James Henley

God with us

Felt I should post some kind of reflection on this Advent with the big day tomorrow. Will try and do some review of some kind of this year in the next week leading up to 2008, but though it would be good to write something to mark Christmas itself.

For me, this Christmas has been a strange one – part of the transition involved in growing up and moving out I guess. Christmas has always been about family for me – time spent with my little brother and sister, and Mum and Dad. But looking back in this advent season and thinking about the things that have really hit me, it's also been much more about time spent with friends than in previous years. Maybe this Christmas, God has been with us - in the time just spent being together.

Back in Newport, the run up to Christmas was about late night viewings of Home Alone 2, Love Actually, and other Christmas classics I can't really remember at the House that Love Built with some of the guys from the Lab – the Christmas movie fest took off in a chaotic kind of way. Late night (there might be a theme here ;-) painting sessions at St Paul's to get our Christmas boards ready to go up outside – as well as late night trips to Tesco's looking for sheets. The unforgettable Christian Union Christmas party with a huge game of WarioWare, and the Space Hopper relay – but possibly more about the roadtrip afterwards to campus and back.

And in Aberystwyth, about a drink with old friends to catch up – and converse with eternal significance.

I thought that I might have lost that childhood warm feeling of being Christmassy – but looking back maybe it's just been displaced a little.

Three Wii Men

Seemed apt. Wii Sports Tennis rating is now upto 1800... :-)

Crazy how there seems to be a shortage of everything this Christmas - are we buying more or are they making less? Seems strange when I think back to when I was young and the must-have present was a Tellytubby doll at about a tenner - now the average present seems to weigh in at around £100-200...

[Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Splinter Cell

Watched O Brother, Where Art Thou? last night with good ol' George Clooney in, loosely based on Homer's Odyssey. Think my Dad must have taken me to the cinema to see it nearly 8 years ago. It's really funny in a totally random, surreal way. Very cool film.

Trying to spend my time at home well by catching up with some reading - got a pile of about 4 books now I want to get through. The Wii is just so inviting though, and the few peaceful hours when my brother and sister are at school seem to pass so quickly. Made it to Pro status on Wii Tennis ;-) and about halfway through the current "retro" gaming project - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.

The Golden Compass

Just been to see the Golden Compass so thought I'd join the discussion on the whole religion/church thing surrounding it – for whatever my opinion is worth. First, though, as a film I thought it wasn't actually that amazing – some great moments but overall it didn't really get me that excited.

The whole theocracy element to the books by Philip Pullman seems to have actually been really played down in the film – apart from a few hints in uniforms and other bits and pieces there's no explicit connection drawn between the Magisterium – who are the government leaders – and the church. My little brother and sister (11 and 9) didn't make the connection watching the film until I mentioned it afterwards.

One of the huge themes at least at the beginning of the film pits the censorship, dictatorship and paternalism of the Magisterium against freedom of information, free will and the pursuit of knowledge, which the Oxford Scholars at the beginning of the film represent. I think that these are godly values – especially free will, which our God has given so much to preserve for us. It seems to me that any movement to subdue the Golden Compass for its anti-religiosity would be in danger of portraying itself much like the totalitarian theocracy in the film itself – this portrayal of a religious movement would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Beyond everything else, the film follows the story of a small girl driven by childhood curiosity and simple determination to challenge the circumstances and the system that has been placed around her. Something that Jesus himself pursued?

He did say something about becoming like children, I think.

"It is the Alethiometer. It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you'll have to learn by yourself."

Nearly home...

Driving back to Aberystwyth tonight or tomorrow morning (but probably tonight). So looking forward to being home and seeing my family. Ever since our first Christmas service last weekend I've suddenly been pining to get back home.

Spent the last couple of weeks tying up loose ends and getting everything done so I can go home, and everything seems to be just about done now. Met with Bishop Dominic for the first time this morning, which seemed to go well. He's a good bloke - sometimes I don't think I give Bishops enough credit for the job they do - just think of them as old and crusty, but Dominic is anything but.

The CU put this together for the Uni Carol Service - Jack makes a very cool, if a little cheesy, Rob Bell - but the thought he puts across is very cool. He's a little star - need to get him at the Lab speaking more in the new year. Anyway, enjoy...

Archbishop makes Zimbabwe protest

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7135087.stm

That's my kind of Archbishop. Christianity at its best – empowering, subversive and provocative.

Authenticity

At the Lab, our Spring series up 'til Easter is going to be Authentic Community – idea being to explore what an open, real, genuine community of Jesus followers looks like. I've been thinking about authenticity though, and what makes something authentic. It seems to be a really trendy, attractive word in a culture where so much rubbish advertising and junk is thrown at us everyday – the average Newport student seems to pass so many flyers and posters and spam everyday (and unfortunately all our radio show posters seem to be adding to it :-( ).

When we're talking about objects it seems easy to make the distinction between real and fake – something either is or isn't – but when we talk about belief and community and church, what is it that sets them apart from anything else?

Maybe authentic community is about depth? So much in this world is shallow and materialistic and based on self – maybe authenticity is about something greater than ourselves? About being free from the confines of what affects me, what is in my interests?

In which case, authenticity is a real challenge.

It's easy to talk about it, but in practice what would a church, a community, look like that focused purely on others, purely on the outside? Our friendship circles, the people we get on with, the way we live our lives, is permeated by this sense of "where am I most comfortable?" and "who do I get on with the most?". Ouch.

Also, maybe authenticity is about longevity? About outlasting the competition? But then just because something has been around a long time does that make it true? Surely then, the way we've done church for centuries – the Orthodox faith – would be the most authentic? Unless maybe relationships matter more than practices and doctrine?

Spent a lot of time this week planning ahead for the next year and thinking about new events, schemes, projects – so it's good to stop and think for a moment: will they be authentic? Or just a craze that passes with the change of seasons.

I think the future of the Lab, like the state of the UK church, sits on a knife-edge. But do I feel comfortable here on the edge – at least each passing day we know who it is who's responsible for keeping us going one more day.

Or maybe I'm just being habitually overdramatic.

Wealth, grace and justice

With essays done and out of the way, felt like time to get back to some blogging… coupled with a huge discussion I had last night with some of the guys from the Lab about money. Will try to get down a quick update on what I've been up to later in the week but for now it's reflection time, whilst my mind is still hot with thoughts.

Our discussion centred around the story of the rich young man in Luke, and the question: is it okay for a man, in this age, to be rich and follow Jesus?

The passage in Matthew 19 is here, although it also appears in Mark. It seems strange to be attempting an answer rather than just asking questions but here goes…

I think that we can interpret this passage and other similar passages – and probably the whole gospel – through two lenses or viewpoints. I think we can often end up with two different versions of the same gospel – the gospel of grace or salvation and the gospel of justice or works.

The gospel of grace says that we are assured of eternal life, not through our own works, but through Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. It dictates that the path to righteousness is through trusting God's grace, worshipping him and prayer – through the process of being made holy or sanctification. And it is absolutely true.

The gospel of justice says that we follow Jesus through challenging injustice and changing the world we live in – bringing about the kingdom of God. This gospel says that prayer, worship and bible reading isn't enough – if we are to follow Jesus we need to live lives that bring God's justice to a world of injustice – through works. And I believe that it is also totally true.

What we often seem to do as Western Christians is to emphasise the grace factor and often neglect the theme of justice – often because any discussion of justice and judgement often leads us too close to salvation by works for our likings – something the evangelical church in particular seems to be petrified of.

I believe the twin gospels of grace and justice are intertwined in the gospel that Jesus teaches.

The grace gospel says that the rich young man was serving two masters (as Jesus talks about in Matthew 6), and his hope was in both God and money. So for sanctification to take place, Jesus tells the individual to give up everything he owns. If he does this, then he can fully serve God. Therefore, it is not money that is the root of evil, but the love of money – and we can live with material wealth as long as we ensure we serve only one master.

What is also important is that Jesus makes the point that the man cannot inherit the kingdom of God on his own – but only with God "everything is possible".

The justice gospel – which we often neglect – says first that the rich young man is asking the wrong question. He asks for eternal life, but Jesus shows him the way into the kingdom of God. Jesus says that in order to live in the Kingdom, we must work to bring about God's justice – by giving everything to the poor, by fighting for the marginalised and against injustice. How can a rich man inherit the kingdom?

How can the kingdom of God reign in his life – if he is not using all he has to fight injustice?

We can see how these two viewpoints could contradict – how they could be presented in opposition. But I believe the truth is that they are intertwined. They are like the double helix that works through the gospel. We should neglect neither – we should never seek eternal life through works alone, but we should also never pursue eternal life so much that we forget the poor and the marginalised and the broken. If we are to truly follow Jesus we are playing for keeps – we must give everything to pursue the kingdom of God on earth.

And that means our wealth.

And that's a real challenge to Western Christianity – because it means that nothing can stay the same. Everything is up for grabs.

I'm sure there is more that could be added – and other parts of the bible which support either side of the debate, and I'm sure that my reasoning is probably flawed at best – but I'm only human. And life and belief is an ongoing journey.