November!

November

November – hardly anybody’s favourite month. Even those of us who have birthdays! It’s often a bleak month, although this year it has begun with some mild autumnal weather. There are newspaper headlines promising

“Coldest winter in 100 years on way”.

The clocks have gone back and it was dark before you set out in the evening. The school half-term holiday is over so we don’t have that to look forward to and the Christmas festivities are a long way away.

Poem by Thomas Hood (1799-1845)

November

No sun – no moon!
No morn – no noon –
No dawn – no dusk – no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member –
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! –
November!

Many of us are ‘under the weather’. For some, the darker, colder days bring on illness – Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). For sufferers, this is not just feeling down but a real debilitating illness. They dread November!

The events we commemorate at this time of year have a dark side to them: at Halloween children are given licence to trick or treat. In some parts of Liverpool ‘Mischief Night’ has young people out on the streets engaging in acts of vandalism and sometimes violence. Bonfire Night marks the execution of a conspirator, Guy Fawkes, who had been involved in the ‘9/11’ of his day. The religious nature of that conspiracy has largely been forgotten, thank goodness!

And Remembrance Sunday, this year marking the 100^th anniversary of the start of the Great War, the one that was supposed to end all wars, the one we call the First World War. The thousands who have been to see the poppies at the Tower of London show the power of those events in our collective memory. The television news reminds us daily that war is not something left in our primitive past but very much part of the lives of many in the world we share.

In the Church calendar this weekend sees us marking the feast of All Saints – the heroes of the Christian faith, many of them lived through dark days are were called to be martyrs for their faith. And then All Souls, the commemoration of the faithful departed, when our minds turn to those we love but see no longer.

Bereavement

For those who have lost loved ones, perhaps every month is a November. Bereavement can feel like a kind of winter – a land where it is always winter and never Christmas. We feel cut off from the warmth and light that our loved ones brought to us. The Bill Withers song is about the end of a relationship, rather than a bereavement, but it says something:

Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone. It’s not warm when she’s away.

But one thing we know from the calendar is that November has 30 days. It doesn’t last for ever (even if it feels like it!). December, January, February – each will take their turn. And, eventually, although it may seem an eternity away, Spring arrives. (The Times used to carry a correspondence about when the first cuckoo was heard.)

The natural world has its seasons – winter means that Spring is on its way. Bereavement too has its seasons. The initial pain and shock don’t last forever. We never forget those we love, but healing comes with time. They say that time is healer. I’m not sure about that. But I believe that healing takes time; that time allows healing to take place.

Seasons

The Church’s year has its seasons. We are approaching Advent – a solemn time of preparation for the coming King. In Advent we are invited to be serious about life. Which is why vicars spend so much of November and December fighting off Christmas. We live in a world of instant gratification. We want it to be Christmas now. But the Church wants us to go through Advent first! Why? So that the Christmas celebrations make more sense. Why did God send His Son to be born for us, to die for us and to rise for us? Because we live in a dark world. In November we think about that so that on Christmas Night we know what it means to say that

 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:5)

We will hear those words in church on Christmas Night – if you are able to join us. In the middle of the night, around the darkest time of the year, when the says are short. Not a minute too soon! The light of Christ shines in the darkness!

The Church year celebrates the seasons of the Gospel. On Good Friday, we go to the foot of the Cross to spend time with our dying Saviour. But on Easter Day we rejoice in his resurrection. In the northern hemisphere, at least, resurrection is celebrated with the new life of Spring, which is why our Easter cards have daffodils on them.

Jesus said that a grain of wheat had to die in the cold earth in order to produce new life.

Today – All Souls Day – as we commemorate the faithful departed, we thank God for those we love but see no longer. Those we remember may or may not have been ‘saints’, but they were loved. We also reflect on our own lives. How would we like to be remembered? We too will one day have to give an answer to God for the lives we have lived. But just as winter is followed by Spring, we are assured that God’s judgement is flooded with mercy; and that death is the gateway to resurrection.

It’s Friday. But Sunday’s Coming!

Tony Campolo tells the story of an old black preacher who was talking about the Crucifixion. He said, It’s Friday. But Sunday is coming! Good Friday gives way to Easter Sunday. Darkness gives way to light. Death gives way to life. It’s November but Spring is coming! It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming.

In this life, we know pain and struggles. All of us do. But we are promised something better. The bible calls it ‘eternal life’. Not just when we die: there are tastes of it in this life. The communion service points towards the heavenly banquet. Being loved points towards the infinite love of God.

It’s Friday. But Sunday’s coming!