holiday to reflect upon how God may be asking us to take on new challenges in our Christian life and may we also reflect on how others might be used in His work.

Remember that God may speak to us in many different ways. It may be in a situation that we observe, through a book that we read or in a conversation with a stranger.

The important thing is that we are open to God’s presence in all our experiences.

May we build up each other in God’s service.

Howard.