5^th February, 2012 - 3^rd Sunday before Lent

February 6^th, tomorrow, marks the 60^th anniversary of our Queen’s accession. So today it is 60 years since the last day in the life of King George VI. I think he was a hero – a quiet man not destined for too important a role, but thrust reluctantly into kingship at relatively short notice. A hesitant man with a dreadful stammer, a humble man with a huge sense of loyalty and service – a holy man – a saint. In the joyous celebrations that start tomorrow let us not forget the influence he had on our dear Queen. May we strive to follow such an example of a life dedicated to service of God and man.

Looking further ahead, Lent is less than 3 weeks away. My attention was drawn to this fact by an article I chanced upon about the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lent book for 2012. It is written by Ruth Burrows, published by Continuum at £9.99 and entitled Love Unknown. The book offers a survey of revelation – how God has appeared in the Bible, and an exploration of how God longs to love and change for the better any believer.

The key? “Just allowing God to do what he wants in us. It’s about utterly trusting that God will do what he says he’ll do. This experience of trusting God is far too rare in Christians.” Ruth is an 89 year-old nun known as Sister Rachel. At 18 she knew she wanted to go into a convent. Her parents hoped she would go to university. But she couldn’t wait. She wouldn’t really be able to give her mind to anything else. Her favourite, most reassuring piece of scripture was the story of the Prodigal son. She identified with the prodigal, seeing herself as unkempt and soiled, but unlike him she rushed into the father’s embrace asking him to love her all the more.

Sister Rachel started the Carmelite life with romantic ideals. But within 2 years she was vividly and painfully aware that she was selfish to the core and everything a Carmelite should not be. She should be aflame with love for God, but was stone cold. She should want suffering and be good at bearing it. She shunned it. No angry, resentful, envious, mean, competitive thoughts and impulses should sully a mind and heart given to God. She had all these things in abundance. In short, she felt she was a sham. In a convent life centred on prayer she felt a complete failure with no sense of God’s nearness, still less his love. But she hung onto Him like a drowning person clings to a spar. Scripture saved her. The New Testament opened to her and the Jesus she found there, what He said, what He did became the rock on which she built her house.

The idea of begging God for help, admitting that we are useless spiritually without Him goes against our natural instincts. If you want to be a doctor you have to work hard. It stands to reason. But if you want to attain God you have to renounce the ‘I can do it’ attitude. “Jesus said just come to Him, with the implicit trust a child has in its mother or father. He longs to help us, to heal us, to make us holy.”

“So prayerfully read especially the New Testament. Don’t read it like any other book. This is the Word of God. This is truth itself telling me that I am loved, that every hair of my head is counted. To know Christ is to know God. I wish more people knew that.”

Sister Rachel sounds interesting. So does her book. I am hoping to get my copy from St. Mary’s Shop, by Ash Wednesday. (I think the archbishop asked her to write the book because he knows many of us struggle with his books!!)

Tony Waller

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