The God of Surprises

Last weekend, a rather wonderful thing happened. No, I am not referring to 

       (all glory laud and honour)
Palm Sunday though that was pretty special as always
        (it never seems to rain on Palm Sunday, either).
This year, our Hosannah-ing was followed by the baptism of two youngsters. It should have been a two-family-four-kid baptism week but one of the families cried off with chicken-pox, which is unfortunate. Our prayers
        (and calamine)
are with them at this time. No, what was wonderful was something that was entirely new to me in my modest professional Christian ministry, and also unheard of in the somewhat longer
        (and levitous)
ministry of my brother priest, now retired and a great asset to the parish! 

The two children being baptised were themselves from a clutch of four, and I was dousing Number Two and Number Four - number one was 'done' already and Number Three resolutely refused to be involved! Number Four was a babe-in-arms and Number Two was a 
        (very well turned out)
lad of about 9 or ten years of age. And so it was: we went Declaring and Promising and we even agreed to fight the devil, corruption and evil
        (no theological dilution needed in Whitton, thank you)
and then anointed Two and Four with the usual aplomb and style. The godparents were resplendent and were duly thanked for their service to the ... well, service and returned to their seats for the Half-Time Entertainment - the Collection. Suitably frisked by two youngsters, the assembled throng
        (as distinct from 'thong' which is something else altogether)
turned on their heels to face The Font for the Main Event - the Baptism of Two and Four. 

Suitable quantities of pre-warmed
        (cold is simply anti-social)
living water was poured, tested and blessed - and so it was that Number Four was gently held under my arm 
        (not unlike a rugby ball)
and received the appropriate aspersion. Number Two, being bigger therefore heavier, was trapped and held
        (rather like a jousting thing at a joust)
over The Font and was granted spiritual and fluid entry into the Faith of Our Fathers. Job done a good'n! 

And then it happened. Number Three
        (formerly agin the whole enterprise)
shimmied up, the way one does in a pew-bound church, and asked if she could be baptised. "Yes" I said, "but I haven't got my diary, so I will have to talk to mummy". No, mister, I meant now - right this minute
        (yes, Revd Imaginationless the Un-Creative, Vicar of Failing to Spot Gift Horses)
while we are here, if you please. Well, thought I to myself, what to do. What would Canon Law make of all of this
        (and should I care?)
so I did the only decent think and press-ganged three new Godparents, sent for the oils and did what any right minded cleric would do, and baptised her before she changed her mind!

A spontaneous baptism! It doesn't much better than that!

Lent Course 2010 [Blog] - Part IV

Jesus and Surprise

sur·prise  (sr-prz)

tr.v. sur·prised, sur·pris·ing, sur·pris·es

1. To encounter suddenly or unexpectedly; take or catch unawares.

2. To attack or capture suddenly and without warning.

3. To cause to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something unanticipated.

4.

a. To cause (someone) to do or say something unintended.

b. To elicit or detect through surprise.

n.

1. The act of surprising or the condition of being surprised.

2. Something, such as an unexpected encounter, event, or gift, that surprises.

It seems to me, on the face of it (pardon the pun), that Jesus was very level-headed - not given to 'peaks and troughs' of emotion. I am also aware that this could be an editorial consequence of much compression, the passage  of time before accounts were consigned to paper, or just because no-one was really that bothered. However, as I think on this more, I wonder if this is a fair appraisal. In terms of the emotion 'surprise', I wonder if it provided something of the tension that must have existed within him given his divine status and concomitant human status. The 'God bit' must have foreseen everything - no surprises. Equally, the 'human bit' must have been regularly surprised by the reponse of others to him. 

Anyway, to proceed within the framework now established, I will reflect on surprise as an emotion:

• 
  
  Is a sense of surprise manifest in my own life - or is it quelled by cynicism or idealism?
• How do I deal with surprises, be they positive or negative?
• Am I capable of surprising other people?
• How does a sense of surprise fit into a Christian way of thinking - with our heritage of miracles and the vastly unexpected being recalled throughout our year?

This all said, just try finding the word 'surprise' in any text that refers to Jesus. There aren't any! However, Matthew 8:10 reports that Jesus was 'astonished' by the faith of the Centurion - not quite surprise, but close!  

But ... I wonder if Jesus was a little surprised by the reaction of his parents when he toddled to the temple when he was twelve years old, to add another possibility. Aren't all kids surprised when something that they do, thinking it to be quite correct, is recieved as folly by the folks at home! Yes, I have to concede that 'surprise' for Jesus is hard to pin down, but clues still exist. Still, when you are the master of 'surprises' yourself, you are perhaps less likely to be surprised - on this I must ponder.

Lent Course 2010 [Blog] - Part I

The Emotions of Jesus Christ

As part of my own Lenten observance this year, I decided that the element that commits me to learning would be usefully expressed through this Blog. I am creating, therefore, a little Cyber Lent Course, as much for my own purposes as yours, and as something of a 'notepad' as I work on something that perhaps might be presented in my ministry at some point in the future! If you are reading this, please recieve it as a work-in-progress and not as a polished piece!

~~~

In the world of bloke-dom, the emotion is a fickle friend. Blokes are often accused of being insensitive, uncaring, laddish or silly (well, me at least). My experience is quite the contrary. I, ond others whom I know to be like me, are emtional creatures - we care, very passionately. We hurt, perhaps in private, but very deeply. When we are amused, our whole being is held hostage by laughter! Howver, blokes are not ruled by emotions, and part of our being is that to a certian extent, we can disconnect with how we feel inwardly. even if is paert of an expternal mask. As part of my plain and honest wrestling with myself and who I am (sorry, that is almost a smug and certianly self-centred thing to have just typed), I have wondered what kind of emotional creature Jesus himself was. My belief in the Incarnation means that I have to accept that Jesus 'did' emotion like all of us. He must have known happiness, sadness, jealousy, disappointment, annoyance, fear, disgust, and yes, Jesus will have had to have been capable of attraction and the amorous emotions. This inevitably lead me to ponder the good old Bible, where I quickly discovered that Jesus' emotions are not readily referred to. Yes, dear reader, I will have to go digging - and when I find what I seek, I will present my unearthed treasure here.

But first, some of the methodological stuff, so you know what I am doing! For me, I don't get hung up about such things (it is the 'pragmatist' in me), but some regard it as important, and I am all give give give, me!

When discussing emotions, I have a vast list from which to choose. As I only have one Lent in 2010 and only one lifetime, that list needed a little pruning. I discovered a geezer called Paul Ekman who did a famous study on emotion, but emotion as it is associated with facial expression. His work later took a swerve towards the subject of 'trust'. However, his greatest use to me here is that in 1972 (the year of my birth, sigh) he created a list of the 'dominical' emotions following observation of a tribe in the middle of a vast ocean (or something like that). His list comprises anger, disgust, fear, happiness sadness and surprise. While he expanded on this list in the 90's, this seems to me a good list to work with for this purpose. So, my next post will be on the subject of Jesus Christ and Anger.

There you go; follow this if you wish, or don't if you have better things to do. If you ever encounter my ministry in future years and get given a flyer about a Lent Course by me on this subject, you will know where it all started. Lucky you!