A VIEW FROM THE BACK PEW
By Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt
AS I THINK BACK across the years to January 4, 1979, I remember it as a different time and a different world. That night, as my Bishop placed his hands on my head and affirmed my call to ordained ministry, I entered into the life of the Church which over the decades has undergone a radical transformation.
A few hours after my ordination I preached at my Father’s funeral service in the parish which he had served as Rector for more than a decade. It was a place where I had been a Crucifer and Acolyte, where I had been confirmed, where I had been ordained and was the home of a Parish Family that had nurtured my faith journey over the years.
Anniversaries mark moments in time when it is a viable option to look into the rear-view mirror and look into the past. None of us are encouraged to live in the past, but it is never amiss, from my point of view, to think about those moments which have shaped us and helped to make us into the people who we are. Moments of the past may, in their own way offer inspiration which will impact the reality of the present.
Throughout my experience of ordained ministry I have found the Seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany to be filled with a wide variety of profound feelings. Year after year, going from the deep valley of personal sadness and grief, stopping at every place along the way to reach the mountain top of joy, then sliding back down the emotional slope in a relatively short time frame is very wearing.
In parallel to this personal roller coaster of emotion is the unchanging structure and pattern of the Church Year. Advent invites us to live as a community of faith, waiting for age-old Divine promises to be fulfilled. The Christmas Season heralds the joy-filled news that God’s Love for God’s world is to be found in the person of Jesus. The days of the Season of Epiphany shape the framework of discovery as we are reminded that each of us is on a personal lifelong journey of faith that leads us to the Christ Child as we claim Him as our Saviour.
Reflecting on decades of ministry also provides an opportunity to reflect on how the world has lurched from crisis to crisis, from moments when messages of threatening devastation have been a regular feature of the ever-changing news cycle. As that reality is inescapable, reflecting on the past, another truth emerges.
As much as the volatility of the world’s news rocks our lives each day, the reality of our story of faith remains unchanged and unchangeable. Although how we tell our story of faith may be influenced by our time and by other cultural influences, the story of faith remains as a solid foundation upon which we may build our lives.
We are the focus of Divine Love. That Divine Love has been fully expressed in the person of Jesus. The Divine Love which calls us to care for each other and the world in which we live is something upon which we may rely.
In a recent Homily, the Reverend Nadia Bolz-Weber reflected on how we are part of a much larger story. A very small part, yet an essential part of a story in which God’s presence is a dependable constant. She said:
When we have one arm reaching back to the hope of the Prophets and one hand reaching forward to the future of God’s Promises we get to stand firmly in the reality of today and not have that reality consume us. (NB-W St John’s Cathedral - Nov. 24, 2024)
Claiming our place in the ongoing story of God’s presence in God’s world does not mean that we, as individuals, will change the world. It may mean that we do have the opportunity to change our world. Our place, wherever it is, allows us the opportunity to look around us and see where our words and actions may make a difference.
At a time in the calendar year when new resolutions are made, which are either life changing, or are quickly consigned to a convenient trash can, as people of faith we may seize the opportunity to revisit our Baptismal Covenant and use it to discern how through our faithful witness, through our words and actions we may bring God’s Love into God’s World.
Rev. Canon Christopher B. J. Pratt has retired from full-time parish ministry but continues to offer priestly ministry in the Diocese.